Tomato Leaf Types If you are a true garden geek, then you probably already know this, but tomato plants are of two, well actually three, leaf types. As aforementioned, we have what is referred to as a regular leaf tomato, those with serrated or ruffled leaves. There are hundreds of varieties of regular leaf tomato, and among these are: Celebrity Eva Purple Ball Big Boy Red Brandywine German Red Strawberry...

Is Pothos Pet Friendly? Learn About Pothos’ Pet Toxicity The offending toxins are insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which are found in the leaves and stems of pothos. When a pet bites or chews into the foliage, the crystals are released and can cause burning and irritation of the mouth, drooling, vomiting, decreased appetite, and difficulty swallowing. Any plant, even those labeled as non-toxic, has the potential to upset the inner workings of Phido, so take care to keep all plants away from pets....

Container Gardening for Garlic Garlic is in the Allium family, which includes onions and shallots. The bulbs are the most powerful flavor on the plants, but the greens are also eaten. It is these heady bulbs which are the basis for planting. Each is planted 2 to 3 inches (5-8 cm.) deep and must also have room for the roots to grow. This should be a consideration when choosing your container....

About Apple Tree Powdery Mildew These are the spores of the powdery mildew fungus (Podosphaera leucotricha). The flowers don’t develop normally, with the blooms likely to be greenish-white. They will produce no fruit. Leaves may be the first to be infected. These may be wrinkled and small. Likely, apple tree powdery mildew will spread to the other trees in the orchard if it has not already. Eventually, it will infect new leaves, fruit, and shoots on nearby trees....

How to Garden During Pregnancy For pregnant women, gardening increases the risk of exposure to toxoplasmosis, a serious disease organism that causes flu-like symptoms in mothers and can cause mental disabilities and blindness in their unborn children. Toxoplasmosis is often spread in cat feces, particularly the feces of outdoor cats that catch, kill, and eat prey, such as rats. When these cats deposit feces in the garden soil, there is a good chance that they are also depositing the toxoplasmosis organism....

How to Propagate Parsley From Seed Growing parsley from seed is the most common method of propagation. Parsley can be direct-sown into a prepared garden bed after all danger of frost has passed in the spring. Seeds can also be started indoors 8 to 10 weeks earlier. Parsley can be slow to germinate. Using fresh seeds and soaking them in warm water for 24 hours prior to sowing will speed up the germination process....

Grafting a lime tree using the budding method is easy to do, once you know how. Let’s look at the steps to budding lime trees. Steps for Budding a Tree

Why You Should Prune Raspberry Plants? Pruning raspberry bushes improves their overall health and vigor. In addition, when you prune raspberry plants, it helps increase fruit production. Since raspberries grow only foliage the first season (year) and flowers and fruit the next (second year), removing dead canes can make it easier to obtain a maximum yield and berry size. When to Trim Raspberry Bushes How and when to prune raspberries depends on the type you are growing....

Pruning an Empress Tree The royal empress tree is dramatic and impressive, with large, heart-shaped leaves and lavender flowers. Since blossoms appear before the leaves open, they are especially showy and impressive. The royal empress tree grows extremely fast, up to 15 feet (4.5 m.) per year. One result of that speedy development is weak wood that is vulnerable to breakage. Poor collar formation can also make branches vulnerable to breaking off at the branch crotch....

Rattlesnake Plant Info Native to the Brazilian rainforest, the rattlesnake plant thrives in moist, warm, semi-shady climates. If conditions are just right, the plant produces bright, yellow-orange blooms in late spring and early summer. The rattlesnake plant is a real attention-getter, growing to heights of 30 inches (76 cm.) and sometimes more. Like other calathea plants, it is so named for its attractive foliage and interesting patterns. How to Grow Rattlesnake Houseplants Grow rattlesnake plant in a container filled with regular, good quality potting mix....

