February is still bitterly cold in many parts of the U.S. In southern states, the days may start getting warmer in preparation for the spring. Don’t worry about whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not. We’ve got plenty of gardening activities to keep you busy until you can get your hands in the garden again. Feed the Birds February is a hard month for many birds in the U.S. Their typical food supply runs low this month, making it difficult for them to thrive during the cold. You might be leery of feeding birds, especially if you’ve seen them eating seeds or plants from your garden. Howev ..read more

Healthy soil is the foundation for a successful garden. Thriving, lush plants aren’t possible without good soil to support them. A lot of times we get distracted by other tasks and our soil is often overlooked, even though it’s more important than most other factors in the garden. When you’re preparing for a new garden, the first thing you need to do is to make sure that your soil is ready. The Role Soil Plays The soil is the source for everything that the plant needs, except for sunlight and carbon dioxide. Plants take up all of their nutrients from the soil. Water is also absorbed through t ..read more

Starting seeds indoors is a wonderful way to get a head start on your garden each year. It’s also a great way to save money. You probably know that starting your own plants from seeds will reduce how much money you spend in the garden each year. For example, consider a pack of lettuce seeds. One pack of lettuce seeds will contain anywhere from 25-50 seeds. You can usually buy a pack of lettuce seeds for around half the price of a six-pack of started lettuce plants. You’ll get more bang for your buck with seeds. There are two basic options for growing from seed: starting indoors and direct sowi ..read more

Growing a healthy and bountiful garden is a dream of all gardeners.  No matter what your reason is for growing a vegetable garden, you want to grow loads of pretty vegetables.  It can be a bummer when blossom end rot rears its ugly head in your vegetable garden.  Let’s talk about what blossom end rot is and how to prevent it. What is blossom end rot? Blossom end rot shows itself as a nasty, dark colored lesion on the blossom end of vegetables. It is most commonly seen as a dark, wet-looking spot on tomatoes, squash or peppers. Although these are the most common plants ..read more

Cucumbers, spaghetti squash, and beans are very popular vegetable plants to grow in the garden.  These plants are very productive and easy to grow.  They are also usually vining plants. Vining plants will put off runners that will attach to and grow up surfaces or other plants.  If you have space in the garden for these to run along the ground, they will.  They will create trailing vines that can take up a large amount of garden floor space. You can use this vining and climbing ability in your favor.  Since vining plants will readily climb up structures, you can give t ..read more

Vertical gardening is gaining in popularity among many gardeners. Smaller yards mean smaller gardens, and one way to maximize the space is to garden vertically when possible. Whether you are using trellises, fences or free-standing structures with pockets for planting, the amount of actual garden space needed is significantly less than if the same crop was grown the traditional way. Vertical gardening opens the door to growing more vegetables even if the only space you have is the patio or balcony of your apartment or condo. Plant vegetable seeds like pole beans or peas and let them grow up t ..read more

Wstockstudio/Shutterstock Direct sowing is just planting your flower and vegetable seeds directly in the garden rather than starting seeds indoors and planting seedlings. There are a number of reasons that make direct sowing a good idea and some that make direct sowing a bad idea. Use the information on your seed packets to help you to decide how, when and where to sow your seeds. The first consideration is how long does it take for the plant to grow from a flower or vegetable seeds into a producing plant? When will you pick your first flower or your first tomato from the time you plant the s ..read more

Have you ever found yourself on the fertilizer aisle at your local garden center, trying to decide what type of garden fertilizer you need to use for your plants?  There are so many options available that it can quickly overwhelm you if you don’t know what to choose.  The wrong fertilizer can do more harm than good.  Not only will the wrong fertilizer be unable to give your plant what it needs, it could actually harm your plant by creating toxicities.  Let’s talk about how to choose the best fertilizer for your plants, every single time. What’s in garden fertilizer? Fertil ..read more

Growing a garden is a relaxing hobby.  It’s a nice way to get outside, catch some sunlight and get some light exercise.  However, watering your garden during the broiling summer months can feel less relaxing and like more of a chore. No one wants to spend ages in the heat and humidity giving their plants water. Thankfully, there are some ways that you can cut back how much time your spend watering your plants.  Park Seed offers garden tools and supplies that will make sure that your plants always have plenty of water to stay hydrated, without you having to spend as much time wat ..read more

Tomatoes are one of the most commonly grown vegetable plants. In fact, many gardeners have turned growing vegetables into a science. There is tons of information about tomato plants and seeds and the best practices to get the novivce grower ready to start growing. For example, you may have read about whether or not to prune tomato plants, or whether you should grow heirloom tomatoes or hybrid tomatoes. The chances are, when deciding how to grow your plants, those things are a matter of personal preference. Some other topics though, aren’t so much personal preference. You ma ..read more