Hello fellow readers, We spoke about a hot pepper crop grown in containers last week. Russ and Sara used worm castings added to their potting mix (link to the story below). “What are worm castings, and where do you get them?” asked Joe from Hope, NJ. I’ll cut to the

Hello fellow readers, I adore learning from Patti Doell of Little Big Farm, a cut flower farm in Blairstown, NJ. We spoke in late winter when her seed-starting was underway, and I found out she adopted the no-till gardening technique. Also known as no-dig gardening, it’s the pra

Hello Fellow Readers, The spring sure is unfolding at an unusual pace. Many are asking why the leaves on trees look stunted—or reporting perennials that haven’t come back. Give it time. Much has to do with soil temperatures, but Mother Nature has a way of sorting things out. Dur

Of all Suzanne's perennials, only her Blackberry Lilies were competing heartedly with the Stilt Grass, and so, I guessed they too might be considered invasive. Maybe not! One of the joys of working with fellow gardeners is learning about unusual plants. Plus, how to remediate invasive

Hello Fellow Readers, Leaf cleanup is underway, which brings me to the subject of leaf manners. It’s not neighborly to put your leaves into other folks’ woods or fields without permission. And, unless your town has a leaf sucking-up program (curbside vacuuming), putting them in the st

Hello fellow readers, “Be sure you tickle the roots,” I coach new gardeners after carefully removing a plant from its pot. Using my fingers, or an edge of a trowel, I demonstrate how to loosen the roots to encourage them to spread. Sometimes a utility knife comes into play if a plant

Hello fellow readers, It’s the time of year for tending to leaves and tidying our gardens for a long winter’s rest. The truth is, though, our gardens don’t rest. The fallen leaves and decaying plant material provide nourishment for next year’s growth by decompo

Hello Fellow Readers, For several years now I’ve had two bales of peat moss in my potting shed. For the life of me I don’t recall where they came from. Perhaps a donation from a client when they moved? Sphagnum moss, or peat moss, is a genus of approximately 380 species. It’s a

Hello Fellow Readers, As we ready our gardens for the new season of growth, many add fertilizers and other nourishment such as compost and manure. You’ve likely noticed, I advocate organic practices so we all may breathe green with a splash of color. Organic farming became known as su

Hello Fellow Readers, Earthworms are destroying forest floors shared William of Bangor PA after I bragged about the benefits of castings (worm poop) in the garden. I didn’t know, along with the benefits of our slimy garden guests, there are negative outcomes of their presence; especia