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The fabric pots were often displayed together in a variety of sizes. Some held single plants, while others were able to hold gorgeous, abundant arrangements. An urban agriculture company called Les Urbainculteurs was distributing a brand called Smart Pots in Canada at the time, so I brought one home to try. I’ve since expanded my collection and have been growing in them ever since. I’ve also noticed that fabric raised beds in all shapes and sizes are more readily available at garden centres and garden retailers....

Planning a cut flower garden If you’re new to gardening, start with the right spot. Flowers need plenty of sun and rich, well-drained soil. Prep the site before planting by loosening the soil and digging in some compost and a slow-release flower fertilizer. Raised beds are a popular choice for gardeners who want a tidy garden that is easy to care for. No space for a cut flower garden? No worries!...

This information is featured on Savvy Gardening thanks to the sponsorship of Gardener’s Supply Company, an employee-owned company that designs and builds plant covers and many other innovative products created for home gardeners. Reasons to cover your plants Outdoor plants are vulnerable to all kinds of potential troubles and covering them with a protective structure is a clever way to keep these troubles away. There are many reasons to employ plant covers in the garden....

Top 10 zucchini growing problems Here are ten reasons why you may have faced zucchini growing problems in the past, and tips for making sure these issues don’t happen again. Zucchini problem 1: Improper variety selection. Not all zucchini varieties perform the same. Some are more productive than others, and some are more disease- and pest-resistant. First and foremost, when selecting zucchini varieties for your garden, be sure to seek out disease and pest resistance whenever possible....

Why grow lettuce in winter There are a lot of reasons for growing lettuce in winter but my main motives are; 1) it’s easy and 2) it allows me to harvest dozens of heads of organically grown lettuce from December through March. I love my winter vegetable garden! In spring, summer, and autumn I have to deal with temperature extremes, dry or wet weather, and pests like deer, groundhogs, rabbits, aphids, slugs, and more....

When to plant spinach: 3 great options Before we talk about when to harvest spinach, it’s important to understand when to plant it. This is because the timing of the planting directly connects to the timing of the harvest. There are three times for planting spinach in growing regions that have four distinct seasons. The three planting times are: Very early spring Late summer or early fall, and Late fall through mid-winter Here’s how the timing of each of those three planting times affects when the spinach is harvested....

Reasons for pruning pepper plants As you’re about to learn, the reasons why a gardener should be pruning pepper plants depends on when the pruning takes place. If timed correctly, proper pruning encourages strong sturdy stems, good branching, reduced disease and pest pressure, fruits that ripen quickly and evenly, and for many pepper varieties, it also results in improved yields. Is pruning pepper plants necessary? Just like tomatoes, the answer is no; it isn’t necessary....

To make our guide to vegetable garden pests both user-friendly and straightforward, we’ve included essential details about 15 of the most common – and destructive – veggie garden pests and lots of info on how to protect your garden from the damage they cause. Use the photos and descriptions to help you identify the culprit, then implement the useful prevention techniques. If these preventative tips don’t solve your problem, move on to employing the listed physical control methods....

Sage is one of the many members of the extensive mint (Lamiaceae) family. I’m writing about common or culinary sage (Salvia officinalis), which for me evokes thoughts of stuffing and other hearty fall dishes. Growing sage While sage can be grown from seed, it’s pretty easy to find a young plant at the nursery. You can also propagate more plants from cuttings. My sage plants have been dug into the garden after making an appearance in containers....

How much shade? Before you start sowing seeds, take a good look at your space and figure out how much sun you can realistically expect. There are different degrees of shade, with the deepest having the fewest options for food crops. – Dappled shade. Typically situated under the filtered shade of tall, deciduous trees, dappled shade offers 3 to 5 hours of sunlight a day. – Partial shade. Also called ‘half shade’, a garden in partial shade will receive 2 to 3 hours of sun per day....

What is spaghetti squash? Spaghetti squash (Cucurbita pepo) is a type of winter squash. Members of the winter squash family are known for their hard rinds and long shelf-life. Other types of winter squash include acorn, butternut, delicata, and buttercup squash, among others. Winter squash require a fairly long growing period to mature, and the fruits are harvested late in the growing season. They will last for months if stored at room temperature in a cool, dry environment....

Straw bale gardening has been popularized in recent years by Joel Karsten, the author of Straw Bale Gardens Complete, which details everything you need to know to get started growing in straw bales. I think many people have embraced this technique because it’s so easy to do, straw is widely available, and it allows you to grow food in small spaces or less-than-ideal sites. Straw versus hay I’m often asked about the difference between straw and hay and which material is the best to use in a vegetable garden....

The importance of wildlife to a garden Though gardeners often work hard to keep certain types of wildlife out of their gardens (hello, deer and groundhogs, we’re talking about you!), there are many wild creatures that we want to have in our gardens because they benefit it in many ways. Birds eat insect pests and feed them to their young; bees and butterflies help pollinate flowers and crops; toads eat slugs, flies, and various pests; and ladybugs, lacewings, and other predatory insects munch on many common garden pests....

In southern Ontario where I live, the long weekend in May, which generally falls sometime around the 24th, is the benchmark date for getting all those heat-loving edibles, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, as well as annuals, into the ground. This date will differ, depending on where you live and what Mother Nature has offered up in any given year. A good rule of thumb is to check your region’s frost-free date for your local safe-to-plant date....

Types of cucumbers to grow in containers There are so many unique and delicious cucumbers you can grow. I feature many of them in my award-winning book, Veggie Garden Remix, but basically, cucumber varieties fall into two main categories: bush or vining. Bush cucumbers form short vines, just two to three feet long and don’t require a trellis. They are perfect for pots, cascading over the side of a container or hanging basket, or you can support them with a tomato cage....

What do all good trees for privacy have in common? Before looking at which specific varieties of trees are best for screening, it’s important to discuss the traits all good privacy trees have in common. 1. Privacy trees are easy to grow. Fussy trees are not a good fit for creating privacy. If a tree is difficult to grow, or it won’t survive in a broad diversity of soil and sunlight conditions, I don’t bother using it for this purpose....

Oriental lilies Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana species) Daphne Heliotrope (see main photo) Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia) Lily of the valley Korean spicebush Jimson weed (Datura) Tuberose Lilac What are your favorite fragrant flowers? 

What is romaine lettuce? Also known as cos lettuce, botanically speaking, romaine is Lactuca sativa var. longifolia. Instead of growing a round, bulbous head or a loose, leafy one, romaine lettuces grow upright heads with sturdy, elongated leaves that have thick midribs and are densely packed. Romaine is among the most popular lettuces for both home cooks and restaurants, but it’s also been the subject of a handful of E. coli breakouts over the last decade....

Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden by Christy Wilhelmi of Gardenerd is a really helpful resource for growing fruit trees and shrubs both in containers and in small spaces. This particular excerpt, reprinted with permission from Cool Springs Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group, will help you assess your growing area and set you up for successful future harvests. How to determine the right fruit trees for your climate Whether you are a novice or an experienced gardener, the first rule applies to everyone: Choose cultivars best suited to where you live....

Here are all the steps you’ll need to grow sunflower microgreens yourself. Purchase quality seed. I use black oil sunflower seeds. Though other types will work, these are the least expensive. You can purchase seeds intended for use as birdseed (FYI: there are no GMO sunflowers at this time, so that’s not a concern). Or, if you’re looking for certified organic seeds, here’s a good source. Soak two cups of seeds in warm water for 12 hours in a covered container....