Video: Creating a Salsa Garden with Garden Answer!
Ready to make some fresh salsa this summer? Join Laura from @GardenAnswer as she plants all the ingredients in a miniature garden using her favorite Espoma products.
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Ready to make some fresh salsa this summer? Join Laura from @GardenAnswer as she plants all the ingredients in a miniature garden using her favorite Espoma products.
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Laura from @Garden Answer is planting sweet and spicy peppers in her garden! Watch to find out which Espoma products help her get the job done.
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Kevin from @Epic Gardening is walking us through how he plans to maintain those tomatoes he recently planted with the help of Espoma. Follow along to hear his top tips!
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Looking to grow some deliciously plump tomatoes this season? Let Kevin from @Epic Gardening show you the different trellis types that will work best for your space and budget.
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Have you always appreciated citrus trees but felt that growing your own would be too much work? As it turns out, growing citrus indoors is actually fairly simple! The plant itself can be a beautiful accent piece in a room, and the indulging scent its white blossoms produce is enjoyable for everyone. Not to mention that taking good care of your citrus tree means you eventually get to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Here’s how to do it.
Water
Citrus plants don’t like to sit in wet soil, but they don’t like to totally dry out either. This is why it’s important to plant them in a well-balanced soil like Espoma’s Cactus Mix. Be sure to check the top few inches every few days until you figure out the best watering schedule. Generally speaking, it should be about once a week.
Sunlight
Your citrus tree will require 8 to 12 hours of sunlight each day. This means you should try to situate it near a south facing window or supplement with an indoor grow light if necessary.
Fertilizer
Citrus trees that live in pots require regular feedings every 2 to 4 weeks as some of the nutrients are washed out with regular watering. And what you feed your citrus trees can often determine the taste of its eventual fruit! That’s why Espoma’s Citrus! Organic Fertilizer is specially made to address the needs of citrus plants and help you grow some of your tastiest fruit yet.
Bonus Tip:
These plants like temperatures between 55 and 85 degrees and dislike sudden shifts in temperature. Try to avoid placing it near chilly drafts and space heaters to keep them in their ideal environment.
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Now that you know all about raising your citrus tree from seedling to fruit, the possibilities are endless! Whether you choose lemon, lime, orange, or any other citrus variety, these tips are sure to help you reach your indoor gardening goals.
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Spring is here, which means it’s time for new blooms and berries! Laura from Garden Answer uses Espoma Organic Potting Mix and Bio-tone Starter Plus to help her shrubs get a healthy start.
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You know spring gardening season is upon us when it’s time for some new food-bearing trees to go in the ground! Garden Answer uses Bio-tone Starter Plus to help these trees establish fast.
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Epic Gardening would like to bestow upon you the power to grow the most juicy and epic strawberries of all time. Pick up some Espoma Organic Berry-tone and watch to learn how it’s done!
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The weather is getting warmer, which means it’s time to start thinking about sowing spring veggies and planning ahead! Cool season crops can be directly sown into the ground as soon as the soil temperature is at or above 40˚F, but ensure you’re not working with wet or muddy soil since those are not favorable conditions for plant growth. Don’t forget to include Espoma Organic Garden-Tone to give your new vegetables the nutrients they need to grow big and delicious!
1. Spinach
Fresh baby spinach is not only delicious, but it’s also loaded with vitamins and minerals. This vegetable is versatile because you can eat it alone in a springtime salad or mix it into something like a smoothie! Now is a great time to sow spinach since it usually sprouts quickly and is somewhat frost-resistant in the face of unpredictable spring weather.
2. Swiss Chard
You may not be familiar with this beet relative, but it’s another amazing plant that is easy to grow from seed in the early springtime. You can eat chard raw or cooked and feel good knowing it contains 3 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin K and 44 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin A! Remember to harvest only the outer leaves during the spring and leave the inside for a later harvest.
