About.com Gardening

Will Your Garden Be on Your Thanksgiving Table?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:01:28 +0000

I asked this question a couple of years ago and most people who responded said yes. This year a lot of novice gardeners tried their hand at vegetable gardening for the first time. I do hope it was a great success and you've become a gardener for life. And I'm hoping you saved some vegetables to enjoy at Thanksgiving, the harvest festival.

Living in Zone 6, my garden is pretty much cleared out for the season, but I've managed to stash away some potatoes, squash and a freezer full of green things. The only thing I'll be picking fresh for Thanksgiving will be herbs, but it's still a treat. The only thing better than eating food you've grown yourself is watching other people enjoy it. So I'm curious, will any of your harvest be part of your Thanksgiving feast?

Photo: � Marie Iannotti

Will Your Garden Be on Your Thanksgiving Table? originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 01:01:28.

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Of Slugs and Slime

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:01:54 +0000

It's the rainy season for many of you. With some unseasonably warm temperatures up north, it's the rainy season for more gardeners than usual. And with rain comes snails and slugs. Yuck! Like deer and free plants, slugs are a never ending source of befuddlement. The quest for a non-toxic slug control goes on. You may recall that I stopped using beer when my neighbor's dog began using my garden as her neighborhood drinking hole.

The last time I asked for suggestions, a couple of you recommended a product called "Sluggo". Unlike other slug controls that use Metaldehyde, Sluggo's active ingredient is iron phosphate, which is labeled safe to use near kids, pets and around edible plants. I tried it and I thought it did a pretty decent job for me this summer.

If you're entering your slimy season, here's the list of slug control suggestions, so far. Please, please feel free to add your suggestions or comments. I'm sure there's a purpose for snails and slugs somewhere, but not in my garden.

Photo: � Marie Iannotti

Of Slugs and Slime originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 01:01:54.

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Featured Plant: Sage.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:10:49 +0000

What would Thanksgiving turkey be without sage? Sage is one of those wonderful Mediterranean herbs that asks only for sun and warmth and then takes care of itself. Being an evergreen, even northern gardeners are able to harvest fresh sage leaves at Thanksgiving (snow permitting). And it's beautiful enough to have on display in the herb garden or the perennial bed. Makes an attractive edging plant too. Here are some tips for growing great sage.

To Get You in the Holiday Mood:

Photo: � Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.

Featured Plant: Sage. originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 01:10:49.

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Gardening Question of the Week: My Amaryllis Won�t Go Dormant. Should I force it?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:01:32 +0000

I get a lot of questions about plants that don't behave the way the books say they're supposed to. Plants and deer really should pay better attention to all the research we've done on them and play along, don't you think? Until then, we have to learn to go with nature.

Amy wrote me that she's had her Amaryllis for about a year and it won't go dormant. It still has 4 or 5 green leaves on it. Should she cut the leaves off? Also the plant seems pot bound. Is now a good time to transplant it?

Sometimes the leaves just won't cooperate, but that doesn't mean the Amaryllis bulb isn't going dormant. Don't bother cutting the leaves off. They'll whither on their own eventually.

Do stop watering the plant and move it to a cool spot out of direct sunlight. Start checking for a flower stalk in about 8 weeks. When you see it poking up, move the plant back into light and start watering again.

Unless your bulb is bursting out of its pot, it's probably fine. Amaryllis need to be snug in their pots to flower. If you think it really has squeezed out all the soil, now is a good time to repot. Only go one size larger and still follow the dormancy instructions above. The cross your fingers and hope your plant learns to read.

Photo: � Marie Iannotti

Gardening Question of the Week: My Amaryllis Won�t Go Dormant. Should I force it? originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 01:01:32.

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Project FeederWatch Begins

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:10:09 +0000

Do you feed the birds in your backyard? If so, you can be a participant in Project FeederWatch, a winter-long survey of visiting birds. FeederWatchers count the numbers of birds at their feeders and report the totals, by bird species. This helps scientists track the movement of winter bird populations and track how each species is doing. Project FeederWatch is coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada, but anyone can participate. All you need is an interest in birds. Homeowners, children, clubs and classes all participate.

The 2009-10 season of Project FeederWatch runs, November 14th, and runs through April 9th. There's still time to register and get started. Participants count the numbers and kinds of birds at their feeders each week and send the information to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Participants submitted more than 115,000 checklists during the 2007-08 FeederWatch season, documenting unusual bird sightings, winter movements, and shifting ranges--a treasure-trove of information that scientists use to monitor the health of the birds and of the environment.

There is a $15 annual participation fee, which covers your research kit and Project FeederWatch expenses. The research kit includes instructions and forms for reporting, a bird identification poster, a wall calendar and a guide to bird feeding. Interested? You can join at anytime. Full information is available on their websites. US Residents - http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/index.html. Canadians - http://www.bsc-eoc.org/volunteer/pfw/index.jsp?lang=EN&targetpg=index.

Photo: � Marie Iannotti.

Project FeederWatch Begins originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 01:10:09.

