While I was actively working in a client’s flower bed, getting rid of the Canadian thistle a few years ago, I noticed these little black dots all over her garden walls. These dots were by her front door, on the hard surfaces of concrete blocks that formed a border for her beds. The south-facing wall […]
Eric Larson, correspondent
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Bouncing bronze birch borer from your dirt patch
I got a call a few years ago from one of my readers. His Paper Bark Birch was in severe decline. From what I could see, this two-foot-diameter tree was dying. I explained the dire situation of the tree to the homeowner. He decided to take down the tree. The way the trees die from […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: These bulbs bring color in winter & spring
Now is the time to really get started with several bulbs that need vernalization, or in other words, experience some of the cold temperatures that winter brings. The main reason you start now is that the bulbs need to set roots. The roots set best with soil temperatures at 55 degrees F and above. October […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Ferns and shade gardening
It seems that the end of the season is coming up, and we are writing this column during theAshland County Fair. My ferns are some of the last plants that turn brown. My friend asked,“Are there native Ohio Ferns that I could plant in my shade garden.” Shade gardening is a real challenge on a […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Have you ever heard of lasagna composting?
“Should everything be composted?” was the question discussed and addressed during a Master Gardener meeting. There is a long list of items that you can compost. Here is a list of items that will decompose when placed on soil: rotten fruit and vegetables, spent coffee grounds, eggshells, paper coffee liners, loose-leaf tea, tea bags, soiled […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Chicken poop from the coop can aid a green thumb
A few years ago, I spoke at the Richland County Fair about soils and composting. While at the fair, I received several questions about how to incorporate chicken manure into compost. If you have a chicken coop where chickens spend most of their time, you should not have any problem gathering the manure. One of […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Peaches are little pieces of sunshine
Peaches can be successfully grown here in Ohio, but they do face challenges. My friend from Jeromesville has told me that he has successfully grown his peach so that it would produce fruit only two out of 10 years. These orange pieces of sunshine are worth the trouble and effort if you can raise them. […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: August provides a second planting season
A few years ago, a friend of mine from Mansfield asked me,” Well, now that I have been harvesting my garden this season, and lots of my stuff has come out of my garden, what can I plant now in the spaces that I have?” My answer to her was straightforward. I said, “I’ll check […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll the Garden: Help! My squash Is wilting
I got an email from one of my readers this past week, and to quote her, “I have a couple of zucchini plants. I noticed a couple of wilted leaves on the first plant one day, but the plant had naturally received the rain the last few days, so I don’t think it was under-watered.” […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Meet the insect invasion attacking our lawns
Many people have asked me why their lawns are brown. Today’s answer may blow you away. Storms coming from the south hit Ohio in 2021. These storm’s paths wereunusual. Moths took this flight from Oklahoma in the storms. These storms caused theinvasion of Fall Armyworms and their devastation. The caterpillars or larvae of theArmyworm or […]