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.
If battling the weather, weeds, and Japanese beetles in your own garden is growing weary, why not plan a visit to a botanic garden or arboretum? Indiana has a number of public gardens where you can expand your palette of gardening ideas. Botanic gardens and arboreta are essentially living museums with plants as the exhibits. Public gardens are great sources of information about plants that can be grown in your area. Many public gardens have […]
This summer has been a challenging one for many Indiana vegetable gardeners. It started with a prolonged cold, wet spring, was followed by a couple of weeks of intense heat and drought, and then followed by torrential rains! Gardens that have been in a prolonged saturated condition may present some surprising symptoms, ranging from wilting, yellowing or drooping foliage to blossom-end rot. When soil is saturated for an extended period, roots are deprived of much-needed […]
This summer has been a challenging one for many Indiana vegetable gardeners. It started with a prolonged cold, wet spring, was followed by a couple of weeks of intense heat and drought, and then followed by torrential rains! Gardens that have been in a prolonged saturated condition may present some surprising symptoms, ranging from wilting, yellowing or drooping foliage to blossom-end rot. When soil is saturated for an extended period, roots are deprived […]
Many Indiana gardeners are experiencing a new phenomenon in their potato patch. At least, it’s new to them. Potato plants appear to be producing little green fruit, about the size of a large cherry tomato. These round, green berries are actually the fruits of the potato plant. It’s not surprising that they look like tomatoes, since both plants are in the nightshade family. Most gardeners never see this fruit form on potatoes in Indiana. Cool […]
Gardeners, mark Saturday, July 19, on your calendar for Purdue University Garden Day! This annual open-house event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Purdue University Horticulture Building and Gardens on the West Lafayette campus. The festivities will include guided tours of the ornamental gardens, a gardening information booth and gardening lectures presented by Purdue experts. Morning tours of the Horticulture Greenhouses also will be available. This year’s ornamental garden features […]
Depending on your plants’ perspective, our relatively cool, rainy weather can be a good or a bad thing. Cool-season plants, such as peas, lettuce, spinach, radishes and pansies, should be jumping for joy! It’s been nearly perfect weather for plants that get stressed out in hot, dry weather. These plants produce their best growth and, in the case of the veggie crops, best flavor during such cool weather. And, of course, if you happen to […]
Many would-be gardeners would love to grow their own vegetables and flowers, but they are not able to due to health reasons. Gardening in the traditional sense requires a strong back and arms to work the soil, plant the crops and harvest the rewards. Weeding, watering and general garden care also may take quite a bit of bending and elbow grease. If your mind says “yes” but your body says “no,” don’t despair. Container gardening […]
If you’re like most overanxious gardeners, you probably started your tomato seeds too early. When tomatoes and other transplants are grown under the relatively low light conditions experienced in most homes, they tend to get long and leggy as they stretch in search of light. Even many store-bought transplants get leggy if we buy them too soon before we can plant them out, or they may be too leggy to begin with. Warm temperatures also […]
They’re back! It’s that time of year when the advertisements in the Sunday supplements promise unbelievable yields, fantastic blooms all summer and trees that grow as tall as a house in one growing season! This weekend saw the return of the old tree tomato ad, the one that resurfaces every couple of years or so. As usual, the seller promises yields up to 60 pounds per plant, and stems that grow to 8 feet tall […]
If fighting weeds in your garden has you in a pickle, you’ll be interested in a USDA research report about using acetic acid (vinegar) as an herbicide. USDA researchers confirmed that acetic acid is effective at killing some common weed species, including Canada thistle, lamb’s-quarters, giant foxtail, velvetleaf and smooth pigweed. Weeds were hand-sprayed with various solutions of vinegar, uniformly coating the leaves. The researchers found that 5- and 10-percent concentrations killed the weeds during […]