Instructions for Starting a Straw Bale Garden Purchase bales of straw from a farmer’s market or a local farmer. The big box stores offer decorative straw bales during the autumn holidays, but they are small and not suitable for growing plants in a straw bale garden. Bales of hay can also be used for this type of garden, but are more prone to sprouting weeds. You’ll save yourself some effort if you buy the bales in fall before you begin planting in spring....

Their blooms look very similar to African violets with their purple, pink, and white hues, but cape primroses also possess red varieties in brilliant colors. The leaves are wrinkled and thick with a fuzzy texture and make an attractive houseplant all by themselves. Streptocarpus information is readily available, making these plants a good choice for novice growers. Streptocarpus Care Indoors Learning how to care for Streptocarpus is a matter of matching the plant to the environment....

Relay Succession Planting in the Garden Relay planting is a kind of succession planting where you plant seeds for any given crop on a time spaced schedule. This kind of planting is commonly used with vegetables that may be ready for harvest only at one time. Relay planting in succession is often done with: Lettuce Beans Peas Corn Carrots Radish Spinach Beets Greens To do relay planting, simply plan on planting a new set of seeds about once every two to three weeks....

Making DIY Succulent Ornaments To plan for succulent Christmas ornaments, get your supplies ready ahead of time to make sure you have everything you’ll need. Some directions call for a casing to hold the succulent while others use wire to hold everything together. Lightweight plastic ornaments are available with an open front and a flat bottom. The succulent tweezers come in handy when making this type, as it allows easier placement of succulents....

About Sunrise Rhubarb Plants Sunrise is not commonly seen in grocery stores, where most rhubarb is red. This variety produces thick, pink stalks. It adds a pretty new color to the vegetable garden, but Sunrise rhubarb uses in the kitchen include anything from pies and jams to cakes and ice cream sauce. Thanks to its thick stalk, Sunrise rhubarb is particularly useful for canning and freezing. It will stand up to these storage methods without falling apart or getting too mushy....

Can Swiss Chard Grow in Winter? Swiss chard not only grows well in the hot temperatures of summer, but it also tolerates frost. In fact, chard may actually taste better when it’s grown in cold weather. However, plants will be killed by temperatures below 15 degrees F. (-9 C.). That being said, there are two ways to include Swiss chard in winter gardens: First, you can plant cold-hardy Swiss chard in spring and again in late summer....

Take a look at any forest, and you’ll notice that different species of trees are growing in different places. Some of this is random, of course, but a lot of it comes down to microclimates. What Are Microclimates? Microclimate might sound like an intimidating word, but really it’s just a way to describe the environmental differences that occur in a given area. Have you ever noticed that gardens under trees stay snowier in the spring?...

Tiger lily flowers grow in mass atop a single stem, featuring curved sepals that complement the black-flecked orange petals above. Black bulbils will appear in the axils above the leaves. Learning how to grow tiger lilies involves planting the bulbils and waiting, as it may be five years before these produce tiger lily flowers. If you have tiger lilies growing in your existing garden, keep them happy with soil amendments as you learn how to grow tiger lilies from the bulbils....

Choosing Landscape Hedges Here’s something you need to do before you start growing hedges in zone 7 or even selecting hedge plants for zone 7. You’ll need to invest some time into choosing landscape hedges and consider what it is exactly you want to use them for. For example, do you want a single row of similar bushes to create a “green wall” effect? Perhaps you’re looking for a very tall, tight line of evergreens....

How to Make Your Own Topiary There are essentially two kinds of topiaries: vine topiaries, where vines are encouraged to grow over topiary forms, and shrub topiaries, where a shrub is cut into a form. Make your own topiary with vines The time it will take to have a fully covered topiary varies depending on how many plants you use and the size of the topiary, but we can guarantee that when it is all filled in, you will be thrilled with the results....

Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh While Harvesting When it comes to harvesting cut flowers, some tricks of the trade can be practiced to help ensure the viability of plants. Harvest cut flowers in the early morning or evening hours and about one hour after watering, as this enables the stems to fill with water. When harvesting single-blooming flowers, like tulips, choose those with buds that are nearly closed. For multiple-blooming plants such as lilacs, opt for flowers with about three-fourths of the buds open....

Storing Amaryllis Bulbs in Winter Once the flowers of your amaryllis have faded, cut back the flower stalks to ½ an inch (1.5 cm.) above the bulb. Don’t cut the leaves yet! Your bulb needs the leaves in place to gather energy to make it through the winter and grow again in the spring. If you move it to a sunny spot, it can gather even more energy. If it’s in a pot with drainage holes and your nights are warmer than 50 F....

What is Tomato Leaf Mold? Leaf mold of tomato is caused by pathogen Passalora fulva. It is found throughout the world, predominantly on tomatoes grown where the relative humidity is high, particularly in plastic greenhouses. Occasionally, if conditions are just right, leaf mold of tomato can be a problem on field grown fruit. Symptoms start as pale green to yellowish spots on upper leaf surfaces that turn a bright yellow. The spots merge as the disease progresses and the foliage then dies....

Symptoms of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Tomato spotted wilt virus affects hundreds of plant species. In the United States, spotted wilt in tomato has done significant damage in several southern states, including Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia. Early symptoms of tomatoes with spotted wilt virus can vary, but typically, diseased leaves turn brown or coppery purple, with small, pale brown spots. Plants are stunted and the leaves look wilted or crumpled and may curl downward....

Why String Up Tomato Plants? So, the idea behind a trellis for tomato plants is simply to train the plant to grow vertically. What are the benefits? Trellising or building a hanging support for tomatoes maximizes production space. In other words, it allows you to produce more fruit per square foot (0.1 sq. m.). This method also keeps the fruit off the ground, keeping it clean but, more importantly, reducing any chance of soil-borne disease....

What is Tomato Verticillium Wilt? Verticillium wilt is a fungal infection that can affect numerous plants, including tomatoes. The fungus persists in the soil and on plant material. It forms threads that infect plants through the root hairs. The best conditions for verticillium to thrive are those of early spring: cool and wet. Moist soil at a temperature around 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius) is ideal for the fungus to start infecting roots....

How to Create a Tropical Shade Garden When looking for tropical shade garden ideas, first consider your climate and growing zone. For example, if you live in an Arizona desert, you can still create the feeling of a tropical shade garden. However, you’ll need to do it without a lot of plants having high water demands. Or, if you live in a northern climate, a tropical shade garden should consist of cold-tolerant plants with a tropical appearance....

Butterfly Bush Diseases Downy mildew is a relatively common problem that can occur when temperatures are cool and the plant’s leaves are wet for a long period of time. It looks just like the name suggests, with furry patches of mildew appearing on the undersides of leaves. The opposite sides of the leaves don’t grow mildew, but they may turn yellow or brown, and the whole leaf may become misshapen. The best way to prevent it is to keep the bushes far apart for airflow and to keep the ground around them clear of leaves....

What is Oleander Knot Disease? Oleander knot is the result of a type of bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae pv. Savastanoi) that enters the oleander plant through wounds and injured or scarred areas. The bacterium is systemic, resulting in the development of knots or bacterial gall on oleander flowers, leaves and stems; and stunted, deformed seed pods. The disease is widespread in Arizona and other areas where oleander plants are popular. Oleander knot disease is most common after cool, damp springs....

Types of Giant Garden Vegetables Do some research and decide what giant veggie varieties you would like to attempt to grow. There is quite a variety beyond the gigantic pumpkin, although those are quite dramatic with the world’s record going to a 1,400 pound behemoth. Giant veggie varieties of broccoli (35 lbs., 16 kg.), carrot (19 lbs., 8.5 kg.), beet (43 lbs., 19 kg.), celery (49 lbs, 22 kg.), and red cabbage (45 lbs, 20 kg....