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21 votes
11 answers
108k views

Should I burn out my tree stumps?

I'm looking for the best way to get rid of tree stumps. I have so many on my property that digging them out by hand is almost unreasonable, and I can't get a truck into the back to pull them out. I'...
jdickson's user avatar
  • 895
21 votes
10 answers
54k views

Does cauliflower produce secondary growth after the main harvest?

Will cauliflower do anything after you pick the main flower like broccoli or should I just pull the whole plant out when I'm harvesting?
Peter Turner's user avatar
  • 9,181
21 votes
6 answers
56k views

Why has our lucky bamboo turned yellow?

Our lucky bamboo has turned yellow in a very short time, after we've had it for almost 2 years. We've trimmed all yellow leaves, and changed the pebble to clean the green algae - what else can be done?...
Kobi's user avatar
  • 405
21 votes
4 answers
217 views

How healthy are seedlings sent by mail?

I've never bought seedlings out of seed catalogs, but am sometimes tempted to (especially by the flashy free $20, no obligation seed catalogs). I'm just wondering what the considerations are when ...
Peter Turner's user avatar
  • 9,181
21 votes
7 answers
104k views

How to get the dirt out of the rocks in rock landscaping?

My house is surrounded by rocks (wraps all the way around the house and in places is 10 feet wide) that my father-in-law put in 20+ years ago, way before my wife and I bought his house. Those rocks ...
Peter Turner's user avatar
  • 9,181
21 votes
10 answers
33k views

Are there benefits to changing the direction you mow a lawn?

This is one of those ancient bits of "wisdom" I vaguely recall from my childhood; and now that I have a lawn which seems quite happily established, I'm looking into keeping it that way. So, I want to ...
Scivitri's user avatar
  • 659
21 votes
3 answers
28k views

How to plant a new lawn on a hillside?

I have a hill beside my house with an approximate 25% grade. What steps can I take to get a new lawn planted on this hillside, without it being washed away with erosion? Would I need to put some ...
trip0d199's user avatar
  • 563
21 votes
4 answers
23k views

How large a cultivation area to feed one person?

Consider a project like the Earthship. Supposing one would like to grow food (organic polyculture) indoors in such a habitat (i.e. in a green house). How many m² would be required to feed one person ...
neydroydrec's user avatar
  • 1,598
21 votes
3 answers
23k views

Is it OK to put moldy fruits and vegetables in the compost heap?

One of my frequent sources of material in my compost heap (I'm just getting into it lately) is kitchen scraps. My wife, bless her, has good intentions for eating more fruits and vegetables, but iffy ...
Sean Duggan's user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
1k views

Composting Bins - DIY vs Bought

I want to start composting. I live in a house of 2, and a fairly large garden, in Australia, and I am renting (therefore do not want to spend a lot of money on something that I can't take with me). ...
jakc's user avatar
  • 609
21 votes
2 answers
1k views

How should I prune lemon trees?

I have a lemon tree that is 8 years old. I didn't water it enough during its first years, and as a result it's only 2 meters (6 feet) high. How and when should I prune my lemon tree to stimulate its ...
Jonathan's user avatar
  • 1,907
21 votes
4 answers
52k views

Can I move a self-seeded oak tree into a pot to keep it small?

An oak has self seeded in our garden. Has got to about a metre tall and seems happy. We don't have anywhere near enough space for an oak but seems a shame to kill it. Can we move it to a pot to keep ...
Paul D'Ambra's user avatar
21 votes
3 answers
5k views

Rats have transferred poison into my compost. Is the compost usable on vegetables?

Delighted to observe that the rat poison we put down was disappearing. Less delighted to find some weeks later that they had moved it all to a larder in the compost. The poison is Slaymore (as far ...
Tea Drinker's user avatar
  • 9,553
21 votes
7 answers
123k views

How can we grow grass in our heavy clay yard?

My wife and I have been living in a new subdivision for the past two years and have been struggling with getting grass to fully take in our backyard. Our front yard is sod and has been doing fine, but ...
Kevin O'Shea's user avatar
21 votes
6 answers
126k views

Why does my grass have bright green patches?

My yard is about 6 years old (new house). When we put the yard in, the seed was equal parts Fescue, Rye, and Kentucky Bluegrass. We live in NE Ohio. About 2-3 years ago, we started getting these ...
Mike Ohlsen's user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
13k views

How much should blackberries grow in their first year?

I planted 15 small (6" tall) blackberry plants from pots (9 Triple Crown Thornless and 6 Prime-Jim) in late April in southwestern Pennsylvania (USDA zone 5). All of the plants look very healthy in ...
Keith's user avatar
  • 443
21 votes
1 answer
10k views

How do I start an oak tree from an acorn?

