Robin Coe

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Garden Guides uses a knowledgeable team of editors, writers, and experts to create all our content. We dive deep into the ever-evolving conversations surrounding gardening and landscaping, striving to deliver the most current and helpful tips, strengthened by expert insight and tutorials from our talented team.

As we cover many fields of expertise, we make it a priority to ensure every beat remains fresh and comprehensive. Additional information on our editorial process available here.

Stories By Robin Coe

  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 4th, 2022

    How To Plant Tiger Lily Seeds

    How to Plant Tiger Lily Seeds. Tiger lilies are well-known as the orange-spotted lily that grows in ditches across North America. The roots of the lilies were eaten by Native Americans. The lilies are also popular in Asian dishes, with the flower being also edible. Medicinally, tiger lilies are believed to relieve congestion and nausea. Most lilies, including the tiger lily, are grown from bulbs. However, the tiger lily can also be grown from seeds harvested from the plants.

    By Robin Coe November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Trees
    Trees By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Propagate A Crabapple Tree From A Sucker

    How to Propagate a Crabapple Tree From a Sucker. Crabapples, although edible, are often grown for ornamental reason around landscape borders. Their flowers and fruit provide attractive decoration, and put out a sweet smell. Suckers or shoots often come up in the soil around the base of crabapple trees from the roots. It is essential to remove the suckers so that the don't take nutrients from the parent tree, and affect its health. Use the suckers you remove to propagate new crabapple trees.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Use Vinegar & Water To Flush Salt Build Up Out Of Soil

    How to Use Vinegar & Water to Flush Salt Build Up Out of Soil. Fertilizers and chemically-treated tap water often leave high levels of soluble salts in your soil that can harm or kill your plants. These salt residues are left behind when minerals dissolve in water. This soluble salt makes it difficult for plants to absorb water and is the leading cause of root rot in houseplants. You can protect your plants from salt buildup and root rot by flushing the soil with vinegar and water.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Stake Blackberries

    How to Stake Blackberries. Blackberry plants can remain productive and bear fruit for up to 10 years when they are properly cared for. There are three different types of blackberry plants that included erect, semi-erect and trailing. It's important to stake trailing blackberry plants Semi-erect blackberries also respond better to being trellised; whereas, erect blackberry plants can stand without being staked. You can increase both longevity and yields of blackberry plants by putting them on a trellis when needed.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Grow Cayenne Peppers Indoors

    How to Grow Cayenne Peppers Indoors. Cayenne peppers are relatively easy to grow indoors, and they add both a spicy kick to recipes, and attractive decoration to your kitchen. In the fall, you can string and hang the extra peppers to dry for later use. Cayenne peppers are high in vitamin A, which is great for vision and promoting smooth skin.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Grow Peppers In Clay Soil

    How to Grow Peppers in Clay Soil. It can be difficult to grow vegetables in clay soil. You can amend your soil when planting peppers to reduce the amount of clay. Peppers typically prefer soil that is high in organic matter with good drainage. Clay soil can cause a problem with the amount of water that gets to your pepper plants, so it's important to take steps to improve the drainage. Once you amend the type of soil your peppers will be planted in you will improve your harvests.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Transplant Borage

    How to Transplant Borage. Borage plants are useful for many purposes. The leaves can be cooked like spinach. The roots can be used to flavor wine. Medicinally, the plant is used for colds, coughs or as an eyewash. The sky blue and pink flowers can jazz up your garden and then be made into candy. Borage is typically planted directly into a garden site and doesn't usually respond well to being transplanted. However, if you have no other option, you can successfully transplant borage as long as it is done with special care to not harm the roots.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Grow Crimini Mushrooms

    How to Grow Crimini Mushrooms. Crimini mushrooms can be more difficult to grow at home than other mushrooms. Unlike most mushrooms, they grow on composted material and are considered a secondary decomposer to other organisms that break down the matter first. Many other mushrooms grow on dying or dead wood, and could be grown on logs at home. Portobello mushrooms are full-grown crimini mushrooms. Once you start your patch of crimini mushrooms, you can let some of them get overgrown to have portobello, as well.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
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    Flowers
    Flowers By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Identify Berry Plants

