We don't want them in the house, but can we trust ants around our plants? Do we need to step in and do something, or might they be beneficial in the garden?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 2024 Fall Hummingbird Migration (Canada and United States)

An overview of vermicomposting -- worm composting. It provides very similar benefits to the garden as composting, but can be done indoors and stay active year-round, even in colder areas.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Save Seeds: Collecting Seeds From Your Garden Plants

Most countries use a confusing and outdated NPK labelling system for fertilizer packages. What do the numbers mean? Depending on where you live, it's probably not what you think. And why is a "balanced fertilizer" not so balanced after all?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: When to Take Down Hummingbird Feeders in Fall

It's a popular organic insecticide touted for being effective on caterpillars and harmless to people. How does it work? And does it live up to its billing?

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Some plants have developed flowers that send a message to pollinators -- hey come check this out, you won't be disappointed.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 14 Birdbath Planter Ideas for Your Garden

Concluding our look at moon gardening. Is there reason to believe we'd get better results in the garden if we planted by moon phases and the zodiac?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Forget the Epsom Salts -- It's a Garden Myth

Lots of people love to do it, others have a hard time taking it seriously. Much of the growth in popularity in moon gardening over the last century is due to the influence of Rudolf Steiner.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Plant Patents and Home Gardens: What You Need to Know

Lots of people love to do it ... many others think it's wacky. Is there any basis for gardening by the phase of the moon?

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It's been riding a wave of popularity since Joel Karsten's book came out in 2013. What is straw bale gardening, and why might you want to try it?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Clematis 101 Easy Care Guide

Millions of people have bought the book over the last 40 years. Is square foot gardening something you might want to try in your garden?

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You name it, and milk is suggested as a solution in the garden -- a fungicide, insecticide, bactericide, fertilizer, biostimulant, disinfectant, hand sanitizer and more. Is there actually something to it?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 25 Vegetable Garden Ideas for Any Size Space

They're not always the most welcome plant in the garden, although many people like to have dandelions -- for themselves and ... maybe for bees too?

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Most of us would probably call ourselves organic gardeners to some degree -- and maybe entirely. But what is organic gardening, exactly?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: The History of Seed & Nursery Catalogs for Gardeners

Our plants can't live without them, but how do we know that they're getting them? Do we need to feed them to our plants? And what are these essential nutrients?

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You buy a plant from the garden center, bring it home, love it, and decide to divide it or take some cuttings so you can have even more. But in some cases you're actually breaking the law.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 50 Creative Garden Shed Ideas

It's widely touted as a safe, organic alternative to synthetic pesticides, and it will kill a long list of pests. But neem oil isn't for everyone.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Transplant Raspberries and Grow More Fruit

They drain the energy out of your plants and inject them with viruses. What can we do to stop aphids? What about ladybugs? Diatomaceous earth? Sticky traps?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: What is Soil pH and How to Work With It

They're tiny insects that can sap plants of their energy, give them viruses, and coat them with black mold. They're also born pregnant and can quickly multiply on your plants.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 14 Creative and Functional Potting Bench Ideas

It's not just some pretty decoration for your garden! Mulch delivers benefits to your plants, your soil ... and will even save you some work.

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One of the biggest threats our new seedlings face is damping-off. What can we do to improve our odds of avoiding it?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Best Living Plants for Miniature Gardens (Resource Guide)

What is it about the no-dig approach that is so appealing? What are some of the objections? And what does the research say?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Grow String of Pearls (Semecio rowleyannus)

No-dig methods lower the apprehension of many new gardeners and have attracted lots of adherents over the years. Others question if a garden can really go without a good digging.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Grow Sunflowers and What to Avoid

You can help strengthen your seedlings by giving them a quick, gentle brushing -- maybe with your hand or something lighter.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 12 Smart Tips for Starting a Budget-Friendly Organic Garden

It's a plant hack that has taken off on social media. Is shaking your plants just silliness, or is there actually something to it?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Germination Trick for Stubborn Delphinium Seeds

Not everyone wants them in their garden, but others grow them deliberately. They aren't even plants. So what are mushrooms and are they okay around our plants?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 2023 Fall Hummingbird Migration (Canada & United States)

In much of the U.S. and Canada, we will soon be welcoming hummingbirds back to our gardens. When will they arrive and how can we prepare?

