July is a busy month in the vegetable, herb, and fruit gardens. The summer harvest begins in July. Succession planting of warm-season crops continues and planting of cool-season crops for fall harvest can begin this month as well. Warm-weather crops coming to harvest this month must be picked at the peak of ripeness–just ripe, tender […] More
November is a busy month in the kitchen garden. Many gardeners would say November is the most important month–now is the time to prepare the soil for next spring and afterward put the garden to bed for the winter. (Of course, winter vegetable gardening can be very rewarding. So if you are continuing the fresh […] More
May is the month to get your summer vegetable garden growing in earnest. Warm-season crops can be sown in the garden or transplants set out. The soil in most vegetable gardens in the Northern Hemisphere should now be warm enough for summer crops. If you live where nights can get chilly, keep row covers at […] More
Radishes grow best in the cooler time of the year. Most are hardy to spring and autumn chills; a few varieties can withstand the summer heat. Sow seeds for small early varieties 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost. Plant midseason or summer varieties in mid to late spring. Late varieties—called winter radishes—should be […] More
Peas are a cool-weather crop. Sow pea seeds in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked or in late summer. Grow peas so that they come to harvest when the weather is cool. Peas can be classified by how large they grow: dwarf, medium, or tall. The taller a pea plant grows […] More
Grow an early and late or main crop of celery each growing season. The early crop will be harvested in August; the late crop will be harvested in September or October, before the first fall frost. Start celery seed indoors. Sow seed for the early or August harvest in February. Set young plants in the […] More
Radicchio is a cool-season crop. It grows best in the cool weather of spring and fall. Radicchio has a lettuce-like head that colors to a deep rosy red as the weather grows cold in autumn or winter. The slightly bitter taste of radicchio sweetens with cooler day temperatures. Sow radicchio seeds directly in the garden […] More
The last frost date in spring and the first frost date in autumn mark the beginning and end of the natural garden growing season. Use these dates to plan seed starting, transplanting, and harvesting. The time to plant seeds in the garden or start seeds indoors depends on the plants you want to grow and […] More
One of the most challenging aspects in gardening is to get things started at the proper time. Success in the garden often depends on timing. Planning the work ahead is important. A simple checklist can be used to make sure that everything is started and carried out at the proper time–starting in spring with preparing […] More
August is a month of endings and beginnings in the kitchen garden. In nature, change is about. Summer will begin to fade in many gardens during August giving way to autumn and cool weather. In hot summer regions, heat may continue for several more weeks and then give way to warm but not hot temperatures. […] More
Lettuce grows best in cool weather and sunny locations. Spring, mid-summer, and early fall are the times of year to plant lettuce, but you can grow lettuce in the summer even in warm regions if you choose heat-tolerant and bolt-resistant varieties. There are lettuce cultivars that are ready for picking in 45 days and others […] More
There are three ways to get your vegetable garden growing: Starting seed indoors will give you the following: Good Products for Seed Starting Success at Amazon: Crops best started from seed in the garden Some crops are not easily transplanted into the garden. These crops simply want to be handled as little as possible; they […] More
Stephen Albert