Although this plant is botanically known as Pachysandra terminalis, its more common name is Japanese spurge, and it makes an absolutely fantastic ground cover plant. It’s an herbaceous perennial that you can easily grow as a classic shady area cover. Table of Contents If you’re looking to cover up an area in your backyard or a shady zone in your garden, Japanese pachysandra is one of the classic options to consider....
Read on to find out why heads may crack, learn preventative measures, and pick up the best tips to keep in mind so you’ll know what to do when it happens. Have you ever had a head of cabbage in your garden that seemed to be growing healthy and large, only to notice one day that it had started to split open? What causes this to happen? And what can home gardeners do to avoid damage to their crop?...
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. In 1959, the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening was published. It advocated the cost-effective, healthy practice of growing home food crops without chemicals – a radical idea! Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener Let’s jump right in!...
Table of Contents There’s no better beginner houseplant than the Madagascar Dragon Tree, also known by its latin name as dracaena marginata. It’s super easy to care for, requiring little light or water, and is quite hardy in most temperatures. In this article, I will cover everything you need to know about dracaena marginata care, propagation, and troubleshooting. Let’s get started! Dracaena Marginata Overview The Madagascar Dragon Tree looks quite like palm trees, which is why many gardeners falsely assume it’s a member of the palm family....
1. Roses love garlic According to the Herb Society of America planting garlic around rose bushes keep the pests and diseases away from it and also enhance their fragrance. 2. Garlic tea for powdery mildew Cut 5 garlic cloves and pour 1 liter of boiling water over it. Leave this mixture for 24 hours, then drain and dilute it with 3 liters of water. Pour the mixture into a sprayer and spray it on the plants suffering from powdery mildew....
Table of Contents As the cold weather starts to come on, many of us sigh and look forward to the start of the spring again, when we can once more grow fresh vegetables and fruit for our tables. But it doesn’t have to be like that! There’s many cold-weather vegetables that can easily grow with just a little protection. And building a cold frame is the perfect solution. While a cold frame can be as simple and small as a plastic 2-liter bottle with the bottom cut off, carefully placed overtop of a plant to offer a little more warmth, what I’ve got for you today is a list of 26 different concepts and plans for winter cold frames that encompass a bit more space in your garden and allow for a better collection of vegetables....
1) Do Crop Rotation: Avoid planting the plants of the same family at similar site each year It is a good practice, avoid planting the plants of the same family at the same site continuously. Usually, the plants from similar family have common pest and disease problems, they also draw the same nutrition from the soil again and again. A useful and informative article on this issue that you must read for more information is available on the Harvest to Table....
When we think radishes, we only think about the fleshy part we generally consume, not the greens. So, Are Radish Leaves Edible? Do they taste good and more importantly, can you eat and enjoy them in cuisines? Let’s know all that in detail! Are pansies edible? Find out here Are Radish Leaves Edible Yes! They are! Due to the prickly texture of the leaves, they’re often not consumed directly. However, as the leaves are rich in iron, calcium, vitamin C, phosphorous, and folic acid they’re beneficial for digestion, weight loss, diabetes, and piles....
First, assess these characteristics of your terrace accurately: Do you want to grow plants on its floor, in raised beds or in pots? Do you have large or small terrace? Is it shady or sunny? Selection of terrace garden plants completely depends up on the factors listed above. In general, better to choose large containers when growing plants for terrace garden because in large containers, plants grow more easily: better moisture conservation and nutrient supply, room for ample root development....
We love growing microgreens, but sometimes miss the bright colors that full-grown plants bring. Lucky for us, there are some microgreens out there that aren’t your run-of-the-mill grass green. So, for a splash of color in our microgreen garden, we’re adding kohlrabi microgreens, a vision in purple or white! Table of Contents Maybe you’ve heard of kohlrabi, passed it in the grocery store, or even eaten it. If so, then you know it’s a funky-looking plant, which is why many gardeners shy away from it....
