What’s a Rootstock? Grafted Fruit Tree Basics

Most of the fruit trees we sell at Sky are grafted, meaning that they are actually a combination of at least two trees! This goes not only for our “combination” trees that grow more than one kind of fruit, but even for those that only produce a single variety. Grafting is what keeps dwarf trees…

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5 Weeds 5 Ways

As you prepare your beds for spring planting, you may find yourself yanking out a whole lot of green stuff. From dandelions to shot-weed, uninvited guests proliferate in our gardens before we have even finished sketching out our garden plans.  These hardy wild plants earn their unsavory reputations as “weeds” because they tend to shoulder…

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2020: Lessons in Gardening from the Sky Staff

We hope you have enjoyed and learned a lot from this year’s growing season. It has certainly been a unique one, for new & experienced gardeners alike, with lots of opportunities for growth. Take a look below for some wisdom, laughs, and observations from the Sky garden folk you know and love. Here’s what they…

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Seed Saving Basics

Seed saving is making a comeback! Like other survival skills from home canning to foraging, saving seeds was all but forgotten for a short time, but the practice is thriving once again among a new generation of enthusiasts. Seed saving is just what it sounds like: collecting and saving the seeds from your gardens plants…

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Feed Your Soil, Feed Your Plants: build a soil ecosystem

potato plants blooming

A garden is a living ecosystem that starts with the soil. Each handful of healthy soil contains billions of microscopic fungi, bacteria, and animals that are hard at work transforming organic material into food your plants can use. That’s the secret to organic soil fertility: You feed your soil microbes, and the microbes feed your plants.…

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Pests With Benefits: Give these critters a second chance

earwig pest or friend

Just like many garden flora have a reputation as “weeds,” certain fauna are often labeled as “garden pests.” Some are vehemently accused of damaging our plants or wreaking havoc in our lawns. Some may pack a nasty bite or sting we can’t forget. A few unwelcome guests might even get a little too cozy in…

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Foraged Finds: Safe and Sustainable Foraging

Foraging and gardening go hand in hand. Our gardens are where we nurture the plants we most want to have near us at all times, or that need our care to thrive. Foraging extends our relationships to wild plants already thriving in our local neighborhoods, parks, and natural areas. Foraging can help connect us with…

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New Fruit & Berry Varieties for 2020

red cosmic crisp apples on branch

What could be better than harvesting your own fresh fruit in its season, right off the tree, bush, or vine? Nothing beats scooping up a bowl full of ice cream on a summer evening, then heading out to the back yard to top it off with whatever is ripe and delicious on the spot. Unless…

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Hot Weather, Cool Veggies

radishes growing in a row

Learn about the basics of summer planting for fall and winter harvest, as well as vegetables to plant as late as September for harvest the following spring.

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