Organic gardening is becoming a lot more popular as people become more aware of the chemicals that are used in conventional food production. It can be a little trickier than chemical-based gardening, but it’s worth it in the end. If you’re new to growing plants this way, these tips could help you increase your chances of success. 1. Start with the basics. Don’t be tempted to spend an enormous amount...

Although most people have heard of lawn aeration, few people know the details of when and how frequently they should aerate their lawn. Sure, most people mow and edge their lawn, and some even do lawn fertilization and treat their lawns chemically, but very few are aware of the benefits of lawn aeration. Why should you aerate your lawn? Over time, your lawn can become compacted from human activity, pets and mowing. This...

March is a great month for trimming and tidying. Get it done now because a month from now you’ll be busy cleaning dirt from under your fingernails. March is one of the most important months of the year for fertilizing because it is the start of the growing season. Feed (16-16-16) fruit and ornamental trees, groundcovers, shrubs, perennials and annuals that have been in the ground at least six weeks. Feed your container...

Sometimes a gardener runs into this special problem: some plants do poorly regardless of care, or the whole garden grows too slowly, looks stunted, and has a high mortality rate. If this happens to you, examine the seven special soil problems and solutions listed below. If none of them provide an answer to your situation, read our article on drainage. ALKALINE SOIL Alkaline soil, common in light-rainfall areas of the...

The best landscape plan in the world will turn into an empty dream if the plants grow poorly. So before you turn the first spadeful of earth, ponder this question: How has the weather been? If the dirt is gummy wet,   wait until it dries out enough to crumble when you try to squeeze it into a handful. If it’s brick hard, water deeply and then wait until it dries to the moist but crumbly stage. If your spade slides...

Recently, a friend’s 13-year old son was sitting with us on my back deck and noticed the heavy canopy of trees that provided a dense shade throughout my backyard. He wondered if I preferred so much shade or would rather have more sunlight? It was a good question! Shady backyards, courtyards, and terraces are soothing respites from the heat of the summer. On the other hand, for us gardeners, these low-sun spots create...

Mulch saves water and weeding A mulch is simply a covering for the soil. Gardeners have used almost any material as a mulch, including old newspaper, foot-deep straw, grass clippings, tree leaves, roofing paper, and plastic. These and many other materials will work if they satisfy these two basic conditions: The mulch should help to retain water in the soil on hot days, and it should smother weeds. A third but less important...