Bringing nature indoors with a planter box made from previously used materials is an excellent way to add a touch of greenery to your home while reducing your environmental impact. In this article, we will walk you through the process of creating your own planter box using reclaimed wood, a sustainable and cost-effective material. Gathering Materials Before you begin building […]
It’s been a record-breaking year for weather-related disasters, with extreme heat waves threatening human health, wildlife, and our gardens. But even if your garden survived the summer, you can’t get complacent. Winter is usually the most challenging season for garden survival. Climate change is making severe storms and extreme low temperatures more common. Whether you have put your garden to […]
Why would we caution you to choose peat-free garden products? After all, peat moss is naturally occurring; it’s a useful amendment for garden soil and a common ingredient in potting soil. But unfortunately, the harvesting of peat has harmful consequences for wetland ecosystems, which provide wildlife habitat nurseries and migration stopovers. Wetlands also play a vital role in flood control […]
If you’ve had some success in your garden this year, you might be ready to take things to the next level by propagating plants for your garden next year. Saving seeds is one of the easiest propagation methods for common garden plants. It can save money, improve the quality of your garden, and it supports crop diversity and food sovereignty. […]
Welcome to the hottest part of summer, when the heat and smoke season may have you looking at your yard and thinking that it’s time to upgrade from gas lawn equipment to electric, or to go back to manual tools. Tobie Stanger, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, joins the conversation to talk about the independent, nonprofit product review site’s […]
Hot summers may have you considering an entirely new landscape to save water. Or maybe you already have a carefully designed xeriscape. But whether you are growing thirsty irises or drought-tolerant succulents in your garden, you don’t have to wait for a drought to start saving water. Watering wisely will keep your landscape healthy without wasting earth’s most precious resource. […]
A lot of the things we do to stay cool on a hot day, like cranking up the AC, contribute to a vicious circle exacerbating climate change and locking us into more hot days in the future. Running through the sprinklers or relaxing in a shady garden helps you stay cool without air conditioning. But sprinklers and gardens use a […]
Looking for some healthy options to grow in your garden? Whether you’re a novice gardener or you have more experience, we have suggestions for tasty summer superfoods you can grow at home, including crops you can grow in containers if you don’t have a garden. What are superfoods, you ask? The term is used to refer to foods with health-promoting […]
Many of us have a green thumb but no real garden space. Container gardens are an excellent way for almost anyone, including city dwellers, to grow a few herbs or greens on patios, decks, and balconies. If no outdoor space is available, even a sunny window can work. Because lettuce has shallow roots, it grows well in containers — and […]
If you’d like to enhance your garden and perhaps your dinner plate, nab some seeds. For that, your local library might be the perfect place. Hundreds of libraries in the United States and around the globe feature a seed library, where packets of seeds for flowers and edible plants are available, typically for free. Advocates of these libraries say free […]