Short Definitions to Gardening Words
Aeration - To increase the amount of air spaces in soil. This can be accomplished by tilling a course organic matter into the soil which keeps the soil loose. In lawns, aeration refers to providing air spaces by creating holes which allows air to enter compacted soil.
Air Layering - A means of producing roots from a stem of a plant without detatching it from the original plant.. This is done by cutting a notch along a stem and wrapping wet sphagnum moss around it and enclosing the spaghnum in a plastic bag. When the bag fills with roots it can be cut from the original plant and can be grown seperately.
Annual - A plant that begins and ends it's life cycle within a year or a seasons time. A summer annual would bloom during the warm weather and die from the cold in winter. A cool weather annual would be planted in the fall, bloom and die in the heat of the summer.
Beneficial Insect - Any insect that directly benefits human beings. Most insects in this category prey on other insects that destroy our food crops or ornamental plants. A ladybug would be a good example of a beneficial insect.
Biennial - A flowering plant that grows its foliage in it's first year and then flowers, sets seed and dies the second year.
Bolt - A term used to describe a vegetable plant grown for it's leaves or roots that starts flowering prematurely.
Chill Hours - The number of accumulated hours between the temperatures of 32 and 45 degrees. Some fruit trees have a minimum number of chill hours needed to set fruit. If a certain peach tree variety needs 1,000 chill hours to bear fruit and it receives only 600 chill hours it will not bear fruit that year. You have to chose your fruit tree varieties based on your normal chill hours in your area.
Cole Crops - Vegetables in the Brassica family. Broccoli, brussell sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and kohlrabi.
Companion Planting - Locating plants close to each other to take advantage of each others natural ability to repel harmful insects, attract beneficial insects or take advantage of chemical interactions among plants.
Compost Tea - A liquid nutrient that results from placing composted plant debris in water and allowing it to seep for 5-7 days. It is usually applied as a drench.
Cubic Yard - A cubic yard is a measurement of volume. A cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet. A cubic yard would fill a box 3 feet wide by 3 feet high by 3 feet deep. 3' x 3' x 3' = 27 cubic feet.
Deadheading - Removing spent flowers from plants to encourage more flowering.
Deciduous - A tree or shrub that drops all of it's foliage during the winter.
Determinate - Plant growth habit in which stems stop growing and produce flower clusters. Determinate tomatoes stop growing and produce all their fruit over a short period of time.
Dioecious - Plants that have either male or female parts but not both on the same plant.
Drip Line - The area directly below the outermost branches of a tree.
Hardening Off - Allowing a plant to slow it's growth rate before winter. Accomplished by withholding fertilizer, cutting back on irrigation and not pruning.
Hardy - Usually refers to a plants ability to withstand cold temperatures. Sometimes hardy is used to note a plants vigorous nature.
Honeydew : Sticky clear secretions produced by sucking insects that cover the leaves of plants they infest. A black sooty mold then grows on the honeydew turning the plant or tree black.
Humus - The end product of composting. Organic matter that is completely decomposed and stable.
Indeterminate - A vine that continues to grow after it flowers. An indeterminate tomato would continue to grow and produce fruit over a long period of time.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - IPM is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks.
Invasive Plant - A plant that is very difficult to control it's encroaching upon areas of your or your neighbors landscape that you don't want the plant in.
Leaching - The application of large quantities of water to a container grown plant to help remove excess salts, minerals and contaminates.
Manure Tea - A liquid nutrient that results from placing composted manure in a pillow case or burlap to seep in water and allowing it to decompose for 1-2 days and applied as a drench.
Naturalize - Term for bulbs that come back the next year, bloom and multiply.
Nematode - Microscopic roundworms. Some attack the root system of plants and severely damages them. Nematodes can also damage foliage. Beneficial nematodes are types that attack fire ants, fleas and grubworms.
Non-selective Herbicide - A weedkiller that kills anything that it is sprayed on.
Perennial - Plants that come back from their root system, after a dormant period, year after year.
pH - A measure of acidity or alkalinity of soil or water that is stated numerically from 1 to 14.
7 is neutral. Below 7 is acidic. Above 7 is alkaline. A pH of 6.3 is twice as acidic as 6.4.
Post-emergent Herbicide - A weedkiller that kills vegetation that is active and growing.
Pre-Emergent Herbicide - A chemical that prevents germination of seeds in flowerbeds or lawns.
Organic Gardening - Garden practices that do not use synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.
Pinching - Removing soft tissue from the terminal growth of plants. Used to encourage lateral branching and removing spent flowers.
Pruning - Pruning is the cutting of plants and trees to restrict growth, remove dead or dying branches or to induce a preferred shape.
Soil Activator - Products that encourage beneficial microbial activity in the soil.
Spreader Sticker - A soap-like addition to herbicides, insecticides and fungicides that breaks down the surface tension of water to improve the coverage across the leaf surface.
Systemic - Insecticides and fungicides that are taken up by the roots or foliage and enter the system of the plant.
Tender - A plant that can not take freezing temperatures without severe damage.
Tropical - A term used to describe trees or shrubs that come from warm parts of the world and can not withstand freezing temperatures without damage.
Variegated - Leaves that are striped, edged or marked with a color that is different than the primary color of the leaf.
Vernalization - The acceleration of flowering by perennials or trees after a long period of cold temperatures.
Xeriscape - This is landscaping design and implementation with water conservation in mind.