Garden Nuisance: The Fire Blight

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"Fire blight is most common in temperatures from 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit with frequent rain or hail. With these weather conditions the disease then attacks new growth, especially rapid new growth. High nitrogen fertilization and lots of pruning promotes rapid growth and should be avoided during these conditions. Tree irrigation during blooming should be avoided as well."

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Managing the Carpenter Bee Population Around Your Home

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"Although carpenter bees may appear frightening because they are bees and look a lot like bumble bees they are not really dangerous. The males can not sting. The females can but rarely will attack."

Read the rest of the article by Theresa Sylvester on Associated Content.

How to Plant and Grow Tulips

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"Tulips are a pretty flower available in many different colors ranging from red to yellow to purple. There are hundreds of different varieties."

"Tulips need well drained soil, sandy soil works best. If the soil is wet or heavy a compost and peat moss may be required. Another option is to put the soil into a mound which will help dry it out."

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How to Plant and Grow Carnations

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"There are hundreds of varieties of carnations that can be grown in a home garden and they are all beautiful. The only thing to remember when picking a type is to get one with a strong scent. Some hybrid carnations..."

Read the whole article by Theresa Sylvester here on Associated Content.

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"Japanese maples are gorgeous, widely varied trees. There are upright varieties as well as weeping or cascading varieties. The height also varies greatly depending on the variety of maple you get. The dwarf trees can reach 6 feet while other Japanese maples can grow..."

Read the whole article by Theresa Sylvester here on Associated Content.

How To: Banana Trees

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"Bananas can be very difficult to grow. For the most part they are just grown on plantations and bought in the supermarket. It is possible to grow plants in your backyard though. Banana plants merely make a lot of care and have to be grown just right.

First thing that must be considered is where to plant the banana tree(s). Banana trees should be planted in good soil that drains well. Potting soil or simply the dirt in your yard will tend to not work very well. A 20 percent perlite soil mixture bought at your local..."

Read the entire article by Theresa Sylvester at Associated Content.

Flower Beds: Pinks, Purples, Blues and Yellows!

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Flower beds are a great way to liven up any yard or garden. Those vibrant colors just brighten up the yard. You can buy flowers from seeds or you can go to your local nursery to but the plants. Seeds cost much less but if you buy the plants you will have flowers much sooner. Be careful to pay attention to whether the flowers are annuals or perennials. Annuals will die when the season is over and you'll have to plant them again next year. Perennials on the other hand, keep flowering year after year.

My top pick for adding color and pizazz to a garden is sunflowers. They are huge however, so not the best pick if you are going for subtlety. They can grow over 6 feet tall and are bright yellow. As a plus you can also take the seeds and dry them and have your own homemade sunflower seeds.

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Let's Start A Pumpkin Patch

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To grow pumpkins you have to first wait until the weather is right. Wait until the spring rains are over and the temperature is in the low 70s most days. Pumpkins need LOTS of sun! At least 6 hours a day. So plant them in a very sunny spot. Also, pumpkins have to planted on a small hill. About 3 feet around. In the center of the mound you plant your pumpkins seeds 6 to 8 inches apart, one inch deep.. 4 or 5 pumpkins seeds for the mound. If you want more pumpkin plants make another mound at least 10 feet away from the first.

Keep the soil moist not wet. Use a watering can instead of a garden hose so that the top soil doesn't get washed away. It takes pumpkins a couple weeks to sprout and leaves start developing within a few days after that. Two weeks later the plants should be established. At this point choose the strongest or largest looking plants and remove the rest. There would not be room for all 4 or 5 to grow.

A pumpkin vine can grow to 30 feet! Unless you want your entire yard being taken over, guide the vine where to go. They can be trained to go along a fence or over a bush or up a wall onto the roof! You can also prune them without damage to the plant.

Bees will pollinate your pumpkins and soon you'll have lots of fruit growing.

That's all for today. Coming next: Flower Beds: Pinks, Purples, Blues and Yellows!


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For more information on growing pumpkins check out this article: How To: Growing Pumpkins or this book: The Perfect Pumpkin: Growing/Cooking/Carving by Gail Damerow

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Growing Cherry Trees

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Cherry trees are gorgeous and really who doesn't like cherries? But cherry tress are hard to grow. Bing cherries are the most common type to grow. They grow in zones 4-8 which is basically most of the United States.

If you want a a cherry tree to bear fruit, you need at least two. Most types are not self-pollinating. And they should be planted about 18 feet apart.

Cold winters lead to more cherries. You still get cherries after mild winters but after cold winters you get even more. As for soil, cherry trees aren't very particular. However, the area should be well drained and recomended fertilizer is just an annual sprinkling of poultry manure.

Cherries will attract birds. Cheesecloth draped over the branches can help. Or tie aluminum plates to the branches. The rattling noise they make and the sun reflecting off them may detract the birds.

Best to do is buy small trees from a nursery. Just remember that the trees will take 3-5 years before they start bearing fruit.

That's all for today. Coming up next: Let's Start A Pumpkin Patch

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For more information on growing cherry trees check out this article: How To: Cherry Trees or Beginners' Guide To Fruit Growing - The Elementary Practices Of Propagation, Planting, Culture, Fertilization, Pruning, Spraying, Etc.
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