Needless confusion results when words are used improperly. This is as true in gardening as in law or chemistry. In gardening, the one word most often misused is sour, meaning acid. However, acid soil is not necessarily a sour one. A sour soil is so poorly drained that it is often water-logged. In addition, it … Read more
If you want to grow something different, try miniature popcorn, the red-headed glamour girl of Zea Mays everta. It pops, it’s decorative and easy to grow. However, it doesn’t grow nearly as high as an elephant’s eye, so you may plant it in next year’s small garden or even in a bed or border. Growing … Read more
Many of us who yesterday thought we were competent gardeners have been intimidated by the constant barrage of new facts and figures about insecticides, wet sprays, dry sprays, slug baits, weed eradicators, grass deterrents, plant vitamins—the list is endless. And there seems to be a conspiracy afoot to mechanize us right out of our own … Read more
When he first sees the white cliffs of Dover gleaming in the distance, the bosom of the homecoming Englishman is supposed to swell with pride. Mine does not. It swells with unmitigated hatred. Not because I have anything against England, but because I have everything against chalk. Or, as the gardener prefers to call it, … Read more
Senior citizens who reside in Cleveland, Ohio’s Golden Age Center, are helping to develop a great arboretum in the nearby community of Mentor. “Never too old to learn” is the maxim of this unique group of “golden age” gardeners who travel by station wagon each week to the Holden Arboretum, located in the heart of … Read more
Sometimes when there is a lot of work to do in the vegetable garden, and it’s hot, and I’m tired, an old question comes to mind. Is it worthwhile, in this day of supermarkets and “pre-packaged everything,” to grow your vegetables? Then I come to my senses and remember that no market—super or otherwise—can match … Read more
Consider the plight of a gardener without a garden. Many of them—at least a dozen in my town—long to plunge their hands into the soil but, alas, no soil! They may be living temporarily in rented houses. Perhaps their land is unworkable; they may be recovering from an illness and so are unable to dig … Read more
If you keep a watchful eye for signs of trouble and have a well-stocked pesticide shelf to draw upon at a moment’s notice, insects and diseases will have difficulty trying to conquer your garden. Here are some of the most common pests to watch for and some precautionary measures to take for a pest-free vegetable … Read more
Come to a killing frost, and most vegetable gardens are given the cold shoulder by their owners and the weather. Yet there is a long list of vegetables you can plant (from spring to fall) that beautifully grow long after heavy frosts and real freezing weather arrive. So this is something to think about. Cautions … Read more
Wherever you garden in the U.S., you are almost bound to face a summer that brings one or more dry spells. In some sections, you must garden through long-lasting droughts, summer after summer. Rainfall Map A rainfall map (see USDA Yearbook 1941, “Climate and Man”) of the eastern states shows that only a few small … Read more