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 young seedlings sprouting from soil in a plastic bottle used as a winter sow container.

Gardening Tips

7 Container Types You Can Use to Winter Sow

Are you ready to get your garden started after the holidays? To get your seeds started early this season, try sowing in containers this winter. In this article, gardening expert Matt Dursum shows you the various container types you can use to winter sow.

Close-up of small plant seedlings with oval, jagged, bright green leaves sprouting from seeds in soil blocks.

Seeds

15 Best Seeds to Start in Soil Blocks This Year

Soil blocking is a productive seed-starting method that suits most ornamental and edible annuals and perennials. As the soil becomes both the growing media and the “pot,” healthy roots move easily to the garden at transplanting. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe explores dynamic varieties for seed blocking this year.

Close-up of winter sowing supplies, featuring a row of white plastic milk jugs repurposed as seed containers, arranged against the wall of a house in a snowy winter garden with patches of green grass.

Seeds

5 Essential Winter Sowing Supplies and Equipment

Now is the time for winter sowing - an easy, resourceful, rewarding way to start seeds working with nature. Using simple containers for homemade “greenhouses,” strong seedlings emerge, ready for transplanting. With a few essentials and repurposed household supplies, we’ll be on our way to (nearly) effortless seed-starting. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in all that’s needed for this streamlined approach to seeding.

A shot of a glasshouse for gardening that shows what to grow greenhouse January

Gardening Tips

What to Grow in the Greenhouse in January

If you’re a lucky gardener with a greenhouse, you can pretty much grow anything you want. In January, there are a ton of excellent options. In this article, gardening expert Matt Dursum shows you what to grow in the greenhouse in January.

Close-up of a starting tray with sprouted seeds showing thin upright stems and slightly curled green oval leaves on a windowsill, ideal for starting seeds in Zone 2.

Seeds

When to Start Seeds in Zone 2

If you want to garden in some of the coldest regions in the U.S., you’ll have to do some serious planning. Gardening in zone 2 is one of the biggest challenges a gardener can have. In this article, plant expert Matt Dursum shows you when to start seeds in zone 2.

Close-up of a gardener's hand starting seeds in Zone 1 by planting round, pale green pea seeds into loose soil.

Seeds

When to Start Seeds in Zone 1

Did you know that with the right timing and preparation, you can grow a garden in the frigid tundras of zone 1? There are many challenges to consider first, but it is possible to do it successfully. In this article, horticulture expert Matt Dursum shows you when to start seeds in zone 1 climates.