March is a month of great transition in the vegetable garden. Spring for the northern hemisphere will arrive on March 20. In the warmest regions–United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Hardiness Zones 9 through 11–warming temperatures have arrived. Planting can go forward this month. In USDA Zones 7 and 8, preparation for spring planting
Minestrone means big soup in Italian. You can make and serve minestrone as a meal in itself, nearly a vegetable stew. Minestrone varies from cook to cook but most commonly includes onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, and tomatoes bolstered by beans or peas and pasta or rice. Because minestrone is a thick soup, the vegetables are
I make many flavorful soups year-round using vegetables from my kitchen garden. Chicken stock and vegetable stock are the base for many of these. Here’s how I make chicken stock: Chicken stock is a basic preparation used to make many soups and sauces. Chicken stock draws its flavor from the bones and meat of a
Slugs and snails chew irregular holes with smooth edges in leaves, stems, and ripening fruits of vegetables and other succulent plants. Control slugs and snails by handpicking, traps, and barriers. Concentrate your slug and snail control efforts early in the garden season as the weather begins to warm and these pests begin to feed and
For fall harvest, choose crop varieties with shorter days to harvest; some cabbage take 90 days to harvest; other varieties are ready sooner. Fall harvest crops are planted in mid- to late-summer. These cool-season crops get a quick start from seed or seedling in warm summer soil and come to maturity in the cool days of
Peppers can be harvested at any size or color Sweet peppers can be picked when immature or full size, green or red–as soon as they are big enough to use. Hot peppers can be picked at any time–any size or color–for fresh use; hot peppers for drying or pickling should be picked when fully ripe.
You can prepare a planting bed for next year’s beans wherever the soil is workable. Pole and runner beans and lima and broad beans will grow well in soil too poor for most other vegetables. But soil enriched with aged compost and fertilizer will give beans a good home to grow quickly and yield well.
Summer squash and zucchini Vegetable crops will begin to take longer to ripen in September. Give melons, limas, and tomatoes more time to ripen naturally. Eggplants are ready for harvest when they are shiny. Beans, cucumbers, melons, zucchini, and summer squash will not ripen or mature once they are picked. They will keep for a
Winter mulching will protect vegetables and other garden beds from the impact of wind, rain, and snow and prevent the loss of soil nutrients. Mulch for winter can be straw, chopped leaves, aged compost, or a cover crop. Clearing the garden of debris and weeds and putting mulch in place before winter will make getting
Garden raised beds can help you grow better, tastier, and bigger vegetables. Raised beds filled with rich soil and organic amendments will warm faster in spring for an earlier start and an earlier harvest. Use raised bed when the soil is poor—heavy clay or too loose sandy soil. Raised beds of rich, organic soil will
