At the end of summer honey bees begin getting ready for winter survival. The drones are killed, either by stinging or they are herded out to perish in the cold, cruel world. Brood production stops once enough winter bees have been hatched to get the colony through winter, and honey stores are built... (10 comments)
When it comes to separating a bromeliad offset, often called a pup, from the mother plant, many people develop a case of "separation anxiety". I know I did. While it isn't terribly difficult to do, there are some basic guidelines to follow in order to achieve success. (52 comments)
Daily Gardening Tips from this week:
January 9, 2012: A used dryer sheet in the bottom of a pot will help keep the soil from falling out of the drainage holes.
January 8, 2012: I don't like to see grass or weeds growing in the cracks of my sidewalk and I don't use chemicals in my yard. I found this weeding tool at Walmart for less than $4.00 and it pulls them out by their roots and if you use it after a rainfall it is even easier to get them out.
January 7, 2012: Paper wasps need water. To keep them from bugging you too much, have 2 bird baths available with water. One should be low on the ground & yucky looking, the other can be in the traditional bird bath. Paper wasps seem to prefer yucky water to clean water.
January 6, 2012: Cut a large heavy duty green trash/garbage bag into strips while still folded to use as inexpensive garden ties, open the strips and cut to desired length.
January 5, 2012: No need to purchase expensive seed-starting systems. Use plastic cleaner bags, tied at one end and vented on the other end (or, just pinch a couple holes on top), to create mini-greenhouses to germinate your seedlings! Your cut-up vinyl mini-blind plant labels will tent the plastic!
January 4, 2012: Help grow our plant database: When I go to a public garden, I take a shot of the plant tag before I shoot the plant. That way I have all the info ready, especially for the ATP plant database.
January 3, 2012: For dispersing very small seeds add sand and put into an empty spice shaker. The sand will help you to plant more evenly and see where the seeds have been planted.
