Turn over a new leaf. One good turn deserves another. A turn for the worse. Turn the page. Turn the beat around. Turn to stone. Wait your turn. All common phrases or songs that have found their way into our vernacular. Turning applies to gardening too. About once a month you should turn the compost pile. Once a week would be better, but let’s be realistic.
Category: Edible Landscaping
Cucumber Bitterness
The compound that imparts the bitter taste in cucumbers is cucurbitacin. Wild cucumbers have a large amount of cucurbitacin, which discourages feeding by wild animals and insects. Today’s hybrids have been bred to have lower amounts of cucurbitacin in the fruit and what cucurbitacin is in the plant is concentrated in the roots, leaves, and…
Rhubarb
Rhubarb, Rheum rhabarbarum, is an easy-to-grow perennial that lends a delightfully tart taste to pies, crisps and jams. The fact it is a perennial means there’s no extra labor to grow plants annually from seed like you do for the vegetable garden. The edible part of rhubarb, the petiole (also called a stalk), is technically…
The Northern Pecan Tree
April 14 is National Pecan Day. What better way to celebrate the day than planting your very own northern pecan tree, Carya illinoinensis. Native to southern Wisconsin and the northern parts of Illinois and Iowa and extending south to Texas, the northern pecan can handle winter temperatures as low as -35 degrees F. It has…
Apply a Preemergence Herbicide – Lawn & Garden
Each year, we struggle to keep the weeds out of the garden and lawn. Oh sure, not too many show up in May, and the ones that do sprout are easily controlled with a hoe or a dandelion digger. However, human nature being as it is, we soon tire of weeding. When early summer rolls…
Veggie Container Gardening – A Viable Alternative
For many reasons, container gardening is a great way to produce veggies and herbs. Maybe you live in a townhouse and just don’t have much room for traditional gardens. Maybe you have a traditional residential lot, but most of the landscape is too shady for an edible garden…most crops need at least 6 hours of…
Reflection
What worked for you this year in the garden? What didn’t? Now is the time that you should start reflecting on this years accomplishments and learning opportunities. One of the biggest mistakes I know that I make is telling myself “I’ll remember that next year”. This is especially true when it comes to certain plants…
Cleaning up the Garden
Cleaning up the garden, aka “garden sanitation” is not a sexy topic, but an important one in terms of future pest control and productivity. So, what are the things to clean and to leave alone? After all, you’re not going to advise us to scrub the dirt with a scouring pad are you? Good…