I have a lot of acorns on my lawn from a red oak tree. I would like to start a new tree from an acorn and I was wondering what I can do to ensure success. What should I look for in an acorn, for ...
uncle brad's user avatar
21 votes
1 answer
30k views

Should I separate and transplant basil seedlings?

I have begun to grow basil for the first time. Basically all I did was open a packet of seeds and throw them into a flower pot that’s about 20cm wide/round. The seeds have germinated and have started ...
Allison's user avatar
  • 211
21 votes
1 answer
15k views

What is my citrus deficiency, based on leaf appearance? And how to treat?

In the images of my citrus below, you can see the leaves are paling towards the edges. What is the deficiency and how can I fix it? The soil is clay-dominated with some sand and coloured red, ...
Lisa's user avatar
  • 4,932
20 votes
10 answers
11k views

Amending clay soil on a large scale

What would be the best way to amend clay soil on half an acre? We want to grow our usual garden plants like tomatoes, cucumbers and such but the soil on the land we just bought is small rocks and clay....
NKY Homesteading's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
4k views

What is the point of a greenhouse?

How does putting my plants in a greenhouse help them grow? Is it purely to shield them from cold weather, or are there other benefits?
Dan's user avatar
  • 4,351
20 votes
5 answers
1k views

What happens if you plant lettuce in hot weather?

For whatever reason my lettuce (except for the mustard) in my mesclun mix didn't take this year. I'm about ready to rotate in something else, but I'd really like a decent crop of lettuce. I don't ...
Peter Turner's user avatar
  • 9,181
20 votes
4 answers
806 views

How do I grow chilis in limited light?

I have been growing a few varieties of chili pepper (incl. Scotch Bonnets) in my garden since April (Spring). Due to trees, other houses, etc., they only get about 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 4,351
20 votes
7 answers
46k views

How can I get rid of rabbits in my yard?

I have rabbits that routinely build nests in my yard. How can I get rid of the rabbits legally? I don't want some officer from the DNR knocking on my door because I improperly hunted or poisoned them. ...
BQ.'s user avatar
  • 923
20 votes
6 answers
99k views

Is it possible to grow the corn kernels from commercial popcorn?

It doesn't seem like there's any process that would kill the kernels, as they're just being dried out. So would it be theoretically possible to grow the kernels into full corn plants? Would there be ...
Throsby's user avatar
  • 1,509
20 votes
6 answers
137k views

How far (on average) do tree roots extend out from the base of the tree?

I a looking to plot out my new garden site for next year and am wondering how far I need to be away from some nearby trees. The trees are a few different types (apple, oak, pine etc.) and anywhere ...
Matt Rockwell's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
52k views

Do peppers change color when left on the plant?

My mother and I purchased some pepper plants from Costco. The info card they came with (which identifies them as Capsicum annuum bell peppers†) depicts vibrant red bell peppers. However, they've ...
Grace Note's user avatar
  • 395
20 votes
6 answers
24k views

What kind of plants will survive the heat from an air conditioner?

I live on the 18th floor of a building in Hong Kong. In summer, all of my neighbors turn on their air conditioners, which generate a huge amount of heat. I have a little balcony like gardening area ...
lamwaiman1988's user avatar
20 votes
4 answers
183k views

What's the best way to remove 2-6 inches of dirt from my yard?

I am landscaping my yard and need to remove from 2-6 inches of dirt from the entire yard (about 2,000 square feet) to get it level with the rest of the property. The dirt in the yard currently sits ...
Jeremy White's user avatar
20 votes
6 answers
38k views

How can I get rid of mint?

I planted mint in my garden a few years ago and it turned out to be a mistake. I should have grown it in a container. I've been pulling out mint each year but can't get rid of it, so I dug up the ...
Reactgular's user avatar
20 votes
5 answers
28k views

What can I grow in a sealed office environment with no natural light or airflow?

Can ANY plant with green foliage survive in a sealed office environment with fluorescent lighting from 8am to 5:30pm and air conditioning set at 20 C (for the remaining time, there is basically zero ...
Lisa's user avatar
  • 4,932
20 votes
2 answers
3k views

My garden soil is devoid of nutrients, how should I improve it this winter?

The garden area in my yard has soil that even the weeds don't particularly love to grow in during the summer. They will make a half hearted attempt in the winter, but it definitely isn't as lush as ...
Ben MacAskill's user avatar
20 votes
4 answers
13k views

Can jalapeños be grown from pickled jalapeño seeds?

I bought a bottle of pickled jalapeno today, and I see there are seeds inside them. It is hard for my local area to acquire jalapeno seeds, so I am wondering if it is possible to grow jalapenos from ...
lamwaiman1988's user avatar
20 votes
2 answers
12k views

Will dumping paint destroy a nearby tree?

