Writing this on a below-freezing day seems appropriate. We’ve just avoided the first frost, lifted our tender perennials, and staked overwintering kale, sprouts, and broccoli. The beds are weeded, scrubbed down and, those that need it, are covered with fleece tunnels. Yet, with twelve more weeks of true winter, and plenty of cold spring nights…
The warnings of the first frost can send us gardeners into a frenzy to get everything in our gardens harvested before the cold hits. Here’s what you need to prioritize. In preparation for the first frost, you should plan to harvest all squash (summer and winter), tomatoes, peppers, flowers, and basil. These plants are not…
Vertical gardening has become a popular option for gardeners that are working with limited space because it gives you the option to grow up instead of out. And the best way to garden vertically is with a trellis structure. But, it can be hard to figure out exactly where to put a trellis once you…
So many gardeners these days love to grow special heirloom variety plants for many different reasons. I get it, heirlooms have a lot of great qualities. But, what about their not-so-great qualities? Growing heirloom seeds can come with disadvantages like pest and disease susceptibility, slow development, low fruit production, labor intensiveness, and their ability to…
One of the things that I look forward to the most at the beginning of the gardening season is purchasing seeds. There are always so many to choose from and I always try to grow something that I’ve never grown before as a fun experiment. But, if you’re anything like me when I first started…
These days, there are so many different labels on seed packets that it’s hard to know what exactly they all mean, especially when we see the non-GMO label. GMO seeds are seeds that have been genetically modified to produce a desired trait within that plant. GMO seeds are only available commercially and therefore not something…