This week there are questions about how to rid dog ticks around the house. Good question. Dog ticks survive in tall grassy areas with shade because they like humid, sheltered locations waiting for some animal to pick them up. The…
Do you have a hard time getting trees to grow because of your location where you want a tree? Try a native tree to South Dakota recommended by SDSU. My favorite is the boxelder tree. Now before you yell at…
Creating stunning flowerpots for your patio or front yard takes three things: a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. A thriller is the tallest plant in the center of the pot with colorful foliage or flowers. The spiller is the…
Have you bought plants at the greenhouse, set them out in the garden or flowerbed and they died? It is the same as you wintering in your house then going outside on a nice spring day and ending up with…
Solar outdoor accent lights have come a long way from the simple path lights. The lights are brighter, coming in changing colors, and the batteries last longer. The advantages of solar lights are that they can be placed anywhere as…
In our area, we have alkaline soils. They are soils over a pH of 7 (under this would be acid soils you find in the Eastern parts of the US). An alkaline soil contains a high degree of calcium, sodium,…
Here are some shrubs for your landscaping that will take anything from the heat of the summer to the coldest winter. Starting with the mountain ash. A compound leaf shrub growing to 15 tall and 10 feet wide. They can…
Here are some different types of vegetables to grow this season if you are feeling adventurous. One is a luffa squash. Grown for the luffa sponges you see at expensive retail stores. You can even eat the “zucchini-like” squash if…
Last week I gave you some of the All American Winners for 2022 (Bee’s Knees’ Petunia, Icicle Eggplant, Century Star Watermelon, Bauer Lettuce, and Buffy Pepper). Here are the rest: Pink Delicious F1 Tomato which is sweeter than other pink…
All American Selection Committee has released its new winners for 2022. These varieties offer new performance and are considered best in class for new varieties. These flowers and vegetables will be found as they become more available to retail stores…
Now you received a poinsettia as a gift, now how do you care for it? Give it bright light (a sunny window if not too hot) and keep out of cold areas like drafts. The biggest problem you may have…
There are many types of winter squash. The definition of winter squash is a squash that will harden their skin in the fall and keep for months. The winter squash family includes all pumpkins. We all know the acorn type…
July 23, 2021July 22, 2021 by Marisa Dallas I have always had trouble growing basil from seed indoors! Maybe this guest post from Jenn Stark, an Editor at Happy DIY Home will help me. I did grow the African Basil this spring and…
Fall is the best time to care for your lawn. You will get a better kill on perennial weeds now than in the spring. The weed in the fall will be taking more nutrients down to the root for the…
Whirligigs are outdoor objects that have a spinner and at least another moving part. The wind would blow the spinner and pump a little piston rod for another action. Usually, there were made of wood, then metal, and now, plastic.…