Vegetable Growing Guides
Artichokes - Tips for Growing Artichokes Just About Anywhere
Artichokes are considered a delicacy but the plants can be grown just about anywhere. They can take a bit more work than other vegetables, but many gardeners consider it worth it. Here are tips to get you started growing and caring for artichokes.
Asparagus
Asparagus is a sure sign that spring is here and the gardening season has begun. Asparagus,one of the few perennial vegetable crops, is a favorite garden vegetable around the world, in shades of green, white and purple. Here are some things to know for growing great asparagus in your backyard vegetable garden.
Arugula
People love it or hate it. If you love it, you should try growing it. It's fast, easy and a real treat first thing in spring, when not much else is ready to pick.
Beans, Green Beans
Often called green beans or string beans, the common garden bean can be both stringless and colors other than green. But it’s the green bean that everyone recognizes as one of the most frequently prepared vegetables. Hot, cold, even raw, string beans are versatile in the kitchen and very prolific producers in the garden. They are also easy to...
Beans, Green Beans - Fall Crop
Fall grown bean crops can be more tender and tasty than beans grown in summer's heat. If you have a couple of months yet before a frost, you have a second growing season for beans. Here are some tips for growing better beans in the fall vegetable garden.
Broccoli
Love it or hate it, broccoli is a very rewarding vegetable to grow. It starts producing early and keeps sprouting throughout summer. Warm climate gardeners can get several planting in. It's not the easiest vegetable to grow, but here's some help.
Beets
Beets are a fast growing crop that can be grown just about anywhere. Although beets are known as a root crop, all parts of the beet plant are edible. Grow beets in the garden in spring and fall and have them to eat all year.
Cabbage
Cabbage can be grown easily in the home vegetable garden. In fact, two crops a year of cabbage are possible. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from. Cabbages are classified by head shape, round and flat-head being the most commonly seen, and come in white, green and purple.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts are a long season crop that actually tastes better when hit with a slight frost. So although they are a late harvest, they are a relatively long one. Because of their fondness for cool weather, Brussels Sprouts are a fall crop in warmer climates. Here are more tips for growing Brussels sprouts.
Carrots
Carrots are best when grown in loose soil and cool weather. A raised bed, lots of water and a little mulch will get your carrots off to a great start. More tips for growing carrots...
Corn
Sweet corn, fresh from the garden, is a treat like no other. Although corn is a long season crop and can take up crucial space in your garden, it is easy to grow and the rewards far out weigh the costs. The real challenge to growing sweet corn is having the patience to wait for it to ripen and beating the critters to the harvest.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are grown in just about every backyard vegetable garden. Whether you grow your cucumbers for slicing or pickling, there's a world of cucumbers out there. Follow these tips to help you grow more cucumbers.
Eggplant
Eggplants are sun and heat loving vegetables, in the same family as tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. Eggplant actually does come in a small, white egg-shaped variety. Most Americans have never seen one, so the name seems inappropriate. There is actually a great variety of eggplants, any much easier to grow in the home vegetable garden than the...
Cabbage and Kale Tips
Cabbage and kale are among the hardiest and most nutritious vegetables a home gardener can grow. They are also very easy to grow, especially for home vegetable gardeners in cooler climates. Beautiful, in shades of pale yellow to wrinkled steel blue and ranging in flavor from sweet and crisp to tangy, cabbage and kale are versatile vegetables...
Fava Beans (Broad Beans)
Call them fava beans or broad beans - either wya they are one of the earliest vegetables ready to harvest in the spring. Tips for growing these cool weather loving broad beans, plus some fava bean recipes.
Eggplant Varieties and Choices
There are hundreds of delicious varieties of eggplant you won't find in the produce aisle. Some are even egg shaped. Here are some tips for choosing and growing eggplant in the home vegetable garden
Gourds
Growing gourds is easy and extremely rewarding. By drying ornamental gourds, you can keep them intact indefinitely and use them to make bird houses, containers, pots and silly, whimsical decorations. However gourds will require a good amount of space to run and they will probably take the entire growing season to mature. But growing gourds is something that the entire family can take part in and enjoy. Here’s how easy it is.
Growing and Using Jerusalem Artichokes
Jerusalem artichokes, or sunchokes, are grown for their edible tubers, that have a flavor and texture similar to water chestnuts. They grow easily just about anywhere, sometimes too much so.
Horseradish
Tips for growing horseradish plants in the home vegetable garden.
Kale
Growing kale is an easy and very rewarding crop for the home gardener. This cooking green is as beautiful to look at as it is tasty to eat and it attracts very few pests or problems. The secret to growing great kale is cool temperatures and plenty of water. Here’s how to have your best crop ever.
Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the few vegetables we eat fresh and uncooked. Shouldn't it be as fresh as can be. Salad greens are easy to grow and there are literally hundreds of varieties. That pale green head you see at the grocery store is just the tip of the iceberg. Here's a look at growing and choosing the best lettuce.
Mache (Corn Salad)
Few things taste as good as the first greens of spring and mache is one of the earliest. It's easy to grow, although it doesn't have a long growing season. Don't let that stop you.
