Hardware Cloth Guides

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hybrid tea roses bloom best on strong new wood, and they need the hardest pruning of any rose class to get it. Done once in early spring, the job takes about 15 minutes per bush with a sharp pair of bypass pruners. How do you prune a hybrid tea rose in spring? Cut out dead, damaged, crossing, and pencil-thin canes first. Keep three to six strong canes from last year and shorten them to 12 to 18 inches. Make each cut at a 45-degree slant about a quarter inch above an outward-facing bud so the center stays open. Oregon State University Extension's rose pruning page says to keep three to six strong canes and prune hybrid teas to 12 to 18 inches . It describes a clean 45-degree cut, slanting away from the bud, about a quarter inch above it. Illinois Extension's rose pruning page says hybrid teas need the most severe pruning of the r...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A small tree that died or was cut down leaves a stump that trips mowers and blocks replanting. At about 5 inches across, it is still small enough to dig out by hand in an afternoon with a mattock, a saw, and a bar. How do you dig out a small tree stump by hand? Dig a trench 1 to 2 feet deep around the stump, cut every lateral root you uncover, then pry the stump over to reach and cut the roots underneath. Leaving 4 to 6 feet of trunk gives you leverage. Hand digging is realistic for small stumps, best under about 6 inches. Iowa State University Extension's guide to removing tree stumps says digging works on stumps under about 12 inches . It gives the 1 to 2 foot trench and says a stump left 4 to 6 feet tall provides leverage for prying. Illinois Extension's Good Growing post on tree stump removal says its author would not hand-di...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A drip line to a new shrub border often has to pass a shade tree on the way. A shallow trench looks harmless, but most of a tree's roots sit in exactly the soil you are about to chop. How far from a tree should you dig a trench? Stay outside the critical root radius: 1.25 feet for every inch of trunk diameter measured 4.5 feet up, so 12.5 feet for a 10-inch tree. Never trench through the root plate. Inside that radius, dig by hand, cut roots cleanly, or reroute the line. Mississippi State University Extension's Preserving Trees in Construction Sites gives the 1.25 feet per inch rule and the 10-inch tree, 12.5-foot example. It says to limit root loss to 40 percent or less, and that most tree roots are in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil. Illinois Extension's news release on protecting tree roots during construction says roots ...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A 4-by-12 bed along a fence is 48 square feet of lawn to lift. That is small enough to do by hand in an afternoon, and a cutter mattock handles both the edge cuts and the slice under the roots. How deep should you cut sod to start a new garden bed? Slice just under the grass roots, about 1 inch deep and no more than 1 to 2 inches. Water two or three days before if the soil is dry, cut the outline first, then lift the sod in pieces small enough to carry. Keep the sod, because it holds valuable topsoil. Iowa State University Extension's guide to killing grass for a new garden bed says to slide the blade horizontally just under the shallow root system, about 1 inch deep. It says to dig a couple of days after a soaking rain or water two or three days ahead. The University of Maryland Extension's lawn removal methods page describes sli...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Bush honeysuckle seeds itself along fence lines where birds perch, and a few seedlings become a thicket within a few seasons. The young ones are shallow-rooted, so a cutter mattock can take them out roots and all without any spray. Can you remove bush honeysuckle by digging instead of spraying? Yes, for young shrubs. Seedlings pull by hand in moist soil, and shrubs with stems about 2 inches or less can be grubbed out by cutting the lateral roots and prying out the crown. Remove as much root as you can, because roots left behind resprout, and use another method on older shrubs with large crowns. Illinois Extension's Amur bush honeysuckle page says Amur honeysuckle root systems are shallow . It says young plants can be pulled when the soil is moist and that a grubbing tool helps with larger plants. University of Vermont Extension's art...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A young maple or linden that forks into two equal trunks looks full and balanced for a few years. It is also building the weak, bark-filled union that splits in a storm once the tree is big enough to hit the house. How do you fix two competing leaders on a young shade tree? Pick the straighter, taller stem as the leader. Shorten the other one with a reduction cut back to a smaller side branch so it grows slower, or remove it if it is approaching 2 inches thick. Above about 4 inches, shortening is usually safer than removal. Colorado State University Extension's structural pruning guide for young shade trees calls codominant trunks a major structural defect. It says to remove a competing leader that is approaching two inches in diameter, and to shorten one larger than four inches rather than risk exposing heartwood. University of Flori...

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Trench composting skips the bin and buries scraps right where next year's crops will grow. The work is all shovel work, and the depth and cover decide whether it feeds your soil or feeds the raccoons. How deep should a compost trench in a vegetable garden be? Dig the trench 12 to 15 inches deep and 8 to 10 inches wide, chop the scraps small, and mix them with some soil in the bottom. Stop filling while there is still room to backfill with at least 8 inches of soil, and leave out meat, bones, and fatty foods. Nebraska Extension's trench composting article gives the 12 to 15 inch depth and the 8 inches of soil cover. It says decomposition takes one month to one year , depending on soil temperature, soil microbes, and the carbon content of the scraps. Oregon State University Extension's composting systems guide describes a path v...