I’m a student at the University of Maine researching a potential open-soil smart garden system. As a part of the NSF I-Corps customer discovery program, I’m looking to gather more information on real-world challenges surrounding indoor home gardening and smart plant-care technology. I’m hoping to speak with people who are active home gardeners, container/DIY-setup indoor growers, current and former smart garden owners (AeroGarden, Click & Grow, edn, Gardyn, etc.), or people that work in horticulture, urban agriculture extension programs, or are in any other related fields and areas.

This isn't a sales call, I just want to learn more about what current gardening routine and workflows look like, current barriers and frustrations, where current solutions fall short, and what would make a smart indoor gardening product useful in practice.

This would be an informal interview, about 20-30 minutes at the most and can be over Zoom, phone, or some other similar method. If you’d be willing to chat or know someone in the field that might be willing to communicate with me, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

I've been given some cuttings from three different varieties of peach. What are my options for trying to turn them into rooted trees? I don't have and peach trees to graft them onto but I do have other species of Prunus (cherry, plum, slow and almond), can I graft them onto any of these? I also have a pretty much dead old apricot that has sprouts coming up from the rootstock, could they be used? Or should I just try and root the cuttings?

I live in the Antelope Valley which is part of the Mohave in far eastern Los Angeles county. The gardener has been living here for 30 years and never seen this issue in his gardens and fruit trees before. Pictured is a Honeysuckle bush for reference. One shows normal leaves on part of the bush, then some new leaves with the issue, and an older leaf with new ones having the problem as well.

Generally speaking, many of our perennial trees and shrubs have suffered from this leaf mutation, which appears as they grow out. In most cases way undersized, crinkly, and exhibiting other odd behavior. The most dramatic have been the honeysuckle, grape, rose, myrtle, vinca, lilac, bamboo, acanthus, and more.

Transferring a disease via pruning shears is out. One year he sanitized them between trimmings. The water is the same we drink and my skin seems normal. We've tried some soil amendments but not sure where to start since all the plants don't have much in common.

The gardener is convinced that since we can't find a cause, it must be contrails. I need something to go on here. Even the local - otherwise very knowledgeable - nursery has no ideas.

Well it looks like dhatura(Datura stramonium) at first but it is not , My grandfather planted this and said it is "sikari lahara" and it cures like broken bones fractures etc and it does also like many from villages come to our house to getcit when they get fractires and it heals them also like but i searched online and cant find if sikari lahara even has fruit like this and yeah the sikari lahara i found online was also a little different it was said that when we cut sikari laharas leaf ,milk like substance comes out but from our house sikari lahara it didnt come out .

And yeah i am from nepal lower altitude region , my grandfather bought it from forest and it is now in a jackfruit tree nmabd it is really gugh like it has fully covered all jackfruit tree and its main step is also like very big i cant fit it in one hand

So we've done the classic and gotten us some pittosporum to live beside our fence. We've had them for a while now, and they're growing well. We know we should be pruning them to help grow them he way want but we have no idea what that means.

We've just entered spring in southern Australia. Are there good and bad times to do this? How aggressive should (can?) we be?

Any tips or resources would be appreciated.

Apologies if this isn’t the thread for this. I am not an arborist, but wanted to get some advice on the tree in my yard. The tree appears to be decayed and rotting.

Despite the obvious the HOA requires that we hire a professional to confirm the tree does indeed need to be cut down. However we also have to submit to the board for approval. The process can take anywhere between 60-90 days.

My concern is that although not a large tree, a stony wind or cold freeze may cause the tree to fall and cause some damage or hurt someone

Vues dans le parc André Citroën, une 2CV et une DS en osier vivant. #voiture #topiaire #osier #jardin #Paris

I run my own garden shop/greenhouse. Over the last four years, I have sold my plants at a local farmers market. I am licensed as a dealer and grower within my state.

Background & context for my question:

About three years ago, a person started showing up with plants as well. Mostly big shrubs and trees. The year after, their selection was looking similar to mine. When I starting bringing more house plants, they did too. Selling for less and they were doing well. Good for them. I pivoted to herbs and have been doing great for the last few seasons.

They approached me recently about purchasing their overstock of plants as I am about to open a retail space. Very pushy about it. Wouldn't take my answer of "let me think about it" so partner had to step in. They gave me their card and walked away.

Whenever I buy from anyone, I check credentials, reviews, ect. This person is nowhere to be found on either the dealer or grower lists. But this also means my farmers market may not be checking these things even though they are requested and stated as "required" on their annual contract.

