The Lazy Gardener’s Automatic Seed Starting Chart

Calculate seed sowing and planting dates in seconds with Maggie Wang’s easy-to-calculate version of my original Printable Seed Starting Chart. You’ll never wonder when to start your seeds again! Download the seed starting chart file. If you don’t have excel, you can download a free open-source office suite with a spreadsheet application at openoffice.org or

Fertilizing the Organic Way

Guest post by Niki Jabbour The real secret to growing healthy plants is to feed the earth. If you wish to garden organically, you must begin by considering your soil and what you can do to improve its health, fertility and boost its organic matter. The ideal garden soil is dark in colour, smells a

From the Ground Up: Adventures in Making My Own Plot

Guest post by Kelly Gilliam So you’ve just moved into a new place. You look around, and find yourself in a jam. Maybe your new yard doesn’t come with a garden plot, or perhaps the plot there is so overgrown with weeds that it looks like it hasn’t been touched in ten years. Whatever your

All Hail Mulch

Guest post by Zesty Thinking upon the last weekend of May, there are words that spring to my mind. Words like ‘triumph’ and ‘omnipotent’ and ‘whupass’. For yes truly, as the phoenix doth rise from its ashes so too is my garden no longer a cover candidate for ‘Crackhead Landscaping’. What was once a weed-ridden

I say potato, you say Solanum tuberosum

Guest post by Erin Fisher What is Binomial Nomenclature? Binomial nomenclature is also referred to as the latin or scientific name. Latin was at one time the universal (read: European) language of science. All scientific treatises were written in Latin. If you know your latin roots, looking at scientific names can be fun and can

Harvesting Seeds

There are a variety of reasons for harvesting your own seeds; some personal, some environmental. Perhaps you have a variety that you like and you are concerned that seed companies may discontinue stocking it. You saw some wildflowers while on an outdoor hike that you’d like to grow in your own garden. You have a

Seed Starting – Germination

Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich What Happens When A Seed Germinates? The whole purpose of starting seeds indoors is to cheat winter a little. Ironically, even as we cheat nature, we must imitate her. Light, soil, water, air, and a basic understanding of the process of germination are all you need. Once you know the

Ensure Your Bounty of Peas

Guest post by Arzeena Hamir No matter what zone you live in, garden peas are one of the first crops that can be planted outdoors. Even though the weather may be mild at this time of the year in your zone, the soil is still quite cold which often results in poor germination. In addition,

Start Healthy Tomatoes

Guest post by Arzeena Hamir Tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed. However, unless you live in the tropics, your summers are probably too short to direct seed these heat loving plants. Starting tomato seeds indoors gives them a jump on the season, especially with late maturing varieties. Start seed 6-8

Cactus Revival

This fall, while strolling through my neighbourhood, I caught out of the corner of my eye two cactus plants sitting next to the garbage bins of a large high rise. Not being one to shy away from free, discarded stuff, I casually veered off path to check it out. What I discovered were two, fairly

Back to School with Plants

Dorm Plants: Beyond Their Beauty or Pleasing Appearance Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich Science confirms what we already know. Plants make people feel better. They benefit us in a way any student who has ever looked up from a book at cold cinder block dorm walls at 3:30 in the morning will appreciate. One researcher

Summer Seeds

It may be summer, but it’s not too late to sow some seeds. Here’s a list of perennials that can be started from seed in July and August. July Perennials Astilbe Bellis Perennis Campanula Gailardia Foxglove Gypsophila Holllyhock Linum Lunaria Lupin Myosotis Pansy Poppy Pyrethrum Primula Sweet William August Perennials Arabis Armeria Astilbe Bellis Perennis