Can a Plate of Summer Vegetables Lower Your Dementia Risk?
A Swedish study that tracked 1,865 adults over 60 for up to 15 years found that a diet low in inflammation-driving foods was linked to about 30% lower dementia risk — and unlike other healthy-eating patterns, it still mattered for people whose brain biomarkers had already shifted. Most of the foods that earn points are already growing in a July garden.
The Season the Pill Packet Thins Out — and What Garden Vegetables Fill In
A year-long study of 200 older adults found that ongoing diet and exercise coaching kept people on their medications — and protected their kidneys. The foods that went up on their plates are the ones already growing in a summer garden.
Gardening While Pregnant: How Much to Move, and What to Eat
A study of more than a thousand new mothers found that the most active women ate more produce — but also more sweets and fast food. And the lowest rate of preterm birth showed up not in the most active group, but in the one just above the middle.
Sore After a Day in the Garden? Could Homegrown Turmeric Help?
A weekend of turning over garden beds can leave you stiff and sore the next morning. Could the turmeric growing in the corner of your plot help you bounce back? A 2026 review of fifteen clinical trials found the most consistent benefit in easing oxidative stress—though the evidence is still thin—along with a few simple ways to enjoy your harvest.
The June Garden: Five Crops It's Not Too Late to Plant
June in the garden has a quiet urgency to it. With the monsoon rains around the corner, it's tempting to think you've missed your chance, but you haven't. The trick is simply choosing the right crops, and these five will still reward a June sowing.
June's First Project: Making Green-Plum Syrup
For about a month each June, firm green plums fill the markets. Layer them with sugar now, and a hundred days later you'll have a jar of homemade maesil-cheong (green-plum syrup) to sip through the heat of summer.
Summer Watering: It's About Timing, Not Frequency
As June's long, heavy sun bakes the soil dry, it's tempting to reach for the watering can again and again. But when you water matters more than how often — the same cupful of water leaves a very different amount behind depending on the hour you pour it.
When Potatoes Bloom, the Harvest Is Near
In June, the potato patch is the first thing to catch your eye, with white or pale-purple flowers rising on knee-high stems. The blooms aren't just pretty: they're the earliest sign that the tubers underground are starting to swell and harvest time is approaching.
Early-Summer Yeolmu: Half the Crop Is in the Thinning
A week after you sow yeolmu (young summer radish), the seedlings come up shoulder to shoulder—and that crowd is exactly the problem. Thinning them in two rounds is what gives the survivors room to grow broad leaves and straight roots.