Pests & Diseases
Holes in Leaves? Match the Damage Pattern to the Pest
Learn to identify garden pests by the shape of the holes they leave in leaves, from skeletonized foliage to ragged edges and pinhole damage.
August 6, 2026
What should you plant right now?
Practical guidance for your space, season, and level of experience.
- Seasonal and timely
- Practical and doable
- Written for small spaces
Find your starting point
Plan a garden, or figure out what's wrong with the one you have.
Jump straight to a starting point:
Start here
Choose your garden type
Every guide on this site is written for small spaces. Pick the setup that looks like yours.
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Balcony & Containers
Big harvests from pots, planters, and rail boxes.
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One Raised Bed
Plan, fill, and plant your first bed with confidence.
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Seed Starting
From seed packet to sturdy transplant, step by step.
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Indoor Herbs
Fresh basil and mint from a windowsill, all year.
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Small Backyard
Make a modest plot earn its keep, season after season.
This month in your garden
September checklist
- Plant spring-flowering bulbs before the ground cools. Fall bulb guide
- Divide crowded perennials while soil is still workable. Dividing perennials
- Move tender herbs indoors before first frost. Overwintering guide
- Dry or freeze the last big herb harvest. Drying herbs
- Start a compost system with the season’s cleanup material. Small-space composting
Typical tasks for this time of year — timing varies by region and climate; check your local frost dates. Updated September 3, 2026.
Recommended gear
Buy once, buy right
Honest buying guides for the handful of tools that matter. We compare the specs and cut through the marketing claims, so you don't have to.
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Starting seeds in a dim room?
Which grow lights are worth it — and which specs are marketing noise.
Read the guide →
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Choosing your first raised bed?
Depth matters more than material. How to pick one that fits your crops.
Read the guide →
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Tired of hand-watering every evening?
Simple drip irrigation setups that pay for themselves in one dry spell.
Read the guide →
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Kitchen scraps piling up?
Compact compost bins that actually work in small gardens.
Read the guide →
Featured project
Start your first raised bed
One 4×8 bed can supply a surprising share of your summer vegetables. This is the exact order to do things in — each step links to the guide that covers it.
- Plan your bedStarter Pack
- Choose a bed
- Calculate soil
- Prepare the soil
- Choose crops
- Set up watering
- Prevent pests
- Harvest steadily
From the Almanac
The One-Bed Garden Starter Pack
A printable planning system for starting and managing one productive raised bed.
- A printable planning system — Plan the whole bed on paper — site, size, layout, and shopping list — before you spend a dollar.
- A soil-volume worksheet — The simple formula and conversion table that keep you from over-buying soil.
- 8 action cue cards — Postcard-size checklists to carry into the garden, from sowing to end-of-season cleanup.
$12 $18 launch price
Seasonal reminders in your inbox
One short email at the start of each season: what to sow, what to prune, and what to fix before it costs you a harvest.
Want something today? Grab the free One-Bed Quick Start Sheet.
Latest articles
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Soil & Compost
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Buying guide Soil & Compost
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Buying guide Soil & Compost
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Buying guide Flowers & Ornamentals
Best Cut Flowers to Grow for a Backyard Cutting Garden
Choose the right cut flowers for your backyard cutting garden with a ranked comparison of vase life, bloom season, and growing effort.
July 12, 2026