Gardeners may notice a white coating on the leaves of their cucurbit plants, phlox, roses and lilacs. This is a common fungal disease called powdery mildew that appears this time of year on several different hosts. The whitish gray “powder” seen on both sides of leaves, stems and flowers are the spo...

If you want to add a touch of architectural interest to your shade garden, look no further than the graceful silhouette of Solomon’s seal. Solomon’s seal is a hardy herbaceous perennial for shade that spreads through rhizomes to form clumps of tall arching stems covered with attractive green foliage...

As you harvest the first tomatoes of the season, you may notice that some of the fruit is not perfect. Blossom end rot, a physiologic disorder, results in dry, sunken, brown areas on the blossom end or bottom of the fruit. Blossom end rot also can occur on peppers but often is on the sides of the fr...

Pickled vegetables in a mason jar. Homemade salsa. Craft ketchup. Each summer, people use a variety of home food preservation methods to make their garden harvest last all year, and many of them involve acidifying food with vinegar. But with low-acidity vinegars becoming increasingly prevalent, cons...

I harvested my hardneck garlic crop earlier this month, which opened up some prime real estate in the garden, leaving me with an entire 4-by-4-foot raised bed to replant. As I was settling Eight Ball squash seedlings into the space, it occurred to me that I was inadvertently practicing what is known...

Trees provide us with many gifts: shade, wind breaks, erosion control, beautiful foliage, an invitation to birds and other wildlife and, in the case of fruit or nut trees, something tasty to harvest. Like other perennial plants, when selecting a tree, first consider the location. The amount of sunli...

Heavy rainfall followed by flooding in early July had a devastating impact on communities throughout the Northeast. Not only were buildings, roadways and bridges damaged, but vegetable gardens were impacted as well, leading many home and community gardeners to ask “Are my vegetables, berries and edi...

Many gardeners may start to see spots appearing on the lower leaves of their tomato plants. The two common fungal diseases of tomatoes, early blight ( Alternaria solani ) and Septoria leaf spot ( Septoria lycopersici ), typically show up every summer in early July. Early blight symptoms appear as sm...

Remember that song “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” by Eiffel 65? The one you couldn’t escape in the summer of 1999? (I’m sure if you know it that it’s stuck in your head now. I apologize.) All day and all night and everything the protagonist of the song sees is blue – and that’s the color of the berries we’re ce...

It’s no accident that a person who dominates those around him is often called the “cock of the walk.” The same aggressiveness that makes roosters the effective leaders and protectors of the henhouse can also make them a pain in the butt, often intimidating not just the flock but their poultry farmer...

Drying herbs from your garden is a satisfying, fun way to enjoy the bright flavors of summer throughout the year. You can preserve your herbs by drying them with tools you already have at home. There are three go-to methods for drying herbs at home – air drying, oven drying and drying in the dehydra...

The beginning of July means that sour cherry season is almost here! Sour cherries are bright red, jeweled fruits that are exceptionally tart and acidic, yet delicious when made into jams, jellies, syrups, ice creams and baked goods. When ripe, the juicy fruit practically falls off the tree into your...

Allium cepa. This friend of any home garden should be a staple in every kitchen. Crisp and sometimes sweet, often sour – occasionally packing a powerful punch – this veggie can be snowy white, golden yellow or a brilliant reddish-purple. Care to take a guess? It’s the onion! Join us for a brief walk...

What do you do when there’s more shade and shadow than sunshine in your garden? While your plant selections will likely differ from those chosen for a sunny spot, there are still plenty of beautiful, flowering plants from which to choose. When selecting plants for a shady spot, first determine how m...

You know the team here at Country Culture loves a good, obscure holiday, but we strongly believe that June 16’s Arborist Appreciation Day deserves more attention. What is an arborist? Also called a tree surgeon or an arboriculturist (if you’re fancy), an arborist is a professional in arboriculture –...