Yard and Garden News

The following news stories are written by Rosie Lerner, Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist, and are distributed to news media around the state by Agricultural Communication Service, at Purdue University.

School science fairs often put students and parents on the hunt for project ideas. Of course, the point of these projects is for students, not parents, to learn how to plan and implement science! But, naturally, parents want to help their kids succeed. There are limitless resources available these days, especially with the help of the Internet. One of the most beneficial things moms and dads can do is to help their children find resources…Read more about Science Project Resources[Read More]

If you’re not quite ready to hang up your gardening tools just because of a few killing frosts, fall is a great time to get your soil ready for next year’s planting. Removing this year’s plant debris is a good, general sanitation practice. Plant refuse makes a great place for insects and disease to overwinter. Why not turn that refuse into valuable compost? A properly constructed compost pile should create temperatures high enough to destroy…Read more about Prepare Your Spring Garden This Fall[Read More]

Gardeners often ask, “When is the best time to cut back the dead tops of herbaceous perennials (stems die back to the ground each year)?” “Should we cut them in fall as the tops fade?” “Or wait until spring just before new growth begins?” The answers depend, in part, on the specific plant and whether disease or insect pests are a factor. For most healthy plants, leaving plant tops over winter is fine and, in…Read more about Cut Back Perennials Now or Later?[Read More]

Most gardeners think about planting bulbs this time of year rather than digging them up. But some flowering perennials are not hardy enough for our climate and must be lifted from the soil and their bulbs, roots or other underground structures stored indoors over winter. The most common garden plants in this category include gladiolus, caladium, tuberous begonias, canna and dahlia. Although these plants are all considered tender, each is best handled a bit differently…Read more about Tender Perennials Need Indoor Protection[Read More]

If your garden tomatoes look like they’ve been placed on hold, you’re not alone! Now it may sound like an easy excuse when we horticulturists blame such things on the weather, but I really think the extreme hot weather we experienced this summer might be the culprit. Tomato fruits go through several stages of development during their maturation process. During early stages, the fruit continues to grow in size and remains green, typically requiring 40-50…Read more about Tomatoes Not Ripening?[Read More]