Posts

Mustard greens are a cool-weather crop, usually grown in the spring or fall and are typically ready to harvest after 30-60 days, depending on the variety. It seems like you only have to look away for a second, or maybe a day, and your mature mustard greens will start flowering. And not long after that, they’re full of seed pods. In some circumstances you can collect the seeds and save them for replanting next season or to share with friends....

They’re handy for dry areas with medium to poor soil, making an appealing and fast-spreading ground cover or addition to a container or rock garden. I like to think of the many types of Sempervivum as “Stayin’ Alive” plants. No, it’s nothing to do with disco. Rather, it’s that name that means “always living” when translated from Latin. These succulents, with many varieties suitable for home gardens that are commonly called hens and chicks or houseleeks, certainly live up to the Latin genus name....

Others have only purchased bags of the frozen berries, or perhaps a plastic carton of fresh ones, when they appear in grocery stores in the fall, to bake into pumpkin bread and blend into relish. Among the many delicious fruits that most Americans enjoy regularly, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fresh cranberry – until Thanksgiving rolls around, that is. Though dried cranberries often feature in granola blends and baked goods, and the juice is popular in combination with vodka and favored by those who suffer from UTIs, the fresh fruit is something that many of us have never experienced, preferring instead to buy a can of the gloppy jelly-like stuff to include with the holiday meal each Turkey Day....

If left to grow, these opportunists will undoubtedly outcompete annual edibles for nutrients, water, and space. But most of them will only germinate when they’re within just an inch or two of the ground’s surface. Gardeners everywhere battle weeds throughout the growing season. But I’m here to offer some unconventional advice. I’m going to encourage you to grow them, or at least allow them to germinate. The reality is that there’s a seed bank underground, an accumulation of seeds built up over the years, just waiting for their turn to germinate and outcompete your beloved edibles....

Growers like to categorize potatoes as late, mid, or early types, but there is no hard and fast rule on how sellers group them. Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) suffer from a bit of a categorization dilemma. There are maincrops, which are sometimes harvested as earlies. Or what about mid-season types that have thick, chewy skin? And how about new potatoes? What’s up with them? It’s enough to make you throw up your hands and head to the nearest fast-food drive-thru for the comfort of some french fries, right?...

You aren’t limited to weeping types, either. To make a massive statement in a small space, the Japanese maple is one of the best options out there. Dwarf types can fit into a pretty tiny spot, but their impact in the garden is anything but small. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. There are upright growers and even one cultivar that you can train over arbors or espalier....

Our guide to growing morning glories has all you need to know to cultivate I. purpurea at your house. Morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea, is a flowering annual vine for USDA Hardiness Zones 2 to 11. Native to Mexico, it has trumpet-shaped blooms that measure two to three inches across. Colors include blue, pink, purple, and white. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

I mean, talk about variety. From specimens to accents, creepers to climbers, screens to foundation plantings, there aren’t many roles that these plants can’t play. Their versatility and range in the garden is hard to beat. Euonymus spp. For gardeners who want to add to their landscape, but aren’t sure of what they want to do, browsing species of Euonymus is usually enough to kickstart inspiration. This botanical genus is pretty much a one-stop shop of trees, shrubs, and vines, both deciduous and evergreen....

Several varieties are commonly used in the home garden for their handsome, evergreen foliage, easy care, and shade tolerance. These plants grow well in full sun, but they really shine in light shade. Ophiopogon spp. A beautiful, low-growing and mounding ground cover, mondo grass is an ideal ornamental for low traffic areas. Not a true grass at all, these tuberous-rooted perennials from the Ophiopogon genus belong to the asparagus family, Asparagaceae....

Can’t wait to get going? Here’s what we’ll cover: Fuchsia plants are famous as vibrant additions to an outdoor garden, but they also make outstanding houseplants. They bring that rich color indoors – even when your space doesn’t have the bright light that many blossoming plants require. Whether you’re bringing a beloved potted plant indoors for the winter or you want a year-round addition to your interior, this guide will help you make it happen....

