Savvy Gardening

Small pumpkins: How to plant, grow, and harvest small pumpkins

Small pumpkins are so much fun to grow! They’re easy and productive, often yielding a dozen or more pumpkins per plant. Kids love them but so do adults and the mini fruits can be used as autumn or Halloween decor, craft projects, or baked in pies and muffins. The pint-sized fruits offer a range of rind colors including classic orange, as well as white, bluish-green, or even bi-colors. In this article you’ll learn everything you need to know about planting, growing, and harvesting a bumper crop of small pumpkins, as well as discover the best varieties to grow.

Build a lettuce table from an old piece of furniture

Written by Tara Nolan

Several years ago, I saw a picture of a lettuce table in a magazine and knew it was something that I wanted to eventually make for myself. The idea appealed to both my green thumb and my crafty side. When I started writing my book, Raised Bed Revolution, I decided that this project had been lingering on my garden wish list for long enough. And a new book project provided the perfect opportunity to get my act in gear and finally build it.
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10 gardening tips to save money on groceries this fall

Written by Niki Jabbour

Put your garden to work now to save you money this fall. Not only can you expect a cost savings, but you’ll also enjoy fresh, healthy food packed with flavor. No outdoor space? No problem! There are also many vegetables and herbs that can be grown inside your home in fall, and even winter. In this article I’ll share 10 gardening tips to help you save money on groceries this fall.

Are caladiums perennials? Tips for saving caladiums

Written by Niki Jabbour

Caladiums are a tropical, leafy addition to ornamental gardens even in non-tropical areas, but are caladiums perennials? Known by the common names angel wings and elephant ears, we plant these pops of color as annuals because most of us in North America, the UK, and Europe see frosts and freezing temperatures; however, in caladium’s native frost-free Central America and South America, this plant is grown as a perennial. In this article, I’ll provide some of the reasoning behind the “are caladiums perennials” question, look at the best places to grow caladiums, explain how you can save and replant your caladiums year after year, and offer a few other caladium-growing tips.

Red hot poker plant care: A complete guide

Written by Jessica Walliser

Looking for an easy-care perennial flower that is deer resistant and a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies? Look no further than the red hot poker plant! It’s one of my personal favorites. Depending on your climate and the specific variety you choose, red hot pokers can send up their colorful flower stalks as early as June, and some can bloom through September or even October. Thankfully, red hot poker plant care is fairly easy and well worth it since these unusual plants can be absolutely jaw-dropping additions to most any garden. In this article, I’ll share all the info you need to grow these beautiful perennials.
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How to save zinnia seeds to plant next year

Written by Tara Nolan

Zinnias are the ornamental pillars of my raised bed vegetable gardens because I enjoy growing a mix of food and flowers. Not only do the flowers feed pollinators, the plants continue producing blooms, often right up until the first frosts, attracting butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Knowing how to save zinnia seeds is a great skill to have in your gardener’s toolbox. Zinnia blooms produce so many seeds, in fact, that you might not have to buy new ones for many years—if ever.