Gardeners Glossary Compiled

by Robert A. Wearne.

Robert A. Wearne is a Horticulturist with the Extension Service.

Acclimate Plants conditioned or becoming conditioned to a new climate or different growing environment. (See Hardening Off).

Acid (Sour) Soil Soils with a pH below 7; most fruits and vegetables grow best when the pH is between 5.2 to 7.1.

Aeration Free movement of air through the root zone of plants; prevented in compacted or waterlogged soils.

Aerobic Pertaining to organisms which grow only in the presence of oxygen, as bacteria in a properly prepared compost.

Alkaline (Sweet) Soil Soil with a pH above 7; some fruits and vegetables will grow in mildly alkaline (7.4-8.0) soils, such as asparagus, beans, leeks, okra, grapefruit, lemons.

Alluvial Soils Recently deposited water-laid materials which have been changed very little by weather elements. Found on flood plains and valleys.

Anaerobic Growing in the absence of oxygen, or not requiring oxygen. Known only in bacteria.

Annuals Plants living one year or less. During this time the plant grows, flowers, produces seeds, and dies. Examples: beans, peas, sweet corn, squash.

Axils (leaf) The angle or upper side where the leaf is attached to the stem.

Bare Root Deciduous plants such as apple trees sold with their roots bare, not in a ball of soil.

Biodegradable Materials readily decomposed in the soil by micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi.

Blanching Excluding light to reduce the green color or chlorophyll in plants or plant parts, as with celery, Witloof chicory, or cauliflower.

Bolting Production of flowers and seeds by such plants as spinach, lettuce, and radishes, generally occurring when days are long and temperatures warm.

Broadcast Scattering seed or fertilizers .uniformly over the soil surface rather than placing in rows.

BTU British Thermal Unit, a heat unit. BTU/hr Quantity of heat needed per hour to maintain a given temperature. Cambium Layer The layer of cells that lie between the bark and the wood of a tree.

Chelate Molecular form in which some nutrients, such as iron, are easily absorbed by plants.

Chill Requirement Number of hours that deciduous fruits require below 45 F (7.2 C) before normal growth will resume in spring. Without adequate chilling, blossoming and foliage development is delayed. Example: Elberta peaches require 900 hours below 45 F and Flordabelle only 150 hours.

Chlorophyll Green coloring matter within the cells of plants.

Chlorosis Lack of green color in leaves; may be caused by nutritional deficiencies, environmental conditions, or disease.

Clone A group of plants derived from an individual plant by vegetative propagation such as grafting, cutting, or divisions rather than from seed.

Clove One of a group of small bulbs produced by garlic and shallot plants.

Coldframe An enclosed, unheated but covered frame useful for growing and protecting young plants in early spring. The top is covered with glass or plastic and located so it is heated by sunlight.

Compost Decayed vegetable matter such as leaves, grass clippings, or barnyard manure. It usually is mixed with soil and fertilizer. Valuable as a mulch in a garden or for improving soil texture, and in potting soils.

Cool Crops Vegetables that do not thrive in summer heat, such as cabbage, English peas, lettuce, or spinach.

Corm Enlarged fleshy base of a stem, bulb-like but solid, in which food accumulates. Propagated by division of the cloves. Examples: Dasheen (Taro), garlic, and shallots.

Cotyledons) Seed leaf or leaves containing stored food for initial seedling growth.

Cover Crop Generally an annual grass or legume such as clover planted to protect the garden from wind and water erosion. Known as "green manure" because it may be plowed or turned under to provide organic matter essential to the soil.

Crop Rotation Growing annual plants in a different location in a systematic sequence. This helps control insects and diseases, improves the soil texture and fertility, and decreases erosion.

Crown (Plant) Growing point above the root where the tops or shoots develop as with lettuce, spinach, carrots, and celery, rhubarb.

Crucifer The mustard family. Radishes, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and turnips are members.

