All step-by-step-planting articles

garden fundamentals

Planting Tomatoes Step-by-Step

Perhaps more than any other vegetable, tomatoes depend on proper planting so they can provide you with loads of fruit throughout the summer. Before you plan, check out our step-by-step instructions ...

garden fundamentals

Planting Peppers Step-by-Step

Planting peppers in your garden, whether you plant in ground, in raised beds, or in containers, is easy with our step-by-step instructions.

garden fundamentals

Planting Squash Step-by-Step

Planting squash is easy. Just follow these simple steps to give your plants a solid start.

garden fundamentals

Planting Cole Crops Step-by-Step

Spring is the perfect time for planting cole crops. Follow these four simple steps to create the foundation for a bountiful harvest.

diy garden projects

How to Make a Raised Bed from Bales of Straw

A straw bale raised bed is an inexpensive method for creating a raised bed. Perfect for new gardeners, frugal gardeners, or gardeners needing more space.

diy garden projects

Make a Cucumber Tent Trellis

Keep cucumber vines off the ground by making your own cucumber tent trellis. Tendrils will grab the wires and secure the vine to the trellis as it grows.

diy garden projects

How to Build a Raised Bed

Build a sturdy, beautiful 4x8 raised garden bed in an afternoon to grow your favorite vegetables and herbs. Raised beds are an easy way to garden successfully.

diy garden projects

How to Build a Super Easy Raised Bed

Make this 4x8 easy raised bed. The design uses easy-to-find materials. Get our video and instructions to learn how to build this raised bed garden.

diy garden projects

Super Simple Concrete Block Garden

Raised beds are a great way to get around the problem of poor soil, but what if you don’t have any carpentry skills to build the actual bed? No worries! Skip the wood and put together a concrete block garden.

garden fundamentals

For Early Tomatoes, Try This

Several gardening strategies will help you achieve early tomatoes. Planting early-maturing varieties is one way, but try these tricks for early tomatoes, too.

diy garden projects

Make a Row Cover Hoop House

Many leafy spring and fall crops are frost tolerant into the 20s, but if you're dealing with lower temperatures, you need to give them little extra warmth under the protection of a row cover. Depending on their thickness, these blankets give 4 to 8 degrees of extra protection on freezing nights...

diy garden projects

How to Condition and Plant a Bale of Straw for Gardening

Planting a garden in a straw bale is one of the thriftiest, most versatile ways to grow vegetables and herbs. Let us show you how.

garden fundamentals

Growing Succulents

Growing succulents indoors is easy, but our expert tips on how to care for these low-maintenance plants will really help them flourish.

garden fundamentals

Edible Container Designs

It doesn’t get any fresher (or more local) than having sun-warmed vegetables and flavorful herbs growing just steps away from the kitchen. And while starting your edible container garden can be as simple as putting a plant in a pot, why not create something that adds flair as well as flavor?

diy garden projects

Grow an Indoor Salad Garden

Whether you garden indoors to beat the cold or enjoy growing inside year round, you’ll love the truly homegrown goodness of an indoor salad garden!

garden fundamentals

Mexican Bean Beetles

With beans, the most likely cause of leaf blemishes is Mexican bean beetles. The larvae eat the tender tissue between leaf veins, creating brown spots and eventually skeletonized leaves.

garden fundamentals

Collard Country

Bonnie Plants' home in Union Springs, Alabama, is in an area also known as Collard Country. Let us give you a brief history, some tips, and benefits of collard greens.

diy garden projects

Planting Herbs in a Strawberry Jar

For a handy way to grow lots of your favorite kitchen herbs, consider planting herbs in a strawberry jar. Just follow these basic tips.

garden fundamentals

Let Cucumbers Climb

Instead of letting vines trail along the ground, let your cucumbers climb. Trellised cucumbers are easier to pick and less susceptible to disease.

garden fundamentals

One Simple Step to a More Successful Tomato Season

Tomatoes require a good balance of sun and water to grow, but many gardeners forget calcium-rich soil is also important. Read on to learn more.

garden fundamentals

Keeping Voles Out of the Garden

When a deer or rabbit visits your garden, it’s tough to miss the nibbled leaves, chewed shoots, and missing plants. Voles, on the other hand, can be harder to identify — but just as destructive. Before you begin laying plans for keeping voles out of the garden, you want be sure that voles are the culprits.

diy garden projects

How to Build a Raised Bed with Benches

Build this raised bed with benches for a garden that's high off the ground, with seating on all four sides. Ideal for people with back or knee issues.

garden fundamentals

How to Prune Tomatoes for a Big Harvest

Pruning tomato plants is an optional technique that some gardeners use to keep plants tidy, manipulate fruit size, and even speed ripening. There is one big catch: You should only prune indeterminate varieties, which produce new leaves and flowers continuously through the growing season. Here are some reasons to prune.

garden fundamentals

Incredible Eggs in the Garden

Many gardeners use eggs in the garden to boost soil nutrients. Try putting eggshells in your compost. You can also plant eggshells or a whole egg in the hole before planting tomato plants.