Vegetable Gardening Advice Choose the location of a vegetable garden One of the vegetable gardening basics is choosing a location for your garden. There are four things to consider when choosing the location for a vegetable garden. They are: Convenience Sun Drainage Soil type You can learn more about these things by reading this article on choosing the location of a vegetable garden. Choose the vegetables to grow Many people seeking vegetable gardening tips wonder which vegetable they should grow....

Why Include Vitamin C in Your Garden? Vitamin C is an essential nutrient as we all know; it is needed for keeping cells healthy and for boosting the immune system. What you might not know, though, is how much of this vitamin is lost when fresh foods are processed. Both canned and frozen vegetables have lost significant amounts of vitamin C by the time they get to your kitchen. Even fresh produce loses vitamin C while stored....

The methods on how to treat weeds in cracks include futile pulling and much more effective pavement weed killers in the form of chemical and natural formulas. Types of Weeds in Pavement Any home or property owner knows the battle. Weeds growing in pavement cracks are an all too common problem and create a constant war with these unwanted plants. You can spray all you want, but the pests will be back next season and spring out of holes and fissures....

Roses are beautiful, but almost every rose owner has gotten their skin pricked by a rose’s notorious thorns. Stories, songs, and poems all contain references to rose thorns, but modern rose breeders have worked hard to create a thornless rose called a Smooth Touch rose. History of Smooth Touch Roses The roses known as “Smooth Touch” roses are a very interesting group of hybrid tea and floribunda thornless to nearly thornless roses....

What are Citrus Trees? What is the difference between citrus vs. fruit trees? Citrus trees are fruit trees, but fruit trees are not citrus. That is, the fruit is the seed-bearing part of the tree that is usually edible, colorful, and fragrant. It is produced from a floral ovary after fertilization. Citrus refers to the shrubs or trees of the family Rutaceae. Citrus Fruit Information Citrus cultivars can be found from northeastern India, east through the Malay Archipelago, and south into Australia....

What are Dried Fruit Beetles? Dried fruit beetles are members of the insect family Nitidulidae, a beetle known for its wide host range and willingness to chew on many different garden fruits and vegetables — especially figs. Although there are several species that are problematic to gardeners, they have distinguishing features that make the family, if not the individual, easy to identify. These pests are tiny, rarely reaching more than 1/5 inch long, with elongated bodies and short, clubbed antennae....

What are Silvanberries? Hybridized in Australia, this berry is a cross between Marion berry and a seedling cross of Pacific and Boysenberries. Categorized in the blackberry family, silvanberry plants have a number of traits commonly found among other blackberry varieties. These plants are long-living (15 to 20 years) perennials, hardy and cold-tolerant, easy to grow, and prolific spreaders. As with any blackberry type, you will want to contain your silvanberry fruit plants in a pot or planter box with a trellis or up against a fence to restrain its enthusiastic spread....

What are False Root Knot Nematodes? Sick spinach plants? It can be difficult to figure out what is affecting these leafy greens since the signs of disease often mimic one another. In the case of false root knot spinach, the above ground symptoms may mimic certain wilt and other fungal diseases. It can also appear as a nutrient deficiency. To be certain, you may have to uproot a spinach plant and look for characteristic galls on the root system....

Care and Uses for Tupelo Trees There are many uses for tupelo trees in areas large enough to accommodate their size. They make excellent shade trees and can serve as street trees where overhead wires aren’t a concern. Use them to naturalize low, boggy areas and places with periodic flooding. Tupelo trees are an important food source for wildlife. Many species of birds, including wild turkeys and wood ducks, eat the berries and a few species of mammals, such as raccoons and squirrels, also enjoy the fruit....

Bud Blast of Peonies Peonies with bud blast start off with normal flower development. However, it doesn’t last very long, and the buds don’t develop into flowers. When the buds are still small, they turn brown or black and wither. Experts used to say that this condition, termed bud blast of peonies, was caused by botrytis blight, a fungal disease. Now it is recognized that these problems with peonies are often caused by improper cultural care....

