Watering 101 “How often do I water my plant?” is undoubtedly the most frequently asked question about plants and also one of the hardest questions to answer! Here’s the simple answer: Water when the plant gets dry. 9 out of 10 times when we see a watering problem it is due to overwatering – for whatever reason people seem to…
HERBS DRYING & FREEZING Herbs have been around and in use for thousands of years. Their popularity has increased tremendously over the last few years. I think the push toward healthy eating and more natural remedies has helped to fuel the demand for herbs. Herbs are normally easy to grow. Plant them in proper lighting, a reasonably well…
Can potting soil be reused? Potting soil can be reused but there are a few things to keep in mind! In a perfect world we would replace potting soil every year. More realistically, potting soil should be replaced every two to three years. First, potting soil compacts over time. Watering, root growth, and settling of soil all cause potting…
COLD – GOOD OR BAD? Most of the plants we grow outside need a certain number of cold hours to grow and produce as they should. A cold hour is defined as an hour below 32 degrees. Even our best lawn grasses, turf type fescues, need a few cold hours to perform at their best during the summer. The real answer is…
Reflections on 2021 – Excitement for 2022 Happy New Year! We hope you and your family have a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2022! Coming into 2021 we had no idea what to expect but as we look back we can honestly say it was amazing ride that far exceeded our expectations. For that we say thank you very much to…
LICHEN… WHAT IT IS… WHAT IT ISN’T I receive questions from time to time that they have a tree or trees that are being killed by a grey substance growing on the tree or plant. What they are talking about is a combination plant that is part fungi and part algae. There are about 3600 known species of lichens in…
PREPARING HOUSEPLANTS FOR INDOORS By: Gary Garner Sr. It’s time to prepare houseplants that have spent the summer outside to come inside for the winter. Obviously, you could just pick them up, bring them inside and let Mother Nature have her way. The other side of that is you don’t know what kind of undesirables you may bring in with…
Fall Planting By: Gary Garner Sr. It is now time to start planting fall cole crops, flowers, etc., at least according to the calendar. Then I take a look at the thermometer, it reads 93, feeling like 100 and I’m not so certain I want to do much planting. People have started to plant fall vegetables. Cabbage, broccoli, and other…
Nothing says fall like Mums! Mums have been cultivated for over 2500 years and continue to increase in popularity. There are now over 5000 varieties in cultivation. Through hybridization, many flower forms are available such as daisy, pompon, cushion, buttons, decorative spiders, and spoon-petal. They are also available in any color except blue. Sadly, on occasion I see blue mums…
By: Gary Garner Sr. Like me you may have a number of beautiful containers of various flowers and other plants on your deck, patio, porch or other areas of the yard. As I write this I can see, I see pots of begonia, Hosta, vinca, marigold, a bay tree, some Christmas Catus, Japanese maple and a drift rose. There are…