Category: Newspaper Columns

Preventing Plant Disease

        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]

Jerusalem Artichokes Provide Beauty and Food

      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]