The Real Dirt

Keeping honey bees requires planning, knowledge and an investment of time and money to be successful. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) will pollinate the fruits and vegetables in your garden and increase production of your fruit trees. Since they fly as far as five miles, you will also be helping your neighbors…

To grow, plants must absorb nutrients from the soil. Not only must these nutrients be present in sufficient quantities, they must also be available for uptake by the plant. Nutrient availability is primarily determined by soil texture and pH. Soil texture is the amount of sand, silt, clay and organic…

It will soon be time to start planting many cool season crops.  There are several reasons to plant a winter garden. Many crops actually taste better and grow best in cooler weather. Also, a winter garden is less work: the weather is more comfortable and there is less weeding and watering to do.  Finally,…

The abundance from summer vegetable gardens is extended through the winter and beyond by methods of canning, freezing and drying. But you can also give your summer vegetables a longer life span by saving their seeds. It's important to know that the seed from a hybrid plant will not produce a plant exactly…

In late summer bulbs of daffodils and tulips start appearing in garden stores. Everyone enjoys the lovely display they make in spring. But do you know that there are native spring-blooming bulbs that will also look beautiful in your garden? You may have seen blue dicks (scientific name Dichelostemma capitata…