Vegetables

Knowing when to harvest pumpkins is essential for both flavor and storage. Picking pumpkins too early can result in soft, bland fruit, while leaving them on the vine too long increases the risk of rot or frost damage. Understanding the signs of ripeness ensures your pumpkins are ready for cooking, carving,  decoration, or storage. By …

When is a watermelon ripe?  Knowing the answer to this question ensures that you enjoy the sweetest, juiciest fruit from your garden. By learning the key signs of watermelon ripeness, you can avoid picking too early or leaving melons on the vine too long, and instead harvest them at peak flavor. Look at the tendrils …

Knucklehead pumpkins stand out because of their unusual, bumpy skin. This makes them a favorite for fall displays and Halloween decorating. Many people wonder why some pumpkins grow with warts while others stay smooth. The answer depends on both genetics and growing conditions. Some pumpkins, like the knucklehead variety, are bred to develop those wart-like …

 Planning a vegetable garden doesn’t have to stop when the summer ends. There are plenty of vegetables to plant for fall harvests that thrive in cooler weather and even improve in flavor after a light frost. By choosing the right crops, you can keep your harvest going well beyond the summer season. Fall gardens are …

Heirloom pumpkins are an exciting choice for beginning gardeners. Unlike the typical orange pumpkins that we all love to carve, heirlooms offer a fascinating variety of new pumpkins to choose from. These pumpkins are often prized for their unique shapes, colors, flavors, and historical significance. Keep reading to discover what makes heirloom pumpkins so special. …

A small-space vegetable garden lets you grow fresh produce when you don’t have room for a traditional vegetable garden. With the right setup, patios, balconies, and decks can all be spaces to grow vegetables. You’ll need containers with good drainage and a quality potting mix. Your area should receive at least 6 hours of sunlight each …

Catfaced tomatoes have an unconventional and ugly appearance. Few things are more of a disappointment to a home vegetable gardener than discovering that their prized tomato plants don’t look the way they expect them to. Catfacing on tomatoes is a physiological disorder that is characterized by irregular and often distorted growth, resulting in misshapen tomatoes …

If you are looking for an easy-to-grow vegetable, ranking second in popularity after tomatoes, try growing green beans. Green beans are also called French beans, string beans, and snap beans. They come in two types – bush beans and pole beans. Snap beans are a great vegetable for beginning gardeners. Even kids can get involved. …

Yellow leaves on tomato plants have many possible causes — from nutrient problems to diseases and watering issues. Finding the right reason often takes some research and trial and error. Discovering that your plants have yellow leaves (which can also lead to black spots), catfacing, and other tomato plant problems can be a big disappointment and …

There are many watermelon varieties to choose from, and each one has its own characteristics. Some ripen early, some need more space, and others stand out for their color or flavor. Seeded, seedless, icebox, picnic, miniature, and yellow or orange fleshed types all offer something different. In this post, you’ll learn about the most common …

Many gardeners want to know how to ripen tomatoes indoors when the growing season ends or the weather turns cold. Whether your tomatoes are completely green or only partially ripe, you can try the simple indoor methods below to finish the ripening process. Basic supplies like paper bags, cardboard boxes, newspapers, sunny windowsills, bananas, and …

If you’re looking for a cool-weather root vegetable to plant in your home garden this year, try growing rutabagas. This guide will show you how to grow rutabagas from seed to harvest. Rutabagas – also called swedes, neeps, yellow turnips, Canadian turnips, or Russian turnips – have an earthy, peppery flavor when raw, and a …

Tomato blossom drop is a problem that many vegetable gardeners experience, particularly those in hot climates. In fact, a common question that I get from my readers in the warmer states is “Why is my tomato plant dropping its flowers?” You’ve nurtured your tomato plants with care, eagerly expecting to get a harvest of luscious, …

Now that summer is here, home vegetable gardeners are just starting to enjoy the fruits of their labor. A common question that I get from readers is “why are my cucumbers bitter?” Many also want to know if bitter garden cucumbers are safe to eat. Bitter cucumbers can stem from a combination of factors, particularly …

Bell pepper colors can be confusing, especially when they change as the peppers ripen. This post breaks down what the different colors mean and how they affect flavor and nutrition. You’ll learn why peppers start out green and turn red, yellow, orange, or even purple. We’ll explain how ripeness, variety, and growing conditions influence these …

Oregano grows well with a variety of vegetables and herbs. The list of oregano companion plants below can help you decide how to organize your vegetable garden in the most efficient way. Pairing oregano with the right plants can protect your crops, improve growth, and make better use of your garden space. Oregano’s strong aroma acts …

Vegetable gardening mistakes happen to every gardener, whether you’re just starting or have years of experience. The good news is that most mistakes are easy to fix once you know what to look for. Overcrowding plants, poor watering habits, and not feeding your soil can all hold your garden back. Mistakes with spacing, pruning, or …

Do you have a problem with radishes not growing bulbs? This is a common issue in a vegetable garden. What causes this to happen? Radishes – raphanus sativus – have edible greens which can be used in salads, but the main reason they are grown is for their crunchy and spicy round root. Expecting to …

Do you have a shady backyard but still want to grow a vegetable garden? You’re in luck – Below is an assortment of 40 herbs and vegetables that grow in shade and partial shade. All vegetables need some sunlight to grow and produce fruit, but not all vegetables need 6-8 hours of sunlight each day. …

Believe it or not, this easy raised garden bed can be completed in a couple of hours. Once you have the supplies on hand, most of the work comes from cutting and staining the boards. If you have a very uneven ground area, you’ll need to add an hour for leveling the wall supports. Other …

It’s time to learn about growing heirloom seeds! Heirloom vegetable seeds have so much going for them.  They end up giving you plants that you can’t go to a big box store and buy, they cost less than hybrid vegetables and you can save your own seeds from one year to the next. Have you …

These cold hardy vegetables are perfect for the cool weather of early spring. Now is the time to get them planted. 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, …

Are you an avid gardener? If you are, you may have wondered about the various seed types available for planting. The vegetable and flower growing season is getting closer with each passing day. Here in NC, we have had unseasonably warm weather. It SEEMS that spring has sprung but I still don’t dare really get gardening …

Many garden vegetables need full sunlight to grow and produce well. However, not all vegetables require full sunlight. This vegetable sunlight chart is a useful resource to tell you whether your vegetables should be grown in low, medium, or full sunlight. If your vegetable garden doesn’t get 6-8 hours of sunlight daily, don’t despair. There …

If you have never tried to grow sweet potatoes before, you are in for a treat. Starting sweet potato slips is easy to do and lots of fun. Slips are the rooted sprouts that grow from an actual mature sweet potato. They are used to grow new sweet potato plants. Growing sweet potato slips is a …

Have you ever wondered, “What is crop rotation?” Well, you are not alone. Many of my readers ask me this very question. Today we’ll be having a look at crop rotation in a vegetable garden and will learn why it is so important. This time-honored technique employed by farmers worldwide maximizes the yield in a …