The Real Dirt

If mushrooms or toadstools have suddenly appeared up in your yard, you are probably wondering why, and what you can do about them. Mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi reproduce not by seeds, but by spores. These are microscopic, often single-cell spores, and are spread by the breeze.

The word is out -- container gardening is for both novice and experienced gardeners alike. It's the perfect way to experiment with plants, delve into edibles, and exercise creativity.

Spring is around the corner, which means it is time to plant. Starting from seed can be a gratifying and economical way to grow many edibles and ornamentals, but choosing seeds can be confusing.

The Covid pandemic accelerated a movement to backyard edible gardening that had been underway in this country since the mid-20th century. But the idea of the cultivated edible landscape goes back much farther, to the first colonists in the 1600s.

When a plant produces seeds, gardeners celebrate the soon-to-be future plants. Seeds are a result of plant sexual reproduction. Plants can also reproduce by non-sexually cloning themselves. For example, some plants make a mass or crown of shoots from their roots or stems.