What vegetables should you grow in your garden? There are three basic guidelines to follow: Plant the vegetables that you and your family like to eat; plant vegetables that are suited to your region, to the time of year, and to the space and time you can devote to gardening; decide if you are going…
Best Bet Varieties
Bean Growing Tips
Snap beans are eaten as a green pod. Pole beans climb, but can also be snap beans. Shelly beans are beans that have begun to mature–the green maturing seeds are harvested young and cooked like fresh peas. Dry beans have matured and dried in the pod and are soaked before cooking. Wax beans are any…
Chinese Vegetables: Warm-Season Varieties
Chinese vegetables, sometimes called Oriental vegetables, favored in Chinese and Asian cooking are easy to grow. They are tasty, vigorous, and highly adaptable. Most are fast growing and suitable for small gardens and containers. Chinese vegetables can generally be broken into three groups: those easy to grow in temperate regions with cool and cold winters,…
Muskmelon and Hybrid Melon Varieties: Best Bets
Full sun, temperatures at least 70°F, and about 90 days and more will give you rich-tasting melons. Muskmelons and cantaloupes are the same thing, they are known as summer melons. Casabas, Crenshaws, and honeydews are called winter melons because they come to harvest at the end of summer. Here are flavorful best bet, easy-to-grow melons–both…
Eggplant Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Give eggplants a warm location, warm soil and keep them evenly watered and stress free and they will reward you with beauty and flavor. Here are best bet, easy-to-grow eggplants divided into shape and size categories: (1) large oval eggplants; (2) elongated eggplants; and (3) white eggplants. Keep reading to the bottom of this post…
Corn Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
There is no substitute for the flavor of corn just picked from the garden. Flavor and adaptability to your garden’s climate are the major considerations when choosing a corn variety. There are three types of fresh-eating sweet corn grouped by flavor: standard corn, sugary enhanced corn, and supersweet corn (adaptability to your garden’s climate–the soil…
Pepper Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Peppers demand a warm location from start to finish. For peppers to prosper: sow pepper seed in a warm seed bed and transplant seedlings into a warm planting bed where the air temperature will remain consistently warm until harvest. Cool weather and soil are a pepper’s greatest challenge. Here are best bet, easy-to-grow peppers, both…
Pumpkin Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Pumpkins for pies. Pumpkins for Jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins for the little ones. Pumpkins for the “Biggest Pumpkin Contest.” Pumpkins are not difficult to grow. Grow them just like any other winter squash Here is a list of best bet, easy-to-grow pumpkins divided into size categories: (1) small pumpkins (2 to 5 pounds); (2) intermediate-size pumpkins (8…
Cucumber Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Cucumbers for the home garden can be divided into four popular cucumber types: (1) slicing, (2) pickling, (3) burpless, and (4) space savers for small gardens and container. Here are 20 sure-fired cucumber varieties to grow in your garden. Slicing Cucumbers Varieties: • Dasher II. 55-60 days. CMV, DM, PM, S. Cool, crisp flesh and…
Bean Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow
Need top-choice, sure-bet, best-pick, easy-to-grow bean varieties? Here are 25 top-performers for the home garden divided into 5 popular bean types: (1) snap-bush green, (2) snap-pole green, (3) bush yellow, (4) lima, and (5) dried and shell beans. Keep reading to the bottom of this post for my tips for sure-fired bean growing success. Also…