kit | Espoma Organic

10 Time-Saving Tactics for a More Efficient Garden | Growing Joy with Maria

September 11, 2025/in Blog, Gardening, Growing Joy with Maria

Has your garden started to feel like a tedious task on your never-ending to-do list? Here are 10 ways to avoid garden burnout by making gardening more efficient and simple, so you can enjoy it without feeling weighed down.

This blog is inspired by Episode 266 of the Growing Joy with Plants Podcast, where Maria chats with CaliKim, YouTube gardening educator and author of The 10 Minute Gardener. Together, they share time-saving hacks to help you enjoy gardening again—without the stress.

Start Small, Stay Consistent

One of Kim’s foundational philosophies is to break down large tasks into smaller, manageable ones (3-, 5-, 8-, 10-, or 30-minute jobs), which is the basis of her book. The 10 Minute Gardener also organizes these by season (early, mid, late, dormant), so you can adapt them no matter where you garden.

Practical Time-Saving Tactics You Can Try Today

3-Minute Gardening Tasks

Fertilizer Fridays – Every Friday, while your tea kettle is boiling or you’re sipping coffee, take 3 minutes to fertilize your plants with an organic liquid fertilizer like Espoma Organic Indoor! Houseplant Food. You can also water them or pick off brown leaves.
Swift Growth Seed Sowing – Keep a small basket of seeds handy by your back door or in your pocket. During a quick break, pop a few pea seeds along a trellis or lettuce seeds into a container to keep succession planting going.
Three-Minute Tool Tidy – Clean and oil a few garden tools, like pruners, that may be getting rusty or sticky.

5-Minute Gardening Tasks

Tie-Up Tuesday (and Thursday!) – Dedicate a few minutes twice a week to trellis plants like cucumbers. Keep tie tape or twine in your pocket so you can do this quickly while walking through the garden.
Shade Cloth Oasis – Pre-clip shade cloth to trellises so you can dash out and cover plants when the sun is blazing.
End-of-Season Cleanups – Pull out dead plants and toss them into nearby trash bins or pop-up bins to keep your garden tidy.

8- & 10-Minute Gardening Tasks

Summer Salad Station – Plant a container with salad greens, a tomato or cucumber, and herbs for a quick, ready-to-harvest dinner garden.
Hustle & Bustle Garden Bed Prep – In spring, refresh your garden beds with soil amendments like Espoma Organic Land & Sea Gourmet Compost and worm castings.

30-Minute Gardening Tasks

Compost Pile Refresh – Toss together kitchen scraps and yard waste to build your compost pile. Give it a splash of water, then walk away and let nature do the work.
Tree Branch Trellis – Gather a few sturdy sticks and lash them together to create a simple, rustic trellis for climbing plants.

Be Consistent and Keep Things Within Reach

The key is to keep everything handy and accessible. You don’t need complicated strategies to make gardening easier. Keep a basket of seeds by the door, stash pruners in multiple spots, and have tie tape at the ready. Making tools and supplies accessible ensures you stay consistent and efficient.

For more time-saving tips, listen to Episode 266 of the Growing Joy with Plants Podcast!

Featured Products:

Where to Buy

VIDEO: Growing Veggies and Herbs 🍅🌿🥕 with Summer Rayne Oakes

August 25, 2025/in Blog, Espoma Videos, Fruits & Vegetables, Summer Rayne Oakes, Vegetable Gardening

Summer Rayne Oakes of Flock Finger Lakes is back in her gazebo garden, where she refreshed her raised beds with Espoma Organic All-Purpose Garden Soil, giving her fruits, veggies, and herbs a nutrient-rich foundation.

From basil to beans, this garden is brimming with variety—and Summer shares her best lessons she learned along the way.

6 Quick Tips from Summer’s Garden

Refresh your soil each season – Even healthy beds benefit from a fresh top-off of organic soil like Espoma Organic All Purpose Garden Soil to replenish nutrients and structure.
Try companion planting – Marigolds tucked near tomatoes deter pests like hornworms and invite pollinators to the party.
Prune and plant tomatoes deeply – Snip off lower leaves and bury stems a little deeper so they develop stronger root systems.
Mix in perennial herbs and crops – Plants like sea kale, rhodiola, and schisandra return year after year, offering beauty and resilience.
Stagger your sowing – Succession planting of quick crops like radishes, lettuce, and calendula ensures continuous harvests and blooms.
Grow what you’ll actually use – Whether it’s sweet potatoes for soups or basil for summer salads, plant to fit your kitchen habits.

