Featured Articles

Read about a variety of growing-related topics that have appeared in Garden Culture Magazine’s print edition. Our team of experts will help you be a better gardener!

36 articles

Hazo Rolling Papers A Company With A Social Conscience

The things Kyle St-Hilaire saw while visiting Madagascar in 2016 are just part of the inspiration behind his unique Canadian brand of rolling papers. He was exploring the island off the southeast coast of Africa after being offered a job with a mining and pharmaceutical company; only there was no way he could accept it. Not after what he had seen.

The United Nations Debates Cannabis

Inside the walls that represent all flags, during the 62nd Commission of Narcotic Drugs (CND) at the UN, there was a buzz going around about cannabis. It was a predictable tee-off between cannabis the killer (and arrest those who use it) versus cannabis the medicine (and regulate its use). From the criminalized Filipino—Russian side to the legalized Uruguayan—Canadian side of the spectrum, it defined nations united by divided views on cannabis.

Extend Your Growing Season With A Climate Controlled Garden

Although 16 of the last 17 years are considered to have been the warmest since climate data was made available, the fact remains that winters in Canada and the northern United States are harsh.

CAFO: Plenty Of Animals, Plenty Of Harmful Effects

One of the primary ways that modern agriculture has become compromised is a general lack of attention towards balance and diversity. Rather than rely on the wisdom of Mother Nature to produce her abundance, our efforts involve the faulty logic of increased yields at all costs and the use of artificial methods that push and disturb to the point of degeneration in an attempt to grow living systems.

Recycling Lost Space To Grow Food

With the increasing urban sprawl, food to feed city dwellers must be produced far away from where it is consumed.
Food must be transported to cities by air, rail or truck, generating significant amounts of pollutants and greenhouse gases. According to the Worldwatch Institute, the food that makes up a typical American plate must be transported an average of 1,500 miles before being eaten.

Paul Newman’s Famous Watch Does The Environment Some Good

James Cox has felt an enormous weight of responsibility ever since selling his watch at auction a little over a year ago. He wants to care for others and do good things in the world, while also finding the right people with the drive and passion to inspire change. That’s no easy feat. A philanthropist with a keen interest in the environment, the foods we eat, and how we interact with nature, Cox doesn’t just blindly write cheques; he takes the time to make sure he’s doing it right.

Unique Soil Delivers Bountiful Gardens In The Desert Heat

While most gardens around the world thrive in the beautiful summer months of July and August, yields at Faultline Farm slow dramatically as crops naturally look for ways to conserve energy. They have no choice; nestled on a 70-acre property near the Mojave desert in California, the gardens consistently battle daytime temperatures of up to 115°F (46°C) in the summer.

A Guide To Growing Edible Plants For Protein

A flexitarian is someone who limits his consumption of meat, but who is not exclusively vegetarian. The flexitarian diet can be practised in a variety of ways: some people do not eat meat every meal or regularly choose to make an entire day meatless, while others are vegetarians most of the time, but occasionally eat meat.

Green Gardeners and Farmers Improve Soil with Biochar

What if there was a natural soil conditioner that was not only easy to source but could feed soil microbiology and remain stable for thousands of years? Well, read on! Biochar has the most complex structure of any material on Earth and is excellent for improving soil retention while also protecting against soil-borne diseases.

Upcycling In and Out of the Garden

Upcycling is the repurposing of an old, unwanted, broken item, or it’s by-products or wastage into a brand new product, …

Guano: From The Bat Cave To Your Gardens

For thousands of years, from the time of the Incas through modern-day, bat guano has been used in farming worldwide. Within the growing industry, bat guano is often sold as a flowering-stage booster applied to increase the size and weight of fruits and vegetables.

For the Love of Luffas: Grow Your Own

This article was originally published in Garden Culture Magazine UK22. The luffa is in the same family as gourds, cucumbers, …

How To Get Rid of Spider Mites in the Indoor Garden

Few pests bother the indoor gardener like spider mites. They seemingly appear from nowhere, and spread havoc exponentially. The secret to how to get rid of spider mites in the indoor garden? Control. Knowing how to control your growing environment is one of the best ways to control these pests.

Is Reusing Potting Soil A Good Idea?

The idea that reusing potting soil is taboo has been in place since the early days of cultivating plants in containers. But so has the direction that one should never reuse the pots themselves.

What Is Silicon?

Silicon is still not as well understood today as many of the other elements that we commonly use in our plant feeding regimes. It’s probably not used as widely as other additives, and yet it is (in my opinion) one of the most important tools in a grower’s arsenal. I say this because of what it can do for your plants throughout all stages of growth and reproduction.

Understanding Enzymes for Plants

What are enzymes? Why are so many fertilizer companies adding enzymes to their ever-expanding list of essential supplements? Enzymes are extremely small, yet powerful proteins made of complex chains of amino acids folded in shapes reminiscent of Pac-Man.

Beets, High Blood Pressure & Nitrogen

Is it the nitrogen content that makes beet juice beneficial to battling hypertension? Can you grow a beet crop without …

The Planting by the Moon Myth

Indoor hydroponic gardening is still not a mainstream idea, although most people eat hydroponic lettuce regularly. Many even have a traditional outdoor garden, yet the idea of growing food or medicine in their basements has never really crossed their minds.

Why is Grow Room Humidity Important?

What exactly is humidity? How does it affect plants? As the controller of grow room humidity, having a keen understanding of what it can do to crop health is vital to your success as a grower.

5 Hot Grow Room Problems

Technology has a big role to play in our indoor gardens. Automated or not, you are using something that involves technology. All lighting used by indoor gardeners is technological in nature.