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Perennial gardening is a great practice to take up if you’re interested in growing a sustainable crop. Instead of sowing seed each spring, perennial garden plants replenish themselves year after year. Save for adding nutrients to the soil and pruning back plants in winter, a perennial garden is great for those who consider themselves lazy. Planting asparagus is one way to create the center of a good perennial garden, but you’ll probably want some asparagus companion plants too....

​Most of us gardeners, whether beginners or veterans favor annual veggies that we have to re-start year after year. While this is great for some of the classic veggies that you’ll want to have every single year, you can take a load off of your gardening shoulders by incorporating more perennial vegetables into the mix. There are plenty of vegetables that you can overwinter that will go dormant during that time and come back to life in the early spring…completely deleting the seed starting phase for you!...

Table of Contents Broadleaf lady palms are a strange species of fan palms that actually don’t exist in the wild — they came from Chinese cultivators. They’re exceptionally good indoor houseplants, because they clean toxins from the air. The main four they process are carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, xylene, and ammonia. They’re also easy to care for, making them good for gardening beginners! Read on for a complete guide to growing the lady palm tree at home....

Stir-fries in spring and salads in the middle of summer both have one thing in common – the peppery and wonderful vegetable that is mizuna! An addition to the garden that produces early in the season and can tolerate the type of weather fluctuations that gardener nightmares are made of, these wonderful little plants will give you harvest after harvest of delicious greens for months. Growing mizuna greens should be on the garden plan of any family who loves to cook....

I’m willing to bet that you love using fresh herbs in the meals you prepare for yourself and your family. Herbs are a fantastic way to add flavor and zest to any dish imaginable…but there’s a problem. Most of the time, we settle for dried herbs for a couple of reasons: Table of Contents Dried herbs save money. Fresh, organic herbs are expensive!If we buy fresh, we might not use everything before it goes bad If you do decide to buy your herbs fresh from a grocery or farmer’s market, they are going to cost you....

Green has such a monopoly over the plant world that we rarely see black in nature. That’s why these dark succulents are sure to catch attention. Whether you’re decorating for Halloween or adding style to your garden, you’ll love these black succulents. Vibrant or unusual colors in succulents are usually a sign of stress in response to sunlight. Because of this, the more you stress out your plant by giving it light, the deeper its coloring will be....

Gardening with raised beds is my preferred method. When you’re doing raised bed gardening, you can control your soil type easily. Your beds warm up faster in the spring. You’ll have less weeds and an easier time clearing out those which do appear. The soil doesn’t become compacted like an in-ground bed. But there’s one drawback: you have to figure out how to fill a tall raised garden bed. And that seems daunting!...

Table of Contents The mighty rubber tree has been a favorite houseplant since the Victorian era. It’s hardy, easy to care for, and actually removes toxins from the air in your home! In this guide, we’ll take a look at exactly how to care for your own rubber tree plant. Listen to this post on the Epic Gardening Podcast Subscribe to the Epic Gardening Podcast on iTunes Rubber Tree Plant Overview Quick Info about the Rubber Tree Plant...

As gardeners, sometimes we have a plant that is absolutely incredible. It looks amazing and is growing better than any other plant of its type in our garden. To preserve its amazing genetics, we can clone it — create an exact copy of the plant. In fact, we can clone Table of Contents In this piece, we’ll look at the best plant cloning machines, whether you’re a hydroponic gardener or a soil gardener....

The peppery taste and unique leaf structure make it a chef favorite, used in soups, salads, and garnishes. For the home cook, cress is great for juicing, smoothies, or as an addition to a salad mix to add some extra spice. Cress Microgreens Quick Info Flavor – Bold and peppery, slightly bitter with a touch of sweetness. Soak – No Rinse / Drain – No Germination – 3-4 days Harvest – 8-12 days I’ve filmed a full video on growing cress microgreens that you can view below, or follow the step-by-step guide in this post....

