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Gardening Trivia
Test your green thumb with 150 gardening trivia questions on soil, compost, seeds, tools, pests, and the legendary gardeners behind them. From the beer trap that lures slugs to the Epcot tomato tree that grew 32,194 tomatoes, dig into the surprising science and history of growing things.
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Questions (150 of 150)
๐ขeasy
A new plant grown from a snipped piece of stem or leaf of an existing plant is propagated from what?
๐ขeasy
What is the vegetable Americans call eggplant known as in Britain?
๐ขeasy
Maples and oaks are 'deciduous' trees. What does that mean?
๐ขeasy
Many American gardeners follow the tradition of sowing which cool-season crop on St. Patrick's Day?
๐ขeasy
Which U.S. state's official nickname is 'The Garden State'?
๐กmedium
Kyoto's Saiho-ji temple garden, carpeted in more than 120 varieties of one plant, is better known by what nickname?
๐ขeasy
Which protective layer of wood chips, straw, or shredded bark do gardeners spread over soil to hold in moisture and smother weeds?
๐ดhard
In soil science, what does the fertility measurement 'CEC' stand for?
๐ดhard
Who was the original host of PBS's 'The Victory Garden' when it premiered in 1975?
๐ดhard
U.S. EPA rules for pathogen-free compost in aerated piles require the heap to hold at least what temperature for 3 days?
๐กmedium
Diatomaceous earth, used to deter slugs and insects, is made of the fossilized remains of what?
๐กmedium
Mel Bartholomew popularized which gardening method with his 1981 book and PBS show?
๐กmedium
If you plant a seed from a Honeycrisp apple, what will grow?
๐ขeasy
'Secateurs' is the British name for which two-bladed garden tool used to snip stems and small branches?
๐ขeasy
Gardeners crush which calcium-rich kitchen scrap and sprinkle it around plants?
๐ดhard
Who founded America's oldest surviving botanic garden in Philadelphia in 1728?
๐ขeasy
Which gas do garden plants pull from the air through tiny leaf pores called stomata to build sugars?
๐ดhard
The reds and purples of autumn leaves come from which pigments, which some trees actively produce in fall?
๐ขeasy
Which spiny plants make famously low-maintenance houseplants because they store water in their thick stems?
๐ขeasy
Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and deadly belladonna all belong to which plant family?
๐ขeasy
'Scarlet Nantes,' 'Danvers,' and 'Chantenay' are classic varieties of which root vegetable?
๐กmedium
After its 2012 update, the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map divides the country into how many main zones?
๐กmedium
Which gas, given off by ripe bananas, can speed up the ripening of green tomatoes sealed in a paper bag?
๐ขeasy
Iceberg lettuce got its name in the 1920s because California growers shipped it covered in what?
๐ขeasy
Which bell-shaped glass or plastic cover, named after the French word for 'bell,' protects single seedlings from frost?
๐ขeasy
Which climbing vine is named for its trumpet-shaped flowers that open at dawn and usually close by afternoon?
๐ขeasy
Ralph Waldo Emerson defined which garden nuisance as 'a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered'?
๐ดhard
Jere Gettle founded Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in 1998 at age 17 in which state?
๐ขeasy
On the pH scale gardeners use to test soil, what number means perfectly neutral?
๐ขeasy
Which fast-growing Asian vine is nicknamed 'the vine that ate the South'?
๐ขeasy
Which berry grows on thorny canes, comes in red, black, and golden varieties, and pulls off its core when picked?
๐กmedium
Which 1962 book by Rachel Carson exposed the dangers of the garden and farm pesticide DDT?
๐ขeasy
Which metallic green-and-copper insect, accidentally brought to New Jersey around 1916, devours roses and grape leaves?
๐ขeasy
Growing tomatoes on a balcony in pots, tubs, and buckets instead of in the ground is called what?
๐ขeasy
Which nearly indestructible houseplant is nicknamed 'mother-in-law's tongue' for its sharp, upright leaves?
๐กmedium
Which farming and gardening movement did Rudolf Steiner launch with a series of lectures in 1924?
๐ขeasy
What do gardeners call a plant that lives for more than two years, returning season after season?
