Benefits of Gardening for Seniors (and 7 Tips for Success!)

A horizontal image of an elderly woman in a wheelchair tending to a raised bed garden.

Advancing age makes it challenging to bend and dig in a garden. Learn about the benefits of gardening for seniors and discover 7 top tips for making it easier. By raising beds, working from a seated position, and using ergonomic equipment, it’s possible to enjoy cultivating plants for years to come. Read more now.

Succession Planting: How to Grow Crops for a Continual Harvest

A woman holds a box of fresh veggies she harvested from her garden. Torso shot of arms hold box of vegetables.

Want to increase your garden harvest? Succession planting, which involves staggering plantings of crops to produce a continual harvest, is an efficient way to increase yields and extend the gardening season. Read our in-depth guide to find out what you need to know now!

Stop Watering Unnecessarily: How to Use a Rain Gauge

A decorative rain gauge with a clear canister that is almost full of water, market with measurements in inches and centimeters, with a green resin frog sitting in a brown Adirondack chair and reading a blue book beneath a pink umbrella, set on a cement surface with rain gently falling on a cloudy day.

It’s all too easy to overwater your garden without realizing it – until it’s too late. Cheap and easy to use, rain gauges can help. An inch of rain a week can spare you an unnecessary watering session, saving you time and money, and protecting your plants from too much of a good thing. Read more now on Gardener’s Path.

How to Use Elderflowers for Food and Medicine

Harvested elderflowers in a wooden bowl and a wooden mortar and pestle.

Did you know that like the berries, elderflowers are both edible and medicinal? These tiny aromatic blossoms have a myriad of interesting uses. Head to Gardener’s Path for harvesting tips, as well as suggestions on ways to prepare and use elderflowers. Read more now.

How to Harvest Wild Berries: Foraging for Beginners

Human hands picking wild blackberries.

What’s even better than just-picked berries from the garden? The ones you harvest yourself from a wild source. With some basic how-tos, attention to detail, and a keen appreciation for the outdoors, you can take a trip back to our hunter-gatherer days and safely consume wild foods. Read more now on Gardener’s Path.

Get Your Garden Off to the Best Possible Start with a Soil Test

A human hand holds freshly dug soil.

Does your garden face the same issues year after year? The answer could be in your soil. Nutrient deficiencies, pH imbalances, texture, and the percentage of organic matter can all be revealed through a simple test. Collecting a sample and sending it off for professional analysis and advice is easier than you think.

5 Tips You Need to Navigate Seed Catalogs

Five packets of newly purchased seeds are piled on top of The Rare Seed Catalog. The purple slices of the roots can be seen on the cover of the catalog. The seed packets each contain several small seeds, an image of the delectables it will grow, and some short quotes. The seeds are for various plants including peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and others. Next to the pile of seeds is a pen and a notepad with the names of seeds to look for in the catalog. All of this is resting on a lightly stained wooden table.

Who can resist a mailbox full of seed catalogs? Browsing them is the dreamy pastime of many a gardener waiting for snow to melt and the growing season to begin. These interesting publications have been guiding gardeners for over 300 years. Get tips for navigating their colorful pages, right here on Gardener’s Path.

11 Easy Ways to Extend the Harvest Season

A close up horizontal image of a basket of freshly harvested root vegetables set on the ground in the garden.

Not quite ready to put your garden to bed for the season? Learn how to keep your vegetable garden growing strong all through the fall, and enjoy the benefit of fresh garden produce for longer than ever this year. In this guide, we suggest 11 fun and easy ways to extend the harvest season. Read more now.

Winter Mulching to Protect Cold Tolerant Crops

Want to help your garden rest well this winter? Winter mulching is a great way to prolong harvests, improve soil quality, and protect overwintering plants by insulating soil with organic materials. Learn how to use mulch to better support perennials and annual crops this winter. Read more now.

How to Plant A Southern Fall Vegetable Garden

Gardener using a shovel to turn over soil.

Learn all about how and when to plant a southern fall vegetable garden, and enjoy homegrown produce well into fall and winter, when your northern friends can’t even see their soil underneath all the snow. Plus, get expert tips on which plants you’re likely to have success with in autumn.

How to Protect Your Produce Against Bacterial Soft Rot

A farmer holds up a freshly dug potato showing an oozy bacterial soft rot mess on the inside of the tuber.

While you may think of potatoes when you think of soft rot, these bacterial diseases destroy a range of plants – from broccoli to tomatoes. There is no cure once your produce is infected, but there are steps you can take to prevent infection. Read on to learn how to protect your stored crops against bacterial soft rot.

15 Creative Uses for Bricks in Landscape and Garden Design

A flower bed separated from a grassy lawn by a brick border.

If you have a pile of bricks left over from a building project, you’ll love these 15 ideas for using them in the outdoor landscape. Durability and traditional style make bricks a timeless choice for pathways, edging, and so much more. Find functional and decorative design inspiration, right here on Gardener’s Path.

9 Quick Tips to Make Jack-O’-Lanterns Last

A person wearing a blue plaid shirt and an apron carves a jack-o'-lantern, with more large orange pumpkins to the left, on a wood work surface with scattered fall leaves and green foliage in soft focus in the background.

Nothing says Halloween like jack-o’-lanterns, but what good are they if they rot before you can say trick-or-treat? Before you go to the farmers market, read 9 quick tips to make carved pumpkins last longer. From selecting the best to inhibiting moisture, we’ve got ideas you can use, right here on Gardener’s Path.

The Ultimate Way to Support Tomato Plants: Florida Weave

Small tomato plants and leafy greens growing in a wooden raised bed planter filled with brown soil topped with wood chip mulch, with two rusty rebar stakes placed at either end of the bed, with twine threaded between them to create supports, with the base of a wooden deck in the background.

Looking for the best way to support your tomatoes? Using the Florida Weave, all of your plants can be supported with the same trellis. It’s easy to set up, requires very few materials, and can be used for both determinate and indeterminate varieties. Read more now on Gardener’s Path and learn how to make your own.

Make These Easy DIY Raised Beds: The Perfect Solution for Veggie Gardening

A wooden garden planter box filled with brown soil, with a few green seedlings growing in the planter.

For vertical gardens, leafy greens, and especially root crops, or if you simply want improved soil and drainage, a raised bed is the best option. But buying these from the store can really make you question the frugality of gardening. Check out this simple plan to build a small, economical version. Read more now.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones Have Changed: What You Need to Know

USDA Hardiness Zone Changes | GardenersPath.com

Did you know the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones have changed? This introduces a new array of plants that can grow comfortably in your garden while also denying a few old favorites. Read on to learn about why these changes have taken place, and how they may affect new plantings as well as seasoned perennials.

What to Do When the Top of Your Tree Dies

Hire a Certified Arborist to Deal with Dead Branches | GardenersPath.com

It is frustrating and alarming when the top part of an otherwise healthy tree dies inexplicably. Want to learn why this happens, how you can treat this odd problem, and how to prevent it from happening to other trees in the future? Our expert tips can help. Read more now on Gardener’s Path.