Indiana Yard and Garden – Purdue Consumer Horticulture A Purdue Extension Service for Home Gardeners

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Harvesting and Storing Garden Vegetables

Nothing beats fresh-picked vegetables picked from the garden, but timing is everything! Harvesting at the right stage is essential – proper storage will help maintain homegrown freshness. Some crops are best harvested frequently while still immature, while others need to mature as long as possible. Crops also vary in their optimal storage requirements; some do best in cold, moist storage; others do best in dry storage. The following crops are grouped by similarity of storage…Read more about Harvesting and Storing Garden Vegetables[Read More]

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In Times of Drought

Dry summers are not that unusual in the Midwest, but this year’s dry spell – and now drought in many areas – has come considerably earlier than usual. Summer is just now officially getting started! Gardeners have a battle on their hands to keep plants healthy when extremely high temperatures are accompanied by lack of rain. During prolonged drought conditions, water restrictions or just limited ability to water to a huge number of plants, you…Read more about In Times of Drought[Read More]

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Question and Answer

Q. I’m looking for a tree about 20 foot tall for the corner in the backyard that will be decorative all four seasons: flowers in the spring, pretty green foliage in the summer, colorful foliage in the fall and berries in the winter. I live in Fort Wayne, and the soil is a lot of clay. Can I still plant this tree in December? Will it need watered? Also, one more question please. I’m not…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

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Spice Up Your Holidays

Some of the most popular spices used this time of year are harvested from various parts of exotic tropical plants, lending a special flavor to our holiday recipes. True cinnamon comes from the bark of the semi-tropical evergreen tree Cinnamomum zeylanicum, native to Ceylon and Southwest India and hardy in the U.S. Gulf states. For the best quality cinnamon, the bark is cut in strips from two-year-old branches, just as the new foliage leafs out…Read more about Spice Up Your Holidays[Read More]

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Question and Answer

Q. I enjoy reading your column every month in our Daviess-Martin County REMC Electric/Consumer Magazine. I have learned so much about flower gardening and share several articles with friends. My Amish friends in the Montgomery community have mentioned a “Busy Lizzy” plant that sounds similar to a pink begonia, since it was planted in shade and then taken in for the cold weather. They are no longer able to find any seeds or plants. It…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

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Gardening Can Be Hail

Many gardeners, myself included, have had their lovely flowers flattened by hail in recent weeks. Trees and shrubs have had many leaves ripped from the stem, leaving a carpet of drying foliage on the yard and in the house gutters. And it seems that we’re not out of the woods yet, as more storms are predicted in coming days. So what can you do to help plants recover from such damage? The answer depends on…Read more about Gardening Can Be Hail[Read More]

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Winding Down the Landscape

As the growing season comes to a close, there are still a few more chores that call the gardener to action. Mowing, watering, pruning and cleaning continue to beckon. Lawns need mowing as long as the grass continues to grow, some years continuing through most of the fall. Newly planted flowers, trees and shrubs should be watered thoroughly every week or so right up until the ground freezes, especially if rainfall is lacking. Perennials, trees…Read more about Winding Down the Landscape[Read More]

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Question and Answer

Q. I have a 2-acre yard that is filled with Ash trees. For years, I have had the problem of small trees or limbs growing from the base of the tree. I call them “suckers.” I have cut them off right to the tree base, but they keep coming back. Some of my trees have what looks like a bush surrounding it. This happens with old trees and young trees. What causes this and how…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

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Question and Answer

Q. This winter, I was cutting down some trees that had poison ivy growing on them during the summer. I broke out in a rash, even though the poison ivy leaves were gone. Does poison ivy stay poisonous even after the leaves die? How do I remove the plants, even though they are already dead, without becoming contaminated? I am terribly sensitive to poison ivy and thought that I would be safe by waiting until…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]

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Help Your Garden Cope with Dry Spell

Dry summers are not unusual in Indiana. In fact, I addressed dry conditions in this column just two years ago. Gardeners struggle hard enough to maintain healthy plants when extreme high temperatures are accompanied by lack of rain. What compounds the stress of this year’s dry weather is that it follows the wild weather extremes experienced earlier this year. March brought unseasonably warm temperatures to lure plants out of dormancy, and then April put the…Read more about Help Your Garden Cope with Dry Spell[Read More]

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Page last modified: October 25, 2016

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