Family Plot

Winter Cover Crops

Carl Wayne Hardeman talks about the benefits of cover crops in the garden. Cover crops are planted to cover bare ground. They can be used for erosion prevention or adding nutrients and structure to the soil. Soil microbes are important to plants and live on the roots of plants. Having bare ground can starve the microbes, cover crops can feed the microbes until the next crop is planted. Good cover crops for the winter are cold hardy plants like turnip greens, rutabagas, annual rye grass, winter wheat, clover, vetch, and peas. The cover crop also helps choke out weeds that might try to grow. Legumes can be especially valuable as a cover crop because they fix nitrogen into the soil that is available for the later plants. In the spring winter cover crops can be tilled in, but also can be left and the spring planting made through the cover crop.

Related Videos:
Winter Garden Vegetables
Fall and Winter Flowers
Planting Cool Season Vegetables

Related Resources:
Cover Crops for Home Gardens
Cover Crops
Cover Crops in Missouri: Putting Them to Work on Your Farm

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Deadheading Roses

This week in the garden rose expert Bill Dickerson shows how to deadhead a rose bush. He shows where to make the pruning cuts to encourage a new cane and bloom. He also removes all the rose hips, so the rose does not spend its energy making seed. >>Watch

Garden Notes
Bacterial Wilt on Peppers

Bacterial wilt can destroy a healthy garden plant. UT Extension Agent Chris Cooper shows a pepper plant that is suffering from bacterial wilt. A few weeks ago it was healthy, but due to poor drainage it is wilted and dying. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to save the plant, it will die. Next season improve the drainage and do not overwater. >>Watch

Boxwood

Carol Reese talks about boxwood. There are several species of boxwood. The most common species is the English or common boxwood. These are frequently, and incorrectly, called American Boxwood – which is not a species. It comes from North Africa and western Europe. It is a picky plant. It has very specific sighting requirements regarding heat, cold, and roots. Korean and Japanese little leaf types are more tolerant to the hot summer sun. It is important before you plant to make sure you research your site and boxwood that will tolerate it. Boxwood are most often pruned to a shape by shearing the outside branches and leaves. This is not the best way to prune boxwood. They should be pruned by plucking inside branches, opening-up the plant to light to encourage growth on the inside. >>Watch

Boxwood

When is the best time of year to prune boxwood? How do I do it?

Summer Rose Care

In the summer roses slow down. Their best blooms are in spring and fall. Summer is the time to get your plants ready for large fall blooms. Rose expert Bill Dickerson shows how to care for rose bushes in summer and then how to get them ready for fall. He shows the fertilizers and amendments he uses. He also talks about mulch. Bill shows how to deadhead or remove spent blooms. He also shows how to cut dead wood out of the bush. He talks about how to get roses ready for producing large blooms in the fall when the weather cools. >>Watch

Basic Rose Care

Rose Bush Pruning

Fall Fruit Tree Care

Mike Dennison talks about fall fruit tree care. Once fruit is harvested there are several things you should do. The base of the tree should be weed free. Mike recommends bare ground. Also, make sure that all mummy fruit is removed from the tree and the ground under the tree. Fall is a good time to do a soil test and lime as appropriate. If your trees were blighted there is not much to do this year, but follow a spray schedule next year. Fruit trees can be planted in the fall of the year if you can find them. >>Watch

Planting Fruit Trees

Fall and Winter Fruit Tree Care

Starting Cool Season Vegetables From Seed

Master Gardener Tom Mashour talks about starting cool season vegetables indoors. The cool season is often not long enough to allow cool season vegetables to fully mature before frost. Starting the vegetables early in containers allows them to get a head start. >>Watch

Lettuce

Cabbage

Figs

Bill Colvard has been growing figs for years. Figs are actually the blossom of the plant. The interior of the fig, the part that you eat is the flower and it is encapsulated by the body. Figs are from a Mediterranean climate which is hot and dry. In more humid climates figs can rot before they are ready. In humid climates like the southeast United States look for figs that have a small eye. >>Watch

How do you know when to pick figs?

When to Plant Figs

Correct Way to Cut Your Lawn

Common Pesticides

Correct Lawn Fertilizer Application

Mixing and Applying Fungicide

Grass Lawn Alternatives

Canning Green Beans

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Viewer Questions

What to plant for fall and winter

Plants for the fall into winter garden include swiss chard because of its bright colors. You could also plant turnip greens. They can grow all winter. There are some ornamental edible mustards with bright red and purple foliage. Some oriental cabbages can be planted as well. >>Watch

Should I dig up my hibiscus for the winter?

There are two kinds of hibiscus: tropical and perennial. The perennial hibiscus will die back to the ground every winter but come up in the spring. The tropical hibiscus will not survive the winter and will need to be replanted in the spring. The tropical type can be dug up and brought inside but next spring it will take some time for the plant to recover and begin to look good again. It may be easier to let it die and get a new plant next year. >>Watch

Do I leave purple fountain grass in the ground this winter?

Purple fountain grass is an annual even though many big box stores try to sell it as a perennial. It will die in the winter. If you would like a perennial grass, there are several other options to consider. The dead grass can be pretty in the winter and does not have to be removed in the fall. The brown grass provides structure to the planting and provides food for wildlife during the winter. >>Watch

Can I leave my banana tree
in the ground for the winter?

In a banana tree it is the root that you want to keep. Digging it up for the winter will protect it from freezing and from root rot. It can be kept in the corner of the garage. There are hardy bananas that do not need to be dug up. Some are hardy to -10˚F. >>Watch

My cryptomeria is turning brown near the center trunk. Should I be concerned?

Cryptomeria and other conifers can have brown needles for several reasons. If there has been a drought the plant will drop some of its needles. If this is the case, make sure to water during dry spells. Brown interior needles are often a more benign condition. The plant recognizes that those needles are being shaded and are not generating nutrients for the tree. The tree will then drop those needles to improve efficiency. If you don’t like the look of the brown needles you can knock the needles off. >>Watch