Daily gardening tip · Northern hemisphere · Saturday 31 October 2026
Skip High-Nitrogen Fertilizer Now
Feeding your plants nitrogen at this time of year can cause tender growth that gets damaged when cold weather arrives.
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Check your fertilizer packages for the N-P-K numbers listed on the label.
Put away any feeds where the first number, nitrogen, is high.
Hold off on applying rich organic feeds like chicken manure pellets around outdoor plants.
If you live where frosts occur, save all high-nitrogen feeding until plant growth naturally restarts in the months ahead.
Why it works
Nitrogen tells a plant to produce lush new stems and leaves. Where winters are cold, late soft growth does not have time to toughen up before temperatures drop, leaving it vulnerable to frost damage that can harm the whole plant.
A massive perennial succulent forming a dense rosette of thick, fleshy, blue-green leaves with sharp spiny margins. It blooms once at the end of its life cycle after several decades, producing a tall inflorescence before the main rosette dies
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Cacao trees around the world face growing threats from plant diseases and environmental stress. Scientists have bred a new disease-tolerant cacao plant to help farmers protect their harvests. This breakthrough aims to keep chocolate production sustainable and profitable for growers.
Julius von Sachs was born on 31 October 1831 in Amberg, Germany. He helped establish plant physiology as a science through detailed measurements of plant growth. His research proved how plant leaves use sunlight to produce starch through photosynthesis.
