Garden Project Goals for 2025
Every year I like to create a list of garden projects that I plan to tackle for the year. Itās a list of goals that I would love to accomplish but often due to time I find I planned for more than I can doā¦.
How Long Do Seeds Last? (Seed Viability)
Everything has itās own time, even seeds. They just donāt last forever! Fortunately though many seeds do last a long period of time and you can use seed from previous years to grow your garden. Iāve had tomato seeds germinate that were over 10 yearsā¦
Things to Know About Using Woodchips and Leaves in the Garden
If you are a gardener you have probably heard people talking about how great woodchips are. That is probably because they are a very good resource for building up organic matter. Woodchips and leaves are also very easy to acquire and and best of allā¦
Compost Bins from Pallets
Compost bins are essential in the garden. They take the waste materials from the yard, garden, kitchen, or farm and turn it into usable soil. Good compost is worth its weight in gold to gardeners which is exactly why it is nicknamed āgardenerās gold.ā Oneā¦
Overwintering Rosemary
Rosemary is a wonderful plant for gardening. I love it as a ornamental shrub as well as an edible herb. The problem is it CAN be finicky. Sometimes the winter cold is too tough for rosemary and it sadly dies over the winter. Fortunately thereā¦
Maples, Oaks, and Invasives! Fall Color 2024
The historic dryness finally gave way to some rain on Halloween. About 0.83 inches came down that day give us a good soaking. We still need more rain, and regular rain but it definitely helps. Iāve been concerned about the lack rain and the fallā¦
Fall Color in Tennessee 2024 so farā¦
I have a fondness for fall color. I think we all do this time of year. We like seeing the transition of green to gold or red and oranges. Thereās a little bit of a feeling of closure that begins to come to us throughā¦
Fall 2024 Garden Tour
I find Garden Tours fun to put together. Itās an opportunity incessantly talk about plants, plans, and ideas and that is one of my favorite things to do! I put together a garden tour of our current garden on YouTube which you can watch downā¦
Fall is for Planting Garlic in the Garden
Itās October and the temperatures are getting cooler which makes it ideal for planting garlic! I just planted two raised beds full of garlic a few days ago. Garlic loves to start in cooler weather and this coming week we are predicted to have someā¦
Garden Tips for Before a Frost
As the first frost approaches, now is the time to take essential steps to protect your garden and set yourself up for success next spring. Below are a few simple garden tips that can help you save money and preserve your favorite plants while extendingā¦
How to Grow Sweetbay Magnolia from Seeds
No matter where I go when I see seeds that are ripe Iām tempted to collect them. That was the case when walking around Knoxville last year and seeing some ripe magnolia seeds on some Sweetbay magnolia plants. Sweetbay magnolias have several names including: sweetbayā¦
Where are the Monarch Butterflies?
All summer Iāve been watching and waiting to see a flock of Monarch butterflies soaring through the air to lite upon our abundant field of milkweed. So far Iāve been disappointed. The Monarch butterflies on our property have only numbered one. I was mowing alongā¦
Thank you for visiting Growing The Home Garden! I started Growing The Home Garden in 2007 as a way to chronicle my experiences in the garden.
All the content here is based on my personal experiences and research. A lot of my content is focused onĀ raised bed gardeningĀ andĀ plant propagation.
There is also a YouTube Channel for Growing the Home Garden which is over 30,000 subscribers (as of March 2024) that has a lot of gardening videos you may find helpful.Ā Growing The Home Garden on YouTube. Thanks for reading and watching!
Raised Bed Gardening
How Deep do Raised Garden Beds Need To Be?
Raised beds are a great option for gardeners but how deep do they really need to be? The depth of a raised garden bed is an important factor to consider because it can greatly impact the health and productivity of your plants. The true answer to How deep do raised gardens need to be really is it depends! What theā¦
Raised Bed Garden Ideas (Planning for the New Garden)
Pretty soon weāll be relocating to our new home. Our family is very excited about this but it also means starting the garden all over again. Everything including raised beds, sheds, and arbors will have to be rebuilt. While this is a tremendous amount of work I think itās a great opportunity to start again and redevelop our garden withā¦
How to Fill Raised Beds Cheap!
