Why Garden Plants Need So Much There are three reasons your garden plants need so much direct sunlight: 1) garden plants’ natures as annuals, 2) our expectations for their production, and 3) how they’ve been treated and have adapted since Read more
Seed and Plant Selection Somewhere in the middle of winter, the bug hits us. We start roving around the house looking out the windows, pining for fresh, warm air—and the joy of gardening. It’s then we break out the seed Read more
Transplanting You’ve grown or purchased the strongest seedlings you can find and can’t wait to get them in the ground. Sitting there in their flat, they’re so clearly healthy and vibrant, ready to produce all your heart desires. But the Read more
Hardening Off Seedlings Seedlings grown indoors need a little time to gradually get acclimated to direct sunlight and wind in a process called “hardening off.” The Process To harden them off, expose your seedlings to increasing amounts of direct sunlight Read more
Crop Rotations Put simply, garden crops need to be rotated, or planted in a different spot, each year. The reasons usually fall into two categories: First, some plants pull so much of a certain nutrient out of the soil—corn feeding Read more
Starting Your Own Seedlings — Part 3: Planting Depth, Watering, Light, and Heat Starting your own seedlings is both empowering and exciting! We’ve already delved into several options for both the soil and containers you can use, but what are Read more
Starting Your Own Seedlings — Part 2: Soil and Containers Starting your own seedlings is a wonderfully rewarding experience, giving you access to a much greater variety of choices. And the basics are easy: Put a seed in some soil Read more
Starting Your Own Seedlings — Part 1: Why Do It Yourself Access to Tastes, Disease Resistance, Productivity, and Planting Times Starting our own seedlings is a game-changer for most gardeners—giving access to a whole new palate of tastes and a Read more
Companion Planting—An Overview What It Is and What We Know of Why It Works Companion planting is yet another powerful tool in the garden. This powerful secret to full green-thumbed gardening is based on the simple observation that certain plants Read more
Past Paradigms Walk into a garden in the 1950s and you can guess the layout: rows. We can all imagine them. They’re the most salient feature of gardens from that era—and many through today. Seeing it in person or in Read more