Our garden plants need more than we often think. Learn why and how to site your garden to give them the ideal amount.
Perfect soil is a gardener's dream, but few of us start with it. We build it. Great gardeners grow soil. Healthy plants are their reward. Learn the five characteristics of perfect soil, the dramatic lessons inherent in the true depth and breadth of our plants' roots, and how to grow your own ideal garden soil.
Giving garden plants the right amount of water is essential but can also be easy. Learn the secrets to giving them what they need and using nature's help and a few simply tricks to make it easy and incredibly efficient.
Our plants fall into two main groups: cool-season plants and warm-season plants. Learn how to plant each at the best time for your best windows of their ideal growing temperatures.
Proper plant spacing and a garden layout that helps meet plants' needs have a dramatic effects plant health and production and long-term soil health. Learn how to conserve water, keep soil loose, and keep plants healthy through thoughtful design, layout, and spacing.
Every plant has preferences for which plants grow near it. Learn which plants thrive next to each other, which ones makes strong teams of three or four, and even how to use companion planting to dissuade pests.
Growing Cover Crops in the Home Garden The tail end of the growing season, when you’re putting your garden to bed for the offseason, is a perfect time to start a cover crop. And it’s Read more
About Each Cover Crop Cover Crops are one of the best things you can do for your soil, but how do you choose which one is best for your unique situation? Here’s some information about Read more
Purchasing Cover Crop Seed Once you know how much you need, purchase your cover crop from one of several options: You can purchase most cover crop seeds from local stores. Smaller, mom-and-pop stores that also Read more
Planting cover crops is one of the best things you can do for your soil, but how do you choose which one is best for your unique situation? Choosing a Cover Crop Since there are Read more
In the tables below, however, I include planting rates in pounds per 100 ft.2 (~10m2) and 1,000 ft.2 (~100m2)—instead of only in pounds per acre, as is typical—since those sizes are much closer to their Read more
Easy Companion Groupings to Get Started To make getting started with companion planting easier, here are three combinations of common vegetable garden plants listed in order of what they do well next to: COMPANION COMBINATION Read more
Planting Times In terms of their preferred, and in some cases required, growing temperature, plants fall into two main groups: cool-season plants and warm-season plants. Cool-Season Because cool-season plants can take a light frost but Read more
Finding Your Last Frost Date To find your specific, local average last frost date in the spring, you can click on any of the links below. Each will take you to a page with resources Read more
The Four Main Needs of All Garden Plants Plants’ Four Main Needs All plants everywhere have four main needs. They need a certain That’s it. Thrive In Correct Combination And each plant on earth thrives Read more
