Hot Weather Gardening In July and August when the temperatures rise so high you think you may melt, plants needs change just a bit. Here are a few tips on how you can help your garden thrive during the heat waves of mid-summer. Some hot weather gardening DO’s and DON’Ts Watering During July/August in Ohio, [...]
You’ve been a busy gardener. You’ve planned, you’ve gotten down and dirty preparing your soil, you’ve added all the goodies your plants needed, you’ve spent numerous hours pulling weeds and keeping things neat and tidy, you’ve given each plant the best start possible and in turn, they are producing fruit and blooming beautifully for you. [...]
Need to fill in flowerbeds quick? Want low maintenance flower beds? Choose high impact annuals such as Kong Coleus, Wave Petunias, Zinnias and fast-growing Sweet Potato Vine. Kong Coleus is an easy-to-care for plant, adding unique color to shade or part sun flowerbeds or containers. This plant thrives in the heat when planted in good [...]
When choosing plants for your cutting garden, be bold and try new things. The classics will always be a staple to the cutting garden, but different varieties of plants that are a bit unusual or maybe even, dare we say, unconventional for cuttings can go a long way. Think outside the box with plants such [...]
Onion is an ancient food dating back to 5000 B.C. It was introduced to North America by the pilgrims and was one of the first crops planted by the colonists. A large number of varieties can be found today ranging from large sweet onions to scallions. With the ability to enhance many foods, onions are [...]
When planting vegetables, herbs or any other plant indoors, including houseplants, be sure to check if those plants are safe for animals. Some plants can be toxic to certain animals, so before taking any plant indoors that your pets may have access to, it’s always a good idea to know what is harmful and what [...]
First time gardeners shouldn’t be too ambitious with their first garden. Plan your garden according to how much time you can dedicate to caring for it, while allowing proper spacing for plants. This will help keep frustrations down by keeping things under control. You can always expand your gardening space the following year!
Before plants go into the ground, there is plenty to do in the garden. Plants take up a lot of minerals and nutrients from the ground and throughout the growing season, especially if they are producing vegetables. These both need to be replenished in the spring if you want keep an equally well producing garden. [...]
Most pests are brought into the house via new plants or plants that have summered outdoors. It’s not easy to rid your plants of pests once they develop, so prevention is key. Before bringing new plants into the house, or those that have summered outdoors, inspect the plant and soil. Check under leaves and in [...]
When it comes to summer flavors, the strawberry is maybe the first thought that comes to mind. Juicy and sweet, these fruits can be used in many ways from homemade ice cream and jam to toppings for cakes and refreshing summer drinks, but eaten straight from the vine, is undeniably an experience in itself. There [...]
If you love fresh picked tomatoes but have no room for a full garden, don’t worry, there is a way to grow your own! Tomatoes are one of those fruits that are best picked fresh. While they travel just fine to the grocery store, there seems to be nothing quite like a vine ripened tomato, [...]
Growing Beautiful & Healthy Succulents Indoors Succulents have always been popular as indoor plants not only because of their glorious shapes and forms but also because these plants can survive in moderate light, and low humidity. They are quite sturdy as they can endure weeks of neglect by storing water within their fleshy leaves, stems, [...]
Hook’s Tips Starting your potatoes. Seed potatoes are grown specifically for starting new plants. They are usually smaller in size than you may find in the grocery store and have not been treated with a growth inhibitor (meant to stop or slow sprouting). Here’s How: You can Chit your potatoes about two to three weeks [...]
Grow Some Fun this Spring Spring is here and now is a great time to start introducing your kids to gardening! This can be done with things you probably have laying around the house and is as much fun for adults as it is for children. A large part of gardening is the magic that [...]
Dear Valued Customers, Family, and Friends, NOTE: Please see our updated hours on the home page The growing concerns of COVID-19 have prompted Hook’s Greenhouse to take extra precautions to safeguard the health of our employees and others. We are implementing stronger measures at Hook’s that align to the CDC and our Governor’s guidance and [...]