This article was originally published on the Garden Professors Blog on Nov 22, 2020. Check out that blog for more great articles from John Porter and extension colleagues from across the country. Systems to grow fresh produce in your home using hydroponics or other automatic processes have been popular for several years but seem to…
Category: Herbs
March’s Garden Bits
If you’re at home and practicing social distancing, the one bit of good news in all of this is that we can be outside to tinker with plants. Spring is an exciting time, full of promise and possibilities. If you’re not a gardener, no worries, learning how to garden is a trial and error process….
Valentine’s Day Alternatives
No doubt there are certain reported health benefits to a little dark chocolate now and then, but maybe this year, an alternative is in order for your loved one. Here’s a short list of good ones: *A potted plant – pots of Boston fern, rosemary, African violets, orchids and sweet bay can last…
Growing Garlic
If you’ve grown garlic before, you know that the cloves for planting are found readily in the spring. What many do not know is that fall planted garlic produces larger cloves than spring-planted ones. Using this opportunity to plant now means it’s not too late to reap the benefits of fall-planted garlic. In selecting a…
Vegetable Gardening 101
Nothing provides greater satisfaction than to grow your own food. It’s also really easy to start, with a small investment in some seeds, a few transplants, and a container or plot of land. A basic requirement in vegetable gardening is a clear understanding that there are cool season vegetables—those that grow and produce best when…
Tangled Roots and Potting Soil
Getting annuals, veggies and perennials off to a good start in container gardens is crucial to their success. This starts with choosing well branched, stocky plants and examining the roots. First, gently squeeze the pot between your hands or fingers and then tease the root mass out. Inspect the roots. They should be white, bright…
Flooded Vegetable Garden Plots
Looking forward to the vegetable garden this spring, it’s easy to think that now that the flood waters have receded, our gardening season can carry on as usual. While many of the callers to Extension are aware of potential dangers of gardening on a flooded site, the exact way forward is a little unclear. Here…
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…
Flood Recovery Impacts Plants in the Landscape
The flooding and subsequent ponding has a profound effect on trees and shrubs in the landscape. The contaminants these waters carry negatively impact vegetable garden sites and orchards. Here are some flood resources to address residents’ concerns. Food safety in vegetable gardens and orchards after a flood*: https://grobigred.com/2019/03/22/gardenflood/amp/?__twitter_impression=true by Nebraska Extension Urban Ag Educator John…
Growing Food Indoors? Sure!
As we celebrate National Indoor Plant Week, my question turns to can we grow food indoors? The answer is emphatically, yes! Perhaps the simplest option for indoor food production would be to grow some container plants that would work well. Crops like lettuce, arugula, and some of the other leafy greens have lower light requirements…