Pruning fruit trees
Producing bushels of high-quality fruit and developing a sturdy tree that can support the crop are the twin goals of pruning and training fruit trees. If you end up with an attractive landscape specimen too, that's a bonus Although you use the same basic pruning techniques on all fruit trees, each kind of fruit tree has unique timing and methods for reaching your goals. For an introduction to basic pruning techniques and tools, flip to Chapter 19. You need to prune fruit trees regularly for...
Choosing the Right Grass
Organic lawn care gets a lot easier if you grow the right grass for your climate, sun, and soil conditions. You can find grasses that thrive under nearly every combination of lawn conditions. Finding the right grass variety for your lawn is easier than ever because plant breeders have worked hard to produce grasses that thrive under different conditions. One particular variety can't do it all. For that reason, most grass seed and turf is sold as combinations of grasses that complement one...
Horticultural oils
Horticultural oils are made from refined mineral or vegetable oils. Although oils effectively kill any insect that they cover including eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults they don't differentiate between good and bad bugs. Horticultural oils come in two types Dormant oil Dormant oil is a heavy grade of oil usually used in late winter or early spring to suffocate overwintering insects such as aphids, mites, and scales, including their eggs, on dormant fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs. Summer...
Planting cover crops
Plant cover crops after the harvest when garden beds would otherwise be bare. Plant seeds a month or more before your dormant season. Sow seeds in fall in the North, early summer in the Deep South and Southwest. The seeds will sprout, begin to grow, and then slow down during the dormant season. When temperatures moderate, the plants grow again. Winter rye, barley, and wheat are good choices for winter cover crops in areas where winter is the dormant season. In hot, dry climates in which summer...
Cultivating Roses
Roses need plenty of nutrients and regular watering to grow vigorously and flower profusely. You don't need synthetic chemical rose fertilizers, though many organic options are available. Organic fertilizers such as fish emulsion, compost, and aged manure not only contribute nutrients to soils but also provide organic matter that has positive, long-term benefits on soil health. Compared with chemical fertilizers, organic fertilizers also release their nutrients more slowly over a longer period...
Keeping current with currants and gooseberries
A mainstay in European gardens and gaining popularity in North America, currants and gooseberries Ribes species make excellent jams, jellies, and dessert berries. The U.S. government at one time banned growing this group of ornamental and delicious fruits, because Ribes species contribute to a deadly white pine disease called white pine blister rust. Several states still restrict the sale and transport of Ribes, although disease-resistant varieties, which eliminate the problem, are now...
Beautiful blueberry
I'd be hard pressed to name a shrub that I like better than blueberry Vaccinium species . As an ornamental plant, it offers small white flowers in spring, glossy green leaves in summer, and spectacular crimson foliage in fall. As an edible fruit, it can't be beat for fresh eating, pies, pancakes, dessert sauce, and jam. Blueberries grow in Zones 3 to 10, but the species and best varieties vary from one extreme to the other. Choose one of these three species to suit your climate Lowbush...
Insecticidal soaps
Insecticidal soaps contain the active ingredient potassium salts of fatty acids, which penetrate and disrupt the cuticle that holds moisture inside insects' bodies. When sprayed with soap, many soft-bodied insect pests, such as aphids, dry out and die. Some pests, especially beetles with hard bodies, remain unaffected, however. To make soaps more effective, some products combine soap with pyrethrins, a botanical insecticide that's described later in this chapter. Insecticidal soap is nontoxic...
Growing Herbs
How and where you choose to grow herbs is limited only by your imagination and, of course, by the needs and characteristics of the plants themselves. Most herb plants aren't too fussy about the soil they grow in as long as it's well drained. If you're growing herbs simply for their ornamental flowers or foliage, give them fertile garden soil. Herbs grown for fragrance and flavor, however, are more pungent if they're grown in less fertile soil, so go easy on the fertilizer. Most herbs have...
