Fall gardening starts in the summer. While it may be way too hot to think about sowing or transplanting today, there’s plenty we can do to prepare. In this post, we’ll go over how to get your fall garden beds ready for another round of crops, plus how to get some of the trickier, cool weather crops growing in this summer heat. Get growing with us this week! Remove Any Old Plant Material  It’s best to give beds a tidy before we start sticking in new plants and seeds. Remove any of the crop residue and weeds. You can use some weeds and plant residue to bulk up your compost pile.  Howev ..read more

We’ve seen an uptick in interest in adding fruit and perennials to the garden. Though it isn’t technically a fruit, one of our favorite options for mid-Atlantic growers is rhubarb, also known as the pie plant. This hardy perennial is great for small space gardeners, produces in early spring, and is easy to grow from seed, making it an exceptionally affordable option.  The variety we grow at Southern Exposure is ‘Victoria.’ It’s an English heirloom named for Queen Victoria, first available in 1837. Today, it remains a popular variety with home gardeners and commercial growers.  Reason ..read more

Summer is a busy time for gardeners. Weeding, watering, harvesting, preserving, and succession planting fill our days. It’s beautiful to watch a garden flourish under your care! Another task you can do while working out in the garden is pinching certain plants. Pinching plants is quick and easy and can make a big difference in their growth habits. Learn to pinch plants successfully. What is Pinching? Pinching is a type of pruning or harvesting that encourages lateral growth in plants. All you need to do is pinch off the tip of the plant or the end set of leaves or buds just above the node or b ..read more

This week, major heat waves are hitting much of the East Coast and Midwest. We hope everyone finds a cool place to rest and stay safe this summer. However, we also realized that many gardeners are probably struggling with heat stress in their plants during this time. While we can’t move our whole garden into the air conditioning, we can do a few things to help protect our crops from extreme temperatures. Check Plants Often Keeping an eye on your plants and spending some time in the garden whenever it’s cool enough, like early mornings or late evenings, can help prevent stress and catch any iss ..read more

Let’s talk about fireflies! These beautiful insects enamor kids and adults alike. It’s hard not to love how they light up the night, but there’s more to fireflies than beauty! They are wonderful for gardens. They’re native predators that feed on common garden pests like slugs and snails. Keep reading to learn about some firefly species you might see, their lifecycle and benefits, and how to attract them to your garden.  Firefly Species of the Southeastern United States The name firefly doesn’t refer to a single species. There are over 2,000 species of fireflies worldwide, and about 175 ar ..read more

Many of our customers occasionally struggle with pests. Unfortunately, they’re a part of gardening! One common issue we see, especially in spring and early summer, is slug damage. These slimy little creatures are active at night and during cool temperatures, snacking on your plants, especially young, tender foliage. They can take out entire seedlings or reduce your harvest from tasty crops like tomatoes and strawberries. Learn how to identify and combat a slug problem with organic methods.  Signs of Slugs Shiny slime trails across leaves and the ground. Irregularly shaped holes in leaves ..read more

When you start gardening, you’ll probably start noticing more of the life that visits your yard. For most non-gardeners, insects only come into focus when they enter houses, but for gardeners, they suddenly play a bigger role on stage. You start noticing the earthworms in the soil, the pillbugs scurrying around in your mulch, and the slugs that come to chew big holes in your kale. Many folks will spot ants visiting their garden and wonder what they’re doing there. Are they pests or garden allies?  Why Are There Ants on My Plants? Ants may be visiting your garden for several reasons. Like ..read more

Mint is one plant that stirs the pot on social media! Recently, I’ve come across several reels and posts expounding on the horrors of this plant and how you should never plant it in your garden. It’s usually labeled as an invasive, and there are stories of it traveling through neighbors’ yards, through cracks in the sidewalk, and into the woods! That said, many people enjoy growing and using mint. It’s a beautiful herb with wonderful flavor and medicinal properties. In this post, we’ll discuss how to grow mint without it taking over your property. Is Mint Invasive? Yes, it can be invasive. Spe ..read more

If you spend time browsing gardening sites or scrolling TikTok and Instagram, you may have noticed a trend: chaos gardening. This gardening style is touted as easy, affordable, and environmentally friendly, and all you need to do is toss some seeds. What’s not to love? In today’s post, we’ll explore chaos gardening, its pros and cons, and how to practice it in your garden. What is Chaos Gardening? Chaos gardening is a carefree style in which the gardener randomly throws seeds over their selected space. You can use flowers, vegetables, herbs, or perennials and mix them together. There’s no plan ..read more

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is an herbaceous biennial plant native to Europe that has naturalized throughout North America. While some consider red clover a weed, herbalists, and gardeners recognize its value. This beautiful plant is excellent for soil and human health. Here are some of the reasons we’re big fans of red clover and how we use it.  Red Clover as a Cover Crop Red clover is a nitrogen-fixing cover crop. It’s an excellent choice for adding green manure to build up soils and a good nectar source for some pollinators. You can sow it in fallow fields, pathways, and small open ..read more