A raised wooden garden bed filled with veggies with hoops over the top

Tips for Growing in the Southwest Desert

Thriving Where It’s Hot Gardening in the Southwest desert comes with unique challenges, but also the opportunity for near year-round gardening. With the right strategies, you can grow a thriving, productive garden, whatever the weather. By selecting heat-tolerant plants, optimizing shade and soil conditions, and managing water efficiently, you can harvest bumper crops of veg year after year. When to Start The vibrant bloom of wildflowers marks the arrival of spring in the Southwest, the warm, sunny season in between the nippy winter and the scorching summer....

A new raised garden bed in a sunny clearing in a wooded area

Our 2025 Garden Plans!

We are getting geared up for the 2025 gardening season! The first step before we can get growing though is to plan out our gardens in Planter. Read on to see what our Planter team members are up to this year, and how we’ve used Planter to bring our garden plans to life. We hope you’ll find some creative ideas to implement in your own plans! If you haven’t already seen (or heard) it, check out our latest podcast episode where Peter, Milan, and Erin chat about our garden plans and what we’re doing differently in 2025:...

Someone holding a ripe peach against some peach tree leaves

How to Stop Peach Leaf Curl

Peach trees, known for their delicious and juicy fruit, are a lovely addition to any home orchard. Peaches are great for every gardener because they come in various sizes. Dwarf peach trees’ size ranges from 8 to 10 feet tall (about 2.5 to 3 meters), and semi-dwarf trees will grow 12 to 15 feet tall (about 3.5 to 4.5 meters). Both dwarf and semi-dwarf can be grown in containers, meaning you can have sweet summer peaches off your patio!...

Soil Amendments for Vegetable Gardens in the Southeastern US

Improving Garden Soil Naturally Welcome, fellow gardeners! If you’re in the Southeastern United States and eager to grow a thriving vegetable garden, you’re in the right place. Today, we’ll delve into the world of soil amendments – the secret ingredients to transform your garden from good to great. Why are soil amendments crucial, especially in the Southeast? Our region often presents challenges like heavy clay soil, high acidity, and nutrient deficiencies....

A greenhouse with a light dusting of snow

Winter Garden Chores

January is a time for new resolutions, fresh beginnings, and a chance to decompress after a busy holiday season. It’s also time for some winter garden chores. Depending on where you live, you might look out to your garden and think it feels like so many months until gardening season arrives. But really, there’s always some gardening to be done. If you knock out a few of these chores now, you’ll thank yourself when spring comes, which will come much sooner than it seems....

A collage of the 10 plant picks with the text "10 Cold-hardy Veggies to Plant Now in the Southeast"

10 Cold-Hardy Veggies to Plant Now in the Southeastern US

Think you need to wait until spring to start your garden? Think again! Here in the Southeastern US, our mild winters give us the opportunity to grow delicious, fresh vegetables all year round. And let’s be honest, there’s something extra satisfying about harvesting your own food when there’s a chill in the air. So, grab your gardening gloves and let’s get planting! Why Cold-Hardy Veggies? Cold-hardy vegetables are a special group of plants that can handle chilly temperatures and even a touch of frost....

Christmas gifts wrapped in brown paper with satin bows beside a bowl of pinecones and a Christmas tree

2024 Gardeners' Gift Guide

Between parties, parades, family meals, and festivities, gardening might not be top of mind at this time of year. Even so, any avid gardener will be secretly (or not-so-secretly) hoping to find some gardening gifts under the tree. If you’re struggling to find a gift for the gardener that has everything fear not- we’ve got gifting ideas for even the most geared-out gardener! Erin: Garden marker Image source: Amazon Regular ‘permanent’ markers usually become not-so-permanent in a garden!...

Bright orange calendula flowers in olive oil

How to Make Herb Infused Oils for Skin Care

Making an herbal-infused oil is easy. The hardest part is growing, harvesting, and drying the herbs. Herbal oils are a fantastic way to experience the benefits of herbs topically. Infused oils can be used alone, in salve, body butter, lip balm, soap, and more. Different Methods There are different ways to make an herbal-infused oil. The easiest way is known as the folk method. Herbs are placed in a jar, covered with your choice of oil, and left to sit for a few weeks....

Fall vegetables, soup, a cooking spoon, and a leaf surround the text "Fall Garden Recipes"

Our Favorite Fall Garden Recipes

Fall is the perfect time to get in the kitchen and cook up the produce from your garden! We here on the Planter Team wanted to share a few of our favorite recipes to make use of our fall harvests. We hope you’ll take ideas and inspiration from these recipes to use up your own garden bounty this fall! Rhubarb jelly (and other preserves) - Contributed by Wren I grew up making jams and jellies with my mom....

Soil in a petri dish on a lab bench with soil pH test strips and tweezers

Soil pH for Veggie Gardens (and a Feature Launch!)

There’s a few obvious things that plants need to thrive- soil (or a growing medium at least), sunlight, water, and nutrients. What might not be as obvious is the importance of soil pH for healthy plants. If your soil doesn’t have the proper pH for the plants that you’re growing, you’ll need to amend it so your garden can thrive. But before using any amendments to change your soil pH it’s important to have an understanding of what soil pH is and why it matters for your plants....