It’s April and tomatoes are here! We know you’re ready to get them planted since it’s sunny (wait… now it’s cold and raining…. wait! It’s sunny again! Wait…) ;) but your tomato plants won’t grow into incredibly prolific tomato producers if you don’t protect them until the night temperatures remain consistently above 50 degrees. Most of us at Swansons swear by protection tools so we can plant our warm-season vegetables earlier and encourage larger, stronger plants and better harvests. Here’s what we use and how to use them.
You and your rose soul-mates have found each other. Now what? How do you keep them happy and thriving in our maritime Pacific Northwest climate? Roses are not completely carefree, but with a few basic care guidelines, you can grow them successfully and enjoy their beauty for years to come.
For many of us, the choice of which tomatoes to grow can be daunting. We've boiled down the tomato decision process into a few helpful questions and our suggestions: a secret (tomato) sauce, if you will, of how to make the right choice for your individual tomato needs. At the end of this post are a handy infographic and a link to our tomato variety list.
The most recognizable “spring” flowers - tulips, lilacs, azaleas - have finished blooming or are beginning to fade and a host of new flowering plants are ready to take the baton for the race into summer. Here are some of our favorite late-spring flowers; some even keep blooming all summer long. Best of all, these flowers attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds!
In this post, I’m repotting a very rootbound Marble Queen Pothos plant. I’ll walk you through all the steps for a successful repotting. These steps are essentially the same for all types of indoor and outdoor plants, so you can take these tips and use them for any potted plant.
Perusing the fertilizer shelves at Swansons (or any garden store) can feel overwhelming at first. So many choices! So many specialties! Do I really need fertilizer? Will my plant survive if I don’t find the perfect fertilizer match? And what do all those numbers mean??? Don’t worry, you’ll find answers here.
Soil really is at the root of everything in the garden. Without healthy soil, plants will not thrive. Period. Whether you are planting in containers or directly into the garden, the use of specific soils, amendments, and mulches will have immediate and lasting benefits! Here are a few of our favorite soils, amendments, and mulches, plus how and when to use them.
The end of February through mid-March is the perfect time to start garden preparations for the coming season. The risk of severe frost is low and we get a few days that are pleasant enough to tempt us out into the garden. Pruning, garden cleanup, amending soil, and mulching will get your garden off to a great start for the season.
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