What Is Balcony Gardening and How to Make the Most of It? Balcony gardening can be a very rewarding and relaxing activity, a way of getting in touch with nature and inviting it into your own home, as well as harvesting food you’ve grown yourself. If you’re living in an apartment, maybe you did not consider gardening to be a viable hobby for you, but you can do a little bit of gardening even on the smallest of balconies. Setting up a balcony garden can be quite rewarding. Aside from obvious esthetic reasons, urban gardens, big or small, are also […]
Category: Vegetable Gardening
Tomato Growing Guide
Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables. They come in a variety of colors, sizes, shapes, and flavors. Tomatoes can be eaten raw or cooked and are an excellent addition to many recipes. Growing tomatoes can sometimes be a little challenging. This tomato growing guide will answer all your tomato growing questions and more. Starting Your Tomatoes The seed starting process is the most exciting kick-off to the gardening season. Watching your seedlings grow into sturdy, colorful, tasty plants can be fascinating. Scheduling tomato seeding, starting the process correctly, and proper growing on maintenance is important to your tomato […]
21 Popular Heirloom Vegetables
Heirlooms plants are at least 50 to 100 years old! They come with a fascinating history. Heirlooms come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and flavors. The seeds can be saved and replanted allowing you to enjoy your heirloom plant year after year. We’ve chosen our 21 most popular heirloom varieties for you to enjoy. Ailsa Craig Exhibition Onion Improved Tendergreen Bush Bean Bull’s Blood Beet De Cicco (Di Ciccio) Broccoli Danish Ballhead Cabbage Chantenay Carrot Bloody Butcher Ornamental Corn Chicago Pickling Cucumber Black Beauty Zucchini Squash Buttercrunch Lettuce Pride of Wisconsin Melon Hollow Crown Parsnip Green Arrow […]
Understanding Heirloom and Hybrid Varieties
Home gardeners have access to a large variety of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. In some crops, there are so many varieties available that choosing what to grow can be overwhelming, especially for new gardeners. Understanding the differences between heirloom versus hybrid varieties can be challenging. New gardeners can find solace in knowing that there are advantages and disadvantages of both, but the advantages of either choice, far outweigh their disadvantages. Heirloom Plants What is an Heirloom Plant? The debate gets intense when trying to explain what the definition of an heirloom variety is. Some experts define an heirloom as being […]
Potato Growing Guide
Potatoes are popular vegetables grown for their nutritious underground tubers. Harvested fresh from the garden, they are full of flavor and versatile in cooking. Potatoes are nutritionally high in vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and protein, all with no fat. The skin of the potato contains the majority of the potatoes fiber and many of the nutrients are located close to the skin. Follow this potato growing guide and you will see potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have full sun, moderate temperatures, and light, rich, acidic, well-drained soil. Try some of the many varieties with unique colors, […]
Container Gardening For Beginners
Benefits of Container Gardening Container gardening is a great way to enjoy fresh produce during the entire year. If you lack the space for a full-sized garden, you may feel like your options are limited. However, with a little gardening know-how and careful attention, many vegetable and herb crops can be grown in a container and harvested right to your plate. Benefits include: Plants for Container Gardening The first element to consider with container vegetable gardening is what kinds of vegetables you would like to harvest. Some types are naturally better suited for container production. For beginners, some good vegetable […]
17 Flavorful Pepper Types
Peppers come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, flavors, and heat intensity. We use the Scoville Scale to measure heat. Even extremely hot peppers can have wonderful flavors and be used in many recipes. Peppers are popular, versatile vegetables. Below are some of our favorite flavorful peppers. Anaheim The Anaheim pepper is medium in size. It comes in colors of red and green. It has a mild flavor which is popular in cooking. The Anaheim pepper is easy to grow and produces high yielding crops. Scoville Heat Units: 500 to 2,500 Jung Seed Favorite – Anaheim Chili Pepper Banana […]
Pepper Growing Guide
Peppers produce some of the biggest flavors in a vegetable garden. Their vibrant colors can be quite ornamental. Growing peppers is very similar to growing tomatoes, making it easy to grow the two plants together. Proper planning is essential when growing peppers. The first step is to decide what types of peppers you want to grow. There are many varieties of peppers, in a wide range of colors, shapes, and sizes. Peppers have a number of uses from fresh eating, frying, stuffing, pickling, and more! Types and Varieties of Peppers Sweet Pepper Types Sweet pepper varieties come in a variety […]
How to Create a Bird-Friendly Garden
One of the joys of having a home garden is that you can attract some nature friends like birds. They make a garden more pleasant to be in and are a wonderful natural insect repellent. Various bird species feed on seeds, fruits, and insects. A few enhancements and considerations will increase the likelihood that your avian friends will be attracted to your garden or even make it their home. Birds play an integral role in the ecosystem as well because they are also seed dispersers. Creating your own happy garden can actually create happy unintentional gardens for your neighbors as […]
14 Fast Growing Vegetables
If you’re interested in gardening and are looking for some of the fastest-growing veggies to get you started, there are plenty of options. For any number of reasons, you may not be able to wait for your vegetables to mature. Maybe you don’t have much time left in your growing season or you just want as quick a return on your time investment as possible. Here are some quick growing vegetables that can go from seed to table in 90 days or less. Arugula Arugula is an easy-to-grow leafy green that comes in a range of forms and flavors. It’s […]