Before Making a Moss Slurry In order to make a moss slurry, the first step is to gather moss. In most climates, the best time to gather moss is in fall or spring, when the weather is rainy and the ground is moist. If your garden has shady areas, you may be able to gather enough moss for making a moss slurry. Otherwise, you can usually purchase moss from a greenhouse or nursery that specializes in native plants....

What is a Scotch Pine? What is a Scotch pine? Scotch pine trees usually reach a height of 40 to 50 feet (12-15 m.) and a spread of 30 feet (9 m.). Their needles are blue-green in the summer and usually 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm.) long. The needles will often change color in the winter, turning more of a yellow-green. The bark is orange and peels away from the trunk and branches in an attractive pattern....

How do you go about making staycation backyard gardens? Read on for a few staycation garden ideas that are sure to pique your creativity. How to Make a Staycation Garden The idea of a staycation garden isn’t to create a ton of work for yourself, which is completely counterproductive to the end goal. Here are a few basics for creating a staycation garden to streamline and simplify so you can spend more time in the comfort of your own space: Rely on perennials, which require very little attention once they’re established....

Toddy Palm Tree Info The toddy palm is native to India and southern Pakistan, where it grows both wild and cultivated. It thrives in hot, low wastelands. The toddy palm gets its name from the popular Indian drink called toddy that is made of its fermented sap. The sap is very sweet and is ingested in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms. It will start to ferment just a few hours after it’s harvested, so to keep it non-alcoholic, it’s often mixed with lime juice....

What is Langbeinite Fertilizer? Langbeinite is a mineral that is made of important nutrients for plants: potassium, magnesium, and sulfur. It’s found only in a few places. In the U.S., langbeinite is extracted from mines close to Carlsbad, New Mexico. The evaporation of ancient oceans left behind unique minerals, including this one. What is Langbeinite Used For? As a fertilizer, langbeinite is considered potash, meaning it supplies potassium. However, it also contains magnesium and sulfur, which makes it even more desirable as a well-rounded fertilizer....

What is Oats Culm Rot? You may be wondering, just what is oats culm rot? To explain, you first need to understand that the culm is the stem of the oats, sometimes called the foot. Stems are usually hollow, making them susceptible to infection by spores that cause rot. Young seedlings are generally attacked as they reach this stage of growth. Plants are sometimes infested with the rot as heads are developing....

About Wild Senna Plants What is senna? Also called wild senna, Indian senna, and American senna, this plant is a perennial that’s hardy in USDA zones 4 through 7. It grows throughout the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada but it is considered endangered or threatened in many parts of this habitat. Senna herbal use is very common in traditional medicine. The plant is an effective natural laxative, and the leaves can easily be brewed into a tea with proven effects fighting constipation....

What’s Eating My Garden Leaves? So something is eating holes in plant leaves. What could it be? If big pieces of your leaves are missing, the culprit is a larger animal. Deer can eat at heights up to 6 feet (2 m.), ripping the foliage away and leaving jagged edges on whatever is left. Rabbits, rats, and possums will take away large chunks closer to the ground. Often, though, you will discover that it’s insects eating leaves off your plant....

White Beauty Tomato Info White Beauty tomatoes are heirloom beefsteak tomatoes with a creamy white flesh and skin. These tomatoes were popular in gardens between the mid 1800’s and 1900’s. Afterward, White Beauty tomatoes seemed to drop off the face of the earth until their seeds were rediscovered. White Beauty tomato plants are indeterminate and open pollinated. They produce an abundance of meaty, nearly seedless, creamy white fruits from mid to late summer....

So, what can be done about flowering shallots? Are there bolt resistant shallots? Why are My Shallots Bolting? Shallots, like onions and garlic, are plants that naturally flower once every two years. If your shallots are flowering in the first year, they are definitely premature. Bolted shallot plants aren’t the end of the world, however. Flowering shallots will probably result in smaller, yet still usable, bulbs. When the weather is unusually wet and cool, a percentage of shallots will bolt from stress....

