Planting the fall garden in late summer Plant the autumn vegetable garden so that the crops come to harvest on or about the average date of the first frost in fall. Crops for autumn and early winter harvest are cool-weather crops—crops that like to get their start in warm soil and air but yield best
The sweet flavor of watermelon is well matched to herbal and sour flavors and to other sweet flavors. The key to matching watermelon to other foods is to find a taste complement or counterpoint. The way to do that is taste, taste, taste! Once you find the watermelon flavor matches right for you, you’ll want
Vegetables need water to grow quickly, tender, and tasty. Keep the soil evenly moist throughout the growing season—that means not too wet and not too dry. If the soil dries out, vegetables can become bitter-tasting and woody. If the soil is too wet, vegetable roots can become starved for oxygen and plants can die. Water
Aphids Insecticidal soaps kill soft-bodied pests including mites, aphids, immature scales, psyllids, thrips, and whiteflies. Soaps also kill the eggs and larvae of many pests. Soaps are contact insecticides; they must be sprayed wet directly on the insect pest to be effective. To treat a severe pest infestation, spray a plant or crop every 2
Light cultivation removes shallow-rooted weeds Integrated weed management (IWM) is the holistic approach to weed growth and suppression in the garden. IWM recognizes that the complete eradication of all weeds from the garden now and for all time is not only impossible but probably not desirable. What Weeds Are Weeds are plants growing any place
Tomatoes fresh from the garden—medium or large ones—sliced or cherry tomatoes halved and arranged on a plate and served with flavor matches take little time. Serve sliced tomatoes every day with a different flavor match—you will not run out of flavor combinations from the first picked tomato to the last. Choose one or two medium
New Potatoes roasted New potatoes make for sweet, moist eating. You can serve them steamed, sautéed, boiled, baked, roasted, or grilled. They can be served tossed in butter or olive oil or as a dip with butter or sour cream or horseradish or served as a side dish with chicken, lamb, steaks or burgers, or
Eggplant Varieties: Grow an eggplant variety suited to the number of days in your region that can match the soil and air temperatures eggplants demand. Eggplants grow best in the garden when the soil temperature and daytime air temperature is at least 70°F and the night temperature is greater than 60°F. There is no reward
Grow peppers for best flavor in full sun and warm temperatures. Temperature, watering, feeding, and, in the end, patience are the keys to growing flavorful peppers. If you lack one of these, your peppers will be less tasty than they could be. Here are easy-to-follow tips to grow flavorful peppers: Peppers and growing temperatures: Peppers
Garden peas are both sweet and savory. They have a grassy sweetness with an undertone of umami. Cooking fresh shelled peas can be difficult: you will want to eat them fresh out of the pod before you ever get near the stove. But if you do get to the stove, cooking shelled peas—and peas in
