Sage Advice Archives - Page 23 of 24

Asparagus Fern Rescue

A concerned gardenerd writes in, "I found a dying asparagus fern abandoned in the street. It was still alive, but yellowing badly. I suspected either over or under-watering - obviously a challenge to determine which! When I looked more carefully I determined it was root-bound, so I trimmed the roots with a kitchen knife. Any more advice? More water or less? Misting? How about sun or shade? There's tons of sunlight here in Mexico, but maybe too much?

Also, the soil here is very bad and I can't find potting soil to purchase. Any advice on supplementing what ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:December 1, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:4 Comments

Minnie and Moon hand-crafted dibber.

Planting Bulbs: a primer

As a companion piece to the Thanksgiving Tip of the
Week, it seems appropriate to dedicate a little bit of time to the subject of
planting bulbs. When I first started gardening with flowers, I didn't know
anything about inedible plants. I loved color and fragrance, but was too
intimidated to try roses or climbing vines. So I started with
bulbs.

Growing bulbs really couldn't be easier, or less
of a commitment. Basically you dig a hole, you drop in a bulb and you bury
it. Then you wait for spring. There are more ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 25, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:1 Comment

Pruning Roses

A gardener recently wrote in:

"When is the best time to prune
roses?"

The answer I'm providing is geared towards west coast
gardeners in mild winter climates. According to a workshop
I attended several years ago with Nina Rumely, Ocean View Farms'
resident rose expert, we should stop cutting our roses in October and cut
watering to once a week. This encourages your roses into
dormancy.
...

Post author:Christy
Post published:November 7, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Dirty soil

A new member of the Gardenerd community writes in:

"I just recently moved into a newly constructed house and would love to have a garden in the backyard. However, the soil around the house is filled with chemicals from the construction process. I plan on removing about 2 and a half feet of dirt, covering it with organic compost, and letting the sun (heat) and oxygen do its thing so I can plant in march. Is this enough? Should I be doing something else?"

Firstly, congratulations on your new house! I think a garden is a perfect choice (but then again, ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 25, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:1 Comment

Houseplant Killer – Qu’est que c’est?

A concerned houseplant owns writes in:

...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 21, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:1 Comment

True Bug – Good Luck Charm or Messenger of Death?

Another great question came in this week from a fellow Gardenerd:" I'm pretty sure we have a variety of stinkbugs including harlequin bugs. Any suggestions after destroying infested plants and accompanying bugs?" First things first. I just found a really great website featuring a insect photo catalog to help you identify your critters. Simply hover over the diagrams on the left hand side to find the right category of insect. You will find Stinkbugs and Harlequin bugs under the category…

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 15, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

A Sentimental Tree

"[My daughter] has a tree she planted from seed. I'm not sure what it is, at one point thought it was a Chinese Elm. It has completely outgrown the huge pot it was in (cracked it in half wide open), and is much too large for us to keep in the pot, and no where to plant it. The tree is somewhat sentimental (if trees can be that - it is to us, we're weird). Is there anyway I can keep part ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:September 12, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Oops, I overwatered!

A gardener writes in:

"I left my soaker hose on in my garden for two days straight and everything got way too much water. Will it be ok? I have squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions and lettuce."

Well, in this hot weather, you should be okay. In the summer, up to 60% of the moisture from overhead watering can be lost to evaporation. You've been using a soaker hose, so your evaporation is going to be less. If you have sandy soil, drainage and evaporation will happen faster than with clay soil. If your soil is covered with mulch, clear it out for the time ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 20, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments

Flies in My Soil

A gardener writes in:

"We used 5 gallon buckets for our 3 tomatoes, 2 squash, and lemon cucumber plants this summer. I seem to have flies in the dirt! Am I over watering? What natural ways can I get rid of them?"

I'm going to take a stab and assume that the flies in question are gnats rather than house flies or white flies. Given that, yes, over watering contributes to this problem. It sounds like you have Fungus Gnats - little flies that lay eggs in the soil where it's nice and moist, then the eggs develop into larvae and new ...

Post author:Christy
Post published:August 6, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:1 Comment

Shelf Life of Organic Materials

While I was gone, a fellow Gardenerd wrote in with a very good question: "Does organic material have a shelf life? I have some of my home-"baked" compost that's been sitting in a ventilated plastic container in my yard for about 11 months and some Uni-Grow organic perlite stored in my garage in the original plastic bag. Are they okay to use?" My first response would have to be yes, they are okay to use. I always do some fact…

Post author:Christy
Post published:July 27, 2007
Post category:Sage Advice
Post comments:0 Comments