One of the activities that you have most to gain from is growing your own vegetables, but for first-timers, the complex procedure of planning and organizing the veggie garden can feel like an impossible task. What’s even more stressful is that a single mistake can cost you everything as you won’t have what to harvest, all of your work being […]

The work of planning the garden in as much as it consists in deciding what and how much we shall plant and where we shall plant it-may very well be done long in advance of the season of active operations. Indeed, it is a distinct and pleasurable advantage to make the long winter evenings supplement the long summer days by […]

Knowing when to harvest vegetables is just as important as knowing how to grow them.  Some have a long time over which you can harvest, others must be harvested at just the proper stage of ripening.  Harvest at the wrong time, and your vegetables may not ripen properly if too young, or be tough and bitter if too old. You […]

EARLY SUMMER TIPS FOR THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Mulching, staking, pest and disease control, and succession planting are some of the early season tips for vegetable gardens. Reduce the weeds in walkways in your garden by covering the soil with some type of mulch. Several sheets of moistened newspaper topped with hay or straw are attractive and work very well, especially […]

Fall Vegetable Gardening How do I get my garden ready for Fall planting? Before you can plant anything new, you should do a simple soil test to make sure the Ph is still up at above 6.0 If not, add 1 pound of lime per 100 square feet for each .5 below that number. Hydrated lime will work quickly to […]

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners Vegetables are easy to grow and are very rewarding at harvest time. The most important requirements are sunshine and watering. Other requirements are a loosened soil, some fertilizer, and a little bit of weeding. If you have an area in your yard that gets sunshine most of the day (6-8 hours in summer) then you can […]

Kitchen Gardening Tips and Plans By Cindy Martin of The Tasteful Garden Vegetable or herb gardening has become much more popular in the United States in the past 10 years.The focus has been on growing more flavorful, nutritious, and fresher produce than can be found in the local grocery store.Television cooking shows make our mouths water with fresh herbs, garden […]

Growing in Containers Everyone seems to think growing in containers is easier than growing in the ground but it can be even more difficult. In climates with lots of hot summer heat, even large pots can really heat up and the soil can be much warmer than in the ground. Potting soils are designed to drain well but that can […]

Growing Tips – Growing Peppers Peppers are not tomatoes. That seems obvious but for some reason we expect them to grow the same as tomatoes, same planting time, same spacing and same sunlight. Although they are in the garden at the same time they have some very different requirements. Both tomatoes and peppers like warm soil and although tomatoes can […]

Potato Planting & Growing Prepare the soil Use your best method to loosen up the soil 8 to 12 inches deep. Mix in compost or fertilizer if needed. If the soil is dry, water it a few days before planting. It’s best to plant in moist soil, not soaked and wet. Plant the seed Plant no earlier then 2 weeks […]