Search

THE LAST CROP to go into the garden, garlic is planted in fall and harvested the following summer. Flavorful, nutritious, and helpful for warding off vampires, garlic is also easy [...]

Just as there's no such thing as a perfect garden, there's no perfect gardener either. We all make mistakes, but, in doing so, we learn which ones never to repeat, [...]

There are three main ways to improve your soil--grow cover crops, mulch the surface with biodegradable mulches, and/ or dig in organic soil amendments (such as compost, grass clippings, rotted [...]

Right now, before you forget, put a rubber band around your wrist to remind you of one gardening task that cannot be postponed: Planting seeds for your fall garden. As [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Can you name three crops that will keep easily for months in a cool closet? (Try winter squash, sweet potatoes and garlic.) Or how about vegetables that stay [...]

Easy to grow, quick to bear and naturally resistant to disease, supernutritious berries are the best fruits to grow organically. Plus, they rarely lose their newly fertilized flowers to late [...]

What techniques will you use to build better soil this season? Whether you're filling new beds with bags of compost or tinkering with loam you've been nurturing for years, your [...]

Last fall, we hatched what has turned out to be a terrific idea: a national survey to rate North America's most productive garden crops. We invited thousands of our readers [...]

Last year, I committed one of the great sins of gardening: I let weeds go to seed. cleaning up in fall, I faced down a ton of seed-bearing foxtail, burdock [...]

Everybody eats, and what you eat is getting more expensive all the time. By September, food prices had risen 13 percent in just three years--to about $165 a week, or [...]

If you want to grow nutritious and tasty flesh vegetables this time of year, sprouts are the answer to your prayers. In just a few days, a handful of seeds [...]

Packaged potting soils are a terrific convenience, but their cost adds up fast in a busy garden. Last year, I paid $7 per 22-quart bag for my favorite, McEnroe Organic, [...]

Last winter, Territorial Seeds in Cottage Grove, Ore., surveyed its customers to see when they wanted their new seed catalog to arrive in the mail. The results: Gardeners want new [...]

Developing an organic garden is a long-term proposition. Each infusion of compost or mulch that melds with soil nudges organic matter content higher, until eventually you have soil you can [...]

If you want to keep your garden productive well into fall, then late summer is a busy season that must be embraced. Hot temperatures are as rough on plants as [...]

Many gardeners freeze, can or give away surplus zucchini and tomatoes, but what about drying them? Not only is drying a delicious way to preserve and concentrate the flavors of [...]

Sharp-eyed handpicking and trapping can control many garden pests, but not even' insect battle can be won with hand-to-hand combat. Instead, you may need an intervention plan that affects the [...]

Is this the year you finally start a garden? Or maybe you long for one more bed of bush beans, or you need space for one last pair of tomatoes. [...]

Vermicompost, or compost made mostly by earthworms, is seven times richer in plant nutrients compared to compost created mostly by fungi and bacteria, and recent studies suggest that small amounts [...]

As more and more people recognize the many benefits of organic gardening methods, a fresh crop of organic fertilizers are sprouting on store shelves. Many are overpriced, and some are [...]

The most common way to grow new plants is to sow seeds, but many plants also can be propagated vegetatively by rooting tip cuttings or stems, or dividing clumps. If [...]

This lineup of America's 20 favorite tomatoes will fill your growing season with an array of colors and fabulous flavors. How We Picked Winners We tapped into the minds of [...]

In many organic gardeners' storage sheds lurk what look like stashes of dirty bed linens. These are actually sheets of reusable fabric row covers, which serve as barriers between plants [...]

Blackberries are among the best and worst of fruits you can grow in your yard. In many areas, they grow themselves--often a little too well. The thorny vines eagerly overtake […]

Gardening guru Eliot Coleman asserts that 'the basic cold flame is the most dependable, least exploited aid for the four-season harvest.' We couldn't agree more. Last winter, my humble box […]

What are you growing in your garden this winter? This is not a trick question. When you work an organic food garden in ways that bring out the best in […]

Can you name three crops that will keep easily for months in a cool closet? (Try winter squash, sweet potatoes and garlic.) Or how about vegetables that stay fresh until […]

It happens in the best of gardens. Your plants are growing beautifully, and then you notice some of them are being consumed by pathogenic (from the Greek pathos, meaning suffering) […]

Cucumbers are easy to grow, but coaxing your version of a perfect crop from the garden takes strategy and organization. The exuberant vines are prone to producing all at once, [...]

It's a rare gardener whose planting plan does not include summer squash, be they zucchini, yellow squash or scalloped pattypan types. Many questions arise when considering your own squash patch: [...]

My home security system is large and black--and she pants when it's hot and sheds hair every spring. In return for regular feeding, periodic veterinary care and grooming, I get [...]

Whether you call them suckers, water sprouts or stump twigs, chances are you have a pretty low opinion of the long, skinny branches that grow from tree stumps or inhabit […]

There is an old saying that 'you make your own luck,' which is a fine five-word summary of the art of growing cherries. From getting to know their strengths and […]

Every day is a good day to eat homegrown tomatoes, so why not do all you can to make the dream of year-round fresh tomatoes come true? It's easy to […]

As late winter days lengthen, resourceful gardeners scurry to collect cloches, erect plastic-covered tunnels and put together a workable cold frame. Using season-stretching devices such as these can add four […]

One of the best ways to escape the winter blahs is to let your thoughts wander into next year's garden. Imagine your frozen soil thawed into glistening loam where robins […]

Many people start composting for practical reasons. Composting your leaves, grass clippings, garden waste and food scraps reduces the amount of garbage you generate. Plus, compost is essential for a […]

The stunning flavors of culinary herbs make them star players in a healthy diet, and the best way to make the most of big-flavor herbs is to grow them yourself. […]

On any day of the year, you may find two types of fresh green beans at your local supermarket. The ones with round pods will be labeled 'snap beans,' and […]

Would you like to reduce air pollution, recycle your money into your community, support family farmers and enjoy food that tastes better and is more nutritious than what you can […]

If you want to start a summer day off just right, take a spoon and half a slightly chilled cantaloupe, go outside and sit on the steps. Now, eat. Juicy, […]

Carrots are such a popular vegetable that you probably have some chilling in your refrigerator right now--but have you tried growing them in your garden? Growing carrots is easy as [...]

My home security system is large and black--and she pants when it's hot and sheds hair every spring. In return for regular feeding, periodic veterinary care and grooming, I get [...]

You can explore the wonderful world of great-tasting heirloom tomatoes by purchasing tomato seedlings from a mail-order company. Several companies now offer varieties that pair superior flavor with unique shapes [...]

We value beauty for its own sake, yet many colorful flowers have much to offer beyond their good looks. Some can be used medicinally, others are good to eat, and [...]

According to an ancient Chinese proverb, 'If you would be happy all your life, plant a garden.' Modern gardeners know this to be true, but unfortunately our gardens also seem [...]

Onions occupy an important place in the culinary world due to their wide variety and versatility. Sweet and mild onions can be enjoyed raw in salads or lightly cooked in [...]

Seed and nursery catalogs are one of the best ways to learn more about gardening and get fired up for the growing season ahead. Their primary goal is to sell [...]

Garlic tastes wonderful, whether you mince it for salsa, puree it for pesto, bake whole bulbs until the flesh is soft enough to spread on bread, or steam a few [...]