Like many home gardeners, Laurie started growing her own fruits and vegetables in part to avoid the toxic chemicals used on most commercial produce. Why put in all that time and effort to eat poison? These are Laurie's most used options to get rid of unwelcome garden pests.

The “Garden Variety Native Bees of North America” perpetual calendar is both a guide to some of our more common native bees and a gardening calendar that never goes out of date. This month's featured calendar bee is Osmia lignaria (Mason Bee).

Guest Blogger Laurie Neverman provides northern growers with her three favorite techniques to get a jump start on the growing season.

Cold frames are a great way to keep plant starts warm while it's still too cold to plant directly in the ground and to harden off plants prior to planting. But why spend $100 on a cold frame when you can build your own for much less?

In the building of hardscapes, such as parking lots, sidewalks or outdoor patios, due consideration of trees in the landscape is needed to prevent damage or even death. Robert Kourik offers some guidelines to allow for the adequate space needed for root growth near hardscape areas.

In a good soil, roots often grow wider than the canopy. From one-half wider than the dripline (the edge of the foliage) to as much as three times further — and in special cases, much more than anyone would imagine. How can you tell where your tree's roots lie?

Engaging activities are key to getting kids, particularly teenagers, excited about the garden. A discovery I made working with youth in a summer program on local farms and in school gardens. In this blog series I will detail some fun and easy garden activities that have been tested in the field and kid approved.

Be the envy of your neighbors by digging in early with this harvest favorite. Guest blogger, Laurie Neverman, grows all her own tomato plants from seed and in an average years raises over 100 seedlings. Get the scoop on her approach to starting tomato seedlings.

Spanish lavender offers the home gardener many options for potpourris, sachets, grilling meats over hardwood charcoal, floral arrangements and some medicinal uses.

Blueberries are one of the best plants you can choose for your edible landscape. They are easy to grow, beautiful in all seasons, and give absolutely delicious and nutritious fruit. But there are a few things you need to know about blueberries before you choose and buy a variety.

From collards and cabbage to broccoli, the cabbage family is well-known for its variety of nutritious vegetables. What these tasty vegetables are less well-known for perhaps, are their ability to clean soil contaminated by lead.

Dormant spraying, winter protection of tender plants and planting head the list of winter garden projects. Soon it will be time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs.

Robert Kourik explains the tried and true methods of creating windbreaks for your property. Learn how you can control the wind to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Now’s a good time to plan a fence for next year’s skirmish with pesky deer. A proper fence is the reliable way to keep these hungry ungulates at bay.

I'm pretty sure the 13-year cicada emergence in St. Louis has pretty much ended -- at least the emergence part. The incessant calling, flying around, and mating is still going strong. Mating cicadas means egg-laying cicadas, which means plant damage.