Keep seedlings under very bright light to prevent legginess. Artificial lights are ideal, but a bright (ideally, south-facing) room will work for the short term. You may have to pot on seedlings more than once before they go out to allow for root growth. This is done by transplanting them into a slightly larger container with enough additional soil to keep the container mostly full.
Continue ReadingPeppers are tropical plants that need lots of heat and attention to detail when starting them. Well grown in a warm summer, they are the gardener’s triumph. Interestingly, the hot peppers often do better in a cool summer than the...
Continue ReadingLearn how to grow microgreens from seed, and you’ll have an unlimited supply of fresh, nutritious, and tender salad greens. Microgreens can be pulled from the soil and rinsed until all the soil particles have washed away. They can be...
Continue ReadingWhatever type of carrot seeds you plant it’s easy to learn how to grow carrots from seed. Carrots are biennials so they use their leaves in the first year to gather energy from the sun to build a big, starchy root....
Continue ReadingAsparagus crowns are live goods that have been freshly harvested from the soil. Like seed potatoes and hops rhizomes, they have only recently been dug from the soil, and are in a state of dormancy. This dormancy is broken in response to temperature, day length, and available moisture.
Continue ReadingPotatoes, just like other vegetables, flower in the summer. If the flowers are pollinated, small fruits can form that look like tiny tomatoes. If the fruits mature, they can develop seeds. In most cases, the genetics of potato seeds are not predictable, and may produce undesirable traits. In this case, the seeds are hybrids that have been carefully produced by plant breeders, so they will produce consistent results.
Continue ReadingChickpeas require 90-100 days to mature. Start them indoors approximately 4 weeks before the last average frost date. Optimal soil temperature: 10°C (50°F). Seeds sprout in 14-21 days depending on conditions.
Continue ReadingSince you cannot purchase shelling peas or edible pod peas that are freshly picked, this is one vegetable every home garden should have. The peas in the pod taste sweetest right after they have been picked (while you’re still in...
Continue ReadingSesame is commercially produced in desert settings, so when we say it’s drought tolerant, we really mean it. In fact, this is really the key to success with sesame seeds, as we will outline in the following guide on how...
Continue ReadingIt may seem counter-intuitive for a gardener to actually plant what must be the world’s commonest weed. But dandelions have lots of culinary potential, they feed pollinators, and they cultivate the soil with their long taproots. Latin Tarataxacum officinale Family:...
Continue ReadingHere is all the information you need on how to grow hops. Hops make a dramatic addition to ornamental gardens. Highly decorative, fast growing, trouble free, and cold hardy, hops give a flare and interest to gardens that few other...
Continue ReadingCorn Salad is a largely unknown leafy vegetable that has a long history in Europe, where it is know variously as mache, vit, fetticus, and so on. Harvest individual leaves or whole rosettes. These are small, but succulent and tasty....
Continue ReadingOkra is a fast growing, warmth loving, very attractive flowering plant. The pods emerge from each pollinated flower, and will produce viable seeds if left to mature. Learn when to plant okra seeds in our How to Grow Okra instructions....
Continue ReadingThe trick to growing spinach is to grow it fast and harvest it fast, and use the right varieties in the right season. Spinach bolts as the days get long and when the weather gets hot. That’s why spinach is...
Continue ReadingThe succulent leaves of Swiss chard can be used much like spinach. You can even use the big ones to wrap “cabbage” rolls. The colourful stems can be cooked like asparagus. Enjoy the small leaves in salad. They grow easily...
Continue ReadingThese big sprawling tomatillo plants are easier to grow than tomatoes and do not require any protection from rain. The fruit itself, when fully ripe, can be used to increase tomato sauces. Ground cherries are a sweet fruit and are...
Continue ReadingSummer turnips are great for salads, pickles, and stir-fries. Any place that you would use spinach or Swiss chard, you can give turnip greens a try. Follow along with this handy How to Grow Turnips Guide and grow food. Turnips make excellent pickles....
Continue ReadingTrue zucchinis are evenly narrow along their length, and they are long – never round. We include summer pumpkins here as “round zucchinis” because they are so similar in growth habit and usefulness. Zucchinis that develop a bulbous end where the...
Continue ReadingThe three species of squash that we offer represent a wide variety of shapes and colours. Each will cross-pollinate readily within their species. For instance, all C. pepo will cross-pollinate with each other, but not with C. maxima or C....
Continue ReadingGrowing Sprouts from Seed Home grown sprouts are easy to grow and fast to sprout. You can grow them in a mason jar, in a kitchen sieve, or in one of several specialized sprouters like the Biosta sprouter. Follow along with...
Continue ReadingBroad beans are a member of the pea family, and are one of the oldest known cultivated plants. Broad beans are also known many other names: fava beans, Windsor beans, faba bean, and horse beans. Follow along with this handy How to...
Continue ReadingLeeks are a valuable addition to the garden because they can be used instead of pungent storage onions from October until April. Even in heavy soils, leeks are easy to grow and have lots of flavour. Follow this handy How...
Continue ReadingQuinoa greens are packed with vitamins and minerals, and have a nice, mild taste. The seeds can be ground into a flour that is gluten free, or simply cooked like rice. Follow along with this handy How to Grow Quinoa from seed Guide...
Continue ReadingOne stalk of cooked broccoli gives you 75mg of vitamin C, 1300 IU of beta carotene, 3g of protein and 5g of dietary fibre with only 40 calories. No wonder they is one of the most popular vegetables you can...
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