A Garden That Nourishes All Season

From tender greens to black goji berries, Summer Rayne shows how diverse plantings and thoughtful soil care can make a small space abundant. With Espoma Organic All-Purpose Garden Soil supporting strong roots and steady nutrition, her gazebo garden is set to thrive all season long.

*****

Learn more about Flock Finger Lakes here:

Website: flockfingerlakes.com

Instagram – @flockfingerlakes

YouTube –Flock Finger Lakes

X – @flockny

Facebook –Flock Finger Lakes

Featured Products:

Where to Buy

VIDEO: Planting A Shade Garden 🌿 with Wyse Guide

August 13, 2025/in Blog, Espoma Videos, Gardening, Kaleb Wyse

Whether you’re working with dry shade or full sun, Kaleb Wyse of Wyse Guide proves that every pocket of your garden can thrive with the right planning—and a little help from Espoma Organic.

In his latest video, Kaleb brings us along as he refreshes his shade beds and layers in new perennials in full-sun areas, showing how he builds textured, healthy spaces across his Iowa homestead. He’s not just planting—he’s feeding the soil and supporting every root with care.

Kaleb’s shade garden is a great example of adapting to conditions. Not all shade is the same—some spots, often under large trees, are dry shade, where roots compete for moisture and soil drains quickly. Other shady areas, like low spots or places near downspouts, hold more water, creating wet shade. Kaleb’s property has dry shade under mature maple and crabapple trees, so he selects plants that can handle lower moisture while still brightening dim areas.

To get his new additions off to the best start, Kaleb relies on Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus, his go-to for all new plantings. For hostas and other acid-loving favorites, Espoma Organic Holly-tone is also in his toolkit, enriching the soil with just the right nutrients for long-term success.

🌿 Kaleb’s Top Tips for Planting Success

1) Water Before You Plant
Always begin with a well-watered root ball so plants adjust quickly and absorb water efficiently post-planting.

2) Use a high-quality organic Starter Fertilizer
“It’s like planting insurance!” Kaleb says. He sprinkles Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus in every hole to encourage strong root development and minimize transplant shock.

3) Only Disturb Roots When Necessary
If roots aren’t bound tightly, skip scarification. Gentle handling helps reduce stress.

4) Embrace Compost—Even Last Year’s Leaves
Kaleb layers homemade compost—or a high-quality mix like Espoma Organic Land & Sea Gourmet Compost, a rich blend of natural ingredients enhanced with lobster and crab shells—right over last year’s fallen leaves. This creates a living mulch that enriches the soil naturally and builds long-term garden health.

5) Group Plants in Odd Numbers
Repeating clusters of five or seven create harmony and visual rhythm, especially in larger beds.

6) Prioritize Soil Coverage
From epimedium to hosta to Agastache, Kaleb aims for dense plantings that naturally suppress weeds and conserve moisture.

Ready to Grow Like Kaleb?

If Kaleb’s video inspires one thing, it’s that soil health is at the heart of every thriving garden. Whether your shade is dry or wet—or your planting area is in full sun—start with rich compost, thoughtful watering, and organic support from Espoma, and your plants will thank you season after season.

Let’s get growing—whether you’re filling a shady nook or bringing a sunlit border to life.

*****

Learn More about Wyse Guide:

🪴 YouTube

🪴 Facebook

🪴 Instagram

🪴Website

Featured Products:

Where to Buy

Growing Joy with Maria Blog – DIY Houseplant First Aid Kit

February 28, 2024/in Blog, Growing Joy with Maria, Indoor Gardening

As any experienced houseplant parent knows, emergencies happen. Maybe you discover mealybugs infesting your favorite plant. Perhaps a fungal leaf spot is spreading quickly on your Monstera.

When these problems with your houseplants happen, you have to act quickly. You can’t waste time searching for the right tools to fix them. That is why a DIY houseplant first aid kit is very important.

