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
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 remember from grandma’s … [Read more...]
How to Prevent Damping Off
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 plant varieties to … [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...]
Preventing Damping Off
New gardeners often experience an unfortunate phenomenon called "damping-off," a fungal disease that is ironically caused by the same warm and humid conditions that promote germination and seedling growth. With damping-off, however, seeds fail to germinate at all or germinate but … [Read more...]
Give Your Seedlings a Head Start
Plants are similar to children in that you have to give them lots of attention early on so they achieve optimum health and maturity later. At the germination and seedling stages, plants need proper amounts of nutrition, light, warmth and oxygen. This enables them to develop the … [Read more...]
Planting Gardens by the Moon Phases
Since ancient times, gardeners have looked to the moon for guidance in their gardens. Modern practitioners hold that planting seeds and plants by the phases of the moon yields stronger plants and more bountiful crops. Moreover, they say certain garden tasks should be done during … [Read more...]
Seed Life Chart: How Long Will Seeds Last?
Each year you'll inevitably run out of garden space and have a certain amount of seeds left over after planting. Don't throw them out just yet! Depending on the type of seed and its quality, you may be able to store them and use them next year or the year after. In fact, some … [Read more...]
Using Eggshells to Sprout Seeds
Growing your own plants from seed is supposed to save you money, but after buying all the seeds, soil, pots, lights and heating pads you begin to wonder if it's all worth it. Are you really saving anything? If you really want to save some dough, look to "old school" methods of … [Read more...]
Gardening Tips For the Fall
In the fall, after harvest, most gardeners are content to close up shop and consider the gardening season over with. Besides growing extra crops, which is possible in the fall (including many lettuces, cabbages, potatoes, and so forth), the fall also offers the … [Read more...]
Vegetable Planting Calendar By Season
Many gardeners are unsure of what to grow and - more importantly - when to grow it. While the spring is when garden centers are full of seeds and seedlings fresh from the greenhouse, it's not the only season of the year for planting. Although not every zone allows year-round … [Read more...]
Seedstarting Made Easy
For many gardeners, the easiest way to grow vegetables and annuals is to start with seedlings. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, for example, grow slowly from seed and often won’t mature before the first frost if planted from seed in the garden. Annuals planted from seed sown … [Read more...]
When to Start Your Seeds
So you’ve decided to start seeds indoors for outdoor planting. Although starting seeds indoors takes more effort than buying transplants, your diligence will be rewarded with an abundance of healthy plants at a fraction of the price of nursery seedlings. The trick in … [Read more...]
Creating a Raised Garden
Raised bed gardens are becoming more and more popular as a way to grow flowers and vegetables. There are many reasons for this, but as their popularity grows, so do the questions surrounding how a gardener can begin utilizing them in their yard. Benefits of Raised … [Read more...]