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Food Growing Tips

Tips for growing vegetables, herbs, and fruit both outdoors in hardiness zones 4 to 8 and indoors at home.

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20 Fast-Growing Vegetables (Spring or Fall)

20 Vegetables to Sow Mid-Summer for Fall (Seed Sowing Plan)

How to Transplant Raspberries and Grow More Fruit

Should I Rotate My Vegetable Crops?

Published on April 12, 2025 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Home vegetable garden with arrows indicating crop rotation.

Wondering if crop rotation is needed in a home veggie garden? In small, mixed beds, it’s often not worth the effort—here’s what matters more for healthy plants. If you're new to this, How to Grow … [Read more...]

Bolting: Why Vegetable Plants Bolt & How to Deal With It

Published on March 17, 2024 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Lettuce plants bolting in the garden.

Wondering if your plants are bolting? Learn how to recognize bolting, find out if bolted vegetable plants are edible, and use our tips to prevent it in the future. The plants affected by bolting … [Read more...]

How to Grow Peas: Tips For Beginner Vegetable Gardeners

Published on February 15, 2024 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Pea seeds on a table and green peas growing in a garden.

Use these tips to start growing peas in your home vegetable garden. Whether its sugar, snap, or shelling peas, there are lots of options from spring to fall. While growing peas outdoors is most … [Read more...]

25 Vegetables You Can Grow in Shade

Published on July 11, 2023 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Vegetables growing in part shade.

Forget the old-fashioned advice that you need full sun to grow a vegetable garden. There are lots of crops like broccoli, beans, and spinach that can grow just fine with part-sun or shade during the … [Read more...]

25 Fruits That Ripen After Picking (& Those That Don’t)

Published on July 4, 2023 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Fruits that can and cannot ripen after picking.

While some fruits can ripen after picking, others will not. Whether homegrown or from the grocery store, use these lists to know which unripe or nearly-ripe fruits can ripen or sweeten on your kitchen … [Read more...]

How to Ripen Tomatoes After Picking

Published on July 1, 2023 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Green, yellow, orange, and red tomatoes with some needing to ripen.

You can ripen green tomatoes off the vine in a paper bag or on a warm windowsill, but success depends on the variety, timing, and ripening conditions. If you are new, these tips for growing … [Read more...]

How to Know Which Vegetable & Fruit Crops Need Pollinators

Published on June 29, 2023 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

Crops that do and do not require pollinators to produce fruit.

How can you tell which garden vegetables or fruits require pollination to produce crops? Use these tips to know which crops require exposure to pollinators like bees or birds and those that can … [Read more...]

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Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
Join me as I share creative + frugal home & garden ideas with a dash of humor.
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