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I -- after years of keeping them in huge pots -- last fall yard-planted several tender fruit trees (here in eastern NC). I've aged to the point where I could no longer drag the heavy pots inside or to an outside utility room, even via handcart, so into the ground they had to go, come-what-may...

Hi, troops; I have a 7'-tall papaya tree (really neat plant), 2 years now, and it actually has some tiny fruits this year. But .... I see lots of super-small fly-like things in its potting soil -- and they're also hanging around the adjacent rooms of my house from where I keep the plant. The...

I have patches of this mess in various places of my yard. Some of it is almost inaccessible (deep in azalea islands, entrenched among fence vines, etc), so digging it out ain't in the cards. Does anybody know of something other than a toxic chemical I can use that'll work? I've reluctantly used...

This may sound unorthodox, but ... here goes: I'm trying to get some decent ground-cover plants to grow on an old family cemetery plot. It was in shade over a hundred years, then (after a hurricane blew over the ancient, huge oaks nearby) it's been in full sun 20 years. Nothing growing on it but...

I'm doing a small raised bed (for the 1st time) this spring; I've filled the huge "bowl" with store-bought potting soil, "mulch" -- which I think is only ground-up limbs -- and so-forth. I'm considering planting a few tomatoes in this. But now, I'm thinking I don't really want "natural" soil...

This spring -- for the 1st time in several years -- I'm pouring beaucoup 5-gal buckets of used coffee grounds (from a local coffee shop) into/onto my veg garden, berry vines/bushes and fruit trees. Can anybody think of (or know of) reasons why I should limit this? Are there any studies or data...

I bought a nice quantity of all sorts of hot peppers at a farmer's market this weekend. I'm wondering: can I dry the peppers in a "food dryer" -- fairly low heat -- for several days w/o killing the seeds? I'd like to save seeds for planting next spring. If I don't dry the pods, can I just place...

I'll bet this has been done to death at this site, but I'm new, so .... here goes: I've been on my (city) property 17 years and never saw a vole or vole damage (to my knowledge). Lately, holes're popping up in the garden, and worse yet, around 2 young apple trees. One seems dead -- no leaves...