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Gardening Advice
Ever been curious about how to can? From mouthwatering tomato sauce to crisp pickles to luscious jams, canning captures fresh produce at the peak of flavor—so you can store it through the winter! Learn how to can with our beginner guide!What Is Canning?Think of canning as a form of cooking. Instead of cooking one meal for immediate consumption, you are cooking food that you can…
Test your soil for a better garden next year. Summer is a good time to evaluate your soil’s health so that any fall amendments can break down over the winter in time for spring planting. Here’s how.You don’t have to dig too deeply to discover the secret of great gardening; it is your soil. Without healthy soil it is very difficult to have a successful garden and fall is the…
What’s the difference between topsoil and potting soil? The choices can get overwhelming at the gardening center, but it simply boils down to what you’re using it for. Do you want fill in a hole? Do you have clay soil? Are you growing in a container? Learn more.We run a greenhouse business. This past spring, due to supply chain issues, we could no longer get the excellent compost-based potting…
Normally I don’t go looking for trouble, but it is the best way to head off potential problems in the garden. Keep your eyes open when you are weeding and you may be surprised by the kinds of pests you find. Look for telltale signs of common garden pests like holes in leaves, egg masses, and webs.Scouting for PestsBefore you go scouting, remember: may insects are beneficial so don’…
I have a love/hate relationship with roses. If it isn’t the deer eating them from the top down, it’s the voles eating them from the roots up … and then there are the diseases. Here are the top 10 rose diseases, including pictures to identify what’s wrong—as well as advice on treatment.Roses seem to be afflicted with more than their share of maladies. In terms or prevention, you can avoid a lot of…
If the idea of carnivorous plants makes you immediately think of the bloodthirsty man-eater in Little Shop of Horrors, you’re not alone! Carnivorous plants (such as the Venus flytrap) dine only on insects—not humans! Here are three fun carnivorous houseplants.Yes, they eat those pesky little bugs! The speed at which they can snap shut on their prey is amazing. No, they don’t eat people or…
For many gardeners, the 4th of July is a seasonal deadline to complete a bunch of garden chores. From cutting back perennials to replacing early crops, see what to do in the garden this week!(I realize that every region has a different schedule! I’d really love to hear what you’re doing in your garden now in the comments!)Cut the garlic scapes! Mine started to twirl every year right at…
Have you abandoned your compost pile because you’re tired of trudging outside? How about using worms to turn your kitchen scraps into fertilizer. Try vermicomposting!What is Vermicomposting?Vermicomposting is using worms to turn your kitchen scraps into fertilizer. Earthworms eat your garbage is an easy way to recycle food waste indoors year round. It is great science project for…
Keep plants pumping out the flowers and fruit with midseason fertilizing. But if you just can’t afford another trip to the garden center for yet another bag of fertilizer, here are 10 natural fertilizers, many of which you may have right on hand.If your plants are beginning to look a bit shabby and tired you can’t really blame them. They have been working hard for you all season and it is…
Help kids grow! Get them outside in the garden for hands-on learning experiences. Here are activities and tips on how to set up a garden with kids in mind—plus, how to plant a school garden!Being outside gives kids time to cut loose and burn off some steam. Your garden can serve as an outdoor classroom for showing your kids how and where we get our food while connecting them to nature and…
Need a fence to keep animals out of your garden? Build the fence to fit the animal—be it deer, rabbit, or groundhog! We’ll explain what type of fence you need, how high it should be, and other tips to protect your vegetables from being eaten.In the poem Mending Wall, Robert Frost said, “Good fences make good neighbors,” but they also make good gardens.Know Your EnemyFrost also…
Ever dealt with the frustration of seeing blossoms fall off your vegetable plants because they have not been pollinated? Attract native bees! Here’s our list of flowers which are packed with the nectar, food, and pollen that these pollinating bees are after.Without our pollinating bees, most vegetables wouldn’t grow and flowering plants wouldn’t survive. Bees are important to our whole…
