I'd like to plant bamboo to cover up an unsightly structure that borders my property. Can anyone make a recommendation for which varieties of bamboo might be best?
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posted by illenion
on Jul 1, 2012 -
9 answers
I have $150 to spend on my patio/deck garden in Seattle. What should I plant and how should I do it?
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posted by lunasol
on Jun 18, 2012 -
9 answers
Someone stole a potted plant off of my back porch. I'm assuming it was a neighbor or guest of a neighbor, because our alley is locked off. Anyway I am pretty sad and angry (who steals a plant??? It was a $2 farmer's market plant in a $15 pot), and also worried about my other plants. How can I protect them?
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posted by goodbyewaffles
on Jun 18, 2012 -
20 answers
I'm growing an organic garden with a friend this year. This morning, we harvested lots of salad greens and I took a paper bag of them home. They have not been washed, and they are in the paper bag sitting inside my fridge in the crisper drawer. How many days do you think it is likely they will last? Is there anything I can do to keep it fresh longer?
posted by long haired child
on Jun 10, 2012 -
9 answers
I just opened a brand! new! bag of potting soil, and there are a bunch of mushrooms growing in it. Is this a sign that I have amazing! potting soil full of vitality, or a sign that I should return it to the store?
posted by ambilevous
on Jun 10, 2012 -
8 answers
I have a house that needs creative landscaping—but I'm in over my head. Can you recommend inspiring photos or magazines or websites, or some guides to getting started choosing ground cover, hedges, flowers, etc, for a landscaping newb?
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posted by deern the headlice
on Jun 7, 2012 -
12 answers
Gardening newb question: nejiri gama vs. ho-mi vs. three-prong hand cultivator vs. Cape Cod weeder - which weeder for flowerbeds and a small raised garden?
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posted by Slap*Happy
on Jun 6, 2012 -
5 answers
Please help me make the most out of my tiny new greenhouse. Tips on growing, stretching the seasons, maintenance, record-keeping and other garden matters are welcome.
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posted by MonkeyToes
on May 29, 2012 -
2 answers
Will any coniferous shrubs survive the winter in planters on my deck? I am in Calgary Alberta, zone 3a.
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posted by photoexplorer
on May 28, 2012 -
8 answers
Talk to me about building a perennial garden from the ground up. I'm a fairly new gardener, and have recently bought a number of plants online. This worked well, because we have a small but complicated garden layout (in terms of sun/shade/water) and I can figure out specifics without getting overwhelmed. I also enjoy being present in a nursery to see the plants in person, but the good places are a fairly long drive away and weekend crowds can drive me insane.
Given a list of desired plants, how do you go about buying them? What is the most cost effective way of doing this?
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posted by barnone
on May 22, 2012 -
18 answers
I have a cherry tomato plant and a few pepper plants (scotch bonnets and jalapenos) in pots in a window that faces due west - they get bright shade until about 3 pm, and then hot, direct sun until about 6:30 pm. Should I move them to the front garden (facing south) in the mornings?
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posted by cilantro
on May 16, 2012 -
4 answers
I could really use some help identifying some plants that have popped up in my garden.
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posted by wwax
on May 3, 2012 -
14 answers
I want to fill or cover a large water feature on my property so it's child-safe, does not require maintenance, and ideally, allows planters/planting. Advice? Online guides? Experience?
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posted by bq
on May 2, 2012 -
13 answers
This year I'm trying container gardening for the first time. I've planted some indoors stuff (peppers, physalis, chervil) and am waiting for the shoots to come up. Tomato seeds are on the way (hopefully).
I live in Amsterdam (think NYC climate) in an apartment, and I've got a teensie tiny (30cm by 2m / 1' by 7') french balcony facing southeast that I'm going to try to make the most of. At the back (southwest), I've got much more space (about 3m2/27 sq ft), but due to the surrounding buildings it's almost always shadowy and drafty there. I'd really like to make use of this space though, seems like a waste not to. Any ideas what plants I could try growing there?
