Get to Know Our Affiliate Gardeners and Their Brilliant Gardening Tips and Tricks Are you getting as excited as we are for spring planting? To celebrate the next gardening season, we wanted to let you know about some awesome gardeners. Their content is full of gardening tips and tricks for both new and seasoned gardeners. Get to know them (and why we love partnering with them). Epic Gardening Kevin Espiritu started gardening in 2011, when he lived in a condo. He wanted to garden but didn’t have a lot of space, so he got creative with homemade hydroponic contraptions. In 2013, he started his website and now reaches millions of gardeners in 100+ countries. Check out the video Kevin did where he set up his Eco Garden System and see what he planted (he loves peppers!). Kevin also has an excellent daily podcast that’s only a few minutes long but chock full of tips; listen in to some of his latest episodes for spring inspiration, like 3 Easy Seed Starting Tips. Things Green We were so fortunate to meet Master Gardener Nick Federoff and film a full episode of Things Green with him. Based in Los Angeles, Nick has been talking about gardening on the radio Saturday mornings since 1986 and hosts Things Green on PBS. His radio show reaches people across the entire country, and Nick travels coast-to-coast trying to solve gardening issues. Check out his Facebook page for gardening tips and live streaming of his radio show. The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Using the motto “Grow with us,” Joey and Holly Baird are committed to helping the average person learn how easy it is to grow their own food. The married couple live near Milwaukee, WI and plant all over their property in everything from the ground to straw…
read moreFor those of you trying gardening for the first time, it is important to know what zone you live in. Growing up in the western state of Montana, it was known that the winters were long and the growing season was short. Gardening, was at best, a summer past time that kept rural kids busy when school was out! When I moved to Wisconsin it was mentioned to me that you planted potatoes on Good Friday. Well, in Montana, snow can be 6 inches deep on that day, so how on earth do you plant a potato? Key word in the gardening world: ZONE! Southern Wisconsin and Central Montana are two different zones! In the northern regions, the winters are cold which means gardening goes into hibernation till the first sign of spring. The southwest, south, and southeast regions do a little more hibernating when the summer heat becomes too intense in these areas. Gardening is year round in these regions even though wintertime lows can be pretty cold and frost warnings are possible. Having a complete understanding of your zone will help you in determining what to plant and when to plant. Locate your zone on a plant zoning map( USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard) and research your average last frost date and your average first frost date. This way you will know when to start your seeds indoors and when to cover your plants outdoors. Other factors to consider that affect individual growth of plants are soil, moisture, humidity and wind. In the Eco Garden system gardening can start earlier and end later due to the fact that consistent moisture and temperature can be sustained and the ability to cover when needed is convenient. The food grade plastic insulates the soil to maintain consistencies in…
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