Why African Wild Dogs “Vote” on Hunts by Sneezing
A pack of African wild dogs has been resting in the shade. Suddenly, the animals rise, crowd together, wag their tails, touch noses, and burst into an energetic social ceremony. …
How to Graft Fruit Trees So One Tree Grows Multiple Varieties
Imagine walking up to one apple tree and picking a green apple from one branch, a red apple from another, and a completely different cultivar from a third. That sounds …
Why Cover Crops Are Worth Planting Even in the Off-Season
When the last tomatoes are harvested and the vegetable garden begins to empty, leaving the beds bare until spring can seem perfectly reasonable. But bare soil is not resting. Rain …
How a Komodo Dragon “Smells” Prey From Miles Away
A Komodo dragon walking across a dry Indonesian landscape repeatedly does something that looks almost snake-like. Its long yellow tongue shoots from its mouth, splits into two narrow tips, then …
Espalier: How to Train a Fruit Tree to Grow Flat Against a Wall
A fruit tree does not have to spread into a broad, rounded canopy. With careful pruning and training, you can persuade its branches to grow in an almost two-dimensional pattern …
Moose Antler Regeneration: How They Rebuild Massive Antlers
A bull moose walks through a northern forest carrying something extraordinary above its head: a huge structure made of bone that its body built in only a matter of months. …
Vulture Stomach Acid: How Vultures Survive Eating Carrion
A vulture drops from a wide circle in the sky and lands beside the remains of a dead animal. To us, the meal may look like something to avoid. As …
Why Birds Fly in a V Formation: The Remarkable Science Behind the Shape
The reason why birds fly in a V formation is much stranger than simply staying together. Every bird creates an invisible trail of swirling air behind its wings. A bird …
How to Build a Simple Drip Irrigation System for Your Garden
A simple drip irrigation system can turn daily hand-watering into a mostly automatic routine without requiring professional plumbing. Instead of spraying an entire bed, drip irrigation moves water slowly through …
Why Nasturtiums Make Such an Effective Pest Trap Crop
Bright orange, yellow, and red nasturtium flowers may look purely ornamental, but these fast-growing annuals can play a useful role in vegetable-garden pest management. Used correctly, nasturtium trap crop pest …