Pine needle mulch around a seedling Mulch reduces evaporation from the soil surface, moderates soil temperature, and insulates roots from summer heat (and winter cold). Mulch suppresses weeds, reduces soil compaction, prevents erosion, and adds organic matter to the soil. Mulch is any material that protects the soil surface and allows air and water through.
Fruits are ripening by mid-summer. Keep fruit trees and vines thoroughly watered; avoid letting plants dry out, especially newly planted fruits and fruits growing in containers. Scavenging birds and insects will be looking for an opening as fruits ripen. Use bird netting or reflective tape to scare birds away; spray away insects with a strong
Celery seed Vegetable seed for home gardens is often sold by weight–by the ounce or by the gram or by fractions of ounces and grams. Some seed sellers sell by the piece–1 seed per penny, for example. But seeds sold in packets–especially those sold in stores–commonly list the weight, but not the number of seeds. When buying seed by
Beans growing begins when temperatures reaches 60°F–about two weeks after the last frost. Snap beans are eaten as a green pod. Pole beans climb, but can also be snap beans. Shelly beans are beans that have begun to mature–the green maturing seeds are harvested young and cooked like fresh peas. Dry beans have matured and
Onions are a high yield crop. Twenty to 50 onions can grow in 1 to 1½ square feet of space. But onions are easily grown in odd spaces alongside both slower and faster growing vegetables. Green onions can be ready in 20 to 30 days after planting. Dry bulb onions can take 100 to 175
Feeding tomatoes a dilute 3-3-3 liquid fertilzer. Tomatoes are heavy feeders. Keep them well fed over the season. Simple Schedule for Feeding Tomatoes: Seedlings. Give tomato seedlings a balanced fertilizer once a month while they are still in the greenhouse or hothouse. Use a dilute fish emulsion, 3-3-3, or a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium formula that is similar. Transplanting. When tomatoes
Late spring and early summer is the time to set out heat-loving crops–tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, squashes, cucumbers, okra, and melons. Plant these crops where they will get plenty of sunshine for rapid growth and timely harvests. Work plenty of aged compost or commercial organic planting mix into the beds, mounds, and hills ahead
Grow crops up–vertical growing beans Space must be conserved in every possible way in a small vegetable garden. Here are five tips for getting the most out of a small garden: 1. Vertical Growing Garden vertically as much as you can. Use the up-and-down space in your garden and conserve your ground space. Use a
a young woman planting an Apple tree in the garden near the house . planting seedlings of fruit trees in the spring Bare-root fruit trees and vines can be planted at any time during their dormant season between leaf-fall and bud-burst–late fall to early spring–as long as the soil conditions are right and the ground
Winter vegetable garden Winter arrives on December 21. The shortest day of the year. There is never a shortage of things to do in the garden, even in winter. Update your garden records from last season and review your garden design. What worked and what can be improved this coming growing season? Now is the
