Strain Ideas, Tips & Guides

A strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, is spreading across wild and commercial bird flocks in the US. 

How to Identify and Manage Apple Scab Fungus Venturia inaequalis

Homeowners and renters alike have flipped the switch on how their lighting should feel. Bright and sterile overhead lighting is getting replaced with small and moody ambient lighting as more and more people ditch the big light for more custom options. You’re probably already familiar with the concept of mood lighting, but there are more benefits to leaving your big light behind than just for the sake of ambiance. Try a combination of our creative ideas for unique ways to light up your space without the typical overhead light to discover them for yourself.

Rooting hormone is a substance used for stimulating root growth in plant cuttings. To find easily available natural substances that serve as alternatives, we’ve compiled a list for you!

They say that you can tell a surprising amount about a gardener by the kind of potatoes they grow. Some of us, for example, are traditionalists who’ll plump for the floury, fluffy ‘British Queen’ (colloquially known as ‘Queens’) every time. Others are passionate foodies who prefer the firm, waxy, flavoursome, yellow flesh of a salad potato such as ‘Charlotte’, or the heirloom ‘La Ratte’. Individualists, meanwhile, often like to seek out unusual kinds, such as the dark magenta-fleshed ‘Vitanoire’, or the knobbly ‘Pink Fir Apple’, the heritage variety famed for its more-ishness.

Keep yourself healthy this winter by staying up to date with a flu vaccination. Flu vaccines are your best line of defense against the current flu strains. These vaccines are safe and effective. However, it is still possible to contract the flu even after receiving the vaccine. Here’s why: The CDC partners with state public health departments and healthcare providers across the country each year to track flu strains. Flu vaccines must be formulated periodically to be effective against the most current flu strains. This means two things. First, a yearly flu vaccine is needed for up-to-date protection against the most currently prevalent strains. Second, there are always less prevalent flu strains circulating, and it is possible for you to become ill from a less prevalent strain despite being up to date with a current vaccine. But for most people, even if they do happen to become ill despite receiving the flu vaccine, studies show their symptoms are substantially reduced with fewer hospitalizations and deaths.1 Flu vaccination is especially important for the elderly and those with chronic health conditions who are at risk for more serious flu illness. Since 70-85% of flu deaths occur in people ages 65 and older, several new flu vaccine options are now preferentially recommended for this age group.1 Talk with your healthcare provider about which flu vaccine is best for you.

For at least 12,000 years, humans have been clearing brush, digging dirt, planting plants, cultivating, weeding, growing, and harvesting—in a word, gardening! And for almost as long, these same humans have crafted tools to help them carry out each specific gardening function. We have developed tools to help break up and dig soil; gadgets to cut stems, branches, and roots; and devices to remove unwanted plants. The best tools increase efficiency and proficiency, and they are constantly improved upon, evolving alongside gardening and the gardener, and making every gardening task easier to accomplish.

An old Latin name for violet (Violaceae). A genus of some 500 species of hardy perennials, mainly from northern temperate regions, including violas, pansies, and violets, of which there are many hybrids and strains.

In 2007, Abbie Corse got a message every farmer dreads: “Are your animals ok?” 

Regular mowing is essential to the production and maintenance of a good lawn. Unless this is assured, expense, and work on all kinds of recommended treatments are of little value.

Gardening enthusiasts over 60, take note: using these right tools and items can transform your gardening experience, making it more enjoyable and less strenuous.

You walk into a Home Depot, visit The Sill online, or stroll through your local plant store and find what you consider the perfect plant for your home. Maybe you’ve done the research to find out just how much sunlight and water it will need, or perhaps you're just going off of how you feel at the moment.

Bees are some of our most important pollinators and are crucial to our food sources and biodiversity. Beekeeping is a fun hobby that can help keep the insects in your garden for maximum blooms and yields. It also helps increase the general population of these threatened insects. Keeping bees over winter takes a bit of preparation, but knowing how to preserve the colony to sustains its usefulness year after year.

Understanding the terminology used in reference to seeds will ensure you get exactly what you want. For instance, the differences between GMO and hybrid seeds revolve around science. Add heirloom seeds to the mix and the differences become even more unknown, albeit with a more natural genesis.

Garden pests are troublesome and often turn out of control if not treated on time. Here’s one simple trick for you to make your pest combat easier – Pour Water Over Crushed Garlic, then Spray it on Your Plants!

Daylesford Organic share this thoroughly warming recipe made with nature’s true superfoods, packed with the benefits of lean venison and seasonal ingredients.

Have you always longed to make wine from tasty sun-warmed grapes gathered from your own backyard? While I live in the ideal wine-growing region (USDA Zone 9b) near the well-known Napa Valley, you’ll be amazed to learn that backyard viticulture is entirely possible anywhere within USDA Zones 4 through 10. Growing wine grapes isn’t hard, but there are a number of key requirements that guarantee success, beginning with growing the wine you love! If you adore a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of the day, plant Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. When Chardonnay is your preference, you’ll need to grow grapes that produce a full-bodied Chardonnay. The following are some viticulture tips for planning and planting your own personal vineyard.

There are several slightly unpleasant chores related to yard maintenance, like mowing and weeding. But at the season’s end, raking the leaves can be tedious, back breaking and a seemingly thankless gesture. The job can be made a bit easier with some tips on how to rake autumn leaves with less strain, proper tools, and a better plan.

As you’re getting ready to tackle your cleaning checklist, it can be difficult to know where and how to start (especially if it's been a while since you last cleaned). To help you get started, we talked to Sharon Garcia, a popular TikTok cleaning expert. On the social media platform, she's known for her videos and tips for creating a spotless home, so we asked her to share her favorite cleaning hacks that will be worth your time.

The ‘Rogers’ strain is technically Aesculus parviflora var. serotina ‘Rogers’ (I know, a mouthful), a selection of a Southern U.S. native variety labeled serotina. Though much younger than my plain old Aesculus parviflora, my ‘Rogers’ is already much larger—more than 20 feet across and probably headed for 15 or so high. It was too hot and sunny for a good photo while it was in is prime, but you get the idea from the one below. A beast! So big, in fact that I planted it way too close to something it is now engulfing (left side of above photo). Funny to think about this Alabama, Georgia and northern Florida native being perfectly at home and so robust way up North in my garden, but it is.Either Aesculus makes a bold statement and is perfectly happy in