How to Grow Wine Cap Mushrooms Wine cap mushroom cultivation works best if you buy a kit of material that’s been inoculated with mushroom spores. Start in the spring to ensure a harvest sometime during the growing season. Wine cap mushrooms (Stropharia rugosoannulata) grow best outdoors in a sunny location. To create a raised mushroom bed, lay out a border at least 10 inches (25.5 cm.) high made of cinder blocks, brick, or wood....

Greenhouse Issues Greenhouses allow the gardener to extend the growing season, start seedlings earlier, and overwinter delicate species. Those are just a few of the benefits, but the climate controlled warm and humid conditions preferable to plants also foster insect and disease development. On top of these greenhouse plant problems, there are the general problems with maintenance, most of which are caused by neglect. 10 Most Common Greenhouse Problems Additional Greenhouse Issues: Management

How to Use a Cold Frame? Cold frames have been used for centuries in one incarnation or another to extend the growing season primarily but there are also other ways to use a cold frame. Here are our top 5 cold frame tips on how to use a cold frame. Final Cold Frame Tips A cold frame can be simple and inexpensive or more complex including automatic venting and heating cables....

What is Angular Leaf Spot? Angular leaf spot is a bacterial infection that affects cucurbit plants. The offending bacterium is called Pseudomonas syringae. The infection may take hold in any cucurbit, but it is most common in cucumbers, honeydew melons, and zucchini. Other melons, squashes, and pumpkins may be infected, but this is less common. The conditions in which the infection thrives are humid and moist. It is most likely to spread after a big rain or with the use of overhead irrigation....

How Do You Get Ants Out of Camellias? To get rid of ants on camellia flowers, you must first get rid of the aphids. Once the honeydew source is gone, the ants will move on. Look for aphids on the buds and on the undersides of the leaves near the buds. First, try knocking the aphids off the camellia bush with a strong spray of water. Aphids are slow-moving insects that can’t make their way back onto the shrub once you knock them off....

Information on Asparagus Fern Care Growing asparagus fern is easy. The frilly, feathery asparagus fern plant appears soft and fuzzy, but when taking care of asparagus ferns you may be surprised to find they have thorny spurs. This, however, is no reason not to grow asparagus ferns, simply wear gloves during asparagus fern care. Asparagus fern can provide small flowers and berries when it is happy in its location. Berries can be planted to propagate the asparagus fern plant....

When Can I Transplant Azaleas? The best time for relocating an azalea bush really depends upon your climate. Azaleas are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, which is a very wide range as far as temperature. If you live in a lower numbered zone with cold winters, the best time for azalea transplanting is early spring, before new growth has started. This will give the roots a full growing season to become established before the bitter cold of winter, which can really damage a weak, newly-transplanted bush....

Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis Pest Control Exactly what is Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis? While similar to its counterpart Bacillus thuringiensis, this small organism is a bacterium that affects the stomach lining of mosquitoes, black flies, and fungus gnats rather than that of caterpillars or worms. The larvae of these insects eat the BTI and it kills them before they have a chance to hatch into flying pests. This is a targeted bacterium in that it only affects those three species of insects....

Beautiful Rose Varieties When it comes to selecting the most beautiful roses, it will be essential to consider one’s own personal preferences and style. Choosing garden roses will also require that growers pay close attention to growth requirements for each species as well as the bloom season. Since beautiful, romantic roses are popular for use in floral arranging and design, it will be imperative to choose cultivars whose beauty and elegance combine with an extended vase life....

About Carrot Companion Planting Companion planting creates a more diverse garden with the benefits of sharing nutrients efficiently, repelling pests and attracting beneficial pollinators. A companion planting of carrots and onions for instance is a long standing tradition, wherein the aroma of the onions deters the carrot root fly and the smell of the carrots repels onion fly from the onions. Another option to plant to repel carrot fly is mint....