My potato patch this year was an experiment. I kept reading about burying the plants with straw to increase the yield, so I decided to try it. Everything I read said to only leave two or three inches of leaves showing. This seemed like a bad idea to me, but I decided to try anyway ( Read more... )

I've got two apple trees, and I think they're both dying. One is absolutely ancient and had two hollow limbs that we have already had to cut off. Plus the apples never tasted that good, so I have no problem chopping it down. I'm not really sure what's going on with the other tree, though. It looks healthy, except that it's leaves are all ( Read more... )

hi peoples!  nobody has posted here in ages ( Read more... )

Can anyone tell me what this plant/shrub/tree is?


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So I just bought a first home in February and want to take care of my lawn without using chemical fertilizers. I did a soil test and it looks like it's low in nitrogen, phosphorous but high in potassium with a pH of 7.0 (surprisingly, not sure I completely believe that because I have plenty of moss ( Read more... )

I'm considering disconnecting one (or more) of our downspouts and putting in a swale and rain garden in the next few weeks. Has anyone done this before? If so, I'd love to hear about the process, and I'd love to see photos.

Thank in advance!

I have a series of plants just in front of some blackberry brambles that I've been fighthing. They resemble blackberry bushes that are just starting up, a little less than a foot tall with similar leaves. However, the jagged edges of the leaves are slightly smoother than my all too familiar blackberry leaves and the flowers are a cheerful yellow ( Read more... )

1. Like many, I have moss in my lawn. Do I really have to get a soil test or is it pretty safe to assume that the pH is acidic and I should add lime ( Read more... )

I went on vacation for 2 weeks and came home to 40% of my backyard filled with Purple Deadnettle. It doesn't look too bad actually but, from what I'm reading, it's an invasive weed. I'd like to pull it all out and replace it with some native ground cover. Any thoughts as to how I go about doing this? What plant to replace the nettle with? I'm

Any suggestions on where in Portland, Oregon I can buy a large amount of good soil to fill up those raised beds I'm currently building?

And what sort of amendments? I have a little of my own compost, so that's definitely going in there. But what about manure (and would it need to be aged)? Buying bags of compost?