Buckwheat cover crop. Photo © Dreamstime.com. Cool-season cover crops are what many people think of when cover crops are mentioned. While not providing the biomass and carbon gain of warm season C4...
Gardening
Warm Season Cover Crops
Sunn hemp. Photo © Dreamstime.com. One of the most important rules of gardening is to always be gardening. That doesn’t mean we need to keep ourselves in the garden every working day planting,...
How to Till No-till Gardens
Photo © Dreamstime.com. Is our title an oxymoron? It appears to be a contradiction. Actually, to grow and maintain health, soil needs tillage. It just doesn’t need to be done with steel, iron, or...
Solarization and Tarping
Photo © Dogwood Ridge. Plastic sheeting is a valuable tool for managing garden beds without tillage. There are two different types that we can use depending on the need. One type is clear plastic...
Raised Bed Considerations
Photo © Dreamstime.com. How high should a raised bed be? I find 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) to be a very practical height for growing most crops. With less than six inches, you may start losing some of...
Gardening without Tillage—Why?
Photo © Dreamstime.com. I realize that having a garden without tilling might sound strange. My earliest memories of gardening include plowing, disking, and tilling. For many years I never knew there...
The Other Most Important Nutrient
The Most Important Garden Nutrient
What is the single most important nutrient for growing plants? There are two possible correct answers, water or carbon. Both of these run in global, sun-powered cycles and provide renewable energy....
Tree Fruits
Photo © Dreamstime.com. When are the two best times to plant a fruit tree? The best time was ten years ago! The second best time is this spring or fall, depending on your climate.If you want to...
Yielding Seed After His Kind
Storing the Bounty
Photo © Olga Volodina/Dreamstime.com I am a strong proponent of extending the growing season whenever possible, and utilizing row covers, tunnels, and greenhouses to keep up the flow of fresh foods...
Preparing Your Garden for Rest
One of the blessings most North American gardeners enjoy is the cyclical nature of the pastime. While I have written about the joy of season extension and greenhouse production, having a season of...
