Blog

Sometimes there will be problems in the vegetable garden. There is always a cause and there is often a cure or control. Pest problems are often easy to spot: leaves or fruit look chewed or puckered from sucking pests. Diseases can be fungal, bacterial, or viral; often symptoms may look the same–brown or yellow spots

Cucumbers are a tender, warm-weather crop. Start cucumbers indoors 6 to 3 weeks before you plan to transplant them into the garden or direct sow seed in the garden 2 to 3 weeks after all danger of frost is past and the soil has warmed. Support cucumbers on a trellis, poles, or cages, or plant

Eggplant seedlings Eggplants are a tender, very warm-weather crop. Start eggplants indoors 10 to 8 weeks before the average nighttime temperature is expected to stay above 55°F (13°C),Set eggplants in the garden after nighttime temperatures are consistently greater than 55°F (13°C) and daytime temperatures average 70°F (21°C). If temperatures are much cooler you should protect

Endive seedlings Endive and escarole grow best in the cool weather of spring and fall. Endive and escarole are different forms of the same plant. Escarole is broad-leaved with smooth margins and a mild flavor. Endive has frilly-cut leaves and a bitter flavor. Planting for fall and winter harvest may be the best course unless

Asparagus is a perennial plant that can grow for 15 to 20 spears. Asparagus can be grown from seeds or crowns. Here are asparagus growing basics: Sowing asparagus seed and planting crowns (roots) If you grow asparagus from seed, your first harvest will come in three years. If you grow asparagus from crowns (established roots)

Bulb onions are particular about where they grow. Onion bulb formation is triggered by the number of summer daylight hours. Bulb-forming onions can be divided into three types. Three types of bulbing onions Long-day onions require about 15 hours of summer daylight.Short-day onions require about 12 hours of summer daylight.Day-neutral (also called intermediate-day) onions that

Follow these cabbage growing quick tips to get cabbage started in your garden. Sowing cabbage seeds In mild-winter regions, sow cabbage from fall to late winter for a spring crop. Sow cabbage seed outdoors 6 to 4 weeks before the last frost. Start seed indoors 12 to 10 weeks before transplanting seedlings to the garden.

Herbs for cooking are plants whose leaves, seeds, fruits, flowers, or other parts are used fresh or dried for flavoring food. (A spice–broadly speaking–denotes a flavoring derived from the seed, fruit, bark, or other parts of a plant grown in warm, tropical regions.) A “potherb” is a plant you cook in a pot. Herbs generally

Harvest artichokes when the buds are tight and firm and about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter. Harvest buds before the petals begin to open. If you wait until the bud opens, the petals will no longer be tender. When to Harvest Artichokes Artichoke plants live for about 5 years. Production starts about a year

Arugula leaves large enough to harvest Harvest arugula when the leaves are big enough to eat. Harvest leaves one at a time cut and come again or cut off the entire head. Arugula is a fast-growing cool-season salad green. It is ready for harvest 30 to 40 days after sowing. Arugula leaves are tangy and