Cats in the garden are never a good thing. They can damage plants and will gladly use your freshly tilled soil as a litterbox. This is why I almost never recommend planting catnip in your garden. Catnip is extremely attractive to cats. Catmint is as well, but less so. This herb is a beautiful plant...
Herb Gardening
If you visit a market, you’ll probably see tons of products labeled as ‘organic.’ Everything from pizzas to burritos to bread. But how does all that organic stuff in the grocery store relate to organic gardening?
Truthfully, it doesn’t really. All that stuff, even if it’s organic, is still processed and a far cry from an organic garden.
Organic gardening is a practice that seeks to work with mother nature instead of against her, cultivating a garden ecosystem that bolsters your plants and reduces pest issues naturally.
Organic gardens are nearly always without any kind of synthetic chemical use, be it pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertilizers. Organic gardeners use natural techniques to reduce common problems that gardens experience.
Organic gardeners often plant a diverse array of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. They also use natural solutions, like lady bugs and praying mantises, for getting rid of unwanted insect pests. The objective of a garden shouldn’t be to go scorched earth and destroy all pests, but to reduce their numbers enough that those beings can continue to survive and so can your garden. It’s the natural way to go about growing your own food.
The benefits of organic gardening speak for themselves. When you set up an organic garden, you do a lot of good for the environment and yourself. The fruits and vegetables you grow are healthier for the earth and for you too. And let’s face it, organic produce just seem to taste better than the conventionally grown stuff you find in the store!
Pineapple sage is perhaps one of the most fitting descriptions for a plant’s fragrance I’ve ever encountered. Gently rubbing the leaves of this plant produces that sweet, tangy citrus smell of pineapple with a hint of traditional sage aroma. It really is a plant out of this world, which is why I have five of...
Cuban oregano is one of my all time favorite plants because it’s so easy to grow and smells amazing. Cuban oregano, also known as Spanish thyme, Indian borage, and Mexican mint, isn’t actually a type of oregano but is a type of succulent. And like most succulents, they are drought resistant and hardy. Being related...
Fennel is one of my all time favorite herbs to grow. It’s a tall, sturdy, hardy herb similar to dill that adds a wonderful aroma to my garden and is good in several dishes that I frequently cook. I just like the plant too. The frond-like leaves swaying in the breeze on a warm summer...
I love growing unusual plants that you wouldn’t normally find. Some gardeners, such as myself, really want those unusual plants, flowers, vegetables, and herbs that make folks say ‘wow!’ Turmeric is one such plant. Knowing how to grow turmeric will give you a fresh source of the spice and dazzle folks who visit your home....
Dill is one of my favorite herbs to grow for a number of reasons. It’s aromatic, produces beautiful flowers that the local bees can’t seem to get enough of, and are host to black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, which are an absolutely beautiful butterfly. In this article, we’ll break down how to grow dill, when to...
Basil is a culinary herb that’s at the heart of Italian cuisine, and it’s also the base of most varieties of pesto. There may be a discrepancy in how to pronounce it (“bay-sil” or “bah-sil”) but there’s no denying it’s delicious aroma. Although sweet basil may be the most famous of its kind, there are...
Strawberry pear, Kaktus Madu, cactus fruit, night-blooming cereus – it’s probably popping up all over your Instagram and Pinterest feeds and every food photographer seems to have a strong interest in capturing them. Why not? They are more photogenic than some of us humans. Everyone knows about pitaya, the exotic-looking dragon fruit that tastes like...
Spring has sprung, and millions of people have gardening on the mind. And who wouldn’t? There are few things more enjoyable than planting flowers in spring and enjoying their blooms all summer long. That’s why I love this craft project: the log planter. There are countless benefits to gardening. Not to mention that flowers are...
If you’re planning a spring garden, you’re selling your whole yard short if you aren’t also planning to grow a moon garden. These gardens add something just so magical and dazzling to your garden in the evening time. What is a moon garden? A moon garden is a garden that has been stocked with special...
Gardening is a serious matter in many ways. If people didn’t grow food, chances are we’d all still be hunter-gatherer people! But even though growing food is important, it’s good to look on the bright side of life and find humor in the little things, even if those little things are creepy crawlers in your...
If you’re just getting started on your gardening journey, all of the various terms and references may be a lot to grasp. Plants have different terms applied to them, like full sun, part shade, annual, and perennial. These terms will help you, the gardener, give your plant the best shot at life. In this article,...