Heading off on vacation? Don’t forget about your garden in your vacation planning! Planning for your garden’s care while you’re away will help ensure your plants stay healthy and keep on producing. Will my garden survive while I’m away? If you’re only going away for a couple days, your plants might be fine without any special attention. But, it can still be helpful to take steps to be sure your plants survive....
Weeds. They’re pesky and hard to manage, but crucial to deal with to have a successful garden. We put in so much work weeding our gardens, so making sure that we are actually removing weeds seems like the obvious but important step. Have you ever wondered whether you’ve confused a newly planted seedling with a weed? Spotting whether the plant in your garden was the one you intentionally planted is an important tool for gardeners to have....
Gardeners spend a good part of the year eagerly anticipating the prime growing season. All of a sudden the season sets in and it’s a sprint to get the first plants and seeds in the ground- and before we know it the early-season hustle is over. The growing season can sneak up on even the most enthusiastic gardener. New gardeners just getting inspired to start a garden might be discouraged to find out the season is already well underway....
The first time your hear a gardener use the word ‘bolting’ in the same sentence as ‘plants’ it can be a bit of a head-scratcher (…are they running away?) In the gardening world, bolting refers to a non-fruiting plant that has started to produce flowers and seeds- also known as ‘going to seed’. Gardeners often see bolting as a bad thing, but it doesn’t have to be! What is bolting? When a plant bolts it focuses all its energy on producing flowers and seeds, instead of growing new, lush leaves or larger roots....
The fruits and vegetables you can eat come from unique parts of their plants. In your everyday life you eat everything from the roots to stems to leaves. Some angiosperms, or flowering plants, yield fruit. Though some of the things you may think of as “fruits” aren’t truly fruit as we expect. Conversely, some plant parts we consider “vegetables” are actually botanically fruits. In some circumstances, you eat parts of a plant that contain other parts that are actually inedible....
As plants grow, they use nutrients from the soil which can eventually become depleted if they are not replenished. Since we usually harvest our veggie garden produce rather than letting the plants decompose back into the soil, soil nutrients can dwindle over time. Fertilizer adds soil nutrients that are lacking so that new plants can grow. You might only think of fertilizer as the little granules that come in bags from the garden center, but there are many different options to add nutrients to your soil!...
Squash plants are some of the most prolific producers in the garden. If you garden in a small space, you might be hesitant to plant squash; they can be large plants with a tendency to sprawl. But don’t despair! There are bush and container squash varieties that are more compact but still produce loads of squash. Types of Squash Squash are members of a family of vining plants known as cucurbits (cucurbitaceae) that include zucchini, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and gourds....
Compost is about the best (and cheapest) way to improve the health of your garden soil. It improves soil structure and adds nutrients and microbes that are vital for plant growth. Making your own compost is a great way to transform scraps into garden gold! Why Use Compost? Compost benefits your garden soil in many ways: It adds organic matter (humus) that improves the soil structure. Sandy soils tend to drain water too quickly and leach nutrients and clay can become water-logged....
Legumes such as peas and beans are some of the easiest and most rewarding plants to grow. They are relatively low-maintenance, and just a few plants can produce a bumper crop! While their care is straightforward, there are a few tips to keep in mind to grow legumes successfully. What are Legumes? Scientifically speaking, legumes are members of the ‘Fabaceae” family. They include beans and peas, as well as some plants you might not have realized, like peanuts and clover (this article focuses on beans and peas)....
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?...