Home Gardener’s
Weekly
Issue
No. 135
August
01, 2025
In this FREE Masterclass with Stacey Murphy, you’ll discover:
🥕 3 Strategies to Simplify Preserving and Storing the Harvest
🌿 How to preserve fresh produce—garden-grown or from the farmer’s market—for 6–12 months
🍅 How to plan ahead so you grow exactly what you need for food storage
🥒 An easy-to-follow system that covers canning, fermenting, dehydrating, pickling & more
This class will show you how to save time, reduce waste, and enjoy homegrown meals all year long.
Plus—you’ll get a bonus planning worksheet to start mapping out your own preservation strategy!
Don’t let your harvest go to waste—preserve it the smart, simple, and delicious way.
Weekly Garden Tip
Add trace minerals to your soil every year to increase its health! In the US, we refer to this trace mineral powder as Azomite, but that’s really a brand that comes out of a special place and it’s used widely because it has the highest diversity of trace minerals available. But any volcanic or glacial rock dust that you can find for gardens will pass trace minerals to your garden. It takes 1 year to become bioavailable to your soil, so do it now for your next year’s trace mineral-dense harvest!
Does pain keep you from enjoying your garden…
…or even getting out of bed some days?
Joint and muscle pain can make everyday tasks like gardening, walking, or even opening a jar feel impossible. But there is a solution that doesn’t involve constant medications or steroid shots.
Grab this free eBook: “17 Stretches to Maximize Recovery and Flexibility” and discover simple movements that help your body replenish the fluid that keeps joints moving smoothly—without pain.
🧘♂️ Get gentle exercises you can do while watching TV or cooking
🪑 Includes chair-based stretches to unlock back and spine tension
Don’t let pain hold you back from the activities—and garden—you love.
Bonus: Free pass to the UNBROKEN Event, featuring 30+ health experts revealing hidden causes and solutions for chronic pain, inflammation, and autoimmune issues!
Tired of constantly losing garden tools? We were, too! A solution was long overdue, so four simple hacks were put to the test—and they work. These clever strategies make gardening easier, faster, and far less frustrating. And they can help with more than just lost tools. Watch the video and take back your garden time!
🍅 BLOG 🍅
Container or Raised Bed Garden: What’s the difference?
Container or Raised Bed Garden: What’s the Difference? — Wondering whether to go with containers or raised beds for your garden? This blog breaks down the pros and cons of each, helping you decide which option is best for your space, plants, and needs. 🌱
Read now and find the perfect fit for your garden!
Product Feature: Garden Tower 2
Grow up to 50 plants and vegetables in 4 square feet (1.2 sq meters) with this rotating Garden Tower!
Made of 100% food grade HDPE (non-toxic, BPA-& PVC-free plastic) components, FDA-approved dye, and UV-protection for health, durability and recyclability. 😎
Supports up to 1,000 lbs while still being able to rotate 360° for optimized sun exposure and growing in tight spaces.
Lasts up to 12 years in the harshest of climates.
Vermi-compost directly into the tower where plant roots can access nutrients and oxygen. Perfect for growing lettuces, herbs, kale, chard, smaller varieties of peppers, and other plants with smaller root systems. 5-year warranty.
SAVE $50 When you use the coupon code in the email we sent about this week’s newsletter.
What: Let’s Get Personal: The Ultimate Healthy Aging and Longevity Summit
Who: Brian Vaszily, The Art of Anti-Aging
When: August 1-3, 2025
Want to avoid brain decline, reduce your risk of disease, and stay mobile, energized, and independent for years to come?
This weekend only, you’re getting free access to health secrets from 22 world-renowned MDs and researchers—including the exact steps they personally take to stay sharp, active, and thriving.
These expert-backed strategies are proven to make the biggest, fastest difference in your long-term health—and now you can learn them all in one place.
What: Somatic Healing Summit
Who: Heart Mind Institute
When: August 2-3, 2025
Beginning August 2nd, you’ll have 48 hours to watch the Somatic Healing Summit —including powerful sessions on breathwork, movement, energy medicine, and nervous system regulation. This is your chance to experience experts sharing tools to help release trauma, restore balance, and return to a state of calm and clarity.
Featuring world-renowned speakers like Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Arielle Schwartz, Dr. Peter Levine, and many more, this weekend is a rare opportunity to deepen your healing journey—on your own time.
What: Decoding Autoimmunity 10-Part Docuseries
Who: Zonia
When: August 11-21, 2025
Autoimmunity issues are on the rise—and chronic inflammation may be quietly affecting your health. Whether you’re already dealing with joint pain, brain fog, or fatigue—or just want to prevent future issues—the UNBROKEN: Decoding Autoimmunity online event offers powerful solutions rooted in healing, not just symptom management.
You’ll also get a special bonus: The 18 Most Nutritious Greens and What They Can Help You With.
As a gardener, you’ll love discovering how the greens you grow—like kale, collards, and spinach—can become powerful allies in calming inflammation and rebalancing your immune system from the inside out.
Your garden can help heal more than your plate—it can help heal you.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN HARVEST CLUB
This week, growers chatted about melon and squash flowering and fruiting issues, watering, carrot growing and more! To view the replay, log into your portal and click here.
🍅🥕🌽🫐🍆🌱 Get your questions answered and keep moving forward on your fresh food goals in Harvest Club! 🍅🥕🌽🫐🍆🌱
Not a member of our garden membership Harvest Club? You can get a one-time complimentary two-month membership with any of our courses. Harvest Club has tons of resources to help you thrive. Plus, you get access to ongoing garden support through email. Learn more here.
Dear Arti:
Question: I’ve been using soil blocks to start seeds and have had success getting seeds started. However, many varieties seem to experience die off just prior to, or soon after, moving to containers or planting areas. A few plants do better (basil, peppers, and indeterminate tomatoes), but others consistently die off.
Are there some plants that do well with soil blocks and starting from seed this way, and others that don’t? How can we reduce early die off? – Kama, Honolulu, HI
Answer: Hi Kama,
There are several things that might be happening here. First, all plants I’ve ever grown in soil blocking have done well after transplanting, so there is something else going on here.
I noticed you live in Hawaii and that all the plants you listed doing well are summer warm season crops. I’m wondering if the plants that died off soon after are plants that are cool season crops and maybe they’re being planted in the wrong season?
It’s also possible that if the crops you’re growing are other warm season crops (and you’re planting in the right temperatures for that crop to thrive) that the containers you’re planting in may need to be sanitized.
I’m also wondering if you used soil in your containers and are experiencing mostly die off in the containers. If so, soil shouldn’t be used in containers. You should use a substrate like potting mix and compost instead. Soil in containers can compact quickly and doesn’t maintain its health the way it does in the ground.
I’m also wondering if you’ve hardened your seedlings off properly before transplanting. If not, that can cause plant death as well.
So, those are a few possibilities for you, Kama. I hope that helps!
These sweet snap peas are nearing the end of their grow season.
There’s something deeply satisfying about harvesting the final bursts of goodness and savoring the fruits (and veggies!) of your labor.
Whether you’re wrapping up the season or squeezing in a late planting, every harvest is a reminder of what’s possible with a little care and patience.
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