I love gardening in raised beds. It is one of the simplest ways to have success with a vegetable garden. That doesnāt take anything away from all the other methods of gardening, only that I believe that raised beds are a great way for gardeners of all backgrounds and skill levels to garden successfully. The best reason to like raisedā¦
Common Raised Bed Garden Questions Answered
Raised beds are one of the absolute BEST ways to grow a garden but there can be challenges to growing in raised beds. Often gardeners have questions about the best methods to grow in a raised bed. In this post Iāve taken some common raised bed garden questions and put together some answers based on my experience. Iāve grown inā¦
Plant Propagation Information
Plant propagation is one of my favorite things to do in the garden! Below are some articles on how to propagate various plants. You can also check this page out with specific info on plant propagation: Plant Propagation for Home Gardens
Growing More Plants Through Plant Propagation: Variegated Hydrangeas, and Perennials
Even though the summer is upon us itās still a good time to propagate plants. The key is to keep cuttings moist and at a steady temperature until roots have formed. Then they can be easily acclimated to outdoor temperatures. I do all of myā¦
Propagating Beautyberry Through Cuttings
If youāre looking for a plant that provides fall color in the form of berries as well as late season nourishment for the birds than look no further than the beautyberry (Callicarpa). Our beautyberry that we purchased in the spring is turning a deep purpleā¦
How to Propagate āPurple Homesteadā Verbena
Flowering of the Purple Homestead Verbena If you havenāt tried growing āPurple Homesteadā Verbena in your home garden you really should! Iāve used this purple flowering perennial in three places so far and can think of many more locations I would like to see themā¦.
Fall Plant Propagation Updates: How my Summer Cuttings Rooted
In my latest YouTube video I went through and checked on many of the plants Iāve taking cuttings from this summer. There are a variety of plants in the video including rosemary, ninebark, fothergilla, boxwoods, crape myrtle, and cherry laurels. This was actually the firstā¦
How to Save Seeds of Echinacea (Coneflower)
Updated on 11/23/2024 Fall is that time of year when gardeners begin the process of cleaning up the garden but also is the time when we begin to think of next year and saving seeds. One of the my favorite plants is echinacea and Iā¦
Plant Propagation: The Basics of Cuttings
One of the most interesting and rewarding parts of gardening is making new plants. Whether from seed, cuttings, or division it is exciting to watch new plants grow into your landscape. For me I really enjoy taking cuttings. If you have never done a cuttingā¦
Growing Home Vegetable Gardens
Articles with tips and ideas on how to grow a great vegetable garden.
Growing Broccoli in the Garden
Last weekend we went to a family wedding in West TN. While out there we stopped by and visited my wifeās Uncle Joe in Jackson who loves to garden. He has a variety of plants ranging from broccoli, radishes, and spring greens to tomatoes and peppers. Since I donāt grow broccoli in my garden (I like it but my familyā¦
How to Propagate Peppers for Overwintering
Peppers are delicious! Whether you like hot peppers or sweet peppers both types can be propagated through cuttings to preserve over the winter. Propagating Pepper Plants To propagate peppers take 3 to 4 inch cuttings, treat with rooting hormone (although not necessary it may speed up the process), put in your rooting medium, and keep the medium damp until rootingā¦
Everything You Need to Know About Growing Amazing Peppers
Whether you want to learn more about growing bell peppers, banana peppers, or hot spicy peppers there are a few things you need to know! Peppers are a popular vegetable among home gardeners, prized for all kinds of vibrant colors, flavors, and great nutritional benefits. Peppers are absolutely one of my favorite vegetable garden plants to grow. Here is someā¦
Blossom End Rot and What To Do
When the fruit first begins to form in your vegetable garden you may notice a condition where the blossom ends of the fruit turns brown to black then begins to rot away. This can happen to a number of different vegetable garden producers like tomatoes, squash, peppers, and more. Aptly named āBlossom End Rotā, this condition is nothing to beā¦
How to Save Seeds from Squash and Zucchini
Saving seeds of squash and zucchini is a very simple process. When the growing season begins to wan start allowing a few squash fruits to grow. They will become large and tough and wonāt be well suited for eating but will be perfect for generating seeds. Once the squash fruits are of a suitable extra large size harvest them andā¦
Vegetable Garden Layout ā Parterre Style!
The other day I posted about the next evolution of my garden on its way to becoming a more formalized vegetable garden. Today Iāll show you the layout of what I hope the vegetable garden will eventually become. There are some distinct advantages to the layout changes that I am planning on making that Iāll share with you below theā¦