Gardening

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 …

Frog spit, snake spit or cuckoo spit. We all grew up seeing these blobs of ‘spit’ on plants in our backyard gardens or in the field we were playing in. …

While there are entire books dedicated to drying herbs at home, you’ll find all you need to know right here. At the same time, we’ll also walk you through a …

If you’re a longtime tomato grower, you’ve probably harvested your fair share of wonky fruit over the years. Rarely do we enjoy a bumper crop of perfectly shaped tomatoes with …

It happens every summer. No matter how much new seed you put down or how often you water, there will come a point where your lush green lawn turns into …

Tomatoes are dangerous. It seems that no other fruit in the home garden causes such fevered coddling, fussing, pride and competitiveness among gardeners. These bright red fruits can bring out …