The Real Dirt

Many backyard gardeners are familiar with composting, a process which recycles yard trimmings along with vegetable and fruit scraps from the kitchen. Compost, a humus-like soil, results from the biological breakdown that occurs from microbial decomposition of organic material.

People new to gardening often ask what tools are needed to maintain their gardens. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the scope and variety of garden tools available in stores, online, and in garden catalogues.

It is time to order spring-blooming bulbs from the many catalogs that may be turning up in our mailboxes. Daffodils are perhaps the easiest bulbs to depend upon for a colorful display that can last for several months, if you choose varieties carefully.

Cool season plants like a warm start, so it's not too early to begin adding some of them to the vegetable garden now. In this way you can extend the harvest of both warm season crops and cool season veggies.

A new season of Master Gardener Workshops is about to start! The series begins with a two-parter designed to help us make the most of our summer produce: Canning Fruits & Pickles: The Basics of Boiling Water Bath Canning on August 28, followed by Pressure Canning Vegetables and Dehydrating Fruits &...