๐กmedium
Which succulent is nicknamed 'mother of thousands' because tiny plantlets form all along its leaf edges?
๐กmedium
Pale yellowing that starts on a plant's oldest, lowest leaves is the classic sign of a shortage of which nutrient?
๐กmedium
What does it mean to 'chit' seed potatoes?
๐ดhard
David Austin's first English rose, introduced in 1961, was named after which British flower arranger?
๐ขeasy
Special varieties of which root vegetable supply roughly 20% of the world's sugar?
๐ขeasy
Which vegetable is actually the unopened flower bud of a thistle, eaten leaf by leaf?
๐ดhard
The 'Peace' rose, introduced in the U.S. on the day Berlin fell in 1945, was bred by which French rosarian?
๐ดhard
What is the scientific term for a plant releasing chemicals that suppress the growth of its neighbors?
๐ดhard
Keyhole gardens, round raised beds built around a central compost basket, were popularized by aid workers in which African country?
๐กmedium
What is the technique of sowing small batches of a crop every few weeks for a steady harvest instead of one glut?
๐ขeasy
Which rainforest houseplant is famous for the natural 'Swiss cheese' holes and splits in its leaves?
๐ดhard
In 1950, which country accused the U.S. of dropping Colorado potato beetles from planes to sabotage its crops?
๐กmedium
Gardeners buy microscopic 'beneficial' versions of which creatures to hunt grubs and fungus gnat larvae in soil?
๐ดhard
Kudzu was introduced to the United States at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in which city?
๐ขeasy
Which succulent's cool gel, squeezed from its leaves, is a classic home remedy for sunburn?
๐ดhard
Franciscan monk Francisco Cupani first sent seeds of the sweet pea to England in 1699 from which island?
๐ดhard
What Japanese garden-design term means 'borrowed scenery,' incorporating distant mountains or trees into the view?
๐ดhard
A single hydroponic 'tomato tree' at Epcot's The Land pavilion set a Guinness record in 2006 by producing how many tomatoes?
๐ดhard
Which Japanese digging knife gets its name from a word imitating the sound of digging?
๐กmedium
Edwin Budding's 1830 lawnmower was inspired by a mill machine that trimmed the nap of what?
๐ดhard
Which German chemist popularized the 'Law of the Minimum,' stating plant growth is limited by the scarcest nutrient?
๐กmedium
Which invasive plant is so feared in Britain that its presence near a house can make lenders refuse a mortgage?
๐กmedium
Nigel, the beloved canine co-star of Monty Don on 'Gardeners' World' who died in 2020, was what breed?
๐ขeasy
Why do gardeners 'pinch' the growing tips off young basil plants?
๐กmedium
Gardeners wrap copper tape around pots because it gives a mild electric-like jolt to which slimy pests?
๐ดhard
The pH scale used for soil testing was introduced in 1909 by S.P.L. Sรธrensen while working at which company's laboratory?
๐ดhard
The Flavr Savr, sold in 1994 as the first commercially grown genetically engineered whole food, was what?
๐ดhard
The organic caterpillar killer 'Bt' is a soil bacterium. What does Bt stand for?
๐กmedium
In grafting, the upper fruiting part is called the scion. What is the lower, rooted part called?
๐ดhard
Who founded the U.S. National War Garden Commission in 1917, launching the WWI 'war garden' movement?
๐กmedium
Bokashi, a method of fermenting food scraps with inoculated bran before composting, comes from which country?
๐ขeasy
Which garden vegetable is so famously overabundant that August 8 is unofficially 'Sneak Some Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day'?
๐ดhard
Johnny's Selected Seeds was founded in 1973 by Rob Johnston Jr. in which state?
๐ขeasy
Which pungent crop is grown by planting single cloves in fall, each becoming a whole new bulb by summer?
๐กmedium
What color are the sticky traps gardeners hang to catch aphids, whiteflies, and fungus gnats?
๐ขeasy
Strawberry plants multiply by sending out long stems that root into new plants. What are these stems called?
๐ดhard
Which English agriculturist invented the horse-drawn seed drill around 1701 and later lent his name to a rock band?
