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Help, My Carrots Do Not develop! There are several reasons for carrots not forming roots. First of all, they may have been planted when it was too hot. Carrots germinate best when the temperature of the soil is between 55 and 75 degrees F. (13-24 C.). Any warmer and the seeds struggle to germinate. Warm temperatures will also dry out the soil, which makes it difficult for seeds to germinate. Cover the seeds with grass clippings or the like or a row cover to help retain moisture....

How do you get started reusing items in the landscape? Read on for information on how to landscape with recycled materials as well as lots of recycled backyard ideas. Recycled Landscaping Mulch Recycled landscaping can include any home waste you find a purpose for in the garden, including making mulch. Preparing your own mulch is cheaper than buying bags of processed mulch from the garden store. Making mulch is a great way to get started using recycled materials in landscaping....

With their ease of care, succulent plants are ideal gifts for budding gardeners and green-thumbs in training. One such plant, Jet Beads stonecrop, which produces stunning bronze leaves and yellow flowers, is perfect for even the most avid succulent plant collector. Jet Beads Plant Info Jet Beads sedeveria is a small, yet beautiful, succulent produced as a hybrid of sedum and echeveria plants. Its diminutive size, reaching only 4 inches (10 cm....

Nicking Seeds Before Planting So, why should you nick seed coats? Nicking seeds before planting helps the seeds absorb water, which signals the plant embryo inside to begin the germination process. Nicking plant seeds and then soaking them in water will jump-start germination and get your garden growing faster. This technique is also known as scarification. Which seeds need to be nicked? Seeds with an impermeable (waterproof) seed coat can benefit the most from nicking....

Gardening in the Shady Garden First, let’s evaluate that shady area of your yard. Is it located under a tree or next to the house? Most shady spots are not only deprived of sun but also of moisture. The tree’s roots take up a lot of the moisture available; similarly, the average home has an overhang preventing rain from reaching within a foot (0.5 m.) of the foundation. Pay special attention to the water needs of the plants you locate in these areas and don’t skimp on soil preparation....

Conifers in the Shade Conifers are evergreen trees that have needle-like leaves and bear seeds in cones. Like other types of trees, conifers don’t all have the same cultural requirements. Some grow best if planted in sun, but you can also find conifers for shade. Conifers have a reputation of requiring a sunny location to thrive. This may stem from a few, prominent sun-loving members of the conifer family like pine trees....

Exactly how do we locate such plants, those that are beautiful and sometimes unusual, yet don’t need a lengthy stream of sunshine? Listening to other home gardeners that already grow small low light plants is an excellent option and reading articles such as this might help too. We can begin with a minor list of a few of the more common plants that grow in low light. Of course, there are many that won’t be included, but part of the fun is finding them for ourselves....

Thinning Canopies in Trees The reasons for thinning tree canopies go beyond increasing light and air. The practice is also useful to keep a tree in a certain growth habit, prevent it from getting too tall, or keep limbs from getting invasive. Whatever the motivation, canopy thinning is a selective pruning practice that should be done when the plant is dormant for best results. The goal with tree thinning is to reduce the number and thickness of the tree branches in the crown....

Thunderstorm Plant Damage Thunderstorms, specifically lightning, are good for plants. The air around us is full of nitrogen, but plants cannot absorb this nitrogen from the air. Lightening and rain put this nitrogen into the soil where plants can absorb it. This is why lawns, gardens, and landscapes look so green after a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms may not be so good for you, though, if a tree limb falls and damages property or if your hanging baskets and containers have flown off to the neighbor’s yard....

What is Tomato Big Bud Phytoplasma? Healthy tomato plants typically provide ample fruit. Sometimes though, as much as we baby them, the plants become afflicted with a pest or disease. In the case of tomato big bud phytoplasma, the plant is effectively attacked by both pest and disease. It all starts with the trouble makers, leafhoppers. The tomato big bud virus, or phytoplasma, is a microscopic organism, smaller than bacteria. This organism lacks a cell wall and, in scientific studies, has proven to be extremely difficult to cultivate in artificial media....

