Containers for Potted Veggies Suitable drainage is always important for the successful growth and health of all plants. So as long as you provide drainage holes, just about anything under the sun can be used for growing vegetables, from large coffee cans and wooden boxes to five-gallon buckets and old washtubs. Raising the container an inch or two (2.5-5 cm.) off the ground with bricks or blocks will also help with drainage, as well as with airflow....

Grape Hyacinth Weeds Grape hyacinth produces numerous seeds once the blooms are spent and bulbets are formed off the parent bulbs for future flowers. This allows grape hyacinth plants to spread rapidly and sometimes out of control. Grape hyacinth weeds infest untilled fields and garden beds alike and may rely upon sequential grape hyacinth control for complete removal. Most grape hyacinth bulbs are planted on purpose with the intention of brightening up the front path or spring flower bed, but the ease with which this plant reproduces can make it a real nuisance in some instances and its invasive abilities are a threat to crop land....

Rhubarb Growing Conditions Rhubarb does well in most zones of the United States, with the exception of areas where the winter average is not above 40 degrees F. (4 C.). In these areas, the plant is an annual and produces sporadically. In temperate climates, rhubarb grows like a weed in spring and continues to produce leaves all summer into fall. Over-wintering rhubarb in these zones simply requires a layer of mulch prior to the first freezes....

If you think you’re seeing powdery mildew on your roses, take a few minutes to learn why it’s there and what can be done about it. Identifying Powdery Mildew on Roses Powdery mildew looks a lot like it sounds – like a fine, soft powder sprinkled on your plant. It’s important to periodically inspect your rose bushes on both sides of the leaves, as well as the stems. This common fungus can spread from the leaves to the stems, and even to the buds themselves....

Seed Starting: Broccoli History Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) belongs to the large family Brassicaceae/Crucifera, which includes other vegetables like Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, cauliflower, cabbage, and kohlrabi. Broccoli is a cool weather plant originating from Asia Minor and the eastern Mediterranean. This Brassica has been harvested from at least the first century AD, when the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote of his people’s enjoyment of broccoli. In modern gardens, broccoli took a while to catch on....

Are Shore Flies and Fungus Gnats the Same? Both fungus gnats and shore flies thrive in moist conditions that are commonly found in a greenhouse. They are especially prevalent during propagation, plug production, and prior to well-established root systems on plants. Both fungus gnats and shore flies fall into the order Diptera along with flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and midges. While both are annoying to humans, only fungus gnats actually inflict damage to plants (normally the roots from larvae feeding), so no, they are not the same....

Should I Use Railroad Ties in My Garden? If you have just purchased a property and want to build some raised garden beds, railroad ties seem like an inexpensive easy option. However, you might ask yourself, “should I use railroad ties in my garden?” True, you have probably seen them in friend’s landscapes and neighborhoods are rife with the wood. Unfortunately, what we traditionally have done in the past we are now discovering was a mistake....

How Does a Smart Watering System Work? A programmable irrigation system allows homeowners and property managers to set a timer which automatically turns lawn sprinklers on and off. These systems have overrides which can prevent the sprinklers from running when nature takes over the job of watering the lawn, but these overrides must be operated manually. Not so with smart irrigation! Smart irrigation advantages include the ability to monitor either local weather conditions or the actual ground moisture level....

Now that we are all locked into a stay-at-home pandemic mode, it may be time to pack up gifts of your own to send to those you miss but haven’t been able to meet up with. Whether or not they are gardeners yet, soothing gardening gifts can help them develop love for making things grow. COVID Self-Care Gifting For many people, 2020 has been one of the loneliest years on record as we all were urged to hunker down....

Gardening in Zones 9-11 Maybe you’ve moved to a new area or you suddenly have garden space in your tropical to semi-tropical town. Either way, you now will need planting tips for zones 9 through 11. These zones can run the gamut in other weather characteristics but they rarely freeze or snow and average temperatures are warm year-round. A good place to start planning your garden is with your local extension office....

