Tomatoes hold a special place in the hearts of many gardeners. While basic tomato growing practices are well-known, diving into advanced care techniques can elevate your tomato game to new heights. From strategic fruit removal to battling pesky diseases, let’s explore a comprehensive guide that goes beyond the usual and takes your tomato cultivation skills up a notch! Pruning for Vigor Pruning isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a strategic move. Try pinching off suckers- those side shoots that appear at the junction of the main stem and branches....

Sometimes it feels like it’s taking forever for your plants to produce a first harvest. This is especially true for warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers that typically don’t produce a first crop until well into the growing season. But is the wait normal, or is there an underlying problem that’s causing your plants to grow extra-slow? To figure this out, check the seed packets (or research the plant variety) for the ‘days to maturity’....

As the gardening season progresses, plants can quickly turn from young, green, and thriving to run-down, bug-bitten and diseased. A certain amount of pest and disease pressure is inevitable in the garden, especially once the heat and humidity of summer sets in. To keep plants as healthy as possible it’s important to take preventative measures and to keep an eye out for early signs of trouble. To help with this, we’ve pulled together a list of common pests and diseases that could be hitting your garden now....

Hey there, gardeners! Have you been dealing with nutrient deficiencies in your garden? It’s a common hurdle for gardeners to overcome, but don’t worry- nutrients are something that is very manageable to resolve and maintain. What nutrients are important in the garden? There’s a lot of different nutrients that go into our growing plants, but let’s talk about the essential nutrients your plants need. There are the three macronutrients that plants require in larger quantities, often referred to as N-P-K:...

Once midsummer hits it can feel like you’re in a gardening standstill. On the one hand you’re waiting for some of the longer-maturing plants to start producing a harvest, and on the other hand earlier spring crops are starting to fizzle out. But in midsummer many of us still have ample time to get new plants growing and get a substantial harvest before the season comes to an end. The first step is to check the Growing Calendar in Planter to see which plants you may still have time to grow in your area....

One of the best things we can do as gardeners is pass along our love of gardening to our children. When I was a kid, my mom would let me and my two brothers each pick a corner of the garden to plant cucumbers. As the season went along, we’d watch excitedly as our cucumbers grew and jump at the chance to harvest them (it was also a bit of competition between us siblings to see whose plants grew the most cucumbers 😉)....

Summertime often brings feast-or-famine rain patterns that can be frustrating for us gardeners. For weeks there’s not a drop of rain to be had and then a month’s worth of rain gushes down in a few days. Rather than just hooking up to the tap every time you need to water your veggies, you might want to consider harvesting rainwater to use in the garden. Rainwater harvesting can be beneficial for your plants, your wallet, and your local water supply- but before you install a rain barrel there are some important considerations to bear in mind....

Many families have both plant babies and fur babies- but sometimes, these two responsibilities can clash. Are you having trouble keeping your pets out of your garden? Between fencing, various additives, or even embracing the chaos, there’s lots of ways to handle such an issue. Read on to see some of our recommendations! Why is Pet-Proofing Necessary? Pet-proofing your garden is crucial to protect the safety and health of your pets....

The first salads of spring are always exciting- lettuce is at its most young and tender, and a fresh salad feels like a nice departure from the heartier winter veggies. But eating lettuce-based salads over and over again can get to be boring. If your daily salad routine is getting a bit blah, jazz it up by adding some new and exciting greens into the mix! The greens we’ll cover in this article should be seeded quite densely to be grown for salad greens (roughly 1....

One of the things we first learn as gardeners is how important it is to select a full sun location for a veggie garden. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have the luxury of having an extra large yard with all-day sun exposure. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a sun-drenched backyard, you might have underutilized partially shaded areas of your yard that you wish you could grow food in. The good news is…you can in fact grow some vegetables in part shade!...