Basics

Whether you're new to gardening or experienced, everyone needs some gardening basics to get going!

In this category, you'll find a wealth of information that spans a wide number of topics. From seed starting to grow bag gardening, pruning tips to raised bed tricks, you'll find the fundamentals of gardening awaiting you here.

While it's optimized towards new gardeners, even a pro can find useful tips in our Basics category. We all need to get back to basics sometimes, and there are always useful tools and tips that other gardeners have developed along the way to add to your own practices.

Our Basics category can inspire you to new gardening heights, too. Those who have experience with in-ground planting can learn about other techniques such as raised beds or vertical gardening.

Close-up of a blooming Blue Butterfly Pea - one of the natural plant dyes. The Blue Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) is a striking vine with delicate foliage and mesmerizing flowers. Its slender stems bear compound leaves consisting of three ovate leaflets. The flowers, reminiscent of butterfly wings, are a vibrant sky-blue color with a distinctive shape and intricate patterns.

Gardening Tips

21 Garden Plants to Use as Natural Dyes

You’ve heard of vegetable and cut flower gardens, but what about dye gardens? Dying yarn and fabrics with plant-based dyes allows you to create beautiful hues and develop a new appreciation for plants. If you’re not sure where to get started, join Briana Yablonski to learn 21 plants you can use as natural dyes.

direct sow raised beds. Close-up of radish plants growing on a wooden raised bed. The radish plant showcases vibrant, green foliage with distinctive lobed leaves that form a rosette close to the soil. Below the surface, the roots develop into crisp, bulbous structures of a pinkish color. Radishes' roots exhibit a smooth texture and a rounded shape.

Gardening Tips

21 Vegetables and Flowers to Direct Sow in Raised Beds

Seed-starting can be intimidating for new gardeners. Especially when you consider the space requirements. However, with the following seeds, you can skip the indoor seed-starting step and head straight out to your raised beds! Gardening expert Kelli Klein shares 21 vegetables and flowers to direct sow in raised beds.

Garden method chop and drop. Close-up of trimmed plants in a garden bed. The plants are trimmed at the base and the leaves are thrown on top of the bed.

Gardening Tips

What is the Chop-and-Drop Gardening Technique?

Gardening has its own language and verbiage, which can sometimes be intimidating, especially for beginner gardeners. So, while you may have heard the phrase “chop- and -drop” you might be wondering: What is it? And why do it? Gardening expert Kelli Klein explains how chop-and-drop can benefit your garden.

may gardening tasks. Close-up of a raised bed with various crops growing in a spring garden. A gardener in blue trousers and a large shovel works in the garden. There are rows of strawberries and onions growing in the garden bed.

Gardening Tips

13 Gardening Tasks to Do in May

Planting, irrigating, fertilizing, and mulching are just a few essential duties for late spring. Garden expert Logan Hailey is here to help you prepare your garden for a flourishing summer with these essential May tasks.

A wooden raised bed filled with colorful flowers and lush green plants, basking in the sunlight. In the background, a garden teems with life, offering a vibrant backdrop to the tranquil beauty of the bed.

Gardening Tips

15 Gift Ideas for Mothers Who Love to Garden

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how to honor and thank the extraordinary women in our lives. If your mother, wife, grandmother, or other special lady loves gardening, you’ve come to the right place. Gardener and farmer Briana Yablonski shares 15 gift ideas for mothers who love gardening.

Seeds need scarification. Close-up of bean seeds soaking in water in a white tray. Pink kidney beans, distinguished by their smooth, kidney-shaped form, boasting a delicate pink hue with beige tones. The surface of the seeds is slightly wrinkled due to exposure to water.

Seeds

Which Seeds Need Scarification?

You’re ready to start your season. Your seed-starting supplies are gathered. Spring has sprung. Then, you remember the term scarification that you learned about over the winter. What seeds require that? Brush up on the basics and learn which seeds need scarification with organic farmer Jenna Rich.

Chaos Gardening. Close-up of a garden with a variety of flowering plants such as Cosmos, Zinnias, Salvia, Bluemink, Snapdragon and others.

Gardening Tips

Chaos Gardening: How to Start a Carefree Garden

For traditional gardeners who appreciate manicured beds and formal design, the phrase ‘chaos garden’ may seem strange. But it’s the latest thing taking over the gardening internet. Gardening expert Madison Moulton explains chaos gardens and how you can start your own.