Type of leaves flowers and roots
This section isn't a botany lesson. The reason you need to know plant parts when you're planning a garden is that it will help you choose plants with flowers and foliage that complement each other from a design perspective, and it will help you foresee challenges such as trying to plant under trees with shallow roots. Each leaf characteristic influences the overall appearance of a plant. I won't bore you with the scores of words botanists have come up with to describe leaves, but here are a few...
Testing on your own or sending a sample to the tab
Home test kits give you a basic pH reading and an estimation of the major nutrients in your soil. Nurseries and garden centers sell test kits ranging from extremely simple to elaborate. The more sophisticated tests cost more but give you more accurate results. You can also send a soil sample to a lab for testing. The nutrient level and pH test results are more accurate and detailed than those provided by home kits. In addition, testing labs can look for things that home kits can't, such as...
Citrus
This large tropical and subtropical group covers a wide range of juicy fruits from tiny kumquats to huge pummelos, which require almost frost-free climates to produce fruit most can take 25-28 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours and hot summers to help ripen and sweeten the fruit. These trees need temperatures between 70-90 degrees Fahrenheit for best growth. In the United States, the citrus-growing region is limited to Florida, coastal areas of the Gulf Coast states, and parts of Arizona and...
Testing your soil type Sand silt or clay
So how do you know what type of soil you have Take a small amount of damp soil in your hand, as shown in Figure 5-1, and rub a pinch of it between your thumb and index finger. If the soil feels gritty, it's mostly sand if it feels slick and slimy, it's mostly clay. If you can form a cylinder, but the material starts to crumble as you roll it, it's mostly silt. For a more accurate measurement of the amounts of clay, silt, and sand in your soil, use the jar test. Here's how 1. Collect soil from...
Planning Your Organic Landscape
Knowing plant terms Understanding climate and microclimate Evaluating your landscape Drawing a map 0esign is fundamental to successful organic gardening. Well-placed plants can shelter your house provide refuge for wildlife and give you all the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers you desire. This chapter may be the most important one in the book because it's about putting plants in the right places and starting them off on the right foot, so to speak. It provides an overview of designing...
Nematodes
Not to be confused with pest nematodes, beneficial nematodes are microscopic, wormlike organisms that live in moist soil. Naturally occurring throughout the world, they prey on many soil-dwelling pests, including ants, fleas, sod webworms, raspberry cane borers, and cutworms. They are especially useful for controlling Japanese beetle grubs. You can purchase beneficial nematodes from garden centers and mail-order suppliers. Because they're living organisms, nematodes must be stored and applied...
Sowing seeds and setting out transplants
The general rule for planting seeds is to plant them twice as deep as the seeds are wide, but your best bet is to follow the guidelines on the seed packet. Keep the soil evenly moist after planting. If you're unsure what the crop seedlings look like, plant seeds in rows. That way, you'll be able to differentiate and remove weed seedlings between and within the rows. If you're transplanting plants that were started indoors or in a greenhouse, give them at least a week to harden off become...
Bedding plants for mass planting
Gardens devoted to just annuals make a big impact along streets, sidewalks, and other places where the mass of color is more important than the individual plants. Look for plants that grow fairly low usually up to a foot high and that bloom for at least two to three months with little maintenance. Bright red, yellow, orange, and white work best in plantings viewed from a distance cool blue and purple are better for close-range viewing. To find the number of plants you need to fill a...
Curing Common Garden Diseases
Many names of plant diseases describe the symptoms they cause powdery mildew, leaf curl, and club root diseases, for example. Some diseases attack only one plant part, whereas others can affect the entire plant. The following list describes some of the most common diseases of trees, shrubs, vegetables, flowers, and fruits Anthracnose This group of fungi can attack many plants beans, vine crops, tomatoes, and peppers and trees dogwoods, maples, ash, and sycamores . Look for small, discolored...
