Your All Things Plants weekly news

for February 28, 2015

This Week's Gardening Ideas:

Brightly Colored Berries for Winter Beauty and Attracting Songbirds.

By Newyorkrita
February 28, 2015
Brightly Colored Berries for Winter Beauty and Attracting Songbirds.

An easily accomplished way of adding interest and color to your winter garden is by planting winter fruiting shrubs. (130 words - Read the full article)

ATP Podcast #80: Seed Starting and Much More

By dave
February 27, 2015
ATP Podcast #80: Seed Starting and Much More

In this week's episode we talk all about our favorite techniques of seed starting, including the paper towel method. We also discuss important information: preventing damping off, soil selection, etc. Trish shares from her pinboard of bad ideas, and gives us an inspiring look at garden poppies. (85 words - Read the full article)

Horned Melon Part Two, or  'Everything But the Horns'

By greene
February 27, 2015
Horned Melon Part Two, or 'Everything But the Horns'

Plant Sister is at it again, using almost every part of something as food. [center] She says, "I learned from my mother about many things: Do not throw away food or let it go to waste". Written by Plant Sister and greene (807 words - Read the full article)

Tree Trimming Companies Are Great Sources for Mulch

By Skiekitty
February 26, 2015
Tree Trimming Companies Are Great Sources for Mulch

If you need mulch and lots of it, contact a local tree trimming company. Usually they're willing to just give you the mulch for free if you can come and pick it up, or they'll charge you a nominal delivery fee if they're in the area.

When Rooting in Water Is Just Not Enough

By mjsponies
February 25, 2015
When Rooting in Water Is Just Not Enough

Lots of plants seem to root well in water. When you pot them up, however, they seem to decline, or fail to grow at all and die. (259 words - Read the full article)

Winter Doesn't End the Beauty of Your Garden

By jvdubb
February 24, 2015
Winter Doesn't End the Beauty of Your Garden

Some gardeners mourn the end of their growing season when plants die back. Some gardeners work hard in the fall, cleaning out their beds and cutting everything back for tidiness. While there are reasons to cut back some plants, I've come to love my winterscape when things are left as is. (443 words - Read the full article)

Light Spectrum's Effects on Plants -- Part II

By drdawg
February 23, 2015
Light Spectrum's Effects on Plants -- Part II

Previously I wrote about light spectrum ranges and how those ranges affect plants. This light range is measured in nanometers, or what's called Kelvin (the K number is printed on fluorescent tubes/bulbs). What is also important is the light intensity. If the light intensity is not great enough, it really won't matter much what the Kelvin number is. Light intensity is measured in lumens. (889 words - Read the full article)

Pushing the Zone in Alaska

By Oberon46
February 22, 2015
Pushing the Zone in Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska, has a pretty short growing season, which is cool (55-65 F) and tends to be overcast much of the time. So, having a greenhouse would be great. Not having enough room for one on my urban lot, I fortunately discovered raised beds, and to extend the season, hoop beds. Hope you will enjoy my journey into new gardening worlds. (552 words - Read the full article)

The most popular images last week from our plant database:

By kniphofia:
Image from plant ID 677370
By Jimiimijz:
Image from plant ID 664032
By ARUBA1334:
Image from plant ID 673086
By ARUBA1334:
Image from plant ID 527331
By pjay:
Image from plant ID 184293
By Halfprice:
Image from plant ID 56786
By HamiltonSquare:
Image from plant ID 676616
By pirl:
Image from plant ID 92885
By MargieNY:
Image from plant ID 554806

The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week:

Photo by ge1836:
Image by ge1836
Photo by jerseyridgearts:
Image by jerseyridgearts
Photo by ge1836:
Image by ge1836
Photo by 4susiesjoy:
Image by 4susiesjoy
Photo by pirl:
Image by pirl
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032
Photo by ge1836:
Image by ge1836
Photo by Paul2032:
Image by Paul2032

