Soil pH is important because it influences several soil factors affecting plant growth, such as (1) soil bacteria, (2) nutrient leaching, (3) nutrient availability, (4) toxic elements, and (5) soil structure. Read on: … [Read more...]
Growing Sugar Snap Peas
Growing sugar snap peas in the home garden is relatively easy if you take a few simple steps to prepare the garden beds and give peas plenty of cool weather days to grow and flourish. Read More: … [Read more...]
Gifts from the Garden
Cooler weather has reduced the frenzy of garden chores, so let’s have fun. It is time to get crafty with Supervisory Horticulturist Melinda Whicher! Learn how to upcycle things around your house or from your local thrift store to create beautiful … [Read more...]
Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds
In 2019, scientists documented North America’s staggering loss of nearly 3 billion breeding birds since 1970. Helping birds can be as simple as making changes to everyday habits. Here’s our quick list of 7 Simple Actions you can take to help birds. … [Read more...]
How to Plant Seed Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, but rather than planting them from seeds produced by the flowers of the plant, they are generally grown by planting portions of the root structure, known as seed potatoes. Continued: Written … [Read more...]
Native Plants for Winter Interest
A number of plants native to our region provide continuing value and interest in our gardens into the winter. Their evergreen foliage or interesting bark add beauty to the landscape, while their berries, seeds, or stems provide support to wildlife … [Read more...]
Start Sowing Early To Extend Your Growing Season
It is one of the big questions each gardening season – when exactly should you get started? When is the right time to sow seeds or plant out crops? Read more: … [Read more...]
Climate Change and Its Effect on Gardening
To quote David W. Wolfe, Professor of Plant & Soil Ecology at Cornell University, “We are in the unfortunate situation of being the first generation of gardeners, ever, who cannot rely on historical weather records to tell us what our climate … [Read more...]
Plant Names – a basic introduction
The name of a plant is based on an original description, the earliest use of the name generally being the most relevant, dating back as far as 1753 for flowering plants, when Linnaeus published his concept of the binomial naming system. Read on: … [Read more...]
Make good use of your garden’s leftovers
By Audrey Gillespie When we finish eating a big holiday meal, we are left with a decision about what to do with all those leftovers. How many ways can you dress up a piece of turkey before it is gone? In the same way, we have some garden … [Read more...]