People living without disabilities may not consider the difficulties involved in wheelchair gardening. That’s because the gardening world is mostly designed for them, so they don’t have to consider what it’s like navigating gardening tools and tasks while trying to work comfortably as someone who is wheelchair-bound. Table of Contents That’s why we’ve dedicated this piece to gardening for wheelchair users. There are plenty of things to consider, but that doesn’t mean a wheelchair user can’t be an avid gardener....

Whenever possible, I like to keep my gardening activities as low-cost as possible. When there are SO many great cheap mulch sources, there’s no reason to buy it at the garden center. Check out some of these mulch ideas, and comment below if you have one of your own that I didn’t include on the list!​ 24. Lawn cuttings Lawn cuttings are a classic source for mulch. If you use them, be sure not to spread them too thickly, as they might heat up while they break down (creating a mini-compost pile)....

Is it a spice or is it an herb? Believe it or not, it’s both! Let me introduce you to one of the most ancient of our cultivated herbs and spices, the anise plant. Table of Contents Evidence of anise cultivation goes back 4000years to ancient Egypt, where it’s popularity quickly spread northwards to Europe leaving an aniseed flavor legacy everywhere it was grown. Although not related to the licorice plant in any way, anise is very similar in taste and aroma....

Many novice gardeners may feel intimidated by the showy hydrangea. Thankfully, we are here to help you learn how to grow hydrangeas and to help you become confident in your ability to care for these lovely heirloom flowers! Table of Contents There are many varieties available that range in size and flower color. You can even cultivate pink or purple flowers depending on the soil pH, and they all have unique requirements....

One of the most pervasive and annoying diseases that occurs on vegetable crops is powdery mildew. Though a powdery mildew infection isn’t uncommon in gardens, it’s important to understand the mechanisms behind this disease, and control it quickly to prevent its spread. Table of Contents With so many susceptible plants, it’s likely you’ve come into contact with powdery mildew fungus on leaf surfaces a time or two before. If you haven’t, it’s good you’re here!...

An insecticide that will be in a lot of gardeners’ sheds is pyrethrin spray. Pyrethrin can be controversial among gardeners because although it’s naturally derived, it can harm beneficial insects as well as humans in large amounts. There’s also a synthetic version called permethrin that can make the topic a little confusing. Some gardeners think it’s best to stay away from all of it, just to be safe. Table of Contents...

Sweet potato fries burst into popularity a few years ago, but sweet potatoes have been a staple food for quite a long time. While the crunchy version served with aioli may be new, these versatile sweet potato varieties that range in color from purple to cream-colored to orange and red have been a nutritious and tasty food for almost 5000 years. Now grown throughout the world, Ipomoea Batatas has almost 7000 known varieties....

Originating from Greece’s hilly countryside, oregano was described as the “joy of the mountain” by the local Greeks. Today, this aromatic herb is cultivated worldwide and used abundantly in several cuisines. It is an almost inevitable ingredient in Greek, Italian, and South Asian dishes. Table of Contents Oregano is closely related to sweet marjoram, which is another extremely popular herb. As a result, the plants also go by the name of wild marjoram....

Berries are some of the tastiest treats that you can grow in the garden. Cultivating raspberries is not too difficult as long as you can control the trifecta of pests that commonly affect them: raspberry cane borer, raspberry beetle, and raspberry fruitworm. Table of Contents The raspberry fruitworm (Byturus unicolor) is the larval stage of a small brown beetle that attacks raspberry plants. Despite its name, this pest is not unique to just raspberries....

The world of Asian vegetables can seem a bit intimidating if you haven’t grown up around it. But there is such variety, uniqueness, and flavor in them that they are well worth a quick study! Some even have purported medicinal qualities. Table of Contents Asian vegetables can be hard to find outside of the countries where they originate, and not all cities have stores specializing in importing exotic vegetables. Growing in your own backyard can often be the best bet, not just in terms of being able to find the special vegetables called for in a recipe....