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12
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Resloping Around Foundation With Mulch Bed

I am getting small amounts of water in my basement after large quantities of rain. I think the issue is related to a slight negative slope around part of the foundation where water is seeping in. I want to try to build the slope up around this…
Jakkwylde
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What is considered a "cool climate" for cool climate plants? Can these plants better survive temporary frost?

Is a "cool climate" one that doesn't freeze? Is it one that doesn't freeze until such-and-such a month? Or is it one where the temperature almost always stays above freezing? Related to this, would "cool climate" plants have a resistance to…
Peach
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What are some quick growing, flowering, climbing/vine plants that can be grown from a container garden (USDA zone 6)? What is a good time to start?

My main gardening space is a paved area in front of my house surrounded by a white picket fence. I planted a few vegetable and herb seeds in containers there this summer, and from seeing the failing-yet-still-pretty pumpkin vines creeping along the…
Sarah
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12
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3 answers

Can anybody identify these small, red insects?

What kind of bugs are these? Are they good or bad for plants? Do they bite?
xpda
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12
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2 answers

How do I get tender green beans?

We have successfully grown a nice crop of green beans this year, but in contrast to store-bought beans the skin is quite tough. Is there a trick to cultivating more tender beans? Or is it a matter of which breed we use?
Alex Feinman
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12
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What should I do after a pepper plant has partly broken under its own weight?

So, I'm sitting here on my computer and get the life scared out of me by a horrible cracking, rustling, thudding sound. I turn to find one of my peppers plants has broken - apparently one of the upper sections has just ripped off under it's own…
DMA57361
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12
votes
3 answers

What are some tall, narrow perennials suited for dry soils, sun & shade?

I have an herb garden that stays quite dry. Although this garden is in the notoriously wet Pacific Northwest (USDA zone 8a), it is against a two story south-facing brick wall, under a large overhang, and in a sandy soil. Combining that with our…
Eric Nitardy
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12
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1 answer

What are these blemishes on the skin of my bell peppers?

I've noticed the following on two of my oldest bell-peppers, also called capsicum (the third pepper of that "batch" had almost finished going red and ripening instead): It's not "on" the surface - I can't scrape it off - but it can be felt on the…
DMA57361
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12
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2 answers

What is the best time and method for planting cauliflowers / broccoli in a southern US climate with frosts?

Inspired by the various brassicas questions, I was thinking of trying to grow some. Choosing something that I would eat, I'm thinking of either broccoli and/or cauliflower. From what I have been able to read about growing them in a N.Texas climate,…
winwaed
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12
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3 answers

How much time does clover need to establish before winter?

I'm planting Mammoth Red Clover as a cover crop -- it will grow all next year in a couple of my garden beds, and I'll plow it under the following spring (~18 months from now). I'd like to get it started this fall, but I'm wondering: how much time…
bstpierre
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12
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2 answers

Where can I find credible information about companion planting/intercropping

If you do a search for "companion planting", you get millions of hits. However, it's hard to separate out the real legitimate information from the muck. There's a lot of misinformation based on pseudoscientific methods of divining which plants…
Kenneth Cochran
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2 answers

Is this plant really holy basil?

I bought some holy basil seeds on the internet and grew them. However, I think the shape of the leaves on my plants are more ruffled than those in the pictures I saw online. Here are some photos of my plant (click on the image for a larger…
lamwaiman1988
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1 answer

Are goldenrod cultivars manageable or troublesome?

We have a tough dry spot in the garden (USDA zone 4) about 2' x 5' where a goldenrod cultivar would go nicely. The native species, although attractive, has a tendency to seed freely and be almost impossible to remove. Are the cultivars more…
kevinskio
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How do I link a specific garden plant to its native plant community?

If I have a garden plant, say for example, Herniaria glabra, and I want to identify its native plant community, i.e. the dominant species, associated species, soil, climate etc., how do I go about researching this information? What…
Eric Nitardy
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2 answers

Will my basil plant regrow without leaves?

I received a potted basil plant a bit over a year ago as thanks for some computer work. Not knowing how exactly to grow it, I kind of let it overgrow, including not nipping it in the bud at first. It started getting sickly and spindly, and its roots…
Sean Duggan
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