Home and Garden

More information: Mortgage Marketplace

How to grow an avocado tree from seed

So, you want to grow an avocado tree from seed? It's not only a fun off-season activity, especially for kids, but it's also very easy. Just know that since avocados are tropical plants, they won't survive winters outdoors in colder climates. Still, it's possible to grow avocado plants indoors. ...

Doing these fall garden chores will make your spring easier

We tend to think that fall is when the garden winds down, and spring is when the work begins. But there are several chores that, if completed now, will make your spring job much easier. For starters, pulling up weeds by their roots in the fall will dramatically reduce their reappearance when ...

Transform fallen leaves into valuable leaf mold for your garden this fall

There are a lot of leaves outside my window, and I'm guessing your view might be similar. This carpet of dead foliage is often viewed as a nuisance, but it can be an important component in the garden. I'll push a 3-inch layer of them into beds and borders to serve as root-protecting and ...

Give caterpillars a ‘soft landing’ under your trees

If you're like most well-intentioned gardeners, you might give a lot of thought to planting the "right" plants to nourish pollinators and other wildlife, with nectar, pollen, seeds and fruit. But have you given much thought to those animals' habitat? In addition to sustenance, beneficial ...

Don’t let your Halloween pumpkins haunt landfill

More than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins rot in U.S. landfills each year after Halloween, according to the Department of Energy, but yours doesn't have to go to waste. Experts told us your pumpkins can be eaten, composted or even fed to animals. Here's how. Cooking with pumpkin waste If you're ...

From errant birdseed to mint mishaps, gardening can be as scary as any Halloween night

There may have been a 20-foot-tall skeleton on your next-door neighbor's lawn and zombies in the yard across the street, but the real horrors often lie in unmarked graves in the gardens of those you least suspect — maybe even your own. I'll be the first to admit there have been a few frights ...