As gardeners we care for our plants as best we can. We are also sensitive to environmental concerns when using fertilizers and pesticides (and many times we seek the cheapest way to do all this). It has happened to all of us: We buy a product that is “almost as good” as the original product only to discover that it “almost worked.” There are many “cheap and almost as good as” homemade garden remedies, many of them found on the Internet; I am going to explain why you should never try any of them. >> read article
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Bad Homemade Remedies
Do NOT try these at home! Here's why.
by Denise Schreiber
As gardeners we care for our plants as best we can. We are also sensitive to environmental concerns when using fertilizers and pesticides (and many times we seek the cheapest way to do all this). It has happened to all of us: We buy a product that is “almost as good” as the original product only to discover that it “almost worked.” There are many “cheap and almost as good as” homemade garden remedies, many of them found on the Internet; I am going to explain why you should never try any of them. >> read article
Plant Selection Key to Reducing Allergies
by Diana M. Rankin
Do you or does someone you know suffer from seasonal allergies, hay fever or asthma triggered by pollen? Are you tired of watery itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, a runny nose, sneezing and a stuffy head whenever you venture into your backyard? No, this isn’t a commercial for the newest antihistamine or decongestant miracle drug. Instead, it’s about how to have a garden that is virtually allergy-free. >> read article
Poison Ivy Primer
by Ilene Sternberg
Itching to get out in the garden? Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans aka Rhus radicans) includes several subspecies, and is only one of multiple sumacs, many of which are also rash-producing, and the one you’re most likely to tangle with in your own backyard. >> read article
Lighting Enhances Landscape Use and Beauty at Night
by Joe VanDerZanden
When designed and installed correctly, landscape lighting is perhaps the most dramatic enhancement the homeowner can add to the landscape. Unlike many other exterior improvements that may solve a single problem or achieve a singular goal, illuminating the landscape has multiple benefits. Adding landscape lighting not only makes your home more appealing at night, it adds security and safety while illuminating all sorts of outdoor activities long after dark. >> read article
Stop the Vampires!
Gardening Practices to keep mosquitoes down in your yard
by Yvonne L. Bordelon
Besides ruining a day in the yard, certain mosquitoes can transmit West Nile and other diseases in their quest for the blood needed to produce eggs. In fall, mosquitoes mate and the males die. The females spend the cold months hidden in protected places, such as hollow logs and in the cracks of buildings. So it is a good practice to clean up debris and caulk buildings in fall. >> read article
Saving Kitty (and Your Sanity)
by Susan Randstrom Bruck
With delicate noses in the air, some persnickety cats wouldn’t even think about nibbling on a leaf, while other “grazing” felines make it impossible to allow both plant and puss into the same room. Why can’t a cat-loving scientist discover a test that would identify the PN (plant nibbler) gene in kittens? Early detection might let you know what you’re up against. Since there is still no test available, I continue to work on my two-pronged attack: The Deterrent and the Disguise ... >> read article