This blog is inspired by Episode 208 of Growing Joy with Maria Podcast, where host Maria Failla chatted with certified horticulturist Leslie Halleck to talk about the important items to include in your DIY houseplant first aid kit so you can effectively address plant problems as they arise.

Must-Have Products for Your Houseplant First Aid Kit

Horticultural Oils

Horticultural oils like neem oil, peppermint oil, etc. work to “smother” soft-bodied insects and fungal spores on contact. Some oils also help prevent future infestations.

Remember that when using these natural oils, pay attention to application instructions as some risk causing leaf burn if left on too long.

Fungicides

Sometimes those annoying fungal leaf spots and powdery mildews just won’t quit. For these or other fungal issues, use a fungicide like copper soap or a bio-fungicide spray made from helpful soil bacteria.

These products can stop fungal diseases in their tracks and prevent their spread. For similar insect issues, some companies now offer bio-insecticides with ingredients like spinosad to repel pests.

Insecticidal Soap

Made from plant-based fats/oils, insecticidal soaps effectively gets rid of pests that have soft bodies by breaking down their protective coatings when it touches them.

The good thing is that it usually doesn’t harm most plants. If you need to spray or clean up pests from time to time, it’s a good idea to start with insecticidal soap first before resorting to stronger methods.

Systemic Pesticides

When all else fails, it’s time to bring out the final boss—systemics. Unlike other treatments, systemics are absorbed by the plant after application to the soil, causing any pest that feeds on it to ingest the poison.

But this should be used as a last resort due to toxicity concerns, especially if you have curious pets. Still, they’re very effective at managing pest issues.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Best known for disinfecting human wounds, hydrogen peroxide eliminates pest larvae in potting soil and also increases oxygen flow to plant roots to aid struggling plants. Always dilute it first before applying.

Rooting Hormone

When restoring a plant that has experienced root loss or damage, using powdered rooting hormone can help it grow back faster after being replanted. It’s also useful to have on standby for propagating cuttings!

Tools to Add to Your Houseplant First Aid Kit

Sticky Traps

Sticky traps can catch adult fungus gnats and other flying pests. Put these traps just above the soil level to keep tabs on potential infestations.

But if you find a lot of pests stuck to the traps all at once, it’s a sign to do something about it. While sticky traps alone won’t completely fix the pest problem, using them with soil treatments can help prevent more pests in the future.

Gloves

It’s important to shield your hands from irritation and chemicals with quality gloves. Leslie recommends these types of gloves when gardening:

Nitrile gloves – protect hands and allow you to physically remove pests by squishing or rubbing them off of leaves.
Cotton gloves – a softer option for gently cleaning leaves and polishing plants.
Rubber/latex gloves – offer hand protection when working with oils and chemicals.

Scissors and Pruners

Invest in a pair of sharp scissors and pruners solely for your houseplants. Not only do clean cuts improve healing, but using kitchen scissors risks bringing diseases inside.

Repotting Mat

These portable silicone mats provide a temporary clean surface for potting and treating plants. They prevent spilled soil or plant debris from dirtying floors and easily hose or wipe off afterward. No mess, no stress!

Humidity Domes

Is your Calathea being a “diva” again and wanting more moisture? Consider creating a mini greenhouse effect by either using plastic wrap to cover the pots or by placing transparent domes over your plants. This extra humidity will help the wilting leaves become healthy again!

Grow Lights

Supplementing natural light helps stressed plants recover faster. Compact LED grow lights provide therapeutic light when nursing plants back to health.

PAR Meter

Advanced plant parents invest in handheld PAR meters to precisely measure usable light reaching their plants.

Magnifying Glass

A small magnifying glass equipped with a built-in LED light lets you inspect plants close up for early pest detection. The sooner you spot those tiny insects or fungal spores, the quicker you can spring into action before major damage occurs!

Moisture Meter

These secondary tools monitor moisture content in potting mixes. While somewhat unnecessary for experienced gardeners, soil probes help prevent underwatering/overwatering issues for new plant parents.

DIY Houseplant First Aid Kit Essentials—Assembled!

*****

Compile your basic houseplant products and tools into a houseplant first aid kit for indoor gardening emergencies. Store supplies in tackle boxes, label them clearly, and keep the kit easily accessible near your plants. Don’t wait until it’s too late; prepare your DIY houseplant care first aid kit today!