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Maybe the most important part in growing strawberries is to know and understand the differences in the three strawberry types: June Bearing Strawberries, Ever Bearing Strawberries, Day-neutral Strawberries. Then strawberries are easy to grow, because you “treat” strawberries how they deserve. You’ll enjoy more strawberries!

June Bearing Strawberries

June Bearing Strawberries are voluptuous fruits producing in the Spring. They are very popular strawberries also because of the abundant harvest. You’ll be sad because won’t get a crop the first year. This can be a disadvantage in growing June Bearing Strawberries. You can grow these voluptuous strawberries in either matted rows or hills.

Very known are matted row system and hill system to grow June Bearing Strawberries. It’s not difficult and you’ll learn how to do it all by yourself. Read the rest of this entry »

Strawberries are the number one fruit crop for home plantings. Strawberries may also be grown as a cash crop in large home plantings.

On the other hand strawberries are a versatile, highly nutritious fruit. One cup of fresh berries supplies more than the recommended daily adult requirement for Vitamin C.

You should be able to harvest at least a quart of berries per five feet of row, if follow good strawberries cultural practices. Usually, an initial planting of about 125 plants will provide plenty of fresh strawberry and enough for freezing or preserving for a family of four. Strawberries are tasteful fruits and you can prepare many recipes with strawberries for your family or kids: strawberry ice cream, strawberry salad, strawberry jam, strawberry muffins or strawberry pie and the list can keep going. What do you say? I think we have just convinced you to plant strawberries in your home garden, thus can be sure of strawberries freshness. Read the rest of this entry »

Voles, deer, and birds are the three major vertebrate pests of fruit plantings. Voles are mouse-like mammals that eat the bark and roots of young fruit trees and thorn less blackberries in winter and are frequently a serious problem. Deer consume the new shoots of fruit trees. Birds damage the fruits of blueberry, cherry, gooseberry, and grape plantings.

Two different vole species cause problems: the meadow vole (which lives aboveground) and the pine vole (which lives belowground). During the spring, summer, and fall, voles eat vegetable matter and seeds. But in the winter they feed on the bark and roots of young trees, often girdling and killing them.

To assess whether or not you might have vole problems before they do damage, place half an apple under a shingle or a 1-foot-square piece of plywood in a grassy area near your trees. Check it the next day. If the apple is completely gone, you’ve got problems that need treating. If there are only a few nibbles, voles are probably present, so you should keep monitoring and consider control measures. Read the rest of this entry »

A home fruit planting carefully selected, properly located, and well managed can enhance the home landscape, provide high-quality fruits and serve as a satisfying hobby.

Though is about Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum, Cherry, Apricot, or Strawberry, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Grapes, Persimmon, the home fruit garden requires considerable care. Thus, people not willing or able to devote some time to a fruit planting will be disappointed in its harvest.

Growing fruit at home can be fun and provide your family with fresh, flavorful and nutritious food. The benefits are many:

• You can grow large amounts of fruit in a relatively small area

• Fruits are a good source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fiber

• If you carefully choose the kinds and cultivars (varieties) of a fruit before you plant, you can harvest dessert-quality fruit from early summer through the fall

• As an added bonus, the fruits you grow will taste much better than the fruits you find in the grocery store. Read the rest of this entry »

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a member of the lily family. It has been grown for more than 2,000 years and is quite popular in the home garden today. On the other hand Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin A and contains significant levels of calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamine and Vitamin C.

Asparagus characteristics:

Asparagus is a perennial and will produce for many years when properly planted and maintained. It has underground storage roots and compact stems called rhizomes. The roots store food and the rhizomes produce edible shoots or asparagus spears. If the spears are not harvested, they rapidly develop into fern-like bushes 4 or more feet tall. The foliage produces carbohydrates, which is again stored in the roots.

Asparagus has both male and female plants. Both sexes flower and the female plants produce small, round, red berries in the fall. Female plants do not live as long or produce as well as male plants.

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The Rose is a flowering shrub of the Rosa genus, being a part of the Rosaceae family. We admit the rose’s distinction as the “queen flower”, so called because of its symbolism and variety.

