Garden Basics

Fall Leaves: Leave ‘Em and Weep

December 5, 2009
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Once upon a time some newbie garden writer thought it’d be a great idea to encourage people to leave their fall leaves on the ground. Hey, it’s got all the qualities of a great article for the masses; it tells folks what they want to hear (stay in your jammies on Saturday and don’t bother [...]

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Calculating How Much Mulch or Compost You Need

November 21, 2009
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So your garden’s mulch is getting thin, and you’ve decided that you want to add 2 inches of wood chips to top it up. Great! But how much mulch do you need to buy to make that happen? You can do this using math (yuck!), or you can use these great calculators I’ve found online. [...]

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Rubber Mulch: Where the Rubber Meets the – Soil?

October 2, 2009
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At Costco recently, I was happy to see some acquaintances coming out of the garden section, until… what in the WORLD was in their cart? It looked like bags of mulch, but… wrong somehow. They patiently explained to this landscaper that recycled rubber mulch is the newest thing and would look very pretty in their [...]

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Gardening Basics: How to Water

June 21, 2009
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Watering seems like one of those bonehead tasks that everyone should get right on their first try, right? I wish! The truth is, I see more gardens that are sick and unhealthy due to water stress than any other single issue. Luckily, watering properly isn’t complicated once you know a few simple things.

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Gardening Basics: How to Apply Mulch

June 16, 2009
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We’ve talked about why a thick layer of mulch, composty soil, and good watering habits are important if you want to garden more organically; it’s all about giving your plants a foundation of good health so that pest problems will be few and far between. Today we’ll talk specifically about mulch: what it is, what [...]

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Gardening Basics: How to Amend Soil

June 15, 2009

We’ve talked about why composty soil, good watering habits, and a thick layer of mulch are important if you want to garden more organically; it’s all about giving your plants a foundation of good health so that pest problems will be few and far between. Today we’ll talk about how to know whether you need [...]

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Full Sun, Part Shade; Some Basic Insights On Light

November 17, 2008

Have you ever read a plant tag and wondered just how much sun “part sun” is? Or tried to figure out if a plant wanting “full sun” would make it in the spot that you have? Plant tags and gardening gurus spit out these terms and assume that we’ll get it right – but in [...]

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How Far Apart Do I Plant? Planting for the Future

November 6, 2008

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you’ve probably had the experience more than once of buying a plant that the nursery tag said would grow to the perfect size for your garden – but within a few years, it was pushing against its neighbors and becoming unruly. Why aren’t the plant tags accurate? Well, [...]

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