If you haven’t started already there’s no time like the first month of the year to jump-start spring. In the coldest regions, the first weeks of January are the time to begin planning the spring and summer garden. As soon as your plans are set, get seeds ordered. In low frost and frost-free regions of
Starting vegetable seeds indoors and out: it’s all about temperature and weather. There are three ways to get your vegetable garden growing: Sow seeds directly in the garden. Start seeds indoors and transplant them to the garden when the weather warms. Transplant seedlings purchased at the garden center into the garden. Starting seed indoors will
Vegetable Seed Staring: Light, temperature, water, nutrients, and spacing are planned and regulated indoors. Starting vegetable seeds indoors will give you a head start on the growing season–actually extend your growing season–and make your garden more productive. Starting seeds indoors eliminates one of the biggest unpredictables of vegetable gardening–poor outdoor germination conditions. Light, temperature, water
January is the coldest month of the year in the northern half of the world. The Norseman named January for Thor, their gold of thunder and storms. The Anglo-Saxons called it Wolfmonth because the wolves came into the villages in the dead of winter to search for food. Legend says that the Roman emperor Numa
Miniature, midget, and dwarf vegetables are good selections for container growing. True dwarf varieties at full maturity have edible parts that are smaller in size than ordinary vegetable varieties and cultivars. Miniatures, midgets, and dwarfs differ from vegetables that are sold as “baby” vegetables–those are generally full-sized cultivars picked before maturity. Baby corn, for example
Pea growing problems occur most often when peas are grown in warm, not cool, weather. Fresh-picked home-grown green peas are worth the effort. The flavor of fresh-picked peas will far outdistance the flavor of store bought peas because flavor of peas dulls quickly after picking as sugar change to starch. Peas grow best in cool
Zucchini in North America and Australia; courgette in France, England, Ireland, and New Zealand; zucchini in Italy: it’s the summer squash with the shape of a cucumber. Yellow, green, or light green, it is one of the easiest vegetables to grow–all it needs is warm weather. There are at least 50 popular varieties of zucchini.
Sweet potatoes prefer regular, even watering until they are established. Keep planting beds weed free Sweet potatoes require loose, well-drained soil and about 100 very warm days. Sweet potatoes are usually grown from slips started from roots (to start your own add another 40 days). Set sweet potato starts into the garden about the same
Lettuce problems: Lettuce that is crowded or grown in poor soil will be tough and bitter tasting. Most varieties of lettuce require cool weather or slight shading for best growth. Grow lettuce in the cool part of the year, when temperatures range in the 50s and 60sF. You can plant lettuce as soon as the
Corn Varieties to Grow include Standard corn–the “old-fashioned” corn your grandfather grew; the corn with tasty corn flavor. Many of these varieties are heirlooms and open-pollinated. There is no substitute for the flavor of corn just picked from the garden. Flavor and adaptability to your garden’s climate are the major considerations when choosing a corn
