Heirloom Vegetables and Tomatoes

In the 70’s, my father would pack all of us in the station wagon, and drive for what seemed an eternity to visit my relatives. I was pretty young, but I can remember two details quite vividly. My brother getting me to ask, “Are we there yet?” and, visiting my Grandparents. My Grandma was an avid cook and gardener. While […]

The Vegetable Guide – Beet

The modern beet as such was not apparently known in ancient times. There is a story that when the Greeks paid homage to Apollo they served him beetroots on a silver platter, but the first recorded specific reference to beets is in the third century in Rome. They were mentioned in 1390 in some old English cooking recipes. Beets are […]

Beans How to grow and care for this vegetable

What to know about vegetable beans. BEANS: THE PRINCIPAL TYPES Full Details of How to Grow These Nutritious Vegetables Beans as a group constitute one of the largest vegetable food crops; their culture is extensive and widespread. They mature crops quickly when used as green vegetables, thrive successfully in most temperate and warm climates, and are valuable items in the […]

Growing tips for leafy green vegetables

LEAFY GREENS Lettuce leads the way among garden-grown greens and few vegetables are as easy to grow in the cool weather of spring and fall. Instead of trying to grow hard-headed iceberg types, fill your garden with the unusual colors and leaf textures found in loose-head selections, often called leaf lettuce. Stiff-ribbed Romaine lettuces are not difficult to grow either, […]

Common Problems with Vegetables

Divided the vegetable crops grown in gardens into the following headings for ease of reference them in this order: Root crops Legumes (peas and beans) Brassica crops (cabbage and related crops) Potatoes Salad crops Other crops General problems—planning (a) ROOT CROPS Beet Q. A lot of my beet roots ‘bolt’, i.e. run to seed before the roots are properly developed. […]

Planting the vegetable seed

Planting the vegetable seed There is no part of the garden work which calls for such nice judgment and careful attention as the sowing of seed. Most of the failures originate right here, and a large share of the blame devoted to the seeds and seedsman, if traced back to its original source, would be found to rest on the […]

Harvesting Cool Season Vegetables

Timely harvest of vegetables sown or planted outside early in the growing season, and ones that generally mature rapidly or during cooler temperatures results in the best flavor and longest harvest period. Many of these also make good fall crops, started later in the season. Snap asparagus spears off at ground level when they are six to ten inches tall. […]

Spring Vegetable Gardening

In May gardening begins in earnest. April weather is too uncertain for many vegetables to be planted in the open and even early May cannot be trusted far. By the end of the month, however, practically the first planting of everything we wish to include in our program is in the ground. Tomato plants must be guarded carefully against frost, […]

What is Beetroot

Beetroot This sweet salad vegetable has a high food value. It needs deep soil and is best suited to a place where a previous non-root crop has been grown. Do not add fresh manure, as this is inclined to cause root forking. If instead of growing vegetables in the kitchen garden, they are grown in the old-fashioned cottager’s way interspersed with […]

Growing cabbage and broccoli

The cabbage family includes the following vegetables that grow best in cool weather: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, and a delicious, yet little-known vegetable, called kohlrabi. Most of these vegetables are sold as transplants in the spring and again in late summer for planting in the fall garden. They are not difficult to grow if you give them […]