One of my neighbors complained that another neighbor killed a tree in front of her home by dumping paint in the soil. (Never mind that his trees are fine and there seems no way the paint could be ...
Jon Ericson's user avatar
  • 3,016
20 votes
6 answers
43k views

How to get rid of insects on basil while leaving the leaves safe to eat?

With reference to this question: Insect infestation on my pepper plant, what do I do? I have these insects in my indoor "kitchen window sill" basil and they do seem to be chewing it fast enough to ...
Lisa's user avatar
  • 4,932
20 votes
2 answers
119k views

Should I remove the dead flower heads from my hydrangea?

Earlier this year, I bought a hydrangea (from Ikea of all places!) and planted it out in the garden. It flowered nicely for a while, but the flowers have pretty much finished now and nearly all of the ...
Mal Ross's user avatar
  • 959
20 votes
2 answers
2k views

When will my tomatoes be ready to harvest?

I am planning to serve homemade tomato soup for a large dinner party on Sept 24, 2011 (42 days from this posting). This dinner is really important to me; so important, that I decided to plant my own ...
Derek Hunziker's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
4k views

What is a good ground cover for street frontage instead of lawn?

Where I live (Adelaide plains, South Australia) it's very hot and dry in summertime and so I think a lawn is a waste of water if you don't get to enjoy it, such as where the yard is exposed to the ...
Lisa's user avatar
  • 4,932
20 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why don't my radishes swell up?

When I grow radishes, I find that some of them don't swell up to form the globe I expect; instead the root stays thin. These are planted in the same bed and at the same time as radishes that do swell....
Niall C.'s user avatar
  • 7,209
20 votes
1 answer
119k views

How do you tell if a tree is male or female?

I was reading through some of the questions on fruit trees, because I've been thinking about getting some blueberry bushes and cherry trees, and I see a lot of people mentioning that the trees don't ...
The Flash's user avatar
  • 2,811
20 votes
3 answers
15k views

Will a cedar tree grow new limbs?

I've got a cedar tree that divided into two smaller trees, and the previous owners tried to keep the twin trunks together by tying a rope around them. The rope eventually strangled one of the trunks, ...
Joshua Frank's user avatar
20 votes
1 answer
8k views

Which tomatoes grow the best in high temperatures?

Which tomato varieties have the most heat tolerance? I live in a dry area (a steppe climate, or a Bsk climate with very hot summers), where the daytime highs are usually 89° F. or above in summer (up ...
Brōtsyorfuzthrāx's user avatar
20 votes
2 answers
4k views

What are the chances to get an edible apple from a tree grown from seed?

I am growing a few good apple trees in my roof garden, in pots. I love growing the trees, and of course love the fruit. Since I am in a warm climate, I grow appropriate apple cultivars which are ...
Assafs's user avatar
  • 395
20 votes
2 answers
2k views

What kind of plant/mushroom is this?

Two days ago I noticed this thing growing semi-covered in my garden near a grapevine: As you can see, it was light purpalish - light pinkish kind of colour. On touch it was a bit soft, and the ...
nettle's user avatar
  • 1,308
20 votes
1 answer
8k views

What is the proper way to prune a Fig Tree?

I have a fig tree that is 5-10 years old. Currently I just remove the dead branches. What is the proper technique for fig pruning?
asalamon74's user avatar
  • 1,598
20 votes
2 answers
11k views

How should I prune an overgrown peach tree?

I have just moved into a home with a peach tree that appears healthy, but overgrown; it has clearly not been pruned in many years (although I have cut out some of the branches that made it impossible ...
David LeBauer's user avatar
20 votes
1 answer
2k views

How is crabgrass removed from lawns?

I have some crabgrass in various patches in my lawn that I would like to remove. At the same time, I would like to fill in some patches (and the crabgrass locations) with new grass seed. I can buy ...
Sean Earp's user avatar
  • 425
20 votes
2 answers
23k views

How do I care for potted apple seedlings over the winter?

On a whim, this spring, I planted several apple seeds in a large pot just to see if they would grow. Two seedlings have come up and are very healthy looking, despite being munched by deer, and the hot,...
shilantra's user avatar
  • 303
20 votes
2 answers
13k views

Why are my apples rotting on the tree?

I recently bought a home that has an apple tree in the backyard. I don't know much about apples (or gardening in general for that matter) and I need help with a couple of things. I'd like some help ...
brady's user avatar
  • 301
19 votes
10 answers
36k views

What can you do with oak leaves within a garden? Are they compostable?

We have a lot of oak trees on our property. Is there anything we can do with the oak leaves? They never really seem to break down, and because of that, I am afraid to try and add them to a compost. ...
MichaelF's user avatar
  • 799

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