Gardening

Best Gifts for Gardeners, Food Preservers, and Makers 2021

Each year I pull together a list of best gift ideas for the gardeners and food preservers in your life. This year, I am including other Makers too. We all have something in common; a love of “doing it ourselves,” of making something with our own hands. A sense of...

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What to do with Leggy Tomato Seedlings

What to do with Leggy Tomato Seedlings

It seems to happen every year; my tomato seedlings bolt for the sky. Of course, this means I end up with tall, leggy seedlings. Leggy seedlings are less likely to grow into strong, producing plants.

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Coffee Cup Herb Garden

Coffee Cup Herb Garden

Tame your overflowing coffee cup collection by turning it into an indoor herb garden.
Brighten up gray winter days by planting an indoor herb garden now.
Repurpose old, chipped or oversized mugs – turn them into a quick and easy indoor garden.

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Best Gifts for Gardeners and Plant Lovers

Best Gifts for Gardeners and Plant Lovers

Find the perfect gift for the plant lovers on your list, without busting your budget.
Get your favorite gardener a magazine subscription or a new planner.
Growing kits and live plants are great gifts for gardeners, houseplant enthusiasts, and kids too!

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Pumpkin Garden Fails

Pumpkin Garden Fails

Poor Cinderella. She wouldn't get to the Ball in a coach made from this pumpkin! Now that the 100 degree days have gone, the pumpkins finally decided to start growing. Just in time for the plants to die. Sigh. I have had a garden for many years, yet I still have...

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6 Lessons From the Garden – 2104 Edition

6 Lessons From the Garden – 2104 Edition

Do you sometimes feel like your garden is toying with you? Me too. Here's what I learned this year. 1. Sick plants make for a sick garden; or - don't buy sick plants from the grocery store. Last spring I felt quite lucky to stumble upon some cheap cheap cheap tomato...

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Late Garden Harvest

Late Garden Harvest

I am finally admitting that summer is over and have cleaned out the garden. This late season harvest yielded butternut and fairy squashes, tiny cherry tomatoes, purple carrots, and over-ripe cucumbers that will be turned into a family favorite pickle. What goodies did...

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Giant Zucchini

Giant Zucchini

Sometimes zucchini grows scary-big! This zucchini got "lost" in the zucchini patch. It was so large when I found it, that I almost expected a scene from Little Shop of Horrors! It's been too hot for most of the heirloom tomatoes this year, but the zucchini doesn't...

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the confident canner