It's News to Me - Trends in Gardening

Air Pots

Have you seen Air-Pots? I haven’t. Air-pots are plant containers made with a new technology that ensures a massive root ball for your plants, giving you a greater yield. The construction makes the roots seek out openings that are too small, so the root is then effectively pruned. This, in turn, causes the plant to send out side roots and more roots from the base overall. Pretty cool. For more information checkout: http://airpotgarden.com/

Heat Zone Map

I live in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, in zone 6a according to the USDA Hardiness Zone Map. Winters here are pretty cold, but occasionally they are warm. And conversely - our summers usually are not too hot, but sometimes they are really hot. It is this varying temperature issue that raised my attention to the Heat Zone Map. I first learned about it when visiting the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. The Heat Zone Map, developed by the American Horticultural Society, was first published in 1997. It is divided into twelve zones, somewhat like the USDA Hardiness Zone Map. Each zone indicates the average number of days where the temperature is over 86 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 degrees Celsius. Soon we will start to see the heat zones on all our plant tags in the nurseries, reference books and catalogs.  Learn more about the Heat Zone Map here: http://www.ahs.org/gardening-resources/gardening-maps/heat-zone-map. I live in heat zone 2. To find your heat zone, check here:  http://www.plantmaps.com/

Anthocyanin

We’ve all heard that dark, leafy vegetables are packed with healthy nutrients. But what about other dark vegetables? What about all of the dark red and purple ones that have been showing up lately? You know - the purple cauliflower and broccoli, dark purple carrots, and even tomatoes. The key factor to their color is the presence of anthocyanin, an antioxidant that helps reduce blood pressure, among several other health issues. Now that fall is upon us, the other really interesting thing about anthocyanin in plants is that it actually helps them resist cold temperatures, more than their non-purple cousins. So, why not go out and buy a couple of starts of purple broccoli, or even some red leaf lettuce? They will be great for your health and should make it over the next couple of months. And hey, they’re so dang pretty. Read more about purple in the garden here: http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=282

I'm sure some of you have already heard about the Air-Pots, the Heat Zone Map and the benefits of purple vegetables. Share your experiences with us. How have they helped your garden?