For almost 40 years, Lee Valley Tools has been a go-to store for American and Canadian gardeners. The reason is clear; they have really cool garden gear! They know that the right tools make gardening easier, faster, and more comfortable. In fact, many Lee Valley garden tools are designed in-house, so they can ensure the best-quality products for their customers. To celebrate the best of gardening, we’ve teamed up with Lee Valley to spotlight some of our favorite garden tools and products.
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5 tips to successful cold frame gardening
Cold frame gardening is an easy way to extend the homegrown harvest into late fall and winter. A cold frame is just a box with a clear top. It’s unheated, but captures solar energy and shelters crops from the elements – cold temperatures, frost, wind, ice, and snow. You don’t need a large garden to accommodate a cold frame. Even a small, urban garden will benefit from this simple structure and allow you to extend the growing season. In my books, The Year Round Vegetable Gardener and Growing Under Cover, I offer a lot of tips and ideas for gardening with cold frames. Here are a few of my favourites…
Types of houseplant bugs: Who they are and what to do about them
While having the correct light levels and watering properly are two of the most important steps in growing healthy indoor plants, houseplant growers also have to constantly monitor their plants for signs of pests. There are many types of houseplant bugs, and arming yourself with a little information goes a long way toward preventing or eliminating an infestation.
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A simple compost how-to guide where science reigns supreme
Millions of gardeners compost. They save their kitchen scraps, pile up their leaves, collect their grass clippings, and hoard their coffee grounds. Then, they put all this “stuff” into a pile or a bin, and they wait. They wait for the process of decomposition to turn it into “black gold.” Maybe they turn the pile from time to time. Or maybe they don’t, because they know that eventually, they’ll get compost. But, do all of those gardeners really know what they’re doing? Do they understand the science behind composting? Do YOU? Many gardeners are surprised to discover how excitingly complex composting really is. To help demystify the composting process, I’d like to present this compost how to guide based on the science behind creating the “black gold” all gardeners covet.
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3 tough garden tools to help with fall to-dos
When the temperatures start to dip, I know it’s time to think about putting the garden to bed for the winter. And while I subscribe to Jessica Walliser’s reasons NOT to clean up the garden in the fall, there are still a few items on my list that I need to accomplish before the snow flies, from pruning and planting bulbs, to emptying and putting pots away so they don’t crack over the winter.
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Growing rice in my backyard vegetable garden
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.
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