You’ve probably seen Jerusalem artichokes growing in roadside ditches or along trails and not known that there was a delicious edible vegetable growing below ground. These 6’-9’ tall plants are in the sunflower family and produce bright yellow late summer flowers about 4” in diameter. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture and range [Continue]
In my opinion, one of the most beautiful features in any home landscape is a vegetable garden. Not everyone agrees. In fact, some homeowner’s associations specifically prohibit vegetable gardens. But just because you don’t have space for a vegetable garden or are forbidden to have one doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. [Continue]
It’s time to begin harvesting the heavy-hitters of the vegetable garden. Garlic, onions and potatoes will last throughout the coming winter and into next spring with proper curing and storage. They each need a slightly different curing strategy but none are difficult. Garlic is ready to harvest when there are five green leaves remaining [Continue]
Most of the plants we grow in our vegetable gardens provide us plenty of nutrients in the form of vitamins and other micronutrients. Very few provide protein. One family of plants, legumes, does provide significant amounts of protein, along with dietary fiber. Dried beans like navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, great [Continue]
Asparagus is usually the first vegetable out of the garden in spring, in early May. If you’re already growing asparagus – lucky you! – because after planting, it’s two years until the first harvest. It is well worth the wait though, since harvesting can continue beyond one gardener’s lifetime. While asparagus can be [Continue]
The International Herb Association has made a rather unusual choice for their 2020 Herb of the Year. Instead of what we typically consider herbs – basil, lavender, oregano, thyme, etc. – raspberries and blackberries have been given this year’s honor. And that’s not all. The entire Rubus species, which numbers in the hundreds, is included. [Continue]
Spinach is easy to grow but even varieties touted as slow to bolt succumb to hot weather way too soon each summer. There is an alternative in a plant from the beet family that is actually a chard, called perpetual spinach. It tastes like neither beets nor chard, but like spinach. In mid-October, my [Continue]
A bright orange pumpkin is not necessarily ready for harvest. Full-sized pumpkins take 90-105 days from planting until they are ready to harvest while miniatures are ready in 70-90 days. If you bought and planted seedlings, subtract seven days. If you have no idea when you planted your pumpkins, there are other ways to [Continue]
The wet spring, the late June heat wave, the lack of pollinators, and a groundhog have conspired to make this year’s vegetable garden my worst ever. I have had spectacular success with one plant though, and it’s a new one to my garden. I planted one ground cherry plant, an inch tall seedling purchased [Continue]
I received an heirloom seed catalog in the mail this year that I hadn’t seen before. Perusing it was eye-opening! Heirloom seeds are those that have been saved and passed down through the generations, sometimes for hundreds of years. They are from open-pollinated rather than hybrid plants and come true to their parent plants, [Continue]