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....

Every year, it seems like the holiday season arrives earlier and earlier. Maybe the “holidays” are the furthest thing from your mind right now. But If you’re someone who loves handmade gift-giving, you’re probably okay with getting ahead. And if you want to give simple yet thoughtful gifts from the garden, now is the time to start planning. Dried Bouquets Dried flower bouquets let you extend the beauty of cut flowers well past summertime....

If you’re a gardener with pets, no doubt they spend some time in or near the garden. While it’s essential to do some pet-proofing to your garden, it’s also fun to hang out with your pet, just relaxing in the garden. While your dog or cat probably won’t help you with any garden chores, they might love to help you enjoy the harvest. Our pets can enjoy many fruits and vegetables....

If you’ve been following the Planter “Herbs” series, you may have seen the post about harvesting herbs. After you harvest you must start the process of saving your herbs. Drying your herbs is the best way to preserve your harvest for long-term storage. There are several ways to do this at home. Paper Bag Method The paper bag method is nice because it doesn’t require anything fancy. Place your herbs in a clean paper bag, ensuring not to fill it too much because good air circulation is critical for successful drying....

If you’re growing herbs in your garden, you may wonder when the perfect time to harvest them is. It all depends on which part of the plant you want to use. Plants store their active compounds in different places depending on what stage of growth they are in. Harvest Timelines Harvest aromatic herbs like basil, lemon balm, sage, and oregano just as the flowers are beginning to open. This is when the volatile oil levels are strongest, giving you a more flavorful or potent herb....

For most gardeners, weeds are an inevitable part of gardening life. Although they can be very annoying to a lot of gardeners, some weeds are valued for their medicinal and nutritional content. Whether your feelings towards weeds are negative or positive, you’ll need a plan to keep them under control for the overall health of your garden. While most weeds are innocent, some can harm humans and animals. Some weeds are worse than others and can even be deadly, so it’s worth learning what to watch out for....

If you want to stay within your gardening budget this year, consider propagating some of your plants this season! To propagate means to create new plants from a single parent plant. You can do this with quite a few plants, but basil is one of the easiest. If you like basil, you know it’s an herb you can do a lot with because it can go with savory and sweet dishes....

As an avid outdoor gardener, one ‘gardening’ trend I haven’t experimented with up until now is growing microgreens indoors. Well, that’s not entirely true… A couple of times I’ve thrown down extra seeds into trays lined with moist paper towels or potting mix and hoped for the best, thinking ‘How hard could it be?’ But these half-hearted attempts at growing microgreens always ended in moldy disappointment. I decided it’s time to take a deep dive into microgreen growing techniques to learn how to grow these nutritious (and cute!...

Gardens come in many different sizes, and you don’t need a lot of land to tend to one. As long as you have some space for a pot or two (or twenty!), you can grow a whole range of things. Herbs, both culinary and medicinal, can be grown in pots, in the same way you can grow ornamental flowers. Benefits of Growing Herbs in Containers: You don’t need a ton of gardening space....

Why Use Local Resources for Your Garden? As someone who loves growing my own food, and not breaking the bank at the same time, ive found that the secret to balancing these two goals lies in utilizing the local resources available to me. Not only is sourcing local materials great for the environment, but it also allows you to get the raw inputs needed for your garden, and often very cheaply, all while helping you to make local connections....