By Joanna Miller This time of year is when my garden has been active for months, and my worst gardening mistakes become evident. Every year I tell myself, “I’m going to do THIS next year, and things will turn out better!” And they usually do, though I reliably manage to make some utterly different mistake the next time around. I thought it might be helpful for beginning gardeners (and possibly entertaining for experienced gardeners) to compile some of the biggest mistakes I’ve made over the years. Mistake #1: Not Doing the Research My first gardens were in the Chicago suburbs. I never made any big mistakes there because it’s really easy to grow things. My first big gardening mistakes came...
I have an aloe vera plant in my office. Her name is Alice. Alice came to me in a cute little terra cotta pot, and has followed me from sunny windowsill to sunny windowsill through a move across state lines. You could say we’re pretty close. A few months ago, I noticed Alice wasn’t doing well. She was wilting, and the tips of her leaves were turning yellow and withering. She wasn’t growing at all. After some experiments in watering and sunlight levels, I gently picked Alice up out of her pot to look at her roots. It turns out Alice was rootbound, and the thin white threads of her roots were filling up the potting soil and beginning to...
I have an aloe vera plant in my office. Her name is Alice. Alice came to me in a cute little terra cotta pot, and has followed me from sunny windowsill to sunny windowsill through a move across state lines. You could say we’re pretty close. A few months ago, I noticed Alice wasn’t doing well. She was wilting, and the tips of her leaves were turning yellow and withering. She wasn’t growing at all. After some experiments in watering and sunlight levels, I gently picked Alice up out of her pot to look at her roots. It turns out Alice was rootbound, and the thin white threads of her roots were filling up the potting soil and beginning to...
Instagram also has a bevy of great accounts that celebrate and share knowledge about the dirty but glorious world of gardening. So, for those who’ve started to dabble in urban gardening during the pandemic lockdowns, we’ve rounded up a list of 10 gardening accounts to provide you with the ultimate inspiration for plant cultivation. You’re welcome! 1. MILKWOOD PERMACULTURE Milkwood Permaculture goes beyond gardening. They share permaculture techniques and courses on how to live off the land sustainably with ways that can benefit the environment, community and even the economy based on ecological and biological principles. Before Milkwood Permaculture became a crew of educators, facilitators, designers and builders who teach about the art of permaculture living and gardening, the idea...
If you have been gardening for any length of time, then odds are you understand the amount of work that is involved not only in setting up your garden but maintaining it and harvesting it as well. There is nothing worse than putting all that time into a healthy abundant garden only to have pests take it out frighteningly quick. However, blasting our plants with chemicals and sprays is not the answer either. So what do we do? What options do we have left to stop pests in our gardens organically? Let’s look at a few tips for anyone that is organic gardening for beginners. I have been gardening for over 18 years now and I have had my share...
