Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Trees and shrubs need moist, but not thoroughly wet, soil in order to grow well, resist insects and winter injury, and, in some cases, to produce flowers and fruit. If fruiting plants fail to fruit, or produce few fruit, it may be due to drought during flowering or fruit production. From early spring until about September 1, apply water adequately […]
With a changing climate, droughts seem to be getting more frequent and sometimes of a longer duration. Proper mowing, watering, and fertilizing are some of the strategies you can use to help a lawn deal with droughts and to survive. During periods of intense heat or drought, lawns will go dormant. They’re still alive, just not growing, so won’t need […]
Although we focus on the insects that destroy our landscape plants and crops, these undesirable insects give a bad name to virtually all insect species, most of which are beneficial. These either do no harm, provide food for desirable species such as birds, or attack and kill the pests we don’t want. Here are ten common beneficial insects that we […]
Milkweeds have many benefits—they are hardy, low maintenance, good in rain gardens as well as in dry soils and during droughts, tolerate deer, the mid-summer flowers attract butterflies and the leaves feed monarch butterfly larvae. Milkweeds are not weeds at all (a plant out of place that you don’t want in your garden) unless, perhaps, you have a formal garden. […]
Growing butterfly milkweed, harvesting garden produce often, and keeping container plantings watered are some of the gardening activities for this month. Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is not a weed at all (a plant out of place that you don’t want in your garden). Better common names are butterfly or orange milkweed, as it is in the milkweed family, has orange […]
Herbs, in my opinion, should be grown in every garden. Not requiring a lot of space or care, the benefits are immense. Think about various dishes that are made and you will find at least one herb flavoring it; potatoes and chives or lovage, tomatoes and basil, spaghetti sauce and oregano, and many more. Herbs like other plants fall into […]
Sustainability means using fewer non-renewable resources to ease the burden of extraction, production and consumption of these resources puts on the environment and on society. Starting a garden is one positive step you can take toward living a sustainable life, especially when you focus on low- or no-waste methods of growing food. You can easily start a sustainable garden […]
AVOID LYME DISEASE WHILE GARDENING Lyme disease is a potentially disabling disease of joints and the nervous system, spread by deer ticks. Knowing about this disease, how it is spread, and steps to avoid it will allow you to continue gardening or enjoying the outdoors, along with your pets, without concern for these spider relatives. This previously unknown disease was […]
How to protect plants and keep them healthy and unharmed Many cultures have their own methods of plant protection from weather conditions and enemies that are likely to harm them. Among the most important of these are excessive cold, too high temperatures, sun, snow, water and wind, as well as diseases, insects, birds, animals, humans and weeds. Protection from human […]
If you are looking to add a cordless drill to your tool collection shopping for one can seem to be a daunting task. There are a lot of drills and drivers on the market with a host of different features and prices. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and not be sure of exactly which tool you need. Instead of falling […]