๐กmedium
What botanical term names the first 'seed leaves' that appear when a seed sprouts?
๐ขeasy
Which water-saving watering method, pioneered in Israel by Simcha Blass, delivers water straight to roots through tubes with tiny emitters?
๐ดhard
A traditional British allotment plot measures 10 of which old unit of length?
๐กmedium
Which PBS series, first aired in 1975, is one of America's longest-running TV gardening shows?
๐ขeasy
Growing basil beside tomatoes or marigolds beside beans so they help each other is called what?
๐ดhard
Which Philadelphia nurseryman, who grew seeds from the Lewis and Clark expedition, published 'The American Gardener's Calendar' in 1806?
๐กmedium
Which English grower is best known for championing 'no dig' gardening at his Homeacres market garden in Somerset?
๐ดhard
In Mel Bartholomew's square foot gardening system, how many carrots are planted in a single square?
๐กmedium
The term 'guerrilla gardening' was coined in 1973 by Liz Christy's Green Guerillas, who planted vacant lots in which city?
๐ดhard
Who was the first presenter of the BBC's 'Gardeners' World' when it launched in 1968?
๐ดhard
What is the name of Monty Don's own garden in Herefordshire, filmed for 'Gardeners' World'?
๐กmedium
Black walnut trees stunt or kill nearby tomatoes by releasing which toxic compound from their roots?
๐ขeasy
In 1912, Tokyo gave Washington, D.C., about 3,000 of which flowering trees, now celebrated with a festival each spring?
๐ดhard
The Aztecs grew crops on artificial island plots in shallow lakes, often called 'floating gardens.' What are they called?
๐ขeasy
Which pointed wooden hand tool, used since Roman times, pokes holes in soil for seeds, bulbs, and seedlings?
๐ดhard
The Japanese beetle was first found in the U.S. in 1916 at a nursery near which New Jersey town?
๐กmedium
Running bamboo and mint spread aggressively through underground horizontal stems called what?
๐ขeasy
The word 'kindergarten,' coined by German educator Friedrich Froebel in 1840, literally means what?
๐ดhard
Middlemist's Red, one of the world's rarest flowering plants with only two known specimens, is what type of shrub?
๐กmedium
What do gardeners call the narrow strip of land between the sidewalk and the street?
๐ดhard
The emerald ash borer, which has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees, was first detected in 2002 near which U.S. city?
๐ดhard
Germany's allotment gardens, called Schrebergรคrten, are named after which 19th-century Leipzig physician?
๐กmedium
What does 'F1' printed on a seed packet mean?
๐กmedium
Japan's Ashikaga Flower Park is famous for a single roughly 150-year-old plant whose purple blooms form a giant canopy. What plant is it?
๐ดhard
Which Roman statesman wrote 'De Agri Cultura,' the oldest surviving work of Latin prose, which lavishly praises cabbage?
๐ขeasy
What are the bottomless boxes of soil built above ground level that warm up faster in spring and spare gardeners' backs?
๐ขeasy
Which country's government urged citizens to 'Dig for Victory' by turning lawns and parks into vegetable plots during World War II?
๐กmedium
Which succulent garden 'weed' is one of the richest leafy sources of omega-3 fatty acids?
๐กmedium
Tomato plants that keep growing and fruiting until frost, rather than stopping at a set height, are called what?
๐ดhard
Which fungal problem makes young seedlings suddenly collapse and rot at the soil line?
๐กmedium
What is the 'Chelsea chop'?
๐กmedium
What is the white, popcorn-like material in potting mix made from heated, expanded volcanic glass?
๐กmedium
Charles Darwin's final book, published in 1881, was about the soil-building work of which creatures?
๐ดhard
The Lost Gardens of Heligan, rediscovered under brambles in 1990 and restored by Tim Smit, are in which English county?
๐กmedium
Tomato hornworms covered in tiny white cocoons are hosting the young of which beneficial insect?
๐กmedium
Which American author, nicknamed the 'Mulch Queen,' advocated a 'no-work garden' under a permanent layer of hay?
๐ขeasy
Gardeners plant sweet corn in blocks rather than single rows because corn is pollinated by what?