I’ll be making more room for raspberries soon, though. They require very little of me, and yet, they give so much. I love growing annual veggies, but raspberries provide a nice break from the needy vegetable garden. A few years ago, I bought two everbearing ‘Red Heritage’ plants and planted them in the spring. By fall, I had my first modest harvest. And in just the second season, I harvested a couple of handfuls of fruit every day from July through October – all from two plants....

The leaves lend just a hint of garlic flavor to spring mix salads, scrambled eggs, tomato sauce, herb butter, pasta – and this list of their uses is far from exhaustive. Allium tuberosum If I was choosing my Dream Team for a kitchen garden, wild garlic chives would win the “easy to care for herb” spot, hands down. They’re perennials, hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9, and spread readily. They’d also rank tops on a roster of edibles you could feature on the menu daily....

But while it’s related to true oregano (Origanum vulgare) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris), it’s actually a species of coleus. Cuban oregano is one of those special plants that adds year-round beauty to your home and flavor to your dishes. Outdoors, it will grow as a perennial only in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, which makes it an ideal addition to your indoor kitchen garden if you don’t happen to live in those parts of the US....

And when I say “prayer plant,” I mean all the species grown as houseplants that are part of the Marantaceae family and that go by this common name, including marantas, calatheas (renamed and officially known as goeppertias), ctenanthes, and stromanthes. Prayer plants have gorgeous, patterned leaves. They are also sensitive to their growing conditions and known to be a bit fussy. While the occasional brown leaf tip is to be expected, if your houseplant is making this a habit, it might be a cry for help....

Heirloom tomatoes, winter squash, and homegrown brussels sprouts are great, but who wants to wait three months or more before you can enjoy your first taste from the garden? Sometimes slow and steady does not win the race. Like all those little kid gardeners, there are occasions when even the adults tire of waiting long periods to see sprouts, or taste the fruits (or should I say greens?) of their labor....

Kale is a typical green. It thrives in cool temps, and usually stops producing its best flavors once the weather turns hot. Gardeners who want the largest possible greens harvest know that a spring and fall planting can optimize the best climate and create delicious, mild-tasting leaves without the plant bolting. But what about when it turns bitter cold? Certain varieties were meant to flourish when the first cold snap hits in the fall....

Hardy in Zones 3 to 9, daffodils are native to the Iberian Peninsula and southwest Europe, with over 50 species in the genus and thousands of hybridized cultivars. Narcissus Bright and cheerful with a heavenly fragrance, daffodils are among the most beloved of spring’s harbingers. The flowers are notable for their hues of yellow or white, but many garden varieties also come in shades of pink, coral, and orange. The central corona is trumpet or cup-shaped, and is surrounded by six petals (technically, tepals)....

What Your Garden Needs Now As the growing season winds down in the temperate zones of the US, gardeners have their work cut out for them. Flower and vegetable gardens alike have mature plants that have become scraggly and leggy with brown leaves, an overwhelming array of dead flower heads…the list goes on. How can you begin to tame this jungle and get things back in shape? Perennials Most blooming perennials have finished their first bloom period and are getting ragged-looking by now....

So, I’ll offer you sun recommendations for various different situations, and your efforts to grow this superfood at home should be met with success. Kale is really a must for the backyard vegetable garden. Growing this veggie at home makes it easy to have a nutrient-dense green on hand, right outside your back door. To make sure you have a steady supply of this cruciferous vegetable, you’ll want to grow it in the best conditions – which, of course, includes knowing how much sun to provide it with....

In this article, we zero in on what goes wrong when your broccoli forms loose, bitter heads, and how to prevent this from happening. Broccoli, Brassica oleracea var. italica, is a cruciferous crop, and a member of the Brassicaceae, or cabbage family. It grow best in cool weather, and can be quite a challenge to cultivate successfully. If you are new to growing this crop, you’ll need our guide to growing broccoli in your garden....