September 20th, 2022
Want to get a head start on planting your vegetable garden for next year? Then garlic is the plant for you!
Garlic (Allium sativum) has been grown for thousands of years as both food and medicine. It has a long growing season which may seem daunting. Fortunately, it is relatively easy ...read more
July 12th, 2022
Keeping houseplants is a source of satisfaction for many. But when plants are not thriving it can be concerning and confusing.
As soon as a leaf yellows or develops a brown spot, many reach for fertilizer or household pesticides, neither of which is an appropriate first response.
Yellowing, brown edges, leaf spots ...read more
June 24th, 2022
Irises are easy to grow, long-lived, and relatively carefree perennials, making them some of the most popular flowers in gardens. They can also be found in a variety of colors, ranging from pink, purple, yellow, peach, green, white, tan, bronze, to almost black, and bi-color.
The American Iris Society divides irises ...read more
April 21st, 2022
Nothing beats the taste of strawberries ripened to perfection in your backyard.
Strawberry cultivars are separated into three distinct plant types based on their response to photoperiod (hours of sunlight received per day): June-bearing, ever-bearers, and day-neutrals.
Strawberry plants tolerate many soil types but often do well on light-sandy soil with high ...read more
March 28th, 2022
Does your soil need a nutrient boost before you plant those veggies in your garden? Can you improve your lawn with some added fertility to have a healthier looking yard?
Soil fertility is important for growing a nice garden and lawn. You can improve the health of your soil by having ...read more
March 28th, 2022
Seed starting is a popular way to kick off the gardening season.
If you’ve never started your seeds before, there are several advantages to doing so:• Better germination rates because you are providing ideal conditions• Less competition from other plants• Fewer insect and disease problems.
Starting seeds to make your own ...read more
September 22nd, 2021
In 2009, I had the opportunity to tour the Ball Seed Demonstration Gardens in West Chicago. There I learned that one of the cutting edge plant trends was to be growing succulents. Really? If I had been in the desert southwest, this would not have surprised me; but for northern ...read more
August 20th, 2021
Chrysanthemum is Japanese,She's a fine lady, if you please.She comes to see us once a year,about the time Thanksgiving's here.— Elizabeth Gordon
By late summer, the petunias get spindly, the coneflowers get floppy, and the phlox come down with mildew. That’s when chrysanthemums come to our rescue, revving up our enthusiasm ...read more
July 15th, 2021
Aftercare and Long-Term Management
Every year not long after the corn and soybeans are planted, I start getting calls regarding the newly seeded native plantings that were completed in the spring or fall of the previous year, says Dean Johnson. The first comment is, “It sure looks weedy, and I don’t ...read more
July 14th, 2021
They're Not Just Onions Anymore
Alliums are a large, diverse family of plants. The allium genus contains 700 different species.We first find them in early American kitchen gardens where onions and chives were important plants to grow for culinary purposes. Today, many new forms of the original alliums have been hybridized ...read more