Blossom end rot happens not just with tomatoes, but also with peppers, squash and watermelons. There are a number of reasons for blossom end rot, all of which start because the plant has an inability to obtain calcium from the soil or the soil is deficient in calcium.

Blossom end rot is a sunken, dark area on the blossom end of the fruit, at the end opposite the stem. As the fruit develops, the rot area enlarges and can grow mold in the damaged area.

A number of factors can contribute to blossom end rot, in addition to calcium deficiency. These include irregular watering, soil mineral imbalance, root damage, broad temperature swings, or even high soil salt content. To compensate for some of these, deep water regularly instead of lightly watering daily; mulch to keep moisture in the soil; avoid high nitrogen foods that encourage foliage growth but not flower growth; avoid using fresh manure (once the plants are in the garden) because it is high in salt content.

But most important of all is the lack of calcium in the soil. To prevent blossom end rot, feed your vegetables regularly with a vegetable food high in calcium. On existing plants showing blossom end rot, spray the foliage and fruit with a calcium spray.

Gardening can be a tremendously enjoyable and rewarding activity. But it can also be the source of accidents, many of which can be preventable. Most accidents happen when gardeners take shortcuts, lack the skill or training to do a job properly, ignore potential risks, don't plan well or just have plain old bad luck.

While lawnmower accidents top the list of reported incidents, flowerpots (surprisingly) are the second highest cause of incidents: falling on people, cutting them or being the source of lifting injuries. Most accidents can be avoided just by using a little common sense, and while the ideas below may seem obvious to some, it's amazing how easy it is to forget them when we are wrapped up in a project.

Start by making your garden a safer place to enjoy. Design a garden that reduces the need for high maintenance. Double check for potential tripping hazards such as hoses, sprinklers, irrigation pipes and lose slabs of paving. When designing walkways or patios, incorporate surfaces that provide a good grip and aren't slippery when wet.

Avoid the garden when conditions are slippery. Don't leave sharp tools lying around--and if you are swapping tools, be sure to put the ones not in use with the sharp side (or tines) down. I'm sure we've all seen the cartoons of people stepping on a rake and knocking themselves in the face...but that's only funny in a cartoon.

Don't use electrical tools in wet weather, and make sure to wear safety equipment such as safety goggles, ear plugs and gloves when operating them. Also tuck in loose items of clothing.

Plant poisonous plants with care--or make sure that children and pets can be kept away from them. Lock away chemicals like pesticides and weed killers, or at least store them out of reach of children and pets. Never leave a barbeque unattended while cooking and make sure flames are extinguished before you go inside.

Empty wading pools after your children have finished playing in them. Avoid building a pond until a child is at least five years old and position it where it can be seen from the house. Grow plants around the deeper sides of a pond to help prevent children getting near the edge, or build a fence around it to keep them out.

Make sure ladders are put away or hung up when not in use. Ensure that the ladder is in working condition and the steps are structurally sound before using it. Never leave tools on the platform at the top of the ladder where they can cause injury if the ladder is accidentally bumped. Don't leave clippings on the rungs of the ladder where they might cause you to slip or trip.

When using a ladder, make sure it is tall enough to do the job. Be aware of the safety marks for standing on your ladder, and make sure it has rubber feet for solid footing. Always place your ladder on level, solid, non-slippery ground. Face your work and never lean sideways, overstretch or stand too high on the ladder. Last, keep one hand firmly on the ladder at all times.

Gardening should be fun and shouldn't be dangerous. Taking a few minutes to exercise caution will make gardening a much more enjoyable experience.

Pretty, isn't it? Like grass, only taller, wilder, less restrained. A true sedge and not a grass, it is a nuisance in the lawn--although the occasional plant can show real beauty in the very lack of its nice, neat, small blades.

Howard Garrett, a long-time organic advocate in Texas recently wrote: "There is only one guaranteed, foolproof method to completely kill nut grass (also known as purple nutsedge). First, dig out every tiny piece of the plant including the seeds and nutlets. Make sure you sift the soil through a mesh screen. Dump the collected material on the driveway and burn it. Sweep up all the ashes and seal in a concrete box. Drive to the coast and dump the sealed box 20 miles off shore."

A good sense of humor may be necessary in dealing with nut grass. It grows by spreading sideways, with multiple rootlets searching underground for water. When it finds moisture, the small root turns downward towards the water, sending another tender plant thrusting upward.

Its most famous Cyperus family member is papyrus, an aquatic plant from which paper was first made. They both love sopping wet feet, thus are often found in overwatered lawns with poor drainage. Lawn weeds demonstrate that problems most generally exist with the lawn, rather than with the weed; provide the desired environment, and the weeds will come!

Most of us inherited poor lawns, or in search of the perfect suburban expanse, raced to plant our lawns without doing the necessary research. Did we use high-quality, amended soil? Was the grass seed used appropriate to the native conditions, taking into consideration the light and shade conditions? Was the seed an all-perennial blend? Probably not.

Removing the underground 'nuts' is the best answer to ridding your lawn of nut grass, but they are recalcitrant, and most home owners will tell you that you can pull out nut grass, stomp it flat, cut it off, or poison the leaves, but with the roots still underground you will never be able to get them all. Regular mowing will at least keep nut grass from seeding, and combined with vigilant hand-pulling, you may eventually eliminate the problem.

