Peter Keefe

A raised garden bed is a great way to grow your own veggies! It’s also a great way to improve the drainage and fertility of your soil. And with this method, it’s super easy to build. I’ve got 6 raised beds in my garden, and 4 of them use this exact method. It works! And it’s easy and cheap. Prefer to learn via video? Friend-of-the-app Gardener Scott has a great video using this exact same method: Materials Needed: 3 2"×8"×8’ regular pine boards (or 2×6, 2×10, 2×12....

We’ve been hard at work improving Planter with some of your most requested features. Near the top of the feature request list was the ability to rotate 1x2 square plants, such as squash, watermelon, and pumpkin. We’re happy to announce that this is now possible! Note: These changes are being rolled out over the next week, so you might not have access to them yet. We like to do slow roll-outs for big features like this, in case there are any bugs....

Last year, the rabbits won. They ate my sugar snap pea seedlings. They ate my corn seedlings. They even nibbled through the green bean stalks, leaving the rest of the previously flourishing plant to wilt and die. I had a pet rabbit as a kid, and I love them. But not in my garden! So this year, I set out to fix the problem by ripping out the old, dilapidated garden fence and replacing it with a brand-new, (hopefully) rabbit-proof fence....

Peat moss has been getting a bad reputation lately, due to its environmental impact. But is it really that bad? Let’s explore this question, and you may learn that it’s not as simple as you thought. But first, what is peat and where does it come from? Peat Moss Peat is partially decomposed organic matter that forms in wetlands. It is made up of mosses, sedges (think tall grasses), and other plants that have died and accumulated over time....

Write for us! Are you a gardening enthusiast with an idea for a Growing Guide article? Great! We’d love to have you share your ideas with our audience. But before you sit down to write the article, you should take a moment to understand our audience and read our guidelines for writing a successful article. Target Audience Personas Anna Carlson Age: 32 Location: Toledo, Ohio, USA Experience level: Beginner Background: Has house plants, but this is her first time doing vegetable gardening....

Veggies come in all colors these days; purple carrots, orange tomatoes, and even yellow watermelon. But among the most prized (and hard to find) veggies are the rainbow varieties. Many of these are fairly new but they’re starting to show up at farmers markets and even some grocery stores. Here’s a collection of the rainbow varieties that we’ve found: Rainbow Hot Peppers Although they look colorful, you may not want to “taste the rainbow” with this particular variety....

This is the second article in our Seed Starting series. I don’t know about you, but I’m dreaming of warmer spring weather and getting back out in the garden! To satisfy that “gardening itch” that comes every winter, I like to dig out my seed starting supplies and grow tomatoes, peppers, and a few other veggies. Our last post focused on grow lights, which are arguably the most important piece of equipment for starting seeds....

This is the first article in our Seed Starting series. Starting veggie seedlings indoors is a great way to get a head start on the gardening season and relieve that “gardening itch” that many of us get in the winter. One of the most important things a seedling needs is the right amount of light. However, chances are your average house window isn’t bright enough and you’ll need to supplement the light with a grow light....

It may be the middle of winter, but here at Planter we’re busy getting ready for the new growing season. We’re also very excited to announce a host of new features and improvements that we will be adding to the app in 2023! But first, I have some personal news… Starting this month I have transitioned to working on Planter full-time! When I originally released the app in 2017, I never imagined it would grow to be what it is today....

Are you starting a veggie garden in a subtropical or tropical climate? These regions offer a unique set of conditions for growing veggies, and it’s important to understand the differences between the two and choose the right plants for your area. Subtropical vs tropical 🌴 First, let’s define the key differences between subtropical and tropical climates. Subtropical regions have mild winters, and the temperature typically doesn’t go below freezing. On the other hand, tropical regions have warm temperatures year-round and usually high humidity....