Garden Q & A

What’s the best type of mulch to use in a garden? Answer: There are many types of mulches available; it all comes down to the look you want in your garden–natural or manicured? •For a more natural look, use shredded redwood or shredded cedar. Shredded redwood is deeper in color and mats up more, making it an excellent choice for hillsides. Shredded cedar is lighter in color and an excellent choice if you own a...

Garden Q & A

What’s the best time to plant a seed or sod lawn? Answer: Sod lawn can be installed most anytime of the year, as long as the ground isn’t muddy (saturated with water) or frozen. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend allowing four to six weeks between planting and the first hard frost. With seed, you have distinct seasons. In the spring, you can plant from after the last major frost until temperatures consistently go...

Garden Q & A

Can rain water “overwater” your plants? Answer: It certainly can, if you have flooding, or even huge amounts of rain. Plants that are overwatered by rain (or too much watering) can suffer root rot or may even fall over because the roots can’t hold in the soil anymore. Obviously, if you are overwatering, you can just stop, but when the water comes from storms or storm surges, that doesn’t work so well....

Garden Q & A

What Is Humic Acid? Answer: Humic acid is a complex organic acid that is present in soil, peat, and coal, formed from the decomposition of vegetation matter. It is responsible for much of the color of surface water. Because of its vegetative origin, this material is very rich and beneficial to plants and gardens. Almost anything that grows will benefit from humic acid. It increases nutrient uptake, drought tolerance and seed...