Fresh chard leaves with peaches, blueberries, and pieces of gorgonzola cheese Swiss chard can be served raw or cooked. Swiss chard leaves have a hearty, yet mild spinach flavor. Swiss chard stalks have a delicate, celery-like taste and crunch. Serve chard greens raw alone or in a mixed green salad. You can also cook chard
Lemongrass is an aromatic grass-family herb with a rich lemon flavor and fragrance. Leaves and the bulbous stem are used as a seasoning in Southeast Asian dishes and lightly in soups. The leaves can be brewed to make a relaxing tea. Lemongrass is a subtropical plant. The slender and arching grass-like leaves can grow to
Oranges can be divided into three basic groups—sweet oranges, blood oranges, and sour oranges. Sweet oranges can be divided into two subgroups—navel oranges and common oranges. Navel oranges and common oranges are the most commonly grown oranges both in home gardens and commercially. Navel oranges are mostly peeled and eaten fresh out of hand. Common
Hot peppers are distinguished from sweet peppers simply by their pungency or hotness of flavor. There are thousands of hot pepper varieties in the world. (This is the case because peppers easily cross-pollinate to produce new kinds.) The hotness of a pepper is determined by a number of blister-like sacs of capsaicinoids on the interior
You can plant, grow, and harvest snap beans and other beans in containers. Growing beans in containers are ideal for balconies, decks, patios, rooftops, and other urban gardens. Beans can also be grown indoors under lights. Many apartment gardeners like to grow bush beans because they can grow three to six plants in a large
There are five potato growth stages: sprout development, vegetative growth, tuber growth, tuber bulking, and maturation. Potatoes are commonly grown from the eyes of other potatoes, not from seeds. Potatoes used to grow new potatoes are called seed potatoes. Seed potatoes are small tubers, also called baby potatoes. Commercial seed potatoes are specifically grown to be
You can plant, grow, and harvest cucumbers in containers. Cucumbers do exceptionally well in containers. Cucumbers can be grown in containers on balconies, decks, patios, rooftops, and other urban gardens. Cucumbers can also be grown indoors under lights. There are both bush and vine types of cucumbers. Vine types grow to 6 feet (1.8m) tall
A power hedge trimmer is a great gardening tool. A power hedge trimmer can help you keep your hedges looking neat and tidy. It also can be used for a variety of other tasks, such as cutting tall grass and weeds, trimming bushes, and even pruning small trees. A power hedge trimmer is a versatile
Broccoli is an edible flower. Broccoli is a cool-season crop. Grow broccoli so that it comes to harvest when temperatures average no more than 75°F (23°C) each day. Broccoli heads are clusters of tightly packed flower buds waiting to open. Broccoli is a hardy biennial, grown as an annual. It is a member of the cabbage
Arugula is a cool-season leafy crop. Sow seed as early as 3 weeks before the last frost in spring. Arugula–also known as rocket, garden rocket, and roquette–is a dense, low-growing plant with long, smooth, soft lobed, bright green leaves. Arugula is a cool-weather leafy crop. Grow arugula in spring and autumn. Arugula leaves can be
