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Tips for Indoor Succulent Care

Written By Dave Hanson - December 12 2018

Succulents make such wonderful, funky houseplants... but winter care indoors does have a few challenges. Check out these easy tips to help keep your succulents flourishing rather than disappointing you!

1) Lots of light. Although succulents are generally lumped into the "low maintenance" category, most varieties do require the brightest location available indoors. This rule of thumb is particularly true of succulents with rosette style leaves, such as sempervivum, echeveraia, graptoveria and aeonium selections. Not only will these plants be healthier in more light, they often look significantly more saturated when getting all of the sun they crave.

Houseplants can brighten your day

Written By Dave Hanson - October 10 2018

Ever notice just how good it feels to be surrounded by plants? I sure do and as we can see on Instagram - or observe in our homes, offices, public spaces and even some institutional settings - many people relate to the positivity that comes from being in proximity to greenery. When you think about this, even in the context of the massive renaissance houseplants are experiencing at the moment, humans hooking up with plants is nothing new; think about all of the ancient public gardens, Victorian hot houses, healing asylums in the countryside and other centuries-old examples of humans going out of our way to cozy up to cultivated botanicals.

Growing Container Veggies

Written By Dave Hanson - October 09 2018

Our March 10, 2018 Garden Club was all about growing veggies in containers, and WOW... this topic is obviously one that people are interested in. We had a full house, and then some! Thank you to everyone who came down in person for the workshop; but if you could not make it I thought it would be helpful to review some of the key points.

Maintaining your plants during hot weather

Written By Dave Hanson - August 10 2018

The hot summer temperatures have actually been an important theme this gardening season, and we get a lot of questions that relate back to heat. So, we thought it would be a good time to review a couple of common scenarios:

First up, gardeners heading out of town for a few days often wonder how best to keep thirsty plants happy and healthy during intense weather. For in-ground gardens, some easy suggestions include watering deeply before heading out (soaker hose ideal for this), using wheat straw mulch to keep moisture in the ground (mulching reduces need to water by at least 50%) and doing appropriate pruning on leafy plants such as tomatoes (start with leaves at the bottom, and look for the foliage that does not end in flowers). Slow-release watering devices such as olas or gravity fed options such as Plant Nannies work wonders, as do simple temporary shade structures. In fact, providing a little shade is very appropriate for full sun plants during intensely hot weather.

Why are my tomatoes getting blossom end rot?

Written By Dave Hanson - September 07 2017

A trending situation this summer (2017) is an increase in reports of blossom end rot, that classic problem where by otherwise fine looking fruit get a nasty blemish at the base. Although you may still - at least technically - eat the unaffected portion of the fruit, it certainly is a discouraging outcome after all of your hard work, and realistically most blemished tomatoes get composted rather than eaten. The frustrating thing about 2017 is that blossom end rot is happening even in situations where gardeners are doing the right things: using a tomato-specific fertilizer and even watering regularly; so what is going on?

Darn those cabbage worms!

Written By Dave Hanson - August 04 2017

You have surely spotted the flitting dance of delicate white butterflies above the cabbage patch. You know, the one that is inevitably followed by little green worms that so efficiently strip-down your beautiful crop. These are cabbage months, and their progeny the cabbage worm. They are a common sight in gardens across Canada, and they can make a quick meal of all types of brassicas (everything from broccoli to kale to mustards, and of course cabbage).

Is powdery mildew a problem in your garden?

Written By Dave Hanson - July 27 2017

July is the season of grey on the foliage of some popular garden plants... cucumbers, roses, bergamot, peonies. The symptoms often start as dusty grey spots on the leaf tops, that expand into a more wide-spread grey coating over the foliage. This is called powdery mildew, a group of fungal pathogens that show up regularly during the heat and humidity of mid summer. The mould is unsightly, and when severe, it can certainly reduce the vigour and productivity of garden plants.

Enjoying the Good Bugs

Written By Dave Hanson - July 12 2017

We have been noticing a ton of wonderful activity around the garden, with large numbers of Swallowtail caterpillars and butterflies (both outdoors as well as on plants inside the greenhouse), honeybees, bumblebees as well as solitary bees making the rounds. We have also seen tree frogs, a couple of Monarchs, Viceroy Butterflies, Buckeye Butterflies and Admiral Butterflies.

28 Day Indoor Garden Challenge videos

Written By Dave Hanson - March 03 2017

In 2016 and 2017, Sage Garden gave away close to 2,000 packs of organic seeds to let gardeners experiment with what could be grown, to eat, during the 28 days of February. The idea is to try something new, bridge the gap between late winter and the start of gardening season outdoors, and to have some fun! Participants took up the challenge in regions as far away as Poland and Taiwan, and from coast to coast in Canada.

Tips on day three of the 28 Day Indoor Garden Challenge

Written By Dave Hanson - February 09 2017

Well, its February 3rd so many gardeners have planted their 28 Day Indoor Garden Challenge seeds, and may even be seeing little sprouts already. Nicely done!

There are also gardeners still interested in getting going, or who may be coming by to pick up their free seeds today or Saturday. No problem - starting exactly February 1st is not the most important thing. Rather, we hope you can go into this stress free and looking forward to the experiment; it really is meant to be about doing something fun during the in-betweener month of (approximately) February.

Sage Garden Blog

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Tips for Indoor Succulent Care

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Houseplants can brighten your day

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Growing Container Veggies

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Maintaining your plants during hot weather

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Why are my tomatoes getting blossom end rot?

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Darn those cabbage worms!

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Is powdery mildew a problem in your garden?

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Enjoying the Good Bugs

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28 Day Indoor Garden Challenge videos

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Tips on day three of the 28 Day Indoor Garden Challenge

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