Growing

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Growing

Should You Mulch in the Fall?
Every February, somewhere in Kingston, a gardener walks out during a midwinter thaw and discovers their plant sitting on top of the soil, roots exposed and the crown unprotected against the wind. The plant didn't climb up on its own, the ground pushed it up. This is known as frost heave and is a big reason fall mulching is important in this part of Ontario. For most garden beds the timing will matter more than the mulch you use and …
Growing

Topsoil vs Triple Mix vs Garden Soil: What’s Best for Your Yard
When heading to grab soil for your yard its helpful to know what you're looking for as some may be better for the job than others. Let's sort out topsoil, triple mix, and garden soil so you know what to grab for your job. What Is Topsoil, Really? Topsoil is exactly what it sounds like which is a layer of ground scraped from the surface, usually the top few inches, before anyone blends compost or peat moss into it. That's not a …
Growing

Evergreens That Give Your Yard Structure All Year
By late October, the maples out front have dropped every leaf, and suddenly the view from your kitchen window includes the neighbour's shed, the road, and the driveway. That's where evergreens come in. Cedar, spruce, yew, and a handful of other hardy species hold their needles right through a Kingston winter, which means they're doing two jobs at once: blocking the view and giving your yard some backbone once everything else has gone dormant. Why Evergreens Matter for Privacy and Structure A …
Growing

Why Is My Sod Turning Yellow, and How Do I Save It?
You laid down sod a couple weeks back but instead of green lawn you're seeing a worrying yellow. Take a breath as this can be salvaged. Yellow sod almost never means dead sod, and in nine cases out of ten we see with yellow sod here in Kingston, Ontario, it's fixable with a change to your routine rather than a truck of new turf. The Most Common Cause: Watering Problems Walk the yard and look at where the yellow shows up. Does …
Growing

Fall Leaves on the Lawn: Rake, Mulch, or Ignore?
Every September-October, Kingston lawns disappear under a layer of leaves and every fall, homeowners wonder the same question: should I rake them, mulch them, or just let them sit? There's no single right answer as it depends on how many leaves you're dealing with, what shape your lawn is in, and how much time you've got. Keep reading and we'll walk through when each option makes sense for your yard. What Happens When Leaves Sit Too Long A thin scattering of leaves …
radishesGrowing

Extending the Harvest: Cold Tolerant Vegetables You Can Still Get In
Most people pack away the trowels the moment the tomatoes come in, and figure the garden's done providing for the year. It doesn't have to be, and if you've still got a patch of open soil sitting empty right now, you're sitting on more growing season than you think. A handful of cold tolerant vegetables don't just tolerate the drop into fall, they do some of their best growing in it, so let's look at what you can still get …
Growing

Why Late Summer to Fall Is the Best Time to Aerate and Overseed
If you try to push your finger into the lawn near your driveway after a dry August week you'll be able to see first hand the compacted soil. This is the moment fall lawn aeration and overseeding truly pays off and the window for getting it done right runs from about mid August through late September. The Signs Your Soil Is Compacted (Before You Even Aerate) Compacted soil builds up gradually over time whether its from a place the kids and pets …
Growing

Beating the August Slump: Reviving Tired Perennial Beds in Kingston
Six weeks ago that bed by the driveway was full of colour and life. Now the coneflowers have gone brown and papery, the catmint has flopped sideways onto the lawn, and things just aren't looking as vibrant as they once did. That's the August garden slump, and every perennial garden across Kingston hits this same wall around the same time each year. Early bloomers are finished, the July heat has stressed everything else, and the whole bed just looks worn …
Growing

Shade-Loving Plants for Kingston’s Shadiest Yards
That patch under the silver maple has been bare dirt for three summers running. You've tried top of the line grass seed and shade tolerant plants from the store but nothing seems to be working. Kingston has no shortage of yards like this featuring large trees shading a portion of the lot, north facing yards that don't see much sun to begin with, and fences lined with hedges. This doesn't have to mean bare dirt. It simply means selecting the …
Growing

How to Keep Your Vegetable Garden Thriving Through the Summer Heat
Your veggies were doing fine, then the heat waves arrived. It's one of the most common things we hear at the garden centre by mid-summer: plants that looked great in June are wilting daily, fruit is dropping before it matures, and nothing seems to be working. Ontario summers can be genuinely hard on a vegetable garden, and Kingston's July heat is no exception. The combination of heat, humidity, and stretches without rain pushes plants past what they can handle on …
Growing

How to Identify and Fix Bare Spots in Your Lawn
You noticed it sometime in May. A rough patch by the fence, or along the path you take to the back garden every morning. By June it's worse, and now it's July and it's still there. Bare spots don't fix themselves. Fixing them well isn't complicated, but it mostly comes down to knowing what caused the spot in the first place, because that changes everything about how you approach the repair. Throw seed down without that step and you'll likely …
Growing

Drought-Resistant Gardening in Ontario: Plants, Mulch, and Watering Strategies That Work
Every summer, Kingston homeowners face the same conversation with their gardens. The weather turns dry, the city's odd/even watering schedule goes into effect, and a yard that looked healthy in May starts showing stress by mid-July. A garden that handles drought isn't about accepting a patchy yard that barely survives July. It's about choosing plants that don't demand constant water and managing your soil so each application goes further. What Kingston's Water Restrictions Actually Mean Kingston's seasonal watering rules are based on …
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