Gardening: 8 parting tips from longtime AP columnist Reich

Farewell, fellow gardener. After almost 30 years of sharing my gardening experience, expertise, and enthusiasm in columns for The Associated Press, I’ve decided to focus my time and energy in other directions.

Thanks for joining me as, according to the seasons, I selected tomato varieties to grow, pruned ‘mums for best blooms, or highlighted the darker side of mistletoe.

Perhaps you're a brand-new gardener. Perhaps an experienced one. My goal has been to guide, to entertain and, most of all, to share with you the joys of gardening.

I'd like to close by offering eight suggestions to help make your garden — whether it's a few flower pots, a large vegetable plot or a general home landscape — prettier, more productive, and more enjoyable to maintain.

Suggestion #1: An important element of good gardening can be summed up in two words: organic matter. Autumn leaves, compost, sawdust, kitchen trimmings — that is, materials that are or once were living — are all organic matter. Added to the soil, it encourages a healthy balance of beneficial soil microorganisms that help fight plant pests and feed the plants. Organic matter also improves soil aeration and moisture retention.

Suggestion #2: Did some insect or disease ruin you zinnias or other plant last summer? Don’t panic! Aphids, scab fungi and other pests are part of the natural world, and they can be part of what makes gardening interesting. Tolerate a certain amount of damage. Your plants can. Japanese beetles might chew off part of your rose’s leaves, but the plant compensates by ramping up photosynthesis in remaining portions. Find out specifically what the problem is, how and where it lives, and all possible ways of dealing with it before taking action. Where a spray is called for — and a spray should be a last resort...