Tomato Do’s and Don’ts Enthusiastic gardeners usually have a list of tomato do’s and don’ts but must be prepared for surprises as well. End of season tomato plants may be subject to a sudden freeze and are in danger of a quick kill. However, all is not lost in fall. Even northern gardeners can save that last crop and ripen it with better results than store bought fruit. It is important to have good soil, the right kind of tomato for your zone, and good cultivation practices....

Regular lumber begins to break down within the first year if it comes in contact with the soil, so many gardeners used to use pressure treated wood for gardening, such as landscape timbers and railroad ties, which is chemically treated to withstand the weather. This is where the problems began. What is Treated Lumber? In the 20th century and into the 21st, wood was treated by a chemical mix of arsenic, chromium, and copper....

Although sugarcane is a hardy plant, it can be plagued by sugarcane problems, including various sugarcane pests and diseases. Read on to learn how to identify issues with sugarcane. Common Sugarcane Problems Sugarcane pests and diseases are few but do occur. Here are the most common issues you may run into with these plants: Sugarcane Mosaic: This viral disease shows up by light green discolorations on the leaves. It is spread by infected plant parts, but also by aphids....

Strawberries are a signature of summer, featuring prominently in fruit salads and fresh desserts. You may find the berries while out on a hike, tiny little red fruits, much smaller than the supermarket variety. These are wild strawberries and have a powerful, sweet flavor which belies their small size. Many even think these are preferable to store bought. But are wild strawberries safe to eat? Wild edible strawberries are safe provided they have not been in contact with chemicals or other contaminants....

Hickory Trees in the Landscape The best types of hickory trees for nut production are shellbark hickory (C. laciniosa) and shagbark hickory (C. ovata). Other types of hickory trees, such as mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa) and pignut hickory (C. galabra) are fine landscape trees, but the hickory tree nuts aren’t the best quality. Pecans (C. illinoensis) are also a type of hickory, but they aren’t generally called hickory trees. Although growing a hickory tree collected from the wild is fine, you’ll have a healthier tree with better quality nuts if you buy a grafted tree....

What is Usnea Lichen? Usnea is a genus of lichen that hangs in clumps of filaments on trees. Lichen is not a plant, although it is often mistaken for one. It is also not a single organism; it is a combination of two: algae and fungi. These two organisms grow together symbiotically, the fungus getting energy from the algae and the algae getting a structure on which it can grow. Usnea is most often found in coniferous forests....

What is a Water Wand? Garden water wands are basically just as the name implies; a wand-like tool used to water plants. They are all generally designed to attach to the end of a hose, near their handle, and water then flows through the wand to a water breaker/sprinkler head where it is sprayed out in a rain-like shower to water plants. It’s a simple concept, but not so easy to describe....

Common Weeds in Zone 5 Here are 10 types of cold hardy weeds most commonly found growing in zone 5 landscapes. Crabgrass (Annual, grass) Dandelion (Perennial, broadleaf) Bindweed (Perennial, broadleaf) Pigweed (Annual, broadleaf) Canada thistle (Perennial, broadleaf) Knotweed (Annual, broadleaf) Quackgrass (Perennial, grass) Nettle (Perennial, broadleaf) Sawthistle (Annual, broadleaf) Chickweed (Annual, broadleaf) Weed Management for Zone 5 Controlling cold climate weeds is basically the same for anywhere else. Using an old-fashioned hoe or pulling weeds are tried and true forms of weed management for all USDA plant hardiness zones, including zone 5....

What are Onion Maggots? Onion maggots are the larval form of a little gray fly that looks a lot like a common housefly except that it is only one-fourth inch (6 mm.) long. The small, cream-colored maggots infest the bulbs, riddling them with tunnels. The damage leaves the bulbs susceptible to invasion by bacteria. The maggots have about three generations each year. The first generation is the largest and causes the most damage....

What are Species Tulips? Most tulips you’ll find for the garden are hybrids. Species tulips are un-hybridized and have only recently become more widely available to gardeners. So how are species tulips different from hybrid tulips? There are several important distinctions: Species tulips are smaller than hybrids. The foliage of species tulips is more varied and interesting. Species tulips are more perennial. They produce multiple blooms per stem. They will naturalize and spread in warm climates....