14
votes
Accepted
Calorically dense crops that can be grown in southern Ontario, Canada?
"Calorically dense"? Look at fruits. Apples, brambles (raspberry/blackberry), currants, strawberries, blueberries. Pie cherries (sweet will depend on your microclimate, pie are hardier), apricots, ...
- 23.2k
12
votes
Accepted
Are there "air purifier" plants that can grow/survive in cars?
I have read the original NASA studies and the plant industry has misused the findings to sell more stock. Yes, plants do filter air but only when their metabolism is going at full speed, that means ...
- 58.8k
12
votes
Calorically dense crops that can be grown in southern Ontario, Canada?
Are you familiar with John Jeavons? If not, I highly recommend checking him out. I think his "How to Grow More Vegetables" is still the best resource for this type of information. Unfortunately, I can'...
- 9,464
11
votes
Growing beneficial, edible plants in the woods
All of the currant family (red, black, gooseberry, lingonberry...) do reasonably well in shade.
High and low bush cranberry do well in shade.
If you have light shade, look at nut trees. It will be a ...
- 2,429
11
votes
Are there "air purifier" plants that can grow/survive in cars?
Basically, it is going to depend on the conditions you can maintain in a car, where I live in the great basin temperatures get to 100+f and temps in a car can easily get to 140f which will pretty much ...
- 5,172
11
votes
Accepted
Plant recommendation for gift for kindergarten students
I recall doing something like this each spring (for several years) growing up, and the plant of choice was Marigolds (planted in a paper cup, as far as I recall) which were grown in class and then ...
- 23.2k
10
votes
Accepted
What is a good stone fruit tree for northeast Indiana?
In Northeast Indiana, you're in zone 5. There should actually be quite a lot of stone fruit trees that do well for you, depending on your soil. Stone fruit trees tend to be short-lived in our climate. ...
- 9,464
10
votes
Plant recommendation for gift for kindergarten students
My two suggestions; Scarlet Runner Beans and the second is Carex testacea or Orange Sedge. Easy to grow, very pretty no matter its age, wonderful to tuck into any plant bed or pot, nice just left in ...
- 40.2k
9
votes
Growing beneficial, edible plants in the woods
You are going to have a very difficult time growing much in the forest portion of your land. Yes, currants and gooseberries, black raspberries, and possibly sour cherries will tolerate the shade and ...
- 9,464
9
votes
Ideas needed to sort out this waterlogged, dark, mess in front of my house
It's not good for that water to be sitting around your foundation like that. I have a few suggestions that vary in the level of time, money, or practicality.
The simplest is going to be to add dirt ...
- 5,102
9
votes
Plant recommendation for gift for kindergarten students
Have you considered something as simple as Garden Cress (Lepidium sativum)?
You can simply hand out a pack of seeds and a piece of cotton wool. The kids can then "plant" it themselves (really just ...
- 223
9
votes
Should I keep thistles?
Agricultural folk certainly don't like to have those in their lot, especially if they harvest the grass for their cattle. This makes bundles of straw totally unfriendly to handle once the thistles are ...
- 3,740
8
votes
What are some of the fastest growing plant by mass?
I think duckweed may take the prize for daily increase (of course, it's aquatic, and individually tiny - but it grows like mad.) Then again, possibly algae of some sort do better.
Kelp or bamboo win ...
- 23.2k
8
votes
What are the easiest and fastest growing eatable plant you can grow in garden
None of those are particularly "fast" examples.
Radish is fast - 3 weeks to harvest for the small types. I don't like it much, but it's fast. You'd need to let some go to seed for seeds.
Since ...
- 23.2k
8
votes
Calorically dense crops that can be grown in southern Ontario, Canada?
From someone who grows a lot of their own food in a more northern climate, I would say that not only do you want calorie density, but you also need the ability to store long term.
I would personally ...
- 181
7
votes
What are some of the fastest growing plant by mass?
Some of the large tropical bamboos will put out new growth at a rate of 3' a day (about 1" every 40 minutes),1 which when it is a stalk diameter of over 8-10" is really rather impressive (eventually ...
- 51.8k
7
votes
Accepted
What vegetable seeds should be planted right now?
If you ask yourself what wegetable you should grow at a given time, you should use a seasonality table like this one. This kind of document can help you to chose and optimize your cultures by planning ...
- 531
7
votes
Reforestation in my town
You need to contact whatever your town's version of a city planner is. If you go around planting random trees, they're liable to poison them or cut them down. They don't want them growing into peoples ...
- 5,102
7
votes
Accepted
What variety of heather grows to a large 4 foot height?
Possibly Erica scoparia in English "Broom or besom heath"; you can find a reference here which has pictures for comparison. It is a bit outside its native range, but plants have to come from somewhere....
- 20.4k
7
votes
Accepted
What mediterranean tree should I plant so my grandkids could build a tree house in a few years?
It's not so much the variety of tree which counts for making a small treehouse, it's more its maturity, size, climbability, and particular forking of branches that make it a suitable subject for one. ...
- 132k
7
votes
What type of trees for space behind boulder wall?
I had a fence like yours put in so I will pass on that this is not a fence that you want to get scratched or rubbed from tree branches.
From the pictures it looks more like a two foot wide growing ...
- 58.8k
6
votes
Accepted
What plants are best for attracting butterflies to a small garden?
I think it is always best when designing a butterfly garden to start with the butterflies. Make a list of the butterflies that are native to your area, and then it is relatively easy to come up with a ...
- 9,464
6
votes
Accepted
Looking for plants to out-compete poison parsnip
Rhubarb should work well, if you get a large kind. It has huge leaves that cover the ground around it. I personally consider it ornamental, including when it goes to seed. It should smother out ...
- 18k
6
votes
Growing beneficial, edible plants in the woods
No undergrowth forest plus creek makes me immediately think of allium ursinum (European variety) or allium tricoccum (US native). Both are happy to cover the forest floor in spring and disappear later ...
- 16.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Brown spots on my Fiddle Fig plant
Will my plant survive?
Yes, but you may wish to consider cutting back the stem to a 6 or 12 inch length to encourage new growth.
Should I cut the brown foliage off?
Too early to say, this looks like ...
- 58.8k
6
votes
Is a screened in porch full sun or partial shade?
Well it's filtered sunlight, so that counts as partial or dappled shade, just about. There may be increased ambient light levels because of the reflected light off the pool, and possibly from the hard ...
- 132k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible