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Shallots vs Onions – What is the Difference? and How to Use Them
This guide to shallots vs onions will answer not only this question but will also show how shallots are different from other onion types. There are many onion varieties so it’s easy to get confused about them. A common question that I get asked is “are shallots and onions the same?” Shallots are somewhat of a trendy vegetable […]
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Get Your Garden Ready for Spring – 25 Early Spring Garden Tips & Checklist
April 14 is National Gardening Day. That means it is time to start thinking about ways to get your garden ready with these spring garden tips. Winter is hard on a garden and spring brings with it a host of tasks that need taking care of. With spring right around the corner and daylight savings soon […]
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Types of Peas – Tips for Growing Garden Peas – Snow Sugar Snap English Peas
Sweet green peas are a very versatile vegetable. There are several types of peas to choose from. Peas are one of the first vegetables to mature in the spring and can be used in all sorts of recipes. For me, vegetable gardening means growing lots of peas. Anyone who knows me well, is aware that my […]
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Cold Hardy Vegetables Give you a head Start on Spring
These Cold Hardy Vegetables are perfect for the cool weather of early spring and good one to think about planting soon. Many of us have very cold temperatures going on right now but it’s never too early to plan ahead for vegetable gardening. With spring right around the corner and daylight savings on the horizon, […]
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Growing Onions indoors – 6 Ways to Grow Onions in Containers
This article shows you how to use onions as indoor plants. Growing onions indoors is a fun project and one that the kids will love to help with.Onions are easy to grow outdoors as well as inside the home. They are one of those vegetables that we use often and the demand for this means that […]
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Planting Garlic – Tips for Growing and Harvesting
Planting Garlic works best if you do it in the fall. It is very easy to grow and gives you bulbs to use in cooking for much of the year. Be sure to get the heads for planting from a reputable supplier. There are many types members of the allium family. Garlic is one of […]
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Growing Rutabagas – Storing, Cooking & Health Benefits
Have you ever tried growing rutabagas? This cool loving root vegetable has a long growing season and loves to ripen after a frost. The healthy vegetable has a sweet, peppery cabbage flavor that gets even sweeter as it cooks. In the US, more people seem to grow turnips than their vegetable cousin, the rutabaga, also […]
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Growing Determinate Tomato Plants – Perfect for Containers
Determinate tomato plants are also known as “bush tomatoes”. They are smaller than normal tomato plants and generally need no staking but still produce well. Nothing tastes quite like a home grown tomato. They are sweet and juicy and so easy to grow. But they also take a lot of room, so are not so […]
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Why Heirloom Vegetable Seeds? – 6 Advantages for Growing Heirloom Seeds
If you enjoy vegetable gardening, you may have heard about heirloom vegetable seeds. These are vegetables grown from heirloom seeds which are an open pollinated variety of seeds developed prior to 1940. There are many advantages for growing this type of vegetable. Experts vary in their definition of heirloom vegetables, but typically they will agree […]
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Growing Melons – How to Grow Cantaloupe & Honey Dew
Growing melons such as cantaloupe and honeydew require a few things: plenty of sunshine and lots of room to grow. We tend to think of edible gardens as those that grow vegetables but there are also many fruits that can be grown just as easily at home. There are several types of melons that are right […]
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15 Tested Tips for Using, Storing and Growing Shallots
Shallots are starting to be seen in grocery stores more and often lately. What are shallots? Like onions and garlic, shallots are a member of the allium family. They are a cold hardy vegetable and, like onions, are easy to grow. Their flavor is richer and sweeter and they are very versatile in recipes. This […]
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Growing Microgreens – How to Grow Micro Greens at Home
Microgreens are the closest a gardener can get to instant gratification. Instead of three months, you can enjoy your harvest in just two weeks. These tips for growing microgreens will help you get started. Microgreens have lots of uses. Throw a microgreen mix into your smoothie to boost the nutritional value. Add some radish microgreens […]
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Harvesting Watermelons – When is a Watermelon Ready to Pick?