Cucurbit The gourd family to which cucumbers, muskmelon, watermelon, pumpkin, and squash belong.

Cultivar This means "cultivated variety'' and may be used in place of the word "variety" to indicate a specific horticultural selection.

Cultivate To loosen the top inch or two of soil, by hand with a hoe or by using a mechanical cultivator. Primarily to control weeds.

Cure To prepare for storing by drying the skins. Dry onions and sweet potatoes are typical examples.

Cutting Plant stem including a node that is cut or snapped off and used to start a new plant.

Damping Off =A disease causing seedlings to die soon after germination, either before or after emerging from the soil.

Deciduous Trees or shrubs which lose their leaves annually.

Determinate Tomato Stem growth stops when the terminal bud becomes a flower bud. Tomato plants of this type are also known as self-topping or self-pruning.

Division Propagation of plants by cutting them into sections as is done with plant crowns, rhizomes, stem tubers, and tuberous roots. Each section must have at least one head or stem. Example: Rhubarb.

Dormant Spray Pesticide applied to a plant before growth starts (late winter or early spring) to control insects and diseases.

Drill Row Small planting furrow made with a hoe, trowel, stick or mechanical drill in which seeds are planted.

Drip Irrigation Watering plants so that only soil in the plant's immediate vicinity is moistened. Water is supplied from a thin plastic tube at a low flow rate. The technique sometimes is called trickle irrigation.

Early Vegetables that mature sooner than others of the same species.

Emulsifiable Concentrate Pesticide chemical mixture which contains an emulsifier to which water may be added to form an emulsion.

Emulsifier Chemical which aids in suspending one liquid in another.

Emulsion Mixture in which one liquid is suspended as tiny drops in another liquid, such as oil in water.

Espalier A plant (for example, an apple tree) trained to grow on a trellis or flat against a surface such as a wall or building.

Evaporative Cooling Air evaporates water and in the process the air loses heat to the water. Water plus heat equals vapor.

Everbearing Plants such as strawberries which bloom intermittently and thus produce fruit during the entire growing season.

Fertilization (1) Union of pollen with the ovule to produce seeds. This is essential in production of edible flower parts such as tomatoes, squash, corn, strawberries, and many other garden plants. (2) Application to the soil of needed plant nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphate and potash.

Fill Dirt Soil used to change the grade or elevation of an area.

Flat Shallow wooden or plastic box, in which vegetable seeds may be sown or cuttings rooted.

Foliar Refers to leaves.

Foot-candle Standard measure of light. The light of one candle falling on a surface one foot away from the candle.

Friable (Soil) Generally refers to a soil that crumbles when handled. A loam soil with physical properties that provide good aeration and drainage, easily tilled. Friable condition is improved or maintained by annual applications of organic matter.

Fumigation Control of insects, disease-causing organisms, weeds, or nematodes by gases applied in an enclosed area such as a greenhouse or under a plastic cover laid on the garden soil.

Fungicide A pesticide chemical used to control plant diseases caused by fungi such as molds and mildew. (See Pesticide).

Furrow Small V-shaped ditch made for planting seed or irrigating. (See Drill Row).

Germination Sprouting of a seed, and beginning of plant growth.

Grafting Joining or insertion of one plant part called the scion upon another plant part called the rootstock so that the cambium layers of each piece make contact to produce new growth.

Green Manure Crops such as legumes or grasses that are grown to be plowed or spaded into the soil to increase humus content and improve soil structure. (See Cover Crop).

Greens Vegetables such as spinach, kale, collards, turnip greens.

Growing Medium Soil or soil substitute prepared by combining such materials as peat, vermiculite, sand, or weathered sawdust. Used for growing potted plants or germinating seed.

Growing Season Period between last killing frost in spring and first killing frost in fall.

Growth Regulators Synthetic or natural organic compounds such as indoleacetic acid, gibberellin, or napthalene acetic acid that promote, inhibit, or modify plant growth processes. Commonly used in rooting cuttings.