It seems that overnight, all my coniferous trees have yellowing foliage in the interior sections of their branches. This is their way of shedding up to a third of the oldest needles in preparation for new foliage that will grow next spring. The yellowing needles will begin dropping toward the end of October. I have several mature conifers in the garden, including a white pine, … [Read more...] about Conifer needles good for the soil
Tips for gardeners
Saving tomato and pepper seed
When a tomato or pepper plant produces well, there’s always an urge to collect seeds and try to repeat success next summer. The process of saving seeds can be as easy as collecting and drying pepper seeds, and safely packaging them for next year. Or it can be a bit more complicated if you want to save tomato seeds, which require fermentation to remove their germination … [Read more...] about Saving tomato and pepper seed
Substituting coir for peat moss
One of the benefits of belonging to plant societies is receiving their informative journals. The December 2012 journal published by the Cyclamen Society (cyclamen.org) in Great Britain has an article entitled, “A Decent Peat-Free Compost,” by the society’s treasurer, Keith Fry. Many gardeners are eager to learn more about using coir as a substitute for peat moss, so I’ll share … [Read more...] about Substituting coir for peat moss
How to prevent (ok, reduce) next year’s Japanese beetles
When Japanese beetles discover your garden, it can be frustrating. I stopped counting after dunking more than 300 into soapy water. The beetles enjoy eating the leaves of more than 200 different plants and trees, and in our garden they feast on one particular rose bush and a corkscrew hazel. There seems so little one can do other than stand guard to spy the beetles and then … [Read more...] about How to prevent (ok, reduce) next year’s Japanese beetles
Sharing the harvest
If you have garden space to spare or a fruit tree that produces more apples, pears or plums than you can use, there may be an organization near you eager to plant vegetables in that space or pick that fruit to distribute or sell in your community. Connecting locally grown food with people in the community is the goal of these groups, all dedicated to making the most of urban … [Read more...] about Sharing the harvest
