There's a frequently-asked-question section in the back, and a "Cheat Sheet" inside the front cover that includes a guide to fertilizers and shade-loving plants. The book is packed with easy-to-follow instructions for gardening enthusiasts. Hey, not everyone has a natural green thumb - folks sometimes need help getting started. Chapters on pest control, weed management, growing fruits and vegetables, and gardening for kids accompany how-tos on annuals, perennials, bulbs, roses, lawns,...

Beekeepers say their industrious workers have been vanishing mysteriously from their hives since last fall -- leaving behind well-stocked food stores, their developing offspring and a forlorn queen and her attendants. Bigger operators, who truck hives by the thousands from citrus groves in Florida to berry farms in Maine, have been alarmed by losses of up to 90 percent. Pollination fees are already increasing sharply because of rising demand, and significant bee losses could reduce crop...

Children generally will adopt the eating patterns of their parents, so it is essential for you and your husband to be good role models and demonstrate healthy eating patterns, they say. My kids are refusing to eat vegetables and other foods my husband avoids. Ask your husband to talk to your kids about why he doesn't eat vegetables, Freedman says. When you talk to your husband, discuss the increase in the number of diabetes cases in young children. I don't want my children to grow up with...

In recent years, growers in America's most bountiful farmland have watched tighter border enforcement and competition from the booming construction industry threaten their labor supply. His family has worked the land since 1855, and seasonal workers have always returned for the harvest in mid-May after the long growing period when they're not needed. Cherries are starting to blush red in the state's warm southern reaches, but farmers are eyeing the first big summer crop with concern,...

And what about the early worm? What does it get? Eaten by the early bird? Joel likes to sleep late, wait until a deadline is imminent, then work round the clock to meet it. He can do that in his successful business of computer programming, I guess, but not so a hungry robin hopping about the lawn in search of an early breakfast. Connect the dots: a long discarded jack-o-lantern, the impatience of a perky five-year-old, a chilly spring, entrepreneurship, pies, a fireplace and Halloweens to come.

Prizes were given to every student, but eight students were picked for their unique creativity and pumpkin design. The best pumpkins around: Contest sparks 5th grade creativity. Alex Lakin, 10, found an idea completely different from the rest of the students and received third place and best fairy-tale pumpkin. Each student in three fifth grade classes at Cottonwood got a free pumpkin to take home. They could do whatever they wished with it - keep it or decorate it and bring it back for...

At Johnie's Garden in Minturn the term refers to a 12-to-14 inch container filled with five plants - oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil and a canning type tomato, like Roma. A "spaghetti pot" filled with tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary is a good alternative to having a full garden. Each summer the garden center sells plenty of the pots to hungry garden lovers. Some like it hot When customers approach Glass for recommendations the first thing he asks is what the sun exposure is...

Turns out she was referring to a haredi ruling, also promulgated over the Internet, that "cluster" vegetables, notably cauliflower and broccoli, are not kosher owing to the very tiny bugs that may have taken up abode among their tightly-packed florets - not even if you soak them in various substances beforehand. Turns out she was referring to a haredi ruling, also promulgated over the Internet, that "cluster" vegetables, notably cauliflower and broccoli, are not kosher owing to the very...

Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts do better with daytime temperatures at about 68 degrees and nighttime temperatures at about 58 degrees. You should never let transplants become old enough to flower or set fruit before planting them in the garden so don't be in a hurry to start your seeds. The time it takes to grow a transplant depends upon the species, growing temperature, and how large a transplant you want. While you're at it, start flowering plants to add a bit more...