Four practices can help prevent the spread of disease in vegetable and flower gardens. They include mulching, good clean-up, crop rotation, and making sure there is good air flow between plants. Mulching prevents diseases that splash up from the soil during rain or overhead watering and is especially important for tomatoes. Place mulch [Continue]
Several years ago, I told my husband that my vegetable garden was too big and too much work and that I wanted to make it smaller. A few weeks later he asked if I thought I could grow enough vegetables and fruits to keep us alive throughout the coming year if necessary. So, of [Continue]
On the hottest summer day when the air is still and so humid you can barely breathe, the slightest movement of air can stir the leaves of the quaking aspen. The whispering of the leaves provides a small measure of relief from the heat, even if it’s only psychological. The Latin name for [Continue]
Last week I gave up on brussels sprouts for this year and chopped them all down. The green cabbage worms won. I had been diligently checking every leaf every day and squishing – ugh! -the worms, which are actually caterpillars, but I then missed two days and things got completely out of control. The [Continue]
It’s not necessary that every flowering plant in your garden screams, “Look at me!” Sometimes your eyes and brain need a place to rest. Here are two plants native to Wisconsin that offer beauty but don’t flaunt it quite as boldly as others. These are also good choices if you are in the process [Continue]
Last year the pandemic inspired many people to plant their first vegetable garden. This year, people may feel able to take a vacation but are wondering how to leave for a period of time without coming home to find zucchini the size of watermelon, broccoli and lettuce gone to seed, and weeds overgrowing everything. [Continue]
Have you ever walked along a country road and looked closely at the vegetation growing alongside? Most every country road I’ve known has distinct lines of differing vegetation between the road and the ditch and then another type of vegetation across the ditch. My road has a strip of about four inches of plantain [Continue]
You’ve probably seen Jerusalem artichokes growing in roadside ditches or along trails and not known that there was a delicious edible vegetable growing below ground. These 6’-9’ tall plants are in the sunflower family and produce bright yellow late summer flowers about 4” in diameter. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture and range [Continue]
Our Wisconsin growing season is too short for some vegetables to ripen or flowers to bloom if you wait to plant their seeds outdoors in May. Now is the time to start seeds of plants like tomatoes, peppers and annual flowers indoors. Use a sterile soiless seed starting mix and a container that [Continue]
The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Calamintha nepeta, common name calamint, as its 2021 Perennial Plant of the Year. Calamint boasts a confetti-like cloud of tiny white tubular flowers sometimes touched with blue or lilac. It has a low, mounding, bushy form that grows 18” tall and wide. Both the flowers and the [Continue]