Thomas K. Arnold

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Stories By Thomas K. Arnold

  • How To Shut Off A Sprinkler Head

    How to Shut Off a Sprinkler Head. Sometimes even the best-laid irrigation systems need a little tinkering. Maybe you have a sprinkler head that's spewing water right at a fragile plant that's in danger of collapsing every time the water gets turned on. Or maybe you have three active sprinkler heads flooding a patch of ground where really one or two sprinkler heads would suffice. So what's a poor gardener to do? That's simple: You shut it off.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Water Plants With Sugar Water

    How to Water Plants With Sugar Water. Just as Mary Poppins sang that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," a little sugar can help plants recover faster from a lack of water or heat stress. Nutrients in the sugar help plants build back their own energy, and just a spoonful of sugar in the watering can may even help save the life of a dying plant.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Water Italian Cypress Trees

    How to Water Italian Cypress Trees. The Italian cypress, the proud, plume-like evergreens that are popular landscaping trees, are relatively easy to care for. They are generally drought tolerant, but regular watering is crucial to the tree's long-term health, particularly during the first two years of its life.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • What Color Of Light Is Least Effective In Driving Photosynthesis?

    What Color of Light is Least Effective in Driving Photosynthesis?. Green is the least effective color of light in driving photosynthesis, the process of converting light energy into chemical energy. Photosynthesis occurs in plants and algae using chlorophyll, and because chlorophyll reflects rather than absorbs green light, green light cannot be used in the photosynthetic process.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Grow Irish Moss In Sand

    How to Grow Irish Moss in Sand. Irish moss, also known as Sagina, isn't really a moss at all. It is a low-growing groundcover with dense, lime-green leaves that form carpet-like mounds no more than two to four inches in height. In the summer, Irish moss blooms with tiny white flowers. Irish moss is commonly used in rock gardens and between paving stones; it grows best in well-drained, sandy soil that needs to be kept moist at all times. Growing Irish moss in sand isn't a stretch, then, as long as you make sure the sand doesn't dry out or become saturated.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Plant Grass Seeds In Sand

    How to Plant Grass Seeds in Sand. Planting grass seeds in sand can be a real challenge because the only thing sand has going for it in terms of planting is good drainage. Sand is notoriously devoid of nutrients and also isn't firm enough to give grass roots a secure footing. Fortunately, a little preparation can make even the sandiest patch of ground into a lush, green lawn.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • The Best Grass Seed For Southern Lawns

    The Best Grass Seed for Southern Lawns. The best grass seed for lawns in the South, an area of the country known for its hot, humid summers, are warm-season grasses such as Bermudagrass and Bahiagrass. These varieties love the sun and are relatively low-maintenance, drought tolerant and more resistant to insects and diseases than other varieties.

    By Thomas K. Arnold November 3rd, 2022 Read More
  • How To Keep Rose Blooms From Turning Brown

    How to Keep Rose Blooms From Turning Brown. Rose blooms turning brown before they have a chance to open is a common garden problem, and one that can frustrate gardeners to no end. There are several reasons for your roses turning brown, and several steps your can take to try to prevent it. If a rose bush already has some brown blooms, minimize the chances of other blooms getting infected too.

    By Thomas K. Arnold September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • How Much Does Grass Grow In A Day?

    How Much Does Grass Grow in a Day?. The rate of grass growth depends on the type of grass, weather, amount of sun, water and other factors. Generally, grass grows at a rate of 2 to 6 inches a month, or an average of .06 to .20 inches a day.

    By Thomas K. Arnold September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • The Best Grass Seed In Southern California

    The Best Grass Seed in Southern California. The best grass seed for Southern California is a warm-season grass. For coastal locations where winter temperatures rarely dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, an ideal grass seed is Seashore Paspalum, which tolerates both salt and drought. For inland parts of Southern California with hotter summers, Bermuda grass is a good choice.

    By Thomas K. Arnold September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Care For A Musa Banana Plant

    How to Care for a Musa Banana Plant. Musa banana plants are any banana plants that bear edible fruit--a family that includes some 500 different species. Caring for banana plants is relatively easy, with one caveat--you must live in the tropical or subtropical climate in which they occur naturally.

    By Thomas K. Arnold September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Build A Raised Garden On A Slope

    How to Build a Raised Garden on a Slope. Slopes are a natural for raised gardens, since you have to create terraced beds anyway to level the ground. The benefits of raised gardens include more control over the soil and better drainage, and more oxygen, for the plants. Building raised garden beds on a slope can be accomplished without much digging, and the results can be quite compelling.

    By Thomas K. Arnold September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • How To Transplant Tree Ferns

    How to Transplant Tree Ferns. Tree ferns are the giants of the fern family, with one variety, the Australian tree fern, capable of reaching a maximum height of 20 feet. But that takes years, and most common varieties, such as New Zealand or Tasmanian, generally top out at about six or eight feet. Transplanting tree ferns, all of which are known for their fibrous trunks and plumes of fine-leafed fronds, is remarkably easy, although the smaller and younger the tree, the better.

    By Thomas K. Arnold September 6th, 2022 Read More