Can Dogwood Trees be Transplanted? Dogwoods are lovely plants with four seasons of interest. Their characteristic flowers are actually bracts, or modified leaves, which surround the actual tiny flower. In fall, the leaves turn red and orange and bright red fruits form, which birds adore. Their year-round beauty is a boon to any garden and should be preserved. If a dogwood needs to be moved, choose a site that is suitable so it doesn’t need to be moved again....

Eggplants from China tend to be elongated and deeply purple with glossy skin. They are excellent in stir fry and soup. They are quite easy to grow as long as they receive plenty of sun and heat. This article will provide information on how to grow Chinese eggplants and use them once harvested. Chinese Eggplant Information Although there may be more, a quick web search turned up 12 types of Chinese eggplant....

Violet Plant Varieties True violets have been cultivated since at least 500 B.C. Their uses were more than ornamental, with flavoring and medicinal applications high on the list. Today, we are fortunate to have a plethora of different types of violets readily available at most nurseries and garden centers. Violas encompass the dog violets (scentless blooms), wild pansies, and sweet violets, which are descended from wild sweet violets from Europe. With so many choices, it can be hard to decide which of these endlessly charming flowers to choose for your landscape....

Mulch and Its Uses Organic mulch is invaluable as a soil conditioner. It also helps prevent competitive weeds and conserve soil. As mulch breaks down and enters the soil, it adds nutrients and increases the tilth and porosity of the soil. Many gardeners choose cedar mulch for its beauty and scent. Mixed mulches may have a variety of bark and organic matter and come in a wide range of sizes and textures....

Uses for Aronia Berries Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa), or black chokeberry, is a deciduous shrub that blooms with creamy flowers in the late spring to become small, pea sized, purple-black berries. It should be noted that black chokeberries are a different plant from the similarly named chokecherry of the Prunus genus. Aronia harvest time is in autumn coinciding with a change in the shrub’s foliage to its blazing fall hues. The berries are sometimes overlooked, as the shrub is often included in the landscape for its blossoms and foliage color, not its berries....

Can You Grow Vegetables in Coffee Grounds? It’s true fellow coffeeholics! You can use coffee grounds for vegetables. Our morning elixir is not only a morning perk but can be beneficial to our gardens too. So how are coffee grounds good for vegetables? I’m sure many of us consider coffee to be acidic but that is actually a fallacy. The grounds are not all that acidic; in fact, they are close to pH neutral– between 6....

It can be hard to know which vegetables belong to the different vegetable families just from looking at them, but understanding the major vegetable plant families will make the task a little less daunting. Most home vegetable gardeners grow several plant families in any given year- using a handy vegetable families list will help keep rotations straight. Family Names of Vegetables The following vegetable families list will help get you started with appropriate vegetable family crop rotation: Solanaceae– The nightshade family is perhaps the most commonly represented group in most home gardens....

The methods on how to treat weeds in cracks include futile pulling and much more effective pavement weed killers in the form of chemical and natural formulas. Types of Weeds in Pavement Any home or property owner knows the battle. Weeds growing in pavement cracks are an all too common problem and create a constant war with these unwanted plants. You can spray all you want, but the pests will be back next season and spring out of holes and fissures....

What is a Red Banana Tree? Ornamental red banana trees can belong to either the Ensete or Musa genera. Ensete, also known as enset, is an important food crop in Ethiopia, and an ornamental plant enjoyed in landscapes around the world. Though the bananas they produce are not edible, Ensete plants do produce food in the form of a starchy corm (underground storage organ) and a starchy stem base. Enset farmers in Ethiopia dig up the corms and lower stems of mature trees and process them into bread or porridge....

What is a Trachyandra? Trachyandra is a genus of plants similar to Albuca. The majority of the species are from the Western Cape of Africa. They are tuberous or rhizomatous perennials. The leaves are fleshy (succulent) and sometimes haired. Many of Trachyandra plants are small and shrub like with fleeting (each bloom lasts for less than a day) white star-shaped flowers. The tuberous perennial Trachyandra falcata is found along the west coast of South Africa....