Glossary- Gardening Terms

native plant

A plant that originated in the place where it is growing.

natural mulch

Mulch that is made from natural materials, such as chipped or shredded wood or pine needles.

natural pest control

Using organic methods to kill or repel harmful pests from a plant.

naturalize

To design a planting pattern that mimics a random natural pattern, or it can refer to a non native plant that now grows wild in an area.

necrotic spotting or spots

Brown spots that appear on the leaves of a plant, normally due to a disease or a nutrient deficiency.

nightshade vegetables

Any vegetable from the nightshade family of plants. These include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes, and tomatillos.

nitrogen

An important nutrient needed by a plant in order to grow and develop correctly.

node

A point on a stem that has the potential to grow into another stem, flowers or into leaves.

nodules

A small, round mass that grows on the roots of certain plants. This mass can be natural to the plant, in which case it will be used for storing nutrients or water. Or it can be caused by pests and disease, which can harm the plant.

non-hybrid seeds

Seeds from a plant that has been open pollinated and that the resulting plant will both look like the parents and produce seeds that will grow true to the variety.

npk

The acronym for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, which is the normal makeup of most fertilizers. The numbers on the fertilizer will indicate in this order the amount of each. E.g. 10-10-10 would have equal amount of each.

open-pollinated

A plant that is pollinated by natural means, such as bees and other insects, animals or the wind.

organic

Materials that come from natural sources and are not man made. It can also mean materials that are made of things that are living or were once living.

organic gardening

A method of gardening where all materials used in the garden come from natural sources and were not chemically produced by man.

organic material

Materials that are made up of things that were once alive.

ovary

A part of a flower. Part of the female flower where the ovules (immature seeds) are kept. The ovary commonly develops into the fruit of the plant once the ovules are fertilized.

overseeding

Spreading seed over the top of an already established lawn. Typically, this is done to improve a sparse lawn without the work of redoing the entire lawn.

ovules

A part of a flower. Part of the female part of the flower and is an unpollinated, immature seed. Once pollinated, the ovule will develop into seeds.