Starting a vegetable garden can be a rewarding prospect for any homeowner. In addition to having fresh veggies on the ready, digging in the dirt has big health benefits. Though yanking out weeds might ...

In some areas of the country, the choice between mulching with pine needles and wood mulch is a tough one. Since the 1980s, pine straw has been the favorite mulch in the South. It is inexpensive, ...

If you need to top up the mulch in your garden, you might be faced with the choice between using pine bark or pine straw.

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 ...

Mulch is miraculous stuff. It keeps weeds at bay, fertilizes the soil, and minimizes the effects of too-hot (or too-cold) temperatures. Certain types even repel pests. But the single best argument for ...

Mulch is a great garden tool for so many reasons. It’s useful for insulating newly-planted perennials and shrubs from cold winters, keeping roots cooler in hot summers, conserving moisture so you ...

If you use mulch in your landscape, chances are it has thinned out over the summer and is in need of refreshing. If you’ve been putting off this chore, consider this: Mulching isn’t just about ...

A recent conversation with Carol Reese took me back, way back to my earliest days as a gardener. Carol, who retired in 2021 from a distinguished career as a horticultural extension specialist in the ...

As you're prepping your garden for its winter slumber (or even introducing new plants for a winter vegetable garden), you might want to add an unexpected to-do to your fall gardening checklist: ...