What Exactly are Spices? In broad terms, both herbs and spices come from plants, but herbs are usually the fresh leaves. On the other hand, spices are typically dried, and they make use of many other parts of the plant- root, stalk, seed or fruit. Both herbs and spices add flavor to the dish, however herbs are more subtle while spices have a much stronger flavor. Plan Your Garden with Planter!...

All we want for Christmas is…gardening gear! And we’ve rounded up our top gardening gift picks for 2023. From seed starting to produce preservation, we’ve got gift-giving inspiration for every gardener! GreenStalk Original Vertical Planter Image source: GreenStalk You might have seen the GreenStalk Vertical Planter showcased on your favorite gardening YouTube channels…And for good reason! The GreenStalk is a super-versatile self-watering growing system that makes efficient use of vertical space to grow a ton of produce in a small footprint....

While there are many factors to consider when planning a garden, it’s important to plan based on the types of dishes you and your family enjoy preparing. If you and your family enjoy cooking food with a global flair, you might want to consider planning a ‘curry garden’. ‘Curry’ is actually a loose, catch-all term that doesn’t properly refer to any specific dish. In its originating culture, each dish would have its own unique name....

So begins our series of various garden plans to inspire you! Today, we’re focusing on an assortment plants that we can use for tea. Whether it’s the fruit, leaves, root, flower, or even the seeds themselves, there’s incredible range in the kind of plants that can be used for a wonderful cup of tea! We’ll be focusing on some of the more common plants in this Growing Guide. Harvesting Some plants may taste better dried or fresh, so experiment!...

In November 2023, the USDA released updated plant hardiness zones. The new map shows that many areas have become warmer in the past decade, with some areas moving up one or two zones. The hardiness map for Illinois. Left side: 2012. Right side: 2023. When starting a garden, understanding the growing climate in your area is an important first step. There are two key pieces of information to know about your local growing climate: your hardiness zone and frost dates....

The peppers are done. The tomatoes, long-gone. But your herb garden is still chugging along into the depths of fall. The first night that a hard frost rolls in you might find yourself half-frantically wondering “what should I do with my herbs?” Because herb plants are diverse, there’s different techniques you can use either to save the plants or to salvage a final harvest! Harvest your herbs Your first instinct might be to just hack down every little bit of greenery that’s left on your herb plants....

Is the lovely local canopy shedding its warm colors into your yard? Well, why not use it to your benefit? Putting your leaves to work means you’re returning your trees’ hard work and nutrients back into the ecosystem! Why should I bother? Leaves are free mulch, fertilizer, or insulation all in one! They’re very good at holding water, and full of nutrients. They’re a rich source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and particularly carbon- all gathered over the whole warm season....

Garlic is a crop that can be a bit tricky if you’ve never grown it before. It’s not too hard to grow, but it’s easy to miss the optimal planting window. In general, if you’re growing in a cold climate you’ll want to get your garlic in the ground in fall for a harvest the following season. The exact timing to plant garlic can vary and you’ll want to keep an eye on the weather forecast- both for the best growth and so you don’t have to plant in miserable weather!...

In some ways growing a fall garden can be easier than a summer garden. Extremes of heat, and drought often give way to more moderate conditions (that is, until frosty weather hits!) While some pests and diseases are less problematic in fall, there are some that can become more active. With time in the growing season running short, you might not have time to replant plants that succumb to pests and diseases....

Growing Tomatillos I tried growing tomatillos for the first time this year, and boy, did I get a bumper crop. I started 8 seedlings indoors in March and all survived. So of course I planted all 8 tomatillos. Afterall, it’s so hard to not plant a seedling that you grew, isn’t it!? The tomatillo plants took off FAST. By mid-summer, they were a pollinator’s dream: Bees going crazy for all the tomatillo flowers 🌼 Here’s a video of what my tomatillo plants looked like in August:...