Published February 14th, 2011 One reason many people postpone landscape improvements is that they aren’t sure what they want. Some people are good at imagining finished landscapes, but most people aren’t. Walking around in nurseries can be mind-boggling. Many home landscapes are just a collection of plants that were bought on impulse because they attracted …
Published December 6th, 2010 As a kid I spent many, many weekends at my Oma’s house. My Oma and Opa were my father’s parents, immigrants from Germany, solid working people who loved gardening and their grandchildren about equally. They lived in a cozy little house in the middle of an acre in the New Jersey …
Published November 28th, 2010 Winter is the best time to prune trees. There are some simple and easy steps you can take to train young trees. The worst tree defects can be fixed, without climbing, when your trees are still young. In winter it’s easy to spot where the problems are, and winter pruning is …
Published October 18th, 2010 We talked last week about successful tree planting and how important it is to pick the right kind of tree for your location. The next step is to actually shop for a healthy tree. A good place to start is a quality local nursery. Things to look for are the overall …
Published October 11th, 2010 This week we start a four-week series of columns showing how to succeed with trees. First we’ll talk about selecting the right kind of tree for your location. Next week’s column will be about how to get your money’s worth when shopping for trees. Then we’ll share planting tips, and finally …
Published September 05th, 2010 Right now is the best time of year to expand your home orchard. Fall planting gets you one year closer to bearing fruit than if you wait until spring. Fall weather is ideal for low-stress planting. The soil is still warm, encouraging rapid root development, while the tree itself is going …
Published May 2nd, 2010 Stores like Walmart and Lowes are getting larger and more powerful, and for good reason. It’s a convenient, and sometimes cheaper, way to shop. Big chains allow consumers to do all their shopping under one roof; plants and potting soil go into the grocery cart along with medicines, clothing, Chinese-made tools …
Published March 207th, 2010 is is the time of year to start protecting young fruit trees from deer damage. Rubbing or uprooting by bucks in the fall is a common problem. A simple way to prevent buck rub damage is to wrap a short piece of wire fencing loosely around the trunk (see photo). We’ve …
Published March 16th, 2010 It seems too early to be vegetable gardening, but experienced gardeners have their onions in the ground by St. Patrick’s Day. Onions and shamrocks are perfect together! In order to get fat onion bulbs, you need to grow big healthy tops before the days get long. That’s when the plants switch …
Published January 8th, 2010 We’ve had numerous calls from gardeners alarmed about the invasion of 17-year Cicadas, looking for a way to protect their trees and shrubs. Adult cicadas aren’t hungry, so they can’t be controlled by the usual process of poisoning the plant leaves with insecticide sprays. Disposable plastic netting with ¼” hole size …