Home orchards are a lot of work- trees need pruning, thinning and a watchful eye for pests and diseases. But if there is one job you should NOT neglect on your home orchard, it is thinning and summer pruning.
Tag Archives: garden
Pampered Plants or Plants that Thrive?
After many years of gardening in Idaho I have come to a conclusion about how I will grow my garden. I am tired of pampering plants, I am tired of buying some new beautiful variety to find out in a year or two, they don’t like my soil, or the humidity or the winter snow […]
A Simple Guide to Pruning Hybrid Tea Roses in Spring
I said simple, so I’m gonna make bullet points for those who skim read only. For you who want more detailed info, it will be after this text. 1. Clean all your pruning tools. 2. Prune all the canes for height. You determine the height you want. More info below 3. Cut to the base […]
Best Perennials for Attracting Bees and Annuals
Fall Blooming Here is a SHORT list of fall blooming plants that grow well in Idaho heat low humidity alkaline soils do not require a lot of water. These are the best flowers I have found. This is not a complete list by any means, and if you have some suggestions- I will add them! Asters: […]
Planting Seed Tape
Here is a short video on planting some home made seed tape. It’s March and the weather is warming up- nights are below freezing but just barely and the day time temps are in the 50’s. This seed tape I made with a strip of toilet paper and glued the radish seeds with simple water […]
November 1 and Here is What is in Bloom!
It’s been a mild fall. The tree colors have been fabulous and we really have not yet had a hard frost. The frost has taken out the tomatoes and the basil, and the melons, but there is still plenty of color to be enjoyed! My favorite rose, Mr. Lincoln, has several fragrant blooms. The […]
Tomato Follow Up – It’s not good news
The spring and summer of 2013 have not been kind to tomato lovers. First, there was the late frost May 22, 2013- the temperature went down to 28˚ F. I had about 16 tomato plants in the ground that day and lost 12 of them. So, I replanted tomatoes around May 25. The ones that […]
Trench Composting
I am experimenting with different ways of composting. The traditional way of having large compost bins can be sooo SLOOOOOOW. Plus, in Idaho, we have to continually water the compost pile in the summer to get any decomposition to occur. On to trench composting. The benefits of trench composting: 1.The scraps are buried in the […]
Not Your Mother’s Garden Club
This week, five ladies met and started a new garden club. This is something I have thought of for a few years – a new kind of garden club. I wanted to be in a garden club, where we each work together at each other’s houses and then sit and chat about what is in […]
June Maintenance
The most beautiful month in my garden is June. So many things are in bloom and everything is healthy and prospering. As the month winds down, it is time to give some of those perennials a hair cut. Cut the perennials whose flowers are spent or the plant is starting to look leggy, or has […]
Emerging spring plants
A beautiful plant in spring is (above) the glossy ornamental ginger. These plants require DEEP shade and moist soil. Can’t wait for the lillies of the valley (left) to bloom. They have a sweet fragrance and delicate little white flowers just right for a miniature vase. These are finally spreading- I have had them in […]