Yard & Garden

About the brown marmorated stink bug...<br /> <br /> This invasive insect presents two types of problems: it can be a significant household nuisance...

Hand lenses are small inexpensive optical devices that are easy to carry on a lanyard or folded up in a pocket. Most of them magnify 5 to 20 times. Th...

Blossom-end rot (BER) is a disorder that commonly affects tomato, pepper and squash. Symptoms are caused by the death of a group of cells in the young...

Tomatoes are one of the most popular crops among home gardeners, and with good reason: not only are tomatoes delicious and versatile, they are relativ...

Sweet corn is a popular vegetable and is relatively easy to grow. Among market gardeners throughout New England, about half of the vegetable acreage i...

Asparagus is a perennial crop that produces spears year after year for 10 to 15 years or longer if the plants are given adequate care. Because it rema...

Sweetpotato* (Ipomoea batatas) is a member of the morning glory (Convolvulaceae) family. The sweetpotato is not related to the Irish potato, which bel...

Grafting as a means of propagating fruit trees dates back several thousand years or more. Grafting is used for two principal reasons: most fruit trees...

Why fertilize?<br /> <br /> Fertilizer provides a source of essential nutrients that plants need to grow normally and be healthy. Nutrients are also...

What is a rain garden? A rain garden is a shallow depression designed to capture stormwater runoff and allow it to slowly infiltrate into the soil. It...