Walking on your lawn compacts the soil which in turn grows poor lawn grass. The solution is simple. Aerate your lawn. Aeration is claimed to loosen the soil, reduce compaction, reduce thatch and grow better grass. But is this really true?
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Lawn care is an important part of a gardeners job but there are several myths surrounding this work. What should you do, and not do, to your grass in spring?
In this post I will look at lawn maintenance for temperate climates that grow cool growing types of grass.
Voles or moles – which one is damaging your lawn and garden? They can be tricky to get rid of but before you do anything, figure out which you have and understand these interesting animals better.
Once you understand the problem you can look for the right solution. I’ll discuss some options in this post.
Discussions about fertilizing tomatoes is mostly about selecting the right NPK and rarely discusses the amount to use. When quantity does come up, most comments suggest following the instructions on the box. But are the instructions on the box correct? Are the instructions complete enough so that you can apply the correct amount?
This post will compare some commercial products to see what they suggest and then I’ll compare that to reliable agricultural recommendations to see how much fertilizer gardeners should be using to grow great tomatoes.
Mosquitoes are a pain for every gardener, and over the years a number of plants have been recommended to repel mosquitoes. Almost all of these plants are fragrant and include such things as catnip, citronella grass, beebalm, marigolds, lemon balm, lavender, geraniums, thyme, wormwood, rosemary and various mints. If you plant these in your garden you will have less mosquitoes – or so the proponents claim.
Will plants growing in your garden or on your deck keep mosquitoes away?
The hottest new trend is to fertilize plants with a magical “superfood” fertilizer made from yeast. Is this a good idea? Is it a good fertilizer? Does it grow better plants? Let’s look at the facts.
Hydroponics is becoming much more popular with home gardeners and there are a number of different systems including regular hydroponics, aeroponics, kratky hydroponics and indoor hydroponic gardens such as AeroGardens and LetPot. This post will examine the differences between these systems and provide a pros and cons list for each one. Armed with this information you will be able to select the right one for your situation.
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Gardeners spend hours growing a few tomatoes simply because it’s the only way to get a truly great tasting tomato. What can you do in the garden to make your food taste even better?
The next book in my Science for Gardeners series is ready for pre-order on Amazon.
This book is all about food nutrition and safety. The book answers the question, what is nutrition and how do garden practices affect nutrition. For example, does organic gardening produce more nutritious food? Are heirlooms more nutritious than hybrids? How do various cooking and preservation techniques affect the quality of food? Is spinach really full of iron and can our gut absorb it?
A good part of the book is dedicated to food safety. What happens to pathogens during harvesting, preserving and cooking food? What about chemical toxins? Is it safe to grow in plastic containers? What about microplastics in the soil? Do microwaves affect antioxidants and are toxins produced when you grill a steak? The book answers these questions along with hundreds of others that you have been wondering about.
And don’t forget food myths! I can’t write a book without adding myths and there are many food myths.
I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Bunny in the Garden Podcast show where we discussed growing nutritious food and my new book Food Science for Gardeners.
Join Bunny Guinness and myself as we discuss interesting things about food.
Listen to Bunny in the Garden Podcast now
Raised beds can be a great way to garden but don’t believe everything you read about them. They aren’t magical! They are a box, that holds soil or a soil-like material. Plants get water and nutrients from the sun and the sky, just like plants growing in the ground.
If you understand these myths you will grow great food.
I had the pleasure of being a guest on Canada’s Local Gardener Podcast where we discussed nutrients in the garden.
Join Shauna Dobbie and myself as we discuss interesting things about soil and fertilizer.
Listen to Canada’s Local Gardener Podcast now