Crown rot is a nasty disease that affects many plants, mainly garden vegetables. This garden malady is caused by a fungus that sometimes develops in the soil when the location has experienced many heavy rains, flash floods, or other reasons for lots of lots of water in one location. Crown rot is very hard to […]
Learning the Bokashi Composting Method
Bokashi is a composting method that is new to most Western gardeners. The compost is cheap to start and easy to maintain. The word Bokashi means “fermented organic matter,” and that is exactly what the process of Bokashi composting creates. It’s also the name of the ingredient used to get the compost going, called Bokashi […]
How to Fight Fusarium Wilt
Fusarium wilt is a nasty soil-borne pathogen caused by a fungus called fusarium oxysporum. It is known to take over garden areas quickly, attacking any crop or plant that is in contaminated soil. The nightshade family of plants are highly susceptible to fusarium wilt attacks, and so are hundreds of other plants, flowers, and vegetables. […]
How Soil pH Balance Affects Your Garden
The pH balance of your garden’s soil refers to the calculated level of acidity or alkalinity in the particular area tested. The scale ranges from 1.0, which is highly acidic, to 14.0, which is basic or highly alkaline, while 7.0 is neutral. The sweet spot for most plant life is from 6.0 to 6.5, which […]
List of Easy to Grow Purple Flowers for Your Garden
Looking for a list of purple flowers to grow or give as a gift to someone? The color purple is widely known for its association with royalty, nobility, luxury, wealth, and power. Purple also symbolizes extravagance, creativity, peace, magic, and mysticism. Because the color occurs rarely in nature, it is considered to be sacred and […]
How to Grow Pansy Flowers
How To Grow Pansies (Viola × wittrockiana) The pansy flower produces a nearly heart-shaped bloom, slightly overlapping petals and a face-like framed center with loud, bright colors that has won a spot in many gardens around the world due to its versatile beauty and wide range of color to select from. These eye-grabbing cold weather […]
Cat Friendly Plants: These Plants Will Delight Them
Keeping your cat indoors adds five to six years to its potential lifespan. This is because outdoor cats can potentially get lost, hurt, hit by a car, or contract diseases from other cats, such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, or FIV. This disparity is simply a sad, but unfortunately very true, fact of life for our […]
How to Revive Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas have massive, lush, gorgeous blooms that have been turning heads for centuries. It’s no wonder that hydrangea flowers are one of the most popular in the world. Commonly used in bouquets in restaurants and hotels or in table settings for weddings and banquets, hydrangeas are seen everywhere. The famous hydrangea blooms burst forth from […]
How to Grow a Massive Sweet Potato Harvest With DIY Containers
By John Moody As a kid, I always enjoyed tinkering with toys and other things. Many didn’t survive my escapades of disassembly. As a homesteader, both urban and rural, I have continued in that train. Worm compost in the basement of our apartment building. IBC totes turned into animal transporters inside our mini-van. Container growing […]
How to Attract Fireflies or Lightning Bugs to Your Garden
We often think of fireflies nostalgically. This is likely because the last time most of us stayed out enjoying a summer evening until the streetlights came up was when we were children or because of fond memories of trapping them in jars to make a DIY flashlight. Whatever the reason, bringing fireflies into your garden […]
How to Harvest and Preserve Herbs From Your Garden
An herb garden is one of the most rewarding ways you can use your outdoor garden area to improve your culinary experience at home. Not only will you have access to lots and lots of fresh herbs to help add flavor to your favorite recipes, you will also probably have more fresh herbs than you […]
A List of the Best Yellow Flowers for Your Garden
Yellow is a bright, vibrant, attention-grabbing color that is associated with happiness, positivity, enlightenment, honor, and joy. The color yellow represents sunlight, hope, and warmth. Yellow encourages enhanced memory, increased mental activity and muscle energy and helps to enhance memory and stimulate the nervous system. Bright yellow grabs your eye and forces you to take […]