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Home Garden Tips

Gardening is a fun hobby, but it can be hard to get started. Home Garden Joy strives to make it easy and fun to begin your new garden. This section is devoted to many how-to tips: watering, soil, seed starting, composting, USDA hardiness zones, and all the things I've learned as I grew up with experienced gardeners by my side.  You'll find tips and tricks, and plenty of practice advice, too.

 

A bench with a zinc pail filled with apples. On the bench, squash, apples, and gardening tools

September Gardening: Tasks & Tips

watering can with plants

August in the Garden: Late Summer Delight

watering can with plants

July Gardening Tips: How to Keep Your Garden Thriving All Month Long

a red knockout rose

June Gardening Tips: Everything You Need to Do in Your Garden This Month

borage flower

Companion Planting with Herbs: Your Secret Weapon for a Healthier, Happier Garden

bamboo fountain

Buy vs. Build Your Own Garden Fountain

red lettuce, mexican tarragon, and chard

The Best Organic Fertilizers

water droplets in sunbeams over a raised bed vegetable garden

Irrigation Tips for Home Gardens: Drip vs. Soaker Hose

raised bed vegetable garden

Choosing the Best Location for a Vegetable Garden

a wheelbarrow with bag of soil, trowel, pots and plants

Three Easy Steps to Improve Garden Soil

raised bed vegetable garden

Beginner’s Tips to Starting a Vegetable Garden

cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripeness

Volunteer Plants – Nature’s Unexpected Gifts

a lush garden thanks to plenty of mushroom compost

Mushroom Compost: A Complete Guide for Organic Gardeners

clary sage plant flower

Why the Botanical Names of Plants Are Important

a tomato hornworm with parasitic wasp larvae on it

How to Get Rid of Tomato Hornworm

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A close up of American burnweed flowers about to bloom.

American Burnweed, the Weed That Signals Fall Is Here

I was walking my dog along the wood’s edge right near where we cleared land to build our greenhouse when I did a double take. There, like Jack’s magical beanstalk, had grown overnight this gem: American burnweed. Also known as fireweed or American burn weed, it grows rapidly – and I mean, rapidly. Like I…

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Summer squash

What Can You Make with Summer Squash?

It’s that time of year when everyon asks, “What can I make with summer squash?”. The time when neighbors sneak bags of summer squash onto porches. When farmer’s markets are brimming with yellow and green squash, zucchini, and all manner of Cucurbitaceae, the plant family that gives, and gives, until it can’t give anymore. If…

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A closeup of marshmallow plant flower.

Growing Marshmallow Plant

Growing marshmallow plant has been on my gardening to-do list for quite some time. I’ve read about it in herbal books and grown its cousins in the Malvaceae family from seed. The dark purple mallow plant I have thrives in my little garden by the shed, so I thought, “Why not grow marshmallow there?” I…

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watering can with plants

August in the Garden: Late Summer Delight

August in the Garden: Tasks, Tips, and a Look Ahead to Fall Here in South Central Virginia, August has always felt like “back to school” season. By mid-month, the local schools are back in session, and with two universities in our small town, the stores fill up with dorm supplies and school gear. What a…

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