A few days of unseasonably warm temperatures does not mean that summer has arrived. We live in Southern Ontario and weather can be variable. Before deciding on what gardening chores you can do now, check the long range forecast. Look…

The arrival of spring may show a vertical ‘split-like’ wound in the bark on the west or southwest side of a young or newly planted tree.  This wound, sometime called sun scald, is the result of the sun heating up…

Seed packages indicate the number of weeks needed to have a seedling ready for planting out.  Add on a week for ‘hardening off’ your seedlings.  To calculate the date for starting your seeds indoors, start with the date when you…

Now that your amaryllis bulb has finished blooming and you have cut off the spent flower stock at its base, continue to water the bulb and allow the foliage to grow.  The foliage is taking in nourishment for the bulb. …

Winter is the right time to have a diseased or dangerous tree removed. Arborists are less busy at this time of year and there is no foliage to obscure their view. They will perform their work on a day when…

Crop rotation is a good gardening practice to care for your soil and to reduce the risk of pests and diseases affecting your vegetable crops.  It means that you do not grow the same vegetable in the same place in…

Continue to add vegetable scraps and other compostable household waste to your compost pile throughout the winter.  To keep your ‘greens and browns’ in balance, cover your kitchen waste periodically with leaves that you have saved or shredded newspaper.  Decomposition…

Many of our indoor plants require more humidity than our homes can provide.  Increase the humidity around your plants by standing them on a  lined with pebbles.  Fill the tray with water to just below the top of the pebbles…

Once a month throughout the winter, check to make sure that your stored dahlias, cannas and the like are not rotting or drying out,.…