Beer Bait for Cockroaches
It's late summer and your house is loaded with fresh vegetables and flowers from your garden. While you try to keep up with the abundance of produce flowing into your home, other unwanted guests, cockroaches in particular, may be moving into your ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Breeding Your Own Squash
The reasons to save your own seed are myriad and range from the practical to the profound. You can fine-tune established varieties; you can also take advantage of genetic accidents to create new varieties if you know how to save seed. Last year, ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Sponsored Educational Publications.
Founded in 1973, the National Gardening Association (NGA) is the largest nonprofit association of home, school, and community gardeners in the United States. Our mission is to cultivate new gardeners and help flower and food growing enthusiasts ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
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]
National Gardening Association |
Better Coleus For Full Sun
Among the many new varieties of flowers introduced in 1998, two annuals caught my eye: All-America Selections (AAS) winner 'Prism Sunshine' petunia and disease-resistant Oklahoma Mix zinnia. Petunias grow well here at National Gardening, in a ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Add Beneficial Fungi When Planting
Many gardeners, especially those in warm areas, are still planting bulbs, trees, and shrubs, and adding soil amendments such as compost and fertilizer when planting. But the most critical additive may be fungi. Mycorrhizae are fungi that colonize ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Amended Compost Holds More Nutrients
Adding compost to your garden soils is a great way to improve water retention and drainage and add nutrients. Making your own compost is the best way to produce large quantities at home, however, an uncovered compost pile can leach nutrients, ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Worms vs. Deep Tilling
Gardeners know that earthworms in the garden are a sign of healthy soil. These earthy allies loosen the soil, create fertile soil clods or aggregates, provide pathways for plant roots, redistribute organic matter, and drain and aerate the soil. ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
An Easy Way to Measure Sunlight
A simple, handy tool can help you determine the amount of sunlight in any location in your yard. The Sunlight Calculator meter measures the duration and intensity of sunlight falling in a location over a 12-hour period. The results are indicated ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Add Water-Absorbing Gel After Planting
Water-absorbing crystals are often used to keep containers, hanging baskets, and pots moist during dry summer weather. The traditional way to apply the crystals is to mix them into the potting soil before you plant. Every time you water, the gel ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Cabbage Pests
Mustard, collards and kale are closely related to cabbage, and they suffer from similar pests and diseases. If you plant any of these greens you'll have to watch for early-season flea beetles, aphids and other insects. Spraying insecticidal soap ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
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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