Strategies for dealing with pests and preventing disease in the garden. And occasionally I just throw my hands up and surrender to the possums, squirrels, raccoons, and people who wreck havoc on my gardening spaces.
Gardening is all about experimentation and adaptability. You can try and lock down a “method” but nature has its own ideas. Every gardening season is different for one reason or another. Often times it’s large and subtle differences in the weather. Some years it’s a freak plague of aphids from the sky, a raccoon that …
Guest post by Emira Mears Who knew!?! But seriously. Our house came with a number of lovely roses of different varieties. Some traditional pink, very fragrant lovely ones in the front, two of what I believe are dog roses also in front beds and a very prolific climbing rose on the back fence. Last summer …
While they are probably meant for kids, these paper model projects featuring assorted plants, insects, and organisms are fun projects for any age. Models include your standard garden fare; lady bugs, and butterflies but take learning about the ecosystem of the garden to another level with nematodes, bacteria, and more. Projects come with simple and …
The more I garden the more clearly I understand that gardening is a continuous learning process. The last few years have been excellent reminders of that. Last year’s weather was unseasonably grey, cool, and wet and I had to adjust and strategize to work within those limitations (and positives). This year has been incredibly hot, …
This week has been a frenzy of cleaning, selecting plants and planting. As hard as I try, I’ve got perpetual dirt-under-the-nails. I should have thought to take a picture to show what I mean. I haven’t been up to much in the side/street garden (it really needs a name) so I’ll start there. Earlier in …
A few weeks ago my beautiful blue jade corn was devastated by squirrels or baby raccoons. We’re not sure which because both have been spotted on the deck since then. I’ve been so miserable about the loss I couldn’t bring myself to write about it until today. Not only did they devour all the immature …
Guest post by Niki Jabbour Weeding is one of my least favourite activities and in terms of fun I would have to rate it somewhere between getting a root canal and beating my head repeatedly against a wall. That said, there is a certain amount of satisfaction derived from yanking on a dandelion and having …
The reality of any kind of gardening is that at some point you WILL encounter pests. While there are hundreds of products lining the shelves of your local garden centre designed to erradicate bugs from the garden, you probably have ingredients in your own kitchen that will do an effective job without contaminating the foodchain …
Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich What Happens When A Seed Germinates? The whole purpose of starting seeds indoors is to cheat winter a little. Ironically, even as we cheat nature, we must imitate her. Light, soil, water, air, and a basic understanding of the process of germination are all you need. Once you know the …
Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich Seed Rot or ‘Damping Off’… What is damping off? This gentle term describes the death of seedlings by fungal disease, either before or after they emerge from the pod. This sudden plant death can happen for up to four weeks after seeds are started. It actually describers a few different …
Guest post by Nadia Gard(e)ner Prevent the pollution of our water, soil and ultimately, animals (like us). With summer our precious plants have returned, and with them the wicked weeds also arise. While some may be tempted by the seemingly simple solution, herbicides, their environmental effects outweigh any benefit. Herbicides are chemicals used to kill …
Guest post by Arzeena Hamir Predatory Mite The predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, is a welcome insect in the garden and greenhouse. It is a fast moving insect with an orange teardrop-shaped body. The species is a specialized predator of the two-spotted spider mite and feeds on all stages of its prey, from egg to adult. …