Every gardener encounters pests in their garden. It is a fact of life. However, there are ways that we can minimize and even eliminate their damage. And all this can be done  organically, without a single drop of chemicals!

Chances are you have noticed the sudden explosion of gardens in your community and country. With more and more people working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, gardens have popped up everywhere. Yeah!!! If you have undeveloped land that you want to transform into a garden, you need to have a plan. I recently did a post on 3 Garden Tips For Beginners that goes over the basics of starting a garden. It will get you started and this post will lead you through the next step, how to choose what to plant in your garden. It is helpful for both new and experienced gardeners.

​On the surface picking out what to plant in your garden seems like a pretty simple task. Really you can plant whatever you want. That would be pretty easy but I'm talking about how to choose what to plant in your garden for the greatest success harvest wise and also utilization wise. Utilization wise because it doesn't matter if you can grow 10 bushels of tomatoes if 8 of them are going to go to waste because you don't use that much. What are you to plant? How much?

If you have read anything about permaculture you have probably come across comfrey, a fast growing perennial that is commonly used in fruit tree guilds (companion planting). Its many benefits warrants its use in all garden settings and it is so easy to start from root cuttings!

As of 2017, 1 in 3 American households grew their own food, or at least had a garden to contribute to their food usage on a regular basis. That is AWESOME! But, so many people still shy away from gardening because they’re worried about not having the skills or messing it up somehow. You know what I would say,  set those worries aside and start a garden today! 

As a gardener you know that water consumption can greatly increase as you start your garden and even more so in the hot summer months. Growing your own vegetables and maintaining a healthy garden requires a lot of water, which can be a big problem. Excessive water use can be hard on the environment, especially in areas that are prone to drought. It also means that your water bills are a lot higher, so it’s important that you find ways to cut back. The good news is, there are some simple ways that you can reduce water usage to protect the environment and save yourself a lot of money at the same time. Yay!
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Seed saving is easy but there is more to it than harvesting the seeds. It starts with planting. Different plants are pollinated in different ways. Some plants are more likely to cross pollinate. Cross pollination means the seeds are now hybrids with unknown outcomes. The plants from these seeds will not produce fruit that is the same as their parent plants. This is where things can start to get a little tricky. This is not what we want to happen when we are saving seeds. Don't worry, it's not too tricky if you are aware of which plants can cross pollinate and how to work around this.

Sweet potatoes are delicious and highly nutritious with many vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, C, and B6, as well as Potassium, Manganese, and Niacin. They are easy to grow using the traditional method of sticking the sweet potato spud in water and waiting for it to root and grow vines to then cut and root. The problem is, that way takes forever. Today I'm going to show you and equally simple way that takes a fraction of the time.

Didn't you know that it is highly beneficial to sit in your garden and eat pitas slathered in hummus? No, no, no, just kidding. I am talking about the kind of humus that is found in the soil.  Humus that is formed by the breaking down of organic matter. 

You hear it over and over "keep good records!" But why? Why is it so important and what exactly do all those records include? I know it can leave you wondering where to start and even feeling a bit overwhelmed. Don't worry your sweet heart anymore. Today we are going to go through the most important records to keep for your garden. You can use any notebook, a 3 ring binder, or my Ultimate Garden Planner and Journal (use code GARDEN20 for 20% off). Although I think you will love my planner with it's ease of use and beautiful design, the important thing is that you keep your records. Our goals is to get you the best garden possible! That being said, this post is a bit long but packed with information. Stick around and absorb it all in then grab the free gift I've left for you at the end.

I always find it helpful and enjoyable to look back at the gardening season and see what we have accomplished, the projects we've tackled, new varieties we have found, and of course the projects that didn't get accomplished. There are always some of the latter, we never stop coming up with new ideas! Looking back puts one in the perfect place for planning the next season's garden.