Whether you live in the city or out in the country, the best way to have complete control over your garden is by building a raised bed. I say this because everyone’s soil is going to be different. It could be very sandy, loamy, high or low in nitrogen, or even solid red clay like mine is. The best way to overcome challenges presented by your soil is by building a garden bed on top of your existing soil. The first step is determining the size bed you would like to build. I built my raised beds … [Read more...] about Building a Raised Bed (2023)
Organic Gardening
A Bat Talk
We recently had the opportunity to both meet and have an engaging conversation with Dr. Rada Petric, Director of the Institute for the Environment at Highlands Field Site in Highlands, North Carolina, as well as Research Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dr. Petric is studying the fascinating world of bat’s, in-particular their migration patterns and ecological impact on North Carolina. Hello! It’s great to meet you Dr. Petric. Please … [Read more...] about A Bat Talk
Simple Small-Batch Vegetable Ferments
I have a confession: As much as I enjoy gardening (and I really do!), the kitchen magic that ensues post-harvest – cooking meals straight from the garden, drying herbs for salt blends that become holiday gifts, making hot sauce, and of course, canning, pickling, and making preserves – well, that really lights me up! I feel such immense joy when gazing at a line of jars, still warm from the water bath, cooling atop a clean dish cloth. It brings me back to my childhood when my dad and grandmother … [Read more...] about Simple Small-Batch Vegetable Ferments
Fall Gardens Start in Summer
A common mistake among new gardeners is forgetting to plant the fall garden early enough. A perfectly-timed fall garden is, in fact, started in summer – not fall! Sure, you’re still harvesting zucchini and perhaps the tomatoes aren’t yet ripe but we’re now on the other side of the summer solstice when days are gradually getting shorter and crops will begin growing slower. So, all the while pulling weeds and plucking peppers, you’ll want to be gearing up to plant your fall garden! The main … [Read more...] about Fall Gardens Start in Summer
Caprese Salad: A Simple Garden-to-Table Meal 2022
This is one of our most popular articles based on customer feedback and engagement. Originally published in July 2018, it has been updated with new information and product links. As always, please leave us your comments below! It’s the middle of summer and the garden is bursting with life and color, full of fresh fruit and ripe vegetables. As a gardener, the summer harvest is the absolute reward for all of the hardwork and patience that has gone into planning, caring for, and watching … [Read more...] about Caprese Salad: A Simple Garden-to-Table Meal 2022
When Life Gives You Lemons: Grow them! 2022
This is one of our Top 20 most popular articles based on customer feedback and engagement. Originally published in July 2019, it has been updated with new images and product links. As always, please leave us your comments below! Bringing tropical greenery indoors invites warmth, life, and oxygen to your space. With its lush foliage, perfumey blooms, and delicious fruit, citrus is one of the most rewarding families of plants to incorporate into your home. Growing citrus is not difficult … [Read more...] about When Life Gives You Lemons: Grow them! 2022
Organic Treatments for Fungal Infections 2022
This is one of our Top 10 most popular articles based on customer feedback and engagement. Originally published in July 2016, it has been updated with new information and product links. As always, please leave us your comments below! The hot and humid days of July and August are prime time for fungal infections to start popping up on your trees, vegetables, and landscaping plants. Some of the most common infections are powdery mildew, rust, leaf spot, and blight. Preventative treatments, and … [Read more...] about Organic Treatments for Fungal Infections 2022
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
