Planting Sunflowers For Peace In Ukraine
A new movement is encouraging gardeners to plant sunflowers for peace in Ukraine. Sunflowers face east at dawn to greet the rising sun, then slowly turn west as it moves across the sky, continually seeking light and warmth. Then, during the night, the plant slowly turns again, ready for the morning. The sunflower is the national […]
App Helping Small-Scale Farmers Fight Food Insecurity
With the World Health Organization estimating that 790 million people struggle with food insecurity around the globe, blockchain technology is helping those vulnerable to malnutrition in western Kenya. Last May, Virginia Tech researchers deployed smartphones equipped with a unique app in the East African country so that small-scale farmers can access the information they need […]
The Catalyst for My Botanical Obsession
Jumping On The Regenerative Gardening Bandwagon: Q&A With Stephanie Rose
Hot off the presses this month is a beautiful book every gardener should have! The Regenerative Garden 80 Practical Projects for Creating a Self-sustaining Garden Ecosystem offers tips and tricks to achieving lush, productive, and resilient flower and vegetable patches without a ton of work or expensive inputs. Flipping through the pages of this book will […]
How To Choose The Right Containers For Growing Food
More people than ever are learning to grow edible gardens, especially in small urban areas. With limited space, container gardens are an obvious solution. However, selecting the right container can be confusing with so many options available. There are some factors to consider that can make the decision easier and avoid potential problems. Drainage All […]
Good Reads That Will Make Your Thumb Greener And Your Holiday Brighter
The holidays are for getting together with friends and family (when the health situation allows), but it’s also important to take time for ourselves and get some serious r&r. So slow down and read something! These five excellent gardening books will boost your spirits and maybe even make your thumb a little greener too. Hi Cacti: […]
Time To Act: Six Ways To Save Water In The Garden
Clean water is something that most of us take for granted, but the fragility, dependence, and vitalness of water to humans should put water quality and security higher on our priority list. According to the WHO, “By 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.” What if we were to run […]
A Thriving Urban Balcony Garden Offers Entertainment, Education, and Hope
It’s been 16 months since the global pandemic began, and I started thinking about increments of time. Sixteen months since the Canada/US land border closed, separating us from our family in Vermont. Sixteen months since I started thinking about growing food and plants in the top floor apartment I share with my two teen daughters […]
How To Grow Vegetables on a Windowsill
Raised garden beds of ripening tomatoes or pole beans meandering up a trellis are a dream for many living in small urban spaces. But what if space didn’t matter? Imagine growing fresh vegetables – even carrots on a windowsill. With proper lighting, heat, the right soil, and containers, a year-round harvest of goodness is possible. […]
Smart Gardening: Bringing Technology Into The Garden
Many gardeners have an instinct; by observing their plants daily, they sense what’s going right or wrong and achieve great results. But what if we don’t have that instinct, either because we’re inexperienced or don’t have a green thumb (yet)? That’s where smart gardening comes in! Smart Gardening? Smart gardening involves the use of technology […]
Grow Bag Gardening an Easy and Eco-Friendly Way To Grow Food
Making Urban Agriculture More Accessible With Table Gardens
In North America, about 85% of people live in urban areas. Since many of them are in condos or apartments without any land access, they have to be creative when growing plants and vegetables. Urban gardeners often have to grow in pots and containers, on walls, roofs and sometimes even on tables! Table Gardening A […]
Fall Decor Made Easy With This DIY Pumpkin Planter
The fall brings crisp air, beautiful colors, and for many, an end to the outdoor gardening season. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have pretty things to brighten up your exterior decor! Take these cute DIY pumpkin planters, for instance. I love fall decorations, especially if they involve pumpkins. These DIY planters are super easy […]
Guerilla Gardening Brings Greenery To Barren Land
Pattern recognition is one of our most potent superpowers when it comes to survival. We know that those dents in the floor are animal tracks because we’ve seen the feet that made them. Millennia of observation taught us the patterns of the stars and seasons so we can use them for farming and navigation. A […]
How To Grow Perfect Pumpkins In Containers
Many gardeners shy away from growing pumpkins because they take up so much real estate. What goes into the ground as a compact seedling quickly turns into sprawling vines with massive leaves. Don’t despair! You, too, can have a thrilling Halloween if you opt to grow pumpkins in containers! Choose The Right Variety When growing […]
No-Cost Solutions To Growing More In Your Garden
Are you looking for bigger, better results in the garden at no extra cost and without the help of man-made fertilizers? Here are some tips that can make a difference. The best part? They’re easy and free to execute in any outdoor garden space. Homemade Compost Soil and microbes need food, and the better the […]
Using Microbial Products For A Thriving Garden
In recent years, we have seen an enormous surge in the amount of microbial-based products available to growers. These, undoubtedly, have added a third dimension to standard nutrient programs and increased the productivity of organic gardens. When used correctly, these types of additives can provide massive benefits over a range of crops, such as increases […]
5 Garden Myths Busted
Human beings love myths, words of wisdom that we believe, but no one knows if they’re true. There are so many “myths” out there that the Discovery Channel made a show out of testing them for 14 seasons! I’m not sure if the Mythbusters ever covered any of these, but here are five gardening myths […]
How To Deal With Blossom-End Rot On Fruit And Veggie Crops
There’s nothing more frustrating as a gardener than to watch the fruits of your labor emerge with a bad case of blossom-end rot. Unfortunately, that has been the case with a couple of my tomato and squash plants this year. Why is it happening, and how do you fix it? What Is Blossom-End Rot? Blossom-end […]
Build Your Own Rainwater Collecting System
When it comes to gardening, you’ve probably thought about the garden, the soil, and the type of plants you want to grow, but what about the water? Gardening and lawn care use a lot of water, and that can end up being wasteful, which brings us to the awesomeness that is a rainwater harnessing system. […]