Grow Bag Gardening is everything related to grow bag gardening! This was something new to me and I actually had no idea how useful this type of gardening could be. What is Grow Bag Gardening? Wikipedia gives a very basic definition of what it is: …
Healthy soil equals a healthy garden. Before you begin to add amendments, it is helpful to know what kind of soil you have. Clay soils need different things from a sandy soil. A basic way to test your soil type by feel. The University of …
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There’s a growing demand for dependably hardy plants that require less maintenance and less water, but look no less beautiful in the garden. Plant Select—the leading purveyor of plants designed to thrive in difficult climates—meets this need by promoting plants that allow gardeners everywhere to have stunning, environmentally-friendly gardens that use fewer resources. Pretty Tough Plants highlights 135 of Plant Select’s top plant picks. Each profile features a color photograph and specific details about the plant’s size, best features, and bloom season, along with cultural needs, landscape features, and design ideas. The plant list includes perennials and annuals, groundcovers, grasses, shrubs, and trees. A chart at the end of the book makes it easy to choose the right plants for specific conditions and needs.
If water-wise plants are what you are looking for in your garden, then Pretty Tough Plants by the experts at Plant Select is here to help. Plant Select is a brand of plants that are specially designed to thrive in high plains and intermountain regions. They promote plants for gardeners looking to use fewer resources and to grow environmentally friendly gardens in challenging climates.
The book divides the plants into eight different categories or chapters: Tender Perennials and Annuals; Petites; Groundcovers; Perennials; Ornamental Grasses; Vines; Shrubs; and Trees and Conifers. The plant reference guide at the back lists the plants scientific name, common name, maximum height and width, bloom season, flower color, zone, sun exposure and watering needs, wildlife considerations, special landscape notes, and if the plant has North American roots.
I found the book very useful. Each plant has a quick notes reference with its best features, culture (how it grows and what it needs), its landscape usage, and the origin and native region. A full color photograph accompanies each listing. 135 plants are well described here, making it a great garden reference book to own.
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Note: This book was provided by the publisher and any opinions are my own. Affiliate links help support the site. 🙂
Composting is recycling organic materials. Not only can you add leaves and grass clippings, but you can keep all your food waste such as fruit and vegetable trimmings. Compost is an excellent way to enrich your soil. Not only is composting earth friendly by keeping methane-making materials …
Magnesium (Mg) is a macronutrient that must be replenished during the garden growing season. Plants with a magnesium deficiency are easy to find, just look at the foliage. Magnesium deficiency results in a plant’s leaves turning yellow at the edges, and reduced leaf numbers. Magnesium can be …
Pulled up radishes this morning. I planted the Rainbow Radishes Easter Egg II (see link below). Or rather, my son planted them. His favorite things to plant in the garden are radishes, and who can blame him – with a super quick and almost guaranteed germination, radishes are virtually an instant garden crop from seed.
Easter Egg II radishes are a hybrid radish. The F1 notation signifies that this is a first generation hybrid plant. Since this is a hybrid, you probably wouldn’t want to save these seeds.
I’ve found the Easter Egg II radishes sweet when picked small, and pack some heat when picked larger. When eating straight from the garden, me and the boy prefer the small ones. But, for salads using thinly sliced beets, I prefer the spiciness of the larger radishes.
They take about a week for the seeds to germinate with about a month to harvest. Space out your radish garden with rows planted about a week or two apart for successive harvests. While others reserve radishes for planting anywhere from February to May, I plant them in succession all throughout the summer for continuous harvests.
Radishes – Easter Egg II Seeds (via Amazon).
Avocados come from evergreen fruit trees that like full sun and well drained soil. The fruit is creamy and is used more as a vegetable than as a sweet fruit. Growing Avocado Trees Avocados may be grown from the seeds, but the fruit may not come for …
Here’s a great video from Mikes’ Backyard Nursery on how to propagate grape plants in their dormant state. The video goes into explaining the dormant season, why growers trim the vines in the first place, and all about the leaf nodes or bud breaks (and where to …
