Soil is one of the most precious resources in the garden. Building healthy soil is key to healthy plants, and an important step in building healthy soil is to use mulch. Mulch is a layer of material placed on top of the soil to protect it. While mulching your vegetable garden is a must-do, the materials can vary based on your local growing conditions and what’s readily available. Why Mulch Your Garden?...

If you enjoy having flavorful ingredients for cooking, there is nothing better than growing your own fresh herbs. Growing herbs provides many rewards, with relatively little effort. Adding herbs to your garden is a great way to expand the range of recipes you can create from your garden’s produce! Why Add Herbs to Your Garden Herbs pack a major flavor punch in a dainty package and greatly enhance any dish you add them to....

If you started seeds indoors, at some point the itch to get them planted in the garden really starts to kick in. But without special care, the transition from growing indoors to the garden can stunt your plants’ growth and even kill them. It’s important to ‘harden off’ seedlings and transplant them properly, to give them the best possible start in the garden. What Is Hardening Off? ‘Hardening off’ seedlings is the process of gradually getting them acclimated to growing outdoors....

Adding a berry patch to your garden isn’t a quick win. It can take up to several years’ for the plants to start producing fruit. But with a bit of work and patience, you can enjoy sweet, delicious berries fresh from the garden! Why Add Berry Plants to Your Garden? There are many reasons to add berry plants to your garden (not only to eat berries!) Berry plants are perennials- they continue growing year after year....

Watering is one of the most important tasks in the garden. For new gardeners, it can be a challenge to find the balance between overwatering and underwatering. Watering your garden well comes down to being thoughtful about the weather, your soil conditions, and your plants’ needs. When to Water Your Garden? Deciding when to water your garden is not quite as easy as penciling it into your weekly schedule. There are many factors that affect how often your garden needs watering....

Vegetables that are grown mainly for their roots, such as carrots, beets, radishes, and turnips, are some of the most rewarding crops to grow. Since the root is hidden underground, you never quite know what to expect come harvest time! Pay attention to soil preparation and planting to increase the chance of unearthing beautiful, tasty root crops! Prepare Your Soil for Root Crops Soil conditions are especially important for proper root development in root crops....

It’s safe to say that gardeners have many different opinions on the topic of companion planting. While opinions around companion planting vary, it’s generally accepted that growing diverse plants offers many benefits in the garden. Read on to learn more about companion planting and how to introduce companion planting in your garden. What is Companion Planting? Companion planting is the idea that some crops are complementary and some crops are combative in the garden....

Many types of plants depend on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to pollinate their flowers so they can produce fruit and seeds. To get the best harvests possible, there are steps we can take as gardeners to encourage more pollinators to visit our garden. Why Are Pollinators Important in the Garden? To understand why pollinators are important in the garden, we first need to understand which plants rely on them....

Gardening typically involves a lot of effort to manipulate the soil - rototilling, digging, cultivating, raking. Conventional thinking is that churning up the soil gives plants a more favorable environment to grow in; by loosening it, improving drainage, and tilling in compost and green manures. But what if all this work was not necessary and was actually degrading the soil? That’s where no-till gardening comes in. What is No-Till Gardening? No-till gardening aims to disturb the soil as little as possible when building and maintaining a garden....