Research Finds CBD To Treat More Neurological Disorders
These days, it’s common to hear someone talking about suffering from pain and someone else asking them if they’ve tried CBD. Cannabidiol is rising in popularity as a not-so-secret way to treat chronic illnesses and other health problems. You can find CBD in so many different products these days, from pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals to personal […]
Phytomicrobiom: What The Hell Are Mushrooms Doing In My Pots?
Phytomicrobiom, or phytobiome, is a complicated word for a straightforward thing: the community of fungi, bacteria, and destructors that live in the root area of your plants. An intact phytobiome supports plants in many different ways, but science is only just beginning to understand the connections between them. Optimizing the phytobiome is the key to […]
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 […]
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% […]
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 […]
Illinois Valley Hemp: The Final Stretch – Part 3
This article originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine US30. The previous installment of the Illinois Valley Hemp series left you in mid-August when our plants were developing flowers. As the days passed by, the skies became darker earlier. Cannabis, including hemp varieties, is traditionally a short day (long night) plant, meaning it requires long periods […]
Illinois Valley Hemp, Part 2: Breaking Ground and Setting Roots
This article originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine US29. Our first installment of Illinois Valley Hemp (US Issue 28) left you with somewhat of a cliffhanger! After more than a few hiccups setting up our hemp farm, torrential rains throughout May and June made it impossible to get the plants into the ground. But it […]
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 […]
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 […]
Seed Saving Part 3: Harvesting & Processing Seeds
Saving seeds starts with growing and nurturing healthy plants, so the seeds are ripe and mature. The next steps are to harvest, dry, clean, and process the seeds, ready for storage until you’re ready to plant. Harvesting Guidelines Collect seeds only from the best quality plants you have identified for saving. Stop picking leaves or […]
Garden Strategies to Cope with Drought – Part 2
In part 1, we looked at strategies for sustainable water management practices to help with collecting and storing water. However, there are other ways we can protect our gardens and help them survive through periods of limited rainfall and hot temperatures while providing us with food. Design and utilize microclimates For the last ten years, […]
Garden Strategies to Cope with Drought – Part 1
Australia. It’s hot, bone dry, smokey, and windy across much of this country. Drought and fires have devastated communities with no respite on the horizon. It’s not that these conditions are unexpected, but when all these harsh weather factors occur at once or in succession, the stress and impacts are catastrophic. The prolonged drought conditions […]
Top Gardening Trends Of 2020
Garden Media Group has released its 2020 Garden Trends Report, Seeing 20/20. The annual write-up offers a peek at the trends expected throughout the year in the world of gardening. This year, practices, products, and innovations will offer a deeper connection with Mother Nature. Here’s a look at some of the top ideas coming our […]
Chlorine and Plants
Written by Rich Gellert Chlorine has been used as a disinfectant in city drinking water since the turn of the century, initially in the American city of New Jersey. As cities expanded and needed a longer-lasting disinfectant that would reach even the farthest tap, chloramines were introduced for their superior longevity. While chlorine continues to […]
Beehaviors: Swarming, AKA, Looking For a New Hive (Part 2)
If you were ever lucky enough to see the incredible sight of hundreds of bees flying frantically above your head in a cloud reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘The Birds,’ you have witnessed the birth of a bee swarm. Intimidating at first, the cloud of bees disappears after a few minutes as if nothing happened, […]
Green Christmas Tree Disposal
Shortly after the chaos of the holidays comes the mad dash to get the Christmas tree and falling needles out of the house. But the endless stream of discarded, oranging trees waiting for curbside collection is a depressing sight. When the time comes, why not try some of these ‘green’ alternatives for disposal, courtesy of […]
Gardening Books For The Holidays And Beyond
The holidays are for traditions, relaxing, and taking the time to do things you don’t always have the time to do; like reading! One of Garden Culture’s holiday traditions is putting a list together of our favorite gardening reads. Make it a New Year’s resolution to grab a copy and read your way to becoming […]
The Mighty Burdock Weed: A Cornucopia of Virtues
Many people are already familiar with burdock. It’s tall and robust, but what makes it stand out the most is its pesky burrs that cling to our clothing after a walk on the roadside, in fields or pastures. It certainly takes some patience to untangle one of the burrs from the dog’s thick coat. While […]
‘Tis The Season For Festive Poinsettias
With a bright red, showy display that blooms every December, it’s no wonder poinsettias are used to spread cheer during the holiday season! Fun Facts Interestingly enough, what most people believe to be the plant’s flowers are actually red-colored bracts or modified leaves; the actual flowers are the tiny yellow buds resembling stamens. If you […]
How To Compost In The Winter
With the cooler weather here, it’s time to put the outdoor gardens to bed for another year. But what about the compost heap? Not so fast! Composting in the winter is possible, it’s just a slower process than it is in the summer. It’s slower because the heap won’t ever be hot enough to get […]