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

13 people gave for the idea "Pushing the Zone in Alaska" by Oberon46

12 people gave for the idea "When Rooting in Water Is Just Not Enough" by mjsponies

9 people gave for the idea "Winter Doesn't End the Beauty of Your Garden" by jvdubb

6 people gave for the idea "Light Spectrum's Effects on Plants -- Part II" by drdawg

5 people gave for the idea "Horned Melon Part Two, or 'Everything But the Horns'" by greene

5 people gave for post #797153 in "Video: Cleaning seeds" by JonnaSudenius

3 people gave for the idea "Tree Trimming Companies Are Great Sources for Mulch" by Skiekitty

3 people gave for the idea "Winter Interest - The Eye of the Beholder" by evermorelawnless

2 people gave for post #796113 in "Banner for February 23, 2015 by dirtdorphins" by dirtdorphins

2 people gave for post #796726 in "ID for volunteer to my garden?" by snarfie

The most active threads this week:

Subject OP Area Replies
Show us your Colors - Part 9MuddymittsIrises forum247
Show me some signs of SPRING!tveguy3Irises forum217
Show us your Colors - Part 7MuddymittsIrises forum196
Show us your Colors - Part 8MuddymittsIrises forum191
Show us your Colors - Part 6MuddymittsIrises forum190
Show us your Colors - Part 10MuddymittsIrises forum187
Show us your Colors - Part 11MuddymittsIrises forum156
Show us your Colors - Part 12MuddymittsIrises forum104
How's your GH surviving today's cold ?EcscubaGreenhouses forum45

Some new reviews from the ATP Green Pages:

DonShirer recommended Perennials for American Gardens and wrote:

An authoritative list of perennials by generic name (i.e. delphinium) usually with a photo, followed by a list of its species and cultivars with typical light and soil requirements, zones, bloom time, height, width, leaf type, color, propagation methods, availability and other descriptive information. Includes appendices on planting and growing perennials, sources of plant materials, display gardens, and indices of synonyms and common names. A perennial bible of 631 pages!

DonShirer recommended 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden and wrote:

When I was a relative newomer to gardening in my retirement, this book opened my eyes to the wonderfully varied heirloom tomatoes hardly mentioned in most commercial catalogs. Dr. Male's enthusiasm and expertise come through in every chapter and she provides just enough detail on growing seedlings to ensure success without becoming boring. The best part of the book is the guide to 100 selected varieties, of many different shapes, sizes and habits. There are also chapters on tomato origins, selecting and growing varieties, saving seeds, and creating your own heirlooms.

DonShirer recommended Epic Tomatoes and wrote:

EPIC TOMATOES or How To Select & Grow the Best Varieties of All Time, by a recognized expert responsible for several of the most popular open-pollinated tomato varieties, is the most complete volume on tomatoes I have read. Lavishly illustrated, it starts with the origins and anatomy of the tomato, moves on to Planning, Planting, Growing and Harvesting, and includes chapters on Saving Seeds, Breeding your own varieties, and Troubleshooting pests and diseases. His answers to many of the usual questions about tomato growing shoot down many myths, and his listing of resources includes a table of 250 recommended varieties. Highly recommended. Also in paperback or eBook. Along with Carolyn Male's book on Heirloom Tomatoes, this will become a staple of my garden library.

Seedfork recommended The Complete Compost Gardening Guide and wrote:

This is the best book I have read on composting. It should answer just about any question on the subject. I found the book to be easy to read, it has great illustrations, beautiful photos, and is organized very well. If you are interested in composting I recommend this book.

Toni recommended Terroir Seeds ~ Underwood Gardens and wrote:

I have ordered from Terroir Seeds a few times over the years and have been very happy with the results. I find great value in their newsletter with all of their tips, how to's and wonderful recipes. I have also listened to wonderful advice from Steve on a few different podcasts. I highly recommend Terroir Seeds.

We keep growing, because ATP is where all the excitement is these days! Check out these numbers from last week: