Glossary of Terms

Acid: An acid soil has a pH below 7.

Aeration: Supplying soil and roots with air or oxygen.

Alkaline: Refers to a soil with a pH over 7.

All-Purpose Fertilizer: A balanced blend of N-P-K;
All purpose fertilizer is used by most growers.

Amendment: Fortifying soil by adding organic
or mineral substances in order to improve texture,
nutrient content or biological activity.

Annual: A plant that normally completes it entire life cycle
one year or less.

Beneficial insects: A good insect that eats bad flower and
vegetable munching insects. Lady Beetles, Praying Mantis,
and Lacewing are all beneficial insects.

Biodegradable: Able to decompose or break down through
natural bacterial or fungal action, substances made of organic
matter are biodegradable.

Bolt: Term used to describe a plant that has gone to seed
prematurely.

Bonsai: A very short dwarfed plant.

Carbon Dioxide: (CO2) A colorless, ordorless, testless gas
in the air necessary for plant life.

Clay: Soil made up of very fine organic mineral particles.
Clay is not suitable for container gardening.

Compaction: Soil condition that results from tightly packing
soil; compact soil allows for only marginal aeration and root
penetration.

Companion Planting: The planting of several plants that
benefit each other.

Compost: A mixture of decayed organic matter.

Cross-Pollinate: Pollinating two plants having different ancestry.

Damping-Off: Disease that attacks young seedlings and cuttings
causing stem rot at base.

Deplete: Exhaust soil of nutrients, making it infertile.

Drainage: Way to empty soil of excess water.

Drip Line: A line around a plant directly under its outermost
branch tips. Roots seldom grow beyond the drip line.

Drip System: A very efficient watering system that employs
a main hose with small water emitters.

Foliar Feeding: Misting fertilizer solution which is absorbed
by the foilage. Best to do in the morning.

Fungus: A lower plant lacking chlorophyll which may attack
green plants; mold, rust, mildew.

Humus: Dark, fertile, partially decomposed plant or
animal matter; humus forms the organic portion of the soil.

Hybrid: An offspring from two plants with different ancestry.

Leaves: The external part of a plant attached to branches
and stems for the purpose of taking in light from the
sun's energy.

Leggy: Abnormally tall internode space, with sparse foilage.

Life cycle: A series of growth stages through which a plant
must pass in its natural lifetime.

Lime: Used in the form of dolomite to raise soil pH.

Loam: Organic soil mixture of crumbly clay, silt and sand.
Gardener's gold.

Moisture meter: An electronic device that measures the
exact moisture content of a soil at any given point.

Mulch: A protective covering of organic compost, leaves,
or bark. Mulch can be used to retain water in the summer
and heat in the winter.

Nutrient: Plant food, essential elements N-P-K, secondary and
trace elements fundamental to plant life.

Organic: Made of, or derived from or related to living organisms.
In agriculture organic means "natural".

Peat: Partially decomposed vegetation (usually moss) with slow
decay due to extreme moisture and cold.

Perennial: A plant, such as a tree or shrub, which completes its
life cycle over several years.

pH: A scale from 1 to 14 that measures the acid to alkaline
balance of a soil; in general most plants grow best in a
range of 5.5 to 6.8 pH.

pH: Tester Electronic instrument or chemical used to find where
soil is on the pH scale.

Photosynthesis: The building of chemical compounds from
light energy, water, and carbon dioxide.

Pollen: Fine, dust like microspores containing male genes.

Primary Nutrients: N-P-K (Nitrogen - Phosphorus - Potassium)

Prune: Alter the shape and growth pattern of a plant by cutting
stems and shoots.

PVC Pipe: Plastic (polyvinylchloride) pipe that is easy to work
with, readily available and used to pipe water into a garden.

Pyrethrum: Natural insecticide made from the blossoms
of various chrysanthemums.

Root Bound: Roots stifled or inhibited from normal growth,
by the confines of a container.

Roots: Their purpose is to anchor a plant and and provide
a means in which to feed and hydrate a plant.

Secondary Nutrients: Calcium (ca) and Magnesium (mg).

Seed Pod: A dry calyx containing a mature or maturing seed.

Soluble: Able to be dissolved in water.

Spore: Seed like offspring of a fungus.

Sprout: A recently germinated seed.

Stamen: Male, pollen-producing part of a flower.

Serilize: To make sterile by removing dirt, germs,
bacteria.

Stress: A physical or chemical factor that causes extra
exertion by plants.

Tap Root: The main or primary root that grows from the
seed; lateral roots will branch off the tap root.

Terminal Bud: Bud at the growing end of the main stem.

Thin: Cull or weed out weak, slow growing seedlings.

Transpire: The process of giving off water via the underside
of leaves. More transpiration occurs on windy days than
hot days.

Trellis: Frame or netting that trains and supports a plant.