Gardening Tips with Teeth

“Tips, tips, tips” — you see that word all over the Web, and search engine optimizers know to use it repeatedly. To me it conveys a tiny bit of information that’s helpful in the very short-term — a racing tip, a stock tip. So I think of good gardening information not as tips but rather as good gardening information.

But readers, if you’re looking for Tips, look no further because Gardening Tips with Teeth are right here. That’s my term for tips that are actually good, substantive, hard-won gardening knowledge, based on decades in the dirt.

Tips on this Website

• What I really do in the garden – in October, in November (more coming!)
• Horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott on the Myth of Tree-Staking.
• And there’s Dr. Chalker-Scott’s great tip about the Myth of Needing Drainage Material in the Bottom of Containers (paraphrasing her).
• My poison ivy update is full of suggestions from real gardeners and experts alike. Very current.
• Removing Stumps the Safe and Easy Way covers organic techniques for DIY gardeners.
• How to edge between your lawn and borders? Before buying the cheap+tacky spending a lot for something that looks good, try natural edging.  It’s free.
• Do something about your garden NOW! is all about getting your garden ready for the new season and what you should be doing in early spring.
• Easy Recordkeeping is about the easy-peasy way to keep track of your plants, and why you really should.
• Slow Gardening with the Essential Holding Garden is the insider’s guide to redesigning your garden. Or less ambitiously, how to keep your plants alive while they’re waiting to be actually planted.
• Soil Tests are easier — and more helpful — than I’d imagined. That link will lead you to the How and Why of it all.

Money-Saving Tips

• Homemade Cement Pavers and Decorations is everything you need to know for a fun project for yourself or your next party — really! I’ve given paver-making workshops for garden clubs and block parties, and believe me — fun is had.
• Finding a “Coach” Near You covers ways to get a LOT of good gardening help without paying much.
• Gardeners are notorious for giving away plants — find out how you can get some of them!