Is Pine Needle Compost OK for Vegetable Gardens? From Master Gardener David Wall
February 11, 2024 – There are two uses for the pine needles in your garden. For the first, pine needles make an excellent mulch for your vegetables. They don’t press on the soil and let plenty of air through them. They don’t affect soil pH, because they are above ground. It’s that simple. On the other hand, should we allow needles to be used in compost? It’s an interesting question, and the answer, after studying, is easier than...
Try a Beit Cucumber in 2024 From Master Gardener David Wall
February 5, 2024 – Most know of the “standard” cucumbers for gardens, which include Straight 8, Marketmore and Marketmore76. These are excellent cucumbers and typical results are usually 15-20 fruit per plant, although in excellent soils, the totals can reach and possibly exceed 25. Quite a few years ago, Israeli farmers created a family of “Beit” non-hybrid cucumber plants. While seeds cost more, the plants produce more. The...
Wood Ashes Can help Your Tomatoes From Master Gardener David Wall
January 29, 2024 – By saving fireplace or wood stove ashes this winter, you can use them in April to help grow bigger, better, and more productive tomato plants. Actually, wood ashes are very beneficial all over the vegetable garden. Besides raising the pH in overly acidic soils, wood ashes contain large amounts of calcium and potassium (potash), two nutrients tomato plants need in large quantities plus numerous other nutrients....
It’s a Red Oak, BUT!!! From Master Gardener David Wall
January 21, 2024 – You’ll recall (I hope!) that all oaks are either red oaks or white oaks. With only a very few exceptions, all red oaks have pointed lobed leaves, while white oaks have rounded lobes. With that introduction, the tree for discussion this week is one that few in our area are familiar, the shingle oak (Quercus imbriicaria). It’s a red oak, BUT it has no pointed lobes. Shingle oaks are no longer regarded as a tree...
Plant Carrots Now! From Master Gardener David Wall
January 16, 2024 – OK, why grow carrots when they’re so easy to pick up at the grocery store already peeled, cut into bite sized morsels, cleaned and packaged? Well, I have to admit, these are pretty good reasons for using the grocery store. On the other hand, growing them for self and the needy provides a great service and satisfaction for the grower. Many of us had grandparents who gardened and tried to instill a...
Try a Mortgage Lifter Tomato in 2024 From Master Gardener David Wall
January 7, 2024 – If you’re looking for a “different” large (as in huge!) tomato with great flavor, then perhaps the Mortgage Lifter is a plant you should consider. It’s an indeterminate, open-pollinated, heirloom tomato producing fruit weighing up to 2.5 pound that will produce until frost! The plant has a pinkish-red beefsteak-shaped fruit that has few seeds. Maturity occurs in 80-85 days. The plant can grow as large as...
Garden Seeds for Your 2024 Garden From Master Gardener David Wall
December 31, 2023 – It’s time to start thinking about what vegetables, herbs, and flowers you want to grow in 2024. Do you want basics, exotics, heirlooms, hybrids, organics or combinations of these? Let’s start with the basics of onions, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and okra. Where will you get seeds? This can be very simple or as complicated as you want. On the simple side, go to your local nursery,...
What is Beeswax From Master Gardener David Wall
December 29, 2023 – Beeswax. What is it? How is it made? Well, we start with a beehive. The hive is built from nothing, and when constructed, serves as a home, a giant food storehouse, and a nursery. All three items are built from beeswax. So, what is it and how is it made? Basically, it’s a wax made (secreted) by eight honeybee abdomen glands and produced in scale...
Honey Facts From Master Gardener David Wall
December 24, 2023 – Honey contains 64 calories per tablespoon including 17.25 grams of sugar: much better sugar for you than table sugar, but sugar nevertheless. We all know that honey is good for us if sugar isn’t a problem, but did you also know: Honey contains substances to help your brain to work better. Honey by itself can sustain human life. One spoonful of it will provide sustenance for 24 hours. It...
Frankincense and Myrrh for Christmas From Master Gardener David Wall
December 17, 2023 – We all know the story of the Magi bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh to Joseph, Mary and Jesus, but there was always the question of what was it, and why was it so important to warrant giving to the Christ child. Further, why has it been traded as an object of value for thousands of years. Frankincense is tree sap or resin that comes from multiple trees in the Boswellia genus. Trees are tapped,...
