Rudbeckias are some of the most robust and attractive plants around. They are no-fuss plants that require little more than average soil and full sun. The pollen and nectar of these plants support many different pollinators and beneficial insects (yay!!). North America hosts many native species of Rudbeckia and I seem to love them all. In my own garden, I grow no less than six different types of Rudbeckias. Here are five of my favorites:
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Succession planting for a non-stop harvest
As the last tomato seedlings are tucked into the garden in late spring, many gardeners turn off their grow lights for the season. Not me! In fact, my grow lights are left on throughout summer to ensure a non-stop supply of high quality seedlings for succession planting.
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5 Mini melons for small gardens and containers
Melons do not mind their manners – at least as far as their growth habits are concerned. A single rambling vine a of standard melon variety can cover up to 100 square feet of garden space, and many gardeners don’t have that kind of room to spare. It’s sad to think that delicious and nutritious homegrown melons are taken off the menus of many gardeners because of space restrictions. This is specially true knowing that it doesn’t have to be this way. Bush-type mini melons for small gardens are the perfect choice, taking up little room yet producing much like their full-sized brethren.
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Grafted tomatoes
For the past few years, I’ve been hearing more and more about grafted tomatoes. Last year was the first time they were offered at garden centres in my region, but I took a pass. It seemed like there was a lot of hype surrounding them, and my penny-pinching self didn’t want to pay $12.99 for a single tomato seedling. This year, grafted tomatoes are back, with even more glitzy advertising, and so I threw in the trowel and added an ‘Indigo Rose’ grafted tomato to my garden.
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Lost ladybugs
Over 30 years ago, three native ladybug species, the 9-spotted, the 2-spotted, and the transverse ladybug, were very common across Eastern North America. But, starting in the late 1980s, their numbers began to decline. In fact, the 9-spotted ladybug, New York’s state insect, hadn’t been spotted in the state in well over 20 years! One of the most common ladybug species in the Northeastern U.S. had seemingly vanished, only to be found in sparse populations in parts of the Mid-West.
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How to make garlic scape pesto
Each fall, I plant lots of garlic in at least one of my raised beds. I grow a lot, so I don’t have to buy any over the winter. I use garlic in a great deal of recipes, so it’s convenient to just go down to the garage, where it’s stored, when I need some. What’s great about garlic is it provides two harvests: the delightfully loopy garlic scapes and, of course, the heads. In this article, I’m going to share my favorite way to eat garlic scapes: a garlic scape pesto recipe.
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