Tips for Growing Dinnerplate Dahlias

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Discover the secrets to a thriving f

THAT OLD, DISCARDED ELECTRIC FAN that isn’t strong enough for the hot summers of global warming…hey, bring it on. It’s perfect for accomplishing one of the tricks to growing better tomato seedlings, which is (after all) the only thing you probably really care about on the run-up to another spring. To hell with winter.

WANT TO SUCCEED with blueberries? Ask the guy with a Ph.D. in the subject, author of all the best books on home-garden fruit growing: Lee Reich, a repeat guest on my public-radio show, and an old friend. That’s Lee’s blueberry netted “gazebo” up top, meant to keep the crop safe from birds and other hungry types.

Carefully choose your varieties for each season, sowing faster-maturing varieties for spring and slower-maturing varieties for summer plantings for fall harvest and storage.2.Direct sow for success: Growing root vegetables can be especially challenging because they require direct seeding to grow strong, unhindered roots and some grow rather slowly from seeds, especially in cooler spring soils. Beets are an exception that can be transplanted, with care taken to get them planted at the right time. (Some farmers are experimenting with planting radishes, beets, and even carrots with the Paperpot Transplanter to give them a jump on the weeds.)3. Don’t skimp on sunshine—select a full-sun location. Too much shade means your plants may struggle, and under-perform.4.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. With a bit of planning at planting time, garl

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Have you tried growing potato

Wait, ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’ tomatoes?I bet you’re wondering how an heirloom tomato came to share a name with cereals

Some vegetables we grow in our gardens have names that may exaggerate a little. Take ‘Great White Northern’ beans, for example, which I’d argue are just a bit above average, but not necessarily “great.”‘Supersweet 100’ tomatoes go in the opposite direction.We link to ve

You never forget your first. Homegrown heirloom tomato plant, that is.Well, I haven’t, at least. It was a ‘Yellow Pear,’ purchased during one of th

Step outside your door and look around at your lawn and garden. You probably see a few common weeds. Now look again. You might also be looking at dinner or the ingredients for a poultice to ease that rash that’s been nagging you.It’s easy to disregard weeds as a troublesome nuis

Peas, Pisum sativum, are a cool-weather crop for USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 11.Those in zones that receive

If you look up during the winter, when all the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves, you might spot something still growing up there, tucked in the bare branches.It might be mistletoe, that beautiful parasite that we smooc