Vegetables

One of the easiest garden projects, growing pea sprouts provides a quick and easy way to enjoy your own microgreens. A low maintenance crop that is suitable for growing both indoors and outside, this is a reliable, year round crop that is suitable for gardeners of all abilities. Rich in flavor, pea sprouts are also

There is nothing like the taste of a home grown, freshly picked tomato. If you want to enjoy this taste but worry that you don’t have the space, growing small tomatoes is the ideal solution. Taking up surprisingly little space, small tomatoes can be grown in pots, planters, hanging baskets and even on kitchen windowsills.

When you have a lot of cabbage from your garden, you can make sauerkraut, or fermented cabbage. Homemade fermented cabbage is much better than anything you could purchase in a store as it has a nice bite to it and is crunchy. It’s perfect for putting on a sandwich or on beer-braised bratwurst, and you

Are you new to the pepper world? Shishito peppers are one of the best pepper plants you can start with. Not only do they have very simple growing requirements, but they have a mild flavor profile that blends well with dozens of recipes. They also have an earlier harvest, so you’ll have mountains of peppers

A popular member of the vegetable garden, crunchy cucumbers freshly harvested from the garden are one of the joys of summer. If you don’t like eating these nutritious fruits, you can also use them to flavor water or as part of your skincare regime. As the summer draws to a close, excess fruit can be

One of the most popular members of the vegetable garden, lots of people, myself included, love growing tomatoes. As many gardeners will tell you, once you have tasted a homegrown tomato freshly picked from the garden, store bought types will never taste as good again. While many people buy young plants or transplants from garden

The bitter melon plant is a favorite in Southeast Asian and Asian cooking, and you can stuff it with shrimp or pork and pickle or steam, or curry it before serving it in a soup or with meat. As the name suggests, bitter melons are a very strong acquired taste, and you can liken the

Chard is also called Swiss chard or silverbeet, and it’s a very easygoing and well-behaved member of your vegetable garden. It tends to stick to itself, and it’ll grow in tender, colorful, upright stalks with leafy growth without a huge amount of effort on your part. If you want to grow it in your garden,

Artichokes are herbaceous perennials that fall into the Asteraceae family, and this family group also includes dandelions, thistles, and sunflowers. Artichokes are short-lived perennials in warmer climates, but you can grow them as annuals in cooler climates or extend the growing season by growing artichokes in pots. Most people choose to grow them for the

Companion planting is arguably one of the easiest and best methods to help boost both plant’s health, and many people choose this practice to get rid of pests and some plants work as deterrents for bugs that want to eat your vegetables. Other plants draw predators in to eat the nuisance pests, but what are

Kale is a versatile, leafy green vegetable that is packed with antioxidants and nutrients. The ultimate cut-and-come-again vegetable it is also easy to grow and, as this guide explains, harvest. As well as explaining how to harvest kale we will share lots of useful care and growing tips, enabling you to get the best from

There are two main types of beans you’ll find in your regular garden, pole beans and bush beans, more commonly called green beans. The main difference between these two is the growing style you use as harvesting beans is the same process. Pole beans grow in a vining fashion and require trellises or stakes to

Rhubarb is an immensely popular summertime vegetable. You can find rhubarb made into smoothies, pies, desserts, and even savory dishes at the start of summer. It’s common to pair it with strawberry, so they tend to be in stores at the same time each year. But, when should you stop eating rhubarb? When is rhubarb

For many gardeners, homegrown tomatoes are one of the best tastes of summer. Growing tomato plants is a rewardingly straightforward process. But there is some skill involved. As well as knowing when to water and fertilize, knowing when to pick tomatoes is key. Picking the tomatoes too soon means that they will be small and

Resilient, low maintenance and surprisingly productive, bunching onions are amongst the easiest vegetables that you can add to your garden. Once started you can practically forget about these unfussy plants. After harvest they die away before returning bigger and better the following year. As well as their productivity bunching onions (Allium fistulosum) are also good

A staple of southern gardens, black-eyed pea plants are a productive addition to the vegetable garden. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is considered to bring you luck during the following year. Easy to grow and versatile enough to suit a range of growing conditions. If you are looking to add legume plants to

One of the most popular indeterminate hybrid tomato varieties on the current market are better boy tomatoes. You can grow this tomato plant in almost any area in the country, right alongside the big boy tomatoes. This tomato is crisp, juicy, and it explodes with a classic tomato taste. They’re perfect to add to any

Tomatoes are one of the many pleasures of the summer, and if you’ve ever had a ripe tomato fresh off the vine, you know it can’t be beat. I’m fully convinced that everyone should grow their own tomatoes, since they don’t require much space or water and give you so much for so little care!

