garden

Location, Location, Location. No, this is not about Real Estate. Planning and site selection are the most important steps in building a water garden. Poor planning causes many of the problems of installing and maintaining a water garden. Before you put a shovel in the ground know what you want to create.
 

During times of water shortage, slightly used gray water can provide an alternative landscape irrigation source. Separating slightly used (gray) water from sewage (black water) makes good conservation sense.
 
Daily, homeowners misuse or waste an average of 33 percent of valuable drinking water. Most of this water misuse is for diluting toilet, sink and laundry wastes and from slightly used sink, shower and laundry water.

As the days get hotter and drier, keep a watchful eye on your vegetable garden. Careful attention to a few details will help your garden produce a bountiful harvest all summer.
 
 

Water Management

Focus your attention on water management first. Most gardens need at least 1 inch of water per week. If it doesn't rain, apply a half-inch of water twice a week.

So you didn't get your vegetable garden planted this spring because you were busy or the ground was too wet? And you still want some fresh, tasty vegetables. Well, it's not too late to plant a fall garden.
 

In most cases, choose early-maturing vegetables. Lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips and peas can be started from seed. Lettuce and radish can be seeded about every two weeks.

One of the fastest growing vegetables (in popularity, that is) in recent years has been broccoli. Although this delectable food has been farmed for many years, it has only recently become popular in the American diet.

Asparagus is one of the luxury vegetables. It is also one of the earliest spring crops.
 
Yet few people in the south grow it, and that's a shame. Maybe they just don't think it's worth all that soil preparation.
It does take a bit of extra effort and time to get asparagus started. But think about the long-lasting reward.

Many garden plants are affected by mildew, both woody and herbaceous.

DESCRIPTION:

Downy (False Mildew): Grows from within the plant and sends branches out through the plants stomata to create pale patches on the leaves. It is a fungal disease with a white to purple, downy growth, usually on the underside of leaves and along stems which turns black with age.

The art of bonsai is very old indeed. The first people recorded to practice the art were the Chinese who, in the 14th century, collected naturally dwarfed plants from the wild and transplanted them into containers.
 

Herbaceous perennials usually die back in winter and reappear each spring to thrive and bloom again. They don't always live forever, nor are they free of maintenance.
 
Photo: Helleborus

GET READY ...
Good bed preparation is essential for the growth of healthy perennials. Prepare all beds in the summer for fall planting and in the winter for spring planting.

Spring is almost here - ready or not. And this is the last call for many winter garden jobs. Try to do these chores as soon as possible, before your plants really start growing.
 
    Photo: Tea Scale

Control scale insects on branches of shrubs and trees with a dormant oil spray.