-Pam Scott- This is one of our Top 10 most popular articles based on customer feedback and engagement. Originally published in November 2020, it has been updated with new product plugs and images. As always, please leave us your comments below! When I was a small child, my grandmother’s kitchen window was always filled with beautifully blooming African Violets. Their ruffled flowers of deep blues, periwinkle, pinks, purples and lavenders made me think of fluffy party dresses. Their velvety … [Read more...] about Helping Your African Violets to Bloom 2022
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Cloning Problems and Solutions 2022
-Mike Weeks- This is one of our Top 15 most popular articles based on customer feedback and engagement. Originally published in May 2018, it has been updated with new product plugs and images. As always, please leave us your comments below! When it comes to taking plant clones, even experienced growers can experience frustrating challenges. Oftentimes, this is just a matter of developing bad habits in the delicate process that ultimately leads to failure. This article will point out some … [Read more...] about Cloning Problems and Solutions 2022
Sharing Your Garden with Your Dogs
-Pam Scott- I once had a garden full of beautifully flowering perennial beds, annuals, roses and bulbs. This garden overflowed with year-round seasonal beauty. It was immaculately trimmed, trellised and tidy, not a branch out of place, not a weed to be found. That all came to an abrupt end when I fell in love with and adopted two, young 80 lb rescue Boxers. These rough and tumble boys laid waste to my entire garden in a matter of days. Nothing seemed to delight them more than the sound … [Read more...] about Sharing Your Garden with Your Dogs
Magnificent Monstera Deliciosa
-Pam Scott- Monstera Deliciosa, is there a botanical name any more descriptive or intriguing for a tropical plant? I don't think so. The name refers to a magnificent plant that tends to grow monstrously huge with heavily indented, perforated leaves, and as a bonus it produces a custardy pineapple-banana flavored fruit that is a food staple in its native Central American environs. While wading through the confusing mess that is common botanical nomenclature you will find this plant … [Read more...] about Magnificent Monstera Deliciosa
More Adventures in Kratky Hydroponics
-Pam Scott- I have been growing lettuces indoors, in a south facing window or in the green house, for years. These lettuces are grown in window boxes to be harvested when they are bigger than microgreens but smaller than full-size lettuce heads. We use cut and come again varieties such as Cos, Sierra and Red Sails, which provide us with a ton of leafy salad greens throughout the winter months. Having recently become obsessed with eating a variety of Thai dishes where the food is … [Read more...] about More Adventures in Kratky Hydroponics
Cooking with Koji
-Pam Scott- The last 2 years have been a bit of a challenge for most of us to navigate. In our household, we spent the first year of our semi-social seclusion mitigating our world ache by consuming a steady diet of creamy pasta sauces, fabulous breads and lots of white wine. It felt comforting at the time. Needless to say, that lifestyle was not sustainable. We began to feel lousy and…we couldn't fit into our pants. The second year of our social isolation we decided to begin a healthier … [Read more...] about Cooking with Koji
Food for thought: Powdered Nutrients for Hydroponics
-Mike Weeks- When I got into growing indoors back in 1999, I visited my first hydro store in Athens Georgia and was completely overwhelmed by all of the brands of fertilizers that they offered. Many are still considered the tried and true brands because they simply work. From three part formulas, to the A and B combos, there were clearly many ways to feed plants. The one thing that all of these nutrients had in common was that they were liquid and available in gallons or quarts. I was aware … [Read more...] about Food for thought: Powdered Nutrients for Hydroponics
Watering, When You Gotta Go! – Products Review
-Elliott Richter- Today’s Product review is actually a review of 4 options for keeping your plants watered when you have to leave for a trip, work, vacation, what have you. We will be covering 2 products each from Blumat: the Easy Adapter and Classic Junior Universal Automatic plant waterers (aka “Carrots”), and from Bosmere: Mr. EverGreen and Bottle Plant Drinks, where both Bosmere products are twin packs. Overview: Everyone has been there. A last minute trip pops up due to an … [Read more...] about Watering, When You Gotta Go! – Products Review
The Art of Making Tequila
-Ryan Blankenship- Tequila was first distilled back in the early 16th century near the city of Tequila, which is located in the state of Jalisco about 35 miles from the city Guadalajara in Mexico. Tequila is a distilled beverage from a mash made out of Blue Agave. The Spanish conquistadors actually were the first to produce this spirit when they had run out of all of the brandy that they brought with them. They were the first to understand how to extract the sweet nectar from the core … [Read more...] about The Art of Making Tequila
Epiphyllum, Queen of the Night
-Pam Scott- As an avid collector of all things green and growing, I am always on the lookout for plants that I find endlessly entertaining. Plants that bloom and have interesting growth habits are top on my list of favorites. I find that most epiphytic plants easily fit into the description of “endlessly entertaining”. Epiphytic, as opposed to terrestrial plants, are ones that grow on other plants. Staghorn ferns, some orchids, air plants, some bromeliads, and epiphyllum are all … [Read more...] about Epiphyllum, Queen of the Night
