Mastering Your Meal Prep

If your Crassula ovatais losing its charm and you haven’t got a clue why, then this article has your back! We investigate things that might be killing this hardy succulent and what you should stop doing immediately.

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Have you ever wondered how often you should water your vegetable garden? Watering may seem straightforward, but there are some important considerations to think about before you get out your watering can or the garden hose. The way you water your plants is essential for them to grow and thrive. “Just like the sun, water is a key component to having a successful veggie garden,” says Nicole Shah, gardener and co-founder of Garden Girls, a garden design company in Houston, Texas.

Header image: Cilantro seedlings grown in 100% recycled glass material. Image credit: Andrea Quezada

Does location still matter most? Should you remodel your home to suit your tastes, or for resale value? Are starter homes still a thing? We all have plenty of questions about the ever-changing world of real estate. In our Ask an Agentseries, we’re partnering with experts at Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate to answer your biggest questions about finding, buying, and selling a home.

Got pests? Encourage native ladybugs to inhabit your garden instead of buying wild-harvested ladybugs to manage unwanted insects. Purchased ladybugs are expensive and potentially disease-carrying, threatening native bug species already living in your garden and the surrounding area. Your best bet is to attract and encourage native ladybugs to thrive and flourish, which will responsibly deter unwanted pests.

Native plants, as the name indicates, grow naturally in an area or region. There is a growing shift among many people away from a manicured garden with non-local species in support of more natural areas, and especially, for embracing native plants.

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The best ground covers are multi-purpose workhorses, suppressing weeds, preventing soil erosion, and adding another level of interest to garden beds. Naturally, we’d prefer them not to be invasive, and to look good over a long season. But why do so many gardeners seem to fall back on the same few choices? In this episode, Danielle, Carol, and expert guest Amanda Thomsen cover new ground in their quest to expand the definition of what a ground cover can be. Whether it’s a tough but underused North American native, a cheeky little annual, or an unusual self-seeding edible, we hope you will find something unexpected but garden-worthy in this episode.  

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Basil is an herb known for loving sun and warm weather conditions, so it might be alarming to suddenly see the shiny, fragrant leaves shriveling up, and beg the question: why is your basil wilting?