Archive for Jen Ný

10 Pollinator-Friendly Perennial Flowers That Grow Well Near Black Walnut Trees

Juglone Tolerant Flowers for Pollinators

Many plants don’t grow well under black walnut trees due to a chemical called juglone contained in every part of these trees. Here are some plants that not only grow well near black walnut trees, but also attract many pollinator species to your garden.

10 Pollinator-Friendly Perennial Flowers That Grow Well Near Black Walnut Trees

If your garden is near a black walnut tree, you probably know that many plants have trouble growing there. This is because black walnut trees produce a chemical called juglone that makes it difficult for many other plants to grow. Black walnut trees have developed this as a way of reducing competition for soil nutrients.

Though many plants won’t survive in soil with high juglone content, there are many that have adapted to these conditions and will do just fine. Here are some juglone-tolerant plants that are especially attractive to pollinator species, such as monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

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Natural and Humane Ways to Repel Raccoons From Your Garden

Repel Raccoons naturally and humanely

Though trash pandas may look cute and cuddly, they cause massive amounts of destruction in the garden. Here are some tips to keep raccoons away from your garden or yard.

Natural and Humane Ways to Repel Raccoons From Your Garden

I’m going to be honest up front. These methods only have limited success and seem to work best when I switch out methods on a regular basis and combine more than one method at a time. Some methods work better than others, and sometimes methods that some gardeners have had luck with just don’t work with another family of raccoons living in a different area. Most of these methods are scent-based and need to be reapplied after it rains.

I have a family of at least six baby raccoons and their mother living near my property who visit almost every night, as confirmed by my trail camera. Though they are very cute, and I don’t want to hurt them, I would much prefer that they keep their cuteness out of my garden, as they have a very bad tendency of digging up my plants and forcing me to replant them first thing in the morning. It is quite annoying. Here are a few raccoon deterrent methods that I have tried to use to repel the trash pandas from my garden and how effective I have found each to be.

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Hardy Geraniums vs Tender Geraniums: Which Should You Plant in Your Garden?

Types of Geraniums

There are several types of flowers often called “geraniums,” which have different growing needs and are native to different climates. Both can be planted in your garden, but which is the best choice?

Hardy Geraniums vs Tender Geraniums: Which Should You Plant in Your Garden?

If you are confused by the different types of geraniums available, you aren’t alone. It is easy to become confused about the different types of geraniums, considering there are multiple plants with different needs that share the name. Though the two types of geraniums are cousins, both belonging to the Geraniaceae family, they have different growing needs and are native to different climates. True geraniums are a hardy perennial plant, while the plants often sold as “geraniums” at garden centers, which are actually pelargoniums, are tender plants that are typically grown as annuals in cooler climates such as in my home-state, Ohio.

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How to Properly Water Air Plants

How to Water Air Plants

Air plants are interesting plants with unique watering needs. This guide will help you to keep your air plants properly hydrated.

How to Properly Water Air Plants

Air plants, or tillandsia, are a unique type of plant that require no soil to grow. Instead, these plants take in moisture from the air through special hair-like structures called trichomes on their leaves. Air plants are epiphytes, which means that they are found in the wild growing on other plants. Instead of using their roots to absorb water and nutrients from the soil like most plants, tilandsias use their roots to attach to trees high in the humid rainforest canopy. Because your home is likely much less humid than their native environment, they do still need to be watered occasionally. There are several methods that are often used for watering these plants including misting, dunking, and soaking. This article will tell you how and when to use each method.

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10 Pet-Friendly Houseplants That Are Safe for Cats and Dogs

Pet-friendly house plants

It is possible to enjoy a home filled with houseplants even if you have a cat or dog. Here are 10 houseplants that are safe to have in your home if you have pets.

10 Pet-Friendly Houseplants That Are Safe for Cats and Dogs

It is possible for pets and plants to coexist in the same home. While you should try to keep your plants away from your pet’s reach, accidents can always happen. To keep your furry friends safe from potential poisoning from toxic plants, keep only non-toxic plants in your home if you have cats or dogs.

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10 Pet-Friendly Succulents That Are Safe for Cats and Dogs

Pet-friendly Succulents

It is possible to have succulents in your home even if you have pets. Here are ten types of succulents that are non-toxic and safe to have in a home with cats and dogs.