    How to Identify Berry Plants. A great deal of pride and satisfaction can be garnered from identifying and foraging edible berries. Berries can appear on the forest floor, above your head on trees and shrubs, or right at eye level. Many of these berries are edible; however, a few are deadly poisonous or can make you very sick. Edible plants can sometimes be difficult to identify from the berry alone because there may be many species with the same color of berry. You can positively identify berry plants by checking leaf, flower, stem and fruit characteristics.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Grow Vegetables In Sand & Sawdust

    How to Grow Vegetables in Sand & Sawdust. Soil substitutes that use sawdust and sand typically are used for mini-gardening. Mini-gardens are perfect for container gardening when outdoor space is limited. Soils made with sand and sawdust are less expensive and reduce problems with weeds, disease and pests. Care needs to be taken when measuring the amount of sand and sawdust used in a homemade mix. Too much or too little can affect the amount of water and nutrients your indoor plants receive.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Make Black Walnut Tea

    How to Make Black Walnut Tea. Black walnuts are often used as an alternative treatment for acne, thyroid problems, sore throats, tonsillitis, colitis, ringworm, eczema and hemorrhoids. The Cherokee Indians used the bark to make a laxative tea. However, the bark also contains chemicals that can be poisonous if consumed. The toxin can be avoided by brewing tea with the nut-meats of black walnuts. Walnut tea is typically brewed along with rice and dates, and is a popular drink in many Asian countries.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Grow A Lotus Plant Inside A Home

    How to Grow a Lotus Plant Inside a Home. Lotus plants can provide much satisfaction when grown in an indoor water garden. Many cultures consider the plant to be sacred. In Hinduism the lotus often is used to represent chakras or energy centers in the body. Varieties include the famed blue lotus or Nelumbo nucifera of Egypt, Asia, Australia and the Philippines as well as the Nelumbo lutea species in North America. Some preparation is needed to start a lotus plant indoors.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Grow Strawberry Seeds

    How to Grow Strawberry Seeds. New strawberry plants develop from root shoots. However, they can also be started from seed. Starting strawberries from seed can be difficult at first. Most people don't know that strawberry seeds have to be cold-treated before they can grow. Usually, this is done when the seeds drop from the fruit and freeze on the ground through the winter. However, you can simulate the same process with your freezer.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
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    Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Save Wilted Tomato Plants

    How to Save Wilted Tomato Plants. It can feel devastating to spend a lot of time cultivating your tomatoes to find that your plants have started to wilt. Wilt can be a sign of many different problems that include bacteria, watering, viruses or insects. When your plants begin to wilt there's no reason to give up on them. There are several things you can do to find the source of wilting and to help revive your plants. Tomato plants that have wilted can be saved in most circumstances.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    How To Store Dried Lavender

    How to Store Dried Lavender. The fruits of a lavender crop can spruce up your home, cooking or craft projects. Lavender buds can fill sachets or eye pillows. They can be baked into cookies, added to oil or sugar and used to spruce up a homemade salad dressing. Around the home, bundles can be used to scent your closet, dresser drawers or herbal bath. First, though, it is important to know how to properly store your lavender once you've harvested and dried your plants.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022

    Growing Ginseng Indoors

    Growing Ginseng Indoors. Ginseng is a natural energy boosting root herb that is great in tea and has many medicinal benefits. There are many types of ginseng, with the most common varieties being Panax and American ginseng. American ginseng, once an abundant wild plant in North America, is now rare because of excessive harvesting. It is possible to grow your own ginseng at home--even indoors. Growing ginseng takes great care and patience when starting it from seed.