Tomatoes
Easily the most popular garden vegetable, the tomato comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. The plants, however, fall into two categories. Determinate varieties stop growing taller when they reach a certain height and need minimal support, making them ideal for containers. Indeterminate varieties just keep on growing taller and taller, like Jack's beanstalk Indeterminate tomatoes require trellising but yield more fruit per square foot of garden space. Most gardeners grow tomatoes for...
Solving Common Rose Troubles
Choosing disease-resistant roses in the first place eliminates many common problems, but many of the most popular roses need intervention to keep them healthy. Show roses regularly fall prey to the common diseases, especially in climates with humid growing seasons. If you're in a low-humidity region where summer rainfall is rare, you have the best chance of growing disease-free show roses without fungicides. Diseases that damage leaves look unsightly and prevent plants from making enough food...
Elegant elderberry
This underused shrub Sambucus canadensis is native to eastern North America. It has few serious pests or diseases, thrives in poorly drained soil, lives in Zones 3 to 9, and produces clusters of Vitamin C-rich fruit. If groomed to remove dead wood and wayward shoots, elderberry makes an attractive small landscape tree or large shrub, which grows up to 8 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide. Elderberries tend to send up new shoots from the roots and create thickets, but individual stems usually live...
Animalbased fertilizers
Whether by land, by sea, or by air, animals, fish, and birds all provide organic fertilizers that can help plants grow. Following are some of the most commonly available kinds Manures Animal manures provide lots of organic matter to the soil, but most have low nutrient value. A few, such as chicken manure, do have high available nitrogen content. In general, use only composted manures, because fresh manures can burn tender roots. You can find much more information on manures and the many...
Identifying beneficial insects
Insects that prey on or parasitize insect pests are called beneficial insects. Whether you know it or not, you rely on these allies to help keep the insect balance from tipping too far in the destructive direction. If you familiarize yourself with these good guys, you can encourage their presence in the garden and avoid killing these innocent bystanders just because they happen to be the insects you spy on your favorite dahlias. You can buy many of these beneficial insects from mail-order...
Stevia
The incredibly sweet leaves of Stevia Stevia rebaudiana can be used to sweeten a variety of foods and beverages. Planting and care Hardy only to Zone 9, stevia is a tender perennial that you can grow as an annual or bring indoors in winter. The shrubby plants grow well in containers you can snip off a leaf or two to chew on or drop into your tea. Special uses To make stevia powder, remove the leaves dry them in the sun and grind them, using a mortar and pestle or an electric spice or coffee...
Pheromonebaited traps
These traps are baited with a pheromone the scent released by a female insect to attract a male of the same species. The artificial pheromone in the trap lures male insects, and a sticky coating or the trap's configuration prevents them from leaving after they realize that they've been hoodwinked. Codling moths, oriental fruit moths, and Japanese beetles are some of the insects easily captured in this type of trap. amp NG Some evidence exists that putting up a Japanese beetle trap can attract...
Identify culprits
Even the most accomplished and diligent organic gardeners face pest problems. The first step in managing a specific pest is identifying it. Just because an insect shows up on a plant doesn't mean that it's a pest. Ants and spiders, for example, may take up residence on plants, but they're generally harmless. Always take the time to research pests and make a positive ID. Use a field guide to identify insects so that you don't inadvertently destroy beneficial ones. If you think your plant is...
Avoid opening wounds
Like an open skin wound, damaged bark or foliage provides an ideal entry point for diseases and insects. Even torn leaves caused by a thunderstorm provide an opening for invasion. Although you can't lessen the ravages of weather, you can protect plants from mechanical damage caused by string trimmers and rotary tillers. Encircling trees, shrubs, and perennial beds with a wide band of mulch helps keep power equipment away from the plants. Make sure that mower blades are sharp so that they make...
The fungus among us
Fungi play an important role in our lives and in garden ecosystems, and the number of species that cause problems is relatively small. Good fungi are responsible for much of the decomposition that takes place in your compost pile. Also, without fungi we'd have no yeast bread yeast is a fungus and no beer If you take the time to study them, you'll find that fungi are fascinating. They range in size from a single cell to the largest known living organism on the planet a 3 2-mile-wide underground...