Any gardener that has grown tomatoes knows well that with tomatoes when it rains, it pours. The end of the summer often has gardeners with overflowing baskets of tomatoes that just can’t be eaten before going bad. This overabundance is the main reason why there’s so many different methods of preserving and using tomatoes. When

Parsley is easily one of the most commonly used herbs available, and it’s a member of the carrot family. You commonly see parsley used as a garnish on a plate or to lend a mild flavor in a huge range of dishes from salads to soups. So, parsley is a must-have for virtually any herb

Since potatoes are such a popular food that everyone knows and loves to eat, they’re one of the most commonly grown vegetables. They’re also quite easy to grow and store, all the more reason to grow potatoes, even for beginner gardeners and homesteaders. But, of course, we don’t grow them for the plant- we grow

We are slowly but surely approaching pumpkin season as the summer winds down and we can feel the temperatures getting cooler. For those of you who are growing yourself, you’re likely already seeing those beautiful bright orange flowers blooming and the fruits forming along the vines. This past week, I visited a local farm with

Growing jalapenos in pots will result in happy plants if you give them all they need. Start with a rich potting soil and five-gallon containers, then put the pots in a spot where they’ll get full sun and water them regularly. Add fertilizer to your jalapeno plants every two weeks, and wait for your plants

Gourds are also called pumpkin or squash, and they’re a kind of hard-shelled fruit that you grow on edible vines. Gourds fall into the Cucurbitaceae family, and this family includes various types of gourds, cucumbers, and watermelon. Gourds are one of the oldest grown plants that have served a huge range of purposes outside of

Do you love fresh vegetables but you don’t have a lot of space to dedicate to them? If this is the case, climbing vegetables can be the answer to your problem. We’ve picked out 21 of the best climbing vegetables that you can easily grow vertically with a little support. You can grow them up

Tomato nomenclature can seem like an overwhelming and confusing subject. Along with heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, there are also indeterminate, determinate, and type classifications for tomatoes. Plum tomatoes are one of the five types, and the other main classifications include globe, cherry, beefsteak, and oxheart. But, what are plum tomatoes and how do you grow

Basil is a reliable, aromatic culinary herb. A popular part of the herb garden the plants typically grow from a single stem. A tender annual, the fragrant leaves are commonly used with tomatoes. You can also use the leaves to add flavor to drinks. If you are growing basil you will be aiming to cultivate

One of the most popular members of the vegetable garden, cultivating a healthy and productive pepper plant is a largely straightforward process. If you do not want to harvest the fruit of these reliable specimens, there are also a number of attractive, ornamental varieties that are just as easy to cultivate. Knowing how to prune

Broccoli is a well-known vegetable crop that prefers to grow in cooler weather over hot temperatures, and you can plant one or more types of broccoli In your garden through the spring and autumn months. Depending on your location and climate, it’s even possible to grow types of broccoli in the winter months. Broccoli has

Hanging baskets packed with pretty blossoms are a common sight in the summer months, but how about hanging tomato plants? Yes, you can create hanging tomato plant containers if you don’t have space for a traditional garden. They’re great for people who have space on the patio but not in the yard, and tomatoes will

Bush bean plants are one of the best crops for any beginner gardener to grow, and starting them from seed is very easy. They also don’t require trellises for support, and you get a nice return on your investment when they start to grow and produce the beans. There’s also nothing quite like watching the

One of the most popular plants in the vegetable garden, cultivating a crop of onion bulbs is a reliable, fairly low maintenance task. Many growers chose to cultivate their onion crop from sets. However you can also grow the plants from seed. There are a number of benefits to growing onions from seed. Not only

The common black bean is also called the turtle bean because it comes with a very hard shell attached. It’s a very versatile legume that you grow from a bean plant called Phaseolus vulgaris, and you can grow it at home in bush or pole bean varieties. If you’re wondering how to grow black beans,

