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Gardening Advice
If this was your first year growing garden fruits and vegetables, you probably have found that much of your homegrown produce does not look like what you see in the store. Don’t be discouraged! It’s what’s on the inside that counts! Learn more about that “ugly” produce.Experienced gardeners know that imperfect produce is actually more normal and natural than the grocery store specimens…
African violets are beautiful houseplants which provide a pretty dose of color indoors. Find out how to take care of African violets through the winter and keep them blooming!What Are African Violets?If you are in need of some flowering companions to get you through the cold days of winter, look for a plant that hails from the southern hemisphere, the African violet.African…
Usually we think of spring as the time when wildlife is conducting their courtship rituals. Not so with grasshoppers and crickets! As the summer winds down, you will hear the the mating calls of the males trying to attract a female get louder! And if you are finding ragged holes chewed in the leaves of your plants it is probably grasshoppers. To lessen the population next year, now is…
While 93% of the West is in some level of drought, other regions are being inundated with rain. After a hot dry June in my neck of the woods, we got 3 times our monthly rainfall in the first 2 weeks of July and another 3 inches just yesterday! What’s a wet gardener to do? See 7 tips to manage your garden after too much rain.We were lucky to only get 3 inches of rain this time. Nearby…
Dry it, you’ll like it! Drying fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers is so satisfying! It’s flavorful, economic, long-lasting, and one of the best ways to retain nutritional value. Yes, I do recommend one special kitchen tool (a dehydrator), but it’s easily worthwhile and foolproof. After all, you only need one ingredient!Usually tomatoes are a big seller for us at the…
One of the most hopeful things we can do is to plant a seed. It’s an act of faith that tomorrow will come. In Hindi, the word for seed is “bija,” which means “containment of life.” Each seed contains an embryo and a starchy food supply—everything needed to make a new plant. Seeds are proof that life goes on. Gardening is one of the oldest healing arts.It gives the kind…
Summer is here and with it come the bugs. What possible reason can there be for their existence other than to bother us? As a gardener and small farmer, let me tell you—we need bugs more than they need us. Really! Discover five reasons we need insects, all that we humans have learned from the way they work, and cool insect facts.Judging by all the different products on store shelves…
Letting all that milkweed grow around my yard has paid off, and we have some monarch butterfly caterpillars in there chomping away! Here’s how to create a butterfly garden—from a mud puddle to plants!Though we don’t recall seeing any adult monarchs flitting through the garden, they must have visited long enough to deposit some eggs. We have seen plenty of tiger swallowtails and always grow…
Annual flowers are like Rodney Dangerfield: They “don’t get no respect.” However, if you have no annuals in your garden at all, you are missing out on one of life’s joys and a whole lot of color. Let’s discover some of the best and easiest annual flowers—including beautiful pictures!Annuals provide gardens with all-season color, but they have to be replanted every year, so they often get the…
When and how to prune your clematis is one of those garden chores that may seem mystifying but is really quite simple. Just like hydrangeas, some clematis blossom on the previous year’s growth—old wood—while others bloom on the current year’s growth—new wood. Find out the best time to prune your clematis variety for continued blossoms!Clematis Groups ExplainedThere are many varieties of…
Discover the many gorgeous varieties of clematis—both a popular climbing vine and also a flowering shrub! Did you know that there are over 200 species and hundreds of hybrids of this popular flower? There are saucers, bells, tube shapes, tulips, open bells, doubles, and semi-doubles. Take a look.Clematis: A Flowering ShrubEveryone is familiar with clematis as a flowering vine, but what…
If you’re like me and can never have too many flowers, now is the time to start a cutting garden so you can have your flowers and cut them, too! Here are my tips—plus, the best flowers to grow for cutting.Not far from The Old Farmer’s Almanac is a beautiful U-pick flower farm called Rosaly’s Garden (pictured above). Look at all those zinnias! It’s absolutely heavenly to stroll…
