Gardening Tips for October
In October the weather changes rapidly and the leaves fall… Here are the must-dos, should-dos, and nice-to-dos in the zone 6 garden. Practical advice that's easy to follow! Continue Reading
Gardening Resources, FAQs & DIY
How to Use a Pruning Saw: Technique & Safety Tips
A pruning saw is a necessary addition to your yard and garden toolkit if you have trees or larger shrubs on your property. Done properly, pruning can improve the looks and health of a tree or shrub. Unfortunately, many people do it wrong, leaving the plant disfigured and prone to disease and pest problems. In this article, I share simple tips for how to use a pruning saw so that it gets the job done Continue Reading
Sili-Seedlings Seed Starting Tray: Product Review
Sili-Seedlings seed starting trays are made of FDA-approved, BPA-free, food-grade silicone (great for organic gardeners). They're well-designed, easy to work with, sterilizable (just wash them in the dishwasher) and crush-proof. Best of all, seedlings grow in them extremely well and, because the cells are a little larger (2" x 2"), don't need to be transplanted as quickly. I recommend Sili-Seedlings without hesitation and will be using them for nearly all my future seed-starting needs (I'll continue to Continue Reading
Gardening Tips for January & February
For much of the country, January and February are months to reflect on last year’s gardening season and start planning for the new year. Here are the must-dos, should-dos, and nice-to-dos in the zone 6 garden. Practical advice that's easy to follow! Continue Reading
Bypass Pruner Care & Maintenance: Cleaning, Lubricating, Tightening & Sharpening
Keeping your bypass pruner in good working condition is relatively simple. Just focus on these four things and your pruning tool can give you a lifetime of use. Continue Reading
How to Sharpen Pruner Blades with a Carbide Sharpener
If you want an easy way to sharpen bypass pruner blades, this brief tutorial is for you. It includes written instructions describing how to properly sharpen bypass pruner blades with a carbide sharpener, plus a video tutorial and the sharpener we recommend. Continue Reading
Fall Garden Tool Maintenance Tips
You're told to do so many things in fall to clean and protect your gardening tools. Here's our no-nonsense list of what you must do now and what can wait. Continue Reading
State-by-State List of Soil Testing Labs at Cooperative Extension Offices
A state-by-state listing of soil testing laboratories associated with the state university's Cooperative Extension Service. Continue Reading
Lawn Care Tips from the Pros for a Healthy, Green Lawn
It is often said that grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, but we got to wondering – HOW do these mysterious Jones’s get their grass so green? So we went straight to the pros and asked them. Below are some tips that we got from Charles Aubry, Golf Course Superintendent at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA (host of the PGA Tour Championship each year) and Continue Reading
March & April Gardening Tips
April is a busy month in the garden. To keep things simple, here are the must do, should do, and nice to do gardening tasks for the April garden. The focus is on zone 6 gardens but the same tasks will generally apply to other zones - just do them earlier or later. Continue Reading
Seed Starting, Part 2: What To Do After Germination
Check out our latest tutorial video below about what to do with your seeds after they have started to germinate (when they’ve started to grow). Then keep scrolling for some tips and links to help you out! If you missed the first video on How to Successfully Start Seeds, be sure to check that out […] Continue Reading
How to Grow Carrots in a Container or Planter
You can grow fantastic carrots even if you don't have a vegetable garden. By choosing one of our recommended carrot varieties and following the tips in this video, you'll be harvesting delicious carrots from your elevated bed or container in no time! Continue Reading
How to Winterize Your Lawn Mower in 5 Easy Steps
Before you put the lawn mower away for the winter, take these few simple steps to ensure that your lawn mower will start up easily in the spring. Continue Reading
When to Start Seeds Indoors
Not all plants can or should be started from seed indoors. Some, like corn, simply don’t transplant well. Others, like sunflowers and cucumbers, grow so quickly that there’s little point in starting them early. But for those plants that need a little extra time to give them the best chance of maturing during the […] Continue Reading
How to Plant and Grow Bulbs
Information for the home gardener about buying, planting, growing, and storing flower bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers of all kinds. Continue Reading