Entries by Lee Reich

WHAT’S DOING IN YOUR ‘HOOD

Wilting or browning leaves on your rhododendrons? Are they dead from some infection? Should those stems with browned leaves be lopped to the ground? Wait! Before you do anything, read the backstory to all this, with advice on where and when to yield your pruners, all in my latest blog post.

WATERING SEEDLINGS MADE EASY

With so many pots to water, I could be tethered to my home like a dairy farmer to his cows. But I’m not, thanks to capillary watering. In my latest blog post, I write what it is, how to buy it or make it, and how best to use it.

TREE PLANTING MYTHS DEBUNKED

I love to plant trees, and I’ve planted plenty. Some are now 60 feet tall. If you plant correctly, its really not very difficult to get a tree into the ground properly, especially if you ignore a few myths of traditional tree planting:

SOAP UP

Soaps have been around gardening for hundreds of years, can take care of insect, weed, or disease problems, and they’re pretty much nontoxic. But the kind of soap must suit its intended use. Read about all this in my latest blog post.

WHERE’S HOME?

[Everybody loves ladybugs. Or do they/we? It depends. Find out what’s to love and what’s not to love about these cute little buggers — which actually aren’t bugs. Read all this in my latest blog post, here:

A WINTER FAIRYLAND

As in life, so it is in the garden, snowfall bringing its joys and pains. We can’t control it in the garden (unless you shovel your lawn and veggie beds!), but lets explore the good and the bad of snow in the garden, in my latest blog post, here, of course!

WAYS WITH CHOCOLATE

The classic Valentine gift is chocolate. A variation on the classic is a chocolate (cacao) seed or a plant, which I relate how to cultivate; then how to harvest and create the real thing, conventional, old-fashioned, or Mayan. All in my most recent blog post:

TO EACH HIS OR HER OWN

Pollarding is a special and especially easy way to prune a tree. Check out this latest blog post to see if you like the look or the use; not everyone does. Learn here:

RENOVATION: NOT A KITCHEN

Did you inherit a big old apple tree or trees. The truth, now: does it really bear high quality fruit? High quality fruit that you can get to? In my latest blog post, I detail how to return a large, old, neglected apple tree t its former glory. Read about it here: