Use this technique to grow the healthiest tomato and pepper plants!
Read MoreEpisode 109: Cucumbers
Socrates, a burpless cucumber variety growing in a greenhouse on a string trellis.
Photo by Hilary Dahl for our newest how-to gardening book, Grow More Food
Everything you wanted to know about cucumbers but were afraid to ask. We dig into the history of the cucumber, it's botanical curiosities and why you should start succession planting them.
Read MoreFall 2021 New Season Preview Mini-Episode!
Late-summer garden harvest from Hilary and Colin’s home garden
After an extended hiatus, we’re back and ready to bring you some amazing new episodes of the Encyclopedia Botanica Podcast!
Read MoreMid-Summer Succession Planting
Mid-July brings warmer weather to many regions, and this weather brings the end of pea season. It’s also the time when garlic and onions (bulbing alliums) have matured and are ready to be pulled from the garden to make room for another crop. So...what’s next? Just when you thought your garden was full and it was time to sit back and enjoy the bounty, it’s time to start planting again! There’s rarely a dull moment in a high-yield vegetable garden!
Read MoreGardening With Kids: Summer Crop Edition
Honeybee on cilantro flower
Late spring is a particularly good time to launch new garden activities. As spring turns to summer, seeds germinate more quickly, sometimes within days of seeding; transplanted crops start to grow at a breakneck speed, often with daily growth that can actually be measured with a ruler; and the variety of insects and pollinators in the garden abounds!
Read MoreDrip Irrigation Q+A
Installing a drip irrigation system on an automatic timer is one of the most effective ways to improve your garden’s productivity, while saving you time and money. Drip irrigation is a system of narrow plastic tubes that deliver water at a slow rate directly to the surface of the soil. Since the water is emitted slowly, it has time to soak into the soil, rather than run off or through the soil. A properly installed and monitored drip system will deliver just the right amount of water with very little waste.
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