Search Results
-
What Are the Effects of Iron on Plant Growth?
What is Iron? Iron, the 26th element in the periodic table, is one of 16 vital elements that are necessary for plants to grow and be healthy. While most people may think of iron as the tough, rust-prone material in their cast iron skillets, actually iron comes in various forms. Plants can make use of some of them, but in many types of soil, plants need a little help to be able to get the iron they need. What is the Function of Iron in Plants? Where plants are concerned, iron is a micronutrie...
-
How Soil Moisture Can Affect Your Plant's Growth
Anyone who's ever tried to cultivate house plants knows the impact of soil moisture, whether a plant is too dry or too wet. Every plant has an optimal range in which the soil is conducive to healthy plant growth. It's relatively easy to control in your home, but what about in the garden? How can you ensure that your plants are given the best chance to thrive? In this piece, we'll talk about how soil moisture affects healthy plant growth and how you can provide the optimal soil moi...
-
How to Really Boost Your Garden With Epsom Salt
The next time your garden needs a little TLC, you may want to check your beauty cabinet. That's because Magnesium Sulfate (aka Epsom salt) is a personal care product with a one-two punch! Magnesium is a mineral known to help the body perform over 300 critical functions and while many use Epsom salt during bath time to relieve muscle pain, others maximize the healing benefits of magnesium by applying the salt crystals to their plants. Curious as to how Epsom salt can amp up your food plant...
-
How to Nourish Your Soil in the Winter
In most climates, planting seasons are cyclical. This means that during an off or dormant season, you should just leave your soil alone, right? Well, not if you want to optimize your plants' health and yield in the following season. Gardening is a full-time job, and you need to ensure that your soil receives proper nourishment all year long, including in the winter. Here are a few tips to make sure that when the winter turns to spring, your soil is primed and ready to burst forth with pla...
-
Should You Worry That Your Soil is Contaminated?
What Does it Mean if Your Soil is Contaminated? If your soil is contaminated, there's a chance that the toxic materials can be absorbed into the plants you're growing. These chemicals are detrimental to soil health and could damage, or even kill, the plants you're growing. If you're growing fruit or vegetables, it might be best not to eat them and dispose of your plants if the chemical content of your soil is too high. This is because contaminated soil is most harmful when i...
-
Why Do Frost Dates Matter For Your Garden?
Planting a garden in any other season rather than Spring can be challenging. Gardening in Winter and Fall can prove to be especially difficult in certain locations. This is why it’s important to keep in mind to the frost dates noted for the area where you live. Read on to learn what frost dates are, how they differ from freeze dates and how both can affect your cold month harvests. What is a Frost Date? A frost date is generally defined as the day where the likelihood of the ground being fr...
-
6 Frost Tolerant Vegetables You’ll Want in Your Garden
In many places, Fall brings colorful foliage but it also brings cooler temperatures along with it that can make an Autumn harvest challenging even for the most experienced gardener. This is why for the cool weather months, we’re fans of semi-hardy and hardy vegetables which can withstand lower temperatures. Semi-hardy vegetables can survive repeated light frosts in the 30–32˚F range meanwhile, hardy vegetables can tolerate temperatures as low as 20˚F. Cold weather conditions even enhance the ...
-
How to Easily Determine Your Soil Type
A lush summer lawn is the American Dream – bright green grass, vivid flowers, and shady trees. Having curb appeal that makes you the envy of the neighborhood is easier than you think, and it all comes down to understanding the characteristics of your soil and any soil erosion you may have. What Are the Different Types of Soil? There are four main types of soil that homeowners in the U.S. have: Sand - made up of small mineral particles, warms fast and drains easily, but may cause your plants...
-
How to Prep Your Garden For Healthy Root Growth
Any self-respecting gardener would tell you how important the roots of a plant are. After all, just because you can't see them, doesn't mean that they aren't one of the main sources of your plants well-being. Keeping roots healthy is a vital part of looking after your plants and this short guide should help you identify the difference between healthy and unhealthy roots, and how you can treat poor root health. Why Do Roots Matter? Roots exist to take in water and nutrients from t...
-
5 Harmful Garden Insects and How to Eliminate Them
As a gardener, it may seem like everything and anything is a threat to the wellbeing of your plants. This is especially true at the start of the growing season when warmer weather invites hungry insects to come out to play. But oftentimes, we notice our damaged plants before spotting the bug responsible. How quickly you realize your plants are infested can mean the difference between saving them or calling it quits. Read on to learn of a few of the most common harmful garden insects, how to i...
-
Square Foot Gardening: Is it the Best Choice?
Looking for simple gardening methods that make growing fresh veggies easy - even if you have only a small amount of space to work with? Want to supplement your healthy lifestyle by cultivating your very own salad greens, herbs, and other edibles? Square foot gardening, also known as SFG, is a technique that was developed by American author and TV host Mel Bartholomew in the 1970s. It's designed to make growing food crops easy while maximizing yields, and when treated with organic fertiliz...
-
6 Clever Ways to Reuse Your Christmas Tree in the Garden
Wait! You may not want to drag your Christmas tree to the curb just yet. We may have said goodbye to another Christmas and your tree may have lost some of its evergreen color as a result, but that doesn't mean this holiday pine has completely fulfilled its purpose. There are a couple ways you can recycle your Christmas tree that will benefit your garden well into the New Year! From mulch to ground cover, learn how you can reuse and recycle parts of your tree long after Christmas is over. ...
-
How to Care for the Seedlings in Your Garden
Deciding to grow your own food is a major step and a larger commitment than many people realize. Sowing a seed is probably the easiest part. It’s caring for the seedling afterward that may be the most challenging. Keep reading to learn how to properly care for your seedlings so they grow into mature, productive plants. What Are Seedlings? A seedling is a young plant cultivated from a seed rather than a cutting. The first stage of seedling development begins with the germination of a seed. As ...
-
How Do Synthetic and Organic Fertilizers Compare?
Knowing the type of fertilizer to apply to your garden can be a little tricky. With the number of choices available, how are you to decide which is most suitable for your garden? An easy place to start is by considering the two main categories of fertilizer: organic and synthetic. While most might think organic is always the way to go, there are some instances where synthetic might be a better choice for your plants. Read on to learn the differences between synthetic and organic fertilizer, h...
-
Get the Most From Your Garden With Companion Planting
As gardening becomes increasingly popular, the methods used to ensure a productive garden have also become more strategic. Gone are the days where planting certain vegetables and fruits just for the sake of growing them would yield positive results. With more growers becoming serious about the health and bounty of their crops, now's a great time to really consider what plants are right for your garden based on what you’d like to achieve and companion planting is one way to get you there. ...
-
Should You Grow in a Straw Bale Garden?
Straw bale gardening is a technique that uses bunches of straw as hosts for growing plants. This method of cultivation is built like a raised bed garden - above ground with the exception that you use straw bales in place of soil. Find out how you can create your own straw bale garden, the pros and cons of it and what you can grow with this gardening method. Which Type of Straw is Needed? To make a beautiful, healthy garden you need good, firm straw bales. Wheat, rice or barley are good choic...