    By Robin Coe November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Transplant A Cutting From A San Pedro Cactus

    How to Transplant a Cutting From a San Pedro Cactus. The San Pedro cactus grows naturally in areas of South America such as Southern Ecuador and Peru. The cactus can be grown either from seed or from a cutting. A cactus grown from a cutting will grow much faster. A cutting tends to grow about a foot a year. Once started, your San Pedro cactus will be a hardy and quick grower. The cactus can even withstand long periods without food or water.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Grow Turkey Tail Mushrooms

    How to Grow Turkey Tail Mushrooms. The turkey tail mushroom is a bracket fungus that grows on dead wood and tree stumps. It has been used medicinally in Asia for more than 1,000 years. It is believed to be useful in reducing phlegm, increasing energy, helping with pulmonary problems and healing the liver. The name "turkey tail" derives from the resemblance of overlapping layers of the mushrooms to the tail of a turkey. You can begin receiving the medicinal and culinary benefits of this mushroom by growing the mushroom on an old stump in your yard.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Grow Lions Mane Mushrooms Outdoors

    How to Grow Lions Mane Mushrooms Outdoors. The lion's mane mushroom can be identified by the cascading spines that replace the gills that most other mushrooms have. The mushroom is used both for culinary and medicinal purposes. Its taste is often described as being similar to a lobster, and it's used by gourmet chefs for this reason. In Chinese medicine, the mushroom is used as an aid for the stomach and for its anti-tumor properties. Lion's mane typically grows on the wood of dying hardwood trees.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Grow Limes In Michigan

    How to Grow Limes in Michigan. Limes, a tropical citrus plant, are extremely sensitive to cold and freezing temperatures. Michigan is in zone 5 with temperatures reaching -20 degrees F. The Michigan Upper Peninsula is considered zone 4 with temperatures reaching as low as -30 degrees F. Lime trees would not be able to grow outdoors in these conditions. Dwarf varieties, however, can be grown indoors and brought to outdoor temperatures during the spring and summer months in Michigan.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Harvest Spinach Seeds

    How to Harvest Spinach Seeds. Spinach can grow quickly in the home garden, and often gardeners can successively plant spinach to get a continual harvest. Spinach plants produce separate male and female plants. They are pollinated easily by the wind, which can carry the pollen for several miles. Spinach plants typically produce seeds about 4 to 6 weeks after leaves have been ready to harvest. One small crop of spinach plants can provide you with enough seeds for several years of garden growing, and can be stored for use for up to 4 years.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Flowers
    Flowers By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Make Dyes With Flowers

    How to Make Dyes With Flowers. Natural ingredients such as roots, bark, berries and flowers were once the main ingredients for dyeing different textiles. It has been only inthe last 150 years that synthetic dyes have become the mainstay of dyeing fabric. However, natural homemade dyes are en vogue again with the rising interest in using materials that are both safe for the environment and health. Flowers that you've grown in your garden or found in the wild can be used to dye cotton, wool, silk or muslin fabric and yarn so that you can prolong the enjoyment of their beautiful colors.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Flowers
    Flowers By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    Safety Of Chrysanthemum Tea

    Safety of Chrysanthemum Tea. Chrysanthemum tea has a soft yellow color and a strong floral aroma. The tea is as popular in China as coffee is in the United States. Chrysanthemum tea has various health benefits for the body. It can also be used on a regular basis because it has few side effects, and it is safe for most individuals. Still, check with your physician before taking it if you have pre-existing health conditions, and do not take it as a treatment for any medical conditions without consulting your doctor first.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Produce
    Produce By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022

    How To Self-Pollinate Zucchini Flowers

    How to Self-Pollinate Zucchini Flowers. Zucchini plants are a great addition to the home garden, and one plant can produce a large harvest. However, these plants take up a lot of space in a garden area, and it can be a disappointment if you have a poor harvest. It's useful to know how to self-pollinate your own zucchini plants when it doesn't seem like a lot of insects are around, in order to ensure your crop. Zucchini can cross-pollinate with other squash varieties, so hand-pollination is also crucial to producing a pure seed if you intend on saving your own seeds to grow next year.

    By Robin Coe September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Robin Coe March 23rd, 2022

    How To Grow Bonsai Pomegranate Trees

    How to Grow Bonsai Pomegranate Trees. Dwarf pomegranate seeds are ideal for planting and growing into bonsai trees. These plants are similar to the traditional pomegranate tree in everything except size. Your bonsai is even capable of producing fruit after one to two years of growth. Pomegranate trees are naturally twisted and gnarled in appearance, so they make for a decorative bonsai in any house. Pomegranate bonsai trees are much easier to care for and grow than traditional bonsai trees.

    By Robin Coe March 23rd, 2022 Read More