Facts About Vegetables

Crop rotation is vital to reduce risk of soil depletion and the incidence of diseases, such as root-knot nematodes, black rot and powdery mildew. A few weeks prior to your average last-frost date, start vegetables like celery indoors, and plant root vegetables...

If you catch them early, however—sometimes literally catch them, as their defense mechanism is to fall off the plant—and put them in soapy water, you shouldn't have any long-term effects.

Consider Laurentian rutabagas for high yield or Helenor for uniformity. Baker Creek offers a variety called Purple Top—the greens of which are a backcountry favorite in my part of Kentucky—while Southern Exposure Seed Exchange offers three other unique...

One old farmer will swear by corn cobs and another will swear by fine bark shavings. They make poor pathways and will get tilled into soil at season's end, reducing the fertile composition of the garden bed.That being said, the best vegetable mulch is...

It exposes developing larvae and pupa to both freezing temperatures and predators, such as spiders, ground beetles and numerous species of birds. At Five Elements Farm, Bozelli fertilizes her radish crop with compost and a dose of organic, liquid fish...

Maturing in about 60 days, Lunar White looks beautiful on a market table or in a CSA box. They're full of numerous vitamins and other nutrients, even though they aren't full of color.

Insect Pests: To protect growing plants from foliage-munching Colorado potato beetles and flea beetles, cover the plants with a layer of floating row cover. A dark, well-ventilated root cellar is a great place, but not everyone has one.

Bronze fennel, for example, is intended solely for the fronds and flowers and does not make a real bulb, while good bulb varieties include Solaris, Orion and Florence. Whether shaved into a salad in the early summer or roasted with rosemary in the fall,...

I like it because it is super easy to peel, stores well and a really good producer in my garden. This underground resting period hardens off the skins and makes them better able to withstand long periods of storage.

Artichokes ( Cynara scolymus ) do best where temperatures are consistent year-round because the plants are susceptible to freezing. It is quite a beautiful plant. The plant is a good 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide, and I love its large, silvery leaves.

Set them aside in a single layer on a large plate. It's a staple of my kitchen during the winter months, when so little fresh garden produce makes it to our table. Seeds are planted indoors, under lights, in late winter and the transplants are nestled...

Instead, store them right in the garden. Or you don't like asparagus when all you've ever swallowed is a mushy, army-green spear straight out of a can. Was the turnip you ate pulled out of the soil the same day it was picked?

This will improve drainage for your plants.Make sure once your plants are out in your balcony gardens that you do not forget to water them. Synthetic soils are made of wood chips,or any other type of synthetic planting media.

Sugarsnax 54 This is the longest carrot I plan to grow, topping out at a whopping 11 inches! I'll prepare the seed bed extra deep for this variety. Because we eat so many carrots, I don't feel bad dedicating so much space to a single crop.

It was delicious! This year, of course, it's no different. When the potatoes are ready to be dug a few weeks after the plants die back completely, I merely have to sink a digging fork into the soil to pry out the tubers.

Hollow Crown Parsnips The Lowes like this parsnip variety best for its compact size, larger crown and, if left undisturbed, fewer side roots. Selecting the perfect varieties from the Apiaceae family to grow in your garden can be a daunting task.

For the spice lover who likes creating pesto or other sauces, basil is harvested for the best flavor from July through September. However, it may take another month before plants can be transplanted outdoors and proper soil temperature monitoring is needed.

When you're planting potatoes, keep this process in mind so you can give your potatoes the optimum conditions for a bountiful harvest. In a typical SFG bed, 6-inch-wide boards are used to create a 4-by-4-foot box filled with a mix of equal parts of vermiculite,...

It's truly my favorite summer vegetable, both for taste and beauty in the garden and on the plate. Beet the Competition To grow the best beets on the block (no matter which variety strikes your fancy) here are a few growing tips: Each beet seed is actually...

Mix the fertilizer in well and water the beds. Buy the largest transplants available. This can come in the form ofadded to it. If you are using an existing garden, remove all old plant detritus and weeds.

I bury them near the plants, for all summer long, keeping a strict order of where I last buried the fertilizer. I've never made a total of how much I'm saving from my garden, but no matter the sum, just the thought of saving some money is enough to make...

The garden is a muddy place in the winter, so consider covering the area you plan to harvest with opaque white plastic or something that will keep the ground cool, but also dry, even if in small sections.

Unlike the leafy plants in this list,have to grow an entire plant and then put out pods. Sometimes you garden for a challenge, and sometimes you garden to get exactly the vegetables you want.

Too much manure or other high-nitrogen fertilizer should be avoided; this often results in undesireable hairy roots. Unless you have better soil than I do, these are the kinds of carrots that you only wish you could grow.Carrots of this type are shorter...

The slightly smoky flavor of roasted beets goes well with the thick sweetness of its red flesh, and I think that roasting also helps in some way to prolong their storage life. Mulches are also a great way to keep weeds down in the beet patch.

That isn't to say the people don't eat it as well. They take from 4-5 months to reach maturity and, in some instances, can attain weights of up to 20 pounds.Mangolds are propagated via seed, which can be stored for later use in the refrigerator for up...

As it turns out, these roots are surprisingly divine and totally worth growing. Rutabagas are a member of the Brassica family (Brassica napus var napobrassica). Lack of moisture can lead to woody, pithy roots.