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  • in Leaf Vegetables

    Cold Weather Kale Best Varieties

    Winter Kale Best Varieties

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    Kale is a versatile autumn and winter vegetable. A good frost will sweeten kale overnight. At the same time, kale can withstand most winters in the garden with no protection. It’s hardy to 10°F. Cool- and cold-weather kale can be served almost like summer-tender spinach: cut out the center ribs of young kale and use […] More

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    in Leaf Vegetables, Plant, Quick Tips

    Cabbage Growing Quick Tips

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    Follow these cabbage growing quick tips to get cabbage started today. Sowing cabbage: In mild-winter regions, sow cabbage from fall to late winter for a spring crop. Sow seed outdoors 6 to 4 weeks before the last frost. Start seed indoors 12 to 10 weeks before transplanting seedlings to the garden. Sow seeds indoors in […] More

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    in Leaf Vegetables, Plant

    Choosing Cabbage Varieties to Grow

    Cabbage varieties

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    Choose cabbage varieties for planting based on the flavor you want to serve–and where you live. Savoy cabbage leaves (crinkled leaves) are more pliable than smooth cabbage. They are sweet and mild flavored, easy to separate, and great to stuff and wrap. Try green winter-hardy January King (160-200 days–plant in the fall for spring harvest) […] More

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    in Gardening Tips, Leaf Vegetables, Tips

    Lettuce Bolting

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    Lettuce—a cool season crop—naturally bolts in warm weather. When temperatures rise much above 70°F/21°C, lettuce—an annual—will send up stalks, flower, and set seed, nature’s way of ensuring a next generation. This process is called bolting. When lettuce and other leafy crops bolt natural sugars depart the leaves for the flowers and seed. When lettuce bolts […] More

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    in Leaf Vegetables

    How to Grow a Salad Garden in 10 Steps

    Lettuce harvest

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    Salad greens are easy and quick to grow and rich in vitamins and minerals. Plant salad greens—leaf lettuce, arugula, mesclun, and radicchio are a few—for harvest in cool weather—spring or fall. In warm-winter regions, grow salad greens outdoors year-round. In cold-winter regions, grow salad greens under the protection of plastic tunnels in winter. 10 Steps […] More

  • in Leaf Vegetables

    Plant Spring Cabbage in Fall

    Spring cabbage in winter

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    Set out cabbage seedlings in fall while the soil and air temperatures are still warm to start plants growing for harvest next spring. • Spring cabbage started in fall will establish roots and begin top growth before freezing weather arrives then sit nearly dormant during winter then complete its top growth in spring before temperatures […] More

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    in Guides, Leaf Vegetables

    Asian Greens for Cool-Weather Harvest

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    Crispy, succulent, and sweet-flavored Asian greens are easy to grow and demand little space. Like other greens such as lettuce and spinach, they are cool-season crops and prefer to reach maturity in cool air temperatures. They are quick growing and well suited for sowing in spring for late spring harvest or late summer for autumn […] More

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    in Gardening Tips, Leaf Vegetables, Tips

    Spinach Growing Tips

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    Spinach is a cool weather crop that grows best when daytime temperature remain consistently below 75°F–commonly in spring or fall. Young plants will bolt when exposed to temperatures below 40°F, but mature plants can withstand temperatures as low as 20°F. Spinach is ready for picking in about 40 days; for a continuous harvest, sow spinach […] More

  • in Gardening Tips, How to Grow, Leaf Vegetables, Tips

    Lettuce Growing Tips

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    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

  • in Leaf Vegetables

    Lettuce for Spring and Summer Heat Resistance

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    Lettuce is the most popular leafy vegetable. You can plant enough leaf lettuce for a family of four in a 1-sqaure foot area, enough head lettuce in a 2-square foot area. Plant spring lettuce between rows of larger crops such as cabbage or broccoli. Lettuce can be sown in the garden as early as four […] More

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    in How to Grow, Leaf Vegetables, Plant

    How to Grow Cress

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    Garden cress also called broadleaf cress–and other cresses: curly cress and watercress–are quick growing cool-weather vegetables. Sow cress in the garden early in spring, as early as 4 or 6 before the last frost, or grow cress indoors year-round. Cress is quick growing from seed; it will be ready for harvest 15 to 20 days […] More