In New England, pumpkins are some of the best bumper crops you can grow, and they have a reputation for producing overflowing patches of the orange gourds in the fall as they go through the stages of pumpkin growth. But, how do you get to the point that you have large pumpkins to harvest? In

Spaghetti squash is a type of winter squash, and it makes a nice pasta substitute if you’re trying to add more vegetables to your diet and eat healthier. When you pull the interior apart using a fork, you get a noodle-like and stringy consistency that mimics pasta. The mild flavor of this squash tastes good

If you are looking for a slightly more unusual plant to include in your vegetable garden, why not try a cucamelon? A reliable vining plant, the small fruits can, as the name suggests, resemble a small cucumber or watermelon. Also known as the mouse melon, sandita or Mexican sour gherkin, the cucamelon is increasingly popular

Tomato cages can be very helpful tools in the garden to encourage your tomato plants to grow in an upward fashion and keep the tomatoes well away from the ground so they don’t prematurely spoil. The top tomato cages give plants all of the support they need to grow strong and tall while producing a

Everyone is always on the lookout for the next big thing, and glass gem corn has seen a huge popularity burst recently. It almost looks like someone photoshopped it, but they’re real. Also, they’re easy to grow in your garden, and the seeds are readily available to buy online and in some stores. Harvesting your

When it comes to different corn varieties and how they taste fresh picked from the garden, there is no substitute. Adaptability to the garden climate and flavor are the biggest considerations to keep in mind when you’re deciding which corn variety you want. You can choose from standard corn, supersweet corn, synergistic, or sugary enhanced

Roma tomatoes are arguably one of the most well-known and desirable tomatoes on the market, and you’ve probably seen them listed as ingredients in an Italian recipe or seen them as canned goods. In terms of care, roma tomatoes aren’t that different from traditional tomatoes, but when you choose to grow this specific cultivar, there

Lentils are considered to be one of the most nutrient-dense foods available. They come packed with dietary fiber and protein, and many people believe that they are a superfood. Growing lentils dates back to ancient times, and it was one of the first crops to be domesticated. In common religions like Judaism, lentils are very

Did you know that cardamom is one of the most unique and expensive spices in the world? If you live in a humid, warm climate or in planting zones 10 to 12, you can grow a cardamom plant. You can plant new seeds inside and let them get a headstart for a few months so

Even if you have a small yard or no yard at all, this doesn’t mean that you can’t garden. You can easily pick out the best vegetables to grow in pots and start a small container garden on your patio, porch, or balcony. You can grow virtually any vegetable you want in a container, but

Crisp and spicy, the radish is one of the earliest cultivated crops. Believed to originate in southeast Asia, it was also one of the first European vegetables to be introduced to the Americas. A member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family, the radish is, in my opinion, one of the most versatile inclusions in the

In this guide we will show you how to grow vanilla beans. Today, there are over 150 different kinds of vanilla. It is the most popularly used spice in the world and 2nd most expensive, second only to saffron. The plant kingdom’s Orchid family is the second largest family of flowering plants. About 28,000 different

Sweet potato fries may have started to gain popularity a few years ago, but sweet potatoes have been a staple in many people’s diets for decades. You can get types of sweet potatoes that range from orange to cream-colored to purple and red, and they have a history stretching back over 5,000 years. They’re now

A popular fall vegetable, the leek is one of my favorite vegetables. A surprisingly versatile vegetable, the leek is ideal for stir fries, soups and salads. Pleasingly easy to grow, a mature leek has a pleasant, subtle flavor which contrasts nicely with its stiff texture. This guide to how to store leeks will explain to

The humble cauliflower is an often overlooked vegetable. Reliable and easy to grow these cool weather loving plants with their tightly packed white heads are a staple of the vegetable garden. However, did you know that the cauliflower comes in a range of eye-catching colors, shapes and flavors? This guide to the different types of

The humble beet is one of the most reliable members of the vegetable garden. A member of the Amaranthaceae family, along with spinach, amaranth and celosia, the beet has been cultivated as part of the vegetable garden for centuries. A herbaceous vegetable, the beet, or beetroot, is native to the Mediterranean, the European Atlantic coast

Easy to grow from seed and packed full of flavor, a crop of long orange carrots are a common sight in both the vegetable garden and on the dinner plate. But did you know that there is actually more than one type of carrot? In fact, the carrot comes in a range of shapes, sizes