Friends in the Garden

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Should I turn my compost? Here’s science-based info to help you decide.

Do I have to turn my compost? Should I turn my compost? We’re going to lay out the reasons why you would or would not turn your compost.  It’s as simple as personal preference but first there’s some things you need to know. Learn a little about how compost works, then you can decide whether

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Basics of Garter Snakes and How They’re Good for the Garden

Some snakes are good for the garden. This article focuses on a common one, the garter snake, so you can learn to identify and make peace with it. It’s best to internalize this information because a snake encounter in the garden is always a surprise. You’re focused on weeding or checking your plants, maybe you

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Important Things Ladybugs Want You to Know (An Exclusive Interview with a Ladybug)

They’re cute, colourful little beetles that eat pests who destroy vegetable farms and gardens, but beyond that, what do you really know about ladybugs? I sat down with a ladybug recently to get answers to the age-old question, “what should you know about ladybugs?”  What this ladybug revealed might surprise you. Maria (M): Ladybug, thank

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Companion Planting – Myth or Fact?

Don’t Google “companion planting” unless you have hours to spend reading contradictory information. It seems impossible to untangle which advice has a bearing in science and which advice is the result of an eons long gardening whisper game. Companion planting “knowledge” is often dispensed without any data and sometimes without any reasoning to back the

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How to consume fewer pesticides (you’re eating more than you think)

Probably the only way you can avoid exposure to pesticides and other environmental toxins is to have been cryogenically frozen since…hmmm, okay, it’s probably unavoidable. But, you can reduce your pesticide intake from food, and it’s not difficult or prohibitively expensive to do. This article outlines easy ways to consume fewer pesticides without breaking the

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