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
How to Propagate Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Ninebark (Physocarpus) is a beautiful garden shrub that grows up to around 10 ft tall in the right location. Many varieties of ninebark have been developed for gardeners including āDiaboloāā¢/āDiabloāā¢ and āCoppertinaāā¢ and can be a great addition to add a nice copper color toā¦
Echinacea in the Garden ā Why You Should Plant Coneflowers!
For this post I really donāt need any words, the pictures will explain why you should plant echinacea (coneflowers) in your landscape. But since this is a blog I have to tell you why I like echinacea in the garden and where Iāve planted it!ā¦
Some Good Plants to Propagate with Hardwood Cuttings
I thought I would take a moment to talk about hardwood cuttings. It is the beginning of winter and which is also a great time to go out and try to reproduce many of your favorite woody trees and shrubs in the garden. Many plantsā¦
5 Easy Perennials to Propagate from Cuttings
Isnāt it great to have a few easy to propagate plants that you can grow to increase your garden? The plants in the video below are all easy to grow from cuttings. salvia catmint creeping phlox monarda lemon balm General Propagation Procedures for These Plantsā¦
How to Propagate Variegated Hydrangea from Cuttings
While we were out of town this past weekend we visited one of my wifeās aunts. She has a custom built log cabin in the woods surrounded by her garden. Since her property is very shady one of the most prominent plants in her gardenā¦
Propagating Mums for Profit
Itās kind of an odd subject to bring up during spring but propagating mums for profit takes time. Spring is when you have to get started for fall mum sales. For the purposes of this article we are talking about the common chrysanthemum you findā¦
Growing Home Vegetable Gardens
Articles with tips and ideas on how to grow a great vegetable garden.
How to Save Tomato Seeds from the Garden through Fermentation
Seed shortages on our minds saving seeds from your garden is more important than ever. So how do you save tomato seeds? There are a couple of methods that can be successful but one way you can do this is through fermentation of tomato seeds. This is not a hard process so donāt let it intimidate you! Iāve described theā¦
My Favorite Tomato and Pepper Varieties
Itās getting close now. Can you feel it? Seed starting time! In preparation for my seed starting activities of 2020 I thought it would be fun to tell you about my favorite tomato and pepper varieties for Growing The Home Garden. In this video I go through some of my tried and try peppers and tomato varieties. They may notā¦
Starting Seeds for Basil and Pepper in Peat Pellets
Itās time for another seed starting update for our basil and peppers in peat pellets. I plant basil and peppers every year for our vegetable garden. I find that basil is indispensable as a seasoning and for making pesto. Basil also has a some companion planting benefits when planted alongside the vegetables in the garden (particularly the tomatoes!) Peppers areā¦
Marigolds are a Must Plant Annual, Hereās Why
This post will begin a series of several posts that I believe are āmust haveā garden plans! These are plants that I think are great for the garden in some way. Maybe they are beneficial for growing other plants, have some important benefits, maybe in the case of vegetable produce are delicious, or are simply beautiful plants to have around!ā¦
My Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Changes for 2010
Each year I try to expand the vegetable garden a little bit more. The first year in our home I didnāt have time to put together a garden before the growing season started and we missed out on any vegetable garden. The āLā Shaped Raised Beds: The second year I put together a set of raised beds that were arrangedā¦
Edible Landscaping for Beginners: Evaluate Your Garden
After you have a good list of the elements your edible landscape needs and you have pieced together a solid āTo Growā list you need to evaluate what you already have in your garden. Ā Some people might put this step first and thatās OK but if you do your evaluation after you decide what you want to grow you canā¦