๐ดhard
What is the foamy egg case that gardeners find on twigs, containing up to hundreds of baby praying mantises?
๐ดhard
Which British botanist developed the Indore method of composting and wrote 'An Agricultural Testament' (1940)?
๐ขeasy
In Simon & Garfunkel's 'Scarborough Fair,' which herb completes the line 'parsley, sage, rosemary and...'?
๐กmedium
Piling soil up around potato stems as they grow, to keep tubers from turning green, is called what?
๐ดhard
Which 'Gardeners' World' presenter created Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland, where the show was filmed in the 1980s and 1990s?
๐กmedium
Blueberries thrive in acidic soil. What soil pH range do they prefer?
๐ขeasy
Which yellow spring bulb flower is the national flower of Wales, along with the leek?
๐ดhard
Many perennial seeds need 'cold stratification' before they will sprout. What natural condition does it mimic?
๐ขeasy
For big spring blooms, in which season should tulip and daffodil bulbs be planted in most climates?
๐ขeasy
Gardeners sink shallow dishes of which drink into the soil to lure slugs to their doom?
๐ขeasy
What is the name for composting with red wiggler worms, which turn food scraps into rich 'castings'?
๐ขeasy
What do gardeners call a crumbly soil with a balanced mix of sand, silt, and clay?
๐กmedium
Crimson clover, winter rye, and hairy vetch are sown in fall to protect and enrich bare soil. What are they called?
๐ดhard
What carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is generally considered ideal for a fast, hot compost pile?
๐กmedium
J.I. Rodale launched which influential magazine in 1942, helping popularize the word 'organic' in America?
๐ขeasy
Which burrowing garden pest leaves volcano-shaped mounds of soil scattered across lawns?
๐ดhard
Which nonprofit heirloom seed bank was founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy?
๐ขeasy
What green pigment in leaves captures sunlight and makes photosynthesis possible?
๐กmedium
Lettuce and spinach 'bolt,' racing to flower and turning bitter, mainly in response to what?
๐กmedium
Blossom-end rot, the dark sunken patch on the bottom of tomatoes, is linked to a shortage of which nutrient in the fruit?
๐กmedium
Each full USDA hardiness zone covers a band of how many degrees Fahrenheit?
๐ขeasy
The USDA divides the U.S. into gardening 'zones' based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. What are these regions called?
๐ดhard
In 1975, Burpee paid a $10,000 prize to Iowa gardener Alice Vonk for breeding the first pure white version of which flower?
๐กmedium
Peat moss, a traditional potting ingredient, comes mostly from bogs of which moss genus?
๐ดhard
In what year did the USDA publish its first Plant Hardiness Zone Map?
๐ดhard
Which writer, author of 'The Well-Tempered Garden' (1970), created the celebrated garden at Great Dixter?
๐กmedium
Which soil organisms form partnerships with roughly 90% of land plants, extending their roots' reach for water and phosphorus?
๐กmedium
Under a federal marketing order, sweet Vidalia onions can only be grown in part of which state?
๐ดhard
Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the world's largest wild-plant seed bank, is located at which West Sussex estate?
๐กmedium
The word 'permaculture' was coined in the 1970s by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in which country?
๐ดhard
Which plant growth hormones were discovered by studying the 'foolish seedling' disease that made Japanese rice grow absurdly tall?
๐กmedium
Coir, a popular peat-free potting medium, is made from what?
๐ดhard
Which religious community pioneered selling garden seeds in small paper packets in the 1790s?
๐กmedium
Neem oil, a popular organic pesticide, is pressed from the seeds of a tree native to which region?
๐ดhard
The itchy rash from poison ivy, a common garden invader, is caused by which oily compound?
๐ดhard
The tomato hornworm caterpillar grows up to become which moth?
๐กmedium
Honeybees can't see which color, which looks dark to them, so it's favored by hummingbird flowers instead?
๐ขeasy
What is the process of gradually exposing indoor-raised seedlings to sun, wind, and cooler nights before transplanting them outside?
๐ขeasy
Which gardening practice moves each plant family to a different bed every year to stop soil diseases from building up?
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