The Informed Gardener Blooms Again

Linda Chalker-Scott

• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780295800332
• Topic: Scienze biologiche
• Subtopic: Orticoltura

The Informed Gardener Blooms Again picks up where The Informed Gardener left off, using scientific literature to debunk a new set of common gardening myths. Once again, Linda Chalker-Scott investigates the science behind each myth, reminding us that urban and suburban landscapes are ecosystems requiring their own particular set of management practices. The Informed Gardener Blooms Again provides answers to questions such as: Does using drought-tolerant plants reduce water consumption? Is it more effective to spray fertilizers on the leaves of trees and shrubs than to apply it to the soil? Will cedar wood chips kill landscape plants? Should I use ladybugs in my garden as a form of pest control? Does aerobically brewed compost tea suppress disease? Every year Chalker-Scott receives hundreds of e-mails from around the world on these and related topics. Her advice, based on more than twenty years of experience in the field of plant physiology, has helped home gardeners, landscape architects, and nursery and landscape professionals to develop scientifically based sustainable landscaping practices. Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWrk2894iyA

INDEX

A

acidic soils. See under soils

acrylamide, 132–38. See also hydrogels

ACT (aerated compost tea), 190–94

acute stress, 25. See also environmental stress

adaptation, 8, 12, 187; to disturbance, 143; to dry conditions, 32, 66, 101; to seasonal changes, 37; to soil conditions, 32, 62; of weeds, 68

aesthetics: of landscapes, 53, 101–2, 214–15; of mulch materials, 7, 125, 148, 167

agricultural methods, 10–11, 13, 110, 116, 197; alternative, 17–21, 126–29, 137–38, 212–15; conventional, 19; intercropping, 11–12, 14; misapplied to urban landscapes, 30, 42, 120–21, 132, 143–46; polyculture, 11, 19; traditional, 143. See also crop production

airborne chemicals. See allelopathy

air pollution, 56

alkaline soils, 31–32. See also soils

allelopathy: growth suppression, 153; juglone, 154; thujaplicin, 155; thujone, 155; tropolone, 155

alternative agriculture. See under agricultural methods

aluminum. See under heavy metals

amendment incorporation. See under soil amendments

amendments. See soil amendments

ammonium sulfate, 121. See also fertilizers

anaerobic soil, 154. See also soils

annual crops. See vegetable crops

annual flower beds. See flower beds

annual flowers. See flowers

anthocyanins: antioxidant behavior of, 43; drought-induced, 41; herbicide-induced, 42; juvenile reddening, 41; pathogen-induced, 42; and solar protection, 43

antimicrobial activity, 155

antimicrobial compounds, 7

antitranspirants, 183–87

antiviral activity, 213

aquatic systems. See under ecosystems

arborist chips. See under woodchip mulches

arborists, 25

arid environments. See under climate

arsenic, 83–88. See also heavy metals

aspect, 56

auxins, 197. See also plant growth regulators

B

backfill, 164. See also soil amendments

bacteria, 134, 148, 155, 167–68, 184, 200; pathogenic, 42, 62, 66, 162. See also microbes

bact...