It’s not uncommon for me to grow too many tomatoes – WAY too many. Last year I finally made it a point to seriously minimize my supply, mostly to get a good season of crop rotation in. I decided to grow just two Romas in my garden for roasting. Mmm… In the past, I’ve used a few different types of cages and they have never worked out like I hoped....
Greensand, also called glauconite, is an incredible organic soil amendment for your organic garden. Table of Contents It’s a mineral that formed in prehistoric times in anaerobic ocean environments. Deposits of iron, potassium, lime, silicates, and 30+ other trace minerals at the bottom of stagnant pools of water eventually compressed to form the rock known as greensand, which is mined up and processed for use in the garden. It’s easily crumbled, thus the name greensand stuck due to both the texture and color of the mineral....
Kurapia ground cover is an interesting plant. Known as either Lippia nodiflora L. ‘Kurapia’ or Phyla nodiflora, its origins are in Japan where it’s a common evergreen ground cover. However, kurapia ground cover performs extremely well in drought-stricken areas of the United States as well as in areas where it gets ample amounts of water and does not suffer from over-irrigation, making it a surprisingly good choice for a lawn alternative....
Tomatoes are the quintessential garden crop…but they can also be one of the most confusing! With determinate and indeterminate varieties, there’s no absolute right formula for tomato plant spacing. Table of Contents Your selection of tomato variety along with your garden soil, light, and growing conditions all give clues to answer the question, “How far apart do you plant tomatoes?” Good Products for Maximizing Tomato Spacing: Vertex Tomato CageTomato Support ClipsElastic Cord (for vertical trellising) Listen to this post on the Epic Gardening Podcast...
And then I left for the weekend sometime in midsummer. When I returned, my ‘Howden’ vine had turned into a thriving monstrosity. It’s cute, really, for me to look back on the little bamboo hoops I erected for my pumpkin plants earlier this summer. I’d never grown the Cucurbits before, and I figured the vines would curl neatly around the tiny bamboo hoops and produce precious, delicate gourds. If you have ever grown pumpkins, you know how wrong this is....
In our guide to growing peonies, we discuss all you need to know to grow your own plants. The peony, Paeonia spp., is a flowering perennial for USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8 that thrives in full sun. It blooms in springtime, and sometimes early summer. The blossoms are big and flouncy, and are a staple of cottage gardens and the theme of many a botanical print and textile. Colors include pink, purple, red, white, and yellow....
The long-lived, hungry wireworm can wreak havoc on the agricultural sector. With a diverse choice of common crops as their target, these larvae of click beetles seek out and chew through the roots of plants. Table of Contents These pests are notoriously hard to kill off. Many chemical alternatives don’t seem to have much effect. Don’t let this scare you, though! Today we learn what a wireworm is. We’ll also go over the adult form, click beetles....
Balconies hold tremendous design potential and you can make them look beautiful in a lot of ways. Here are some Cozy Apartment Balcony Garden Ideas, which you can use to transform your outdoor space! Check out our article on Balcony Refurbishment Ideas here Cozy Apartment Balcony Garden Ideas 1. Add Wooden Stands Add a wooden stand to your balcony and grow plants in it. 2. A Built-in Wooden Cupboard A built-in wooden cupboard, a chair, and a plant will create a good-looking combo....
Dill is one of the most widely used herbs in the culinary world. It is harvested for its frond-like leaves and flavor-packed dill seeds. When used in soups or stews, it adds a punch of flavor to the recipe. It is often used in seafood dishes, salads, yogurt sauces, and even bread. Many people use dill as a garnish or for pickling. All in all, knowing how to harvest dill can take your ordinary recipes to the next level....
And then… I just left them there. Tall, scraggly, and brown, without any mulch to speak of. It’s kind of a miracle that my first-ever delphiniums survived their maiden winter in Alaska. I had purchased them at the Home Depot, planted them, and then sat back and happily watched the spikes bloom in gorgeous shades of purple and blue against my red house. When September came, dragging increasingly chilly nights along with it, the delphiniums died back....
