The Basics: Cool- vs. Warm-Season Plants The Basics Traditional Planting Times Some gardeners wait to plant everything on a certain day (e.g. Mother’s Day). It’s a strategy that has been passed down in gardening families for generations because it’s an Read more
What’s the Best Mulch? If done correctly, most fruit and vegetable plants are their own best mulch during the growing season—spaced perfectly for plants to not only have plenty of room to meet their full potential but also shade and Read more
Adjusting Mulch Timing and Thickness to Create Perfect Soil Microclimates Using the suggestions for cool- and warm-season plants as a starting point, gardeners can also make adjustments to fit each crop based on your current and predicted soil moisture and Read more
Mulching Cool- and Warm-Season Plants Different plants prefer different growing conditions. In general, cool-season plants like cool and quite moist soil, and warm-season plants like warmer and, often, a little drier soil. Mulch each accordingly, taking into account the soil Read more
Mulch: The Powerhouse of Conserving Soil Moisture Giving your plants the right amount of water and watering regularly are not the same thing—at least they don’t have to be. Your plants having the right amount of water simply means that Read more
Everyone Can Garden Many people think gardening isn’t for them. They just can’t do it. If you have the deep desire to garden, however, few things could be farther from the truth. In fact, everyone with that passion can learn Read more
Why Garden? “Why garden? What’s the point? A person can get everything cheaper and easier from the grocery store.” Yet there’s a pull to nurture our own plants in the soil that many of us would have a hard time Read more
Mulching for the Season During the Growing Season: Temperature and Moisture During the growing season, then, think of mulch as a moisture and temperature regulator for your soil. Use it to regulate your soil’s moisture and temperature like you use Read more
My Own Mulch Epiphanies I’ve known about the power of mulch my entire life, perhaps more than I wanted to in my early years. When I was growing up, my siblings and I spent countless hours shoveling and spreading sawdust, Read more
What Are Cover Crops? Cover crops are crops like wheat, oats, rye, forage radishes, clovers, and vetches that are grown to blanket, or cover, and protect the soil when the soil would otherwise be bare during the garden’s offseason, between Read more