Gardening Blogs

Pruning perennial flowers takes a garden from looking fair to fabulous. Deadheading, cutting back, and pinching are all pruning techniques that can keep perennial plants looking well cared for, healthy, and colorful. Pruning perennials is a complex topic because different plants need different...

Getting Started with Seed Saving If you find the perfect tasting tomato, harvesting and saving the seed will ensure you can have that tomato again next season. The seed stores the genetic information for a new plant. With a bit of practice and patience, you can have the seeds of your favorite...

The delicate paperwhites, Narcissus papyraceus, are a lovely way to brighten winter days. These relatives of the daffodil are an excellent choice for winter blooms as they don’t require a chilling period as other bulbs do.Paperwhites have a cluster of small blooms at the end of a...

Growing food is not limited to outdoors in the summer. With some planning, you can grow food indoors throughout the year. Make a plan Before starting your indoor kitchen garden, it is essential to think about what you want to gain by growing food indoors. You might wish to have herbs to give...

At first: Why save seeds?  Saving seeds is a great way to save money and be prepared for the following year, but it is also a way to pick out the best of what you have grown and save seeds from that specimen (flower, vegetable, etc.). With each successive year, you...

Healthy soil is essential for healthy plants.  Using cover crops in the home garden is one way to promote soil health.  Cover crops are non-harvested crops that add organic matter to the soil, transfer nitrogen by creating nitrogen compounds usable by plants, and break up heavy clay or...

What you need to know Clovers are making a comeback in lawn seed mixes. Today many families want to attract more pollinators to their yards. They are searching for ecologically sound ways to grow grass, including adding white clover back to the turf seed mix. Clover adds diversity and...

Just what are frankincense and myrrh? Certainly, they are part of many Christmas stories, but do you know what those products are and why they were so valuable? Here is more information on both of these plant-based products. Frankincense and myrrh are both resins -- dried tree sap -- that come...

Thoroughly clean tools, shoes, and vehicles when moving from one site to another. Only purchase compost, mulch, or other organic matter that has been heated to appropriate temperatures and duration to reduce the spread of pathogens, insects, and weeds. Jumping worm egg casings do not survive...

Only accept plants... From gardeners that have looked for jumping worms  That don't come from an area known to have jumping worms. If there is no evidence (like soil that resembles coffee grounds) to suspect there are jumping worms at the site that produced these plants/materials. Use...