Share my passion for all things gardening!
Plant Parenting: Easy Ways to Make More Houseplants, Vegetables, and Flowers by Leslie F. Halleck (Timber Press, 256 pp., 2019, $24.95) How are your plant propagation skills? If you’re like me, you’re probably pretty decent at starting plants from seed but maybe not so great at taking cuttings to propagate plants. I first heard about Leslie Halleck’s new book, Plant […]
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For today’s garden column, I wrote about growing artichokes. And specifically what you can you to have productive artichokes if you live in a colder, shorter growing season. Here is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Chill artichoke seedlings to fool them into producing. Or you can read my column below (don’t miss the related […]
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For this week’s column, I wrote about seed-starting: the supplies you need and the steps to go through in order to be successful. Here’s a link to it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Give seeds a good start with the right containers, soil and light. (or you can read my column lower in this post) I’ve been starting […]
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I’ve been growing microgreens during the winter months for several years now. Up until recently, I have planted the seeds in a seed-starting mix (also known as a germination mix). I recently heard about using jute mats in place of the sterile potting soil. Intrigued, I ordered some from True Leaf Market and tried them out. Spoiler alert: It turns […]
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What would you say if I told you it’s possible to plant specially-prepared containers with seeds and put them outside? Right when where it’s snowy and/or rainy for the rest of the winter? That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But winter sowing is a viable, no-fuss way to start seeds. It just happens to be the topic of this week’s video […]
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Whether you’re growing vegetables or flowers (or both), this is the perfect time to order your seeds and focus on the right timing for your seed-starting activities. And I’ve got some helpful tools and information right here on this website to help you out. First of all, you might want to check out which veggies I’ll be growing in my […]
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It’s time for my next monthly garden column! This one is about seed viability (the shelf life of seeds) and some of my favorite seed catalogs. You can read it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: ‘Tis the season to prepare. (or you can read my column lower in this post) Oh how I love looking at new seed catalogs! […]
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I’veI finally set up a grow light so I could start growing microgreens for the winter. What? You haven’t heard of microgreens or vaguely recall my mentioning this last winter? I think a “growing microgreens refresher” is in order! Put simply, this involves thickly sowing vegetable or herb seeds. You harvest them as very young seedlings (usually with just a […]
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Perhaps I caught your attention with today’s topic, eh? After all, we gardeners love saving money in the garden, right? You can learn more about this in my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Saving money in the garden. (or you can read my column lower in this post) On July 12, I posted a question on my Facebook […]
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Take a look at this tomato seedling. I just planted it in the garden yesterday and am very pleased with the shape it’s in. I’m not posting this to brag. But, in my humble opinion, this is absolutely the perfect size tomato seedling for transplanting. You might recall that I mentioned a few weeks ago when I plant my tomato […]
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