Two Minutes in the Garden

Bite-sized informative updates on gardening basics, solutions, myths, news and other subjects of interest to gardeners both new and experienced. From the popular Empress of Dirt website (empressofdirt.net), home of creative and frugal ideas for your backyard garden.

Do Walnut Trees Kill Other Plants? 03/30/2020

Do Walnut Trees Kill Other Plants? It's a question that's been asked for millennia. So you might reasonably think that we'd have a conclusive answer by now. READ THE LATEST at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13752767

Getting to Know Hummingbirds 03/27/2020

Getting to Know Hummingbirds Some fun facts about our little garden friends. For one, they're the only bird that can really hover ... but they can't walk. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13714652

Hummingbirds Are On Their Way! 03/24/2020

Hummingbirds Are On Their Way! 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: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13670105

Plenty to Do in the Garden 03/21/2020

Plenty to Do in the Garden Spring is going to be different this year, but plants and birds will carry on as if nothing has happened and there's lots to keep you busy. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13635077

Fling Into Spring 03/18/2020

Fling Into Spring It may be the only good news we're getting this week, but it's the beginning of spring and gardens will soon be blooming. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13578695

What Can You Do About Soil Texture? 03/15/2020

What Can You Do About Soil Texture? Once you've tested your soil texture, you'll probably find out that it's less than ideal. What do you do next? READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13541156

How to Know Your Soil Texture 03/12/2020

How to Know Your Soil Texture Tiny bits of minerals in your soil are going to make a big difference in your garden -- and it's easy to find out your soil texture. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13512764

What Determines Soil Texture? 03/09/2020

What Determines Soil Texture? The size of tiny bits of minerals in your soil can make a big difference in your gardening. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13461638

Soil: The Foundation of a Garden 03/04/2020

Soil: The Foundation of a Garden So much of the success of our garden depends on our soil -- a very thin layer where rocks, the atmosphere, living things and water all come together. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13399757

Garden Bulb Basics 03/01/2020

Garden Bulb Basics We know that we plant bulbs in the ground to get new plants, but what are they exactly? READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13353758

Extending the Longevity of Seeds 02/27/2020

Extending the Longevity of Seeds There have been seeds that remained viable after more than 1,000 years, but we're usually happy with 5 or 6. How can we extend the life of seeds? READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13318787

How to Avoid Damping-Off 02/24/2020

How to Avoid Damping-Off The best ways to improve your chances of avoiding damping-off -- and how basic plant care and seed starting mix help. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13265291

Damping-Off: Causes and Appearance 02/21/2020

Damping-Off: Causes and Appearance It's the biggest threat your seedlings may face -- diseases caused by fungi and other pathogens in the soil. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13235072

Watering Options for Seedlings 02/18/2020

Watering Options for Seedlings Seedlings need water, but you can give them too much of a good thing. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13185641

The Right Lights for Starting Seeds 02/15/2020

The Right Lights for Starting Seeds Even experienced gardeners can feel anxiety about all the choices for lighting, but it doesn't have to be that complicated. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13141841

Starting Seeds: Temperature and Planting Depth 02/12/2020

Starting Seeds: Temperature and Planting Depth Continuing our look at what seeds need in the stages leading up to germination. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13098242

Starting Seeds Indoors: What Seeds Need 02/09/2020

Starting Seeds Indoors: What Seeds Need Part one of a series on starting seeds indoors. We start off start off with a look at when to start seeds and what they need to germinate. READ MORE at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13070813

Germination: Where Seeds Become Seedlings 02/06/2020

Germination: Where Seeds Become Seedlings When we start plants from seeds, our first goal is germination. And it usually happens ... even though plants have developed a range of ways to block it. READ MORE from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/13036640

Seeds: The Embryo of the Plant 02/03/2020

Seeds: The Embryo of the Plant We know seeds are important for gardeners, but much of the world's nutrition also comes from seeds. READ MORE from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12987353

How a Tomato is a Fruit and a Vegetable 01/30/2020

How a Tomato is a Fruit and a Vegetable Some of our vegetables are fruits, most of the nuts we eat aren't nuts and our berries aren't berries -- but a tomato is. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12942458

How Flowering Plants Create Seeds 01/28/2020

How Flowering Plants Create Seeds Starting off a look at seeds: why they're important and how they form in most of the plants in your garden. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12908591

Supporting Mycorrhizal Fungi in Your Soil 01/27/2020

Supporting Mycorrhizal Fungi in Your Soil What can you do in your garden to protect and encourage the mycorrhizal fungi in your soil? READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12879998

Should You Buy Mycorrhizal Inoculants? 01/24/2020

Should You Buy Mycorrhizal Inoculants? They help most of the plants in your garden, but does that mean you should buy more mycorrhizal fungi to add to your soil? READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12864863

How Your Garden Benefits from Mycorrhiza 01/21/2020

How Your Garden Benefits from Mycorrhiza Improving your plants' access to phosphorus and other nutrients is just one of many ways mycorrhizal fungi help your garden. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12818282

How Mycorrhizal Fungi Help Plants Grow 01/18/2020

How Mycorrhizal Fungi Help Plants Grow Most of the plants in your garden benefit from a partnership with fungi in the soil -- something we want to protect as gardeners. READ THE LATEST from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12785747

The Flower That Grows Entirely Underground 01/15/2020

The Flower That Grows Entirely Underground A look at the very rare and endangered rhizanthella -- the world's only underground flowers. GET OUR FREE WINTER EMAIL SERIES from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12739979

How to Push the Winter Blues Aside 01/12/2020

How to Push the Winter Blues Aside With the holiday season behind us, it's the time of year when gardeners can go a little stir crazy waiting for spring. GET OUR FREE WINTER EMAIL SERIES from Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12701603

Does Wood Chip Mulch Steal Nitrogen from Your Soil? 01/09/2020

Does Wood Chip Mulch Steal Nitrogen from Your Soil? You'll hear it said a lot -- and also called a myth. We're skeptical, but trying to find good evidence proved disappointing. READ THE LATEST at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12668534

Nitrogen: The Most Important Nutrient for Your Plants 01/06/2020

Nitrogen: The Most Important Nutrient for Your Plants Plants can't grow without it. And yet, despite the fact that nitrogen is everywhere, plants can still struggle to get enough of it. READ THE LATEST at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12625685

Are Gardeners Happier than Non-Gardeners? 01/03/2020

Are Gardeners Happier than Non-Gardeners? Researchers in Texas found that gardeners score higher in some aspects of life satisfaction -- and stay more physically active. READ THE LATEST at Empress of Dirt: /episode/index/show/cultivatingstartups/id/12599885

Two Minutes in the Garden

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