Professional Gardening Tips
Broccoli, Sprouting This is another variety, italica, of Brassica oleracea. Both purple and white sprouting produce a profusion of young shoots invaluable for prolonging the supplies of winter greens. Purple sprouting is the most hardy and will safely overwinter in most open situations. Young shoots may be produced for Christmas, but it is in March and April that the vegetable […]
Shallots Some people prefer the milder flavor of shallot, Allium ascalonicum, which they grow in place of onions. However, shallots are grown for pickling. When stocks of non-bolting onion sets were not available, many gardeners found shallot growing far easier than onion growing. The soil in which they are to be grown must be well-drained and, unless very large bulbs […]
Broad Beans These were certainly known to the Ancient Egyptians and are probably natives of northern and western Asia. They are extremely hardy. Cultivation A good rich loam suits these beans, though they are not difficult to grow on any soil. This crop may well follow cabbages and potatoes, or manure may be dug in sparingly. A certain amount of […]
Turnip Rutabaga Garden rutabaga, such as ‘Bronze Top’ and ‘Purple Top Improved’ often replace winter turnips. Rutabaga are hardy, and the large roots may be left in the ground until Christmas at least. You can also lift the roots in October, cut off the foliage and store the swedes indoors in dry sand. Rutabaga do best in an open, sunny […]
How to Cultivate the Bushes That Yield This Delicious Berry The Blueberry is a native American fruit harvested from wild plants since the country was settled. About 1910 the late Dr. F. V. Coville of the United States Department of Agriculture began the domestication of the High-bush Blueberry. A breeding program based on selected wild types has produced through the […]
The Blackberries of North America and Europe are a mighty clan of innumerable species and hybrids that have taxed the efforts of botanists to classify them. The many species in North America have furnished varieties suitable for cultivation in most of the United States except the cold, dry Great Plains region, and for the milder portions of Canada. One European […]
Cucumbers and squash are such productive vegetables that only a few plants will provide an abundant harvest. Experiment with unique selections that are rarely seen in stores. For example, long slender Oriental cucumbers or petite pickling cucumbers are simple to grow, as are brightly colored summer squash and zucchini. These are also fast growing crops that start producing only six […]
Many years ago herbs were considered invaluable; they cost dearly to buy and were very difficult to find. Yet now, herb plants can be grown by seed offered by mail order, plants can be purchased practically everywhere and fresh-cut and dried culinary herbs at the local grocery store. So why all the fuss you ask? Herbs are making their way […]
HELIANTHUS – Sunflower (From helios-sun; anlhos-flower) The Sunflower is bold, he is tall, has a lot of bluster and bravado about him, but he is not coarse; no, he does not intrude upon us. We like to have him look over our fences; we like to watch him looking down toward his feet to see how tall he has grown. […]
From the Greek physa, a bladder, an allusion to the inflated calyx (Solanaceae). A genus of 100 or more species of which the two most well-known are P. alkekengi, the Bladder Cherry or Chinese Lantern Plant, with its brilliant, flame-coloured, air-filled calyces, and P. peruviana, the Cape Gooseberry, which is a greenhouse species. They are annual and perennial herbaceous plants, […]