I suspect that most gardeners make a promise to themselves at the start of every growing season to not let the weeds get the best of their garden. They swear they’re going to stay on top of the bittercress, chickweed, dandelions, spotted spurge, and henbit. But then reality strikes. Life takes over, and somehow there never seems to be enough time to stay ahead of the weeds. Well, after years of making the same promise to myself, I’ve finally found a way to have a weed-free garden every year – without resorting to synthetic chemical herbicides. To do it, I employ a whole arsenal of organic weed control tips to keep my garden free of weeds.
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Seeds vs transplants: Should you start from seed or buy transplants?
The great spring gardening dilemma; should you start from seed or buy transplants for your vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings from a local nursery? Personally, I do both, growing hundreds of my own seedlings beneath my grow-lights, and also buying from a handful of favourite garden centres. There are benefits and drawbacks to starting your own seeds as well as buying pre-grown seedlings.
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Why planting onion seeds is better than planting sets (and how to do it right)
As a former organic market farmer, I’ve grown onions in every possible way. I’ve grown them from onion sets, from nursery-grown transplants, and from their little black seeds. Needless to say, I’ve learned quite a few tricks along the way, but I will tell you without a doubt that my best onion crops always start with planting onion seeds, not by planting onion sets or even by planting transplants. For me, planting onions from seed has always yielded the best results. But here’s the thing—you can’t just grow onions from seed like you do other vegetables. There’s a trick to doing it right.
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Why you should assess an area before planning a garden bed
When I first moved into my current home, just over five years ago, I picked a sunny spot for my vegetable garden (it was evident the space had already been used as one) and installed two raised beds. The site got plenty of sun to grow lots of veggies and drained well. Since then, however, the tree canopy has expanded (I live on a tree-covered ravine), and that part of the yard now gets much less sun than it used to. Which brings me to an important point that I’ve been thinking about a lot as I look forward to spring: the importance of planning a garden bed.
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3 pitfalls of planting seeds too early!
Like many gardeners, once the holiday clean up is done, my mind turns to garden planning and seed starting; especially with all the new seed catalogues arriving in my mailbox each day! However, January is far too early to start most seeds and sowing seeds too early is just as bad – maybe worse! – than starting them too late. Don’t waste your time, money, and supplies with early seed starting. Here are three pitfalls of planting seeds too early.
Preventing pests in your garden: 5 strategies for success
Most gardeners face plant-muching pests in their vegetable garden from time to time, and usually they aren’t that big of a deal. But, sometimes pest numbers rise to an unacceptable level and the little buggers cause more than mere aesthetic damage. As gardeners become more and more aware of the potential dangers of exposure to synthetic chemical pesticides, many of us want to skip the sprays altogether and turn to other pest control methods instead. By far, the most useful technique for controlling garden pests is preventing them from nibbling on your plants in the first place. The good news is that preventing pests in your garden is easier than you think, if you employ the 5 very effective strategies I outline below.
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