If you’re anything like me, you love to bring the outdoors indoors. Air plants are a fantastic way to do that. These resilient, low-maintenance plants don’t need soil or rocks to live in, nor do they need an exotic stand. In fact, you can easily DIY an air plant display out of virtually anything you have on hand and in any style! Table of Contents A gorgeous display can be had simply by setting your air plants into seashells if you like beach style....
You may not think that you can garden if you’re living out of an RV or tiny house. But you’d be wrong! A small home garden can travel right along with you. Table of Contents Container gardens are the perfect solution for people who’re living out of an RV. Nothing beats picking fresh veggies and herbs outside your front door! Let’s take a closer look at small garden design and how you can take yours on the go!...
Table of Contents Indoor growers enjoy an endless growing season, complete control over growing conditions, and the convenience of growing inside. This all sounds great, but too often we forget about grow room ventilation. My first attempts at indoor growing were plagued with problems. I had a fan set up, which I thought was sufficient to provide air circulation for my plants. I was wrong. Getting grow room ventilation right requires more than a corner fan....
Sage is a wonderful herb to use in the kitchen and adds delicious flavor to meat and vegetable dishes. It’s easy to grow sage yourself at home, in the garden, or even on a sunny windowsill. For anyone growing sage already or looking to start, here are some useful tips on how to harvest sage to optimize use, storage, and how to keep your sage plants looking healthy and productive....
Are you having problems with Japanese beetles eating your plants? These adults burrow into the ground in the fall to lay eggs which eventually turn into grubs. And anyone with a lawn knows these grubs can devastate lawns and gardens. One organic control developed to tackle the Japanese beetle problem is called milky spore powder. Table of Contents Japanese beetles (especially adult beetles) take little time to eat up grass roots, actively feeding on whatever they can in their time above ground....
Table of Contents When growing indoors, it’s essential to match the natural sunlight changes throughout the seasons to initiate the different growth stages of each plant. Different temperatures surrounding a plant and the intensity of the sun are triggers for plants that allow them to release chemicals internally that will start them off into the next stage of their lifecycle. The size if your indoor garden space, as well as the plants you are planning on growing will determine the type of lighting, and the strength of lighting you should use....
The shiso plant is a staple herb in southeastern Asian countries. Shiso can be used in a variety of dishes from cold noodle dishes to hot ramen, from desserts to beverages. You can even bread it and fry it for delicious vegetable tempura. Table of Contents Whether you eat a lot of Asian plants as food at home or not, shiso (also called perilla mint) is a good herb to grow in your garden....
Table of Contents The last thing you want to see in your yard is a cucumber beetle. No, really, I’m not kidding. If you are starting to see these little beetles scattered around your garden, that is a major problem. The larvae have a tendency to gnaw on the roots of your plants, and the adults chew on the foliage. Even worse, they spread plant disease. So what can you do to eliminate the spread of cucumber beetles?...
Mustard greens are one of those fail-safe vegetables that anyone can cultivate and produce great harvests. I always grow way more than I need, so this year I’ve decided to allow some plants to mature to grow mustard seed. Yes, you read that correctly! Mustard greens produce mustard seeds as well as other greens for your next stir fry! Table of Contents Mustard is a fabulously versatile crop. Mustard grown for seed is usually allowed to bolt, but before it bolts, it can be grown as mustard greens as the entire plant is edible....
Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) is parsley’s more refined, sophisticated cousin! It has a mild, sweet peppery flavor with hints of both parsley and aniseed. Its delicate, perishable leaves make it a very difficult herb to get hold of, so growing chervil at home makes perfect sense. Table of Contents Herb chervil is a key ingredient in French cooking and the herb bouquet known as ‘Fines Herbes’, combining fresh chervil, chives, parsley, and tarragon....
Microgreens are one of the top ways to add nutrition to a meal. They’re also an easy and artistic option for garnishing your dishes. Just imagine a steaming dish of lasagna topped with crunchy, bite-sized basil. Mouth-watering, right? In this article, you can make that tasty meal a reality by learning how to grow basil microgreens. Table of Contents Genovese basil, also known as sweet basil, is by far the most popular for growing microgreens....
Table of Contents Are you tired of starting seeds on the kitchen table or crouching down to transplant from one pot to another on the ground? If so, you’ll want to build a potting bench. Here you’ll find a wide variety of potting tables, benches, and stations to choose from, as well as building instructions. These range from projects that anyone can do, like repurposing old dressers or leftover patio furniture, all the way through dramatic pieces of garden architecture....
Alyssum plants have been grown for ages. In Spain in the 1500s, you’d find sweet alyssum bordering edible gardens or growing wild on Mediterranean beaches. Alyssum flowers are not only beautiful, but they also attract many of the beneficial pests that help you grow a garden. Table of Contents A short-lived perennial, alyssum has been cultivated long enough for the development of heat and drought-tolerant varieties. These small flowers self-seed, and can be biennial in temperate climates....
If you have a garden, you have a shovel. Table of Contents In fact, it’s very likely you have more than one shovel. You might have one with a curved blade and a pointed tip. You may have a narrow one with flat sides, or a gigantic one that’s almost more of a giant spoon-like conveyance device. You probably have two or three handheld ones that you call trowels. You might even have a flat one that isn’t a digging shovel at all....
My mission is to help 1 million people learn how to produce food for themselves by teaching hydroponics, urban gardening, and permaculture techniques with guides like: How to grow your own wheatgrass Asparagus growing tips The many different types of beans Growing different types of salad greens But every now and then, I find myself looking at the prettier, non-edible plants that many gardeners have loved for years: flowers. I have yet to post anything about flowers and flower-growing, so I figured it’s time I change that—at least for a little bit....
During the Middle Ages, the spicy and pungent root known as galangal was a hot commodity, It was widely traded from its native Indonesia and China throughout Europe. Its popularity in the Western world diminished and until recently you would have been hard-pressed to find someone who would even know what the galangal plant was. Awareness of galangal is increasing thanks to its popularity in a diversity of Asian cuisines, particularly Thai food....
Most of us have grown at least one of the veggies on this list, but I’d venture a guess that you didn’t know that you could regrow these eight veggies endlessly. Talk about sustainable. One of the reasons that I love gardening so much is due to the endless cycle of growth and cultivation, so it’s no surprise I’m in love with the fact that these plants can be harvested many times over....
Early spring is here! The time has come to plan your vegetable garden layout. If you’re new to vegetable gardening, don’t be intimidated. While there’s a lot that goes into planning and creating a vegetable garden, it’s easy if you stay organized. Table of Contents Your garden layout, even after it’s fully developed, isn’t permanent. The seasonal cycles allow you to adjust and redefine the kind of gardening you want to do....
When you drink a much-needed vanilla flavored latte in the mornings or see those specks of vanilla mixed into your ice cream, do you ever wonder, “Where do vanilla beans come from?” Table of Contents Are they natural products? Why are they so expensive? Can you grow them yourself and keep from paying all that money for dried vanilla bean pods? Truth is, vanilla has a pretty fascinating history and there’s a lot to learn about this delicious (and useful) plant....
Zinnia flowers are some of the easiest to grow in a garden. Not only are they low maintenance, but they also attract pollinators and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and growth habits. If you want cut-and-come-again flowers, zinnia has you covered. If you want a pseudo perennial flower bush to accompany your annuals, zinnia plants do that too! Table of Contents Not only are there tons out there to choose from, but zinnias are also easy-going and grow in raised beds, in-ground, or even in containers....
