Posts

Who can resist the hot, peppery taste of watercress in a salad, a sandwich, or even garnishing a burger, but did you know that watercress is very easy to grow yourself? Read on to learn how to grow watercress at home in your own garden. Table of Contents As a water-loving perennial, it’s often assumed that watercress can only be grown in fresh flowing water. While this is true, you’ll be happy to learn that recreating these growing conditions using containers is straightforward....

Fresh from the store, succulents are so neat and compact. It’s a shame that eventually the leaves die, stems grow, and things get a little crazy. That’s when maintenance comes in. With a good pruning succulents can remain just as tidy as the day you bought them. Because they’re slow-growing, succulents don’t need frequent trimming. We’re talking once-a-year pruning at most, plus any emergency trims. The process is simple but makes a huge difference!...

For sashimi or sushi, wasabi is king — and yet very little of what people purchase as “wasabi” in the United States is actually real wasabi, as real wasabi is known to be a very tricky plant. Usually, the bright wasabi paste found in those tubes is actually European horseradish with food coloring! But for lovers of Japanese food, growing the real thing is worth it. Freshly grated and packed full of nutrients, it’s difficult, but doable if you know how to grow wasabi....

Table of Contents Is it possible to grow wandering jew plant outdoors? Absolutely. It started there, after all! But there’s some tricks to growing these plants so they thrive in an outdoor setting. Let’s talk about the best ways to provide for your Tradescantia-species plants. All wandering jew plants are similar in their requirements, so these tips will work for all types. Temperature and Climate Needs In their native habitat, the wandering jew plant tends to prefer warmer climates....

You either love it or hate it! That’s what we hear the most about cilantro. Regardless of your personal tastes, you’ll love growing cilantro for its good looks alone. That this whimsical, feathery plant is a delicious garnish is just a bonus! Table of Contents Another bonus you’ll get with this plant is coriander seeds. Cilantro and coriander may look and taste different, but they actually come from the same plant....

Have you ever tried dragon fruit? They’re pink or yellow in color, and are weird to behold. These fruit tend to be expensive, often going for as much as $6 each. Now, you could just buy one expensive piece of fruit… or you could grow your own dragon fruit plant to enjoy all the time! Table of Contents Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit that grows on a climbing cactus. It’s believed to be native to Central America, dating back to the 13th century....

Window boxes are a popular choice for urban gardeners due to their small size and efficient location. But the options for what to plant window boxes can overwhelming to you, so we are here to help! Window boxes serve multiple purposes, from pure decoration and aesthetics to practical gardening. In this article, we’ll look at three herbs and three decorative plants you should consider planting in your window boxes. Listen to this post on the Epic Gardening Podcast...

How would we ever garden without peppers? Whether you prefer a crisp bell pepper, just a little bit of heat from a jalapeno, or you’re a die-hard habanero fan, this is a staple garden vegetable (as are most of the nightshade family). So, when growing our own peppers from seed, we want lots of them and fast. The key to that? Faster germination! Germinating pepper seeds is the very first step to growing this feisty plant....

Table of Contents Are you looking for ground cover plants? Because oh, are there a huge number of these plants available. They range in size from only an inch or two to nearly a foot tall. Some creep steadily along the ground, where others grow up, flop over, and then trail out. If you’re concerned about soil erosion, or sick of your lawn, ground cover plants are for you. Landscaping professionals love them as they can be used to create curves of color....

Anyone who likes Asian cooking is likely to be a fan of the lemongrass plant. With its lemony, slightly-bitter citrus flavor and aroma, it’s commonly used in food. Table of Contents But what very few realize is that it’s fairly easy to grow at home if you’re in a warm climate. Even cooler-climate gardeners can grow it outdoors during the late spring and summer. It’s easy to bring a small clump indoors for the cold months, allowing you to grow it year-round!...