Aeration of the turf is probably the most direct method to get some drainage going so that the battle with nut grass has a chance of being won. A core aerator can be rented from your local garden center or hardware store, which pulls out plugs, allowing air to enter your impacted soil. Then apply a "weed and feed" to give your grass a good feeding and to prevent the nut grass seeds from germinating.

If you live with ducks, geese and guinea hens, they will unearth and eat the tubers for you! Barring that, experiment with a mechanical weed-puller designed to remove dandelions, like the Weed Hound; hopefully it will pull out those little tubers. Either way, you'll be aerating the ground, and doing everything possible to fight the good fight!

How many of us remember growing up, lying under a shade tree with our back against the trunk, chewing on a piece of grass, reading a book or just sleeping?

In addition to great memories, trees bring beauty to all landscapes, and the right tree provides shade to your home, creating a cooling insulation from hot summer days. Evergreen or deciduous, many shade trees also have spectacular flower color, while others are better known for their foliage color or texture interest.

When planting your tree, consider how it might provide the maximum shade effect upon your home. A shade tree planted on the east side of your home will block the heat from the morning sun. Planting on the west and/or southwest side of your home shields the hot afternoon sun. And finally, a tree planted on the south side of your home can provide year-round sunblock protection. All three examples will help to keep your home cooler in the summertime.

If you select a deciduous tree, you will benefit in the winter from the opposite of the sun-shielding effect. Minus the foliage, the sun's rays can shine through the empty branches and help you warm the inside of your home. You certainly can't argue with that!

Along with the energy benefits, shade trees provide beauty to your landscape year-round. They offer habitats to birds, squirrels and other backyard urban creatures. Trees increase the value of our homes and the beauty of our neighborhoods. They also give back oxygen to our environment.

If you choose a deciduous tree, pick one with majestic winter form.

When you plant your shade tree, do not plant it too close to your home, patio or walls. Remember, the trees that we have mentioned all grow to heights of 30-50 feet and taller, which means they will also have a good spread and substantial root systems.

So come on in, and our staff of nursery experts will help you pick out the perfect shade tree(s) for your home. Then get ready to plop yourself under your new tree, cross your legs, pull your hat down over your eyes and ZZZZZZZ.
 

Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State, and his colleagues are fascinated with small things that are huge discoveries in the world of biology. They discovered the world’s smallest frog and lizard species, both found on Caribbean islands, and now Hedges has identified the world’s smallest species of snake; adults are just 3.9 inches in length and are as thin as a spaghetti noodle.

This tiny thread snake, named Leptotyphlops carlae after Hedges’ wife, was found in a tiny forest fragment on the eastern side of Barbados. It is the smallest of the 3,100 known species of snakes. Hedges believes the species to be rare due to its natural habitat's being replaced with buildings; because these animals live on islands, they have nowhere to go when they lose their habitat.

Natural selection prevents these animals from becoming so small, however, that their offspring have nothing upon which to feed; it is believed that this thread snake feeds on the larvae of ants and termites.

Larger species can lay up to 100 eggs in a single clutch, while the smallest of both snakes and other types of animals usually lay only one egg, or give birth to one offspring. The Barbados thread snake produces a single slender egg that occupies a significant portion of the mother’s body, suggesting that natural selection keeps the size of the hatchlings above a critical limit for a greater chance of survival.

Click here to view more Strange Species!

White grubs are damaging pests that begin invading lawns in early spring and again in summer. Grubs do their damage below ground, so the problem often goes undetected until too late. Beetle grubs can turn a fine looking lawn into a patchwork quilt of yellow spots. In addition, birds and other animals will often start digging up your lawn looking for the tasty grubs to feed on.

The grubs are actually larvae of beetles and other insects; most are C-shaped and off-white with a dark head.

There are several types of grubs that are capable of damaging lawns, with two life cycles in a year. When you have grubs, the damaged areas of grass can be easily lifted and many times the grubs can be seen feeding on the edge of the healthy grass in the damaged area.

Natural controls include beneficial nematodes or milky spore (a disease that specifically attacks Japanese beetle grubs), although it takes a number of applications for milky spore to become established in lawns. It's an excellent long-term solution, but doesn't help much right now.

There are chemical products that are very effective for a grub problem, but only at certain times of year.

Is there a way to make my compacted soil better for growing plants?

Answer:

The most important thing you can ever do before installing plants is to amend the soil from the holes with a 75/25 mix of native soil and an organic soil amendment.

Organic amendments help to attract earthworms, which will help ease compaction. This helps to allow more oxygen and nutrients into the root zone.

Over time, poor soil can be compacted again if precautions aren't taken. This can lead to crusting and the soil drying out faster. We recommend applying a pelletized gypsum product to the soil twice a year. It helps to bind smaller soil particles into larger ones, which helps to open up the soil, making it more porous.

Your plants and soil will also benefit from a 2-3" layer of mulch. It will keep the moisture in the soil longer, cut down on weeds, and keep those earthworms happy!