Gardening

Beets are a cool season crop to love or loathe. While some of us adore the earthy flavor, especially in pickled beets, others claim the roots taste like dirt – …

As gardeners, it’s often necessary to wear different hats for all the various jobs that tending a garden entails. Depending on the day (and time of year), we’re site planners, …

We’ve already discussed the many ways that Castile soap can save you time and money inside your home. So, how about you grab your favorite bottle of liquid Castile soap …

I love summer squash, don’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever had a garden that didn’t have a zucchini plant in it. And why not? Zucchini and summer squash are …

Propagation by division is the name given to the technique where gardeners divide perennial plants to make new ones. Division is one of the easiest methods of propagation, and is …

Fruit-bearing trees that are left to grow just as nature intended will become massive over time. Although beautiful, mature fruit trees with large spreading canopies and dense crowns will shade …

Good friends are hard to come by. But good neighbors? Harder still. So, when you’ve grown tired of staring out your kitchen window at the neighbor’s collection of “classic” cars, …

Growing herbs can be a rewarding experience in the garden and the kitchen. If you’re used to dried herbs from the supermarket, you may be surprised the first time you …

The other day, my sweetie came out to the garden to find me buried head first in our Amish Paste tomatoes, hacking away and cursing. He had to duck as …

When it comes to summertime fruit, our favorite is blueberries. They’re infinitely snackable. A bowl left unattended on the counter, destined for jam or homemade blueberry syrup, will likely disappear …

So, you’ve finally taken some gardening advice from Rural Sprout and are putting that spade or rototiller down for a nap. Now what? Your questioning and calculating mind may be …

A thriving garden ecosystem is like a world in miniature. Right under our noses, there’s a constant struggle for survival going on. Between battles for food and territory, mating rituals …

I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a rather bold claim. Bee balm needs to be in everyone’s backyard. Yup, if you grow flowering plants, bee …

So, you’d like to try your hand at making a broom, am I right? Or maybe you are here to learn a thing or two about diversifying the bird feed …

Raspberries (Rubus spp.) are sun-loving, thorny, rambling plants in the Rose family. It’s absolutely worth a few prickles for the heavenly taste of the sweet, delicate berries, straight off the …

Biting into a perfect, tree-ripened peach could be the culinary highlight of your summer. That is, if you know the best varieties to plant: three to four years in advance. …

Crabgrass is a plant that incenses those who want a perfect emerald lawn. But organic gardeners in the know understand that what is a weed to some can actually be …

I don’t know about you, but every year around May, I sit down to plan my summer. I gather all the important dates and put everything on the calendar – …

Ah yes, summer is finally here. And with it comes popsicles, sunscreen lotion, and the annual emergence of the one pest that sets every gardener on edge – the Japanese …

If you’re lucky enough to have your own fruit trees, then you know there is no comparison to the flavor and juiciness of a freshly picked peach or apple from …

Pests are not as common a problem in indoor gardens as they are outdoors. However, that doesn’t mean they should be ignored either. There are several common indoor pests that …

Growing some shape or size of pumpkin is easy enough. Getting them to grow huge is another weight category entirely. So, what does it take to grow a large pumpkin? …

As the weather warms up, it’s only natural for us to spend more time outdoors. Of course, going outside is a bit different in the summer than it is during …

Right up there with ants, wasps, and mosquitoes, house flies are one of the summer’s most annoying insect pests. (Although you really do need to learn to love wasps.) Getting …