Are There Different Types of Rosemary Plants? Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) has a wonderful and lengthy history. It has been nurtured by cooks and treasured by apothecaries for centuries. Although native to the Mediterranean, rosemary has been cultivated for so long that natural hybrids have developed. So yes, there are different types of rosemary, but what types of rosemary are there? Types of Rosemary to Grow There are basically two types of rosemary, those that are upright shrubs and those that grow as ground covers....

Safflower Harvest Info Safflowers (Carthamus tinctorius) deserve a spot in your garden just for their pretty blossoms, bright as marigolds. They are annuals that turn into small bushes with sturdy stems up to 3 feet (1 m.) tall. Each safflower stem is topped with a big blossom that combines multiple florets in shades from pale yellow to red-orange. These flowers are magnets for bees but also make excellent cut flowers. They are also one part of a potential safflower harvest, since both the petals and young foliage can be used in salads....

Common Sago Palm Problems Dealing with common sago palm pests and disease doesn’t have to spell the demise of your plant. If you know about the issues that affect sagos the most and how to handle them, you’ll be well on your way to correcting them. Common problems with sago palm plants include sago palm yellowing, scale, mealybugs and root rot. Yellowing sago plants Sago palm yellowing is common in older leaves as they get ready to drop to the ground and make way for newer leaves....

When to Pick Sesame Seeds Ancient records from Babylon and Assyria have attested that sesame, also known as benne, has been cultivated for over 4,000 years! Today, sesame is still a highly valued food crop, grown for both the whole seed and the extracted oil. A warm-season annual crop, sesame is drought-tolerant but does need some irrigation when young. It was first introduced into the United States in the 1930’s and is now grown in many parts of the world on over 5 million acres....

Common Sesame Plant Problems Sesame seed issues are not actually that common. Most modern varieties have been developed to tolerate or resist a number of pests and diseases. This doesn’t mean you won’t have to deal with any problems, however. Depending on the variety of plants you’re growing, the conditions in your garden and soil, and just plain luck, you may see one of these more common problems: Bacterial leaf spot....

Growing Plants for Zone 8 Shade While growing plants in the shade can be tricky, zone 8 is a temperate climate that gives you a lot of options. Stretching from parts of the Pacific Northwest, down to Texas and through the middle of the southeast up to North Carolina, this zone covers a large area of the U.S. Make sure you know the specific needs of each plant you choose and give them the appropriate soil and watering level to help them thrive, even in the shade....

Should I Keep My Volunteer Tomatoes? A volunteer plant of any type is a plant that grows somewhere you did not intentionally plant or seed it. These accidents happen because seeds drift through the wind, are carried by birds and feet, and therefore, they often get mixed into compost that you then spread around the garden or yard. When you see a tomato plant sprout somewhere you didn’t plant it, you may be tempted to keep it and let it grow....

What is a Soil Block Maker? A soil blocking tool is a device that creates plugs of soil for starting seeds. Standard blockers create four 2 inch by 2 inch (5 x 5 cm.) plugs at a time. The 2 inch (5 cm.) blocks work well for most needs, but for tiny seeds that need a little more warmth as they germinate, you can find half-inch (1 cm.) seed blockers. You may also find some in other sizes, but these two are most common....

Grow a Christmas Tree at Home The easiest way to grow a Christmas tree at home is to start with a living tree. It’s easy these days to find potted pine or spruce trees for sale just before the holidays, and they are popular. But not everybody who buys one plants it afterward. Rather, some people purchase living trees because, with water, they stay fresh longer than cut trees. However, if you have the space in your backyard, it’s a nice idea to plant the living tree after Christmas....

Spartan Apple Tree Facts Spartan apples have a delicious, light, and sweet flavor. They are a Canadian offshoot from the McIntosh apple. Their trees bear a beautiful deep plum-red fruit that is somewhat smaller than the McIntosh. Great for eating and juicing, these apples have a long shelf life when kept at cool temperatures. The mature Spartan apple tree grows to a compact size with a high density of blossoms. The deep red color of the fruit is quite attractive, however, pruning is a major consideration because of the over-abundance of blossoms....