One of the easiest ways for gardeners to save money is to harvest and store seeds from their gardens. It’s easy. It’s fun. And harvesting and storing seeds is a tradition that goes back for many centuries. Fall and early winter is when you harvest and store seeds. For many gardeners, it’s the final activity of the garden season. Harvesting and storing seeds is a bittersweet way to say goodbye to one gardening season and look forward to the next one. You’ll be in good company when you start planting your stored seeds at the dawning of a new spring! How to Properly Harvest Seeds Harvesting your seeds is easy. You can get it done in these three steps: 1. Let the Plants Go to Seed Simply let a plant’s flowers go to seed. Think of a flower as a seed factory—because that’s exactly what it is. Leave the spent flowers on the plant so it can set seeds. Then, let the seeds dry on the plants. Don’t pluck them off before they are completely dry. And resist the temptation to … [Read more...] about How to Harvest and Store Seeds
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Grow Your Best Garden Ever
Would you like to grow your best garden ever? Well, great gardens don’t just happen. They certainly do not magically appear in your yard. So, the sooner you plan and start your best garden ever, the sooner it will begin to manifest in your yard. A great garden is typically the result of careful planning. Most extraordinary gardens are created over a period of years using the garden plan. Add a few happy accidents that happen along the way, and you have the recipe for a special horticultural wonder that will be the envy of the neighborhood. Don’t Be Afraid of Small Failures Talk to experienced gardeners and garden experts, and most will freely admit to buying plants that did not survive in their gardens. Karen Park Jennings, the former president of Park Seed, once told me, “I’ve learned a lot by killing plants.” That’s part of being a gardener. Some gardeners will even admit that some of their favorite plants arrived as volunteers in their garden. One of the healthiest … [Read more...] about Grow Your Best Garden Ever
Power Planter Augers: Digging Made Easy
Power Planter Changes Gardening Forever. Each spring, millions of pansies, petunias and other flowering plants are carefully planted in yards and gardens to beautify homes and landscapes. The same thing happens in vegetable gardens, where millions of tomatoes, peppers and other edible plants are planted. It doesn’t end there. Fall is the best time to plant spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are planted. Planting bulbs in the autumn ensures that yards and landscapes are brightened by colorful flowers as soon as winter fades. What do all those billions of plants and bulbs have in common? A hole has to be dug for every one of them. And that means a whole lot of time and energy is spent digging in the dirt. “The number of holes that are dug every year is astounding,” said Greg Niewold, president of Power Planter, the company that makes Power Planter augers. “Our mission is to reduce the time and effort it takes to dig planting … [Read more...] about Power Planter Augers: Digging Made Easy
Best Flowering Houseplants
As the popularity of houseplants continues to soar, Byron Martin of Logee’s Plants for Home and Garden selects some of the best flowering houseplants to grow now. Houseplants are more popular than ever. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that more people are now searching for the best flowering houseplants. More than 33 million Americans grew houseplants in 2019. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to spend more time at home. Now houseplants are trending all over social media as millennials become proud “plant parents.” “One of the most popular categories of houseplants is flowering plants, and sales of the best flowering houseplants are stronger than ever,” said Byron Martin, co-owner of Logee’s Plants for Home and Garden. “Flowering plants bring color and life into any room.” Despite how tropical they appear, many varieties of the best flowering houseplants are actually quite easy to grow. Here are seven of Martin’s favorite flowering houseplants. Best … [Read more...] about Best Flowering Houseplants
Soil Testing for Beginners
Soil testing and examining the soil is crucial to growing healthy plants. Quite simply, plants won't survive without good, healthy soil. Good soil can support plant growth because it contains the right amounts of nutrients plants need. Also, healthy soil has the right consistency to support root health and development. When the roots are growing rapidly, healthily, and happily, you can grow the healthiest plants. That’s why soil testing is so important. Soil testing is checking for all the qualities of good soil: structure, compaction, ease of use or workability, the presence of natural organisms, plant development, water infiltration, and soil pH. Here are some practical soil testing techniques. Soil Testing for Structure You can't tell if your garden soil is dry or wet just by looking at the surface. Dig a small hole about 10 inches deep and place the soil in a small tray. Try to take an intact soil sample and break it apart with your hands. Check if the soil is … [Read more...] about Soil Testing for Beginners