Neem is a beneficial substance in gardening. Products made using neem oil, or neem solids can be very useful as a natural pesticide, a soil amendment, and even neem cake fertilizer. Where Do Neem Products Come From? Neem oil and neem cakes are products that come from the neem tree, which is native to southeastern … Read more
Tulips If you bought tulip bulbs early in the season and placed them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator (not the freezing compartment), they are ready to plant now. Two to three weeks of chilling helps to give larger, longer-stemmed flowers. There is still time to buy tulip bulbs and refrigerate them properly before … Read more
Get Ready for Winter By November first, either we’ve had “it,” or we are waiting for “it.” “It,” of course, is the first hard freeze. One fact we do know – we never escape November without a freeze. If delayed, it is usually harder than if it comes early. Now is an excellent time to … Read more
Azaleas and Camellias Plants of these evergreens are well budded now, so make sure they get enough water during this normally dry month. It is also an excellent time to plant azaleas, mainly because the weather is cool for strenuous work. You can move azaleas anytime, provided they are kept watered until re-established. Camellias are … Read more
Lawns Keep mowing as long as the grass keeps growing. If you haven’t yet spread fertilizer, there is still time to do so. A well-fertilized lawn will stay green all winter. Run the leaf mulcher through the fallen leaves two or three times to ensure they are finely chopped and thinly spread; otherwise, rake them … Read more
Autumn color Sometimes, trees in the Southwest lack fall color, but this is only true where no provision is made in the garden for plants with bright autumn hues. Sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, is a blaze of color every year. Leaves turn a mottled red-yellow, and orange color that puts a maple to shame. Ginkgo, … Read more
Fall Lawns This is a good time to kill next year’s crop of common chickweed, Poa annua, and crabgrass. First, apply a pre-emergence crabgrass control after October 15. This will kill tiny seedlings of winter annuals like Poa annua and common chickweed (now germinating), and next spring will work equally well on crabgrass. Fall-seeded lawns … Read more
Northeast includes: Pennsylvania Tomatoes Keep your eye on the frost reports; the first one will kill the vines and spoil the fruit. If frost threatens, pick all tomatoes; every green one showing the slightest tinge of white at the end will ripen indoors. If you have space, uproot the plants and hang them in an … Read more
Does sawdust, marsh hay, and straw make good mulches for strawberries? All are good, but if using sawdust it is advisable to increase the amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer given strawberries for the first few years since the bacteria use up the nitrogen as they break up the mulch.
Question: When should beets, carrots, and other root vegetables be lifted, and how should they be handled for Winter keeping? Answer: Root vegetable crops should be lifted just before a heavy frost and stored at a 35° – 40° degrees Fahrenheit temperature. Maintaining a low temperature and sufficient humidity is a difficulty in the modern … Read more