Candace Godwin
April 21, 2023
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How to turn winter into your best garden planning season
“The garden year has no beginning and no end.”
Fall garden chores made easier
Next to weeding the garden, the chore most gardeners dread is fall cleanup. If you garden, you’re familiar with the annual October drill of clearing the beds, emptying containers, cutting back perennial flowers, and raking fallen leaves or pine needles. Getting the garden in order before winter sets in takes a lot of work.
Fall is the new spring for planting
Fall is one of my favorite times in the garden. With cooler temperatures prevailing, the garden seems to come alive again.
How to get those late-season green tomatoes to ripen
Without a doubt, it’s been another challenging growing season in North Idaho. Cold weather in May and June saw overnight temperatures in the 40s; nowhere near ideal for warm-season tomatoes to get started.
How to prevent and manage blossom end rot in your garden
Our recent extreme temperatures are causing great stress in the garden, not only for the plants but for gardeners too! It’s becoming a full-time job keeping the garden watered and protected from the high heat.
Weather woes and tomatoes: The effects of extreme temperatures
The ripening tomato is a sight to behold in the garden. It’s certainly the pomme d'amour of my eye. A warm-season crop, tomatoes are one of the most commonly grown vegetables in the home garden. But while they are relatively easy to grow, I consider tomatoes the “Prima Donnas” of the garden.
How to grow more food over a longer time with succession planting
If you are new to gardening, you may think the gardening season begins in May when you plant your summer crops and ends just after Labor Day once those crops have finished producing.
Compost vs. Fertilizer: Understanding the differences for soil and plant health
What gardener doesn’t delight in a lush, flourishing garden? Whether we are growing flowers or vegetables (or both), we want a beautiful, productive garden.
Garlic lovers, rejoice; it’s scape season
Take a stroll through the Farmer’s Market now through the end of June and you’ll no doubt come across bunches of curlicue-stems of hardneck garlic, known as scapes.
Tomato planting for success
I love tomatoes. Specifically, I love growing tomatoes. Did you know there are 10,000 varieties of tomatoes? I think I’m on a mission to grow them all.
Don’t miss planting garlic this fall
Fall is in the air and soon we’ll be putting our gardens to bed for the winter. But there is still one more vegetable that you could, and should, plant this fall: garlic. Next to home-grown tomatoes, nothing compares to the pungent taste of home-grown garlic. Once you experience just how incredibly fresh and juicy homegrown garlic tastes, you’ll never want to buy garlic from the grocery store again.
Ripe for the picking
There is nothing like the taste of a vine-ripened tomato. But did you know that you can pick tomatoes just as they start to color and still get similar results? It’s true. Mature tomatoes will continue to ripen after they are harvested.
Practical tips for hot-weather watering in the vegetable garden
Water is essential for a thriving vegetable garden. However, with municipalities placing water use restrictions on homeowners, it can be a challenge to keep the garden hydrated during periods of excessive heat.
Planning and Planting for the Fall Vegetable Garden
With our summer gardens growing and producing in full force, it’s hard to even think about planning or even planting a vegetable garden for fall. But now is the time to do so.
Prevent Herbicide Carryover from Mulch and Compost
Adding a layer of compost or mulch around your garden’s vegetables and flowers is one of the best ways to improve soil structure, increase fertility, retain moisture and prevent weeds.
Save seeds, save money!
Growing a garden is a great way to provide fresh, nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, and herbs for your family. One way to make vegetable gardening a bit more economical is to save seed from plants to grow on the following year.
Container and small space gardening: How to grow more in less space
Growing in containers is a perfect solution for small-space gardening, for making an underutilized space productive, or for expanding your garden footprint. Almost any vegetable or small fruit can be grown in a container, and there are many vegetable varieties that have been specifically developed for that purpose.
Idaho Master Gardener plant sale next week
Mark your calendars, the Idaho Master Gardeners are holding their annual Sodbuster Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 13 at the University of Idaho Research Park, 958 S. Lochsa St., Post Falls.
Quick spring crops to grow now
Spring is here, but it’s still going to be several more weeks before we can even begin thinking about planting warm-season crops, such as tomatoes, peppers and beans. But don’t despair, April is a great month to plant a variety of cool-season crops and achieve a quick harvest before that first tomato plant goes in the ground.
Preparing your garden for spring planting
Welcome to another season of Growing in North Idaho, a bi-weekly gardening column written by University of Idaho Extension Kootenai County Idaho Master Gardeners. We bring evidence-based information that is timely and relevant to our unique growing season.
Master Gardener: Amending the vegetable garden soil in fall
Feed Your Soil This Fall!
Master Gardener: Preventing disease in the garden
Just about every gardener has experienced some type of disease in their garden.