Nothing’s more relaxing than a cup of steaming tea, right? But what if you could also unwind by growing the tea yourself? Growing tea is simpler than it seems and will fill your home with a calming, and delicious, vibe. Table of Contents Tea is frequently touted for its many health benefits, including antioxidants and stress relief. It can boost heart health and reduce the risk of stroke. Green tea is famous for weight loss while the caffeine in black tea gets us up in the morning....

The rutabaga plant is severely underrated and is something you should plant rutabagas in your garden! It’s related to the turnip but is usually sweeter and won’t taste like a radish as turnips sometimes can. They like cool weather and can be grown in the spring and fall in most parts of the US. Table of Contents What can you do with rutabagas, you ask? You can cook the roots as you would a potato—mashed, roasted, hasselback, or spiralized into a veggie noodle....

When it comes to bacterial and fungal diseases in the garden, there isn’t much you can do in terms of treatment other than throwing out the plant’s infected parts. Fortunately, for gardeners, you can take preventative measures to stop a disease before it spirals out of control. One of the products you can use is copper fungicide. It’s safe to use for organic gardening, but there are some precautionary measures to take when you use it....

The snake plant is one of many well-known houseplants, due to its ability to purify air quality and adorn domestic spaces with its lovely dark green leaves. It’s a succulent plant that is easy to propagate and care for. If you don’t already have an indoor snake plant, you can easily take leaf cuttings from a healthy one, and make a new snake plant. There are variations on the basic snake plant that can add a bit of flair to any area of your home with bright indirect light....

Summer: Time to Garden Like a Boss As I woke up this morning, I knew it was going to be a beautiful day here in San Diego, CA. The cast iron skillet was sizzling with some heirloom onions and eggs from the farmer’s market and I looked outside my kitchen window to something that horrified me to my very core. Table of Contents My backyard “garden” was looking absolutely pathetic....

Jalapenos are spicy and delicious peppers that can make any spread, burger, or sauce mouth-wateringly tasty. Growing jalapenos yourself is a great way to always have access to this zesty spice. Table of Contents Eaten all over the world, jalapeno peppers are enjoyed in different ways. As a staple in Mexican cuisine, they can be roasted, baked, and even sizzled on the grill. They’re often diced and worked into applications both savory and sweet....

Table of Contents If you’re reading this post, chances are you’ve got an old pallet that isn’t being used at all. I had one too, and I knew there was SOMETHING I could do with it…but what? With a little creative thinking (and Googling), I came up with a cool idea for a vertical pallet garden that cost me under $30 to build! It should grow about 12 heads of lettuce and 12 bunches of spinach, which helps me hit my goal to grow 80% of the the greens I eat....

While spending hours out in the garden is one of life’s greatest joys, it can take a toll on our bodies. Our skin, hands, and most importantly, knees can all suffer unless we protect them. Table of Contents Being as tall as I am, my knees are always under extra stress. So I wanted to find garden kneelers and gardening mats to protect me when I’m knee deep in the dirt....

Citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is a common citrus pest for growers worldwide. As the name suggests, this pest creates unsightly tunnels under the surface of leaves. Although it originated in Asia, the citrus leafminer has spread to all citrus-growing regions along with the popularity of citrus fruits. In the United States, the first documented case of this pest was in Florida in 1993 and is now found in Texas, southern California, and other citrus-producing states....

You may have consumed seaweed in the form of crispy snacks or wrapped around sushi, but did you know that seaweed fertilizers can also nourish the plants in your garden? Table of Contents Seaweed is a generic term that encompasses many different types of multicellular algae that grow in our oceans. This primitive plant group has over 10,000 species. Seaweed is different from the plants that we grow terrestrially two important ways....

Callisia fragrans, also called the basket plant, is a great subtropical for beginners. Pairing the look of a bromeliad with a draping stem tendency, it’s visually stunning. Table of Contents Generally green or variegated green and cream in color, these plants have a secret. When exposed to lots of light, they may pick up purple hues in their leaves. In fact, there have been plants which are more purple than green!...

There are so many types of echeveria that it’s hard to choose one. If you’re looking for elegance though, one type stands out: the echeveria Perle von Nurnberg. Table of Contents The spoon-shaped leaves of this succulent overlap to create a pristine rosette. However, PVN’s intrigue is in its color. The whole plant is a spectrum of blue-gray and pink with a hint of purple. It’s dusted in pruinose, which is a botanical term for white powder....

If you love the taste of plums and apricots, you may be thrilled to know there is such a thing as a pluot tree. Pluots are a hybrid of plums and apricot fruit trees that were developed by Floyd Zaiger, a renowned botanist. By crossing other hybrids and hand pollinating various fruit trees, Floyd brought the pluot into existence. Table of Contents Thanks to Floyd, you can practice gardening pluots in their gardens....

Imagine this: you’re busy in the kitchen, rustling up some grub for dinner when inspiration hits. The bland boxed mac and cheese would be perfect with a bit of oregano! Instead of grabbing a dusty old shaker from the back of the pantry, you reach for your kitchen shears and head out the backdoor. Just outside, you snip a few leaves, give them a rinse, and throw them in the pot....

When it comes to apples, most of us think of Granny Smith, Gala, or Red Delicious. Table of Contents What if I told you that there are dozens of apples that time has forgotten? Apples that we cultivated in the 1800’s and 1900’s that for some reason or another, disappeared from our diets? I wanted to figure out the history of some of these forgotten fruits. Enjoy this list of 73+ heirloom apples, their history, and how they taste....

Have you ever wanted to grow a lucky plant? Aglaonema, also called Chinese Evergreen, is a colorful favorite in China where it is considered lucky. Native to China and the Philippines, these leafy tropicals are easy-care houseplants with foliage that is a combination of white, dark green, pink, and other colors. Table of Contents NASA has placed the Aglaonema modestum variety on its top ten list of clean air plants because of the plant’s natural ability to remove benzene and formaldehyde from air sources....

Broccoli is a delicious cool-season vegetable that many gardeners love to grow. Broccoli plants can become quite large, so broccoli companion plants are one of the best ways to maximize the space in your garden when you are planting broccoli for the season. Table of Contents There are many types of broccoli, but the most common is the Calabrese variety, which is sold in stores. This is a heading variety, which can take up several feet of space in your garden....

Have you been wondering what kind of grow light you need for that indoor growing adventure you want to start so bad? With the recent explosion of hydroponics, indoor growing, and the LED grow light industry, it’s no surprise that there are a ton of companies in the market right now. And with so many options, making the right choice can become quite a headache really quick when you scroll past dozens of lighting options....

I’ve got to tell you all, I’m ecstatic when I get messages from Epic Gardening readers. I LOVE opening up Gmail during a break from business and seeing urban gardening questions come in, so you better believe I was excited when a reader hit me up and asked a great question about plant spacing. She’s setting up a small hydroponic herb garden build and wanted to know how she should space her plants....

Today, we’re taking a look at a complete lighting kit from my friends over at GrowersHouse. I’ve talked about ceramic metal halide lights in-depth before, but realize that they might be a bit expensive for most growers to get started with. On top of that, the form factor of the bulbs isn’t friendly for those who are rocking a standard HID lighting system. Table of Contents Getting set up with a CMH grow light used to mean getting a new grow light reflector – one with the two-prong base that most CMH bulbs use....