Why Does Water Trickle Off Lotus Leaves? The Lotus Effect Explained
Water trickles off lotus leaves because waxy microscopic bumps trap air under each drop, so it beads up and rolls away, cleaning the leaf as it goes.
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How to Reuse Bathroom Water for Gardening Safely
Every shower sends gallons of perfectly usable water down the drain. If you want to reuse bathroom water for gardening, you can turn that waste into a free, steady water source for your shrubs, trees and flower beds. It takes a little care, but the process is simple. In this guide, I’ll walk you through … Read more >>
Is Dieffenbachia an Air Purifier? What It Can and Can’t Do
Dieffenbachia, the big-leafed houseplant many people call dumb cane, does take up small amounts of chemical pollutants in lab tests. In a normal room, though, its effect on indoor air quality is too small for you to notice or measure. No, dieffenbachia isn’t a practical air purifier for your home: it absorbs traces of chemicals … Read more >>
How to Grow a Lotus Without Soil at Home
Lotus seeds will sprout in a bowl of plain water, and the seedlings can live there for a few weeks. After that, the plant needs real soil to keep going. You can start a lotus without soil, but to grow tubers and get flowers, you need to move it into heavy clay loam under shallow … Read more >>
Why Your Lotus Flower Isn’t Blooming (And How to Fix It)
If your lotus has healthy leaves but no flowers, it’s almost always missing one of five things. Most lotus plants that won’t bloom are short on direct sun, warm water, steady feeding, maturity, or root space, and fixing the first three solves the majority of cases. Lotus plants are heavy feeders that love heat. They’ll … Read more >>
How to Grow Lotus Plants from Seeds: A Step-by-Step Guide
Lotus seeds will sprout in a bowl of warm water within a week, as long as you file through their hard shell first. To grow lotus from seeds, file a small opening in the seed coat, soak the seeds in 75 to 87°F water that you change daily, then plant the rooted seedlings in heavy … Read more >>
Can You Plant Cucumbers and Watermelon Together? Yes, Here’s How
Yes, you can plant cucumber and watermelon together, and it often works well. They’re related, they like the same warm, sunny conditions, and they won’t cross-pollinate and ruin each other’s fruit. That said, they aren’t identical twins. Watermelon wants more heat, more room, and a longer season, while cucumbers need steady water right up to … Read more >>
Small-Space Vegetable Gardening: How to Grow More in Less Room
You don’t need a big backyard to grow a real harvest. With smart choices, small space vegetable gardening can fill your kitchen with tomatoes, greens, herbs and even fruit from a patio, balcony or narrow side yard. The trick is to treat every square foot like prime real estate. In this guide, I’ll walk you … Read more >>
Common Vegetable Garden Pests and How to Control Them Naturally
Few things sting like finding your seedlings chewed to stubs or your squash vines collapsed overnight. The good news is that most vegetable garden pests are predictable. They show up on the same crops, at the same times, and leave the same clues. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the pests US home gardeners … Read more >>
Potato Leaves Turning Black? Causes, Fixes and Prevention
Few things in the vegetable patch are as alarming as potato leaves turning black almost overnight. One week the plants look lush, and the next they’re covered in dark, spreading patches. The good news is that the cause is usually easy to pin down once you know what to look for. In this guide, I’ll … Read more >>