Table of Contents What are Plasma Grow Lights?How do Plasma Grow Lights Work?Benefits to Plasma Grow LightsBroader Spectrum of Light​Uses Less EnergyLonger LifespanDeeper Light Penetration​Downsides to Plasma LightsCostHeat OutputLumens OutputNew and Less TestedPlasma vs. LED LightsPlasma vs. HPS LightsPlasma vs. Compact Fluorescent LightsSo, Should You Use Plasma Lights?Before You Buy…Your Growing SpaceYour BudgetBest Plasma Grow LightsGavita Pro 1000 DE​Alphalite Table of Contents If you’re familiar with indoor grow lights and their development over the years, you know that there’s a lot of hot air and competition in the industry....

Love cilantro but hate its fast-to-bolt personality? Hate cilantro but crave an herby element in your homemade salsa? Up your culinary game with unsung garden hero, Vietnamese coriander! Table of Contents Vietnamese coriander, or Vietnamese cilantro, is a heat-loving perennial with slightly spicy, flavorful leaves that are a great culinary substitute for cilantro or mint. If papalo herb isn’t your thing, this may be the cilantro alternative for you! It thrives in warm climates spring through fall (zones 9-11) and in pots in cooler climates until the first frost....

They’re both consumed as whole grains or cereal grains. They’re both cultivated and cherished across the world. They’re both a part of the human diet, whether processed or in their whole forms. And they both have similar plant structures. So, wheat vs barley: what’s the difference? Table of Contents Whole wheat is something that people in North America are highly familiar with. And both barley and wheat are important in so many ways....

If you’re a gardener, you’ve probably wondered how you can collect natural rain to water your garden. If you don’t know much about gardening, you still might love having a rain barrel. It can make you more self-sufficient, help you save money and let you water your yard even during a drought. Table of Contents Before I bought my first rain barrel, I was confused by all the options. Couldn’t I just attach a hose to a really big bucket somehow?...

Among the plant diseases out there, downy mildew is one of the worst. Because it doesn’t cause a lot of damage on the outset, gardeners don’t see it as an issue. A rampant infection in cool temperatures of the spring growing season spells disaster for the rest of the year. Table of Contents Thankfully, there are ways to prevent downy mildew and control the spread of pathogens that cause it. Culturally, gardeners eliminate moisture, improve air circulation, prune, and change their irrigation techniques by using drip irrigation....

Often, beginner gardeners can think that growing their own vegetables might be too big a step for them, that they should start with something ‘easy’… not knowing that growing vegetables is in fact quite often very easy! While there are some that take some babying, the list of the easiest vegetables to grow is in fact quite long. Our list only touches the surface of what’s out there that you can master with ease!...

Table of Contents It happens to all of us gardeners… We’re out in the garden: pruning, hoeing, clipping, thinning…and we forget to pick up a tool. This happened to me recently with my beloved Felco F-2 Hand Pruners, arguably some of the best pruners you’ll ever buy. They’ll last you a lifetime…IF you take care of them. Mine got all rusted and weren’t gliding as smoothly as they once did. They also weren’t cutting very well, especially when I tackled an overgrown bougainvillea....

Yards aren’t created equal. Some are beautifully flat and easy to work with, but others may be set on a sloped surface going either up or down. Without doing major terraforming, you’re stuck working with the landscape you’ve got. Thankfully, building a raised bed on a slope is an option, and there are multiple ways to do it! Table of Contents Depending on how steep the grade is where you’d like to place your raised beds, different variations may be necessary....

Eggplant is a delicious vegetable that grows easily in many different climates. It thrives in hot, humid summers, and can produce dozens of pounds of eggplants in a single season. The fruit is sometimes prone to pest attacks, so it’s an excellent candidate to use companion plant methods on. Let’s talk more about eggplant companion plants that will help it grow better. Table of Contents There are many different benefits from planting different crops near eggplant....

Do you absolutely love growing your own food? Maybe you already have chickens and a garden in the backyard, but want to take your sustainable lifestyle to the next level. Table of Contents That’s where aquaponics comes in. It’s been around for hundreds of years, with roots in ancient China and South America, but is becoming more and more popular in modern society due to its incredible efficiency in growing both plants and fish....