What Does Valerian Root Do

The flowers are lovely, too. Choose a well-drained site, and if you live in the south, pick a location with afternoon shade. The tubers can also be sliced and eaten raw in salads. If neither of these options is available, don't fret.

To warm the soil, cover the planting rows with a layer of black or clear plastic (more later on how to create good planting rows). Once the skins have cured, store your purple sweet potatoes in wooden or plastic crates at about 55 degrees F with 85 percent...

Oops! I guess I never got that gardening memo. You may also want to wait to harvest until the soil is damp, which helps to release the roots. I had read that early-sprouting radishes can be a great way to help mark the rows where slow-germinating carrots...

When you grow carrots in containers, the roots are less likely to come into contact with these pests. For smaller, shorter carrots, you won't need a pot quite as deep, but again, the wider the pot's diameter, the more carrots you can grow.

Golden beets, Chioggia beets and Albino beets are my personal favorites. If a soil test shows a phosphorous deficiency in your garden, side-dress beet-planting sites with bonemeal or rock phosphate down the length of the row.

These members of the onion family grow in small clumps, with the bulbs sometimes poking up out of the soil as the plants grow. With a mild, onion-like flavor, shallots are real champs in the kitchen, flavoring soups, omelets , stews and other dishes with...

Try these varieties. For best results, plant the seeds according to package instructions as early as four to eight weeks before your last expected spring frost. Beets easily germinate in cool soil, but because each beet “seed” is actually a collection...

Fusarium wilts cause vascular systems to collapse and become unable to transfer water and nutrients up from the roots. Most of these sweet-potato pest problems can be overcome by good sanitation and cultural practices, including the use of disease- and...

High Mowing Seeds has variety called Preludio, which is said to be bolt-resistant—good for growing in the spring and summer. Whether shaved into a salad in the early summer or roasted with rosemary in the fall, fennel is a versatile and attractive vegetable...

That's a lot of spuds! If you grow potatoes and you don't harvest new potatoes, you're missing out. I discovered that if one “bad” potato is put in the same storage box as unblemished tubers, the resulting rot can ruin the entire batch.

Throughout the growing season, I pick the small fresh leaves, snacking on them as I go by or adding them to salads for their radishy excitement and stimulation. We planted our horseradish plants in a raised bed with wooden sides.

Because its productivity is so closely linked to the weather, spinach harvests can be erratic from year to year for many gardeners. Where to plant: Garden; containers When to harvest: 30 to 40 days after seeding, when leaves are 1 to 2 inches in length...

Carrots grow best in loose, friable soil tilled to a depth of 10 to 12 inches, and because they'll fork when they hit an obstacle, removing rocks and debris from the soil is a must.

What this means is the earlier you plant your radishes, the better. Waiting too long to harvest will result in woody, pithy roots. They grow best in temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees F.

We bought tubers one year and couldn't figure out where their final home would be. Jerusalem artichokes, aka sunchokes, can be eaten like a potato and are great for restoring the digestive fire in your gut.

So many farmers' market vendors focus on tomatoes, summer squash and other popular crops. An attractive display of Apiaceae produce can set you apart from other vendors and provide customers with a delightful change of pace.

Roasted turnips are delicious, as are braised turnip greens with a touch of garlic and olive oil. Where to plant: Garden; containers When to harvest: 55 days after seeding, when roots are 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

In fact, some people even grow them in bales of straw—it can't get a whole lot easier than that! Why People Fail Any number of things can go wrong with potatoes, but they are all fairly avoidable or easy to get around.

They store better than your average turnip—up to six month under the right conditions—so they make a great contribution to your late winter meals in addition to your fall market table.

The price drops dramatically when the flowers are gone, but with a little attention anwill grow and rebloom. Let me give you two recent examples.I've often been tempted by those out-of-bloom orchids.

A fall crop can be sown eight to 10 weeks before the first expected fall frost. It exposes developing larvae and pupa to both freezing temperatures and predators, such as spiders, ground beetles and numerous species of birds.

White Wonder Cucumbers These cukes have the look of traditional green cucumbers, but the skin and flesh is bright white. White Beauty has been around since the mid-1800s and produces fruits that weigh 1/2 to 1 pound each.

Choose a spot, if possible, where other members of the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and peppers, have not been grown within the past few years. Purchasing certified disease-free seed potatoes at the start of each season avoids this problem.

They're boring, knobby, brown orbs that are about as unassuming as you can get. The best rutabaga varieties have roots with a sweet flavor and smooth, buttery texture. Lack of moisture can lead to woody, pithy roots.

Rinse and dry the leaves and then set them aside.4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. The two look completely different, but I challenge anyone to tell the difference in taste.

The one plant that continues to grow strong is my artichoke . I've had some of the best beets I've ever grown, and the carrots are just beginning to get sweet as the temperatures drop.

Celeriac requires a very long growing season, upwards of 110 to 120 days from sowing. Butter salt and pepper to taste 2 T. Once all the rounds have been breaded, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.