The Rusted Garden Blog

 Ultraviolet Protection: Vertical towers are made from plastic and sit outdoors. Any vertical tower you purchase must be able to manage the ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. The sun will degrade plastic that can't resist UV damage in 1-2 years. Plastic will become brittle and the tower will actually crack and crumble. I have had some of my GreenStalk Garden vertical towers outdoors 24/7 for over 6 seasons. They have not shown any degradation, damage, or cracking from UV rays. They stand behind their towers with a 5 year warranty. You are making an investment and want your towers to last and...

Stratification is the process of giving your seeds a period of 'cold' to prepare them for better germination. If you dont stratify seeds, they can still germinate but the rate is often much lower and they can actually take 2 or 3 times longer to germinate. A refrigerator is all you need. Most seeds don't need to be stratified. Generally speaking many perennials, that are native to areas with a freezing  winter, benefit from a chilling period. I prepared a list of 35 plants that can benefit from being stratified. These are plants I often seed start. There are two...

The basic budget friendly lights needed to start growing your own garden vegetable transplants indoors. Don't pay $100's for lights. A $20 shop light is just as effective.

Thanks So Much for Your Support and Donation 100% of all donations given to The Rusted Garden Homestead (The Rusted Garden LLC) go directly to my 'Giving Gardens Charitable Fund' to be used 100% for non-profit organizations and families in need. Donations are used to build or fund projects related to some aspect of gardening that helps communities. I will provide ongoing quarterly updates, on this blog post, showing how the donations where used to help share our passion of gardening with others. I created a donation link through PayPal to provide a secure and easy way to collection donations....

The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop I am often asked what is the key to having a successful container garden and the answer is consistent even moisture. If a container plant dries out completely, one time, it devastates the future growth and production of that vegetable plant. For instance, tomato plants, can manifest a physiological disease called blossom end rot. The bottoms of the tomato turn brown and rot. This is due to the plant not being able to access calcium through its roots. While fertilizer, sunlight, and pest and disease management are important, success starts with soil. Visit...