Saturday November 22, 2008
Every year several gardeners write in wondering why they're not getting more squash on their vines, even though they have plenty of flowers. Chances are good the problem is a lack of bees. Every garden needs pollinators and bees are among the best. Without them there would be limited flowers and even fewer fruits and vegetables. Not all flowers are equally alluring to bees. To attract bees and other pollinators to your gardens you need to select flowers that are high in nectar and pollen and plant so that they are obvious and available to the insects. Here are some tips for luring bees to your garden and lists of
good plant choices for bees.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Friday November 21, 2008
What would Thanksgiving turkey be without sage? Sage is one of those wonderful Mediterranean herbs that asks only for sun and warmth and then takes care of itself. Being an evergreen, even northern gardeners are able to harvest fresh sage leaves at Thanksgiving (snow permitting). And it's beautiful enough to have on display in the herb garden or the perennial bed. Makes an attractive edging plant too. Here are some tips for
growing great sage.
To Get You in the Holiday Mood:
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Thursday November 20, 2008
This question came up several times this fall. Container gardening has been on the increase, but what do you do with all those plants once you close down the patio for the season in cold climates. It’s often impractical to drag them indoors and, even if you did, many plants don’t fare any better in the dry, sun deprived atmosphere of our homes than they do outdoors in freezing temperatures. If you simply can’t bring yourself to compost your container plants and start fresh in the spring, you’re going to have to give them some extra protection. Here are some of the things that have worked for me, when I needed to
protect my containers. If you have some
suggestions to add, please do. We need all the ideas we can get.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Wednesday November 19, 2008
Some vegetables really need to hire better PR people. The poor sweet potato suffers from being confused with the yam No relation. And the potato. No relation. Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and good sources of Vitamins A & C. How many sweet foods can claim that? Although they’re available year round, they’re in season in November and December, making them popular holiday foods. But did you ever think of
growing your own sweet potatoes and having a few baby sweet potatoes to snack on in early fall? Or harvesting sweet potato greens all summer? Unfortunately sweet potatoes need a fairly long growing season and a good amount of space, but it’s nice to try growing everything at least once, just to know what they’re really supposed to taste like.
Looking for Something Different for the Holiday Table?
Photo by Scott Bauer. Provided by USDA Ag. Research Service.
