You can now play with various bed designs and materials, using your drawing as a planning tool. Plants and stone always look great together, so it is often a top choice for hillside beds less than 18 inches (45cm) high.
Last year, I cut off the corn stalks at 14-inch (35cm) height, and used the tall stubs to support a row cover, which protected the fall greens from insects, deer and harsh weather.
How to Ripen Peppers Peppers – both sweet/bell and chili – can be exceptionally prodigious once they get into their stride. If the variety you're growing is heavy cropping, you could continue picking early on in order to maintain a balance between...
Water-stressed plants quickly slow down. Continue watering a suitable organic liquid fertilizer on to hungry fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Top Up Mulches for A Nutrient Boost Mulches of organic material applied earlier in the...
Horticultural fleece can also be used. If you're regularly affected by a particular pest, it can be worth looking for early or late varieties of plants which may avoid becoming part of a pest's rations if they're not growing at the high-risk time.
For the healthiest growth they need an open, sunny site and rich soil. Summer cabbages are the first to be sown, in mid spring, followed by autumn and winter types later on in spring.
Permanently positioned garden seating looks fantastic when it's visually anchored. It doesn't have to be grandiose; a self-contained fountain powered by a small electric pump brings the soothing gurgle of water while offering local wildlife somewhere...
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections Award Enter the Dragons – Colorful Chinese Radishes Often called Chinese radishes and introduced to western home gardeners a only a few years ago, ‘Red Dragon' and ‘Pink Dragon' are refinements of the old...
Like a fine wine, chutney matures with age as all the ingredients meld into a delicious symphony of flavors. Preserving techniques help to spread out sudden gluts so that summer's bounty can be enjoyed later on in the year when fresh pickings are thin...
Rutabaga seeds sprout quickly, with shade-grown seedlings ready to transplant in only three weeks. A little goes a long way, so allow only three pinches per plant. By any name, a buttery mash of potatoes and rutabaga is a wonderful dish for a brisk fall...
Some biennial crops, such as onions, shallots, leeks, carrots, beets and chard are also worth saving, though you'll need to overwinter a few plants from one season to flower and set seed the next.
Plants Related to this Article Plum (Dwarf) Grow Guide Plum (Large) Grow Guide < All Guides Make sure to choose upward-pointing shoots to counteract this. It's not uncommon on plums and related plants, and in the absence of the distinctive dead, sunken...
Begin by tying a knot into one end of the line. If necessary, wipe the fruits with a dry cloth to remove any traces of dirt. How to Make a Chili Pepper Ristra A ristra is simply an arrangement of drying chili peppers.
If your water source is some distance from your beds, it also means less walking back and forth. This means you can water carefully and precisely, enjoying the convenience of a hose – without wasting a drop! Water from the Bottom Watering pots from...
You should have no problems holding them back for an extra month or two provided conditions remain cool but frost-free. The seeds are exactly the same as those sold for spring planting, only these ones have been held back in a cold store to stop them...
Additional thinning of tree fruits ensures there's less chance of fruits rubbing together, which can lead to diseases like rot. Plums are notorious for over-producing – with often-disastrous results.
You can buy them on cards primed with ready-to-hatch pupae to hang up near infected plants. The trouble with homemade sprays is that their effectiveness varies dramatically, and they aren't always as harmless as they seem, potentially knocking back whitefly...
Harvesting Harvest in early summer when the tops begin to fail, and the bulbs have divided into several plump bulblets. Crop Rotation Group Allium (Onion family) ● Soil Fertile, well drained soil with compost dug in.
You can also coat the fingertips of a yellow rubber glove with petroleum jelly to make it easier to collect any beetles clustered in blossoms. Striped cucumber beetle [Credit: CamPixie ] Striped cucumber beetle [Credit: CamPixie ] Host Plants: On Crops:...
Blossom clusters make beautiful but short-lived cut flowers or edible garnishes. Frost tolerant Seedlings will survive light frosts, but older plants are easily damaged. A good companion for any crop that needs strong defense from insects.
Damage: When young onion plants wilt for no apparent reason, pull up a sample plant to check for legless worms (maggots) feeding on it roots. At the end of each season, be sure to pull all onions from the garden.
Feeding Not generally needed. Valerian can stand 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall when it is in full bloom. After two years, valerian will grow into a 18" (45 cm) wide clump. Gather them for use as cut flowers to keep valerian from reseeding and becoming invasive.
Locate it where leaves can be conveniently picked, crushed and sniffed. Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Rich well-drained soil. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Lemon Balm Aphids (General) Slug Snail
Perennial candytuft makes an ideal companion plant. Allow 4in (10cm) between bulbs of miniature tulips, and 6in (15cm) between taller varieties. Spacing Single Plants: 5" (15cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 3" (10cm) with 5" (15cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and...
Feeding Mix a light application of a balanced organic fertilizer into the soil prior to planting. Dwarf types make good edging plants for beds and containers. Spacing Single Plants: 7" (20cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 7" (20cm) with 11" (30cm) row gap...
Position Full sun. Harvesting Pick regularly as soon as the fruits turn color but are still firm. Companions Marigold, Broccoli, Chives, Mint, Borage, Parsley, Basil, Pepper, Asparagus, Monarda, Lettuce, Garlic, Dill and Calendula.
Position Sun or partial shade. Notes Thin seedlings to proper spacing when they are 4 inches tall. Feeding Not required. Planting and Harvesting Calendar < Back to All Plants Pests which Affect Parsnip Aphids (General) Carrot Rust Fly Slug Snail Plant...