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Take a Little Time to Winterize Your Trees

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:09:56 +0000

Most of us don't give our trees a second thought, unless something looks wrong. Unfortunately once you see the symptom of a problem with your tree, it's probably too far gone to fix. Since a mature tree is a painful thing to lose, it's worth giving them a little extra care. Our Guide to Forestry, Steve Nix, says that winter is a tough time for many trees. They may be in dormancy, but there are always pests over-wintering and waiting to resume their attack in the spring. Add to that the harsh winds and lack of water and you can see why Steve says "Small investments in your time can pay off big come spring." Here are Steve's tips to winterize your trees.

Photo: � Marie Iannotti

Take a Little Time to Winterize Your Trees originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 01:09:56.

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Favorite Gardens What�s a Favorite Garden You�ve Toured?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:44:27 +0000

I love visiting gardens. I enjoy seeing the personal edens other gardeners create around their homes and I can spend hours wandering public gardens, picking up tips and inspiration.
When you think about it, it's amazing that we have so many people willing to put their time and efforts into creating and maintaining public gardens What could be better than a garden where the sole purpose is to delight and inspire me?

You've heard me encourage people to take advantage of programs like the Garden Conservancy's Open Days, where some of the finest gardens in the U.S., public and private, open their gates for a day or two. If you're an unabashed garden tour junkie, like me, please share some thoughts on your favorite. I'm pulling together garden profiles from the gardeners point of view to, hopefully, encourage even more of you to put on your walking shoes and become a garden tour fanatic.

Photo: Tea Cup Garden at Chanticleer. � Marie Iannotti

Favorite Gardens What�s a Favorite Garden You�ve Toured? originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 09:44:27.

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Featured Plant: Sweet Potatoes

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:01:56 +0000

Some vegetables really need to hire better PR people. The poor sweet potato suffers from being confused with the yam. No relation. And the potato. No relation. Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and good sources of Vitamins A & C. How many sweet foods can claim that?

Although they're available year round, they're in season in November and December, making them popular holiday foods. But did you ever think of growing your own sweet potatoes and having a few baby sweet potatoes to snack on in early fall? Or harvesting sweet potato greens all summer? Unfortunately sweet potatoes need a fairly long growing season and a good amount of space, but it's nice to try growing everything at least once, just to know what they're really supposed to taste like.

Looking for Something Different for the Holiday Table?

Photo by Scott Bauer. Provided by USDA Ag. Research Service.

Featured Plant: Sweet Potatoes originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 01:01:56.

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Gardening Question of the Week: What�s the Difference Between a Variety and a Cultivar?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:36:38 +0000

Plant names can be very confusing. One person's 'Love Lies Bleeding' is another's 'Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate'. Then there are those taxonomy enigmas where Actaea is the plant formerly known as Cimicifuga. My feeling is, if the person you're talking to knows what you're talking about, it doesn't really matter if you've got the right name or know how to pronounce it in Latin.

The only time it's truly important that you get the name of a plant right is when you are shopping for a specific plant. The full Latin name will guarantee you get the plant you intended. But even then, it's not important to know the difference between cultivar and variety. Where these terms factor in is if you're planning to propagate more plants. So what's the difference?

Variety

Varieties happen naturally. Plant varieties are changes in a plant species that occur in nature, through cross-pollination, mutation and adaptation. For instance, when a white flowering variety is discovered of a plant that has only been known to bloom pink.

Most varieties will produce seed that grows a plant just like them.

Variety names follow the species and are always italicized and lower case, for example, alba: Baptisia leucantha alba. (Older nomenclature sometimes designated varieties by preceding the name with the abbreviation var.)

Cultivar

Cultivar is a contraction of "cultivated variety". Cultivars are plants that have been intentionally bred to have certain characteristics, like purple foliage or more petals. Cultivars don't occur naturally.

Cultivars usually do not grow true from seed and will need to be propagated by some means other than seed, like grafting, cuttings or repeated hybridization. However they are only considered a cultivar if the distinguishing characteristics that make them unique from the original plants are retained when they are propagated.

Cultivar names are not italicized. They appear after the species name and are enclosed in single quotes, for example: Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'. (Older nomenclature sometimes designated cultivars by preceding the name with the abbreviation cv.)

Gardening Question of the Week: What�s the Difference Between a Variety and a Cultivar? originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 06:36:38.

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And the Winners Are...Fall Color Photo Challenge

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:45:26 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with fall. I bet a lot of you do, too. It's not that I hate winter; I actually enjoy winter sports and there's nothing to compare with the sunrise after a snow storm. Still, I'd rather be outside gardening.

Fall color is nature's way of easing us into the bleakness of February, in northern climates. One last hurrah and then hunker down and be patient. All the more reason to celebrate fall and that's just what the photographers in our October Garden Photo Challenge did. It was total eye candy and very hard to come to a consensus on the winning photos. But we've reached our decision and here they are, the winners of the Fall Color Photo Challenge.

The Nov/Dec challenge has already been posted. It's Holiday Plants, appropriately enough. And by that we mean anything you do with plants, to celebrate and decorate for any of the upcoming holidays. Centerpieces, cornucopias, pots on the porch, decorations on the mantle. Share your holidays with us.

Congratulations to this month's winners and thank you to everyone who submitted photos!

1st Place Photo: Fall Solitude.

Submitted by AmrJoe76

And the Winners Are...Fall Color Photo Challenge originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 06:45:26.

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