Compost is one of the best soil additives for a vegetable garden. It is also one of the least expensive. Composting turns garden and kitchen waste materials into a rich, organic amendment. The main components of compost are lawn clippings, vegetable refuse, straw, leaves, and animal manure. When making compost, it is often necessary to
There is an alternative to turning the soil with a tiller or spade. The no-dig or light-dig garden preparation method calls for spreading soil amendments across planting beds and allowing rain, wind, and soil organisms to naturally carry the amendments and their nutrients down into the soil. Using the no-dig method, an inch or two
The most useful measure of the vegetable garden growing season is soil and air temperature averages. Warming soil temperatures activate root growth and the uptake of moisture and nutrients. Soil temperature is very closely affected by the air temperature. As days lengthen in spring and the air temperature warms toward summer, the soil temperature follows.
Turnips are grown in warm-winter regions in spring, fall, and winter. They are grown in cold-winter regions in spring and autumn. Plant turnips in spring as soon as the soil is workable. Good turnip quality depends on quick growth. Plant turnips in humus-rich, well-drained soil. The soil need not be prepared deeply, but the surface
Garden wisdom: “Don’t try to grow a 5 dollar plant in a 50 cent hole. For the best results, grow a 50 cent plant in a 5 dollar hole.” Growing vegetables starts with the soil. Soil is a mix of fine rock particles, water, air, organic matter, microorganisms, and other animals including worms. Soil is
Basil has a flavor sweet and pungent and pungent and sweet—so unique it is sometimes described as “basil-y.” Basil is the quintessential herb for seasoning tomatoes. It goes well with pasta, salads, eggs, cheeses, vegetables, fish, seafood, fowl, and pork, but unlike many other herbs it does not go well with vinegar or other herbs.
Okra can be grown with ease wherever sweet s grown. Okra is often associated with the South–think gumbo soup, but it grows well in northern gardens as well. Okra grows in average soil; start okra when the soil and air temperature is right for planting corn For okra growing tips see Okra Growing Success Tips at
A banana is a banana is a banana, if you know your bananas. There are bananas for eating out of hand, and there are bananas for cooking, and then there bananas for eating out of hand and for cooking. If you think of a banana as simply a long, tapered, yellow fruit then you are
Mandarins oranges—in all their forms–are probably descended from wild oranges that grew in northeast India as long as 3,000 years ago. From India, mandarins made their way to China and from China to Europe, North Africa and Australia before they traveled on to other parts of the world. The first of these small, loose-skinned oranges
The almond harvest happens in late summer, but you will find almonds at the farm market almost all year long. Almonds originated in Asia and North Africa, and the almond tree—which resembles a peach tree—can grow as high as 20 to 30 feet (6-9 m) tall. Because the almond is very sensitive to cold, the
