Help, My Butternut Squash is Splitting! Cracking squash fruit is not an uncommon occurrence; in fact, it happens to other vine fruits too, including melons, pumpkins, cucumbers and even tomatoes. As the squash reach maturity, the outer skins harden. This hard outer layer allows for a long storage period of several months. However, once the hardening process begins, anything that elicits additional growth can result in cracking squash fruit. What can facilitate late growth in butternut squash?...

Tips for Planting Grapevines in Pots Can grapes be grown in containers? Yes, they can. In fact, the care of container grown grapes isn’t at all complicated. There are, however, a few things you need to know beforehand to make growing a grapevine in a pot an easier, more successful endeavor. Growing a grapevine in a pot requires some specific materials. First, you need to pick your container. Black or dark colored plastic pots heat up in the sun and can cause your grapevine’s roots to get too hot....

Potatoes contain nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Composting potato peelings adds these nutrients to the pile and benefits the plants that will eventually be grown using that compost. So why the controversy? Can Potato Peels Go in Compost? The problem that can arise from adding potato peels to compost piles is that whole potatoes and their skins can carry potato blight. This is a fungal infection that affects both tomato and potato plants....

Bay Tree Information In Florida, there are several types of bay, but they are not of the same genus as L. nobilis. They do, however, look remarkably similar with their large, elliptical, evergreen leaves. They also grow in overlapping habitats leading to confusion. These different kinds of bay tree are bay in name only, such as red bay, loblolly bay, and swamp bay. Luckily, they have certain features that make them identifiable....

Planting herbs near the home kitchen allows easy access for their delicate flavors and bright aromas. Herbs add the perfect touch to any dish and are easy to grow and use. There are many herbs with flowers you can eat, and they make an elegant garnish to foods, as well. Learn which herbs to plant that will produce beautiful and tasty blooms for your favorite foods. About Edible Herb Flowers The flowers of herbs have been used for hundreds of years as medicinals and as gastronomic additions to recipes....

Can You Grow Lychee from Seed? The good news is that lychee seed germination is usually very reliable. The bad news is that you may never get a lychee fruit out of it. The lychee fruit you buy in the store is often hybridized, and the likelihood that the resulting tree will match its parent is very low. Also, the trees are slow to mature, and it could take as long as 20 years for your sapling to produce fruit, if it ever does....

Can You Grow Oats at Home? Oats are used in a multitude of ways, whether crushed or rolled or ground into flour. Oats are even used for brewing beer in England and in Latin America a cold beverage made from ground oats and milk is popular. But I digress, we were wondering about growing oats in home gardens. It is very possible to grow your own oats even if you only have a small garden plot....

Can You Grow Plants in Foam Boxes? Growing plants in foam containers is easy, and the bigger the container, the more you can plant. A small container is ideal for plants like lettuce or radishes. A five-gallon container will work for patio tomatoes, but you’ll need a 10-gallon (38 L) foam plant container for full-size tomatoes. Of course, you can also plant flowers or herbs. If you aren’t crazy about the looks of the container, a couple of trailing plants will camouflage the foam....

Can You Regrow Green Onions in Water? We are often asked, “Can you grow green onions in water?” Yes, and better than most vegetables. Growing green onions in water is very easy. Usually, when you buy green onions, they still have stubby roots attached to their bulbs. This makes regrowing these useful crops an easy endeavor. How to Grow Green Onions in Water Cut the onions a couple inches (5 cm....

Canary Melon Information Canary melons (Cucumis melo) are also referred to as San Juan canary melons, Spanish melons and Juane des Canaries. Named for its brilliant yellow color that is reminiscent of canary birds, canary melons are oval with vibrant yellow skin and a cream-colored flesh. Melons may weigh 4-5 pounds (2 or so kg.) when ripe and are around 5 inches (13 cm.) across. Like watermelons and pumpkins, canary melons flower prior to fruiting....

