Buying organic fertilizer can be pricey. Did you know that there are ingredients you may be throwing away that can be used to fertilize your garden for free? We've put together a list of seven free ingredients that can be taken from the trash and converted to organic soil … [Read more...]
No Dig Vegetable Gardening for Beginners
Intimidated by the thought of starting your first vegetable garden? Starting from scratch can be a daunting task for any gardener. Where should I put the garden? Do I have to clear a space in my yard? These are all questions I asked myself before making my first venture into … [Read more...]
25 Ways You Should Use Salt Around the House
Ahh salt. We all love to salt our food, and in fact our bodies have to have some salt in order to live, especially to replace what we lose through perspiration and urination. But did you know that salt is useful for a lot more than just making a bland dish divine? Read our 25 … [Read more...]
Organic Seeds, Explained
So you're thumbing through your seed catalogs, or you're visiting your local nursery or garden center and you start to notice that some of the seed packets say "organic" and some of them do not. Wh Have you noticed that from time to time in the world of gardening, … [Read more...]
Organic Weed Control Tips: Including 3 Organic Weed Killers That Are Safe for You and Your Garden’s Soil Health
Weeding can be an exhausting and discouraging job. There are plenty of weed killers on the market, which offer to save you that effort. But, the cure may be worse than the disease. Non-organic weed killers may damage your health if you inhale them or get them on your skin. … [Read more...]
Guide To Growing Southern (Field) Peas
Southern peas (Vigna unguiculata), also known as cowpeas, black-eyed peas or crowder peas, are technically beans, not peas. Like green peas (Pisum sativum), they are legumes, fixing nitrogen in the soil and enriching it for later crops. Unlike green peas, they thrive in hot … [Read more...]
Straw Bale Gardening 101: An Introduction
by Joel Karsten Are you sure that’s a garden?… It looks like you’re bringing goats into your backyard! What do you suppose your neighbors will say when they see you watering a bunch of straw bales lined up in your back yard this spring? The first question is usually, “Are … [Read more...]
Plant a Salsa Garden: The Five Ingredients to Grow for Fresh Garden Salsa
Salsa lovers can enjoy a particularly nutritious and delicious treat by growing all the ingredients for salsa right in their home gardens. Planting a Salsa Garden: What and When to Plant 1. Tomatoes Tomatoes are frost-sensitive plants. Start seedlings 6-8 weeks before the … [Read more...]
How to Grow Joseph’s Coat (Alternanthera)
Joseph's Coat is a tender perennial grown for its beautiful foliage. Its striking colors range in warm shades of reds, pinks, yellows, and coppers to cool shades of purples, and greens depending on variety. The leaves may also be found variegated or spotted with contrasting … [Read more...]
Heirloom? Organic? Hybrid? Types of Vegetable Seeds, Explained
Spring is an exciting time for gardeners, especially new ones. Fantastic, colorful displays of seed packets can be found almost everywhere during this season. But choosing seed types can be quite overwhelming, especially if you’re attempting to garden according to specific … [Read more...]
Beginner’s Guide to Heirloom Seeds
What are heirloom seeds, anyway? For a contemporary twist to your vegetable garden this spring, take a step back in time with heirloom seeds. A time-honored tradition for some, heirloom seed use is becoming a trendy way for the modern day gardener to experience the old … [Read more...]
A Guide to Planting Zones
By Julie Christensen Trees, shrubs and perennials form the backbone of most gardens, and these plants are also typically the most costly. Because of their slow growth and initial cost, you expect them to last and perform well for many years. How well plants perform, though, … [Read more...]
Guide to Broadcast Seed Sowing
Broadcast sowing is a traditional way of planting many types of crops. It's simpler, faster, and easier than traditional row sowing and works best for plants that do not require singular spacing or that are more easily thinned later. Most grains, grasses, and shallow-rooted … [Read more...]
Lasagna Gardening 101: the lazy, no-till garden method that works
By Julie Christensen Maybe you’re the type of gardener who loves spending hours in the garden – tilling it in the spring and weeding and watering it through the rest of the summer. Perhaps you have a flexible work schedule and children who make their own meals, do their own … [Read more...]
Great DIY Ideas for Seed Starting
By Julie Christensen Whether you’re new to gardening or a seasoned pro, sooner or later, the seed starting bug will probably bite. Gardeners start seeds for a variety of reasons – to get a head start on a short growing season or to grow that obscure heirloom tomato they … [Read more...]
How to Prevent Damping Off
By Julie Christensen Did all of your seedlings start to wither and die? Or did your seeds never germinate? It might be that damping off is to blame. Starting seeds yourself is a great way to save money, and when you start your own seeds, you usually have a greater number of … [Read more...]
How to Learn Your Last Frost or Freeze Date
By Julie Christensen Most perennials, shrubs and trees aren’t affected by freeze and frost dates, but if you’re planting annuals or vegetables, these are details you need to know. Many vegetables, including tomatoes, green beans, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers and corn, … [Read more...]
Start Your Summer Garden in January with Winter Sowing
Want to get your summer garden started early? How about December or January? You don't need grow lights, shelving, heated seed mats, or even space indoors. You don't need an expensive greenhouse either. All you need is some milk jugs! It's a system that's so … [Read more...]
Using Seedling Mats for Seed Germination Temperature
Starting your own plants from seeds is a great way to save money in the garden, but it's not always easy getting the right balance. Seeds need ample amounts of light, water, oxygen and temperature to germinate and grow. Too little or too much of any of these things and … [Read more...]
What Does Plant Hardiness Mean?
Read any plant labels or gardening books and you'll hear the word "hardy" thrown around frequently in reference to plants. But, what is hardiness, and what does it mean to you as a gardener? A basic definition of hardiness is a plant's ability to withstand cold winter … [Read more...]