Environmental Causes of Wilting Corn Stalks Temperature – Corn thrives in temps of between 68-73 F. (20-22 C.), although the optimal temperature fluctuates over the length of the season and between day and night temperatures. Corn can withstand short cold snaps (32 F./0 C.), or heat spurts (112 F./44 C.), but once the temperature drops to 41 F. (5 C.), growth slows significantly. When temps are over 95 F. (35 C....
Alice in Wonderland Storybook Garden Tips There’s a lot of ground to cover in Alice in Wonderland, all of it more fantastical than the previous. Things that stand out are the various sizes Alice goes through, one minute little and the next enormous. And then there’s the Mad Hatter’s tea party and guests, the white rabbit and his obsession with time, and the landscape within the story – sometimes English garden pretty and sometimes loud with bold colors and quirky shapes....
Growing Coffee Substitutes in the Garden Online bloggers who have tried these alternative coffee plants say, while they are delicious, they don’t taste like coffee. However, they are warm, aromatic, tasty, and sweet if you add honey or sugar. So, they hit some of the other coffee notes, besides taste. Here are a few of the coffee-like substitutes that show up regularly on “alternatives to coffee” lists. These drinks can also be added to your regular cup of java to enhance or extend the coffee....
Can Tomato Plants Poison You? Whether or not the rumors are true, the idea that tomatoes might make you sick is understandable. Tomatoes are member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and, as such, are related to eggplants, potatoes, and of course, deadly belladonna or nightshade. These cousins all produce a toxin called solanine. This toxic alkaloid is part of the plants’ defense mechanism, making them unappealing to animals tempted to munch on them....
What is Asafetida? Asafetida (Ferula foetida) has been cultivated and harvested for centuries. What is Asafetida? This same plant is referred to both as “Food of the Gods” and “Devil’s Dung,” making it confusing to the layperson. Should you eat it? Should you pull it up and discard it? That all depends upon how you wish to use the plant and what traditions your culinary palate can handle. Either way, the perennial herb bears attractive curly, lacy foliage and interesting flowering umbels that can enhance the garden in USDA zones 3 to 8....
Can You Grow an Avocado in Zone 8? Avocados fall into three categories: Guatemalan, Mexican, and West Indian. Each group is named after the region where the variety originated. Today, there are new hybrid varieties available that have been bred to be more disease resistant or more cold hardy. Depending upon the category, avocados can be grown in USDA zones 8 to 11. The West Indian is the least cold tolerant, hardy only to 33 degrees F....
Backyard BBQs, potlucks, and picnics. These are the standards of human social interaction. We gravitate towards each other like moths to a flame. One of the most joyous of social occasions is a garden to table dinner party. It features the best of the garden harvest, combined with time spent enjoying the outdoors, provided the weather is cooperating. Garden to Table Dinner Ideas Small farms have been introducing backyard farm to table party events as a way to boost interest in their produce and provide a new revenue stream....
Life Cycle of Boxwood Spider Mites Boxwood spider mites overwinter as eggs and hatch and become active in April to early May. They are tiny, spider-like creatures who cause damage when they suck the sap from the leaves of the plant. Their saliva contains a toxin that causes stippling on leaves and, over time, the reduction in sap to the plant will cause a silvery, unhealthy cast on foliage. Treating spider mites on boxwoods needs to start as soon as the pests are observed to save the health of the plant....
All manner of things can happen to an innocent plant in the average home. Rambunctious children, moved furniture, a cat knocking the plant onto the floor, and other situations can cause broken poinsettia stems. What to do for damaged poinsettias? You have a few choices on poinsettia stem breakage — fix it, compost it or root it. What to Do for Damaged Poinsettias Some poinsettia stem breakage can be temporarily mended....
Hedychium Ginger Lily Info Tropical plants in the garden or in containers bring to mind snowy white beaches, dense, lush rainforests, and exotic sights and scents. Hedychium is a tropical plant that is hardy in the United States Department of Agriculture zones 8 to 11. For northern gardeners, butterfly ginger plants can be grown in containers and brought indoors for the cool seasons. This is a true ginger in the Zingerberaceae family, but the rhizomes are not the source of the culinary spice, ginger....
