Fall is for planting they say when folks talk about shade trees. But is it? When is the best time to plant a tree? In this blog I will cover tree planting times and other particulars, the drawbacks and good points of these decisions. So is fall the best season to plant a tree? Of … Continue reading Fall is for planting?
In my last post, I talked about the factors leading to the development of plant diseases and some common signs and symptoms of fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases. In this installment of the series, I’m going to talk about some of the most common fungal plant diseases with some suggestions for treatment and prevention. This … Continue reading Plant Disease Primer-Part 2: Fungus Among Us
This past week I was out of town at a conference, and since the week was supposed to be a scorcher I made sure my husband was going to water the container plants daily. And indeed, temperatures were in the 90s, dropping to the mid-60s at night. But the container plants looked great when I … Continue reading Diagnosing Disasters: The Case of the Mopey Mophead
As many parts of the US face drought or dryer than normal conditions and issues about water availability especially in the western states, many gardeners are reassessing their relationships with plants and irrigation. Many gardeners, especially in the west, are replacing their lawns and landscape plants with more drought and dry-weather tolerant options. But there … Continue reading Don’t get hosed: exploring the efficiencies of garden and landscape irrigation systems
You might have heard of the concept of crop rotation, or even have had someone tell you that you should be practicing it in your home garden. But does this practice developed for use on large-scale farm fields work for small-scale home gardening or backyard farming? And if so how do you even do it? … Continue reading Crop rotation makes the garden go ’round
I am constantly slaying horticultural snake oil dragons. There is so much misinformation on the web and even within University/Extension publications. In this blog I turn my attention to compost–a subject that is almost universally cherished by gardeners, gardening groups and horticulturists. Unfortunately there are a lot of misnomers about compost. Plants are composed of … Continue reading The Yin Yang of Compost
I just returned from one of my self-imposed retreats where I have no cell phone service nor internet. This means I can focus on writing without interruption. One of my projects this year is to publish a scientific critique of permaculture (stay tuned for that late 2023). Part of my process is to read popular … Continue reading Deep sheet mulching is “bat-sheet crazy”
I received an email this week from an arborist colleague who had been sent an “engineering solution” which claims to help with rooting issues in clayey soils or areas where root area is reduced. There was a spiffy diagram accompanying this which I’ve reproduced below. I could dissect this for you and point out all … Continue reading Another “drainage solution” that makes problems worse
I’m resorting to clickbait tactics to get your attention. Here’s another – “Warning! Graphic photos follow!” Uncorrected roots in containers or landscapes will create chronic water stress problems for trees. If you have failing trees on your own property or on property you manage, you need to do one simple thing before you assume that … Continue reading “This one secret hack will save you time and money!”
