Category Archives: Gardening Basics
Creating a Backyard Ecosystem
A complete ecosystem can nourish and shelter plants and wildlife alike, and you don’t need extensive acreage or a large lot to create a thriving, healthy habitat. Creating a backyard ecosystem is an easy way to enjoy and support nature right at home. What Is an Ecosystem? By definition, an ecosystem is a “bubble of […]
Vertical Gardening for Small Spaces
It’s easy to maximize even the tiniest garden space when you look up – and up, and up, and up. Whether you have a balcony, deck, small terrace, raised beds or container garden, vertical gardening is a great way to increase your cultivated ground and enjoy a more abundant harvest no matter how small your […]
Seed Starting
Starting seeds indoors is a rewarding gardening experience and can help extend your growing season to include more plant varieties than your outdoor season may permit. Furthermore, a larger selection of seed varieties doesn’t limit your opportunities to growing only those transplants that are available at planting time. The key to success in growing seedlings […]
Healthy Soil: Winter Cover Crops
It’s fall and our annual and vegetable gardens are winding down for the season. Now is the time to invest a little extra time and effort to prepare your soil for next year. Whether your garden is large or small, all annual planting beds will benefit from the addition of a winter cover crop.
Trackable Tools
It’s the beginning of a new gardening season. Hopefully you took out last year’s journal in January or February and reviewed your notes. Now is the time to begin implementing some of those great ideas.
Mowing. Do It Right
If you have a lawn then you need to mow. If you need to mow then you may as well do it right. Here are the basics...
Fire Escape Gardening
Is it possible to nurture a thriving urban garden when your garden space is simply just a narrow passage, stunted landing, and metal railings of a fire escape? Indeed, it is! Fire escape gardening can be fare more pleasant and productive than you may realize, if you adapt your gardening techniques to the unique challenges […]
Acid Loving Plants
Soil pH is a critical factor for gardening success. Some plants thrive in neutral soil while other plants prefer soil that is on the acidic side. The difference lies in the plant’s ability to use nutrients present in the soil. For plants that prefer an acidic soil a critical nutrient is iron. Iron is most […]
Soil 101
How well do you understand your soil? It’s more than just dirt, and the more you learn about soil, the better you’ll be able to care for it to ensure a stunning landscape, healthy lawn and productive garden. All About Soil The four elements of soil are minerals, water, air and organic matter. Different combinations […]
Tomatoes and Peppers – A Gardening Tradition
Tomatoes and peppers are two crops you can never have too much of. They freeze well without the difficulty of blanching, and although the texture of tomatoes disintegrates, the flavor remains good. Both tomatoes and peppers offer brilliantly colored fruit that can be particularly attractive in the garden or in containers. Both have the same […]