Growing garlic in your garden is wonderfully satisfying. From just one clove put in the ground in the fall, you get a whole bulb by next summer and don’t have to do a lot to it while it grows. However, lots of gardeners get rather small bulbs, heads which are too small and have thin…
Most gardeners growing lettuce, herbs, or things like carrots have at some point had a plant suddenly change its plans. Instead of continuing to make the leaves, roots or stems you’re actually hoping for, it shoots up a long flower stem, and it often feels like this happens in just one night. Once a plant…
Many typical garden plants – lots of long-living flowers, herbs, wildflowers from where you are, and even some vegetables – won’t start to grow as soon as they get wet and warm. They need a time of being cold and moist first, before something inside them that’s stopping growth will finally let them sprout. This…
Growing a vegetable garden from seeds is a really cheap way to produce your own food, however the price of the seeds themselves will quickly increase if you are hoping for lots of different things to grow. One unusual type of seed packet can be $4 to $6 and if you want to plant a…
Most gardeners understand seedlings need light to grow, but it’s surprisingly common to not know that many seeds need light to even start growing (sprouting), and some will only sprout in total darkness. If you get this need for or avoidance of light incorrect, you might have a tray of lots of good sprouts or,…
If you’re a gardener and hold onto seed packets from year to year, you’ll eventually wonder if those old seeds are still good to plant. Whether they are depends on the kind of seed, how they were kept, and how long ago you bought the packet. No seed lasts for all time, but a lot…
Gardeners who’ve been doing this a while understand that how warm the air is isn’t what really decides if seeds will start to grow. The actual warmth of the ground is much, much more important for getting those initial life-processes going in a seed that’s been resting. One of the biggest reasons seeds don’t come…
Each spring, people with home gardens have the same annoying problem. It often feels warm enough to put tomato plants in the ground, but a last late frost can destroy all the work you’ve done on them. Tomatoes are one of the kinds of veggies that get cold damage easily, being hurt at temperatures below…
Lots of people who grow their own vegetables think you need eight or more hours of strong sunlight each day for a good harvest. However, tomatoes, peppers, squash and other plants that really love the sun are not the only edibles. In fact, a lot of things you can eat are happy in, or at…
Lots of gardeners think all seeds have to be started inside, with grow lights, and then moved to the garden. However, that’s a good method for things like tomatoes and peppers (which need a long growing period) but lots of vegetables and herbs that like cooler weather do much better when you plant the seeds…