By hybridization, the specialists had made the greatest change on the rose’s aspect, adding more petals. A rose had had only five petals, as the wild roses and those who are growing on the end of the road are having now. Except them, all the roses’ species have numerous petals. That’s why the Greek origin of the “rose” word means “30 petals”. And it’s not all: there are more than 30 thousand rose’s species with different colors and flavor.

We have to point out that, after a laboratory work, was created the blue version of the rose. So called “blue roses” were traditionally made from dyeing white roses. But the true blue colored rose appeared in 2004 using a genetic process, by conventional hybridization methods.

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Spring flowering bulbs are planted in the fall. Late September is the time to begin, but spring bulbs can be planted up to December as long as the soil is not frozen solid.

In spring, nature unlocks her treasure chest to reveal the beauty of bulbs. The glorious displays in gardens and parks are the result of gardeners who plan ahead: Tulip, Daffodil, Hyacinth, Alium bulbs (Flowering Onion), Amaryllis, Anemone (Windflower), Chionodoxa (Glory of the snow), Crocus, Erythronium Pagoda (Trout lily), Galanthus (Common snowdrop), Ipheion (Spring Starflower), Leucoium aestivum (Summer Snowflake), Muscari armeniacum (Grape Hyacinth), Pansy.

How to plant bulbs

• With bulbs, it pays to buy the best. Smaller, low quality bulbs may be somewhat cheaper, but the effort of planning and planting is the same. The results are much more rewarding if top-quality bulbs are planted. Read the rest of this entry »

Fruits look so good that are irresistible. Further their leaves shine in the sun and the flowers radiate a sweet and seducing scent. The citric are one of the most ornamental and fascinating houseplants. The citrons, oranges and other citric grow well even on sunny terrace, beautifying and flavoring it. If well placed and correctly attended, the citric become splendid houseplants.

Orange (Citrus sinensis) needs a lot of space. Different orange species are easily to care.

Variedated Calamondin Orange (Calamondin variegata) is a citric species whose leaves are creamy spotted and young fruits have a decorative streaky face.

Orange – Calamondin (Citrus mitis), widely known as calamondin or miniature orange: small evergreen trees with beautiful shape, many orange fruits and easy to care. Speaking about soil, the calamondin needs a well-drained and fertile ground, dislikes alkaline soil. What a pity, its fruits are too sour to eat. Read the rest of this entry »

The first step in avoiding winter damage is to select plants that are winter-hardy to the area.

If you choose to use a plant that is marginally hardy, choosing the correct site may determine the survivability of the plant. Buildings may or may not offer winter protection for plants. West walls reflect heat, which can cause plants to be damaged by daily freezing and thawing. While the same plants growing in the shadow of north walls may be damaged less because they thaw more slowly.

Protecting plants from dry winter winds is also important for some plant species. Placing the plant on the downwind side of a wall or windbreak of other trees and shrubs will help reduce the incidence of desiccation or drying out.
The second step is to keep plants healthy during the growing season. Plants in poor health or poorly adapted species are the first to suffer during any weather stress. Few landscape plants recommended for Oklahoma die directly from cold weather during an average winter. Generally, many factors contribute to what is commonly called winterkill. To keep plants healthy avoid late-summer fertilization and pruning, supply plants with adequate moisture, and mulch to keep moisture and temperature levels even.

Landscape plants fertilizing

Fertilizing is best done between early spring to mid-august while the plants are actively growing. It is during this time that plants can best utilize the nutrients available in fertilizers. Even though plant roots continue to grow during the winter months when soil temperatures are favorable (above 40oF), much of the elemental nitrogen can be lost due to leaching or vaporization. However, if plants seem to be weak or if nutrients are deficient as determined by a soil test, then a fall application of low nitrogen fertilizer can be beneficial. Nutrient-starved plants should be fertilized to correct deficiencies after frost, but before freezing weather if possible. Lack of proper nutrition makes all plants more subject to winter damage. Read the rest of this entry »

For the best result from your roses, it is important to pay close attention to the following points:

• Select a proper site

• Prepare the soil thoroughly

• Plant healthy, vigorous rose bushes

• Provide necessary seasonal maintenance

With the correct care, your new rose will grow vigorously and provide pleasure for many years.

