Plants

Dwarf apple tree Before you buy and plant an apple tree consider the following: ■ Space to grow and form of the tree. How much space do you have? This will determine the form of the tree you choose. ■ Size of tree and type of rootstock. What size tree will fit the space? The

Composting turns garden and kitchen waste into humus. Humus is Nature’s best fertilizer and soil conditioner. The process of decomposition that we call composting happens in nature as billions of microorganisms feed, grow, reproduce, and die as they recycle kitchen and garden waste. Compost will happen gradually over time. Set a pile of leaves or

Mustard greens have a peppery-bitter flavor—like mustard. They have long been a favorite American soul food and are used often in Indian cookery. Short cooking is the best way to preserve the flavor and texture of mustard greens. Overcooking will cause greens to become soft and mushy. Match mustard greens with bacon, cheddar cheese, corn

Dry or dried beans–also called shell beans–are beans grown to full maturity and left in their pods to dry before being shelled and stored for later use. Dried beans can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to a year or more. (These beans also can be harvested at the green, shelling stage–when

Jalapeno pepper Hot peppers are most easily grown from transplants. Grow hot chili peppers in the warmest, frost-free time of the year. Start hot pepper seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers into the garden. Peppers can be seeded in the garden or transplanted out 2 to 3

Eureka lemon The Eureka lemon and the Lisbon lemon are two bitter-flavored lemons. The Eureka and the Lisbon can be used to flavor both sweet and savory dishes. They can be used in sauces or as an accompaniment to fish and poultry. They can be used in baking and desserts, and their slices or wedges

Field peas–also called dried peas–are grown specifically to be used dried. Dried peas are used in soups, pastas, cereals, and purées. Dried field peas are available at farm markets whole or split. The green pea and the yellow pea are the two most common field peas. The black-eyed pea or cowpea and the chickpea are

‘Fire Sweet’ and ‘Fantasia’ are two simply mouth-watering nectarines. ‘Fire Sweet’ is a medium-sized nectarine with a flaming red and yellow skin that is smoothly sweet. A grower at the Ferry Building farmer’s market in San Francisco handed me a slice of ‘Fire Sweet’ last Saturday and it was so candy-sweet that I simply could

Vegetables mixed with a batter and dropped into hot fat or vegetables dipped in batter and fried. Fritters or tempura? Yes! The term fritter is used for both of these preparations. And tempura is not far behind. Here are quick directions for an almost vegetable fritter you can whip up using the leftover vegetables in

Cutworms are the larvae of various species of night-flying brown or gray moths. Cutworms chew the tender, young stems and leaves of almost all vegetable crops. Control cutworms early in the season by handpicking, trapping, or exposing them to predators such as birds. Cutworms emerge in spring to feed at night. One cutworm can chew