Posts

Looking for a plant that’ll attract attention? The vivid purple leaves and stems of tradescantia pallida will do it! This wandering jew species is called purple heart plant, purple queen, and more. Popular in frost-free regions, a purple heart ground cover can be extremely striking. But it does just as well hanging, and it makes a fantastic house plant too. All About The Purple Queen Originating in eastern Mexico, this particular species of wandering jew is a stunner....

One of the most common questions that I get from beginner hydroponic gardeners is: Table of Contents Can you use tap water for hydroponics?​ It’s a good question! When you’re just starting out, you want to get up and running quickly. Your other options for water are all more complex than just using water straight out of the tap: Distilled (costly)Reverse Osmosis (costly, wastes water to produce)Filtered (requires extra gear) It’s no surprise that people want to use tap water for their hydroponic gardens....

Growing fava beans is an easy and fun way to try a legume plant in your garden. Fava bean plants love a cool season like early spring, and they’ll overwinter if planted in fall. They have edible leaves and tons of vegetable companions. Their gorgeous spreading foliage is sure to provide nutrients to you and the earth. Table of Contents Favas are a great addition to a vegetable garden as a food or cover crop....

“Short and sweet” is the perfect way to describe alpine strawberries. These vivid red berries are only half an inch in diameter and grow on plants less than a foot tall. They’re also very simple to grow in the garden or on your windowsill. As you grab your gardening supplies and design your landscape this spring, you’ll want to consider growing alpine strawberries! Table of Contents Alpines may be smaller than regular strawberries, but they pack a flavorful punch....

Understand the Inverse Square Law Because most of us are lighting our hydroponic grows artificially, I figured that it would be a good idea to cover one of the most important concepts to consider when you’re making lighting decisions for your grows: the inverse square law for light. The inverse square law states that if you double the distance that your light is from your plants, it will spread over four times as much area as it did before....

The fern-like New Zealand brass buttons plant is a great alternative to your lawn, but you might be concerned about how to grow it successfully. Table of Contents Brass buttons are feathery-looking black and green plants that are easy to plant and easy to maintain. Botanically known as Leptinella gruveri, these plants are native to New Zealand, South America and the Falkland Islands. They can be found in open, damp places, forming a dense mat of foliage, making them perfect as a ground cover plant....

The peace lily is a famous houseplant known for its dark green foliage and white blooms. They’re indoor plants in most areas because peace lilies grow in a tropical environment in their natural habitat. With how available they are in garden centers, there’s no question that anyone has access to the tools needed to successfully grow one. Table of Contents Often pigeonholed as drama queens that are hard to plant sit (potentially even by a master gardener you know), peace lilies can be very sensitive to the conditions they’re grown in....

Pumpkins are a type of winter squash that has a long shelf life and offers versatility. But certain pumpkin varieties are most suited to making pumpkin pie, while others may be better used elsewhere. There are over 150 types of pumpkins in the world today, with many accompanying variations. Table of Contents Some are dark green, and some are orange. Some have flesh that is a bright orange color, and others have blue or white insides....

Growing cabbage can be such a rewarding experience. But it sucks to harvest cabbage after winter has passed and find out it’s been a snack for cabbage worms. It’s important to monitor your cabbage, identify pests, and control cabbage worms as quickly as possible. Unchecked, they can do a lot of damage to your whole crop. Table of Contents Another reason to be vigilant is that they don’t just go for cabbage plants....

Some of the most formidable foes in the garden are plant omnivores because they are not reliant on just one host. The tarnished plant bug (TPB), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is one such pest that is a nuisance in gardens and can cause significant economic losses to commercial farmers and plant nurseries. Table of Contents Plant bugs are a large, diverse order of insects that fall within either the families of Lygaeidae or Miridae....

If you’re looking for a striking but simple plant that’s perfect for an office desk, kitchen, or succulent planter, look no further than Haworthia attenuata, or the zebra plant. It can thrive in pots, in the ground, and even indoors in a decorative arrangement so long as you care for it well. Table of Contents The striking, green and white appearance is why they’re so popular. It’s how they got on my radar — I saw one at the nursery and instantly bought it!...

Lentils are one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. They are packed with protein and dietary fiber, and are often believed a “superfood”. In fact, lentils are the oldest pulse grow grown, and probably one of the first domesticated crops in the history of humanity. Growing lentils has been occurring for thousands of years. Table of Contents In major religions like Judaism, lentils are used as a “mourning” food as their round shape reflects the everlasting circle of life....

If you always reach for the bottle of mustard at cookouts, you’ll love mustard microgreens. These baby greens don’t look anything like the popular condiment, but they pack the same hot and sweet taste. In fact, mustard sprouts are one of the most flavorful microgreens. They’re the perfect garden-friendly addition to zest up dinner! Table of Contents Mature mustard plants may give us that familiar yellow color, but they can’t compete with the nutrition and simplicity of mustard microgreens....

Ornamental peppers provide more than just eye candy. They’re also packed full of spice. While they aren’t the most pleasant or flavorful peppers, they provide a punch in any dish. So consider growing ornamental pepper plants this spring! Table of Contents Once you plant ornamental peppers, you can practically ignore them and they will thrive. Growing ornamental peppers, therefore, is an easy and rewarding experience. While you focus on the higher maintenance plants in your vegetable garden, your ornamental peppers pop with color....

What is star fruit? You’ve come to the right place. The star fruit is a rich source of vitamin C, B9, B6, B2, and dietary fiber. It also contains various minerals, such as potassium, zinc, phosphorus, and iron. It’s a low-calorie fruit, with only 31 calories per 100 grams. And the star fruit tree is beautiful, too! Table of Contents A mature tree can produce as much as 200 to 400 pounds of fruits every year....

West coast dwellers in the United States know the importance of xeriscaping. This low-water gardening technique has taken California by storm. It’s spreading to other areas, too. But finding the right xeriscape plants is a little complex. Table of Contents Most people think it’s all cacti and succulents, sand, and rock. But your xeriscape garden doesn’t have to be bland! Let’s explore a wide variety of plants that work well in xeriscaping....

Lawn sweeping can feel like a daunting chore, especially if it’s done manually. Some people even hire professional teams or individuals to clean up their yards, which sounds great at first glance. Table of Contents But… Leaves continue to fall and you will have to keep hiring professionals again and again, which will add up. For this reason, having your own lawn sweeper (also called a leaf sweeper) is a must....

An important part of gardening is knowing how to spread mulch. Whether you want to retain moisture with wood chips or protect the plants’ roots in winter with dead leaves, it’s great to know what works best in different situations. Knowing how much mulch to use helps too! Table of Contents Mulching can be a late spring activity, or it could occur when you transplant a tree in late winter. Applying mulch has many benefits; one of the most common is keeping weeds at bay....

Till or no till, that is the question! This topic is constantly in debate, and there are certainly benefits to utilizing both of these methods. The usefulness of each method also changes with each varying application, such as container, in-ground, and raised bed gardening. Table of Contents A good place to start is by defining tillage. Tillage is the process of disturbing soil frequently used to prepare the soil for planting....

If something else could take out a lot of your nighttime pests, would you be interested in it? That was my initial thought when tackling this BatBnB review, if only because the idea sounds particularly appealing. In my area, two different dominant species of mosquito are active around the clock. A host of moths lay eggs on my plants, which of course hatch into larvae that devour my garden. Between the two, nighttime natural pest control sounded glorious....