Troubleshooting

Below are links to articles posted in Troubleshooting.

My Favorite Tree Died, A Lesson in Plant Biology

My favorite tree has died. I have blogged about it a lot, and the posts will be mentioned below in the related posts section.
It was a Forest Pansy Redbud. I’ve had bad luck with the spot that I planted it. It is very full sun, from dawn to dusk, I had two weeping cherries [...]

Split Trunk Repair Update

Last Fall my favorite tree, a forest pansy redbud, was damaged in a wind storm and ended up with a split trunk. In that linked to blog post I detailed my methods for fixing the damage.
The tree made it through the winter and both halves are still alive, but growing at different rates.
Below you can [...]

How to fix a tree with a split trunk from wind damage

Readers of this blog will know that my favorite tree is my forest pansy redbud, indeed the related posts you’ll find at the bottom of this missive will point to the other blog posts where I have mentioned it. I love this tree because it has spring interest, in the form of the standard pink [...]

San Francisco’s New Composting Law

I just heard about this on the news. Apparently today a new law in San Francisco took affect, enacting the strictest trash ordinance in the country. Everyone either has to compost at home, or get a separate bin to put their compostables in for curbside pickup, or be fined with fines starting at $100 for [...]

Smelly Soupy Poopy Compost Tumbler

Composting is not an exact science, and even someone who has used a compost tumbler for a long time like me can mess up.
I use my compost tumbler in the following way: I take brown paper bags and while cooking put scraps of veggies, peels, watermelon rinds, etc, in the bags. Then I toss [...]

Caterpillars on a Pine Tree

The other day, well, almost 4 weeks ago (we’ve got a new baby, and so I’ve been too busy to blog), on my way to the hospital to see said baby I noticed large clumps of something on my Tanyosho pine. The pine hadn’t been looking too hot this Spring but I hadn’t looked too [...]

How to Stake a Tree

Short answer, don’t. Most trees that are staked do not need to be. In fact I would venture that most trees you, the individual homeowner, plant do not need to be staked. Yes, any tree small enough to be handled by one person really doesn’t need to be staked. Trees only need to be staked [...]

How to Protect Plants from Frost, and Building Microclimates

So, bad knews. I thought last weekend was the end. I allowed myself to say “Wow, no late frosts this year, awesome!” Boy was that stupid. Now, tonight, they’re predicting a late frost.
I bought some hardy kiwi vines in 2004 and they have grown quite a bit. Had I known in advance I would have [...]

Using Pressure Treated Lumber in Raised Garden Beds

Short Answer: Yes, it is safe. Long Answer: Read On…

I am a man of science. I don’t believe in anecdotes, and having an analytical mind and having been exposed to rigorous scientific study in college when I was a research assistant in a lab, as well as of course the academic work in college, I’ve [...]

Opossum on the Porch, Compost Eating Critter

No picture with this post, this is probably the first post I’ve done ever without a picture, for some reason I didn’t think about it last night.
So, last night I made some skillet apples, and as I do normally I got out a brown paper bag to put all the scraps into for taking out [...]

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