Smart Garden

 How to Prevent Powdery Mildew on Your Squash Plants When this super-common plant disease appears, it's important to act quickly. Use these tips to keep powdery mildew from ruining your squash harvest. When your squash leaves look like they're dusted with flour, they're more likely to be carrying mildew, one of the most common vegetable garden diseases. Disease-causing fungi are somewhat specific to the plants they target. Powdery mildew on squash (summer squash varieties such as zucchini and winter squash varieties such as butternut) can also affect melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins. Symptoms range from mild, slightly reducing yield, to severe, killing the entire plant. How to prevent powdery mildew on your squash plants, and tips to minimize damage to infected plants. Ants problem Fix 👇 What is powdery mildew? Many edible and ornamental plants can get powdery mildew. Unlike many fungal plant diseases, the fungi that cause powdery mildew thrive in hot, dry weath...

 Ways to create an eco-friendly garden The environment is – rightly – on everyone's mind, and if you have a garden, you have the opportunity to contribute to protecting the natural world. But what does an eco-friendly garden actually look like and what features does it have? Imagine an untamed, sprawling forest teeming with wildflowers and insects. Nowadays, however, thanks to the combination of ethical materials and innovative technology, even the most elegant contemporary garden designs can be eco-friendly. 1. Recycle and reuse materials The main concern is the origin, extraction, manufacture, and installation of structures, paths, walls, and patio materials. Using recycled materials instead is a great way to go green. Reclamation yards, especially those in cities, can be expensive, with out-of-town yards and hauling through junk shops to get materials. House plants ideas 👇 House plants 1 House plants 2 House plants 3 Low maintanance houseplants Ins...

 Storage Hacks to Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresher Longer I always feel guilty throwing out leftovers that have been sitting in the fridge, especially if it's a meal we all enjoyed. But nothing makes me feel worse in the kitchen than throwing out spoiled fresh produce in my fridge. Whether it's pushed to the back of the fridge or we can't eat it before it goes bad, I always feel terrible about tossing produce in the compost pile. But there are things you can do to slow down the process that leads to food spoilage. Depending on the fruit or vegetable, there may be better ways to store it so it lasts longer. It is also essential to know how ethylene affects each type of produce. Read Cheryl's piece on what foods not to store together; It was a real eye-opener. To help you reduce food waste in your kitchen, we've put together some useful hacks to keep some popular vegetables and fruits fresher for longer. Home garden ideas 👇 Home Garden tomato ...

 4 Ways to Attract Lacewings to Your Garden A thriving garden ecosystem is like a small world. Under our noses, a constant struggle for survival is going on. Fights for food and territory, mating rituals and love, unlikely friendships between species, clever defense mechanisms, and hunting patterns finely crafted over millennia – the complex interactions between insects, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals are fascinating. If only we had noticed. The intricate web of life can be established from small things. A rose bush colonized by aphids, for example, supports an abundance of wildlife. Aphids are an excellent food for hoverfly and lady beetle larvae, and the honeydew they produce feeds ants, wasps, bumblebees, and other honey-sucking insects. Birds and bats prey on these and many other insects, while larger predators eat them. It's amazing how much life can go from tolerating a bunch of aphids on your roses to a seed! House Plants Ideas 👇 House p...

Home Garden activities you don't need to do I don't know about you, but every year in May, I sit down to plan my summer. I collect all the important dates and put everything on the calendar - family reunions, summer camps for the kids, a beach vacation, and a brewery festival in August. Before I know it, my calendar is full. 1. Poor planning Time-saving gardening begins even before the first seed is planted. When planning your garden each year, do you consider what your family eats the most? Have you considered how much you rely on fresh herbs to cook? How about long-growing crops; Where do you put them? Think about your garden layout in relation to how you live. If you grow fresh herbs for cooking, planting them in the vegetable patch will cost more. Plant frequently used herbs in the doorway near the kitchen. You can easily plant most herbs in containers. Easy access means less time spent running back and forth to the garden. If you enjoy certain vegetables that r...

7 stylish balconies and create a peaceful space A ground-level yard is not required for growing and gathering. A balcony or roof provides essential outdoor space for planting herbs, shrubs, flowers, trees, and even a small vegetable garden if you wish. As long as you have some containers, topsoil, and seeds, you can turn your balcony or rooftop patio into a private garden sanctuary. Glazing it up with decor also adds to the ambiance. While not having one side may seem limited, look at it as an opportunity to get a little more creative. Use these ideas as inspiration and growth. Growing and collecting. A balcony or roof provides essential outdoor space for planting herbs, shrubs, flowers, trees, and even a small vegetable garden if you wish. As long as you have some containers, topsoil, and seeds, you can turn your balcony or rooftop patio into a private garden sanctuary. Glazing it up with decor also adds to the ambiance. While not having one side may seem limited, look at ...