Sep 04 2025
Peas are usually associated with spring, but in the right climate they can make an excellent fall garden crop too. The challenge is timing. Fall peas need to be planted while summer is still hanging on so that they have enough time to grow before cold weather ends the season. That means seeds may have …
Aug 01 2025
August can feel like the month when the garden begins winding down. Tomatoes are ripening, cucumbers may be sprawling everywhere, flowers are starting to look tired, and hot afternoons can make the idea of planting anything new seem slightly unreasonable. But August can actually mark the beginning of an entirely new gardening season. For much …
Jul 12 2025
Few things capture the flavor of summer quite like an heirloom tomato picked at the height of ripeness. They can be rosy pink, golden yellow, deep burgundy, striped green, nearly purple, or a combination of colors that looks almost too beautiful to slice. Unlike the uniformly round red tomatoes we are accustomed to seeing at …
Jun 12 2025
Tomatoes and basil belong together on the dinner table, but should they grow together in the garden too? Gardeners have paired these two warm-season plants for generations. Traditional companion-planting advice credits basil with everything from repelling tomato pests to improving the flavor of ripe tomatoes. Some of those claims have been repeated so often that …
Jun 10 2025
Starting a vegetable garden can feel surprisingly complicated when you first begin. Seed catalogs offer hundreds of varieties, garden centers are filled with fertilizers and tools, and online advice can make it seem as though you need to understand soil chemistry, crop rotation, companion planting, irrigation, and pest management before putting a single seed in …
May 24 2025
Companion planting is one of gardening’s most appealing ideas. Plant basil beside your tomatoes and pests disappear. Add marigolds and nematodes supposedly flee. Tuck in a few herbs and your tomatoes will somehow taste better. Some of those claims have been repeated for generations, but not all of them hold up particularly well when researchers …
May 12 2025
You don’t need a garden, potting soil, grow lights, or even much counter space to watch a handful of seeds turn into fresh green sprouts. A glass jar, water, a draining lid, and seeds intended for sprouting are enough to get started. Depending on the variety, many sprouts are ready within just a few days. …
May 07 2025
Watermelon seedlings look deceptively small when they first go into the garden. A few weeks later, those compact plants can send vines sprawling several feet in every direction, weaving through neighboring vegetables and quickly claiming far more space than expected. Giving watermelons enough room from the beginning helps the vines receive sunlight, improves air circulation, …
May 02 2025
May is one of the busiest—and most rewarding—months in the garden. Spring flowers are in full swing, vegetable beds are filling up, perennial growth seems to change overnight, and warm-season plants are finally ready to move outside in many parts of the country. But May does not mean the same thing everywhere. Gardeners in colder …
Apr 23 2025
That flat base left behind after you chop a bunch of celery does not necessarily have to go straight into the compost bin. Place it in a little water, give it good light, and within days you may see fresh green leaves emerging from the center. Growing celery from scraps is one of the easiest …
