Sunflowers are popular, easy-to-grow annual flowers. They make good landscape and container plants and are excellent cut flowers. Varieties are available in a number of heights, colors, flower sizes, and flower forms, so they can be used effectively in a range of ways in the garden and landscape. Although most sunflowers are grown as ornamentals, they also produce edible seeds relished by birds, and some varieties are grown primarily for their seeds. There has been increasing interest in growing sunflowers as cut flowers and flowering potted plants for weddings. Because they are easy-to-grow and reasonably fast to bloom, sunflowers make […]
Author: Jaclyn Johnsen
11 Watering Tips for Your Garden
Updated 5/14/2024 Watering new plants, shrubs, and trees is the single most important factor enabling your plants to succeed, but watering plants isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. It’s important to keep the soil moist around new plants, whether they are tiny seedlings or recently planted trees or shrubs, but excessive moisture can cause problems, too. Know Your Plant’s Watering Needs The usual rule of thumb is that vegetable and flower gardens, to do well, require consistent water of 1 inch per week. Where or when rainfall is lacking, supplemental water must be given. However, moisture-loving plants will need […]
Balcony Gardening
What Is Balcony Gardening and How to Make the Most of It? Balcony gardening can be a very rewarding and relaxing activity, a way of getting in touch with nature and inviting it into your own home, as well as harvesting food you’ve grown yourself. If you’re living in an apartment, maybe you did not consider gardening to be a viable hobby for you, but you can do a little bit of gardening even on the smallest of balconies. Setting up a balcony garden can be quite rewarding. Aside from obvious esthetic reasons, urban gardens, big or small, are also […]
Tomato Growing Guide
Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables. They come in a variety of colors, sizes, shapes, and flavors. Tomatoes can be eaten raw or cooked and are an excellent addition to many recipes. Growing tomatoes can sometimes be a little challenging. This tomato growing guide will answer all your tomato growing questions and more. Starting Your Tomatoes The seed starting process is the most exciting kick-off to the gardening season. Watching your seedlings grow into sturdy, colorful, tasty plants can be fascinating. Scheduling tomato seeding, starting the process correctly, and proper growing on maintenance is important to your tomato […]
7 Tips To Attracting Reptiles, Toads, & Frogs To Your Garden
Whether you love reptiles or not, no good garden is complete without them! Garden reptiles eat critters you would rather not have around your home and plants, including slugs, grubs, caterpillars, sowbugs, crickets, roaches, worms, firefly larvae, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, termites, and rodents. Herps are a great way to bring more life to your garden and get rid of unwanted pests. Herps are short for herptiles and it stands for reptiles and amphibians. There are some easy ways to welcome them into your garden and encourage them to stay. Here are 7 ways to provide water, food, and shelter that […]
21 Popular Heirloom Vegetables
Heirlooms plants are at least 50 to 100 years old! They come with a fascinating history. Heirlooms come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and flavors. The seeds can be saved and replanted allowing you to enjoy your heirloom plant year after year. We’ve chosen our 21 most popular heirloom varieties for you to enjoy. Ailsa Craig Exhibition Onion Improved Tendergreen Bush Bean Bull’s Blood Beet De Cicco (Di Ciccio) Broccoli Danish Ballhead Cabbage Chantenay Carrot Bloody Butcher Ornamental Corn Chicago Pickling Cucumber Black Beauty Zucchini Squash Buttercrunch Lettuce Pride of Wisconsin Melon Hollow Crown Parsnip Green Arrow […]
Understanding Heirloom and Hybrid Varieties
Home gardeners have access to a large variety of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. In some crops, there are so many varieties available that choosing what to grow can be overwhelming, especially for new gardeners. Understanding the differences between heirloom versus hybrid varieties can be challenging. New gardeners can find solace in knowing that there are advantages and disadvantages of both, but the advantages of either choice, far outweigh their disadvantages. Heirloom Plants What is an Heirloom Plant? The debate gets intense when trying to explain what the definition of an heirloom variety is. Some experts define an heirloom as being […]
Potato Growing Guide
Potatoes are popular vegetables grown for their nutritious underground tubers. Harvested fresh from the garden, they are full of flavor and versatile in cooking. Potatoes are nutritionally high in vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and protein, all with no fat. The skin of the potato contains the majority of the potatoes fiber and many of the nutrients are located close to the skin. Follow this potato growing guide and you will see potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have full sun, moderate temperatures, and light, rich, acidic, well-drained soil. Try some of the many varieties with unique colors, […]
Container Gardening For Beginners
Benefits of Container Gardening Container gardening is a great way to enjoy fresh produce during the entire year. If you lack the space for a full-sized garden, you may feel like your options are limited. However, with a little gardening know-how and careful attention, many vegetable and herb crops can be grown in a container and harvested right to your plate. Benefits include: Plants for Container Gardening The first element to consider with container vegetable gardening is what kinds of vegetables you would like to harvest. Some types are naturally better suited for container production. For beginners, some good vegetable […]
17 Flavorful Pepper Types
Peppers come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, flavors, and heat intensity. We use the Scoville Scale to measure heat. Even extremely hot peppers can have wonderful flavors and be used in many recipes. Peppers are popular, versatile vegetables. Below are some of our favorite flavorful peppers. Anaheim The Anaheim pepper is medium in size. It comes in colors of red and green. It has a mild flavor which is popular in cooking. The Anaheim pepper is easy to grow and produces high yielding crops. Scoville Heat Units: 500 to 2,500 Jung Seed Favorite – Anaheim Chili Pepper Banana […]