Growing Good Gerbera

Good King Henry is a perennial herb in the family Chenopodiaceae – the same plant family as some familiar vegetables (including beetroot and chard), some familiar weeds (e.g. Fat Hen) and some other useful but more unusual plants – including quinoa and tree spinach.

We’ve had the Hydroponicum for over a year now. It has kept us supplied with salads and stir-fry veg, and I’ve grown one or two more experimental crops as well. Not everything I have tried has been successful. My spinach bolted (I’m not sure why, and I haven’t tried again yet). Alliums don’t seem to like germinating in the hydroponic seedling tray, and coriander downright refused. Coriander seedlings will grow hydroponically, though, so I may try allium transplants at some point.

Did you sleep well last night? You would not have felt so cosy if your mattress had been infested with bed bugs (Cimex lectularius), an ancient pest that is making a comeback in the modern world, complete with pesticide resistence. Looking for a new solution to this age-old problem, scientists from the Universities of California and Kentucky took their inspiration from reports written in the first half of the twentieth century (sadly not available online) that describe the use of bean leaves (in Eastern Europe) to trap bed bugs so that they can then be destroyed.

If you have trouble sleeping from time to time, then there are plants you can grow in your garden that will give you a helping hand. Whether you sew them into a scented sleep pillow or brew them into a relaxing cup of tea, these herbs are all easy to grow favourites.

This Stephania Pierre Growing Information  guide will teach you everything about pot size, compost, watering, planting care, and more!

While pickle juice may seem like an odd choice for plant care, it turns out that it may have some surprising benefits. Join us as we discover Pickle Juice Uses for Plants!

Plants have unique natural abilities to emit different chemical substances. With them they repel or attract specific insects. Flowers bring a pretty sight and a pleasant fragrance for us. However, for pests they often pose a life threat. That’s why such plants can perfectly serve as a replacement for the synthetic insecticides, as long as you know how to use this to your advantage.

Hedera, which we commonly refer to as English Ivy (pl. Ivies), is a family of around 20 species of evergreen perennial plants. Depending on their surroundings, these woody plants can be both ground creeping or climbing nearby trees, rocks, buildings, and pretty much anything they can lay their stems on.

The Pacific Bulb Society has a large report on numerous species.

Some gardeners say the best hips are produced by species roses. Here are some Hips Tips that I have discovered over the years.

In some years different plants do better than others. In my garden this year is the spring for primulas and today’s crop shows off some of the strong colours that I have been enjoying.

A Gardener’s Perspective of ‘What makes a good cut flower’