I’m one of those people who believe that onions and garlic make almost everything taste better. If a recipe calls for half an onion, I figure adding the whole onion will make it better. Same with garlic. And since fall is a perfect time to plant onions and garlic—and we just got fresh garlic and … Read more
UNDERSTANDING GARDENING TERMINOLGIES Professor Doug here. Our local schools are now back in session for the new year. I thought that it was only fitting that we do some school work as well with gardening terms. I always stress knowledge being a major key to being a successful gardener. Knowing plant terminology is a major … Read more
Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’ is my chosen plant for July The common name for Callicarpa is beautyberry. Many of you may only know this plant by its common name. This common name is very fitting for this beautiful plant. I chose this plant because it is now in bloom and forming its berries. We have one planted … Read more
AVOIDING HEAT STRESS INJURIES IN JULY The dog days of summer have arrived. As gardeners, we need to spend time outside tending to our landscape needs. But, this past week was brutally hot and humid. Thank goodness for this past weekend with us having much-needed rainfall and lower temperatures but more heat is on the … Read more
By the way, PETRICHOR is defined as “THE SMELL OF EARTH AFTER RAIN”. To a gardener, rain is generally a welcome blessing. Rainfall and plants are usually a match made in heaven. We sure have had our share of rainfall, and petrichor, this past week in the Richmond area. Going into this latest rainfall, we were about … Read more
I’ve had several customers this week asking about growing pumpkins—and when to plant for a Halloween harvest. So here’s some information about pumpkins… Pumpkins are members of the cucurbit family—that means they are related to squash, cucumbers, and melons. They were a food crop cultivated by Native Americans long before the European settlers ever arrived. … Read more
I don’t want to jinx us but I think spring is finally here to stay. There are a lot of gardening activities going on right now by everyone. It seems everyone is trying to do catch up all at the same time. Our extended forecast looks very promising with some good temperatures and rain in … Read more
So many people are out now taking advantage of warm sunny days to plant their vegetables, I thought I’d re-run my blog from a couple of years ago on preventing diseases in your vegetable. It’s a whole lot easier not to get a problem in the first place… Unfortunately, our commonly grown garden vegetables are … Read more
This Friday, April 27, is NATIONAL ARBOR DAY. This is a day set aside to celebrate the value that trees add to our lives and to promote tree planting and care. Arbor Day began in Nebraska 145 years ago. At the time Nebraska was mostly prairie land. During its first celebration in 1872, it is … Read more
Horseradish brings up visions of rare roast beef, doesn’t it? But it’s also a very versatile vegetable that can be used many ways. The young tender leaves can even be used like arugula in salads or on sandwiches. Horseradish is a perennial that is related to cabbage, broccoli, arugula, etc. It has been cultivated for … Read more