10 Pet-Friendly Succulents That Are Safe for Cats and Dogs

It is possible to have both pets and succulents living together peacefully in the same home. While you should try to keep your succulents and other houseplants out of your furry friend’s reach, it is always possible for accidents to happen despite your best intentions. To keep your fur babies safe from possible poisoning, keep only pet-safe succulents (and pet-friendly plants in general) in your home if you have pet cats or dogs.

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How to Set Up and Use a Bokashi Bucket for Indoor Composting

How to set up and use a bokashi bin

Bokashi is an alternative to traditional composting that allows you to turn kitchen waste into a valuable soil amendment for your garden using a process of anaerobic fermentation. It’s an easy, odorless, and eco-friendly way to deal with kitchen scraps.

How to Set Up and Use a Bokashi Bucket for Indoor Composting

Bokashi is an alternative to traditional composting that allows you to turn kitchen waste into a valuable soil amendment for your garden. Though the process is often referred to as “bokashi composting,” it is actually a process of fermenting organic waste material using specialized microbes rather than composting. A bran powder inoculated with specific bacteria is added to kitchen waste in an air-tight container to begin the fermentation process. Once the bucket is filled and allowed to age for two weeks, the fermented pre-compost can then be added directly to the soil to add nutrients and improve soil texture, or it can be added to a traditional compost pile and allowed to finish breaking down.

Bokashi composting can be done indoors and can odorlessly process waste that usually isn’t added to regular compost piles, such as oily foods, cooked foods, bones, dairy, and meat. Because of these unique features, bokashi composting is ideal for people who live in apartments or who are unable to manage a regular compost pile. Bokashi composting can even be a beneficial addition for people who do have a traditional compost pile and/or a worm bin simply because there is virtually no limit to the types of organic waste that can be processed by bokashi.

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A Guide to Portulacaria afra: The Elephant Bush

A Guide to the Elephant Bush

This is a guide to caring for one of my favorite succulents; the elephant bush. It includes information on basic care, propagation, different varieties, and fun facts about this plant.

A Guide to Portulacaria afra: The Elephant Bush

Elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) is a slow-growing, shrubby succulent plant native to South Africa. As a succulent, elephant bush is drought-tolerant and loves dry, sunny areas. It grows best in arid, desert-like environments.

Elephant bush gets its name from the fact that it is a favorite food of elephants. Other common nicknames for this plant include porkbush, spekboom, elephant food, and dwarf jade (though it is not closely related to the jade plant).

Elephant bush is a versatile succulent and can be grown to meet a number of different aesthetics. It’s trailing, leafy stems make it a good choice for hanging baskets. Because of its tree-like growth habit, it also makes for a relatively easy bonsai. Though it is rare for this plant to bloom when grown indoors as a houseplant, it is possible for it to produce clusters of pink or white star-shaped flowers in ideal growing conditions.

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Why Are Monarch Butterflies in Danger?

Why are monarch butterflies in danger?

Monarch butterfly populations are in rapid decline. Find out why these iconic butterflies are in danger, and what you can do to save them.

Why Are Monarch Butterflies in Danger?

Monarch butterflies are important pollinators in our ecosystem. Without pollinators, we humans, and most other animals, wouldn’t have much of the food we rely on for survival. Pollinators such as monarch butterflies are a vitally important part of the food chain. Butterflies are important indicators of the overall health of the environment and ecosystem where they reside.

Additionally, monarch butterflies are considered a “flagship” species for conservation. This means that they are a well-known, well-liked, and easily recognizable species that people are more willing to get involved with conserving. These butterflies help to get people involved in efforts to protect and restore habitats, which benefits not only monarchs, but other pollinators as well. Simply put, these butterflies inspire people to help protect the environment.

Unfortunately, these iconic pollinators are in danger, in no small part due to human influence. Because of human activities such as agriculture, pesticide use, urban development, and pollution leading to climate change, monarch butterfly populations are in rapid decline. Here are some of the biggest threats faced by monarch butterflies, and what we can do to help them before it is too late.

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A Guide to Ohio’s 13 Native Milkweed Species

Ohio's Native Milkweed Species

There are 13 native species of milkweed that occur in Ohio. This guide will help you to identify them.

A Guide to Ohio’s 13 Native Milkweed Species

Milkweed is a very important part of Ohio’s native ecosystem. It is critically important for Monarch butterflies, whose population have been in severe decline in recent years due to habitat loss from urban development, agriculture, and pesticide use. Monarch caterpillars rely on milkweed as their one and only food source, so this is where adult female monarch butterflies lay their eggs.

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