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.

Light purple-blue flowers with five delicate petals bloom in clusters, each supported by slender green stems and narrow leaves, creating a wispy texture against a blurred, leafy background.

Seeds

17 Native Plant Seeds You Can Direct Sow in November

Even with the season’s change, we have plenty of time to sow our native plant additions this month. Many benefit from being sown directly in the ground as temperatures turn chilly, even in winter. November is perfect for scattering and tucking; it's easy on the seeds and the gardener. The challenge is narrowing down what to grow! Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in favorite natives to direct sow this month.

Tiny green plants with delicate, round leaves sprouting from dark soil-filled cells in a black tray, arranged in evenly spaced rows and illuminated by soft indoor lighting.

Seeds

Seed-Starting for Beginners: Our Best Tips for Easy Growing

Sowing seeds is the most exciting way to start gardening in the late winter and early spring, but it requires a bit of planning and preparation to get it right. Organic farmer Logan Hailey can help you ensure strong seed-starting success with these beginner-friendly tips.

A shot of a person wearing blue plants and blue gloves in the process of doing November gardening tasks

Gardening Tips

9 Gardening Tasks to Tackle this November

Although November brings cooler and darker days, it doesn’t mean your work in the garden is over! Properly caring for current plants and adding new ones will help you enjoy a beautiful garden next spring. Join gardener Briana Yablonski to learn nine gardening tasks to tackle this month.

The tall, spiky seed heads are composed of tightly clustered, dry brown blooms that create a striking silhouette against the green garden, providing a source of food for birds.

Gardening Tips

19 Perennial Seed Heads That Feed Garden Birds in Winter

Perennials die back during autumn leaving brown, dry stems and seeds behind. Let those seed heads stand and you’ll provide essential food sources for hungry birds. You’ll boost your backyard’s biodiversity with these 19 plants for feeding winter wildlife. Join native plant gardener Jerad Bryant on a tour of seed heads!

A shot of a garden using methods to protect crops frost

Gardening Tips

9 Smart Ways to Protect Your Tender Crops From Frost

Cooler weather is here, you’ve seen a frost warning, but you have tender annual herbs and vegetables in your garden. How can you protect them from the first few frosts? Gardening expert Liessa Bowen walks through 9 smart tips to help you protect your frost-sensitive crops from the next freeze.

Tall, conical evergreen shrubs with dense, feathery green foliage are neatly lined up in black plastic containers, placed on a wooden pallet amidst a setting of other similar plants, creating a lush, vibrant scene.

Gardening Inspiration

Bare-Root Vs. Container-Grown Trees: Which is Best For You?

Add young trees to your landscape to enjoy year-round shade, structure, and beauty. Whether you choose a bare-root or container-grown specimen, you’ll want the best option for your garden. Fear not, as we’ll explore when you should plant each one. Join experienced nursery tree grower Jerad Bryant as we dive deep below the ground.

A large group of tightly packed, round, overlapping green Brassica oleracea heads with crinkled, deep-veined leaves.

Gardening Inspiration

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Savoy Cabbage

Crisp, curled, crinkly leaves add an exciting twist to this special cabbage variety. It is milder and more tender than regular cabbage, and super easy to grow. Former organic farmer Logan Hailey digs into the best tips and tricks for cultivating this cool-weather crop in your garden.