Then use a measuring tape to estimate the site's rise (elevation gain) and run (distance from front to back). When the best place you have to grow veggies and herbs is a sloping hillside, you can terrace your way to a garden that's beautiful, productive,...
A small wire bin collects the mess, and gives me a place to put the remains of seed-bearing herbs and flowers that reseed with a little help. Plants Related to this Article Spinach Grow Guide Corn Grow Guide Winter Peas Grow Guide < All Guides
I'm very keen to hear how you speed ripening along at the end of the season. Simply pop the fruit(s) into a paper bag then loosely close it at the top. The easiest way to coax those final fruits to ripen is to make life more stressful for your plants.
Or why not make your own liquid feed from fast-growing, nutrient-rich plants such as comfrey? Keep Plants Warm to Extend the Harvest into Fall Later on in the season stragglers can be encouraged to keep producing for a week or two longer by adding the...
Improve the Garden Environment Many pest predators, such as hoverflies (syrphid flies) are also nectar lovers and pollinators, so grow battalions of flowers near – or even in – your vegetable patch.
Winter cabbages are very hardy but during exceptionally cold weather they may need some form of cold protection such as a row cover tunnel or cloche. Savoy and other winter cabbages benefit from a light frost to bring out their flavor.
It's a great low-tech way of refrigerating drinks and somehow seems the ideal gardener-focussed solution for quenching thirst and cooling off on a hot summer's day. It doesn't have to be grandiose; a self-contained fountain powered by a small electric...
Expect to be inspired by these long-storing beauties. Unharvested daikons make a good winter cover crop because the big roots drill deep holes into the soil, which are then enriched by the rotting radishes.
Follow the steps above. Label each bag with the date and details of what's inside – you'll quickly forget and it can be hard to identify frozen produce through the haze of ice crystals.
By any name, a buttery mash of potatoes and rutabaga is a wonderful dish for a brisk fall day. A little goes a long way, so allow only three pinches per plant. The largest rutabaga I've ever grown got mixed up with the Brussels sprouts and enjoyed plenty...
...And the Worst Vegetables for Seed Saving Avoid saving seeds from the cabbage family. After a few weeks like this the seed heads can be rubbed between the palms of your hands to coax the seeds free.
These branches begin to droop when they're heavy with fruit, and are liable to break. In autumn and winter, spores of Chondrostereum purpureum may infect trees through wounds, so it's important to avoid pruning at this time.
Drying is an excellent way of preserving chilies. The knot will support the first chili so it needs to be a good size so it won't drop off. Hang your ristra in a warm, well-ventilated place.
They'll all save you time while ensuring your plants stay in the best condition possible. I hope you've found some of these ideas handy. Some can even be fitted to water barrels, so you can make the most of any rainwater you've managed to collect.
Planting Second Crop Potatoes Second-crop potatoes take about three months to reach maturity. If you thought growing potatoes was hugely satisfying, second-crop potatoes will prove even more so! Give your holiday season dinners a home-grown boost and...
Start by cutting away any misshapen, damaged or scarred fruits. Early summer offers us a tempting taste of what's to come in the fruit garden. Apples generally produce clusters of between two to six fruits.
Yes, really! In a bad outbreak a handheld vacuum can be very effective at sucking up clouds of whitefly from disturbed leaves. The first frost will put paid to their plans for crop-wide domination but, be warned, in mild areas or in warm greenhouses they...
Alternatively, plant first thing in spring, or grow from seed and set out seedlings in early spring. Harvesting Harvest in early summer when the tops begin to fail, and the bulbs have divided into several plump bulblets.
Use yellow sticky traps to monitor populations. You can also coat the fingertips of a yellow rubber glove with petroleum jelly to make it easier to collect any beetles clustered in blossoms.
Notes Borage seedlings are only edible when very young. Companions Tomato, Squash, Strawberry and Pepper. Large plants produce edible, starry blue flowers that attract bees in droves.
Tips: Yellow sticky traps or yellow pans of water can be used to monitor and trap onion flies. Preventing Problems: Floating row covers (fleece) are an effective way to prevent egg laying by adults.
Often planted with low, mound-forming herbs and flowers. After two years, valerian will grow into a 18" (45 cm) wide clump. Companions Echinacea, Catnip, Agastache and Dill. Dried valerian roots are used to make a bedtime tea that promotes sleep.
Lemon balm grows into a rounded mound. Locate it where leaves can be conveniently picked, crushed and sniffed. Troubleshooting Control lemon balm's spread by cutting back flowering stems in late summer.
Position Full sun. Cover the bulbs to four times their depth with loose soil. Crop Rotation Group Miscellaneous ● Soil Average garden soil with excellent drainage. Notes Tulips will return for several years where winters are cold, but may rot when grown...
Companions Thyme and Osteospermum. Spacing Single Plants: 7" (20cm) each way (minimum) Rows: 7" (20cm) with 11" (30cm) row gap (minimum) Sow and Plant Sow tiny ageratum seeds atop moist seed starting mix and gently press them into the surface.
Notes Bushy determinate plants can be tied to stakes, but long-bearing indeterminate varieties need a sturdy cage or trellis. Troubleshooting Watch for leaf-eating tomato hornworms, and pick them off.
Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Harvesting Use a digging fork to loosen soil along outside of the planting before pulling roots.
