For the home gardener, growing grapevines may create a lovely shaded oasis or arbor, or an ornamental detail with the added bonus of edibility. But how do you know when to harvest grapes at the peak of their sweetness and optimum flavor? Read More: … [Read more...]
Fall Pruning for Peonies
A client asked about the best time to prune peonies, as the foliage was dying back this time of year. It is important to wait until after 1 or 2 frosts to be sure the plant is dormant before pruning it back. Doing so earlier is likely to … [Read more...]
Fall Lawn Care
The fall season is an important transition period of turfgrass growth and development, and the management of your warm- and cool-season grasses at this time of year means a great deal in terms of anticipated success in your lawn the following spring. … [Read more...]
7 Lawn Care Musts for Your Fall Yard
Among turf care experts, it's a well-known fact that the best way to ensure a thick, green, and healthy lawn in the spring is to give it some well-timed care in the fall—in other words, right now. Continue Source: This Old House … [Read more...]
Help Birds Survive the Winter by Skipping Fall Yard Work
Forget manicuring your lawn this fall. Endangered birds need messy yards to survive the winter. There are a billion fewer birds in North America than there were 40 years ago, and a fifth of the bird species on the continent are listed as … [Read more...]
When To Pick Pawpaws: How To Tell If Pawpaw Fruit Is Ripe
If you have a pawpaw tree in your landscape, consider yourself lucky. These native trees are cold hardy, low maintenance and have few pest issues, plus, they produce delicious, exotically flavored fruit. If you’re new to picking pawpaws you’re … [Read more...]
The ultimate guide to weeds: What to yank, what to leave and what you should never ever touch
But no matter how many weeds they've plucked, even veteren gardeners get stumped at times trying to determine what is, and what is not, a weed — particularly in the spring when everything is just beginning to peek out of the soil and your winter … [Read more...]
PLANTING, GROWING, AND HARVESTING GARLIC
Garlic is an easy-to-grow crop that’s harvested in midsummer and planted in the fall. Harvest when the tops just begin to yellow and fall over! See all our tips on growing garlic. Rather than risk getting subpar garlic from the grocery … [Read more...]
Native Wildflowers: A Feast in the Fall
Our native wildflowers are still putting on a show, in addition to provisioning late season pollinators and butterflies searching for fuel to carry them through the winter. Some of those creatures hibernate right here, others are taking wing and … [Read more...]
Build a DIY Cold Frame Using An Old Window
One of the projects that I knew I wanted to include in my book, Raised Bed Revolution, was a cold frame. I had seen some neat DIY cold frame examples through garden visits over the years, great cold frame kits through various retailers and … [Read more...]