Practical gardening for Kansas City's specific climate, soil, and season. No national averages — just what actually works here.
If you haven't mulched your beds yet, the window is right now — before the heat settles in for real. Two or three inches of the right material on your beds changes how your garden handles July and August. And if you're in Wyandotte County, there's a free source worth knowing about.
Read article →Late June in Kansas City means Japanese beetles. They're metallic, iridescent, and they will skeletonize your roses, beans, and basil if you let them get ahead of you. Here's what actually works against them and what wastes your time.
Read article →Said I'd talk about peppers this week. Peppers are the one vegetable that KC summer is actually built for, and also the one that causes the most frustration when people don't understand what they need to get going.
Read article →A May 2nd frost advisory hit northeast Kansas, confirmed by the National Weather Service. Then Monday hit 83°. If you planted warm-season transplants over the weekend, here's what to check and what to hold off on for just a little longer.
Read article →After a stretch of not being able to do much of anything, stepping back into the garden this spring felt like being handed something I didn't realize I'd been missing. This one isn't about planting schedules.
Read article →Kansas City doesn't just have weather. It has weather events. A May afternoon can go from sunny to quarter-size hail in forty minutes. Here's how to build a garden that survives what we actually get.
Read article →Kansas City clay is dense, compaction-prone, and drains like a parking lot after rain. It's also mineral-rich and improvable. Here's the honest guide to turning your yard's worst feature into one of its best.
Read article →Every spring, Kansas City gardeners put shovels in the ground without making one phone call that could save their life. 811 is free, takes two minutes, and is required by law before any digging project.
Read article →A tree planted in April in KC clay, with the right species choice and a little patience in year one, will outlast every vegetable you ever grow. Here's how to pick it, plant it, and not kill it.
Read article →One Kansas City gardener got tired of chasing planting info across a dozen websites. None of them knew what our springs actually look like. So I built one that does.
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