How to Plant a Meatloaf (According to Dad)
One sunny April morning, I caught my father kneeling in the bean row with a packet of seeds in one hand and a …
I love gardening, and it's easy to imagine that I'll be gardening for life. Gardening gives us a chance to commune with nature, grow our own food, and grow our …
If mulch is the soil’s blanket and cover crops are its armor, then crop rotation is its compass. What you plant—and when—can either drain the soil or restore it. Rotation …
If compost is the gardener’s black gold, then cover crops are the living green shield of the soil. They keep the earth covered, feed it while they grow, and give …
If healthy soil is the foundation of food gardening, compost is the mortar that holds it together. Compost feeds the microbes, balances nutrients, improves structure, and turns yesterday’s kitchen scraps …
In Zones 9–12, the growing season hardly ever ends. You can harvest greens in January, tomatoes in March, and papayas or citrus almost year-round. But while the climate seems like …
For gardeners in Zones 6–8, the soil feels like a gift. Winters are short enough to grow cover crops (or even hardy greens), summers are long enough for tomatoes, peppers, …
By summer, the garden is in full swing. Tomatoes sprawl across their cages, peppers swell on the stem, beans climb skyward, and zucchini plot to overwhelm you. It’s a season …
If herbs are the seasoning, vegetables are the meal. They’re the backbone of the food garden—the peas in spring, the tomatoes in summer, the kale in fall, and the carrots …