If you grow lettuce, radishes, fennel and even some flowers like calendula, you can let them bolt and self-sow. Then, next spring, after they germinate and sprout, thin out and leave the strongest seedlings. You'll grow a new, free crop with very little effort.

This year in Vermont, many hydrangea bushes are flowering abundantly, possibly due to many days of high humidity. Find out how and when to prune and care for different hydrangea types so they'll successfully overwinter and bloom again next year.

In Japan, knotweed is eaten as a leafy green when it has first sprouted. In Vermont, there are no natural controls for the plant and it grows rapidly and indiscriminately, crowding out native plants.

Wild parsnip or poison parsnip can spread quickly and it can take over a meadow or field. This reduces the biodiversity in that field of the plants and the insect and other wildlife. The sap can also give you a really nasty burn or rash, especially if you get it on your skin on a sunny day.

The glorious hanging-basket full of colorful flower and plant varieties you purchased or planted around Memorial Day might be looking bedraggled by mid-July. That's because plants grow! And they may have outgrown their container. Learn how to successfully trim them or separate them into new containers and baskets.

The adult beetle that emerges from the soil has the common name Japanese beetle, named for its country of origin. The beetle arrived on cargo ships in the early 1900s and is prevalent east of the Mississippi.

Even if they are green and healthy, you can prune the leaves from your tomato plants. Knowing how and when to prune and pinch the suckers will help the plant divert all its energy and nutrients into growing stronger. You'll be rewarded with more tomatoes, too.

This pest feasts on members of the allium family, like onions, garlic and leeks. The leek moth larvae feed on the plants' foliage and that can affect the plants' growth. They can also get into your garlic bulbs and compromise the storage life of your allium.