One of the best natural mulches for vegetable gardens is straw. Straw is a by product of grain crops and is made up of the dead stalks and leaves left behind after farmers harvest the grain. It can be ...

Q: Do tomatoes need pruning? A: When we first plant our baby tomato plants outside, we will remove the bottom side shoots and dig a hole deep enough to cover several inches of the main stem. If you ...

MULCH YOUR WAY TO BETTER TOMATOES Jodi Alton asks: Last year I had a problem growing tomatoes. I was out there watering them almost every day because the soil was drying out so fast. The weeds were ...

Summer has definitely arrived. With temperatures reaching the high 90s and 100s every day, water is quickly lost from soils and plants. Evapotranspiration is the agricultural term for the total amount ...

I was able to plant all my flowers and vegetables last weekend, and they are looking great. I remember you talking about mulch quite a bit, but I have never used it. Is it really worth the effort? — G ...

I love to garden, but I don’t like to do work needlessly. If I can find a gardening technique that saves me time, effort and money — well, I’m there. And you can’t find a better example of this than ...

Wood mulch and wood chips will mat down to make a firm but spongy surface for your garden paths and around playsets. Pine straw is too slippery to walk on, so skip it when mulching these high-traffic ...

Closeup of someone picking a ripe tomato off a tomato plant - Oliver Rossi/Getty Images Do you dream of a bountiful tomato harvest with plump fruit that weighs down the healthy vines? The secret to ...