What Causes Canna Rhizome Rot? When digging for storage or cutting back for tidiness, keep an eye out for canna lily rot. This may happen following an especially rainy year or when canna rhizomes have multiplied and gotten tight in their planting spot. Soil without proper drainage and too much rain (or overwatering) on a crowded bed of canna rhizomes allow fungi like Sclerotium rolfsii and Fusarium to enter and grow, causing decay at the base....

Juniper Info There are more than 170 cultivated varieties of juniper, including low-growing ground cover or edging plants, shrubs, and trees. The shapes include narrow columns, tight pyramids, and rounded forms that spread as wide as their height or more. The fragrant foliage can be either needles or overlapping scales. Some shrubs have both types of foliage because the leaves start out as needles and transition to scales as they mature....

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) was first cultivated in 1750 near London, England as an experimental hybrid between watermint and spearmint. That you can now find naturally growing peppermint almost anywhere in the world is a testament not only to its adaptability, but as an indication of its medicinal qualities. Once our forefathers, or more likely foremothers, learned how to use the peppermint plant, they took it everywhere they moved or visited where some, no doubt, was left behind with new friends....

Cephaleuros of Blackberry Very few species of algae infect plants, but one, Cephaleuros virescens, infects and causes damage in blackberry canes. When the infection is mild, it doesn’t cause much damage and the canes will still produce good fruit in abundance. However, when the infection spreads, it can girdle the canes or even cause splitting that allows other infections to set in, and ultimately this can damage the canes enough to kill them and severely limit the crop....

About Challenging Vegetables Vegetables that are hard to grow may be difficult for one or more reasons. Sometimes these issues can be handled by a skilled and knowledgeable gardener while other times, these hard to grow vegetables are simply not viable in your USDA zone. Advanced vegetables are often those with particular likes and dislikes such as nutrient rich soil or consistent watering that the newbie gardener isn’t focused on enough to provide....

What is Chinese Dregea? Not everybody has heard of Chinese dregea, which is one more reason to look into planting this attractive and unusual vine. Just don’t be too surprised when the neighbors ask: “What is Chinese dregea?”. Chinese dregea plants are vines that climb by twining. And they are about as romantic as vines can get, with heart-shaped leaves and clusters of sweet-smelling, ivory blossoms that some compare to hoya flowers....

What are Citrus Mites? While citrus mites are not damaging in small numbers, large infestations can cause damage to young plant parts, with leaf stippling and mutilated fruit the result. Citrus red mites primarily cause fruit damage, while the rust mites are responsible for leaf injury that appears as yellow, necrotic patches or the loss of glossy, epidermal layers. Citrus mites are small, usually a fraction of a millimeter long. They are found in a range of colors from brown, yellow, rust, and red....

Varieties of Amaryllis With so many types of amaryllis to choose from, it can be overwhelming when choosing one to grow indoors or in the garden. To make things a little easier, here are some of the most popular amaryllis varieties. Large Flowering Amaryllis Varieties These are classic flowers with big blooms in single layers of petals. Common types to choose from this group of amaryllis include: Clown – Types of amaryllis flowers include this cheery cultivar with pure white petals and bright red stripes....

Choosing Blue Petunias for the Garden When choosing blue petunias, consider whether you absolutely need a true blue petunia variety or if a blue-purple type will suffice. In the horticulture world, color names and descriptions can be vague; blue is often used to describe plants with blue or purple blooms. Unfortunately, these days with so many easy programs for editing and altering pictures, the blue coloration of many plants available online is often enhanced to look bluer than it really is....

Recognizing Pests on Hosta Plants Native to Asia, hosta plants now come in a range of cultivars and species readily available to gardeners. While hostas are fairly self-sufficient, hosta insect pests can really wreak havoc on the attractive leaves. Hosta plants are primarily grown for their majestic foliage, although they do produce lovely racemes of flowers that add to the stature of this low light loving plant. It is best to get on the ground floor of hosta pest control right as the new leaves are beginning to poke through the soil in early spring....