The Importance of Fertilizer (and How to Mix Your Own)

When I first began vegetable gardening twenty years ago, I knew that I wanted to be organic. I didn’t want to hurt the earth—or myself—with synthetic chemicals. I wanted to grow plants the way nature did: with nothing but dirt, water, and sun. I dug a little composted steer manure into my beds (a 40-lb….

Avoiding Transplant Shock

The threat of frost is past, which means it’s time for planting out tomatoes, peppers, and all manner of warm-weather crops here in Virginia. While planting out is certainly not rocket science, and plants can recover from much rough treatment, there are some ways to ease the transition for them, keeping them happier and healthier and ultimately leading…

Does Vegetable Gardening Actually Save Money?

While my primary reason for gardening is love–love of the outdoors, love of physical work, love of plants in their infinite variety–my pleasure in gardening is immeasurably enhanced if I know that my labor is actually productive, if I know that, down the road a few weeks or months, I’m going to be enjoying the…

Caring for Seedlings

Well, the seeds I started almost three weeks ago are full-fledged seedlings now. They’re the plant equivalents of toddlers. No longer content to stay where I put them, they’re declaring their newfound independence by straining towards the sun. All of them have true leaves now—not just those run-of-the-mill round or oblong cotyledons that first break…

Organic Fertilizer to Mix at Home

I’ve been writing a lot lately about my early failures in the garden. My hope is that some of you whose first experiences in the vegetable patch have been less than stellar will be inspired to keep trying, knowing that sometimes a year or two of experience goes a long way. I’m also hoping that…