Robert Pavlis

Overwintering Pond Plants – Part I

How do you winterize pond plants? Pond plants seem to be segregated into their own little class of plants, but they are not all that different from regular plants. Non-hardy garden plants need protection in winter and so do non-hardy pond plants. The hardy ones in both groups can be mostly left alone.

This is the first of a two part post that will provide detailed information on how to winterize pond plants. This post will provide general information that applies to all pond plants. Part II will provide more detailed information on some specific plants.

pond covered with water lilies — How to Winterize Pond Plants

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Roundup (glyphosate), Cancer and the Courts – What Does It All Mean

The great debate about Roundup causing cancer had a major shakeup in August 2018, when a court ruling went against Monsanto (parent company is Bayer) and awarded $289 million to Dewayne Johnson because Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The courts have reduced the settlement to $78 million and Monsanto is appealing that.

A few months later two more lawsuits reached the same conclusion.

For the general public this was proof positive that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup causes cancer.

But what are the facts?

Roundup (glyphosate), Cancer and the Court Cases - What Does It All Mean — Roundup (glyphosate), Cancer and the Court Cases – What Does It All Mean?

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Incarvillea mairei

Incarvillea mairei:photo by Robert Pavlis

Incarvillea mairei, looks very tropical with its large pink flowers. It’s hard to believe that such a plant is hardy to zone 3.

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Fall Leaves Can Harm Your Garden

Fall leaves are a great resource of nutrients for the garden, but if you use them incorrectly, they can rob your soil of nitrogen and make it difficult for plants to grow. This is especially true in a vegetable garden where you are trying to grow things quickly from seed.

In this post I discuss the decomposition of fall leaves and explain how to properly use them in the garden. In the process you might discover some interesting things about your compost pile.

Fall Leaves can Harm Your Garden — Fall Leaves Can Harm Your Garden

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Seedling Heat Mats – Are They Needed?

Seedling Heat Mats are used by quite a few people and many web sites suggest that they are required for germination. But other people never use them; so are they really necessary? What, if any advantage do they offer? Can you grow better plants if you use a seedling heating mat to germinate seeds?

In this post I will look at the truth about seedling heat mats.

Seedling heat mat, Redi-Heat Heavy-Duty Propagation Mat By Phytotronics

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What is the Best Watering Schedule for Your Garden

How often should I water? This is one of the most common questions new gardeners ask. It sounds like a good question, and on social media, lots of people will supply an answer.

They are all wrong.

How Often Should You Water the Garden? — What is the Best Watering Schedule for Your Garden?, photo by Dan Hughes

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10 Ways to Control Duckweed in Your Pond

Duckweed and watermeal can cause big problems in a pond and they can be difficult to control. This post looks at 10 different ways to control or elliminate duckweed from your pond and evaluates their pros and cons so that you can select the best method.

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Is Tea a Good Fertilizer for Houseplants?

Lots of people take their left over tea and pour it over the soil of houseplants thinking that it does some good. Tea obviously contains chemicals and they might be good for plants. What about the milk, and sugar? Does it help plants grow?

Are any of the chemicals harmful to plants? Will the mixture cause bacteria or mold to grow in the soil? Sit back, have a cuppa and lets explore this habit of adding tea to houseplants.

Is Tea a Good Fertilizer for Houseplants?

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Delosperma congestum

Delosperma congestum :photo by Robert Pavlis

Delosperma congestum is a cold hardy succulent that makes spectacular flowers that glisten in the sun. It is an alpine plant that originates from the mountains of South Africa.

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Controlling Slugs with Ammonia – Which Methods Work?

Household ammonia is reported to be great for controlling slugs. Some people spray the slugs directly and apparently it kills them. Others spray plants so slugs stop eating them. Spraying soil is also a common method of controlling slugs and snails.

Do these methods work?

Ammonia is a strong cleaning agent and it surprises me that spraying it on plants will not harm them, but maybe the dilution used is low enough to prevent damage. If that is true, what is the ‘safe’ dilution ratio?

Controlling Slugs with Ammonia - Which Methods Work? — Controlling Slugs with Ammonia – Which Methods Work?

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What Causes Blossom Drop in Tomatoes?

Why are my tomatoes not producing fruit? This is a common question on social media and in this post I’ll look at the real reasons for blossom drop and poor fruit production, as well as some of the myths people spread about the problem.

In a gardening Facebook Group someone asked, “What am I doing wrong??? This tomato plant is over 8 ft tall and hasn’t produced a single tomato. It has tons of flowers but they always fall off. I have 20 varieties of tomatoes growing and none of them are producing fruit.”

Here are some of the answers that people gave to help this poor gardener.

Tomato blossom - What Causes Blossom Drop in Tomatoes? — Tomato blossom – What Causes Blossom Drop in Tomatoes?

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Jeffersonia diphylla

Jeffersonia diphylla :photo by Robert Pavlis

Jeffersonia diphylla is uncommon both in the wild and in gardens. It starts early in spring with purplish new growth that opens white flowers long before leaves show on deciduous trees. Unfortunately the flowers only last a few days. Its real beauty comes next as the blue-green leaves develop. The shape of these is very unusual and look as if someone has pasted two leaves together, hence the name diphylla.

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