Walk through enough gardens and you will hear all kinds of companion planting advice. Put basil beside tomatoes. Keep beans away from onions. Ring the whole garden with marigolds and the pests will pack their bags. Some of that advice…
Starting your first vegetable garden is exciting. It can also get complicated surprisingly fast. You start out thinking you’ll grow a few tomatoes and maybe some lettuce. Then you spend an evening looking at seed catalogs and suddenly you’re planning…
There’s a moment every gardener looks forward to. Your seedlings are growing strong, the weather is finally warming up, and you’re ready to move those little plants into the garden. It feels like the hard part is over. But this…
There’s nothing quite as exciting as seeing the first tiny sprouts poke through the soil. You check on them every morning, imagining baskets of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs just a few months away. Then, almost overnight, something changes. Instead…
You’ve probably heard people say that watering is the most important part of growing seedlings. I’d argue it’s actually light. A seedling can survive a slightly dry day. It can even recover from a little overwatering. But if it doesn’t…
Starting seeds indoors is one of those gardening jobs that looks incredibly simple—until you actually try it. You fill a tray with soil, tuck in a few seeds, add some water, and wait. A few days later, you’re expecting a…
If you’ve ever stood in the gardening aisle staring at a wall of seed trays, you’re not alone. There are trays with 24 cells, 72 cells, and 128 cells. Some come with humidity domes, others promise “professional results,” and plenty…
Every spring, gardeners face the same decision in the garden center: Should I buy seed starting mix or potting soil? At first glance, the bags look almost identical. They’re both loose growing media, both come in similar packaging, and both…
Starting seeds indoors can feel intimidating the first time you try it. One gardening guide says to plant tomatoes in March, another recommends April, and your seed packet only mentions “6–8 weeks before the last frost.” If you’re wondering which…
Understanding Which Seeds You Can Save—and Which Ones May Surprise You If you’ve ever browsed a seed catalog or walked through a garden center, you’ve probably noticed labels like “Hybrid (F1)” and “Heirloom.” For many beginner gardeners, those words sound…