Welcome to the Poconos, an area of both breathtaking natural beauty and challenges for potential gardeners. Gardeners who take the time to learn about local ... - Read more

North Pocono Garden Center. Map It! North Pocono Garden Center Video. A family owned and run garden center located in the beautiful Pocono's. - Read more

Resource for gardeners in the Pocono region. What and when to plant, composting, weather and climate, directory and reviews of local farmers markets. - Read more

Mowing and Trimming a Lawn

Mowing and trimming -- especially when done properly -- improve the health and appearance of your lawn in Wilkes Barre, reduce its need for water, and lessen your maintenance time. Tools and Materials String trimmer Rotary lawn mower with sharp blade Lawn mower Tape measure or ruler Rake Broom Trim first . If you use a string trimmer, use it before mowing.

Flowers

Collect black-eyed Susan seeds when the seed heads dry and turn brown or grey. Saving seeds can be economical, since a single flower can generate dozens or even hundreds of seeds. Although the procedure is simple, there are a few techniques that will improve your chances of being a successful flower grower.

Extending the Gardening Season

Plant seeds of long-season crops indoors in pots before the last frost date in your area in Wilkes Barre. Start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants 8 weeks early, cole crops about 4 to 6 weeks early, and vine crops 1 week early. Extend your harvest into fall by planting second crops of short-season vegetables, such as snap beans, peas, greens, radishes, cole crops, and turnips later in the season so they mature after you harvest the first crop.

Maintaining a Vegetable Garden

Healthy, vigorous vegetable plants in Wilkes Barre produce the most flavorful and bountiful harvests. Give your garden plants the moisture and nutrients they need, and keep them weeded and harvested for tasty and nutritious crops. Tools and Materials Water source, hose, or watering can Organic mulch Hoe Fertilizer, 5-10-10 Water.

Maintaining a Perennial Garden

Perennial gardens in Wilkes Barre require less maintenance than lawns, but they do need regular care to look their best and stay healthy. The following tasks are arranged in order of frequency from weekly to annually. Tools and Materials Scissors or hand pruners Trowel Water source, soaker hose or sprinkler Hoe with small, sharp blade Half-moon edger or garden spade Lawn rake Steel rake Perennials.

Coping with Pest Deer

Deer in rural areas are often more timid of human presence and activity than those in suburban areas, so different control methods may be effective. Your county agricultural extension service or local wildlife management office can give you the most accurate information about deer activity in your area in Wilkes Barre.

Controlling Slugs

If there's one garden pest that's universally despised, it's slugs. Not only do they eat prized vegetables, herbs, and flowers at night while you sleep, but when you do catch them, they're so slimy and squishy that many gardeners won't even touch them, let alone kill them in Wilkes Barre.

Pruning Brambles

"Bramble" the name given to plants in the genus Rubus, which includes the many forms of raspberries(including red, golden, black, and purple kinds) and blackberries (both upright and trailing types) in Wilkes Barre.

Controlling Whiteflies and Aphids

Few insect pests are more widespread than whiteflies and aphids. They attack indoor and outdoor vegetables, flowers, herbs, shrubs, and trees. They breed quickly, and once their numbers are high, they can damage leaves, stems, fruits, and even roots by sucking plant juices in Wilkes Barre.

Aphids

Aphids are found throughout the United States. These small, soft-bodied insects may be pale green, pink, black, or yellow, depending on the species. Some stages of the life cycle are winged, others wingless.

Codling Moth

Caterpillars bore small holes in the fruit, usually at or near the blossom end. Inside, the pinkish-white worms with brown heads feed on the flesh, leaving tunnels full of sawdustlike frass (droppings). Infested fruit often drops prematurely from trees in Wilkes Barre.

Corn Rootworm

Striped and spotted cucumber beetles are close relatives. Larvae of these beetles are 1/2- to 3/4-inch-long, white wormlike grubs that tunnel into and feed on the roots of corn plants, making them stunted, yellow, and unstable in Wilkes Barre.

Cucumber Beetle

There are two forms of cucumber beetle -- one striped and the other sporting a dozen black spots. Cucumber beetles are pests of far more plants than their name indicates in Wilkes Barre.

Curculio

Curculios are diminutive, so they're not easy to spot. You're more likely to see the damage they cause. Initially they make small, circular scars in the skins of developing apples and pears under which they lay eggs in Wilkes Barre.

Fire Ants

Fire ants range in size from 1/8 to 1/3 of an inch, but their bite feels like they're much bigger in Wilkes Barre.

Flea Beetle

These tiny beetles earn their name by jumping like fleas when disturbed. There are many pest species with varying markings and colorations. The blue-black flea beetle shown here is most common in Wilkes Barre.

Grasshopper

Pest grasshoppers can be as large as 3" long. There are many species of grasshoppers in North America, and about 30 of these qualify as garden pests in Wilkes Barre. They are most damaging in the center of the continent in a band extending from Minnesota and Montana in the north to Texas and New Mexico in the south.

Ladybugs

Adult ladybugs, or ladybird beetles, are typically a brick red or orange with black markings. But some are black, often with red markings. Their larvae look like miniature alligators, and they live up to their appearance by being voracious predators of many garden pests in Wilkes Barre.

Lacewings

The larvae of a green lacewing busily feeding on aphids in Wilkes Barre. Larvae can grow to 3/8" long. Lacewings are found throughout the United States. They are predators of many garden pests including aphids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, and other small, soft-bodied pests and their eggs. The larvae are yellowish-gray, mottled with brown, and have large mouthparts.

Mealybugs

Several species of mealybugs pose problems for gardeners across North America. Host plants include citrus, apples, peaches, grapes, potatoes, and a number of tropical plants -- including houseplants.