What Is an Anti-Transpirant and When Should You Actually Spray One?

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What Is an Anti-Transpirant and When Should You Actually Spray One?

Ask a group of gardeners how plants lose water, and most will point to the soil. Evaporation, they will say. Dry ground. Not enough rain. In reality, the biggest water loss from most plants happens through the leaves, not the soil. Plants pull water up through their roots and release it through tiny pores called stomata, a process called transpiration. A single mature tree can move hundreds of gallons of water into the atmosphere over a growing season.

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Say Goodbye to Patio Flooding: Better Drainage for Successful Container Gardens

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Say Goodbye to Patio Flooding: Better Drainage for Successful Container Gardens

Poor drainage is the number one enemy of both patios and healthy container gardens. While too little water can cause plants to wilt, excess water can be just as damaging. When water has nowhere to escape, it typically collects around the roots, creating conditions that can encourage root rot and fungal diseases. Not only is poor drainage detrimental to plant health, but it can also endanger humans as it heightens the risks of slip and fall accidents in outdoor spaces.

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What To Do With All Those Leftover Hot Peppers

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What To Do With All Those Leftover Hot Peppers

If you grow hot peppers, you might be facing an interesting problem right now: far more peppers than you know what to do with.

A few jalapeño or habanero plants can produce an astonishing harvest, and plants often keep going until cold weather finally brings the season to an end. If you grow especially productive varieties, you may find yourself, like me, staring at a bowl, basket, or refrigerator drawer full of peppers even after you've already made salsa, added them to meals, and given some away.

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How a Healthy Garden Naturally Reduces Common Pest Problems

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How a Healthy Garden Naturally Reduces Common Pest Problems

A healthy garden is rarely an insect-free garden. Bees move between flowers. Spiders build webs in quiet corners. Beetles crawl through mulch, and caterpillars occasionally leave holes in leaves. Some of that activity is simply part of growing plants outdoors.

Problems start when one species becomes numerous enough to damage plants, move toward the house, or disrupt the balance of the garden. The instinctive response is often to reach for something that kills the pest. A better first question is simpler: what conditions are allowing the problem to grow?

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How and When to Harvest Squash, and How Big Is Too Big?

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How and When to Harvest Squash, and How Big Is Too Big?

Growing squash is one of the upsides of summer gardening. Whether you're growing zucchini, yellow squash, butternut, or acorn squash, these productive plants can provide an abundant harvest. This year, to be honest, none of my zucchini squash germinated. However, my scallop (pattypan) and honeynut squash arrived in abundant supply, as did a few unexpected butternut squashes, and we’re still enjoying the harvest from all of these plants.

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How Sustainable Yard Care Helps Prevent Common Pest Problems

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How Sustainable Yard Care Helps Prevent Common Pest Problems

A healthy yard is about more than attractive plants and colorful flowers. It is an ecosystem where soil, plants, insects, birds, and other wildlife all play a role. When those parts work together, gardens often become easier to maintain and less likely to experience serious pest problems.

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What to Plant in Late August for a Fall Harvest

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What to Plant in Late August for a Fall Harvest

By late August, your summer garden may be showing signs of wear. Tomatoes are slowing down production, cucumber vines may be struggling with disease, and some early-season crops have already finished growing. Before you put away your gardening gear, keep in mind that there may still plenty of growing season left, depending on your region and first frost date. In many part of the Norther Hemisphere, late August is a great time to plant a second round of vegetables for a fall harvest.

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How to Save Seeds from Your Garden for Next Year

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How to Save Seeds from Your Garden for Next Year

Since I began growing all of my edible crops from seed, learning how to save seeds for next year has become more important than before. It’s one of the easiest ways to make your vegetable garden more self-sufficient, and if you keep records of your garden’s performance each year, it also enables you to learn more about how plants may behave differently when grown from seed, especially if you’re saving seeds from fruit or vegetables you’ve bought from a store or farmer’s market.

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Should You Fertilize Your Vegetable Garden in Late Summer?

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Should You Fertilize Your Vegetable Garden in Late Summer?

Yesterday I was out in the garden, chatting with my neighbor and friend on the other side of the fence. The conversation turned to fertilizing our vegetable plants, and we both discovered that some of our plants were producing much more prolifically than expected, despite the fact that neither of us had really fertilized our in-ground or raised bed crops since last spring. That got me thinking about the questions of when and whether it’s time to apply fertilizer.

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How to Grow Amaranth Greens: A Nutrient-Packed Leafy Vegetable

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How to Grow Amaranth Greens: A Nutrient-Packed Leafy Vegetable

If you are looking for a leafy green that grows quickly, adds color to the garden and thrives in the scorching summer heat as well as in cooler fall temperatures, amaranth deserves a place on your planting list. While many gardeners know amaranth for its ornamental flowers or edible grain, several varieties are grown primarily for their tender, nutritious leaves.

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How Hydroseeding Is Transforming Lawn Establishment and Erosion Control Across the Country

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How Hydroseeding Is Transforming Lawn Establishment and Erosion Control Across the Country

Establishing a lush, healthy lawn or stabilizing a bare slope has never been more achievable for homeowners and land managers alike. Thanks to advances in turf technology and application methods, more people are discovering faster, more cost-effective ways to grow grass and protect soil. Among the most significant developments in this space is hydroseeding, a method that has quietly moved from commercial construction sites to residential backyards, earning a reputation for reliable results and environmental responsibility. Understanding why this technique works so well, and when it makes the most sense to use it, can help property owners make smarter decisions about their land.

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Why Your Garden Isn’t Producing (Even If It Looks Healthy)

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Why Your Garden Isn’t Producing (Even If It Looks Healthy)

A garden can look beautiful and still leave you wondering where all the food is.

Your tomato plants may be tall and deep green. Your squash vines may be spreading enthusiastically across the bed. Your pepper plants may appear perfectly healthy. Yet when it comes time to harvest, there is very little to pick.

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Why Responsible Tree Removal Is One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Urban Landscape

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Why Responsible Tree Removal Is One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Urban Landscape

Trees are among the most valuable assets a property can have. They provide shade, improve air quality, support local wildlife, and add measurable value to residential and commercial real estate. But trees, like all living things, have a lifecycle. When a tree becomes diseased, structurally compromised, or simply no longer suited to its environment, removing it thoughtfully and responsibly is not an act of environmental neglect. It is, in fact, one of the most proactive steps a property owner can take to protect the health of the surrounding landscape and the safety of everyone who uses it.

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Summer Garden Checklist: What to Do Now for Better Harvests

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Summer Garden Checklist: What to Do Now for Better Harvests

Summer is when a vegetable garden really begins to reveal the results of all the planning, planting, and care that went into spring planting. Tomatoes and eggplants begin ripening, cucumbers swell on their trellises, peppers fill out, and herbs seem to grow faster than you can harvest them. Yet this is also the point in the season when many gardens begin to lose momentum. Heat stress, inconsistent watering, nutrient deficiencies, weeds, and pests can quickly reduce yields if they are not addressed.

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How to Grow Cucumbers Without Bitterness or Disease

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How to Grow Cucumbers Without Bitterness or Disease

Growing cucumbers is one of the most rewarding parts of a summer vegetable garden. Few things compare to picking a crisp, fresh cucumber straight from the vine for salads, sandwiches, or homemade pickles. Personally, I love growing new varieties of cucumber in my raised beds each year – this year I’m growing Marketmore and Straight8, and both have been stellar performers (which means I’m going to be gifting friends with cucumbers soon, since the vines have produced a bumper crop this year!)

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