As the days grow shorter, the wintery winds of December will bring with them a host of holidays – and holiday plants. Walk into most stores, and you’ll see shelves of poinsettias, holiday cacti and amaryllis among many others geared toward decorating our homes and gifting to our loved ones. Poinsett...

Fall color in the garden is no doubt stunning, but changing foliage color isn’t the only way to get autumn interest in your garden. Fall berries give you a pop of color and add a new texture to your autumn space. Berries are also beneficial to wildlife – namely birds – who will happily gobble them u...

On Nov. 15, the USDA released a new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM), updating this valuable tool for growers and researchers for the first time since 2012. The Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location....

There’s nothing like creating a salad of freshly harvested greens you’ve grown yourself from seed. The good news is this is one crop you can grow year-round, indoors, safe from nibbling rabbits in fair weather and freezing temperatures in winter. What type of greens do you fancy? Leafy lettuces? Dee...

Keeping laying hens productive through the winter months means keeping them well fed, well watered, healthy and comfortable. Below is a checklist of management tips that are designed to assist the farmer/grower in keeping their farm flock comfortable. Any stress on the birds could force a molt and t...

Fresh garlic from your garden is hard to beat, and now is the time to get it started for next year. Let’s look at a few tips for a successful garlic crop using science and some practical gardening knowledge. We should always try to get the best variety for local conditions. Garlic includes two major...

Those lovely houseplants that clean the air and add beauty to our homes are primarily tropical natives. In spring and summer, we can (sort of) convince them that they are still swaying in the breeze on the island from which they came. However, come autumn and winter in our cool northern climate, the...

Autumn is well underway. The leaves are falling, and it’s time to put the garden to bed in anticipation of the coming season. If you have fruit trees in your garden, especially young ones, preparing them for winter weather can help ensure that you’ll have healthy, productive trees in spring. Winter-...

Every gardener has a fall to-do list to complete: pulling annuals, raking leaves and storing hoses and other garden tools. They aren’t the most exciting tasks, but planning for your spring garden now saves time next year. While you have your garden journal out to record this year’s observations (see...

No matter carrots, turnips or potatoes, the scope of my experience with preserving garden vegetables was fairly limited growing up. We usually put up and froze a few bushels of corn, but that was usually about it. Aside from a few frozen items, my family subsisted on a lot of canned food, both store...

No, we’re not talking about that maze you need to drive through if you want to get to Logan International outside of Boston. Low tunnels are an inexpensive and ingenious way to extend your growing season. Check out the information on these short-statured wonders provided by West Virginia Extension: ...

Here at Country Culture, we like to share relevant information with you – the things we know will help set you up for success in your rural lifestyle and homesteading adventures. We also like to provide you with some facts that may be outside the box. For example, there are certain breeds of pigs th...

It wouldn’t be autumn without the bright orange sighting of pumpkins. Some pumpkins are for decorating; others are for eating. Pumpkins are one of the most nutrient dense fruits that you can eat. Health Benefits of Pumpkins Pumpkins are high in fiber – Pumpkin is a high fiber food with 2.7 grams of ...

Of all the wildflowers – or weeds, if you prefer – goldenrod ( Solidago ) is one of the most recognizable. Its plumes of bright yellow flowers atop tall stems bob in the breeze, making its presence hard to miss. If you have allergies, every time you drive by a stand of it growing along the roadside,...

September is National Mushroom Month, but if were up to Editor Courtney, we’d be celebrating these fantastic fungi much more often than once a year! With nutrition top of mind, the National Mushroom Council wanted to take the time to share the ways mushroom nutrition can help us feel good. When you ...