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How to Decorate Jam Jars for Holiday Gift Giving

Throughout the year, as different fruits come into season, I make a fair share of jams—strawberry, peach, blueberry, blackberry, and so on. There are several reasons I enjoy doing this, but one of the things I really love is giving these jams and preserves as gifts. Recently, to fancy them up a bit, I decided […]

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The 5 Best Cold Frames According to Food Gardeners

I have always been a bit of a lazy gardener. I love to plant things, and I love to take care of them and watch them grow. But sometimes by the time fall swings around, I decide to let everything else go to the chipmunks and the birds. This year, I’ve decided that I’m going to […]

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10 Gardening Tools for Seniors That Actually Make a Difference

As someone who has suffered from back issues since I was a teen, and vertigo as an adult, the idea of bending over for a long time, and the standing up and sitting down over and over again routine is something I dread. So while I’m not a senior, I empathize with and actively seek […]

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What to Buy and How to Build a Subterranean Greenhouse to Grow All Year

Subterranean greenhouse, underground greenhouse, deep winter greenhouse, or Walipini. If you want to grow vegetables throughout the year, this might be your go-to. “Walipini” means, “place of warmth” and comes from the indigenous Aymara people in the Altiplano regions of Peru and Bolivia. This in-ground greenhouse allows farmers to grow despite harsh climate conditions and […]

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9 Automated Garden Tools for Effortless Growing

I love growing my own food, but I’ll be honest about the fact that there are things I don’t look forward to each summer. For example, I’ve never been great at watering consistently, so I got myself an automatic drip line system. And I don’t know why, but I always forget to fertilize, so I […]

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7 Causes of Hydroponic Root Rot and 7 Solutions

Hydroponic gardens come with plenty of benefits. You can grow year-round, no matter where you live. You may enjoy higher yields, and hydroponic systems usually require less water than traditional gardens. But hydroponic planting is not problem-free, and one of the biggest of those problems is hydroponic root rot.  The pathogen that causes both terrestrial […]

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12 Cool Gardening Tools and Gifts for the Plant Lover in Your Life

Gift-giving for the plant-lover in your life can be tricky, especially if you think they already have everything they need. Imagine your loved one opening a holiday or birthday gift with excitement and anticipation, only to unveil a 20lb bag of potting soil. Sure, it’ll be useful, but it doesn’t exactly have the wow-factor you may be looking for. I’ve put together a list of 5 cool gardening tools for the plant-lover in your life that I think are thoughtful, unique, and useful. (And are NOT a bag of dirt!)

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The 13 Best Grow Lights for Tomatoes and Peppers

Living in New England, my outdoor garden slows to a halt by late September. I used to get sad thinking about how long I’d have to wait before growing another crop of fresh tomatoes and peppers. (Is there anything worse than a grocery store tomato in January?) Then I decided I would try my hand at indoor growing, so I could enjoy fresh tomatoes and peppers all year long.

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The Best Hydroponic System for Vegetables and Herbs

As someone who loves to cook and does it a bit for a living, I always need fresh ingredients, especially herbs. With so many lettuce recalls in the last few years, I’ve also gotten wary about purchasing store-bought lettuce. It was these two things that led me to seek out a way to start gardening indoors during the winter, and how I discovered the best hydroponic system for vegetables and herbs.

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What to Buy to Make an Invisible Deer Fence for Garden Protection

I love deer. They’re beautiful, graceful, serene animals. I also hate deer. They eat the apples from my tree, munch on my kale, and eat my strawberries. How do I reconcile these feelings? Invisible deer fence, of course! If you’re new to the idea of an invisible deer fence, it’s not the work of wizards […]