Jeff Schalau is the Backyard Gardener and Courier columnist.
High tunnels are low-tech, greenhouse-like structures that can be used for starting seedlings, growing vegetables or perennial crops.
Plants may not be able to outrun predators, but they are by no means passive participants in the battle for survival. Plants actively compete with other plants for growing space. Many plants produce toxic compounds that discourage herbivory.
True mistletoes (also called leafy mistletoes) are green plants that utilize another plant, the host, to acquire water and mineral nutrients. Since true mistletoe is green and photosynthetic, it does produce its own food.
Coniferous evergreens include pine, fir, spruce, yew, larch, cedar, juniper, cypress, arborvitae and other less-common species. They are classified as Gymnosperms: meaning “naked seed.”
Each year, I see ornamental trees die without any obvious cause. Insects and diseases cause their fair share of decline and mortality in trees.
Chain saws can be great labor-saving tools. They can also quickly cause severe injury or death.
We often view topography as a hindrance to gardening and landscaping, but it can also be used to direct the flow of rainwater and snow melt to areas where it will benefit plants and enhance your property’s appearance.
In the last few years, Cooperative Extension has received several questions about trees and shrubs displaying dieback, non-typical growth, decline and, sometimes, death.
Northern Arizona’s 2020 monsoon season has been largely disappointing thus far. In addition, La Nina conditions are forecast in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean which usually translates into lower-than-average winter precipitation for northern Arizona.
I’ve been experimenting with “season extension” in our home vegetable garden for a few years. My goal is to grow and harvest lettuce year-round in my Prescott garden using season extension.
