Today we’re talking about how to grow spinach—one of the easiest and most nutritious leafy greens you can grow as a beginner gardener. And it’s one of the hardiest greens, meaning you can grow it earlier than some other greens in the spring, as well as later in the fall! It also works really well …
Plants & gardening
We are huge fans of composting! We have large bins in the back of our yard for leaves and yard waste—I shared those in my post about How to Make Leaf Compost. We also have a compost tumbler and an electric countertop kitchen composter we use in the winter when it’s freezing out. Today we’re …
If you’re getting started with gardening because you want to grow your own food, lettuce is a great option! Gardening is all about building your confidence as you go, and lettuce will help you do that. Now I’ll be focusing specifically on lettuce in this article, but keep in mind that most of the tips …
Hey all! Today we’re talking about a super quick and easy garden DIY to help you extend your growing season. I have a post about how to make low tunnels/hoop houses over a raised garden bed. Which is essentially a cold frame. This method is a bit different and is just another way of extending …
Today we’re talking about how to fill a big raised garden bed without breaking the bank. Because even though I said I was done putting in raised garden beds…I think we all know that was a lie. And if you’ve ever filled a raised garden bed, you know that you always need more soil than …
Bamboo is one of my favorite things to use in the garden. It is prolific and very sustainable, meaning I don’t feel bad cutting it down and using it. I just don’t want it in my yard since it spreads so fast…but the good news for me is that my uncle’s yard is teeming with …
Today we’re talking all about how to grow potatoes! Potatoes aren’t the most expensive thing to buy at the store, but they are cost-effective and can produce high yields. A single seed potato can produce multiple pounds of potatoes. You can also store your harvest for several months without freezing, drying, or canning. And most …
Want to give your seeds a head start without building a greenhouse or investing in a ton of supplies? You can turn a simple storage tub into a mini greenhouse 🙂 I love helping people overcome obstacles to growing, and seed starting can be an expensive venture if you’re not careful. This easy, budget-friendly setup …
Hey there! Today we’re talking about how to extend the growing season by using low tunnels and mini hoop houses 🙂 Also referred to as grow tunnels (and similar to cold frames), low tunnels use a semi-circle frame and either frost cloth or some sort of plastic sheeting to protect crops you’re growing. They work …
Today it’s all about green onions—a simple, low-maintenance crop to add to your garden. It grows wonderfully in traditional gardens, but it also does great in containers and even windowsill gardens. So if space is a concern, green onions can be a great choice! I love that they are biennial plants, meaning they take two …
Today we’re getting back to basics and covering everything a complete beginner needs to know about starting a vegetable garden. Because that’s a question I get often…how do I start if I’m starting from the absolute beginning? This guide covers everything I think you need to know so you can grow a vegetable garden with …
Today I’m talking about 7 easy beginner-friendly houseplants that you probably haven’t heard of. Because these beginner-friendly lists always have the same plants on them! One of the plants I’m spotlighting starts with an X, and I had to look up how to properly say the name several times 🙂 And I’ll probably still butcher …
Today we’re talking about the right way to water your houseplants. I know—it sounds like something so easy that it doesn’t need a tutorial to explain it. But it’s entirely possible you’re watering your houseplants wrong if you’re just getting started. And that’s because there is a massive difference between overwatering, which is something you’re …
I love a simple salad with olive oil as the dressing. And although I really enjoy infused olive oils from a fancy place near where I live, it can get expensive! So sometimes I like to make my own infused olive oil at home. Especially rosemary-infused olive oil. I love the taste and smell of …
Hey all! A few months ago I wrote about choosing a vinyl privacy fence over a standard wooden privacy fence. The fence is gorgeous, easy to keep clean, and doesn’t have any gaps between the slats. But one thing I do miss about having a wooden fence is being able to easily drill into the …
Today we’re making an herbal salt scrub! I got the idea to make this scrub when I got a sugar scrub for Christmas and noticed it had dried rosemary in it. I love making salt scrubs and have a ton of rosemary and lavender in my garden. So I decided to dry a few sprigs …
Today we’re talking all about how to dry lavender…without using a dehydrator! I have been on the hunt for a solid secondhand dehydrator for a few months now and haven’t found one yet. We downsized ours when we moved to this house, and I kind of regret the convenience of it. But, never fear! If …
This article contains affiliate links Shopping for garden tools can be overwhelming. What is worth it, and what isn’t? What will last? A lot of the answers to those questions will be based on personal preference, and this article is certainly my personal preference. But I’ve used a lot of tools and garden-related things, and …
It’s time for another garden tour! I did a quick little fall garden tour a few months ago, and before I knew it, it was Christmas! I did this tour around Christmas in Maryland zone 7A—so squarely in winter! We’re seeing temperatures down into the 20s and even teens some nights with typical yo-yo daytime …
Have you ever gotten a seed catalog in the mail?? There’s nothing like getting a beautiful seed catalog in the mail to make you drop some serious cash on seeds. But over the years, I have narrowed down some of the things I like to grow and the places I like to get seeds from. …
