Tancil Court, “I Can Shine Garden”
“I Can Shine Garden” teaches children to grow vegetables By Alice Reid Thanks to a hard-working group of children and more than a dozen volunteers, we’ve had a productive and fun …
Powerhouse Plants and Derek Fell’s Grow This!
Book Reviews: Powerhouse Plants by Graham Rice, and Derek Fell's Grow This!
Bee-havior: Gathering and Transporting Pollen
As bees feed on flower nectar, their electrostatically-charged and branched body hairs attract and trap pollen grains. They carry the grains from flower to flower making them very effective pollinators. (About one-third of agricultural crops world-wide depend directly or indirectly on bees for pollination.) Both male and female bees feed on flower nectar, which provides carbohydrates and energy. However, only the female bees gather and carry pollen back to the nest or hive. Pollen provides protein that is essential for developing larvae.
Cicada – periodical, annual and killer!
By now you have seen or heard (reports about) the periodical cicadas of Brood II. You also may remember back to 2004 and the Brood X cicadas (the largest and most widespread of all broods). Periodical cicadas occur in cycles of 13 or 17 years. There are about five broods of 17-year cicadas that appear in different years in Northern Virginia.
Beautiful No-Mow Yards, The Edible Front Yard, and Why Grow That When You Can Grow This
Book reviews: Beautiful No-Mow Yards by Evelyn Hadden, The Edible Front Yard by Ivette Soler, and Why Grow That When You Can Grow This? by Andrew Keys
Weed Control… and Other Jokes?
The minister began the sermon by asking how many in the congregation were gardeners. Then the minister asked what was the first thing they saw when they walked into their gardens. Silence … followed by the obvious answer … weeds! To many of us their very existence seems to ruin an otherwise beautiful scene, leading to countless hours grousing about and cursing their existence. Not to mention the physical labor and money expended in our weed-fighting efforts.