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I dish up no-nonsense advice that works.
Popular
Gardening Puns and Gardening Quotes to Make You Laugh
Wise women and men say that gardening is good for the soul and that laughter is the best medicine. Would that mean gardening puns, gardening quotes, and gardening jokes have an innate superpower to keep us healthy and spiritually fulfilled? Gardening can feed your family and beautify your world. It’s a profession, hobby, and pastime […]
9 quick steps for storing fresh carrots from the garden
If you’ve successfully mastered the art of growing carrots you may find yourself with a surplus at some point during the season. That’s why it’s important to know how to store carrots from the garden so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for many weeks and months. Carrots are one of the most […]
Storing your homegrown onions for winter
Onions are one of my favorite vegetables to grow in my garden each year. Most seasons I plant between 300-500 and the majority of them go into storage so we can eat our own onions all winter long. Figuring out how to store garden onions can be tricky, but I’ve been doing it successfully for […]
How to choose the best grow lights for seed starting
Confused and overwhelmed by all of the options for grow lights for seed starting? Yeah, me too! I’ve bee nursing along my old fluorescent light set up for the last few years and decided it was time to upgrade when one of my ballasts gave up the ghost. The grow light landscape has changed dramatically […]
15 Incredibly Useful Garden Tools You Need Right Now
Simple and elegant garden solutions. This phrase is featured on one of my workshop slides when I teach classes to passionate gardeners all around the US. It helps me introduce the philosophy behind The Creative Vegetable Gardener and how I personally approach gardening. I’m a minimalist with most things in my life, and especially with […]
Warning: These Vegetables Will Not Survive a Frost
When you know and understand the concept of frost tolerant vegetables you can save yourself from the very traumatic experience of going out to your garden to find a bed full of dead plants. First, let’s define frost so we’re all on the same page. A freeze or frost is when the nighttime temperature is […]
Recent
When to Start Seeds Indoors in Zone 5 Demystified
I’ve lived and gardened in zone 5 (Madison, Wisconsin) for the bulk of my gardening life, over 20 years! This zone is no joke with bitterly cold winters and hot, humid summers – we have it all. The winters are long in Wisconsin, which is one of the reasons why I love starting seeds for […]
Seed to Harvest: Growing Pumpkins in Raised Beds
After building several different gardens of my own and working with hundreds of gardeners over the years, I’ve found that building and growing vegetables in raised beds is the best choice for most people. Raised beds offer lots of important benefits: they require less work to prepare in spring and less long term maintenance, they’re […]
Harvesting Leeks Like a Pro: Tips from the Garden
I’m not shy about how much I love growing alliums in my garden. Every fall I plant 220 garlic and each spring 500 onions. I harvest and cure them in my garage in mid July and in fall I transfer them to my basement to use throughout the winter so I never have to buy […]
What Kind of Garlic Varieties Should You Plant?
Interested in growing garlic? You’re in luck – garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow in the home garden. You can plant a large amount in a small space, it doesn’t have many pests or diseases, and it loves cold weather. And if you live in a very cold climate like mine in […]
Watering Pumpkins: Best Practices for Growing Great Pumpkins
There are many reasons to love pumpkins: you’re a kid, Halloween is your top holiday, fall is your favorite season, orange is a beloved color, pumpkin pie is your top pick for dessert, or you’re crazy for cucurbits (the vegetable family of pumpkins, along with other squashes and cucumbers). Pumpkins grow rapidly, and it’s not […]
Mastering Brussels Sprouts Growing Stages for a Bountiful Harvest
If you’re reading this article, I’m going to assume you’re a proud member of the group of people who love Brussels sprouts! I’ll be honest, I didn’t eat one until adulthood when I became a gardener. In that way I’m spoiled because I never had to suffer through frozen or grocery store sprouts. […]
Books to help you get the most from your vegetable garden
Grow more vegetables than ever in your garden this season. This book is a fresh and simple approach to planning your garden. At the end, you’ll have a personalized blueprint for what a successful season in your garden looks like.
Eat food from your garden all year round! Preserving food doesn’t have to be difficult or take up a lot of time. And if you think canning is the only option – this book is for you! I’ll teach you how easy it can be to use your basement, fridge, and freezer instead.
WINTER
Gardening Journal Template: Build Upon Your Success
One of the easiest ways to start garden recordkeeping is to use a gardening journal template. My real life garden journal consists of a few different parts which I’ll explain in this article. Garden recordkeeping helps you become a better gardener over time. You train yourself to pay attention to what is happening in the […]
Tips For Shopping For the Best Seed Starting Mix
This is the story of when I learned the importance of a quality seed starting mix. I used to purchase premium potting soil from my local garden store and mix in some worm castings or compost to create seed starting soil at home. The seedlings started off well, but after six weeks or so they […]
Quick & Healthy Replacement for Canned Beans in the Kitchen
How to cook chickpeas in a pressure cooker, and freeze them, so you have the convenience of canned beans. In our house we primarily cook vegan and vegetarian recipes with the occasional chicken or fish added in for variety. I was a vegetarian for over 20 years, so I’m very versed in cooking tasty, meatless […]
Fall Spinach: Why It’s the Most Amazing Vegetable to Grow
Did you know that fall spinach is a gateway vegetable? Well, at least according to me. Fall spinach is the vegetable that first got me hooked on cold weather gardening. The first season I planted it for fall growing I got lots of big, delicious harvests throughout September, October, and November. I was pretty pleased. […]
High yield vegetables: The way to get bigger harvests!
Do you wish you got more food from your garden? I don’t blame you. Gardening is joyful work, but it’s work nevertheless. It’s nice to feel that the hours and sweat you’re pouring into your garden are being rewarded with large, colorful and delicious harvests. Getting more food from your garden is an attainable goal […]
So Many Choices! How to Decide What to Grow in a Garden
What exactly to grow in a garden is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a gardener. And it can be a daunting one. There are SO many options and they all look enticing. But, most of us don’t have the garden space, time or energy to grow everything listed in the seed catalog. […]