Backyard chickens are low-maintenance, entertaining, and genuinely useful, and you don’t need a farm to keep them. A small flock in a suburban backyard can produce fresh eggs year-round, turn kitchen scraps into fertilizer, and quickly become the most interesting thing in your yard. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to get …
Jamie
Herbs are some of the most rewarding plants you can grow in a raised bed. They’re productive and useful, and most of them thrive in exactly the kind of loose, well-drained soil a good raised bed provides. The challenge isn’t getting them to grow. It’s figuring out which herbs to choose, how to space them, …
New to raised beds and not sure how deep to dig? You’re not alone. Bed depth is one of the most common questions beginner gardeners ask, and getting it wrong can mean stunted roots, poor yields, and a lot of head-scratching about why things aren’t growing. The good news is that it’s not complicated once …
The soil inside your raised bed is everything. Get it right, and your plants practically take care of themselves. Get it wrong by packing it with straight garden soil or cheap topsoil, and you’ll spend the season wondering why nothing’s thriving. Filling a raised bed doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Whether you’re building …
Raised beds give you more control over your soil, better drainage, and an earlier start to the season than in-ground growing, but not every vegetable is equally happy in them. Some crops thrive in the confined, well-amended space of a raised bed. Others need more room or deeper soil than a standard bed provides. This …
Chicken of the woods is one of the most beginner-friendly wild mushrooms you can find. It’s bright and bold and has no dangerous lookalikes. If you’ve been hesitant to start foraging, this is an excellent first mushroom to learn. This guide covers everything you need: how to identify chicken of the woods, which trees to …
Morel mushrooms are one of the most sought-after wild edibles in North America, with a brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it season, unmistakable looks, and incredible flavor on a plate. If you’ve been curious about foraging, morels are a great place to start. This guide covers everything you need: how to identify true morels, when they fruit, where to …
The golden chanterelle mushroom is the wild mushroom that turns beginners into committed foragers. It’s beautiful, delicious, found across most of North America, and, once you know it well, one of the more reliably identifiable edible species in the woods. However, “once you know it well” is the key phrase. There’s a dangerous lookalike worth …
Wild mushroom foraging has exploded in popularity — Google searches for “mushroom foraging” have more than doubled since 2020, and mycological society memberships are hitting record highs across the country. First-timers are heading into the woods armed with apps and enthusiasm, which is great. But enthusiasm without knowledge is where things go wrong. Here’s what …
You walked outside, looked up at your tree, and stopped. There it is — a cluster of shelf-like growths jutting out from the bark. Maybe it’s rusty orange, creamy white, or layered like the pages of a book. Maybe it’s been there for weeks and you just noticed it. Either way, your first instinct is …