The tomatillo is a warm-weather crop. Tomatillos are easy to grow and bear fruit all summer long. Tomatillo fruit is used to make sauces and salads and is very popular in Mexican and Southwestern cuisine. The tomatillo has a sweet-sharp flavor recognizable in the green sauce used on chicken enchiladas and fresh green salsa for
How to Grow Beans: Snap beans are tender annuals that grow best in temperatures between 60° and 85°F. Snap beans–also called green beans–are tender annuals best planted shortly after the last frost in spring. Snap beans are grown for fresh eating or for canning. The color of snap beans can vary. Green beans are green
Broad beans, also called fava beans, are a cool-season crop. The broad bean is a bushy, hardy annual that can grow from 3 to 4½ feet (.9-1.3m) tall. The broad bean has square stems with leaves divided into leaflets. Broad bean pods are 6 to 8 inches (15-20cm) long and contain 4 to 6 flat
Lima beans are tender annuals grown for their flat, crescent-oval-shaped seeds. There are two types of lima beans: bush and pole or vine varieties. Bush types grow to about 2 feet tall (.6m) and tend to have smaller seeds; they bear more quickly than pole lima bean varieties. Pole lima beans have large seeds and
Peas are easy to grow. And, there are many kinds of peas to choose from. Garden peas–or English peas as they are sometimes called–are available in both bush and climbing varieties. They are eaten after being shelled. Snap and snow peas have edible pods. Snap peas are full, sweet, and crunchy–and can be eaten pod
Time planting so that Brussels does not grow in periods of extended warm weather much above 70°. Brussels sprouts–called sprouts by some and thousand-headed cabbage by others–is a peculiar member of the cabbage family. It is an erect, thick single-stalked plant with a leafy top and at the base of the lower leafstalks appear “buttons”
Carrots are among the easiest garden vegetables to grow—and the most bountiful–given the right conditions. Carrot culture is very simple. Sow the seeds rather thickly and thin the plants to 3 to 4 inches apart. If the soil is nutrient-rich and loose, there will be no trouble with root development. Remember, young, tender, quick-growing carrots
Cabbage seedlings takes on the cold There is a lot to do in the garden–or for the garden–in January. You may want to print out this list of to-dos and get started as weather permits. Of course, if you live in a warm- or mild-winter region, you can start sowing and planting in the garden
January brings the start of a new garden season. All gardeners can begin planning this year’s vegetable and herb garden in January and some will start planting this month. To start the vegetable garden year, ask yourself these questions: Which vegetable do we want for fresh eating?Which do we want for freezing and storing as
July is a busy month in the kitchen garden. This month you are caring for the summer’s crops and beginning their harvest, and you are preparing and planting the fall and winter garden. Beets, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, and zucchini are ready for harvest this month. Don’t be tempted to grow the biggest this or the
