Few gardening practices deliver more bang for the buck than using compost and compost tea. These two natural powerhouses not only improve soil structure and fertility, but also help your crops grow stronger, tastier, and more nutrient-dense. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how adding these simple inputs has dramatically increased my tomato and pepper…  READ MORE 

If the full article on compost and compost tea is your gardening textbook, think of this guide as your pocket reference. Pin it on your shed wall or save it to your phone for easy reminders throughout the season. Here’s when and how to use compost and compost tea to get the best harvest possible.…  READ MORE 

February in zones 4-6 means we're still firmly in winter's grip, with temperatures swinging from a teeth-chattering -20°F to an occasionally hopeful 35°F. While your garden beds might still be hidden under that stubborn blanket of snow, your windowsills are about to become prime real estate for seed starting season! Sure, your neighbor might think…  READ MORE 

February in zones 7-8 brings average temperatures ranging from 25°F to 45°F (-4°C to 7°C), with those teasing warm spells that hint at spring around the corner. While your garden soil might still be too chilly for direct sowing, your moderate winters offer opportunities that colder zones can only dream about. In these zones, your…  READ MORE 

While northern gardeners are still shoveling snow, February in zones 9-10 feels like full-on spring, with daytime temperatures typically ranging from 65°F to 80°F (18°C to 27°C) and nights generally staying above 45°F (7°C). Your last frost date is long past (or maybe never arrived), and the soil is warming up nicely. This is prime…  READ MORE 

Kale may be the perfect vegetable. It’s healthy, delicious, easy to grow, versatile in the kitchen, and it can be quite a beautiful addition to your garden. Accordingly, growing kale in pots is as easy as can be.  READ MORE 

Learning how to sprout broccoli seeds at home is easy, and it only takes a few days. But is it worth the effort? That's easy to answer with an enthusiastic YES! Broccoli sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrients and antioxidants that can help boost your immune system, and they're easy to digest. And because they're…  READ MORE 

You know, after years of tending to my own potato patch, I've learned that even the most seasoned growers can always find ways to boost their yield. We've all had those seasons where we've pulled up a bumper crop, and others where we've scratched our heads wondering what went wrong. But that's the beauty of…  READ MORE 

I love peas. Peas are like the candy of the garden. Fresh from the pod they are sweet little early spring treats. Or they can be late-season treats when the rest of your garden is finishing up for the season. That’s one of the nice things about peas–they grow relatively quickly and they tolerate cool weather just fine, so you can usually get two plantings in if you want. But what is the best way to plant peas?  READ MORE 

Walk into the kitchen at pretty much any restaurant and you'll find basil. It's prominent in many cuisines from Italian to Indian to Thai to Vietnamese to Mediterranean. You can find it in salads, atop sandwiches, or even basil ice cream. With so much popularity, it should come as little surprise that there are different types of basil.  READ MORE 

When I tell people that my raised beds produce more food in a smaller footprint than my old in-ground garden ever did, they often give me that same wide-eyed look—like I’ve unlocked some kind of secret gardening cheat code. But raised bed gardening isn’t a trick. It’s simply understanding how to create the right conditions…  READ MORE 

When it comes to seed starting, there are a variety of different methods that you can use depending on your preferences and the types of seeds you want to start. Some popular seed-starting methods include seed flats, seed tapes, seed mats, and peat pots. Traditional Seed-Starting Methods Seed flats: Seed flats are trays or containers…  READ MORE 

So you've decided to start planning raised beds for your garden, but aren't sure where to start? Good news, I went through a pretty elaborate garden transformation just last year and lived to tell the tale. If you're planning on building your own or having them built, I've put together what I consider a fairly…  READ MORE 

Are you familiar with using grow bags for vegetables, fruits, or flowers? Grow bags are plastic or fabric-based "bags" made of felt or non-woven fabric, or polypropylene (similar to weed barriers) with flat bottoms and usually reinforced handles built-in. You simply fill them with the same type of soil and amendments you would for a…  READ MORE 

As a more “earthy” gardener who digs with her hands and often goes barefoot in the garden, I have to admit that until now, I’ve always gone the do-it-yourself route for starting seeds indoors. In the beginning, I would always buy grown seedlings from the incredible farmers co-op down the road from me, but once I started growing my own, they were always planted in everything from eggshells to egg cartons, to BPA-free plastic bottle bottoms.   READ MORE 

I think of most things I grow as comfort food, there's just something so satisfying about going out into the garden and transforming it into a meal. One of my favorite garden go-to's is salad in the late summer, with juicy tomatoes, crisp peppers and lettuce, and fragrant basil. But I'm not sure that spells…  READ MORE