5 Fall Garden Chores You Should Skip (and What to Do Instead)

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5 Fall Garden Chores You Should Skip (and What to Do Instead)

As the leaves fall and the air cools, many of us rush to “tidy up” our gardens before winter. We rake and bag leaves, cut back or pull plants, and erase almost every sign of summer growth before the cold season sets in. But here’s the truth: a perfectly clean garden isn’t necessarily a healthy one, and some of that cleanup is doing more harm than good. In fact, many fall gardening chores that seem helpful actually disrupt the delicate balance of your soil, remove crucial pollinator habitats, and make more work for you come spring.

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Winter Prep for Pollinator Gardens: How to Protect Bees, Butterflies, and Beneficial Insects All Year Long

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Winter Prep for Pollinator Gardens: How to Protect Bees, Butterflies, and Beneficial Insects All Year Long

As the growing season winds down, it’s tempting to tidy up the garden by cutting back plants, raking every leaf, and prepping for a neat winter landscape. But if you want to support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and even beneficial beetles, the best thing you can do might be…a little less tidying.

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Smart Farming on a Budget: What Gardeners Can Learn from AI-Powered Farms

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Smart Farming on a Budget: What Gardeners Can Learn from AI-Powered Farms

When I got my water bill this month, I was frustrated but not surprised. My bill covered the summer months, when I use more water than usual to keep my crops hydrated and healthy. Even with rain barrels and a timed irrigation system in place, it felt like I’ve been spending more on water than I should be. So I was intrigued to find out that there are now ways I could be using some of the new smart technology to cut my water bill without compromising the productivity of my garden.

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Cold-Weather Color: 9 Hardy Plants That Flower Through Winter

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Cold-Weather Color: 9 Hardy Plants That Flower Through Winter

Winter is a time when most gardens in cold climates wind down, but what if you could enjoy vibrant color on long-blooming flowers all winter long? With the right plant choices, you can enjoy living blooms and vibrant foliage throughout the entire cold season. Some winter-blooming species not only lift spirits, but also support early pollinators, stabilize soils, and send out not-so-subtle signals that life continues even in the frost.

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How to deal with powdery mildew: 3 organic methods for prevention and treatment

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How to deal with powdery mildew: 3 organic methods for prevention and treatment

I knew the summer gardening season was really winding down when I spotted the telltale white coating of powdery mildew on the leaves of the squash plant in my raised bed. This common fungal disease makes its appearance around the same time every year. I had to remind myself that seeing powdery mildew doesn’t have to spell disaster.

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How to Successfully Germinate Seeds Indoors and Outdoors

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How to Successfully Germinate Seeds Indoors and Outdoors

In this blog, we will share some hands-on tips for seed germination indoors and outdoors. We will also talk about a method you might not know about for easily growing plants from seed: the Kratky method. Using these methods, you can grow healthier seedlings that turn into healthy plants.

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Plant a Kitchen Garden in Mid-Summer: it’s not too late!

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Plant a Kitchen Garden in Mid-Summer: it’s not too late!

As a kid growing up in New York City, I was luckier than most urban kiddos by being able to spend summers with Nana (my nanny) in her trailer and on a small farm outside Kannapolis, North Carolina that belonged to Nana’s sister Aunt Babe and her husband, Uncle Hoy. For five summers I helped harvest collards, corn, beans, and anything else that was in season on their farm, which is where they got most of their food. It was hot, sticky work, and I really didn’t like doing it at the time, but I loved being outside (running around barefoot as much as possible like my friends did), learning what grew best and when, and discovering how a bit of soil could turn into a fully stocked pantry. Those summer memories still shape how I think about food, gardening, and self-sufficiency.

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Greener Fields Ahead: How Digital Agriculture Is Shaping a Sustainable Future

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Greener Fields Ahead: How Digital Agriculture Is Shaping a Sustainable Future

As global populations surge and environmental challenges grow more pressing, agriculture stands at a critical crossroads. Feeding nearly 9 billion people by 2050 will demand not only more food but also smarter, more sustainable production methods. Enter digital agriculture—an emerging field that fuses advanced technology with time-honored farming practices to cut waste, conserve resources, and safeguard the planet.

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Permaculture Food Garden Design for Small Spaces

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Permaculture Food Garden Design for Small Spaces

Food gardening is on the rise, and it seems like every time you turn on the TV or scroll through social media, someone’s offering a new garden hack or tip. The landscape of gardening advice out there is vast, and while some of it is genuinely helpful, some of it can be downright destructive, like the post I saw on Instagram today advising people to mix baking soda, salt, and vinegar and spray it on your plants to kill aphids. (Follow that tip and you’re more likely to kill your plants instead.)

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Natural Insect Repellents for Tomato Plants

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Natural Insect Repellents for Tomato Plants

Tomatoes are one of the most popular crops for gardeners to grow in the warm season. With over 10,000 varieties available globally, tomatoes offer a wealth of taste profiles and growing options. While growing tomatoes is fairly easy, even for beginner gardeners, these plants are heavy feeders and need regular, consistent watering to avoid developing problems like blossom end rot. Tomato plants are also attractive to a variety of insect pests, including aphids, whiteflies, and tomato hornworms, which may frustrate new and experienced gardeners alike.

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Using Cover Crops During the Growing Season: What You Should Know

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Using Cover Crops During the Growing Season: What You Should Know

A few weeks ago I pulled the last cover crops from one of my raised beds, and it struck me how often we think of cover crops as something to plant in the off-season. There are many benefits to planting them, including improving soil structure, adding nutrients to the soil, and protecting against erosion.

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Can Foodborne Illnesses Be Prevented with Homegrown Food?

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Can Foodborne Illnesses Be Prevented with Homegrown Food?

In early June 2025, the CDC announced a major recall involving more than 20 million eggs linked to a multi-state salmonella outbreak. At least 79 people across 7 states have fallen ill, and over 20 have been hospitalized. The eggs in question were sold under multiple brand names and traced to specific facilities with plant codes P-6562 and CA-5330, with best-by dates ranging from March 4 to June 19, 2025.

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6 Ways to Give Your New Agribusiness Venture a Strong Start

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6 Ways to Give Your New Agribusiness Venture a Strong Start

The agribusiness sector has become an increasingly attractive space for entrepreneurs seeking both financial return and long-term impact. With growing demand for food security, sustainable farming methods, and locally sourced products, agribusiness presents opportunities not just in traditional crop or livestock production, but also in areas like agri-processing, logistics, and agri-tech. Many entrepreneurs see it as a meaningful way to participate in essential supply chains while tapping into rising consumer awareness around food quality and environmental responsibility.

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