(Please don't say salad. I hate salad.)
posted by Skyanth
on Apr 12, 2012 -
15 answers
I need recommendations for small trees, or bushes or shrubs or something, that absolutely won't grow taller than two metres high, can handle dry conditions (Australian summers) and temperatures between -5 and +40 Celsius. Ideally they should either have pretty flowers or produce something edible (but not citrus, I have enough of those already). Needs to be available in Canberra.
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posted by lollusc
on Apr 5, 2012 -
9 answers
I need a fairly cheap, hard to kill, awfully pretty plant that comes in a 6-pack or more of bedding plants. And would be happy in a small pot.
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posted by Katemonkey
on Apr 5, 2012 -
19 answers
For the first time in my life I have a garden! What books should I read to take me from gardening ignorance to green-fingered? Both the garden and I are in the UK.
posted by xchmp
on Mar 27, 2012 -
10 answers
We have a house with exactly zero flowerbeds (or landscaping in general for that matter) and it has no curb appeal whatsoever. THIS SHALL NOT STAND! I have some experience gardening, but creating beds from scratch seems a bit major at first glace. Help me make new flowerbeds, and help me make a good plan for our new beds.
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posted by gwenlister
on Mar 26, 2012 -
10 answers
Previous homeowners built concrete retaining walls around trees in the backyard, creating large tree pits. How do we fix this?
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posted by Maarika
on Mar 3, 2012 -
8 answers
There are pecans everywhere. Formerly they carpeted the backyard, now they're in huge container in the living room. Mostly. There are still more to pick up. A LOT more, the pecan tree has been surprisingly fruitful this year.
What the hell does one do with a ton of freshly picked pecans, besides eat them and/or give them out to friends and family?
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posted by Brandon Blatcher
on Feb 21, 2012 -
37 answers
Garden filter: Favorite fruits and veggies to grow in zone 5 (Denver) and best vertical trellising options you've come across.
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posted by no bueno
on Jan 25, 2012 -
6 answers
Looking for websites or book recommendations for a gardening new to North American Zone 5 gardening.
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posted by wwax
on Jan 24, 2012 -
11 answers
Has anyone else noticed that in loose-leaf packages of spinach from the store there's often a few leaves of a grass-like green in with them? What are they, and why do they go bad so fast?
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posted by gusandrews
on Jan 17, 2012 -
7 answers
I'm thinking of building a terrarium to combine the excitement of cultivation and microcontroller/control systems hacking. What are some interesting organisms to grow in a terrarium that would justify elaborate control of lighting, humidity, and temperature?
posted by phrontist
on Jan 17, 2012 -
11 answers
I have a row of cypress trees denoting one property line. There are 14 of them, about 30-40 ft. They are useless as a fence as the bottom 10 ft of each is completely denuded. Nothing grows in a 6 ft strip either side - is there some miracle plant that would enjoy this hostile environment? If I have them removed, will the soil recover? As an Englishman in Portland, Oregon, I'd dearly love a beech hedge there...
posted by nicktf
on Jan 14, 2012 -
7 answers
I want to know how deep and how wide the roots of various plants will normally grow. Trees, gourd vines, wheat, clover, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, marigolds, everything. I want to make sure my raised beds are high enough and also want to prevent plants from choking each other out.
posted by gray17
on Dec 15, 2011 -
4 answers
I'm thinking about starting an indoor hydroponic garden soon, using a guide I found on
Instructables for DWC. What are some good vegetables/fruits to grow beyond tomatoes and herbs, which would ideally grow at similar temperatures and light levels as tomatoes and herbs? And what's the best place to buy seeds, either online or in the Princeton/New Brunswick, NJ area?
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posted by mccarty.tim
on Nov 22, 2011 -
8 answers
We bought a plum tree, originally to keep in a pot in a patio, that location didn't work out, and now we think that if we take it out of the pot and plant it in the ground it will do better next year. How close to our house can we plant it?
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posted by foleypt
on Nov 20, 2011 -
9 answers