Professional Gardening Tips
BEANS Beans include many types of snap beans, pole beans, and Southern peas, such as black-eyed types. Plant these in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Because they grow so fast, start beans from seed directly in the […]
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 […]
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 […]
The students have returned to school, your mailbox is crammed with a new crop of seed catalogs, the leaves are falling, and the days are getting shorter. Drive by your local garden center or roadside stand and the displays are […]
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 […]
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 […]
The principal requirements of the potato plant are adequate available food, sufficient water, good drainage and the type of soil in which tubers may swell easily. An open, unshaded site is very necessary. Light soils are considered very suitable, provided […]
For many of us, fall means a bounty of pumpkins for pies and jack-o’-lanterns, along with a gathering in of the rest of the autumn harvest. But for thousands of backyard gardeners, fall is the time of reckoning and – […]
Asparagus This delicious vegetable is expensive to buy but easy to grow. The shoots are cut below soil level when they are about 10cm (4in) long, but all cutting must cease soon after the middle of June to allow the […]
ARTICHOKES: CHINESE, GLOBE, AND JERUSALEM There are three distinct kinds of Artichoke grown as vegetables: the Jerusalem Artichoke, for its tubers; the Globe Artichoke, for the young flower heads, and the young shoots, which are blanched to provide “chards”; and […]