Home Grown
Tips and resources for farmers and gardeners
Growing Corn. To grow corn successfully, focus on proven production practices such as timely planting, high-yielding hybrids and appropriate seeding rates. A major consideration is planting date. More…
Add Herbs to Garden. Regardless of how you decide to use them, herbs can make an exciting addition to any landscape. They can be used formally in an herb garden or informally mixed into beds of annuals, perennials or shrubs. Herb flowers and foliage provide a beautiful palette of color and variation in texture and form. Herbs also lend themselves well to small containers such as window boxes or whisky barrels. More…
Planting For Low Maintenance. Because annuals need to be replanted every season, perennials are preferred in the low-maintenance garden. Coneflowers are bright, cheery and easy to grow.. More…
Garden Anywhere With A Compost Sock. With compost socks, farming could be expanded to areas that generally aren’t considered ag-friendly or where fresh fruits and vegetables are not easily accessible. More…
Saving Rainfall. When summer arrives, gardeners will wish they could have saved some of the rain that ran down their driveways in the spring. More…
The Most Allergenic Plants. For allergy sufferers, spring is usually a time of sniffling, sneezing, and watery eyes. Allergenic trees are usually a problem from March through May. More…
Constructing A Berry Bed. Berry beds can be of any size or shape and be designed to the scale of the garden and owners' taste. Different materials can act as soil-retaining edging. More…
How Much Soil Does Your New Garden Bed Need? To determine soil needs for a square or oblong bed, first measure the length and the width of the bed-to-be and multiply these two measurements to obtain the square footage of the area to be gardened. More…
Growing Blueberries. Home gardeners need to select the correct varieties, the best location, amend the soil to the proper pH level, plant at the right spacing and depth, and care for blueberries until the berries are ready for harvesting. More…
Revealing Signs Of Spring. Where winters are long and cold and colors are faded by sun, wind and snow, the first glimpse of green growth is long awaited. The emerging tips of perennials aren’t very noticeable from a distance, and even on close inspection may be just barely evident. But they’re a promise of green to come. More…
Spring Houseplant Maintenance. In the spring, longer days and higher light intensity cause indoor plants to grow more rapidly. Start fertilizing again using a half-strength solution at every other watering. More…
Preventing Herbicide Drift And Damage. An herbicide designed to kill weeds in turfgrass can also kill neighboring trees and shrubs. Here’s some tips on avoiding herbicide drift and damages. More…
How Much Land Do You Need To Garden For Self-Sufficiency? To grow everything you need, it would take a lot of land. But no one is truly self-sufficient in that way, and none of us need to be... More…
Ferns Freshen Flats. A fern can be 50 times more effective than other common houseplants at removing formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound that can build up in well-insulated modern homes. More…
English Garden. A naturalistic garden style first developed in 18th century England, as compared with the more formal French style. More…
Are These Seeds Treated? Seed catalogs and garden centers now offer seeds that have been treated, pelleted, organically grown and sometimes spaced on tape for easier planting. The differences can be important. More…
Creating A Container Herb Garden Herbs can be used alone in containers or mixed with annual flowers or vegetables. Not only do these plants add a variety of color to the landscape and are good filler plants in perennial and herb gardens, they add flavor to your favorite food dish. More…
Growing Container Kale Kale is one of the ten best container vegetable plants, according to Pam Farley in Container Food Gardening: All the know-how you need to grow veggies, fruits, herbs, and other edible plants in pots. More…
Testing Garden Soil Taking the time to gather a soil sample from your garden spot will help you plan and make changes to your garden's fertility. The results and recommendations of a soil sample will insure all the hard work and effort that goes into developing a garden will not be in vain. More…
Saving Holiday Gift Plants Ornamental plants like poinsettias, Christmas cacti, Christmas Kalanchoe, amaryllis bulbs and miniature Christmas trees are often given as gifts during the holiday season. Unfortunately, these plants usually don't come with plant care information. More…
A Choice of Tomatoes Sun Gold. This yellow-orange tomato is the candy of the tomato world. Production is high, the plants are moderately resistant to disease, and the fruit taste is awesome, but the fruit crack like mad. Every gardener should have one or two of these plants, so there is something to eat while gardening. More…
Living Christmas Trees A living Christmas tree is a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas holiday and then cherish the memory of those special times throughout the year. More…
Gifts For Gardeners If you have gardeners on your shopping list, whatever you do, don’t give them cheap tools. Give them something they’ll remember. More…
Alternative Evergreens Just a handful of species make up the majority of evergreens planted. This lack of diversity is starting to be a real problem in areas where diseases are decimating both Scotch pine and Austrian pine, the two most commonly planted pine trees of the last 50 years. Fortunately, there are several less-common types of evergreens to consider.. More…
Tabletop Christmas Trees Pine tree seedlings are well adapted to container culture, and potted plants can live for several years with minimal care. The problem with these tabletops trees is that when they get too big for the container or the patio they need to be replanted in the landscape, and not everyone has an appropriate place for them. More…
Starting an Apple Orchard Full sunlight is critical to the success of any fruiting plant. Apple trees use sunlight along with nutrients and water from soil to produce delicious apples. Where you plant your apple trees is important for both water and air drainage.. More…
Potted Perennials In Winter While perennials can be treated like annuals and replaced the next season, many gardeners prefer looking for ways to overwinter their potted perennials so they can have these plants survive the winter and come back next spring... More…
Selecting Holiday Plants When the winter holiday season approaches, it is time to purchase holiday plants. As with most holiday purchases, shop early to ensure that you get the plant of your choice.. More…
Preventing Sunscald To prevent sunscald, the trunks of susceptible trees can be covered with tree wrap in October or November. Apply the wrap from the ground to the start of the first branches to protect recently planted trees.. More…
Defining Healthy Trees To leave the best trees and take the worst, you need to know how to tell the difference. A healthy tree is straight, with a full crown, and produces plenty of seed to feed wildlife and germinate more trees like itself. More…
Planting for Deer Resistance. Some plant species are more palatable to deer than others. Include plants favored by deer in your garden and you can expect frequent dinner guests. Frequently, ornamental plants used in landscaping are preferred by deer because they are fertilized and irrigated, making them nutrient-rich and moist. They offer the animals protein, energy-rich carbohydrates, minerals, and salts. More…
Wintertime Soil Improvements One of the most useful things you can do to create a more resilient garden its to make your own compost. More…
Transplanting Trees and Shrubs. Fall and early winter are the best time to relocate large trees and shrubs. Moving established plants from one location to another can change your landscape without costing you money. More…
Don’t Feed a Tree That Isn’t Hungry. Fall may have the slight edge over the spring for fertilizing. If your mature trees appear healthy and have never been fertilized, don't start now. And don't fertilize simply because you think it's the right thing to do. More…
Options for Xeriscaping. Xeriscaping, which is a term trademarked by Denver Water, is the wise use of water through water-efficient landscaping. Its principles are based on common sense and thoughtful planning. More…
Saving Seeds. As fall approaches, enthusiastic gardeners want to store seed for next year's production. Before you decide to save seed from your plants, it's important to consider whether saving seed will get you the type of plants you want. More…
Lawn Care During Drought. The way you manage your lawn will influence the amount of water required to keep it healthy. Increased nitrogen fertilization and thatch build up increase the amount and frequency of irrigation needed. More…
