Lawn & Garden / garden

During the heat of summer, our gardens put on a lot of growth. Unfortunately, the weeds can begin to take off as well. Adding a summer mulch can help with your weeding, conserve water and cool the soil.

Hydrologists and meteorologists are predicting another year with less water than we need. This is leaving homeowners wondering what they can do to make it through the summer without making the already bad situation worse. The good news is there are some simple things you can do in your yard that will make all the difference!

When it comes to the home garden. People that don’t “Garden” still like to grow a tomato or two. Over the years, we have compiled some great advice to help everyone be successful.

We all get that natural spring cleaning bug that creeps in when the weather starts to warm up. This is the perfect time to embrace that extra energy and take it outside! The following are a few items to put on your spring to-do list for the lawn and garden. 

Organic weed controls must be produced from a list of allowed synthetic substances, or come from all-natural substances that are not prohibited. The National Organic Program (NOP) is administered by the USDA and includes a list of national organic standards, a list of allowed and prohibited substances, and a regulatory oversight structure. Generally, these products are clearly marked on the label as being certified organic.

We have all seen the adult ladybug. They are easy to identify as adults. However, the younger generations look very different. As beetles, they undergo complete metamorphosis. Chances are you have already seen the larva of a ladybug and didn't even realize it.

Many early fruiting tomato varieties like Early Girl don’t like temperatures above 85-90 degrees. As the temperatures, rise many of these varieties will stop blooming, and those that do bloom will have poor fruit set. However, there are still a few things you can do to keep your tomatoes healthy until the temperatures come back down, and your tomatoes begin setting fruit again.

There are many great and fun ways to grow potatoes and some of them will save a lot of space in the garden. The basic premise of growing potatoes effectively is the same regardless of how and where you chose to grow them. I choose potatoes that are good medium size, what’s medium you ask? When I close my hand around one I barely want to get my fingers over the top. This doesn’t’ mean other sizes won’t work, if they are smaller than this I won’t cut them before planting. If they are bigger I will quarter them. With a medium size, I only cut them in half, I feel this is ideal and reduces the chances of rotting.

Growing garlic at home is easy, productive, and satisfying. Not only do you get to know where your staple produce is coming from, but the varieties of garlic you can grow are also mind-opening. This year Zamzows found a new vendor for garlic and introduced three new varieties to choose from!

Raised beds are very versatile and easy to use. A raised bed allows you to easily control your soil mixture so that you can always have the proper soil for your plants. As you customize the soil mixtures in your raised beds, you can improve soil drainage and soil compaction, this being the most important advantage. This is very important, especially with the high alkaline, clay soil that we deal with here in our area.

What is a cover crop and how do you use them in your garden? Cover crops are essentially sacrificial crops that are planted, allowed to grow, then mowed over and tilled under to allow the organic matter to decompose.

Have you ever wondered how people grew fruits and vegetables before commercial fertilizers were available? Before World War II there were almost no commercial fertilizers.