Acidic Soil – Soil with a pH of less than 7 is considered acidic.
Alkaline Soil – Soil with a pH of that is greater than 7 is considered alkaline.
Annual – Any plant that lives for only one growing season.
Aphids – tiny soft-bodied insects of the family Aphididae that suck the sap from the stems and leaves of plants.
Bare-Root – A plant that is prepared for transplanting by removing the soil from around the roots.
Biennial – A plant that flowers or fruits every-other year.
Bolting – A plant that flowers or seeds prematurely instead of producing a crop.
Botanical Name – Not the common name, but the binomial genus-species given to a plant.
Bud – A small protuberance on a plant stem (flower bud, leaf bud or mixed bud).
Companion Planting – Cultivating different types of plants in close proximity so that they may benefit each other,
Compost – Mixture of organic decomposed vegetation, manure, etc., that can be used as a fertilizer.
Cultivate – To prepare a piece of land in preparation for planting a garden or crops.
Deadheading – The act of removing spent blossoms to promote the growth of new blossoms.
Direct Sow – Planting seeds directly into the soil.
Dividing – The act of separating a single plant by cutting through the roots to produce multiple plants.
Dormant – When a plant is temporarily inactive.
Everblooming – Plants that continuously bloom throughout a growing season.
Evergreen – Plants that retain green leaves throughout the entire year.
Fertilizer – A substance (manure or nitrates) that is added to the soil in order to increase the productivity of a plant.
Full Sun – Plants that needs six or more hours of sun light per day.
Frost Dates – There are two frost dates, an early frost date and a late frost date. The early frost date gives gardeners an idea of when their area could experience the first frost in the fall. The late frost date gives gardeners an idea of when their area generally experiences no more frosts in the spring. farmersalmanac.com/average-frost-dates
Germinate – When a seed, spore, or bulb develops into a plant.
Ground Cover – Any variety of low-growing or trailing plant that covers large areas of soil.
Hardiness – The capability of a plant to survive under unfavorable conditions.
Hardiness Zone – A geographical area determined by temperature which helps gardeners determine which plants are most likely to thrive at that given location. planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/…/InteractiveMap.aspx
Heirloom – A fruit, flower, or vegetable that has been untouched by hybridization and produced before the 1940’s or WWII.
Herbicide – A substance used to destroy plants.
Mulch – A material such as decaying leaves, bark, or compost spread around plants to enrich the soil, reduce evaporation, insulate the soil, and prohibit weed growth.
Native Plants – A plant species that is indigenous to a particular area, ecosystem, or habitat without human interaction.
Naturalized – Plants that have have been introduced to a particular area, ecosystem or habitat by humans and have flourished as if they were native.
Organic – Plants that are grown with fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin.
Ornamental – Plants that are generally used for decoration, not for consumption.
Part-Shade/Part-Sun – Plants that need four-to-six hours of sun light per day.
Perennial – Plants that come back year-after-year.
Peat Moss – An organic material found in marshy or damp areas and is composed of partially decayed vegetable matter, but is not sustainable.
Pesticide – A chemical used to kill or destroy harmful animals or plants.
Pinching Back – The act of removing part of a living plant in order to keep the plant looking full and healthy.
Pollination – an important step in the life-cycle of seed plants is the transfer of pollen grains from the male reproductive organ of the plant to the female reproductive organ, which ultimately allows the plant to make seeds.
Polyculture – using multiple crops in the same area, and avoiding large stands of the same crop, which provides crop diversity to mimic the diversity of natural ecosystems.
Pruning – To cut off or remove undesirable parts of a plant to remove dead, diseased, or injured parts of a plant, or to shape a plant in a particular way.
pH – A numerical measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil on a scale of 0 to 14. Water is neutral and has a pH of 7.
Root Ball – The main mass of roots at the base of a plant.
Root Bound – When the roots of a plant become densely matted or entangled due to being in a space that is too small for the growing plant.
Shade – Plants that require less than four hours of light per day.
Staking – The act of driving a stick or post into the ground next to a plant for the purpose of supporting the plant.
Sustainable Agriculture – The production of food, fiber, plants, or animal products using techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animals.
Systemic – Something that is absorbed into and circulated inside of a plant.
Transplant – The act of digging up a plant in order to move it to a new space.
Waterlogged – When the soil is excessively saturated with water.