Saving Seeds

Long before the advent of seed catalogs, gardeners saved seed from their prettiest, tastiest and most promising flowers and vegetables of the gardening season, discarding the seeds from the blah, the unattractive and the poor producers.  In essence, gardeners have helped mold the shape of gardening selections, making them some of the earliest purveyors of…

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Yellow Needles on Pines

Holy cow!  Look at my pine tree – it has lots of yellow needles on it!  Is that a problem?  What’s wrong?  These are common questions/comments that we get at this time of year.  In terms of the question of “is that a problem?”, it depends on where the needles are and which type of…

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Fall Garden Clean Up

When cleaning up the fall garden, it’s hard to know what should be cleared away and what should stay.  Gurus of tidiness opt for removing everything now in order to start with a clean slate in the spring.  But is there such a thing as too much tidiness?  It turns out that, yes indeed, that…

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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…

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Post Frost Weed Control

So, it frosted.  In some areas, it was a hard frost with temperatures down in the 26 degree F range, and in others, plus/minus 30 degrees.  At this point in October, the question is: Is it a good idea to apply a post emergence herbicide to the lawn, considering the recent frost?  The answer?  It…

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October Musings on the Vegetable Garden

Recently my friend Mary Anna returned from out of town to find her vegetable garden had been visited and the butternut squash eaten.  Teeth marks on the squash remnants indicated that one or more squirrels were the culprits.  Butternut squash wouldn’t necessarily be a squirrel’s first choice but as the growing season slows, all animals…

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Late Fall Fertilizer Timing

For the past 5 years or so, our recommendation has been to lightly fertilize turfgrass stands in the Halloween timeframe to bolster root growth heading into winter.  That recommendation still stands, however, due to recent extended periods of cool, wet weather, we’re encouraging that an adjustment be made for this year. Instead of strict adherence…

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The Benefits of Fallen Leaves

It’s too bad autumn’s fallen leaves are seen as a nuisance, something to be gotten rid of as soon as possible. In truth, they are a boon to landscapes, serving as mulches, benefiting soils, and boosting our compost piles. Not only are leaf piles fun to jump in and make for great leaf fights, by…

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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…

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The Picnic Beetle

Picnic beetles are small black insects with yellowish spots on their wing covers. This nuisance insect feeds on over-ripe and decaying fruits and vegetables. Its common name comes from its annoying habit of showing up in your potato salad at outdoor events. While it can damage fruits and vegetables, picnic beetles take advantage of over-ripe…

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