What Is Hügelkultur?

Build healthy soil your garden can rock out in with this German compost technique.

Using Wood Ash in the Garden

We’ve been busy trying to stay warm here in western Pennsylvania and have been enjoying many fires in our fireplace. As a result, we have a lot of wood ash.

A Tool for Tilling

One of the joys of my job as a farm-machinery writer is getting to try out tools. It’s especially fun when the tool turns out to do the job it was promoted to do.

Packed with Perennials

The perennial garden beds have been simply spectacular the past two weeks. The peonies are now in full bloom, the bearded iris are strutting their stuff, and the forget-me-nots have filled my front shade bed with a big drift of tiny blue flowers.

Dirt Work

It’s early spring, and that means that I’m spending a lot of time preparing the soil in the garden beds prior to planting.