Entries by Lee Reich

IS REAL SOIL GOING TO POT?

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Bags of potting mixes now line shelves of garden centers, building supply stores, even food market. And with good reason. It’s time to grow seedlings and repot house plants, and some sort of potting mix is just the ticket for these plants; straight garden soil, even good garden soil, is unsuitable in pots. What’s really in these bags of potting mix? Can you make your own mix? I (figuratively) dig into these bags as well a provide my own (not so) secret recipe for potting soil in my latest blog post.

HAVE YOUR “CAKE” AND EAT IT, TOO

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Some of my favorite trees, shrubs, and vines bear luscious fruits on plants that also grace the landscape with attractive flowers, leaf color, and/or winter form. They’re also all very easy to grow, not needing the pruning and pest control demanded by apples, plums, and other common fruits. Read about my picks in my latest blog post.

SOIL PREP

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The soil offers a number of services to plants. Get the soil right and plants will thrive. What the soil offers plants and what needs done to the soil are the topics detailed in my latest blog post,

CLEAN APPLES, EDIBLE APPLES

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Most people, when they’re ready to plant fruit, plant apple trees. But apples are the hardest fruit to grow over much of the country and that’s mostly because of pest problems. You could spray chemicals. Or you could grow them organically, using various means of keeping the culpable insects and diseases at bay. All covered — you guessed it — in my latest blog post.

RDS (ROSEMARY DEATH SYNDROME) SOLVED?

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RDS (Rosemary Death Syndrome) has struck again, to my two, once attractive rosemary “standards.” Was it due to lack of water? Perhaps. But I have a new theory, which is . . . if you want to know, read about it in my latest blog post.

PLOTTING ALONG

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Is gardening a relaxing hobby? Not for me this time of year, when it’s time to plot out the vegetable garden factoring in crop rotation, succession cropping, etc., etc. Actually, for years it’s been easier than it was early on, especially when I realized that I should never delay planting for lack of a plan. Read how I got from there to here in my latest blog post.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE

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As we celebrate Washington’s birthday, let’s question his honesty — about the cherry tree and all that. What are the chances that he even chopped down a cherry tree? I look at this question from a horticultural perspective in my lates blog post.

OUT TO PRUNE, WITH WHAT?

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It’s an especially nice day to be outdoors — and pruning. What am I going to take with me? What am I going to prune? No matter; just three tools will do just about everything. Read about these tools and my favorite models in my latest blog post.

FRUITFUL THOUGHTS

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Winter can easily conjure up future visions of branches laden with delicious fruit ready for you to pick. But wait! What about pest control? Pruning? No problem if you choose your fruits and varieties carefully. And details about that, of course is what I write about in my latest blog post.

THE GARDEN IN WINTER

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The winter garden is more worth a look if it has some things to anchor it, whether they’re arbors, stone walls, evergreens, or dense, deciduous plants. Read about some of what I’ve created serendipitously or planned in my latest blog post.