Hey all! Today we’re covering how to winter sow seeds in jugs. Well—you can use other stuff like takeout containers with clear plastic lids or clear plastic clam shell salad containers. But I’m using old mild jugs for mine because we always have them. Winter sowing seeds is a great way to efficiently start seeds …
I have been on a fall bulb kick at the new house. I’ve done articles on How to Grow Allium, How to Grow Hyacinth, and How to Plant Tulips. I’m looking forward to seeing them sprout in the spring—but for now, I have indoor bulbs to tide me over. While you can force many bulbs …
Hey all! Today I’m sharing all about my experience with the Gardyn 4.0, a completely hydroponic indoor gardening system designed to help you grow fresh produce at home. Huge thanks to the folks at Gardyn for sending me a Gardyn 4.0 to review! I’d actually gotten a chance to see one of these gorgeous growing …
If you use a lot of potting soil when gardening, you know that you can end up spending a lot of money very quickly when buying it in bags. But buying the ingredients separately and mixing up big batches isn’t hard—and it can save you some money! Especially if you find raised bed soil on …
Want to grow food or ornamental plants instead of grass? Me too! But the first step to doing that is getting rid of your grass and preparing the soil. Sure, you can dig the grass out…but I don’t recommend it. Why? Well, it’s a lot of work, it’s less sustainable, and it doesn’t do anything …
Catmint is one of my favorite perennials. Its hardy, mounding growth makes it a solid choice for filling in areas under taller plants—or just for ground cover in general. And its small flowers are highly attractive to beneficial pollinators. It’s part of the genus Nepeta, and its leaves have a slight minty fragrance because Nepeta …
I don’t want to think about how much money I’ve spent on leaf compost as a gardener. Why? Well, because we don’t have many trees! And the few trees we do have…I just leave the leaves where they fall to decompose. But not everyone can do that. Some people live in neighborhoods with by-laws requiring …
My wife has been putting in lots of new garden beds, so we’ve been thinking through how to best and most efficiently water them. Cue: irrigation! She sent me down a rabbit hole for today’s project—our DIY solar-powered rain barrel irrigation system. Last summer my big project was setting up our DIY Smokeless Fire Pit. …
Marigolds are some of my absolute favorite annuals to have around the garden. They grow in a variety of soils, don’t need a ton of water, and come in vivid shades of orange and yellow. As a bonus, they are great pest repellants. Their distinct, strong scent is what helps repel pests. It’s a scent …
Today we’re talking through planting our mini orchard in our backyard. One of the things I always hear from people who are looking to expand their gardens and increase their self-sufficiency is to plant more fruit trees. So how that we’re somewhere with a little yard, we decided to get some trees in the ground. …
Let’s walk through how to dig up & cure sweet potatoes! In our back garden update this year, I wrote about converting a 15×15 patch of grass to growing space, primarily to grow asparagus. But we had a third row that was up for grabs, and I decided to do sweet potatoes. I find that …
The new in-ground beds we put in this year are putting in some serious work…the first two rows are for asparagus, but I’ve been doing greens and fava beans between those plants. The third row had sweet potatoes in it. But now that I’ve dug those up, it’s time to plant my garlic cloves! I’m …
Learn how to grow lavender from stem cuttings! I recently did a tutorial on how to propagate rosemary, and today’s post is similar! We’re talking all about how to propagate lavender from stem cuttings. I love the smell of lavender and find that it’s extremely easy to grow. It doesn’t require much pruning, it throws …
Learn how to save asparagus seeds from your plant! One of the greatest surprises in our little asparagus patch was realizing we had a female plant. Some aren’t big fans of female asparagus plants because they generally don’t produce as much or live as long as male asparagus plants (source). But they do produce asparagus …
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is one of my favorite perennials. It has feathery green foliage and produces clusters of bright flowers that bloom from late spring into fall. Pollinators love the flowers, too—I have yarrow in my roundup of plants that attract beneficial insects in the garden! I also love it because it’s low-maintenance, and once …
What I’m growing this fall in Maryland Zone 7A! Hello hello! Welcome to the first-ever tour of my fall garden! It isn’t my first fall garden…just the first time I’ve documented it. Because you don’t have to stop growing just because it’s fall 🙂 As I write this post on November 5th, we still have …
We have been absolutely loving our greenhouse—but the first winter with our greenhouse means that we have to figure out how we want to heat it! We’re in Maryland zone 7A, which means it can get very cold during the winter here. We’re approaching heating the greenhouse conservatively—I don’t want a huge power bill, nor …
Learn how to propagate sage from stem cuttings! Sage is one of those plants that you either love or hate the smell of. While I don’t eat a ton of sage, I love the smell of it! And I love growing perennial sage in my garden because it looks great for a large portion of …
Learn how to save malabar spinach seeds! Have you heard of malabar spinach? It’s a staple in my garden these days since it’s a wonderful spinach alternative that loves hot, humid weather. Unlike traditional spinach, which will bolt and go to seed at the first hint of heat, malabar spinach thrives! It’s also prolific in …
How to propagate rosemary from stem cuttings Rosemary is one of my favorite perennial herbs to have around the garden. The plants are prolific and look beautiful all year. Learn how to take cuttings from existing rosemary plants to turn into new ones through the power of propagation! Supplies you’ll need Step 1: Take a …