Plants and setups that do well without fuss. Start here if you want a garden that mostly takes care of itself, with easy plant choices, simple routines, and no complicated gear.
Four white-light grow lights for houseplants in a dim room, from a bulb for a lamp that takes one to a clip-on for one pot. Plus when a window is enough, and how far and how long to run the light.
Grow Lights for Indoor Plants That Don’t Turn the Room Purple Read More »
Tiny dark flies drifting around a houseplant are usually fungus gnats, and they breed in damp potting mix. Here is how to spot them, dry out their breeding ground, trap the adults and treat the larvae, in the order to try each step.
Fungus Gnats: How to Get Rid of the Tiny Flies Around Your Houseplants Read More »
Garlic goes in the ground in autumn and asks little of you until summer. Here is when to plant it where winters are cold or mild, which kind to buy, how deep to set the cloves, and what to expect along the way.
How to Grow Garlic: Plant It This Fall, Forget It Until Summer Read More »
A bag of tulip bulbs comes with no date on it. Plant in mid to late fall once the soil is below 60°F, set them 6 to 8 inches deep, and treat them differently if your winters are warm.
When to Plant Tulip Bulbs (and What Changes in a Warm Zone) Read More »
Full sun means six hours or more of direct sunlight a day, and below that the terms on plant tags stop agreeing with each other. Here are the hours two Extension services actually give, why they differ, and how to read your own spot in a single day.
How Many Hours of Sun Is “Full Sun”? Read More »
A drooping plant looks much the same whether it has had too much water or too little, which is why so many people water again and make it worse. Here is what actually separates the two, and what to do once you know which one you are looking at.
Overwatered or Underwatered? How to Tell the Difference Read More »
Four frost covers for a small garden, compared on the one number that decides the purchase. Plus the nights when the sheet in your closet is enough.
Frost Cloth for Pots and Small Beds, and When an Old Sheet Will Do Read More »
Five ordinary things are enough to start container gardening, and most of the rest can wait. A short, honest shopping list with no gadgets.
What You Actually Need to Start Container Gardening (and What to Skip) Read More »
Gardeners who learned in a cold climate often treat summer as the whole growing season, but in a hot climate that model costs half the year. This is why the cool months carry a real harvest of their own, and what to do with the changeover in between.
Why Warm Gardens Have Two Planting Seasons Read More »
A last frost date is an average drawn from decades of weather records, not a guarantee for this particular spring. Here is where the number comes from and how to use it well.
Understanding Your Frost Dates Read More »
