Good Growing

Latest Posts

basket with tomatoes, peppers and summer squash

Starting a Garden: Warm Season Vegetables

March 27, 2020

Once the weather starts to warm up, we can start thinking about planting our warms season plants outdoors. Warm season plants can further be broken down by their frost tolerance to tender and very tender plants. Tender plants are injured or may be killed by a light frost but can withstand cool...

Finish this story

Starting a Garden: Cool-Season Vegetables | And my top 5 cool-season crops to grow

March 26, 2020

For many, gardening takes place in the summer. However, for me, and a growing number of gardeners, we are growing in the garden nearly all year long! Vegetables can be categorized into two categories; warm-season and cool-season crops. Warm-season crops contain classic garden vegetables such as...

Finish this story

Starting a Garden: Supplemental Lighting for Indoor Seed Starting

March 25, 2020

Perhaps my least favorite part of winter is waking up to darkness in the morning. Even worse while being at home during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, it has been cloudy for nearly a week! This morning, as I led my half-asleep 6-year-old down the steps into the living room, we were greeted...

Finish this story

Starting a Garden: Begin with a Plan

March 24, 2020

Starting a Garden: Begin with a PlanThe key to a successful and productive garden is a plan; it saves time and makes the garden easier to care for. By starting with a plan, you will be ready to get to work once planting time is here. So let’s get started!Site SelectionLocation, location, location...

Finish this story

blazing star seedlings under grow lights

Starting a Garden: Seed Starting

March 23, 2020

Spring is finally here! March 19, 2020 is the earliest first day of spring it's been in 124 years. Many of us are finding ourselves spending more time at home and looking forward to ...

Finish this story

Remember the Feeling of Spring

March 18, 2020

A Light Exists in Spring by Emily Dickinson A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period- When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad On Solitary Fields That Science cannot overtake But Human Nature feels In rural Illinois there...

Finish this story

Peach Leaf Curl

March 11, 2020

Have you ever noticed the leaves of your peach tree becoming curled and puckered and turning reddish or purplish? If you’ve seen this, you’ve likely had peach leaf curl. Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease caused by Taphrina deformans. It is one of the most commonly encountered diseases...

Finish this story

Frost Seeding Pastures and Hay Fields

March 6, 2020

Our recent cycles of warm weather and snow have been somewhat of a nuisance; however, for those of you with a thin stand of vegetation in your pasture or hay field, this weather may be a great aid in frost seeding these areas. Introduction to Frost Seeding As the name suggests,...

Finish this story

The Reality of Growing Plants for a Living

March 5, 2020

Do you think at some point as children our imagination changes from imaginary friends, action figures, tea parties, and dolls to speculative market planning? How dull the adult imagination can be. However, if there is one thing about winter, it puts my imagination into overdrive. I create these...

Finish this story

Creating an Edible Landscape

February 20, 2020

When we think of the typical home landscape, our garden areas are usually separated by the type of plant being grown. We have a separate bed for flowers and ornamental plants, one for vegetables and one for herbs. Often the vegetable and herb gardens are tucked away in the backyard and out of view...

Finish this story