Gardening

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 …

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 …

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 …

I hate to say it, but the end of summer is drawing near. Yup, we all blinked, and here it is. The shadows are growing longer each afternoon, and we’ve …

You know you can stop digging your garden anytime, right? It’s not a must to create a lush, backyard garden full of nutritious edible vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits. Gone …

What is compost? Compost is, in essence, decomposed matter that can be fed to plants.  We’ve found that many people are overwhelmed by the idea of composting and are afraid …

Beets are a cool season crop to love or loathe. While some of us adore the earthy flavor, especially in pickled beets, others claim the roots taste like dirt – …

As gardeners, it’s often necessary to wear different hats for all the various jobs that tending a garden entails. Depending on the day (and time of year), we’re site planners, …

We’ve already discussed the many ways that Castile soap can save you time and money inside your home. So, how about you grab your favorite bottle of liquid Castile soap …

I love summer squash, don’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever had a garden that didn’t have a zucchini plant in it. And why not? Zucchini and summer squash are …

Propagation by division is the name given to the technique where gardeners divide perennial plants to make new ones. Division is one of the easiest methods of propagation, and is …

Fruit-bearing trees that are left to grow just as nature intended will become massive over time. Although beautiful, mature fruit trees with large spreading canopies and dense crowns will shade …

Good friends are hard to come by. But good neighbors? Harder still. So, when you’ve grown tired of staring out your kitchen window at the neighbor’s collection of “classic” cars, …

Growing herbs can be a rewarding experience in the garden and the kitchen. If you’re used to dried herbs from the supermarket, you may be surprised the first time you …

The other day, my sweetie came out to the garden to find me buried head first in our Amish Paste tomatoes, hacking away and cursing. He had to duck as …

When it comes to summertime fruit, our favorite is blueberries. They’re infinitely snackable. A bowl left unattended on the counter, destined for jam or homemade blueberry syrup, will likely disappear …

So, you’ve finally taken some gardening advice from Rural Sprout and are putting that spade or rototiller down for a nap. Now what? Your questioning and calculating mind may be …