Carrot seedlings Carrots and other carrot family crops such as parsley and parsnips can be slow to germinate. They require consistently moist soil and sometimes two weeks or more for germination. Dry or windy weather can mean slow or no germination for carrots. Pre-sprouting is the best way to short-cut carrot germination time and ensure
Harvest main broccoli florets first; small florets can be harvested in about 10 more days. Broccoli—planted last spring– will continue to grow until severe freezing temperatures arrive. Harvest broccoli when flower heads have formed, but while the florets are still in tight bud. Harvest the large main or top floret first. Once the main floret
Use runners from existing strawberry plants to start new strawberry beds each year to maintain sufficient yield from your home garden. Strawberry plants are productive for three to five years. As time goes by, aging plants yield smaller and fewer berries. Renewing your strawberry patch each year will ensure you never run low of tasty
Steamed broccoli Just out of the garden, I soak broccoli for about 10 minutes in salty water. This ensures any tiny bugs still hiding out will be dispatched. Then I rinse each flower head under cold running water. You’ll want to cut away the tough lower stalk leaving just 3 inches or so below the
Baked apple stuffed with raisins, dates, and walnuts The baked stuffed apple is a delicious, traditional, and easy-to-make winter and holiday treat. I bake these apples on the oven shelf right under the baking ham. Choose any one or two of these great baking apples for this tasty dessert: Honeycrisp is sweet, Braeburn is sweet-spicy
Starting a vegetable garden can be fun and an inexpensive way to bring healthy food to your kitchen table. But it can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. The secret to getting started vegetable gardening is to take a little time to make a plan. Take a look at your yard or
Summer fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will benefit from a side-dressing of organic fertilizer when they first set fruit and every 4 to 6 weeks thereafter. An alternative is to water in a dilute solution of fish emulsion, seaweed extract, or kelp meal every 10 days. Feed fruiting crops that have flowered
Small tomato plants that deliver big flavor are just right for growing in small gardens and on decks, patios, and balconies. Small tomato plants range in size from 18 inches tall or less to no more than 3 or 4 feet tall. Small tomatoes require no staking or caging—but you can. Fruits on small tomato
Small cherry tomato plants in pots Tomatoes are easily grown in containers—clay pots, plastic nursery pots, and wood boxes Container-grown tomatoes have the same growing requirements as garden-grown tomatoes: 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day, nutrient-rich soil, and enough water or soil moisture for steady, even growth. Best tips on How to Grow
‘German Johnson’ tomato Some tomato varieties are sweeter than others. They naturally develop more sugars which means they will be sweeter than tomatoes that naturally develop more acids. The combination of sugars and acids—there are more than 400 naturally occurring compounds that account for tomato flavor– makes for what is often called “old-fashioned tomato flavor.”