Determining a planting date
Most vegetables are annual plants that die after one season of growth. They generally fall into two groups Warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, melons, and cucumber grow best in hot weather. Plant them one to two weeks after the last frost date for your area or when the soil is at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. These plants don't like the cold, so don't rush to plant them before the soil warms up. Contact your local weather service, your cooperative extension office, or a...
A trifecta of tactics Trellises fences and cages
If you're short on space in your garden or want to plant more than you really have room for, go vertical You can save space and energy by trellising, fencing, or caging certain vegetables. Climbing vegetables, such as peas and pole beans, need fences or poles to grow on. These devices save space also, these crops produce best when they're allowed to climb. Set up a teepee of 6- to 8-foot poles, attach chicken wire to fence posts, or train the plants on an A-frame. If you use the teepee method,...
Choosing the Perfect Trees and Shrubs
When you choose new trees and shrubs, think about what you want these plants to do in your landscape. Do you need shade or shelter from the wind Does a corner of the yard need a spark of color Consider all the seasons of the year when you make your decision the best shrubs and trees have practical or decorative value in several seasons, not just one. A Japanese maple, for example, may have ornamental leaves in spring and summer, colorful fall foliage, and interesting branching patterns and bark...
Planting the Lawn
Whether you're planting seed or laying sod, do it during the prime grass-growing time for your area if at all possible. In the northern United States, late summer or early spring is best. In the South, the best time is late spring or late summer. As a rule, it's okay to plant any time when you can count on about a month of temperate and moist weather to follow. That should give your grass enough time to get off to a good start. If you need a lawn in a hurry, but it's the wrong time to plant,...
Root crops Carrots beets and radishes
Root crops provide good eating well into the fall and winter, and they're easy to grow. Raised beds filled with loose, fertile, stone-free soil provide just the right environment. In addition to the usual orange carrots, consider growing white, yellow, and purple varieties. If your soil is heavy or rocky, try shorter, stubbier varieties like Danvers Half-Long and Parisian Market. Beets come in a range of colors in addition to the common dark red, including white, orange, and...
Green manures and cover crops
Another great way to get organic matter into your garden is to grow your own. Green manures are plants that you grow specifically to cut down and mix into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients. Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, green manure usually refers to crops that are planted during the regular growing season specifically to add organic matter and nutrients, and cover crop refers to plants grown during the dormant season winter in most regions summer in hot, dry...
Vining crops Cucumbers squash pumpkins and melons
All these crops have the common trait of growing their fruits on long, trailing vines, although some varieties now grow in more compact bushlike patterns. Many of these species can pollinate one another, too, making it nearly impossible to get seeds that grow fruit resembling the original varieties. Plant leggy tomato transplants horizontally in a trench. Plant leggy tomato transplants horizontally in a trench. Cucumbers are classified as slicers long and thin and picklers short and prickly ....
Buying compost in bulk
For larger quantities of compost, buy in bulk. The price is less in quantity, and you can check the quality of the compost as well. Many private companies, municipalities, and community groups make and sell compost. Often, they even deliver the compost to your yard for a fee. Use these tips to evaluate bulk compost Consider the source. Before buying the compost, ask about the primary, organic-matter sources that were used to make the compost. Compost made from yard waste leaves and grass...
Composition of soil
About half the volume of most soils consists of clay, silt, and sand particles, which differ in size and shape see Figure 4-3 . The relative amounts of these particles determine your soil texture Clay particles, the smallest soil particles, are microscopic and flat. Silt particles are more angular and larger than clay but still microscopic. Sand particles are the largest of the three types. They can be angular or rounded. Soil particles differ in size and shape. Soil particles differ in size...
