Quick Summary: Starting a vegetable garden begins with assessing your space, sun exposure, soil quality, and water access. Begin with easy crops like lettuce, herbs, bush beans, and radishes. If […]
How to Start a Vegetable Garden: A Beginner’s Planning Guide Read Post »
Quick Summary: Mini vegetables like ‘Tom Thumb’ peas, ‘Patio Baby’ eggplant, ‘Bambino’ carrots, and alpine strawberries are ideal for balcony and patio container gardens. Most need pots at least 10
Mini Vegetables for Balcony Gardens and Small Pots: Best Varieties and Pot Sizes Read Post »
Quick Summary: Container vegetable gardening requires good drainage, appropriately sized pots, sterile potting soil, consistent watering, and regular fertilizing. Determinate tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and salad greens are excellent choices for
Growing Vegetables in Containers: 6 Keys to Success Read Post »
Quick Summary: Most garden fruits and vegetables need bee pollination to produce crops. Attract pollinators by planting nectar flowers near your vegetables throughout the growing season. For indoor gardens, hand-pollinate
Pollination Guide: Which Fruits and Vegetables Need Bees? Read Post »
Quick Summary: Grow blueberries in wide pots (at least 20 inches in diameter) with acidic soil (half peat, half potting mix). Choose half-high varieties for pots (Polaris, Northland, Chippewa). Full
Growing Blueberries in Pots: Best Container Size, Varieties and How Long They Live Read Post »
Quick Summary: Grow tomatoes in hanging baskets using small, determinate varieties like Tumbler, Tumbling Tom, or Tiny Tim. Use a sturdy basket at least 12 inches wide and deep with
Hanging Tomato Plants for Baskets and Balconies: Best Varieties and Growing Tips Read Post »
Quick Summary: A complete guide to starting a balcony herb garden. Covers which herbs grow best in containers, design ideas for small spaces, care basics (light, water, soil), and troubleshooting
How to Grow Herbs on a Balcony (or Deck): A Detailed Beginners Guide Read Post »
Quick Summary: Grow bags offer excellent drainage and air pruning for tomato roots. Use 7-10 gallon bags for determinate varieties, 15-20 gallons for indeterminate. The porous fabric dries out faster
Tomatoes in Grow Bags: Sizes, Setup, and Growing Tips Read Post »
We’re all well aware of the benefits of growing your own food: it’s tasty, it’s cheap and it’s fun. But what if you don’t have a big garden to grow
Indoor Vertical Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Food at Home Read Post »
You don’t need land to grow food. A balcony, deck, or small patio can produce vegetables, herbs, and even fruit if you grow vertically. I’ve helped customers at the Twin
Vertical Gardening: How to Grow Food in Small Spaces Read Post »
Quick Summary: A salsa container garden needs two 24-inch planters: one with a staked tomato, garlic, onions, and cilantro; one with a pepper plant and more onions and cilantro. Choose
How to Grow a Salsa Garden and Make Salsa Roja Read Post »
Quick Summary: Attract butterflies by planting nectar flowers (milkweed, aster, coneflower, black-eyed Susan) and host plants for caterpillars (milkweed for monarchs, fennel for swallowtails). Herbs like lavender, basil, and mint
How to Attract Butterflies: Best Flowers and Herbs for Your Garden Read Post »
Guide for the beginner on growing strawberries at home, whether in a container, raised bed, or in the garden
Growing Strawberries in Pots or Garden: 5 Keys to Sweet, Long-Lived Berries Read Post »
Quick Summary: Group container herbs by growing conditions for success. Sun-loving herbs: basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, lavender. Shade-tolerant: parsley, cilantro, mint, chives. Moisture-loving: basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, chives. Drought-tolerant:
Growing Herbs in Containers: Combinations by Cuisine, Climate, and Use Read Post »
Growing tomatoes in pots can be tricky. Here are some tips to help make your container gardening of tomatoes more successful
Tomato Plants in Pots: Varieties, Pot Sizes, and Growing Tips Read Post »
Quick Summary: Comparing four tomato support methods; cages, staking, sprawling, and fencing. After 23 years of trials, I recommend sturdy hog wire fencing for the best combination of yield, easy
Tomato Plant Support Systems: Cages vs Stakes vs Fencing” Read Post »