How do you know when your watermelon is ready? There are lots of tips that will help you with harvesting watermelons. Just remember that patience is a virtue with this summer favorite.Home grown watermelons are one of the real sweet treat pleasures of summer. Vegetable gardening is a love of mine and watermelons are one […]
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Planting in Compost – A Gardening Experiment (Updated)
Butternut pumpkin is one of my favorite types of squash. It is resistant to squash bugs and tastes wonderful when roasted. Instead of planting the crop in soil enriched with compost, I experimented this year by planting in compost to see what would happen. This type of planting works best in a rolling compost pile […]
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Oddities of Nature – Crooked Vegetables – Funny Fruits and Scary Shaped Trees
Plants, vegetables and trees can grow into the most amazing shapes. These oddities of nature show that twists, bends and outgrowths can turn an ordinary plant into something that looks totally different. This inspiration for this post came from a morning breakfast jaunt. After breakfast Richard and I were driving around and we came upon […]
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What To Plant for Fall Gardens
For many of you, vegetable gardening is coming to an end. My beans are almost done, tomatoes are long gone (thanks to my squirrels) and lettuce bolted long ago. Fall Gardens often look bare, but there are plenty of vegetables that will actually produce if planted in late summer. There are still a few flowers […]
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Regrow Your Food From Kitchen Scraps
I love to save money and I don’t like to waste things that can be reused or recycled in another way. Did you know that many common vegetables are very easy to regrow from ordinary kitchen scraps? I love the idea that you can use to regrow your food. What a great way to […]
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Growing Sweet Tomatoes – Tips, Tricks and Myths
Have you ever wondered what you need to do to grow sweet tomatoes? Vegetable gardening is so satisfying and home grown tomatoes are at the top of my favorites list. The taste of home grown tomatoes is nothing at all like those that you buy in the stores. Even the vine ripened ones can’t compare in […]
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Dos & Don’ts Tips for Growing Great Tomatoes
Growing great tomatoes doesn’t happen just by putting a few plants into the ground and turning on the hose. But anyone can master growing great tomatoes by following a few simple dos and don’ts. In the world of vegetable gardening, there is nothing quite like the taste of fresh home grown tomatoes. The flavor of […]
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Composting Tips – Tricks for Creating Nature’s Black Gold
If you enjoy vegetable gardening or growing flowers, adding organic matter formed by composting will give you great results. Have you always thought that making compost is difficult? These Composting Tips will take the mystery out of it for you. Composting may seem like something that only our ancestors did, but many modern gardeners take […]
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Soda Bottle Drip Feeder for Garden Plants – Water Plants with a Soda Bottle
There are many retail products available for watering plants at the roots, but this Soda Bottle Drip Feeder makes use or recycled materials and works really well. Drip feeders are a great idea for vegetable gardening projects. Many plants prefer the moisture at their roots instead of from overhead sprinklers which can encourage some leaf problems. It […]
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Growing Strawberries -Tips and Tricks for Best Success
One of the joys of summer time is the flavor of home grown strawberries. Growing strawberries is very easy as long as you understand the type of plant that you are trying to grow. Of all the fruit plants, strawberries are one of the easiest to grow and so rewarding. The taste of the berries makes […]
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Vertical Onion Garden – Fun Kid’s Gardening Project
This Vertical Onion Garden is a fun project that the kids will just love. They will enjoy helping you put it together and watching as the onions start to sprout and grow out the sides of the bottle that you have set up for a container. Growing food from scraps and pieces is a […]
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Re-growing Carrot Greens from Scraps
I thought it would be fun to share this project that shows how easy Re-growing Carrot Greens from carrot scraps is. Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now remembered in more that 193 countries! When I think of Earth Day, I think of recycling, taking […]
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Growing Garlic Greens Indoors
The other day I grabbed my onion basket to get some garlic and found a clove that had sprouted. My first thought was I guess I will see how Growing Garlic Greens Indoors works out! This time of the year, I love to tend indoor plants, since there is not much growing outside. I use […]
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Growing Onion Bottoms in Pots
Growing onion bottoms is a great way to use parts of the onion that would otherwise end up in the trash. Onions are such a versatile vegetable. I use them almost every day in recipes. I always seem to have onions growing in various places in my house and garden. Growing onions indoors can be […]