Hardware Cloth Guides

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A hot pile slows down once the microbes in the center use up the oxygen. Turning it with a spading fork moves fresh material into the core and starts the heat again. When should you turn a backyard compost pile? Turn the pile when the center starts to cool, roughly weekly while it is active. Move the outside material into the middle and add water if it feels dry. Turn sooner if the core passes about 140°F, since heat near 160°F kills the decomposers. NC State Extension's composting chapter says to turn the pile when the center begins to feel cool to the touch. It says a pile that is not mixed may take three to four times longer to finish. Cornell's compost temperature fact sheet says decomposition is fastest between 90 and 140°F . It says piles above 160°F can sterilize themselves, and turning above 140°F helps prevent that and t...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A potato speared by a fork tine will not keep. Digging from the outside of the hill in and timing the harvest to mature skins lets you store most of the crop through winter. How do you dig potatoes with a spading fork without spearing them? Wait until the vines have died and the skins are hard to rub off. Set the fork well out from the hill, lever the soil up from the side, and pick the tubers by hand. Sort out any pierced tubers to eat first, and cure the rest before storage. University of Minnesota Extension's potato growing page says to dig hills with a spading fork on a dry, warm day , being careful not to pierce tubers with the tines. It says injured tubers will spoil in storage and should be used first. Utah State University Extension's potatoes in the garden page says to dig storage potatoes after the vines have died and the ...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Garlic bulbs bruise easily, and a yanked stem often snaps and leaves the bulb in the ground. Loosening the soil first with a spading fork gets each bulb out whole, with its wrappers intact for storage. When and how do you dig garlic with a spading fork? Dig when about half of the leaves have turned brown and the bulbs are full-sized and well wrapped. Push the fork in several inches away from the row, lever the soil up, and lift each plant by hand. Brush off soil gently and dry the bulbs with tops attached. University of Maryland Extension's garlic growing page says to lift plants gently with a garden fork when about half of the foliage turns brown. It says to dry them with tops attached, out of direct sun, and cut the tops after 7 to 14 days . Iowa State University's garlic harvest FAQ says to dig the bulbs carefully with a garden ...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Peony foliage looks tired by October, often spotted with brown blotches. Those leaves and stems carry the fungus that blights next spring's shoots and buds, so the fall cutback is a disease job as much as a tidy-up. When and how far should you cut back peonies in fall? Cut herbaceous peonies back after a hard freeze has killed the foliage, usually late October or early November. Cut every stem at or near ground level, then rake up and remove the leaves and debris underneath. Do not compost it if the plants had leaf disease. Iowa State University Extension's peony foliage FAQ says to cut back after a hard freeze , generally late October or early November in Iowa. It says plants cut back in August or early September may have fewer blooms. Ohio State University's Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine article on peony cleanup says to cu...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Erect blackberry canes left alone shoot past head height, flop over, and fruit only at the tips. Two short pruning visits, one in summer and one in late winter, turn each cane into a stiff, branched bush that fruits at picking height. When and where do you tip erect blackberry canes? Tip new primocanes in summer once they reach about 36 to 40 inches, or 48 to 60 inches on vigorous varieties, removing just the soft tip. Go back through the row several times as canes reach height. In late winter, shorten the side branches to about 12 to 18 inches. University of Missouri Extension's guide to pruning raspberries, blackberries, and gooseberries says to summer tip erect blackberries at 36 to 40 inches . It says tipping encourages branching and increases fruit set, and that winter laterals go back to 12 to 15 inches . University of Tennessee E...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A bare-root apple whip arrives as a single unbranched stick about chest high. Leaving it uncut feels safer, but the first cut on planting day is what decides how high the tree's first branches will grow. How high should you cut a newly planted apple whip? Head an unbranched whip at about 30 inches, and no higher than 36, right after planting. Cut just above a healthy bud. By summer, shoots grow on the top 8 to 10 inches; keep the top shoot as the leader and use lower, wide-angled shoots as scaffold branches. Iowa State University Extension's guide to pruning and training young apple trees says to cut whips to 30 inches just above a bud. It says the leader and side shoots develop on the upper 8 to 10 inches of the trunk by summer. Utah State University Extension's training and pruning apple trees page gives a heading height of ...