- One of the best parts of the holiday season is finding a gift that brings lasting joy to the recipient. If you have a gardener in your life, there are a number of great options to consider, from tools to plants to garden décor. But how do you find the right gift for that special person? Here are a few tips that might help narrow down the choices.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
Is there any better holiday meal than Thanksgiving? A meal made delicious because many of the most popular Thanksgiving dishes contain foods that originate in the Americas.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
Would you like to add beauty and restore environmental function to your landscape? Native shrubs are a great place to start. Their extensive root systems reduce storm water runoff and soil erosion while also providing critical habitat for wildlife. Fortunately, many homeowners have already developed a consciousness about the need to add native plants to their landscape.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
As autumn temperatures begin to decline, it is essential to prepare for the transition of houseplants that have been kept outdoors during the summer months in Ohio, back indoors. While many houseplants benefit from outdoor conditions, exposure to low temperatures — particularly below 45-50°F — can lead to damage or loss.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
With fall upon us and winter just around the corner, we begin to feel the urge to make everything outside neat and tidy so when spring arrives, we are ready.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
You may have heard of Spotted Lanternfly. You may have even seen one. What should you do when you see them? Kill by swatting, stomping, scraping, squishing, or contain, trap, vacuum. Read on for details. They may be pretty, but they are dangerous to our plants and trees.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
By Michelle Smith, Portage County Master Gardener Volunteer Fall is often a bittersweet time for gardeners. As we enjoy the cooling weather and beautiful color of the autumn leaves, we lament the fact that we will soon be away from our gardens. On the other hand, the end of season also frees us from back-breaking labor and hours of weeding under the hot sun. Like they say, it’s complicated. What shouldn’t be complicated, though, are your fall chores. As we […]
-Op-Ed Contributor
Have you noticed the displays of bulb packages in home stores and garden centers? We see Tulips, Daffodils, and more. Now is a perfect time to prepare your bed and plant those bulbs. It may be hard to imagine as we head deep into fall colors and harvests, but these bulbs will bring you joy when very little is growing. Here are some tips to get started:
-Sandy Engle
Although we can’t wave a magic wand and change our weather, by gardening smartly we can continue to have resilient and flourishing gardens no matter what the weather may bring.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
The joys of summer, walks in the woods, trips to the park, camping, but wait— what are those plants? And now I have an itchy rash! Poison ivy, poison sumac and poison oak: these are three of the common poisonous plants which can cause rashes when we encounter them in the woods and at home.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
Every gardener wants to use the best practices for a healthy garden. When we look at a landscape that is in balance, we see diverse variety, a lot of color, and randomness. Pollinators hum, birds sing. We may notice some, but not much, damage. Mixing plants in vegetable gardens helps mimic natural ecosystems, addressing common gardening issues like weeds, insect damage, and moisture retention.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
This time of year, many growers are cursing the overly prolific weeds. However, some master gardeners view weeds as an opportunity to ingest highly nutritious greens, flowers, seeds, and roots.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
Every summer about this time, Japanese beetles descend upon our communities and begin to skeletonize leaves, flowers and fruits of many different plants.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
There is nothing quite like the taste of a home-grown tomato – vine ripened and bursting with flavor. This could be the reason that tomatoes are one of the most popular plants you will find in any backyard garden.
-Master Gardener Volunteers
If you don’t know an invasive weed called Lesser Celandine, count your blessings, but keep reading in case you do find it in your yard or garden.
-Debbie Barber
This is the time of year when you walk through your yard or through the woods and spot those lovely plants that show their beautiful blooms for just a brief time in the spring. You can’t help but smile when you see these ephemerals popping through the leaves.
-Submitted
Oh Spring. Trying our patience every day as we ride a roller coaster of temperatures. Not only that but we are up to our ankles in mud. Let’s talk about that mud or I mean soil. Did you know that your garden soil is a combination of dirt, organic material, water, and oxygen in air pockets? All of these components are necessary for your plants to grow and thrive. Currently in Portage County our soil is saturated with rain water, […]
-Beth Whipple
The Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program will be writing a bi-monthly column for the Portager entitled “Rooted Ramblings.” Look for our column every other Friday.