Comments for Earth Friendly Gardening

Comment on Tree of the month: Red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea ‘Briotii’) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 25 May 2013 13:54:27 +0000

I bought one Aesculus x carnea “Briotti” from Wayside in the early 1990s. Now in 2013, the tree has only grown to a height of about 40 inches, and this is the first year we have seen a bloom on it. The single bloom is not the “deep red” described in the catalog and pictured (I still have the picture from the catalog), but a sort of creamy pink. Big disappointment after waiting two decades.

Comment on Allelopathic plants: nature’s weedkillers by Leila E.

Leila E. — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 02:48:21 +0000

D you Know if allelopathy has anything to do with pH?

Comment on Allelopathic plants: nature’s weedkillers by Leila E.

Leila E. — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 02:41:50 +0000

Does anyone know if there is any relation between pH and how allelopathic a plant is?
I am considering doing a science project on this, but I can’t find enough information!

Comment on Why not plant some native fruits? by Matt Harris

Matt Harris — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:34:46 +0000

You can find Paw Paw all along the Potomac river in Northern Virginia. I agree with Jillian, they sprout up in clusters. I wouldn’t call it the best fruit I ever ate though… I eat lots of things found in the wild.

Comment on Tree of the month: Red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea ‘Briotii’) by Liz Manugian

Liz Manugian — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 02:00:09 +0000

Ahhh … conkers! Takes me back to my childhood. We used to season ours by rubbing on multiple layers of olive oil, which tend to harden them. If you want to be the last kid standing, with the unblemished conker, then try this!

Comment on Allelopathic plants: nature’s weedkillers by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 06:55:51 +0000

Useful …..to foresters

Comment on New England pests: Lily leaf beetle by SH

SH — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:09:52 +0000

Just found a bunch of them on my lily in Asheville, North Carolina. They ,must be moving South.

Comment on Why not plant some native fruits? by Tristan

Tristan — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:58:28 +0000

I live outside Richmond and can second what Jay says. They grow like weeds around here. I’ve watch the numbers double each year in the wooded acreage behind my house – which happens to be full of tall shady oaks and up the hill from the James River. They seem to thrive in shade and moisture. Their flavor and texture reminds me a lot of mangos. They’ll be ripe in late August, early September, I believe.

Comment on New tropical butterfly garden at the Smithsonian by 3rd Culture Children (@3rdCultureChild)

3rd Culture Children (@3rdCultureChild) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 13:38:56 +0000

Thank you very much for sharing this! I also took my 3 children (6, 4 &1,5 yrs) to the exhibit, while showing them the Natural History Museum, as part of our Home Leave in DC… well worthy! Baby strollers stay outside the exhibit, but it was not a problem, because even the little one was so busy paying attention to the little beauties, that calmly stayed with busy mommy! Greetings from a traveling family, currently in La Paz, Bolivia!

Comment on New England pests: Lily leaf beetle by Kristina Powell

Kristina Powell — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:57:37 +0000

Ok, I dusted my Tiny Sensation’s with diatomaceous earth on the 17th. Since then I’ve seen 0, 1 or 2 beetles on each plant most days I checked. Today there were just 2 beetles in total. It rained twice since then. So the DE’s working, and/or it’s the picking, and/or it’s the end of a life cycle for now…? Two plants are trying to grow buds from the ground…so I’m going to fertilize all of them 2-3 times weekly with fish fertilizer, epsom salts (magnesium) and Super Thrive.