Whether you ascribe pumpkin spice lattes to the arrival of fall or not, it’s hard to deny that pumpkins are the harbinger of Autumn. When cooler weather is finally on …
Growing buckets of fresh tomatoes is every gardener’s dream, along with a pantry full of homegrown tomato sauce. But growing what you need is not always an easy feat. In …
Some years it feels like fall comes and goes with a few blinks of the eye. One week there are green leaves on the trees, then, unexpectedly, cold nights come, …
If you’ve got houseplants, chances are you own an aloe vera. Aloes are simple to care for and easy to get your hands on, making them one of the most …
As the temperatures lean toward the cooler side and the growing season is winding down, strawberries are usually the last thing you’re thinking about. However, if you want to ensure …
Blink, and you’ll miss it. The asparagus season, that is. For gardeners, fresh asparagus and rhubarb are the first two plants to harvest each spring, but only if you’ve taken …
If you’ve ever seen houseplants planted in LECA and you thought to yourself “why would anyone use cocoa puffs to pot their plants in?”, let me assure you that you’re …
When it comes to a bountiful garden harvest, one doesn’t often stop to think, “the smaller, the better.” Yet, it depends on what you’re harvesting. Everybody loves an enormous pumpkin, …
Earwigs are abundant in the moist and dark nooks of the garden. Moving a flower pot or overturning a stone can be a startling reminder of their presence, revealing dozens …
Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) aren’t native to Jerusalem, nor the Middle East, as their name suggests. They have been cultivated as native plants in North America and Canada for hundreds …
Let me start with a weird question: have you ever tried to drink a glass of water while holding your breath? It doesn’t sound like a good idea, does it?* …
At first glance, plants might appear totally helpless against insects, herbivores, and other leaf-gobbling predators. Like sitting ducks, plants are rooted in one spot so they can’t do the whole …
Learn from my mistakes – always, always survey your working area before packing it in for the day. Or else…this will happen: Yup, gardening tools left outside to weather the …
Do you know what’s awful? Mushy canned asparagus. That’s what’s awful. You know what’s amazing? Dilly pickled asparagus. Especially dilly pickled asparagus that only takes a whopping five minutes of …
Raising chicks is exciting. There’s nothing quite like bringing home tiny, peeping balls of fuzz and watching them grow. But the brooder has been packed away for months now. And …
Sweet and spicy, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better union of flavors. So, it’s only natural when you combine the heat of fresh jalapenos with the classic sweetness of …
All gardeners make mistakes. It could be sowing all your seeds at once – who has time to spread out planting while at the same time remembering where the seeds …
As summer evenings start to edge on the cooler side to make way for fall, you can put your ear close to the ground and hear the percussive march of …
We’re still dealing with the heat of summer, but chilly mornings promise fall is just around the corner. With so many stone fruits in season now, it’s the ideal time …
When asparagus is in season, you better enjoy a few green stems every chance you get. If you don’t spear the chance, you’ll likely have to wait another year till …
Brussels sprouts are great. They’re like that awkward kid from high school. You know, the one with the bad acne whose mother always cut their hair; and then shows up …
If you’ve harvested a bumper crop of red onions and you aren’t sure what to do with them, no need to despair, that’s where quick pickled red onions come into …
Among my friends, I’m known as a dab hand in the kitchen and garden. However, my family knows better. They see all the kerfuffles, gardening-endeavors-gone-wrong, terrible meals, and dead houseplants …
Have you ever heard of anise hyssop? I hadn’t until a few years ago when a generous gardening friend shared an extra plant she had oversown. That first spring, I …
As it often happens, this article was inspired by a leisurely puttering session in my garden. I was collecting seeds, as you do in late summer, and wondering how many …