3. Lettuce
Lettuce may seem simple, but did you know it actually comes in a variety of colors, species, shapes, and sizes? Gardeners love this plant lettuce because harvesting the baby greens is quick and easy — sometimes it can be ready after just 30 days! Lettuce is low in calories, fat, and sodium and is also a good source of fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin C. You can use your lettuce in a traditional salad, or spice things up by putting it in soup, making a wrap, or even grilling it.
4. Radishes
Radishes are the quickest vegetable to grow on this list if you truly want an early spring harvest. They’re also rich in antioxidants and minerals like calcium and potassium. Did you know these nutrients can help lower high blood pressure and reduce your risks for heart disease? You can put radishes in salads or even add them to stir fry or tacos.
5. Kale
Kale is the perfect vegetable if you want to produce a lot of food with little effort. It’s known as a “super food” for a reason — because cooked kale actually produces more iron than beef! It grows easily from a seed, so all you have to do is harvest the outer leaves for baby kale and let the rest of the foliage grow to full size. Kale, like spinach, is a great ingredient to add to your next salad or smoothie. Try a kale salad, or add it to a smoothie to make it healthier!
6. Peas
If you want to get your kids interested in gardening, the simplicity of planting peas is a great start. Fresh grown peas are a sweet and delicious side for any dish, or you can use them to make pea soup. They’re a good source of vitamins C and E, zinc, and other antioxidants that strengthen your immune system. You’ll want to read the seed packets closely to see if there are any specific growing directions and to get an idea of how tall this plant will grow. If you don’t want to do all the shelling regular peas require, you should opt for sugar snaps or snow peas.
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It’s much easier than you may think to grow delicious and nutritious veggies in your own backyard. Plus, it’s fun and simple enough for the whole family to help! Which ones are you going to include in your early spring garden?
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Winter is afoot! With the nights becoming chilly, now is the time to start thinking about what to do with your garden until springtime. Soon enough soil will freeze and many plants will stop growing or die. But there are steps you can take to preserve what you have! Read on to find out how to prepare your garden and save any vegetables you might’ve been growing.
1. Take care of your root crops
If you have root crops like carrots, beets, or turnips in your garden, you’re in luck! These require less maintenance because they are able to stay inside the ground after a frost. However, make sure you’re taking them out before the ground freezes over or they may die. Some root crops like parsnips even taste better when kept buried in near freezing weather for 2 to 4 weeks!
2. What to do with your leafy greens
If you’ve been following us for a while and took our advice in August to plant these leafy vegetables, you now get to reap the rewards! It’s time to harvest those sweet greens for some fresh homemade salads and dishes. If you’re willing to wait a little bit, veggies like kale and collards get sweeter with a little light frost. Cabbages and Swiss chard can handle the frost, if you want to harvest them all at once, but their outer covering may get a little damaged. Lettuces, however, cannot withstand the cold. Take them out before the frost hits.
3. Reduce irrigation
If you’re someone who has their sprinklers on overnight or all hours of the day, we have some good news! You can lower the use of sprinklers if you’re in a warmer weather and stop it altogether if you’re in a cooler weather. Now you can save your water usage and lower your water bill without compromising the quality of your lawn. Win-win!
4. Herbs for winter
Herbs may seem like very delicate plants that would be unlikely to survive winter, but that’s not true! Herbs like sage, thyme and chives are hardy perennials that will survive the harsh weather with no problem. Some other herbs like rosemary and basil need to be dug up and brought inside where they will happily continue to grow.
5. Preparing the soil for spring
Preparing your soil in advance will make your work much easier come spring. Adding things like compost, manure, bone meal, and kelp will add nutrients to your soil and keep it healthy until spring. You can start working on it right as spring comes instead of having to fill it up with nutrients and wait for them to get incorporated! Add a layer of organic mulch for extra protection from winter rains and keeping your enriched soil safe.
Winter doesn’t have to mean everything dies until the spring! Taking the proper precautions and using the right products can help keep your favorite herbs and veggies growing throughout the colder months. Get started on these steps while the weather is still mild — and if you haven’t already, make sure you’re also caring for your tools and keeping them safe from the icy cold.