Growing potatoes in containers is something anyone can do! My girls and I do this every year, sometimes more than once a season. Learning how to plant potatoes from eyes on existing ones can cut your grocery bill down using this fun garden trick. If you find sprouted spuds happily vining away in your pantry,…
Switching around the way you lay out your gardens can benefit your plants in different ways. From moving by vegetable group to trying out companion planting, here are six answers to the question, “What are your most helpful tips for crop rotation in your backyard garden?” Move Each Vegetable Group Every Few Years “Crop rotation…
Starting seeds is such a fun and empowering part of gardening. And, planting germinated seeds in soil most likely easier than you might expect! (I especially love starting seeds in wet paper towels – have you tried my favorite method? I’d recommend starting there if not!) I’m delighted to share the method I use when…
Decorating the front doorstep for fall is so satisfying! And stacked pumpkins are my favorite fall style. It’s a lot of fun finding a cool variety of flat stacker pumpkins to use, with a mix of colors, sizes, styles, and textures! Stacking pumpkins looked gorgeous on our doorstep – an idea that came as inspiration…
Luckily other gardeners often watch out for one another – my neighbor just asked me about the impending cold weather and how to protect plants from frost. As I prepare my own gardens, I am happy to share my tips on DIY frost protection for plants, both annuals and perennials. Every time the big frost…
It’s always sad as the growing season staggers to a close. Deciding what to do with sunflower stalks may come down to your remaining intentions for the garden. You can deal with dead stalks in a variety of ways, which I’ll share here for your convenience. Depending on how the last few weeks of the…
If you are wondering what to do with marigolds at the end of the season, you can rest easy. Most of the time, marigolds will bloom until the first big frost takes them out. Here in PA, we enjoy ours until sometime in October. After the frost comes at the end of the growing season,…
With a powerful meaning behind this Mexican tradition, the sugar skull designs of “Calavera” deserve special attention and respect. In admiration, we tried to embrace this beautiful idea with a fall craft. You can make a no-paint sugar skull pumpkin using a “Casper pumpkin” (white pumpkin) in your own nod to Day of the Dead…
Nobody thinks twice about finding a pet sitter when it’s time to go on vacation if the pets can’t come along. So of course, finding a plant sitter is an option for watering your garden while on vacation, too, but it isn’t the only option for the best irrigation! Setting up a hose timer with…
There’s an old joke about lock your car or else you may find a zucchini inside from your gardening neighbor! It’s hilarious, but in some cases, it doesn’t speak to the fact that zucchini can sometimes be trickier to grow than others. First of all, do zucchini need a trellis?! Known to be hardy and…