Where Master Gardeners share their knowledge.
Table of content What does a cover crop do? Where should a cover crop be used? What are some good cover crops? Buckwheat Turnips Field peas What does a cover crop do? A cover crop has several uses, the first of which is to suppress weeds in a plot of land not used to grow something else. Cover crops are also used to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Another use for cover crops is for animal fodder sometimes even during the winter. Where should a cover crop Read More …
I ran across yacon in 2014 in a column by Jeff Lowenfels. He recommended it as a handsome plant that produces sweet tubers at the end of the growing season. We decided to give it a try one year and have done it every year since. The plant itself goes by several names: yacon, Bolivian sunroot, Peruvian ground apple and occasionally “yacon strawberry.’ The plant itself is related to sunflowers, dahlias, Jerusalem artichokes and other similar plants. It generally looks similar to a sunflower and grows up to 7 -8 Read More …
Table of content Where to grow Greenhouse and hoop house bed preparation Garden bed preparation How to grow Starting seedlings Planting Maintaining plants How to harvest Storage Seed saving Where to grow If a you have greenhouse or hoop house that is best for winter squash. If you do not have a greenhouse or hoop house a garden bed with rich well drained soil and full sun will have to do for winter squash, and is preferable for summer squash. It is best if the greenhouse, hoop house, or garden Read More …
Houseplants Have Benefits Houseplants are a wonderful addition to any home. They add beauty, improve indoor air quality and uplift our spirit in the dead of winter. Some houseplants are difficult to grow, others not so much. Lets focus on a few inexpensive examples that are both common and easy to grow. One of my favorite houseplants is the snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata). This plant is very forgiving. You can forget to water it, and it will still survive for days being completely dry. In fact, it’s better not to Read More …
Book Review Why would an Alaskan want to read a Master Gardener Handbook written for California? This California Master Gardener Handbook is very well written. It is a comprehensive work written by twenty-five different authors who have both vast knowledge and experience in all aspects of how to successfully grow all kinds of plants. In addition to the authors there are eight collaborators all of whom are experts in their respective fields. The book was rigorously peer reviewed and completely scrutinized. This book was an enormous and complex project the Read More …
Why Did I Enroll? I’m a retired and very successful farmer, yet I still took the Master Gardener Course Online. And do you know what? It was well worth my time. Yes, I already knew a lot about subjects such as edaphology, plant biology, agronomy and entomology; however, it’s important to keep up to date on the latest developments. And the Master Gardener Course got me up to speed on some important aspects of gardening/farming. For example, how to access weather data online. The course has some really amazing information Read More …
Why Build A Fence? Mother nature can be a ruthless destroyer of a garden. As gardeners, we have to make every effort to properly choose the right location, prepare garden soil, prep the beds, sow, water, weed and shield plants from frost. And then there are the pests we have to contend with. The pests want to reap what we’ve sown; therefore, measures have to be taken to ensure that all of our planning and hard work isn’t ruined by nature — including the wind. Although the wind isn’t classified Read More …
You Can Do A Lot With A Little. It doesn’t take much to get started. Firstly, we need just a few basic hand tools and lots of back and elbow grease. What do we need? A garden fork to turn and break up the soil; a shovel to move the soil around; a mattocks to dislodge rocks and cut through roots; a rake to classify and remove unwanted debris and level the beds; and a hoe to cultivate the rows and/or make furrows. We’ll also need some stakes, string, a Read More …
First Things To Think About. After you’ve chosen a suitable location for your garden (please see my previous post on that subject) now is the time to think about a garden plan. So what’s the first thing we need to think about? Probably the overall size of the garden is what we need to figure out first. The first question we should ask ourselves is “how much available time do I have to work and properly care for my Read More …