Ball changed all their Apple recipes..adding lemon juice.. stating that they are no longer acidic enough to can safely... Are you or NCHFP changing the ingredients or can we continue to use previous recipes?

There’s a swarm on our house in TP. What should we do?

Hello and thanks : planted three years ago at 7-8 feet tall, they are now ten feet, but thinning: I can see through them. Their branches have thinned from the bottom up, primarily starting on the sides facing southwest. Around the corner a neighbor's Norways are so thick no light passes through! What is the difference ? What can I do? Two arborists have come by. The first taught me that the hottest times of day are the afternoon, and SW is where the sun is, so...but I have watered them as directed, and doubt that is the major issue. The second told me I planted just a touch too high - that the roots are surface roots and mulch is good but it's not soil. But he said they would be fine ultimately. I added soil as he described. Last year I put in fertilizer stakes. They may have helped upward growth, but not thickness. 33 trees. They live with me a little SW of Cleveland.

I have a new landscape installed two seasons ago. We have ornimental grasses (about 3-4 feet tall). I need to know if/when I should cut them down. Internet says to do it in the spring, cut down to a few inches. Is this correct? Do I do this every year. Can I do it now? I also have Hydrangia plants - ground plants and small tree style. How do I manage these to maximize flowering each year?

We need someone to design a landscape plan for our house, and help connect us with professionals who can assist in installing it. We have a really large lot overlooking a bluff, altogether over an acre including the bluff, which cannot be developed. The front of the house has Japanese style landscaping that has suffered from years of neglect and needs a new planting plan. The back has levels done in wood that are all falling apart (estimated 60 years old) and need replacing. I've reached out to BlueThumb but haven't heard back. I've reached out to a couple other places and haven't heard back. We would like to do native planting as well as pollinator friendly.

Hi. I recently had a soil test for our vegetable and flower garden, and our potassium is very low (K

Hello! I am hoping you can help answer my question or point me in the right direction. We moved into a home in a new development in March 2022. Shortly after moving in, we planted 10 giant arborvitae trees in the backyard on our property line. Within about 3 months all ten trees died. Fortunately, the landscaper replaced all of them and we chalked it up to a batch of bad trees. 10 new trees were planted and were doing fine until last fall when one started turning brown and died. Two additional trees next to the dead tree are now dying, and a fourth one, also next to the original dying tree has just started to turn brown. From my own research and from speaking with landscapers and neighbors who planted the same kind of tree, it's highly unusual for these trees to die in our area -- they are almost foolproof. I've had two landscapers suggest one of two things -- one, that the builders or construction company may have dumped chemicals in the area where the dying trees are located; or, that some unhealthy-looking pine trees immediately behind the dying arborvitae are spreading a disease. I would very much appreciate some guidance and whether soil testing is a first step. We need to have the dead trees removed but I don't want to replant anything in this area until we have some answers. Many thanks in advance.

Hello, I live in Silver Spring, MD and would love advice regarding the selection of vine(s) for two separate parts of my yard. In one location, I’m interested in softening the appearance of the East/south corner of my brick house. Is like to plant an evergreen vine, some that has year round interest. I know that I would need to train/prune the vine to keep it in check, but would like to find one that doesn’t require frequent maintenance, and one that doesn’t damage the brick/wood on my house. In the second location, I would like a vine with the same characteristics, but the exposure (west/south, but shaded by neighboring house) is considerably more shady.

I am removing a railroad tie terrace and replacing with stone boulders, is the soil safe to plant vegetables to be consumed? Is there a time where that soil will be safe?