Succulents come in a variety of shapes and stunning colors, and are versatile enough to fit in deep or shallow containers. Create a beautiful container garden showcasing these gorgeous plants, and add interest to your porch or patio! Learn how to prep your container, what kind of soil to use, and how to maximize the 4” pots of succulents you’ll buy. Single-container succulent gardens also make unique and thoughtful gifts—whether your creation is for a friend or yourself, it’s sure to be enjoyed.
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Pies are a wonderful dessert to make for a special occasion, and a great way to utilize and showcase seasonal fruit. But have you ever craved a fresh peach pie in the dead of winter? Or a strawberry pie in the fall? Learn how to make, freeze, and store pie fillings so that you can enjoy any type of pie, any time you want! Using your frozen filling will cut down on preparation time, and allow you to satisfy any craving, any time of year. Start storing up your pies for the winter, today!
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Who doesn’t love fresh blueberry pancakes, or the occasional blueberry crisp? Blueberries are not only delicious, but contain vitamins, minerals, and cancer-fighting antioxidants! Fresh blueberries are often expensive at the supermarket, but Grow Organic is here to show you how you can grow your own, whether in a container or in your garden. From which variety to choose for the location you live, to how to care for them, learn how to cultivate this tasty and nutrient-dense fruit!
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There’s nothing like biting into a juicy, vine-ripened tomato—no store-bought fruit can compare! But if you think the only way to enjoy truly fresh and organic produce is by paying big bucks at a farmer’s market, think again! Instead, learn how to grow your own veggies! In this lesson, Grow Organic demonstrates how to start a new garden, from selecting the right space, to advice on keeping local critters out of your produce. Your five-a-day never tasted so satisfying and delicious!
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Not only are onions, shallots, and leeks the basis for tons of delicious soups, sauces, and dishes, but onions and shallots can also be stored long-term, making these some of the most useful crops you can cultivate. Grow Organic demonstrates how to enrich the soil and avoid rotting bulbs caused by overwatering, and how to defend your garden from gophers and birds. Enjoy these veggies fresh, and for months to come—with proper care, your harvest of onions will keep long into winter!
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Asparagus is a nutrient rich vegetable, and if planted correctly, can provide a harvest for a period of up to 20 years! Grow Organic demonstrates how to prepare a raised bed or garden for either asparagus seeds or crowns. Depending on where you live, you’ll want to plant between January and April. Though this crop won’t actually yield a harvest until the second year of cultivation, it’ll prove that patience is a virtue, and that growing great food is easier than you think.
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Besides being nutritious and delicious to eat, tomatoes are also fun to grow! In this lesson from Grow Organic, Tricia shows you how to plant and grow tomatoes, whether you are growing them in containers, a raised bed, or the ground. Discover why kelp is an excellent fertilizer for your soil, how you can easily and effectively improve your plant’s root system, how to prevent blossom end rot and late frost damage, and finally, how to provide the best support for a productive plant.
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There’s nothing quite like biting into a vine-ripened organic tomato—no store-bought fruit can compare! Tomatoes are not a high maintenance crop, growing quickly given adequate sun and water. But to ensure high fruit yields as well as a healthy plant, learn about pruning and diseases that affect tomatoes. In this lesson, California organic gardener Trisha teaches you when and how to prune your plant, and how to avoid common problems like cracking or leathery skin, blotchy ripening, and blight.
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Looking to plant a berry in your yard that's easy to look after, loaded with antioxidants, and contains Vitamins B and C? Plant goji berries, also known as wolf berries. This lesson from Grow Organic teaches you how to plant goji berries from a bare root, and includes information on what sort of container to use, the conditions the plant requires, and how to prune your goji berry plant back once it begins to flourish.
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Whether you need to control the size of a plant, promote new growth, or remove an infected limb, pruning is a necessary skill for any gardener—but some basic knowledge is required before you begin hacking at anything in your garden. In this lesson from Grow Organic, Trisha first goes through the different types of pruning tools and how they should be used. Once you are familiar with the hardware, learn the different types of pruning cuts that you’ll use, depending on your garden’s needs.
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January isn't just the time for a new year- it's the time for a new orchard! Grow Organic teaches you how to plant a new bare root fruit tree in your garden that will thrive. Learn about multi graft trees, which produce multiple types of fruit. Discover what depth and width to dig your hole, and learn about the direction, dirt, and details of getting your tree in the ground. Then pack it in and wait for your tree to flourish!
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Do you want to reduce your landfill waste by 30% while making your garden grow healthier and more fruitful? If so, learn how to compost! In this lesson from Grow Organic, Trisha walks you through the process of creating your very own compost pile, beginning with how to select a container (if you want one), to what kinds of materials belong in your pile and which ones don’t. Take good care of your pile, and in a couple of months you’ll have beautiful, nutrient rich compost for your garden!
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Want to make an easy and nutrient-rich garden bed without any digging? Discover sheet layering or 'lasagna gardening', a slow compost process that makes a bed with no tilling required. Grow Organic explains how layering nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich composting materials will create a nutritious and easily tended bed that will be ready in three to six months (or cheat and plant now by adding compost on top). This garden can be created at any time of the year.
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This summer you may feel besieged by flies, mosquitoes, wasps, gnats, and tics. But it is possible rid yourself of these pests without compromising the integrity of your garden! Grow Organic teaches you how to use natural, organic methods such as parasites, traps, bats, and garden-friendly concoctions that will you allow you to enjoy the great outdoors again without resorting to pesticides or other harmful chemical solutions.
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Whether your plants are tall and top heavy, or fruit bearing and need to be trellised, you must give them they support they need—and there are many materials and designs you can use to create a support system for your plants! In this lesson from Grow Organic, learn how to make a bamboo scaffold that is perfect for tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, a bamboo tepee that is great for peas or beans, or how to use twine and ground staples to create a structure perfect for vertical trellising plants.
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Just like children, the plants in your garden need vitamins and minerals to help them grow big and strong. So learn about the different elements required for proper plant growth, with this lesson from Grow Organic! Discover the difference between non-minerals (think: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen) and macronutrients (like phosphorous and potassium), and micronutrients (boron, chlorine, zinc, etc.). Finally, learn why it is essential to get a soil test before adding any amendments to your soil.
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Can't face the thought of your bumper cherry crop going to waste? Why not transform cherries into jam, so you can enjoy the summer fruit all winter long? How I Pinch a Penny teaches you to prepare your cherries, bring your mixture to boil, add pectin, then fill and boil your jars of jam. The lesson provides instructions for making both pint and quart-sized jars, and includes a tip about skimming the surface of the jam mixture to get clearer, more attractive jam.
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You've bought a bouquet of flowers at the store, but how do you take that jumble of stems and turn them into a beautiful flower arrangement? In this lesson, uBloom teaches a very literal shortcut: cutting the stems short to fit in a low vase, bunching all the blooms together and inserting stems at angles to support one another. This technique makes it easy and fun to arrange flowers nicely, and the lesson includes tips on tools you'll need and how to prepare the the water and flower food.
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Show us a photo of your flower arrangement! Prefer not to purchase a fresh bouquet? Try faux-flowers or flowers plucked from your garden.
Protect your tomato plants from wind, rain, pets, small children, or just weak stalks by constructing these homemade tomato cages. Why buy a flimsy cage from a garden center when How I Pinch a Penny demonstrates how to make a quick, easy, and sturdy cage with just gloves, bolt cutters, and five feet of steel re-mesh? See how to create and install these homemade cages.
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