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Category: Gardening

December Garden Calendar
Gardening Calendars

HOME (Indoor plants and activities) Check houseplant leaves for brown, dry edges, which indicates too little relative humidity in the house. Increase humidity by running a humidifier, grouping plants or using pebble trays. Extend the lives of holiday plants such as poinsettias and Christmas cactus by placing them in a cool, brightly lit area that is free from warm or cold drafts. Houseplants may not receive adequate light because days are short and gloomy. Move…Read more about December Garden Calendar[Read More]

Gardeners’ Glossary
Yard and Garden News

Winter Gardening Stories

Gardening enthusiasts have their own set of jargon, just like many other hobbyists. Some of these terms can be confusing, especially to the gardening newcomer. So here’s a brief list of terms that all gardeners should get familiar with. Annual — Plant that completes its life cycle from seed germination to seed production in one growing season. Biennial — Plant that completes its life cycle over two growing seasons; usually produces only vegetation its first…Read more about Gardeners’ Glossary[Read More]

November Garden Calendar
Gardening Calendars

HOME (Indoor plants and activities) As houseplant growth slows, apply less fertilizer and water. If plants are dropping many leaves, move them closer to sunny exposures, such as west- and south-facing windows. Artificial lights may be needed to supplement particularly dark rooms. Pot spring-flowering bulbs with tips exposed to force into bloom indoors. Moisten soil and refrigerate 10 to 13 weeks. Transfer to a cool, sunny location, and allow an additional three to four weeks…Read more about November Garden Calendar[Read More]

Shining a light on why potatoes turn green
Yard and Garden News

Autumn Gardening Stories

Potato tubers turn green when exposed to light. Whether store-bought or homegrown, potatoes will turn green when they are exposed to light. Most folks know that they shouldn’t eat potatoes that have turned green, or should at least cut away the affected portion. But it’s not actually the green color that is the problem. The green color comes from the pigment chlorophyll, produced as a response to light. The potato tuber that we eat is…Read more about Shining a light on why potatoes turn green[Read More]

Bees, butterflies like turtlehead flowers
In the Grow (Q & A)

Q: I have a question about a perennial in our garden. Can you identify the plant in the attached photos, taken just a few weeks ago? – R.S., Indianapolis Photo provided by R.S., Indianapolis Photo provided by R.S., Indianapolis A: The plant in your photos is the native perennial called turtlehead, known botanically as Chelone. There are a few different species in commerce, including C. lyonii and C. obliqua, both with pink to purplish pink…Read more about Bees, butterflies like turtlehead flowers[Read More]

October Garden Calendar
Gardening Calendars

HOME (Indoor plants and activities) Keep poinsettia in complete darkness for 15 hours each day — for example, between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. — for eight to 10 weeks until red bracts begin to show. Pot spring-flowering bulbs to force into bloom indoors. Moisten soil and refrigerate 10 to 13 weeks. Transfer to a cool, sunny location, and allow an additional three to four weeks for blooming. Houseplants, especially those grown outdoors during the…Read more about October Garden Calendar[Read More]

Storing Leftover Garden Seed
Yard and Garden News

Autumn Gardening Stories

Carrot seed, photo provided by Rosie Lerner If you didn’t use up all the garden seed you bought this year, much of it can be stored for use in next year’s garden – depending on the plant species. Seeds of some plants ,such as corn, parsley, onion, viola (pansies), verbena, phlox, and salvia, are not very long lived, lasting only 1 or 2 years at best. Other seeds, including beans, carrots, lettuce, peas, radishes, snapdragon,…Read more about Storing Leftover Garden Seed[Read More]

September Garden Calendar
Gardening Calendars

YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits) Fall is a good time to plant many container-grown or balled-and-burlapped nursery stock. Prepare a good-size planting hole wider than the ball, but plant at the same depth it grew in the nursery and water thoroughly. Mulching will help protect against large fluctuations in soil temperature and moisture. Do not be alarmed if your evergreens, particularly white pine and arborvitae, drop some older needles. All evergreens shed needles at…Read more about September Garden Calendar[Read More]

Blossom-End Rot Frustrates Tomato Growers
Yard and Garden News

Summer Gardening Stories

Eager tomato growers, having lovingly nurtured their plants, anxiously await their ripe gems. But alas, a black, leathery spot appears at the base of the fruit. Blossom end-rot is thankfully not an infectious disease, but rather a frustrating disorder of the fruit. The black scar tissue is thought to be caused by a deficiency of calcium in the developing fruit. In most cases, blossom end-rot is brought on by extreme fluctuations in soil moisture. And…Read more about Blossom-End Rot Frustrates Tomato Growers[Read More]

August Garden Calendar
Gardening Calendars

HOME (Indoor plants and activities) Take cuttings from annual garden plants such as impatiens, coleus, geraniums and wax begonias to overwinter indoors. Root the cuttings in media such as moist vermiculite, perlite, peat moss or potting soil, rather than water. Order spring-flowering bulbs for fall planting. Cut flowers from the garden to bring a little color indoors, or dry for everlasting arrangements. YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits) Check trees and shrubs that have been…Read more about August Garden Calendar[Read More]