Roses site selection

Choose a well-drained site that will receive about 6 hours of direct sun daily. Be sure it is away from the roots of large trees and roof overhangs.

Roses site preparation

Roses will grow in any good soil. For the best results, prepare the beds at least 3 weeks in advance of planting to allow soil to settle. Improve the soil by adding generous amounts of peat moss, and wellrotted manure or compost. Mix these well into the soil to a depth of at least 30 cm (12 inches). Good drainage is important. Where the water table is high beds should be raised 30 cm (12 inches). Mix bonemeal into the top 30 cm (12 inches) of the dug bed. To avoid injury to the young roots of roses, do not add any other fertilizer at planting time. Read the rest of this entry »

Roses are one of the most popular and versatile flowering shrubs grown throughout South Carolina. Most roses require a lot of care to grow and bloom properly. One of the most common causes of failure with roses is poor disease control. The three most serious diseases of roses in South Carolina are black spot, powdery mildew, and stem canker and dieback.

Remember that different types of roses vary greatly in their resistance to diseases and the maintenance they require. To grow roses successfully, you must select varieties that require an amount of care equal to that which you are able to provide. Shrub type roses bloom beautifully with few chemical controls needed, while the more susceptible varieties such as hybrid teas, require an effective spray program to be in place before the growing season begins.

BLACK SPOT

Black spot is a common and serious rose disease often reaching epidemic proportions in a season. The disease is caused by the fungus, Diplocarpon rosae. It is most severe after long wet, warm periods in the spring. Symptoms occur on rose leaves as circular, black spots surrounded by a yellow area. Infected leaves often drop from the plant. Infection continues throughout the summer months. The immature wood of first year canes develops raised, purple-red irregular blotches. Plants become stunted and produce fewer, paler flowers. By mid-summer severely infected plants may have lost all of their leaves. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the first jobs a gardener needs to do is to decide what crops to grow. This is fun, but it’s also serious business. Unfortunately, we can’t grow everything we might like in a small, backyard garden or in a community garden plot. Your first consideration should be what do you and your family like to eat. Other important factors to think about are the value of the crop and its nutrition.

Value & Nutrition of Crop

Vegetable value can be due to either a high price per pound or a high yield of produce. Vegetables highest in value for the space they take up are:
1. Tomatoes, grown up supports to save space
2. Rhubarb
3. Green bunching onions
4. Leaf lettuce
5. Turnips, for greens and roots
6. Summer squash: zucchini, scallop and yellow types
7. Asparagus
8. Edible podded peas
9. Onion bulbs for storage
10. Beans, pole or runner types (green or wax pod)
11. Beets, grown for green tops and roots
12. Beans, bush (green or wax pod)
13. Carrots
14. Cucumbers, grown up supports to save space
15. Peppers, sweet or bell
16. Broccoli
17. Kohlrabi
18. Swiss chard
19. Mustard greens
20. Spinach

At the bottom of the list are potatoes, Brussels sprouts, celery, corn, winter squash and melons. Other veggies are in between. Read the rest of this entry »

You can also read the Care and Handling of cut flowers part II and part I

Mechanical Damage

Avoid bruising and breaking cut flowers which reduces their aesthetic value and, thus, their wholesale/retail value. Pathogens (disease organisms) may gain access through wounded areas and, thus, further decrease their value. Ethylene production and respiration are both natural wound responses. These two reactions greatly accelerate in response to mechanical damage and, thus, shorten postharvest life.

Diseases

Flowers and foliage packed moist after harvest are very susceptible to a number of disease organisms. Condensation of water on the flowers or foliage encourages diseases. Avoid moving flowers directly from cool to warm rooms which results in water droplets forming. Botrytis (gray mold) is the most common disease wherever excessive moisture occurs.
Although botrytis can be controlled by fungicides, proper environmental management is the best method. Reduce excessive humidity and do not allow water to sit on the flowers and foliage. Read the rest of this entry »

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