Fennel
Useful in cooking and in the garden, 4- to 8-foot-tall fennel Foeniculum vulgare has a tropical look and resembles giant dill plants. Common fennel is hardy in Zones 6 through 11, but you can grow it as an annual in cooler climates. It self-sows and can become a nuisance weed. Try the bronze-red-leafed variety Purpureum as an ornamental plant. If you want to eat the root, look for the annual or biennial plant called finocchio or Florence fennel. Planting and care Sow directly in fertile, sunny...
This side up Putting down roots
Bulbs appreciate the same loose, fertile, well-drained garden soil that your other plants enjoy. If you're planting bulbs in an existing, well-maintained garden, you need only add a bit of fertilizer to the hole at planting time otherwise, turn back to Chapter 5 for more on soil preparation. Slow-release, complete, granular fertilizer works best at planting time. Mix it into the soil at the bottom of the hole, covering it with a thin layer of unamended soil before setting in the bulbs. amp NG...
A Quick Guide to Getting Rid of Common Pests
The following list of vegetable, flower, tree, shrub, and fruit pests includes the worst offenders. Many more insects cause damage, of course, and you can get more information about the ones to watch out for from your local extension office Aphids These pear-shaped pests, shown in Figure 8-1, pierce holes in plant tissue and suck the juices. Their sizes range up to V inch, and color varies depending on the species, from black to green, red, or even translucent. Aphids leave behind sticky sap...
Ryania and sabadilla
Ryania and sabadilla are botanical pesticides historically used by organic gardeners to control a variety of insects. Because of their toxicity to beneficial insects, fish, birds, and mammals, these pesticides are becoming increasingly hard to find. Seek other pest controls before resorting to these substances. Rotenone was once a popular organic insecticide, but because of its extreme toxicity to fish, it has fallen out of favor. Although it may be available from garden and farm suppliers, no...
Horseradish
Take care where you plant the tenacious perennial horseradish Armoracia rusticana its pungent roots extend 2 feet into the soil, and the smallest piece can sprout into a new plant. The wavy, 1- to 3-foot-long leaves are attractive, however, and small white flowers add to the plant's appeal. It's hardy through Zone 5. Planting and care Plant the roots in deep fertile soil about 1 foot apart and 2 inches deep in full sun. To keep horseradish from taking over your garden, plant it in a bottomless...
In This Chapter Soh
Figuring out the problem Preventing plant diseases Identifying the disease Using safe pesticides to treat disease Scouting out environmental problems MMyhen it comes to diseases, prevention is the name of the game. You can do your part to prevent disease through thoughtful garden and landscape planning and maintenance. But what do you do when disease does strike How can you tell whether the problem is a disease or some other malady In this chapter, I explain the most ecologically friendly ways...
Coriander and cilantro
This annual herb Coriandrum sativum is so versatile that it bears two names cilantro for the leaves and coriander for the seeds. The flat, parsleylike leaves add pungency to Latin American and Asian dishes. The seeds play a major role in curry and other Middle Eastern fare. Ancient Mediterranean peoples prescribed cilantro and coriander for many medical ailments. Planting and care Sow directly in fertile garden soil, where seeds will sprout in a couple of weeks. Plant every 2 to 3 weeks for...
European and Asian pears
Pears Pyrus species share many quirks and characteristics with apples, and they grow in similar climates. Like apples, pears are usually sold as grafted trees and require similar pruning and training. With their glossy dark green foliage, pears make especially good landscape specimens in addition to providing delicious fruit. You can choose between European and Asian pears. They share most cultural attributes but differ in some other ways Pollination Most European pears require another variety...
Peaches and nectarines
Peaches and nectarines Prunus persica are actually the same species, but peaches are fuzzy, and nectarines are smooth-skinned. They have the same diseases and pests as cherries but are worth growing for the juicy flavor and aroma that comes only from freshly picked, sun-ripened fruit. They are self-pollinating, so you need only one tree. Geography and climate influence peach growing rather significantly. Diseases and pests that are prevalent in some parts of the United States cause little fojl...