Okra
Okra is grow for its long, pointed seed pods, which are used in gumbos and soups. Okra is a warm season vegetable that can easily be grown in home vegetable gardens. Its flowers resemble hibiscus and okra makes a nice ornamental plant as well.
Onions
Growing onions takes patience, since all the action takes place under ground. If you can provide a rich soil and a full day of sun, you can grow a good sized harvest of onions for eating fresh and storing for later. Here are some tips for choosing and growing the right onions for your home garden.
Parsnips
Parsnips need a long growing season, a little diligence with pests, some water and not much else. Grow parsnips during the summer and feast on them throughout the winter. These pale carrot cousins have a sweet, nutty creaminess that makes a great comfort food.
Pea Shoots and Tendrils
The tender, crispy shoots and tendrils of young pea plants make wonderful edible garnishes and snacks.
Potatoes
Potatoes may grow hidden under soil, but they don't have to be a mystery. Here are some tips for how to grow potatoes, in the ground or in containers, and what problems to look out for.
Peas
Fresh peas have a fleeting life in most gardens. Learn to make the most of the season.
Peppers, Hot
Chili peppers have the distinction of being welcome I both vegetable gardens and flower borders. While hot peppers may seem exotic, they are very easy to grow almost anywhere, even indoors. The assortment of hot peppers, whether Jalapeno, Serrano, Cayenne, Habanero or Thai, offers something for every garden and every pallette.
Growing Sweet Peppers in the Vegetable Garden
Sweet peppers take their time in the garden, waiting for the peak of summer to start setting and ripening their fruits. But once they get going, they will reward you for the rest of the season.
Pumpkins
Growing pumpkins may seem as American as apple pie, but they have been grown around the world for centuries. Although orange is the commonly know color, pumpkins come in white, red, pink and blue and can be smooth, bumpy, oval, flattened or round. All pumpkins grow easily from seed and transplants. Here are some great varieties to try and some tips to grow pumpkins in what ever space your home garden can provide.
Shallots
How to grow shallots in your vegetable garden. Shallots are expensive in the market, but are very easy and economical to grow. Here are tips to growing shallots, as easily as garlic.
Spinach
Leafy vegetables always taste better fresh from the garden. Spinach, like lettuce, grows best in the cool weather of spring and fall. Spinach also grows extremely quickly, which means you don’t have to wait long to enjoy it, but you’ll also have to keep planting new spinach to extend the harvest. Tips for growing spinach in the home garden.
Radishes
Even the humble globe-shaped radish offers a good amount of variety. They can be round or oblong, hot or mild, red, pink, purple, white or bi-colored. Radishes are quick growing and fairly easy, if you follow a few radish growing guidelines.
Rat's Tail Edible Podded Radish
'Rat Tailed' radishes are grown for their edible pods. Unlike traditional bulb radishes, 'Rat Tailed' grows well in hot weather and repeatedly produces for weeks. And the pods have the same flavor and crunch as their bulbing cousins.
Rhubarb
Is rhubarb a vegetable? A fruit? An ornamental plant? It’s a very ornamental vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. All that and it’s perennial in many areas. Rhubarb is a cool season crop that is grown for its fibrous leaf stalks, which are a wonderful sweet-tart treat. These tips should help you get your rhubarb...
Rutabaga
Rutabagas are plump, golden root vegetables that grow easily in most gardens. They have a crisp, fresh cabbage-like flavor that sweetens when cooked. They're good in everything from crudite to pie.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard, or silver beet, is a fast growing, leafy vegetable that can handle cool temperatures and summer heat. Grow Swiss chard as a spinach substitute. Growing Swiss chard couldn't be easier.
Squash, Winter Squash
Growing Winter squash can intimidate home gardeners. The vines can take over your garden and the fruits take all season to mature. Luckily there are new varieties on the market that are easier to grow and take up less space. Acorn squash, Hubbards, spaghetti? What is a winter squash ad how do you grow them?
Tomatoes
Tips for growing great tomatoes and trouble shooting tomato growing problems.
Tomatillos
How to grow tomatillos in your vegetable garden. Tomatillos are an integral part of Mexican cooking and are very easy and prolific to grow. Here are some tips for growing tomatillos yourself.
Squash, Patty Pan
How to grow patty pan squash. Growing patty pan squash and tips for cooking with it, too.
Watermelons
Watermelons can be tricky to grow well. They need heat and a long season, but there are varieties for shorter seasons, too. Here are some tips for growing watermelons just about anywhere.
Sweet Potatoes
Can you grow sweet potatoes at home? Except for being a long season crop, sweet potatoes are very easy to grow. Even the sweet potato leaves are edible. If you have a small garden, bush sweet potatoes might be a better choice for you. Here are some tips for growing sweet potatoes in any home garden.
Growing Turnips
Turnips are a quick growing, cool season vegetable that store for months. You can eat both the greens and the root bulb. And there's a good deal more variety to turnips than the purple tops you see in the store.
Zucchini & Summer Squash
Summer squash should be in every home garden. Summer squash grows easily, tastes best freshly picked and comes in varieties from acorn to zucchini. The only trick to growing great summer squash is choosing the right varieties. There are dozens to try. But summer squash doesn’t stop at zucchini. This profile of summer squash should convince you to try a few vines in your home garden.