winter preparation

That White Powder on Your Plants Isn’t Dust: Here’s What to Do Before Winter

September 13, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

That white powder coating your plant leaves probably did not arrive courtesy of a very messy bag of flour. It may be powdery mildew, a common fungal disease that can spread across leaves, stems, and even flower buds when conditions cooperate. A plant covered in white does not automatically need the compost pile. With a…

Is It Time to Stop Encouraging New Growth on Perennials?

August 6, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

Gardeners love seeing fresh green shoots appear, but late-season new growth on perennials can create a tricky situation. As temperatures drop, that tender growth often lacks the strength needed to handle winter conditions, which means a little gardening excitement can turn into a seasonal headache. The goal is not to stop plants from growing altogether,…

How To Get Free Seeds From The Government by Amanda Blankenship Seeds might seem like a small expense, but any seasoned…
Should I Use Enviro Ice On My Plants? by Kathryn Vercillo Every week, I receive food from Hungryroot. It's a great…
From Trash to Treasure: Transform Shredded Paper Into Garden Gold by Amanda Blankenship Should you use shredded paper as garden mulch? It might…
What Happens to Plants If You Use Enviro Ice on Them? by Amanda Blankenship About a year ago, I wrote our first article about…

Don’t Throw Away Your Dead Plants Yet — Some Could Save You Money Next Spring

By September, plenty of gardens look like they’re ready for the trash pile: brown bean vines, crispy flower stalks, exhausted tomato plants, and annuals that have clearly seen better days. Before you yank everything out and fill the yard-waste bin, however, take a closer look because some of those dead garden plants could reduce what…

That Cheap Bag of Potting Soil May Cost You More in the Long Run — Here’s What to Check

Standing in the garden center, paying $4 for a bag of cheap potting soil instead of $10 or $15 can feel like an obvious money-saving decision. Then your containers stay soggy, seedlings struggle, roots barely develop, and suddenly you’re buying replacement plants, fertilizer, perlite, or another bag of growing mix anyway. Price doesn’t automatically determine…

Can Growing Garlic Really Save Money Over Buying It at the Grocery Store?

Garlic seems like the perfect frugal garden crop: bury a clove, wait several months, and pull up an entirely new bulb. But when grocery-store garlic is relatively inexpensive, does growing garlic actually save enough money to justify giving it garden space? The answer depends heavily on what you pay for planting stock, how many bulbs…

7 Garden Plants Worth Saving Seeds From Instead of Buying Them Again Next Year

Gardeners routinely pull up plants in fall and throw away something they’ll pay money to replace a few months later: seeds. One healthy tomato, bean plant, pepper, or flower can potentially provide enough seed to start multiple plants next season, making saving garden seeds one of the simplest ways to trim next year’s gardening budget….