Mushrooms make their appearance in lawns and gardens anytime, but more conspicuously in the fall. That’s when wetter weather and cooler temperatures make ideal conditions for them to emerge. Should you be concerned? Or, can you embrace your garden mushrooms? Read on for more information about these fascinating funghi.
The marigold is much more than a beautiful garden flower. Its utility as a colorful annual, edible flower, and companion plant for vegetable gardens is greatly enhanced by its profound role in religious and cultural practices around the world.
When fall arrives, it always inspires me to nest. I search out new recipes, spend weekends cooking and baking, and then test my creations on my friends and family. There’s just something about the chill in the air and the early sunsets that encourage a hearty, home-cooked meal or sweet treat. Here are a few of my favorite fall recipes, including fall cocktails, sweet treats, and savory dishes.
Dahlias die back each year as autumn advances, but, with the proper care, the tuberous root system can live on to produce a stunning display year after year. The advice in this post is based on many years of growing dahlias in a low-lying area of Seattle with relatively moderate winter temperatures and excellent drainage.
Sure, you can buy garlic, but for the best flavor - and an incredible sense of satisfaction - nothing beats growing it yourself. Unlike most vegetables, garlic is planted in the fall but not harvested until the following summer, making it a very long-season crop that’s worth the wait. In fact, it can be very encouraging to plant something new in late fall when all around you, most plants are fading in anticipation of winter.
No matter whether this is your first-ever vegetable garden or just the first time planting this year, if you take a little time to prepare before you plant, everything will go more smoothly and you’ll be more successful. Here are a few simple things to consider when starting a vegetable garden this spring.
One of the first activities I want to do outside in early spring is to plant my early spring vegetable garden. There’s nothing like the smooth, clean surface of prepped garden beds, the soil still pristine and just waiting to nurture rows of bright green spring vegetables, carefully planted in perfect rows. It’s like a fresh school notebook - full of promise. But what to plant? Here are a few of my favorite vegetables to plant in spring, with tips on when and how to plant them.
With the advent of September and autumn, the cooler nights are a time to give yourself a brief respite after the summer and refresh your vegetable garden with a cover crop. Cover crops, also called green manure, are very beneficial to the "tilth" (structure, or physical suitability for planting) of your soil. Sown in the fall, usually late September, cover crops will enhance soil over the winter. They attract pollinating insects, break up heavy soil, add organic material and decrease the number of weeds.
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