Gardening

Ask Alys: can I grow blueberries without peat?

Our gardening expert has the answer<p><b>I grow fruit and vegetables organically in my front garden in boarded raised beds. I would love to grow blueberries, but I know they need an acidic soil. How can I create a bed for them without using any peat-based products?</b><br>Peat-free soil for acid-loving plants …

20 chic garden destinations

How To Grow Thriving Houseplants In Water

You don't need fancy containers—or soil—to enjoy beautiful houseplants or even an indoor herb garden all year long.<p>Houseplants <b>make you happy</b>, and …

Click & Grow Smart Herb Garden lights up the indoor garden

The Click & Grow Smart Herb Garden uses plant cartridges to grow fresh herbs. The addition of an LED makes the gadget suitable for use regardless of available light.<p>There is no denying that fresh herbs and spices make a difference while cooking. There is, however, always the lingering possibility …

Give your tomato plants a fighting chance

Protect them from blight – and learn how to prune<p>Tomatoes come from coastal regions in Chile and Peru – rocky places high in the mountains that are a far cry from our damp, mild climate. You can grow great tomatoes outside in the UK, but it’s a gamble: they like long, hot, dry summers, not short, …

Current Obsessions: Found and Foraged

• First time in Barcelona: what should Meredith do? (Please send can’t-miss suggestions before her flight takes off on Monday.)<br>• The chef famous for …

Gardening this weekend? Beware of the compost

<i>Inhaling or ingesting compost may raise the risk of Legionnaires' disease.</i><p>If you're planning to revel in some gardening this weekend, be sure to wash …

What Are the 5 Best Cover Crops for Your Small Farm?

01 of 05<p>Rye - Winter Rye, Cereal Rye<p>Rye - winter rye or cereal rye - is a great cover crop to plant in the fall or early winter. It excels at …

New York is the most Instagram-friendly city in the world

Ask any millennial: If you go somewhere and don’t post a picture on social media, were you ever really there? Luckily, New York’s full of …

Me and my garden: ‘At 5am, I go to the temple to chant. It’s how I get ready to work’

Bhakti Vinode, head gardener at Krishna Eco Farm in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, on past lives and plants with souls<p>I started gardening when I was 10, so it feels entirely natural to me. We believe in reincarnation here at the Krishna Eco Farm, and I feel that I was a gardener in a previous life.<p>I have …

City Addresses Lead Contamination At Hayes Valley Community Garden

Rec and Parks recently posted a safety advisory at the entrance to a community garden at 438 Page St. addressed to local farmers who've been …

This week's gardening tips: pull up petunias, plant sweet potato vine

<b>This week's gardening tips:</b> To encourage continued blooming, remove spent flowers from bedding plants, such as marigolds, zinnias, pentas, cosmos, …

Tips for Creating a City Garden

With a little planning and dedication, it’s possible to turn even the dreariest outdoor space into an urban retreat. Whether you have a big backyard or a tiny balcony, here is how to make your outdoor space work for you.<p><b>DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO USE THE SPACE</b> “Ask yourself what you see yourself doing …

Chihuly complements — and sometimes competes with — nature at New York Botanical Garden

Dale Chihuly is the most famous glass artist of our time, and admirers see his work as inventive, colorfully dazzling, technically virtuosic and exuberant.<p>And yet the art critics have never warmed to him, regarding his sculptures as brash and empty. Washington Post critics, over the years, have …

Honeybees are in trouble. Here's how you can help

The die-off of America's honeybee colonies, which are disappearing in droves because of parasites, pesticides, poor nutrition and disease, leave beekeepers scrambling to salvage the vital insects.<p>The task of solving the honeybee problem, experts say, isn't isolated to beekeepers. A few changes to …

An Exquisite 257-Year-Old Coloring Book That You Can Download For Free

Botanist Amy Pool was doing research in the Missouri Botanical Garden when she came across ‘The Florist’ by Robert Sayer—it is a rare coloring book …

The 10 Easiest Herbs to Grow from Seed

Grow herbs from seed (instead of buying plants), and you'll save a ton. Here are some of the easiest herbs to start from seed. These can all be …

A 'Roomba' for weeds

The inventor of the Roomba robot vacuum, Joe Jones, has come up with something new: a solar-powered weeding robot called the Tertill. It will patrol …

Why gardening is getting a youth takeover

Kim Stoddart on the new projects fostering a fun connection with the natural world for children and teenagers<p>I had an interest in the great outdoors from a very young age. I can remember as a child watching mesmerised as hundreds of baby spiders emerged and spread themselves bravely across a web. I …

7 Easy DIY Recipes For Deterring Garden Pests, Diseases, And Unwanted Wildlife

Keep pests, diseases, and critters out of your garden with a homemade spray you can whip up in less than five minutes.<p>Even <b>the most organic of</b> …

The Tertill robot is coming to whack your weeds

Weeds don't quit, ever. To combat this resilient enemy you need something even more relentless and methodical. You want a robotic, unsympathetic weed-destroying device. Behold the Tertill, a robot that constantly patrols and terminates weeds in your home garden without remorse.<p>This $300 (£238 in …

You may never have to buy these plants again

“New plants from old” might be one of the rallying cries of gardeners everywhere. These 10 plants are all fairly easy to propagate, giving you the chance to fill your garden or home with more of your favorites, or provide plants as gifts to friends and neighbors. There are numerous ways to …

Outside Voice: Adhering to the letter of the garden law

Those who know me well know me to be not much of a rule follower. I’m often acting and then asking for forgiveness.But the garden isn’t as generous …

Why the shade garden is so underrated — and how to create your own

Shade gathers from year to year in the garden like the wrinkles on your face, growing more pronounced with time.<p>Small bushes develop into large …

Pylon produce: Sat Bains' urban kitchen garden

Being next to a motorway flyover on an industrial estate hasn't stopped Sat Bains from creating a little foodie paradise in the grounds of his …

How to Be Properly Pedantic About Fruits and Vegetables

If you think you’re a smartypants because you know a tomato is a fruit, buckle up. You’re right, but a tomato is <i>also</i> a vegetable. And rice is a …

Big reveal: $799K for a cozy Prospect Heights two-bedroom with outdoor space

Did you guess correctly?<p>Yesterday we challenged you to guess the asking price of this railroad-style apartment in Prospect Heights with a quirky layout. While many of the guess fell within close range, non hit the nail on the head, though stache came the closest with a guess of $780,000. The actual …

6 Ways to Use Fall Leaves in Your Garden

Leaves are too valuable to bag up and leave at the curb for the trash man to pick up. And that's great news. Because bagging leaves is a pain, and …

6 Tricks To Wipe Out Snails And Slugs In Your Garden Naturally

Stop these buggers from damaging tender plants with our simple tricks.<p>Every gardener with a moist, shady area knows that slugs are like pig: with …

​Your Definitive Guide To The Different Types Of Tomatoes At The Store

WTH is an "heirloom" tomato, anyways?<p>Although they're technically available all year round, nothing screams summer quite like a super fresh tomato. From the funky heirloom tomatoes at your local farmers market to the irresistibly sweet basket of grape tomatoes at the store, these juicy orbs add a …