These days, it seems like you can order anything online. I’ve purchased a sectional sofa online that arrived in three boxes. I’ve ordered live tomato hornworms (don’t ask). Recently, I …
Tomato plants are green. In fact, I’d go so far as to say most of your vegetable seedlings are green. Thanks, Tracey. I appreciate you pointing out the obvious. What’s …
Up until a few years ago, I used to think of bare-root planting as an advanced gardening skill. Something that I felt slightly intimidated by. Surely a skill that I …
Gardening is a joy; there’s no denying it. I love walking barefoot along the sun-warmed paths of my garden, nibbling on a green bean or two, tucking a few tomatoes …
You may not realize it, but every summer, you grow a vegetable that unites all of humankind. Yes, that’s right, tomatoes. We may not agree on much these days, but …
I don’t know about you, friend, but I’m already looking forward to that first juicy ripe tomato come July, which is funny considering there are snow flurries outside my window, …
Nature does her job when we’re not standing over her with a clipboard. But many gardeners want to improve their backyard ecosystem anyway. Everyone who’s gardened for a season or …
Many passionate gardeners are turning to companion planting to reduce pesticide use. Planting different species together can provide benefits. However, some species are allelopathic plants, which means they can seriously …
Let me guess, you heard it through the grapevine that spring is a good time to prune your grapevines? I guess they are sending out the same message to us …
Important author’s note: This method works! When I wrote this piece, I didn’t have anything planted in my garden yet as we’re still weeks away from my zone’s last frost …
Have you spent hours planting green beans around your other vegetables to “fix nitrogen” and then wondered why it never made a difference? Same, girl. Same. We’ve all been fed …
On the hottest of summer days, we’re all thankful for a bit of shade, except when it comes to our gardens. Trying to plan a garden around a yard that …
Oh, March, we can always count on you for an adventure. Between the start of daylight savings time (yuck) and the weather whiplash, we all feel a little dazed by …
Okay, folks, are you ready to get down and dirty? (I mean, we’re gardeners; it’s what we do.) Today, we’re going to settle a debate that has been rumbling around …
But what about hybrids? What? That’s not how you thought this was going to start? Well, I know you guys. I can already hear you grumbling about hybrids. We’ll get …
Pepper plants thrive in my hot, subtropical climate. They flourish and provide tons of delicious peppers year-round. But last fall, I made a tragic mistake. I surrounded the poor things …
Last fall, a fellow gardener from the Midwest made fun of me because she thought I couldn’t grow potatoes. But the joke’s on her — in Florida, it just means …
This is the year we should all throw in the trowel and quit gardening. Yup, it’s time. The whole grow-your-own-food movement of the past 12,000 years or so was cute, …
Do you struggle to get your tomatoes off to a good start? Are you tired of tall, skinny tomato seedlings each year? Does every spring storm have you holding your …
If you’re having your morning cup of joe and decide to do a quick internet search for “using coffee grounds in the garden,” you’ll be met with a deluge of …
Every gardener’s dream is to harvest bucket upon bucket full of sun-ripened tomatoes. Even though tomatoes are relatively easy to grow, they can be finicky, which is why there is …
Far too often, new gardeners give up before they even get started because of the cost. Seedlings, bags of compost, hand tools, fertilizers, it all adds up quickly. But most …
Every year, well before the growing season starts, gardeners everywhere decide to waste their time and money starting seedlings for their garden. These gluttons for punishment never seem to learn …
More than a handful of my gardening friends have expressed envy at my mild subtropical climate. However, gardening in a hot and humid region is fraught with challenges. One of …