LUFKIN, Texas (KLTV) - Wouldn’t it be great if our brutal summer heat could make a better vegetable garden? Even more so, what if the oppressive heat could make gardening easier? It can, with a seldom ...

Solarization also eliminates some soil diseases, including Verticillium wilt, Phytophthora root rot, Fusarium wilt, damping-off, crown gall, tomato canker, and potato scab, allowing healthy plants and ...

Note: This article was originally published in this newspaper in 2011. Is there an area in your garden where you are battling noxious weeds or other invasive plants? If so, soil solarization is a ...

Soil solarization is most effective in the hottest summer months that are just ahead of us. Soil solarization uses the heat from the sun’s rays to essentially bake the soil to a temperature of up to ...

Researchers raised soil temperatures in high tunnels in southern Arizona to determine the efficacy of soil solarization using clear mulch on the soil surface and with tunnel glazing or with no glazing ...

Soil solarization is one of the most effective, cheapest and environmentally sound methods of reducing populations of soil-born pathogens, fungi, weed seeds and pest insects and their eggs. Soil ...

As some summer crops are beginning to wind down, now is the time to consider what's next. There is still plenty of time to get that second planting of squash, beans and even tomatoes in the ground. If ...

Soil solarization is used to manage nematodes, pathogens and weeds, but relatively few studies have examined solarization effects on soil mineral nutrients, soil properties and plant tissue nutrients.

Dear readers: Last week, I talked about my failure to raise healthy heirloom tomatoes in 2016. They were disease-riddled. Next year, I vow to do better. One of the ways to lower disease resident in ...

Solarization of soil was found beneficial for plant growth in cowpea under field conditions. Root nodulation, infection by mycorrhizal fungi and yield were higher in plants grown in solarized soil.

Home gardeners who place the same plants in the same location each year will ultimately experience fungal and bacterial disease buildup, as well as insects and other pest problems. Many have no choice ...

After you remove the soil solarization plastic, plant a cover crop such as fava bean or leave the plastic on until spring. Or plant crops and use the plastic sheeting as mulch. Just cut small Xs in ...