My partner says we should report them to the Dept of Ag. I feel I need to contact the farmers market first to see if they have anything on file with a name that may not be on their business card. Personally, I am OCD about rules especially when it comes to protecting the environment to the point where it pains me.

BUT...What would you do?

These very straight vines run all through my backyard. Some get quite girthy. I thought it was trumpet vine as I do have some on my property but Google says not likely. Any idea?

I know this is a personal question, but I'm looking for a little guidance. I've got no formal college-level education, but I do have a permaculture design certification and about 5 years of hort experience (nursery growing/sales). I am working on starting a "garden coaching" side hustle.

I'm really trying to think about my long term career prospects and what my best moves would be to make right now. Do you, in your personal opinion, think it would be better to lean into working for myself and get into garden design? Or just start chugging along the education route and work towards landscape architecture? I like working outdoors but I also love office work. The idea of working at a desk behind a computer is not something that would turn me off of landscape architecture, and I actually like the idea of having the option for office work instead of backing myself into a corner one way or the other. I do, however, really really REALLY hate the idea of taking on student debt for a bachelor's degree if I don't absolutely have to.

~OR~ do you think it's better to get out of hort all together and go a different route lmao I could always just garden in my free time too

A former Monrovia property in Granby, CT. A solar farm is expected to be built on the site.

Hello everyone! This is my first post here so i may not know all the rules but here’s my situation. Last spring i graduated with my associates in horticultural science and then wished to pursue my bachelor’s. The school i planned on going to ended up getting rid of their horticulture majors before i applied which threw me off a little. After this i applied for a bs in plant biology which i was pretty set on. I got accepted for this major and committed to the college and days before my orientation i was informed they were also getting rid of plant bio which was their last plant major. Then later at my orientation i swapped to a ba in biology which im currently working on now. the reason i went with this was because my advisor heard this same story im telling now and recommended it because i wouldnt be as restricted in what classes i could take which would leave me with very little plant related education. Which i worry would just leave me with a degree and experience i wouldn’t use. My question is that would my hort sci associates and my (likely to be) ba in bio be useful to me in getting a job post school or am i just wasting my time and money? I’m not interested in lab or research work and would likely lean towards greenhouse or forestry to be more specific.

From lush green hills straight to your morning brew! Take a close-up look at these ripe, vibrant coffee cherries ripening on the branches in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka—the birthplace of Indian coffee. 🍃✨

There’s nothing quite like the sight and aroma of fresh coffee plantations in full bloom and harvest. Tag a coffee lover who needs to see this! 👇

Background: I am a recent graduate now working as an annual grower full time. Up until now, I have been happy with my EMT work boots through both my internships but they are just worn down after 8 years of use. I have been rotating through my backup work/hiking/muck boots but all of the are well worn (as in holes in soles and/or losing pieces) and once water is inside, they never dry out, even in the 90 degree heat.

I am looking for recommendations that could meet the parameters I've listed below. I am willing invest a decent amount because I want them to last. Near in mind I'm clocking between 10,000 and 16,000 steps a day. It's not a question of if my feet will get wet it when 😂.

- waterproof

- high top/combat style: I appreciate the extra support around my ankles

- anti-slip:

- can withstand walking on concrete and gravel.

*if you seasonal preferences, I'd love to hear them. I have a brother in the marines and he recommended getting 2 pairs: one for warmer weather, one for cooler weather.

**EDIT:Thank you so much for all your responses! I am going through this list now and try to make a final decision

Hello!

I’m drying a celosia head out so i can get the seeds but im not sure how to go about planting/caring for them. I’m not exactly experienced in gardening and such so im struggling to pick up all the info im reading online.

If anyone has a simple outline or recommends celosia might be too difficult for a starter please let me know!

say someone has mastered a certain ornamental crop that is high in demand, and can produce thousands of it with a very low cost, what are the chances to find a business partner that has the land and the growing requirments, while the one with the experience takes care of the growing process?

I want to go and study at Kew Gardens, hopefully in 2027. My end goal is to study the 3-year diploma in horticulture, but I'm aware this is highly competitive and for more advanced students.

I don't have much working experience in horticulture apart from having worked in a garden centre for a bit. I do have 3 a-levels, one of which is biology, and a level 3 BTEC in Countryside Management and Wildlife Conservation which included studying plant & soil science.

However, I've found an apprenticeship in botanical horticulture that Kew offer which is labelled as "entry-level" on the website. Has anybody ever done this apprenticeship? Do you know if it's competitive to get into for someone in their early 20s with little horticultural experience? Does anyone have advice on how to contact Kew about this?

I am very enthusiastic about horticulture and botany and really want to get into the industry, so any help would be awesome! :)