How to Ripen Green Tomatoes Indoors Before Frost
How to ripen green tomatoes starts with choosing fruit that has finished growing: full-size, firm…
Cattle Panel Trellis: Build a Secure Garden Arch or PanelRead More
A cattle panel trellis can form a walk-through garden arch or a straight support along a bed. Start with a rigid welded livestock panel, then choose the shape before marking posts. On a common 16-foot by 50-inch panel, the long dimension bends over the path for an arch. The short dimension becomes the depth of…
Bottom Watering Plants: Soak, Drain and Check MoistureRead More
Bottom watering plants means setting a pot with drainage holes in shallow water so the growing medium draws moisture upward. Check that the root zone needs water first. Remove the pot once the mix has moistened adequately, let excess drain and empty the saucer. Leaving an ordinary pot standing in water afterward can keep roots…
Coffee Grounds for Plants: Composting, Use and LimitsRead More
Coffee grounds for plants are best handled as an ingredient in mixed compost, rather than a daily fertilizer scattered around roots. Used grounds contain organic matter and nutrients, but they can also inhibit growth when added directly to soil. Composting changes the material before it reaches a growing bed. Keep grounds to no more than…
Seed Starting Mix: Choose or Make a Germination BlendRead More
Seed starting mix needs to keep a germinating seed in contact with moisture without leaving its roots in waterlogged material. A fine, loose blend helps, especially with tiny seeds. Many larger garden seeds can also start in a suitable all-purpose soilless potting mix. The useful choice depends on the texture in the bag, the size…
Clover Lawn: Choose, Seed and Maintain the Right MixRead More
A clover lawn can add flowers and reduce some lawn inputs. The result depends on what grows alongside the clover and how the yard is used. Adding white clover to suitable grass is a different project from replacing every blade with clover. A sunny, lightly used front yard and a dog’s worn route to the…
Perlite vs Vermiculite: Which Fits Your Plants and Potting Mix?Read More
Perlite vs vermiculite comes down to the change your growing medium needs. Porous perlite generally improves air space and drainage; vermiculite holds more moisture and retains nutrient ions. Both can belong in a well-formulated mix. Neither creates a drainage outlet in a sealed pot, and neither supplies a complete feeding program. Start with the plant,…
When to Cut Back Hostas: Read the Leaves Before You TrimRead More
When to cut back hostas depends on the leaves: leave healthy green foliage in place, then remove the dying leaves and leaf stalks after autumn color fades or frost damages them. Clear the fallen material without cutting into the crown at soil level. A faded flower stalk can be removed earlier; it does not mean…
How to Get Rid of Ladybugs in Your House and Keep Them OutRead More
How to get rid of ladybugs indoors starts with collecting the beetles you can see, then closing the gaps that let them enter. Vacuum them gently without crushing them against walls or fabric, and remove the captured insects promptly. For a few individuals, a jar and card can work. Repeated fall clusters often involve multicolored…
How to Propagate Rosemary From Cuttings in Water or SoilRead More
How to propagate rosemary begins with a healthy, nonflowering stem tip and a choice between water and a moist rooting mix. Take flexible new growth, remove the lower leaves, and make a fresh cut just below a leaf attachment point. Keep the remaining foliage above the water or mix. Protect the cutting from drying, and…
How to Make Leaf Mold With Fall Leaves in a Bag or BinRead More
How to make leaf mold starts with fallen leaves, moisture and somewhere to keep them as they decay. Collect healthy deciduous leaves, shred them if practical, and dampen dry material. Pack them into a perforated bag or an open mesh bin, then check occasionally for drying or waterlogging. You do not need a compost starter,…
When to Cut Back Irises: Flower Stalks, Foliage and Fall CleanupRead More
When to cut back irises depends on which part has finished growing. Remove a spent flowering stalk after its blooms fade, and keep the healthy green leaf fan. Clear dead bearded iris foliage in late fall or early spring. Where iris borers are a problem, cleanup after a hard frost removes old material that can…
How to Ripen Green Tomatoes Indoors Before FrostRead More
How to ripen green tomatoes starts with choosing fruit that has finished growing: full-size, firm tomatoes with a lighter green or whitish cast have a better chance than small, uniformly dark-green fruit. Pick sound fruit before damaging frost, remove the stems, and arrange it in a dry, ventilated box at moderate room temperature. Direct sunlight…
When to Cut Back Peonies: Timing and Cuts for Each TypeRead More
When to cut back peonies depends on the type and the condition of the foliage. Cut ordinary herbaceous peonies close to soil level after their leaves and stems die back in fall, often following a hard freeze. Keep healthy green leaves after flowering. Tree peonies retain woody branches above ground, and Itoh peonies need a…
How to Plant Tulip Bulbs: Timing, Depth, Spacing, and CareRead More
How to plant tulip bulbs successfully depends on choosing a draining site, planting during the local fall window, and measuring depth from the correct part of the bulb. Follow the instructions for your variety. Place each bulb with its pointed growing tip up and flat root plate down, cover with soil, then water to settle…
How to Grow Mint Indoors for Healthy, Repeat HarvestsRead More
How to grow mint indoors depends on giving the plant enough light to replace the leaves you pick and keeping its roots moist and free to drain. Start with a healthy mint plant or rooted cutting, use a pot with drainage holes, and place it at a sunny window or beneath a suitable grow light….
How Often to Water Cactus? Check the Soil, Season, and Cactus TypeRead More
How often to water cactus plants depends on their type, the moisture around their roots, and how quickly the pot dries. For an established desert cactus, let the growing mix dry completely between thorough waterings. For a forest cactus such as a Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus, allow some drying without leaving the roots chronically dry….
