These Vegetables Require Less Water Than Most
Everything is more expensive this year, and that likely includes utilities like your water bill. While growing vegetables in your yard can be enchanting and empowering, it isn’t very efficient (compared to farms) in terms of water usage. There are a number of ways to become more efficient and sustainable, including using drip irrigation, but…
See the reconstructed home of ‘polar dinosaurs’ that thrived in the...
Australia is rather isolated today, but around 120 million years ago, the island straddled the polar circle and formed a giant landmass with Antarctica. At that time, dinosaurs lived on this landmass — and thanks to a new study, we now know what their habitat looked like.New illustrations show that "polar dinosaurs" roamed cool-temperate forests…
Plants: Facts about our oxygen providers
Quick facts about plantsWhere they live: Plants are found on every continent, even Antarctica, and every ocean.What they eat: Plants use sunlight for photosynthesis, which produces sugars that fuel them.How big they are: The smallest plants, known as desmids and picozoa, are single-celled algae that are less than 0.0004 inches (0.01 millimeters) across. The largest…
Putrid plants can reek of hot rotting flesh with one evolutionary trick
Some plants stink of rotting meat or dung, which helps them attract flies for pollination. How plants make the carrion stench, which is usually produced by bacteria feasting on decaying corpses, has been a mystery until now. Several types of plants have independently evolved to make the fetid odor thanks to a few tweaks in…
Everything I’m Seeding in May
While a lot of May gardening is dedicated to moving plants into the ground, there is still plenty of seeding to be done. Inside, I'm starting late-planted vegetables like cucumbers, and a second round of annual flowers, like stock and celosia. Outside, I'm beginning to direct seed vegetables like corn and beans, and annuals like…
Scientists find the best crops to grow during the apocalypse
If a global catastrophe suddenly led to a nuclear winter, millions of people could starve. But now, scientists have figured out what crops we would need to grow to sustain a city if such a calamitous event occurred.According to a new study, farming spinach, sugar beets, wheat and carrots in urban and near-urban areas could…
All the Gardening Tasks I’m Tackling in May
There is no place more joyous than a garden center in May. The shelves are full of annuals, vegetables, and perennials ready to go home with you. Gardeners everywhere are waiting with bated breath, trying to find the perfect day to get plants in the ground. Pops of color are emerging as tulips, irises, peonies,…
Seven Strategies for Getting the Most Out of Your Small Garden
As the prices on groceries continue to rise, many people might be thinking of growing a vegetable garden for the first time. It can be a great idea, not just because groceries are expensive, but because getting to the store includes soft costs like gas, grocery bags, and time—to say nothing of how wildly empowering…
Seven Strategies for Making the Most Out of Your Small Garden
As the prices on groceries continue to rise, many people might be thinking of growing a vegetable garden for the first time. It can be a great idea, not just because groceries are expensive, but because getting to the store includes soft costs like gas, grocery bags, and time—to say nothing of how wildly empowering…
Eight Landscaping Features That Can Lower the Summer Heat in Your...
2024 was the hottest summer ever recorded, and there’s a good chance that future summers will be even warmer. For most people, planning for those future summers involves upgrading their air-conditioning systems and taking other steps to turn the interior of their homes into cool, dark caves. But what happens if you want to get…
