Preserving Beans
To prepare a batch of snap beans for freezing, thoroughly wash about one pound at a time in cool water. Don't let them soak because they may get soggy. String them if necessary. (Yes, some varieties still have strings. To string them, hold the ... [... more]
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Caring For & Harvesting Beans
Once you've planted beans, you can relax because growing them is easy. They grow very well all by themselves, and that's one of the prime reasons they're so popular with home gardeners. To have a satisfactory bean harvest the two most important ... [... more]
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Bean Pests
There are a variety of insects that attack bean family crops. Here are some of the most common culprits. The Mexican bean beetle is the worst bean pest. The beetles usually first appear before the beans blossom. They feed for a week and lay ... [... more]
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Bean Diseases
The most common bean diseases are: Anthracnose, bacterial blights, common bean mosaic, and rust. Anthracnose is caused by a fungus, which is carried in seeds and lives in the soil on the remains of diseased plants. Rotating crops is important for ... [... more]
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Watering & Fertilizing Beans
Beans need about one inch of water a week for good growth. If your garden doesn't get sufficient rain, you must water. Watering is probably the most critical summer gardening chore for many people, and it's the job most often done wrong. However, ... [... more]
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Non-Pest Cole Crop Problems
Many gardening problems can be solved or prevented with nothing more than old-fashioned common sense. Here are some tips for growing the best possible cole crops. Sometimes weather conditions cause cole crops to fail to produce quality heads. If ... [... more]
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Growing Cole Crops
Keeping weeds away, watering and fertilzing are ways to insure a strong cole crop harvest. Weeds aren't much of a problem with transplanted cole crops, especially if you plant in wide rows. Once the plants take hold and develop broad leaves, they ... [... more]
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Cole Crop Diseases and Pests
Disease and insects can cause problems for your cole crops. Here's a list of the most common ones to look out for, and some ideas for control. Lifeless, yellowish green color appears in plant (especially cabbage) two to four weeks after ... [... more]
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Cole Crop Disease Prevention
Some gardeners complain that their cole crops are constantly hit by diseases. Although you can't always do anything about them, understanding how diseases strike can help you get on the road to healthier crops. The number and complexity of ... [... more]
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To Spray or Not to Spray
Be sure to consider the alternatives before deciding to spray insecticides. Perhaps you can harvest the crop early, or wait for helpful garden predators to restore the balance of power in your garden, or try natural insecticides or home ... [... more]
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Stewart's Bacterial Wilt
Most of the trouble gardeners have with corn is easily controlled. Diseases aren't much of a problem, and insects can easily be kept in check. Birds and four-footed visitors who want to share your corn harvest can be kept out with any number of ... [... more]
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Adding More Fertilizer to Peppers
Peppers, eggplant, and okra are fairly big eaters, but they don't like their nourishment all in one dose. Sidedress them a few times during the growing season. Side-dressing is working a small amount of fertilizer into the soil three inches from ... [... more]
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