A single pot of petunias is pretty. A pot packed with a tall grass, mounding flowers and a vine spilling over the rim stops people on the sidewalk. Good container plant combinations aren’t hard to build once you know a simple formula and a few rules. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the method … Read more >>
A Boston fern sheds a few tiny leaflets all the time, but a steady shower of them on the floor means the plant is stressed. When your Boston fern is losing leaves fast, the cause is almost always dry air, soil that dried out, or a sudden change like a move indoors, and the fix … Read more >>
An oyster plant (Tradescantia spathacea) has stiff, upright leaves, so drooping leaves are a clear sign that something has disrupted its water supply. Oyster plant drooping almost always comes from soil that’s too dry or too wet, cold air below 50°F, or roots that were disturbed or crowded, and you fix it by correcting that … Read more >>
Most dying houseplants are suffering from a care problem you can fix, and the most common one is soil that stays wet too long and rots the roots. Too little light, dry air, pests, and sudden moves come next, and they often stack on top of a watering mistake. The good news is that a … Read more >>
You don’t need a backyard to grow your own food. With the right vegetables for container growing and the right pot size, a sunny patio, deck or front step can produce salads, salsa ingredients and fresh herbs all season long. The trick is matching each plant to a container big enough for its roots. In … Read more >>
Few things sting like finding your seedlings chewed to stubs or your squash vines collapsed overnight. The good news is that most vegetable garden pests are predictable. They show up on the same crops, at the same times, and leave the same clues. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the pests US home gardeners … Read more >>
Few things in the vegetable patch are as alarming as potato leaves turning black almost overnight. One week the plants look lush, and the next they’re covered in dark, spreading patches. The good news is that the cause is usually easy to pin down once you know what to look for. In this guide, I’ll … Read more >>
Lotus seeds will sprout in a bowl of warm water within a week, as long as you file through their hard shell first. To grow lotus from seeds, file a small opening in the seed coat, soak the seeds in 75 to 87°F water that you change daily, then plant the rooted seedlings in heavy … Read more >>
You don’t need a big backyard to grow a real harvest. With smart choices, small space vegetable gardening can fill your kitchen with tomatoes, greens, herbs and even fruit from a patio, balcony or narrow side yard. The trick is to treat every square foot like prime real estate. In this guide, I’ll walk you … Read more >>
Yes, you can plant cucumber and watermelon together, and it often works well. They’re related, they like the same warm, sunny conditions, and they won’t cross-pollinate and ruin each other’s fruit. That said, they aren’t identical twins. Watermelon wants more heat, more room, and a longer season, while cucumbers need steady water right up to … Read more >>