What is a Berm? A berm is often overlooked because it is specifically designed to blend into a landscape, and because at its essence, a berm is simply a mound of soil. Berms are often linear, always rounded, and may vary in height. What are Berms for? Berm uses are either practical or aesthetic. For instance, a berm in the landscape may be constructed from soil to hold water in around a tree so the water doesn’t just run away from the roots but, instead, soaks down into the root system....

Cymbidium Orchid Growing What is a Cymbidium orchid? It’s a native of tropical areas of Australia and Asia. Cymbidiums are prized for their long sprays of blooms, which make lovely arrangements as well as corsages. Their thick, waxy petals open in the spring and often remain on their stems for up to two months. Cymbidium orchids are different from most other varieties in that they thrive on cooler weather and often won’t even bloom if the daytime temperature gets too hot....

For more information about Fukien tea tree bonsais, including Fukien tea tree care, read on. We’ll also tell you how to grow a Fukien tea tree as a houseplant. What is a Fukien Tea Tree? This small evergreen comes from the Fukien province in the Chinese tropics. It is partial to warm winters, which means that it is happy as a houseplant in non-tropical areas. However, Fukien tea tree care is easy to get wrong, so this tree won’t do for those who tend to forget watering or plant care....

Where Do Ghost Orchids Grow? With the exception of a handful of people, nobody knows exactly where ghost orchid plants grow. The high level of secretiveness is to protect the plants from poachers who attempt to remove them from their natural environment. Like most wild orchids in the United States, ghost orchid plants are also threatened by loss of pollinators, pesticides, and climate change. About Ghost Orchid Plants Blooms have a white, other-worldly appearance that lends a mysterious quality to ghost orchid flowers....

What is a Kosui Asian Pear? It’s important to get some Kosui Asian pear information before you decide to grow this variety, especially if your experience with Asian varieties is limited. Asian pears like Kosui are true pears, but, in many ways, the fruits are more like apples. They are typically round—some are indeed pear-shaped— and have a crisper texture than European pears. Kosui pears are small to medium in size and rounded like an apple but with a little bit of flattening like a Clementine orange....

What is a Plant Collar? Cutworms and cabbage root maggots feed on tender stems of plants, effectively severing them and causing plant death. A plant collar is a simple tube placed around the base of the plant to prevent these pesky pests from feeding on the plant. A DIY plant collar is a simple structure that can be made easily from recycled items found around the home. How to Make a Plant Collar The good news is that a homemade plant collar is easy to make....

What is a Tuberous Begonia? Types of tuberous begonias include upright or trailing varieties with single, double, or ruffled blooms in tropical shades of pink, yellow, orange, red, and white. The gold, purple, green, or burgundy leaves are nearly as attractive as the flowers. Tuberous begonias are frost-tender. If you live in USDA plant hardiness zone 10 and above, you can grow tuberous begonias outdoors year-round. Otherwise, you’ll need to dig the tubers and store them during the winter....

What Causes Cilantro with Leaf Spots? Leaf spot on cilantro is a common bacterial disease favored by cool, damp conditions. Cilantro with leaf spots develop yellowish, water-soaked lesions that eventually turn tan or dark brown. The lesions may become larger and grow together and the leaves become dry and papery. The pathogen responsible for cilantro with leaf spots is Pseudomonas syringae v. coriandricola. Although leaf spot is a common disease that affects many plants, this pathogen affects only cilantro....

Motherwort Plant Info Motherwort plant info lists its other common names of cowthwort, lion’s ear, and lion’s tail. Motherwort herb growing in the wild appears as a sturdy stemmed perennial of up to 5 feet (1.5 m.) tall with pink to pale purple clustered flowers of six to 15 axils, or spaces between the leaf and stem, and prickly sepals. Like other members of the mint family, the foliage, when crushed, has a distinct odor....

When to Harvest Quince Fruit Quince may not be a familiar fruit to you, but at one time it was an extremely popular staple in the home orchard. Picking quince fruit was a normal harvest chore for many families, made less of a chore when considering the fruit’s destination– jellies and jams or added into apple pies, applesauce, and cider. Quince, as a rule, does not ripen on the tree but, instead, requires cool storage....