Apple mint Spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, orange bergamot, and apple mint: these are just a few of the mints used in cooking. The peak season for fresh mints is summer, but many mints will grow indoors year-round in a bright window. And dried mint leaves can be used when fresh mint is not available. Mints
Bring herbs growing in containers indoors for winter; just set them in a window with plenty of natural light. Culinary herbs that grow well in containers include basil, chives, cilantro, dill, common fennel, garlic, lemon balm, mint, oregano and marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, French tarragon, and thyme. Herbs require well-drained soil, so use a good
Swiss chard is one of Nature’s superfoods–and easy to prepare. Some vegetables and fruits you grow in your garden are higher in nutritional value and are better at improving your health than others—these have been dubbed superfoods. Superfoods are easy to grow. Any beginning gardener can grow superfoods. These crops are high in nutritional value
Compost mulch Here are commonly used organic and inorganic mulches for vegetable gardens (for the benefits of mulching see : Organic mulches: • Compost. Decomposed and partially decomposed organic materials. Compost is both a mulch and soil conditioner. A 2- to 3-inch layer of compost will control weeds though not prevent weed growth. Incorporate compost
Mulch of organic materials Mulch is any material laid on the surface of the soil. It can be organic, such as compost, shredded leaves, or lawn clipping, or inorganic or synthetic, such as coarse sand, gravel, or plastic. During the growing season, mulch can slow evaporation, inhibit and control weeds, and regulate soil temperature. In
Comfrey manure-tea time arrives with the first flowering of tomatoes and peppers. Comfrey tea is made simply by soaking the leaves of the herb comfrey in water for about 20 days. Comfrey tea is rich in nitrogen and potassium; it is a nutritious side-dressing for fruiting vegetables. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and berries use nitrogen to
Tomatoes ripening from mature green to fully colored ripe Standard-sized tomatoes take 20 to 30 days from blossom set to reach full size–commonly called “mature green”; they take another 20 to 30 days to ripen, that is begin to change color. A tomato can be picked when it begins to change color–from green to red
Hummus is the Arabic word for “chickpea”. The chickpea is also known as the garbanzo bean; “garbanzo” is the Spanish name derived from the Greek. Hummus is also the name given to the Middle Eastern sauce or paste that includes cooked and mashed chickpeas mixed with sesame or olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and
Narrow beds for intensive planting Intensive vegetable gardening is the name given to a way of using garden space and soil nutrients to produce high yields of flavorful crops. The intensive planting method of vegetable gardening is perhaps the most efficient and effective of all growing methods. It is both resource-conserving and sustainable. The origins
Interplanting is a growing method that will allow you to fit more vegetable plants in a single planting bed. It is a way to increase your crop yield. Interplanting is also called intercropping. Interplanting is often used in intensive vegetable gardening where an effort is made to use all available space in the growing area–the
