Latest Posts

Five Perennial Plants For The Veggie Patch

Catherine Sherriffs

It’s an exciting time of year when many gardeners are busy flipping through seed catalogs and selecting new fruit and vegetable varieties for the upcoming growing season. Have you considered creating a perennial food garden? Perennial plants are popular because you sow them once and they come back year after year.  While maintaining a perennial…

View Article

Produce Stickers Not Welcome In The Compost Heap

Hands up if you’re guilty of occasionally forgetting to peel the stickers off of some of the leftover produce you throw into the compost bin. Think lemon rinds, banana, and avocado peels. It happens, but we all need to be making stronger efforts to make sure it doesn’t. It’s A Big Problem  Food waste is…
February 21, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

Do Your Plants Have A Drinking Problem? Understanding Uptake

This article originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine UK32 & US30. A common misconception when feeding plants is that they consume everything we give them at once. Standard plant feeds are a mix of nutrient and additive concentrates, diluted to the required strength. The measurement of strength is referred to as EC (electric conductivity) or…
February 19, 2020
Rich Hamilton

Frog-Friendly Gardens

What has four legs, can jump, swim, and is essential to the health of your backyard? If you guessed a frog, you got it right! While they might startle you when they jump out of the dirt, amphibians taking up residence in your garden is an excellent sign. Frogs and toads are all-natural pest control…
February 18, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

Nothing Says Happy Valentine’s Day Like Flowers

What are you giving your special someone this Valentine’s Day? If you answered flowers or roses, you’re not alone! Today is the busiest holiday of the year for florists around the world.  An estimated 250 million roses are produced for Valentine’s Day every year! According to data collected by an IPSOS Floral Tracking Study, 28%…
February 14, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs
,

Hello, Houseplants! Echeveria

This article originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine UK33 & US31. Our obsession with houseplants continues! According to Garden Media Group’s report, Seeing 20/20, plant babies are one of the hottest gardening trends this year.  The most popular variety? Succulents, because they’re easy to grow and personalize. One of the fairest of them all is…
February 12, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

Ancient Farming Techniques The Way Of The Future

To treat somebody or something like dirt is defined as behaving unfairly, rudely, or with very little respect. It’s a common saying in the English language; one that is quite fitting, considering how we treat dirt.  Erosion and deforestation have taken their toll over the years, washing away one-third of the world’s topsoil. Conventional agriculture…
February 7, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

An Urgent Call For Action In Australia As Fires Rage On

Almost 400 scientists are making a desperate plea to politicians in Australia. They’re begging the government to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country and abroad too. The urgent call comes as devastating bushfires continue to tear through Australia. A changing climate and extreme drought conditions have made controlling the blazes nearly impossible. ‘Tragic’…
February 5, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

Beehaviors: The Festooning Of Bees (Part 3)

We humans, with our particle accelerators and Wikipedia, like to think we are the smartest species on Earth. Yet still, a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise remains secret from us, even though other species seem to consider it elementary.  For instance, there isn’t a single person who can fully explain the behavior of bees…
January 31, 2020
Martyna Król

Atlanta Home To Largest Food Forest In The U.S.

Some initiatives deserve to be applauded, and Atlanta’s giant food forest is one of them. The seven-acre plot is the largest such space in all of the United States! The project aims to improve food security for the local community by growing fresh fruit, herbs, and nuts.  What exactly is a food forest? What makes…
January 29, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

Mushrooms Provide All-Natural Remedies For Humans And The Planet

Mushrooms are all the rage these days; from their magical healing qualities and health benefits to their impact on supporting and repairing our natural ecosystems, mushrooms are claiming their spot as the most health-promoting ‘superspecies’ today. Paul Stamets is a mycologist known around the world. He says mushrooms have the potential to solve some of…
January 24, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs

Rebuilding New York City’s Oyster Reefs

The Big Apple is famous for its bright lights, architecture, attractions, and its bustling city. But did you know that New York Harbour was once one of the most impressive marine ecosystems on the planet?  A Brief History Lesson In 1609, New York City was home to 350 square miles of oyster reefs. The harbor…
January 22, 2020
Catherine Sherriffs