Cacti comprise some of my favorite plants due to their uniqueness of form and unusual characteristics. Propagation is done through grafting, stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, seed or offsets. Growing cactus from seed is a long process, as germination may be unreliable and growth is at a snail’s pace. Broadly, cacti that do not produce offsets can be propagated by grafting as long as there is a compatible rootstock. The grafted part is called a scion and the base or rooted part is the rootstock....
How Often Do You Need to Water Cactus? Cactus plants are actually quite juicy. Think of an aloe when you cut it open and the mucilaginous goo that is inside the leaves. Cactus plants actually hoard moisture in their plant cells so they have some water during extremely dry, drought-like conditions. They are remarkably tolerant to water neglect but certain signs in the leaves, pads, or stems will indicate that the plant is becoming stressed due to a lack of moisture....
Can I Harvest Strawberry Seeds? The short answer is, yes, of course. How come everyone doesn’t grow strawberries from seed then? Growing strawberry seeds is a bit more difficult than one might think. Strawberry flowers pollinate themselves, meaning that after prolonged seed saving, the plants would become inbred with less than stellar berries. If you save seeds from Fragaria x ananassa, you are saving seeds from a hybrid, a combination of two or more berries that have been bred to bring out the most desirable traits of each and then combined into one new berry....
Can You Grow Calendula in Pots? Calendulas are also known as pot marigold, although they have no relation to those lion-headed blooms. Container grown calendula plants brighten up mixed pots or provide stand-alone golden beauty. Pot marigold in containers goes particularly well with vibrant red tones, giving the whole affair a sunset appeal. Plus, calendula is easy to grow from seed and blooms long without the need to deadhead. As long as a plant has the right nutrients, soil, moisture, and lighting you can grow almost anything in a container, and calendula is no exception....
Will Supermarket Garlic Grow? Yes, store bought garlic bulbs can be used to grow garlic. In fact, growing garlic from the grocery store is a pretty handy way to go about growing your own fresh bulbs, especially if you have one in the pantry that has already begun to grow. What else would you do with it but plunk it in the dirt and see what happens? About Planting Grocery Store Garlic While it may seem a bit cavalier to say “plunk the clove in dirt,” the actual planting of grocery store garlic is pretty much that simple....
Tips for Preserving Mushrooms There are many varieties of mushrooms used for culinary purposes. Some are grown domestically, while others are harvested from the wild. Domestic grown button mushrooms are the only ones recommended for home canning. Other types of mushrooms can be preserved by freezing or dehydrating. When canning fresh mushrooms, choose ones with unopened caps and no discoloration. Fresh mushrooms have an earthy smell and should feel dry to the touch....
Watsonia Bugle Lily Plants These lovely flowers rise on spikes from thick sword-like leaves about 18 inches (46 cm.) long. Flowers soar almost a foot (31 cm.) above the foliage and may be orange, red, pink, coral, white, or yellow. Blooms are 3 inches (8 cm.) long and last several weeks, making them an attractive cut flower. Watsonia bulbs are actually corms. These are modified roots that act as storage organs, much like bulbs or rhizomes....
What are Carobs? Chocolate, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… and calories. Made up of about half fat, chocolate addictions (such as mine) beg for a solution. Carob is just that solution. Rich not only in sucrose but also 8% protein, containing vitamins A and B plus several minerals, and about one-third the calories of chocolate without the fat (yep, fat free!), carob makes an ideal substitute for chocolate....
A plant started from the bottom of a stalk of celery is ready to transplant outdoors in just a week, and growing a celery bottom is frugal, fun, and easy. Let’s learn more about this celery plant experiment and how to grow celery from cut stalk bottoms. Growing Celery with Kids As with any gardening project, growing a celery bottom with your children is a great way to get them interested in the garden....
What is a Cherimoya? Cherimoya trees (Annona cherimola) are rapidly growing evergreens that are deciduous when grown in the cooler California climate from February to April. They can attain a height of over 30 feet (9 m.), but can also be pruned to restrain their growth. In fact, young trees grow together to form a natural espalier that can be trained against a wall or fence. Although the tree grows rapidly at one time in spring, the root system tends to stay rather stunted and weak despite the height of the tree....
