Plenty of insects are simply pests, eating their way through your tomatoes or stinging your face and arms while you try to pull weeds. But here are four creepy-crawlies who can help your garden grow.
1. Bees. A few days ago I saw a bumblebee buzzing around our squash plants, and I was glad [...]
Recently, while working on a magazine article about canning vegetables, I interviewed a woman named Deborah Lewis from Muncie, Indiana, who’s been growing vegetables and canning them for years. When I asked her what she likes most about canning, she said: “I love how canning requires you to slow down; you just can’t be in [...]
This is the third installment in my occasional series, “Gardens Doing Good,” which shares the stories of organizations and people who are using gardens to make a difference in others’ lives. (Read the first two installments here and here.)
Community gardens are popping up in cities and towns across the country. But many communities lack [...]
There’s so much to love about Walt Disney World. We just returned from a week there with our boys, and while I expected the rides, the games, the food, and the souvenirs, I didn’t expect the gardens. That’s right, even Mickey and Minnie have a vegetable garden.
Here’s a look at some of Minnie’s gardening [...]
A lot can happen in a week. When we left last week for vacation, the garden was mostly just green sprouts. But when we got home yesterday, after a week away, it was a different story.
First, the boys brought in these two bell peppers, the biggest ones we’ve ever grown.
Next, Lee [...]
Planting the garden has never been one of my favorite activities. But a few weeks ago, on a warm spring day, it was time to get most of our seeds in the ground. We were all itching to get outside in the sun, and instead of a dreaded chore, planting the garden turned into a [...]
Ever since I started blogging about gardening with kids (almost a year ago), I’ve been surprised at how frequently I hear or read about how people are using gardens to help other people. Maybe they’re planting a school garden, providing fresh produce to a disaster-stricken area, or teaching kids to grow their own food. Gardening [...]
March 20 is the first day of spring. It’s hard to believe, since the temperature is supposed to drop to 26 degrees here tonight, but we’re less than three weeks away from that first day of spring. That means garden season is just around the corner. If you’re planning to grow some food this year [...]
