Growing Onions Long Day Sweet varieties will generally mature a few weeks before the storage varieties. They will store for one to five months, so eat them fresh from the field. These varieties will do well from the mid-west to the Canadian border. Short Day Sweet varieties start the bulbing process when the day-length reaches…
Growing Garlic and Shallots When to Plant Garlic survives bitterly cold winters underground (or grows frost-hardy leaves where winters are mild to moderate), grows rapidly when the weather warms in spring, and bulbs in summer. In the North, plant 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes. This gives the plant time to make good root development…
Growing Eggplant Eggplant is a tender vegetable that is related to the tomato in almost as many shapes and colors. The bushes grow up to 2 1/2 feet tall with hairy gray-green leaves. The fruit varies is size, shape and color. Eggplants need warm soil and warm temperatures. Temperatures should remain above 68 degrees. Full…
Growing Corn Corn, has probably inspired more home gardens than any other vegetable. Corn is a worthwhile vegetable for any garden, and fresh corn on the cob is delicious! It can take up some real estate so make sure you make lots of room for it when planning your garden. Plant corn in the northern…
Growing Blueberries Planting At planting, dig a hole 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide and mix 1 cubic foot of peat moss with top soil until the hole is filled 4 inches from the top. Set the plant and cover the roots with the remaining soil mix. In heavy soils, an equal amount of…
Growing Asparagus Planting Asparagus Asparagus is easy to grow and really doesn’t need anything special except a place where you can grow it for many years because it is a perennial vegetable that can thrive in the home garden for 15 years or more when well cared for. Asparagus plants should grow for at least…
Growing Artichokes You may be surprised that if you have at least 100 frost-free days in your area which most of the country does, you can grow them! Most people assume that the artichoke needs to be grown as a perennial and that it will not bear fruit until the second season. Grown from seed,…
Blossom Drop of Tomato Flowers Due to the hot and humid weather, lately many gardeners are noticing “blossom drop” on their tomato plants. Blossoms are drying up and dropping off before the tomato fruit sets. As explained by J.M. Kemble, extension vegetable specialist and associate professor, Alabama cooperative extension system: “This condition is NOT related…
Tomato Diseases and Prevention The Tasteful Garden promotes natural disease control methods such as keeping your garden clean and weeded, using mulches and good compost in the soil, and using only organically made sprays and pesticides when absolutely necessary. Visit our Organic Gardening store. Diseases can be heartbreaking when they happen as for many of…
Tomato Blossom End Rot Blossom End Rot is probably the most common tomato “disease” and the most scary of them all. This problem occurs on the actual fruits and destroys the first crop very quickly. After all our hard work planting and watering and watching them grow, literally overnight this black rotten spot shows up…