READ MORE AT Empress of Dirt: 2021 Hummingbird Migration Map (Find Out When to Expect Them)

Salts are the source of essential nutrients for your plants, but they can also interfere with plant growth and even kill plants.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 20 Perennials with Long-Lasting Blooms

It's often recommended but seldom done. Do we really need to get our soil tested?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 4 Essential Tips for Indoor Seed Starting Success

Free plants that you weren't expecting to find in your garden can be a nice surprise -- but may not always be what you want.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Is Wood Ash a Good Soil Amendment?

Seeds all have different labels on the packets -- open-pollinated, hybrid, heirloom, organic -- so what do those labels mean?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 12 Tips for Growing Giant Sunflowers

When we propagate plants from seeds we usually get a genetic combination of two parent plants. But some plants can actually produce clones of themselves through seeds.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 60 Herbal Plants to Grow for Homemade Tea

Many of us are getting to the time of year when we can start seeds indoors -- but we may need to hold off just a little bit longer. Why is that?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Using Biochar as a Soil Amendment (Pros and Cons)

Many people generate a lot of ashes over the winter from fireplaces and wood stoves. There's some good stuff in there for plants, so can we use wood ash in the garden?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 10 Flower Growing Secrets & Common Mistakes

Some gardeners come to love scientific names and take pride in learning them ... for others they can seem a bit pompous. But there are good reasons that our plants need scientific names.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Perennial Flower Bloom Times From Spring to Fall

Juniper berries, ginkgo fruit and others may look like fruit, but botanists say otherwise. So, if they aren't fruit, what are those fruit-like structures produced by non-flowering seed plants?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Grow a Peach (or Plum) Tree From the Pit

What kinds of soap should we be using -- or avoiding -- in the garden? What about liquid dish soap? And we're all familiar with soap, but what is it, exactly?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 25 Vegetables You Can Grow in Shade

We're heading into peak seed-starting season in this part of the world. If you haven't started seeds indoors before, this is a great year to start -- and now is the time to get ready.

MORE FROM Empress of Dirt: Seed Starting for Beginners: Sow Inside Grow Outside

Manure from different animals is a popular addition to garden soil but you'll also hear a lot of warnings about its use. And what about using waste from your pets?

Have you heard the one about how you can tell a female bell pepper from a male? Well, that one's just a myth -- fruit isn't male or female. But plants can be.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Grow An Apple Tree From Seed

It's very different from what we do with plants growing outdoors in the soil. With houseplants, it's all on us to make sure that the essential nutrients are available.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Grow Asparagus (and Plant Crowns)

Stratification is a technique used to give dormant seeds the experience of changing seasons even when they've only gone from a drawer into our fridge.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Winter Sowing: Starting Seeds Outdoors in Milk Jugs

There are things we can do with dormant seeds to prod them along and get them to germinate. One of the most important for gardeners is scarification.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: What to Prune in Winter

Seed dormancy can be frustrating for gardeners -- having seeds that won't germinate -- but it's an important part of the survival of many plant species.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Science-based Companion Planting Tips for Growing Vegetables

Most places now have recycling programs for Christmas trees -- or you can try one of the 25 creative projects from our list to put your tree to good use.

MORE FROM Empress of Dirt: 25 Creative Ways to Reuse Christmas Trees

It's no fun to shovel, and it can look lovely ... but is that blanket of snow good or bad for your plants?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: Easy Winter Composting in a Cold Climate

Lots of reports this year that Christmas trees have been harder to find. Also lots of questionable advice out there about the best ways to care for your tree.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: 6 Craft Recipes to Make Fake Snow

Compost is great for your garden, but can you have too much of a good thing? What problems could there be if you use too much? Will it harm your plants ... or something else?

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Bring Plants Inside: Timing & Debugging Tips

Holly is another of the popular plants of the Christmas season -- although they are considered to be invasive in many areas. And maybe just a little toxic too.

NEW FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Root Pothos Cuttings

Native to Mexico, poinsettias have been a symbol of Christmas for over 100 years. They can be kept as perennials ... and, no, they aren't actually poisonous.

MORE FROM Empress of Dirt: How to Make Poinsettias Rebloom as Houseplants

One of our favorite Christmas decorations is a parasitic plant that feeds off of others and is sometimes thought to be toxic, although that part is often overstated.

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