Have some fun learning about Charlie's summer hat collection with stories about where they are from and why he likes them. stay cool and protected this summer. Wear a hat! Excerpted from Connecticut Public TV's New England Gardening with Charlie Nardozzi...
All earthworms are considered non-native in the United States. The European earthworm or night crawler came with the colonists hundreds of years ago. The newest arrival is the Asian jumping or snake worm. The Asian jumping worm has spread across the north and Southeast of the United states and can also be found in the Midwest and some states in the Northwest. the concern is the Asian jumping worm has a bigger appetite compared to the European earthworm. It devours organic materials faster and can strip the forest floor of healthy soil and...
Learn how to care for your vegetable garden in summer. This video includes information on fertilizing, thinning root crops, and watering your vegetables. For more garden videos, check out the National Gardening Association Transcript Hi I'm Charlie Nardozzi of the National Gardening Association, today I'd like to talk to you about maintaining the vegetable garden. You know we spend a lot of time and energy building the soil and planting seeds and transplants in spring. But often by midsummer we forget about the vegetable garden. We really...
Learn how to grow climbing roses including information on varieties and pruning. Listen to podcast: My mom loves roses, so I recently took her to Elizabeth Park in West Hartford. This is one of the first municipal rose gardens in the country. Started in 1904, it features 15,000 rose bushes and 800 varieties. And it's in full bloom now. One of the features of the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden is the climbing roses on the arches around the gazebo. When in full bloom, it's stunning. No wonder brides want their wedding pictures taken here. It got...
Learn about companion planting, including what plants grow well next to other plants and which to avoid. Listen to Podcast: Gardening is known for its folklore. Some of these old wives tales have some truth to them and others, not so much. I often get asked about companion planting for insect control. Although many say plants such as onions, marigolds and rue can deter pests, scientifically, few of these folklore remedies have been proven. It might happen that you get fewer pests on your tomatoes if onions are growing nearby, but that may...
Learn some alternative ways to make compost beyond just building a pile. Listen to podcast: I have a confession to make. I'm not an active composter. I'd like to think the piles of organic matter I put together in fall will heat up and break down quickly, but invariably other chores take my attention and they slowly decompose to eventually be useable. This method works, but there are other alternatives for making compost right in the garden for those of us who aren't interested in layering, watering, and turning our compost piles to heat...
Learn about composting your garden waste in the garden instead of moving it to a compost pile. Listen to Podcast: Like many gardeners, for years I would diligently clean up the veggie and annual flower gardens this time of year, pulling out dead plants and adding them to my compost pile. But in the last few years I’ve decided to compost in place. Instead of feeding the compost pile, I feed the garden soil in the beds directly. Here’s how it works. Instead of pulling out old broccoli, cabbage, pepper and bean plants, I cut them at the...
When I first started gardening the container choices were usually clay or flimsy green plastic pots. A lot has changed. By using containers made from a variety of different materials, you can be match your pot with plants, furniture and even house siding. And these pots no longer just sit on the ground. Vertical gardening has elevated the pot experience to railings, walls and ceilings. For the most success, I try to match the right pot material with the right edible plant. For example, clay pots are known to breathe and dry out easily. For...
Learn about the best organic controls for perennial weeds in the garden. Listen to podcast: While annual weeds such as chickweed, lamb's quarters and pigweed have many control options, including eating them, perennial weeds really only have one; tenacity. Japanese knotweed, quack grass, horsetail and gout weed are some perennial weeds that plague Vermont gardens. These weeds are specially adapted to survive. They've the ability to form new plants along their roots, so even if you pull out 99% of the plant, what's left behind in the soil...
Learn about cover crops, including how to plant and grow them. Listen to podcast: We have a new property and lots of land to farm and garden. But before I go hog wild and buy trees, shrubs, and perennials, I want to build the soil. One of the many things I've earned over the years in gardening is you need to take care of your soil before anything else. One of the best ways to feed your soil is by growing cover crops. Cover crops are legumes and grains that are specifically grown to be turned back into the soil. They have been used for...
