Savvy Gardening

Garden hand tools to help with fall to-dos

When the temperatures start to dip and the evenings get shorter, I know it’s time to think about putting things away for the winter and knock a few items off my gardening to-do list. As far as the full garden cleanup that used to happen in autumn, I now leave many of my plants in the garden to feed the birds and provide habitat for insects and small mammals, and I don’t clear away all my fall leaves. Rather, they are welcomed in the garden to protect plants and nourish the soil. (You can read more about reasons NOT to clean up the garden in the fall). However, there are still a few items on my list that I need to accomplish before the snow flies, from planting bulbs to emptying and putting pots away so they don’t crack over the winter. These are the garden hand tools that garden with the most.

Growing rice in my backyard vegetable garden

Written by Niki Jabbour

Backyard vegetable gardening has come a long way since the days when gardeners only planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans. Today, I grow a variety of unique and global crops in my raised beds, including a new-to-me crop for 2016, rice.

Container gardening trends for your garden: 6 cool concepts

Written by Jessica Walliser

That’s it. I’m making an executive decision and officially declaring it The Decade of the Container Garden. With so many great container gardening ideas sprouting up on Pinterest and various gardening websites (including Savvy Gardening, of course!), I’ve come across more creative container gardens in the past few years than I’ve seen in my whole life. Gone are the days of sticking a begonia a clay pot and calling it a day. Gardeners everywhere are now relying on creative container gardening trends to design unique planters to embellish their homes, gardens, and lives. And, they’re doing it beautifully!
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Build a DIY cold frame using an old window

Written by Tara Nolan

One of the projects that I knew I wanted to include in my book, Raised Bed Revolution, was a cold frame. I had seen some neat DIY cold frame examples through garden visits over the years, great cold frame kits through various retailers and innovative cold frames that used old windows as the lid. I was also inspired by Niki, who gardens 365 days a year (you can find some of her cold frame tips here).

5 Time-saving gardening tips for the vegetable gardener

Written by Niki Jabbour

As a gardener with twenty raised vegetable beds, I’ve learned a lot of time-saving gardening tips. I love working in my garden, but I also want to enjoy the space. I don’t want to always be weeding and watering, but instead, I want to spend time watching the hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, as well as savouring an occasional al fresco meal in the dining area we recently installed beside the garden – talk about garden to table! Therefore, I’ve become a savvy gardener who knows that working smarter doesn’t mean working harder. Here are some of my best time-saving gardening tips.

Recipe idea: Stuffed squash

Written by Tara Nolan

I grew pattypan squash for the first time this year. This summer squash variety is often found in miniature on a plate, roasted along with other bite-sized veggies, but I let mine grow to the size of a normal squash. Then I had to decide how to eat my prolific harvest. The answer? Stuffed squash.
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