Savvy Gardening

Growing strawberries in pots and hanging baskets

Growing strawberries in pots and hanging baskets is an easy way to enjoy super-sweet fruits all summer long. I keep a pot of strawberries on my sunny back deck as well as a few baskets in my polytunnel so I can graze as I putter in the garden. But why grow in containers? Why not plant them right in the garden? Strawberry plants are compact and perfect for tucking in small spaces like pots, planters, and baskets. Growing in pots is also a good way to foil pests like slugs that seem to know just when a strawberry is most sweet. Plus, strawberries grown in containers are generally less prone to bacterial and fungal diseases.

Deer-resistant annuals: Colorful choices for sun and shade

Written by Jessica Walliser

Those of us who have a hearty population of deer visiting the yard know how challenging it is to keep them from destroying the garden. Both my front and back yards are Deer Central, so I sympathize with other gardeners who face the same issue. There are many strategies for gardening with deer, including building a fence and using spray deterrents, but your first line of defense is always to choose plants the deer don’t prefer. Today, I’d like to share some of my favorite deer-resistant annuals. These are reliable plants for summer color, even in the most deer-plagued garden.
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The best vegetables for a trellis: The top crops that love to climb

Written by Niki Jabbour

There are countless reasons to grow vegetables vertically. Maybe you want to grow more food in less space or reduce the occurrence of soil-borne diseases and insect pests. Or, perhaps you’re looking to add an ornamental element to your food garden, deck, or patio with a tunnel, A-frame trellis, or obelisk. Once you’ve picked your trellis, the fun part begins – selecting what to grow. In this article you’ll not only learn the best vegetables for a trellis, but get information on the different types of trellises to use in a vegetable garden.

Small evergreen shrubs for year-round interest

Written by Jessica Walliser

Evergreen plants have much to offer. Not only do they provide four seasons of visual interest to the garden, they also serve as windbreaks, increase privacy, and provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife. Unfortunately, most home landscapes include the same five or six evergreens, most of which grow way too large for smaller gardens. The constant pruning these plants require makes them high maintenance and labor intensive. Why fuss with full-sized evergreens like yews, arborvitaes, spruces, and rhododendrons that reach all the way up to the eaves of your house when the following small evergreen shrubs provide all the benefits of the “big guys” but in a much more manageable package?
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Planting a raised bed: Tips on spacing, sowing, and growing in raised bed gardens

Written by Tara Nolan

You’ve built your raised beds, or upcycled an old item into the perfect veggie garden. Now comes the fun part: filling it—and then enjoying your bountiful harvest later in the season, of course. We’ve teamed up with Eartheasy, a company that provides info and products for sustainable living, including natural cedar raised garden beds, to offer some tips on planting a raised bed.

Thinning carrots: How to plant and thin carrot seedlings

Written by Niki Jabbour

Thinning carrots is one of those tedious garden tasks that, although necessary, isn’t much fun. But why do we need to thin carrots anyway? It’s because carrot seeds are very small and it’s easy to accidentally plant them too thickly when sowing the tiny seeds. If carrots are spaced too close together, there isn’t enough room to develop large healthy roots and they may become stunted or misshapen.