It’s a common tale. A bed of carrots is seeded, they sprout and start to grow, and a harvest of crisp roots beckons in a few short months. Yet, when it comes time to dig the crop, it’s discovered that some of the carrots have forked, developing multiple roots. The multi-rooted carrots may look a little funny and are harder to clean, but forking doesn’t affect the flavour. So, what causes carrots to fork?
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Attracting more bees and pollinators: 6 ways to help our native insects
The worth of pollinators is undeniable. Each year, more than $20 billion dollars of food crops come to fruition across North America because of creatures far smaller than the coin in your pocket. That’s a lot of weight on those tiny shoulders. And unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you know about the troubles facing European honeybee populations. So, with European honeybee numbers at risk and pollination rates dropping, attracting more bees and pollinators is more important than ever. But, what’s a gardener to do? Well, helping native bees is a good place to start.
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Forcing forsythia and other spring-flowering branches
Every year, around late winter or early spring, there comes a point where I’m longing for flowers and greenery to break up the greyness outside. Forcing forsythia branches is one of my easy to-dos. I simply select a few branches brimming with buds, and in a few days, flowers appear. This technique allows me to bring a little bit of spring indoors to enjoy on my mantle or dining room table.
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Invest in a beetle bank
One of the most important – and yet often overlooked – facets of gardening is its ability to increase backyard biodiversity. And not just within the plant kingdom. When a garden is composed of a wide range of plant material, the animal kingdom also benefits. Especially insects. Most gardeners know that having a diversity of good bugs in the garden means better pollination and fewer pests. While there are thousands of species of beneficial insects in North America, one of the best bugs for your garden is the ground beetle.
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Growing beans: pole versus runner
I love growing beans! In my garden, I grow primarily pole beans, while my mother-in-law grows runner beans. My preference is a result of my childhood veggie garden where tender snap beans occupied at least half of the plot. For my mother-in-law, runner beans are a nod to her own youth in the mountains of Lebanon where the meaty pods were slow simmered into flavourful dishes.
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Insects and climate change: The study of phenology
It turns out that life is more predictable than you might think — well, at least plant and insect life at any rate. Phenology is a jaw-dropping science that examines recurring plant and animal lifecycle events and their connection to the weather. Plants and insects don’t use clocks. Instead they use the conditions of their environment to keep time. The growth and development of both plants and insects is intimately connected to temperature. Phenological events like the blooming of a maple tree, a songbird’s spring arrival, the migration of a monarch, and the egg hatch of Eastern tent caterpillars are all tied to environmental conditions. Nearly all natural phenomena are.
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