The holiday festivities are over and the winter solstice has passed. This can only mean one thing: It’s time to start planning for the spring garden! What are your resolutions for the year ahead? Maybe you’ve decided to do more composting. Perhaps you’ve resolved to try planting new and different varieties of fruits and vegetables. It…
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Is eating a healthy diet one of your New Year’s resolutions? If you’ve resolved to start eating better for health reasons, you are not alone. It is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, year after year. For most people this means eating less sugar, eliminating junk food, drinking more water and adding lots…
An indoor herb garden is a breath of fresh air and a much-needed ray of sunshine during this otherwise cold and dark time of the year. Plus, who doesn’t love fresh herbs as part of a festive holiday meal? Roasted squash with rosemary and sage. Potato latkes with fresh basil and chives. Herb-encrusted roast beef….
Just in time for the holidays, the Christmas cactus is adding some much-need color to the season with its show of flowers that can include variations of white, pink, yellow, orange, red or purple, depending on variety. Have you added a Christmas cactus to your indoor garden, or received one as a holiday gift? Consider…
Open a bag of Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster and the first thing you’ll notice is the color—a deep, dark gray. The source is volcanic basalt, taken from Central Oregon’s legendary Cascade Mountains and turned into a finely milled product that contains the essential minerals and trace elements that plants depend on for healthy growth…
Lavender is as beautiful as it is hardy. Although often associated with English gardens, lavender is native to the Mediterranean where it grows in dry, sunny and rocky conditions. Fortunately, lavender can adapt to a variety of different growing conditions. For example, lavender thrives here in the Pacific Northwest where the weather is mild yet…
If you’re tempted to stay inside this month, just think how good you feel after a spending a few hours in the cool, crisp fresh air of fall. Inspired? Good! Because there is still plenty of work to do in the garden to get planting beds ready for the spring. Now is a good time…
Bonsai are natural tree forms in miniature. As an art form, bonsai has been practiced for hundreds of years in China and Japan and there are bonsai enthusiasts all over the world. Unlike trees planted in the ground, bonsai cannot extend their roots in search of essential minerals and nutrients. Instead, they get their nutritional…
Soil pH is a hot topic among gardeners and one worth taking a look at. People talk about how ‘acidic’ or how ‘alkanine’ their soil is but they don’t always consider other factors that are essential to proper soil management. Let’s start with a basic pH primer. Like the temperature of the human body, pH…
After spending spring and summer tending to the soil, you may be tempted to take a break while you wait for Jack Frost to bring your vegetable garden to its inevitable end. Yet a thorough fall cleanup and basic soil preparation now will ensure a healthy, vibrant garden in the spring. Agronomist Richard Affeldt of…