Growing Blackberries & Raspberries Preparing the Soil Raspberries and Blackberries prefer a soil pH of 5.6 to 6.2; acid soils may require applications of ground limestone to increase the pH. Soil testing information is available from your county Cooperative Extension office. You can improve the level of organic matter in the soil with good compost.…
Growing Sweet & Hot Peppers Peppers are not tomatoes. That seems obvious but for some reason we expect them to grow the same as tomatoes, same planting time, same spacing and same sunlight. Although they are in the garden at the same time they have some very different requirements. Both tomatoes and peppers like warm…
Growing Strawberries Planting Outdoors Strawberry plants can be planted outdoors in early Spring. If strawberries are planted later than June, remove the flowers in the first year to ensure their energy is used to develop a healthy plant in its second year. Strawberry plants can keep producing fruits for five or six years. Strawberries can…
Potato Planting & Growing To Start, Prepare the Soil Use your best method to loosen up the soil 8 to 12 inches deep. Mix in compost or fertilizer if needed. If the soil is dry, water it a few days before planting. It is best to plant in moist soil, not soaked and wet. Plant…
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…
