I'm nearing the finish line ... these cherry tomatoes were grown as part of my test of the AeroGarden Elite6. They sprouted on September 3, making them almost 3 months old. And these are some very healthy cherry tomatoes--it's hard to see in the picture, but they are almost the size of golf balls. Check back often for updates, and when I'm done, I'll write a full review of my experience with the AeroGarden.

I think of these as the Thanksgiving Herbs, and I just this week stocked up on all of them. Here's my plan: chop off big chunks of them next week, while we're cooking our Thanksgiving meal, and then move them to my "herb windowsill." What a great excuse to add to my herb garden!

Photo © Kerry Michaels

Just because I'm feeling particularly cold today ... This lovely and very warm-looking orchid photo came compliments of About's very own highly talented Kerry Michaels.

For more on orchids, visit the orchid page.

Talk to enough people about houseplants, and you'll get used to hearing this sentence: "Plants just die for me. I don't know why."

The most common cause of plant collapse is improper watering. Either you drowned the plant, causing it to wilt and sag, then collapse, or the water can't reach the roots because of old, bone-dry potting media.

So what can you do? Well, plants are pretty cheap. You might just consider buying a new one. But if you're intent on saving it, make sure to check up on its preferred conditions, adjust the watering, repot into fresh potting mix if needed, and promise to be a careful waterer ...

Three-month results from a comparison of three different container soils
Photo © Jon VanZile

Three months ago, I launched a comparison test of three potting mixes: a custom blend based on pine bark fines, Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, and Miracle-Gro Garden Soil (which isn't even meant for container gardens). It didn't take long to see which one performed better--and there's a lesson here for all of us who want really healthy plants.

Check out the results here.

I remember when I started really using controlled-release fertilizers. Great stuff. Drop it in the pot and forget about it for a few months. I still use CRFs all the time. But (and there's always a but) I still think there's no doubt: liquid fertilizers, used correctly, result in better, bigger and healthier plants. Liquid nutrients are simply more available to the plant, and they tend to be delivered in larger, more effective doses. So I still use CRFs, but when I want a plant to really shine, I reach for the water-soluble or liquid fertilizers.

How's that for the longest blog post title ever?

I am, of course, referring to phalaenopsis orchids. Lots of people get these plants as gifts, but then don't know what to do next. So for your handy reference, I've compiled a list of the most common phal questions and their answers:

Just because this is a sort of funny story ...

I decided to try out some coconut coir for a potting media, so I went out and bought an expandable block of cheap coconut coir, dropped it into a garbage can, poured the water in, and waited. And waited. And waited.

I don't know what I expected, but I thought SOMETHING would happen. Like, isn't the stuff supposed to grow into a fluffy potting media? At least that's what the label said. Well, that certainly didn't happen.

After two hours, the block had disintegrated into a glorpy, brown sludge. No expansion at all. So I guess I learned something here: not all coconut coir is created equal.

Anyway, I ended up composting the sludge and I'm now in the market for a better coconut coir for my experiment.

Photo © Erika Flanigan

These cherry tomato plants sprouted on September 3, making them about 8 weeks old. I'm growing them in the AeroGarden Elite6 as part of an extended product test. And so far, I'm still impressed (but I'll do a formal review when the harvest is in!). You can't see it here, but the first little tomatoes have already started to form...

I can't help it ... every fall, I start more herbs indoors and fight with poor light to keep them going. Fact is, herbs like more light than I can reasonably provide without lights. But I like to think I'm pretty good with plants, and I like to think I'm a pretty hopeful guy, so I poked around About.com for a while, I found this article on growing herbs indoors, and I'm off to plant more seeds. Wish me luck.