Organic potatoes are a great addition to any home garden. Not only are they packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but they also provide a unique and flavorful cooking experience. Growing organic potatoes in your home garden is both rewarding and easy as long as you are well-versed in how to grow potatoes. Here are […] More
Endive and escarole are cool-season crops. They can be grown in early spring and in fall. Sow endive and escarole seeds directly in the garden 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost in spring. To set out transplants start seeds indoors 4 to 5 weeks before transplanting. Set transplants in the garden 4 weeks […] More
Leeks are a cool- and cold-season crop. There are two types of leeks: short-season leeks and long-season leeks. Long-season leeks have thick, cylindrical stems–and keep long, and short-season leeks that have a thinner stem and don’t keep as well as long-season leeks. Short-season leeks mature in as few as 70 days. Long-season leeks mature in […] 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
Parsnips are a cool-season crop. They are commonly planted in late spring for harvest in autumn, or they are planted in late summer for harvest in winter or early spring. Parsnips are the most frost-resistant of all vegetables; they can be left in the garden over winter in even the coldest climates. Sow parsnip seeds […] More
Gooseberries are small, round thin-skinned fruits that look a lot like grapes. Ripe gooseberries can be green, pink, yellow, or white. Some gooseberry varieties are for fresh-eating and desserts; others are for cooking—pies, tarts, jam, jellies, and sauces; and some varieties can be used both fresh and cooked. The gooseberry is a hardy, deciduous, perennial […] More
Currants are small, round berry-like fruits that can be eaten fresh or cooked with sugar and made into pie fillings, puddings, dessert sauces, jams, and jellies. There are red, white–actually yellowish-white, and black-fruited currants. Currants grow as bushes to about 6 feet tall. They grow best in cool-summer regions and seldom thrive in warm-summer regions […] More
Plums are a diverse group of fruiting trees. Plums can be found in most temperate regions of the world. There is a wide range of tree sizes, forms, colors, and flavors. European plums are blue and widely grown. Japanese plums are red and very popular. Native American plums are small and tart. Damson plums are […] More
Avocados have a nutlike flavor and flesh that is buttery in its consistency. Avocados are eaten raw in salads, dips, and sandwiches. They are richer in fat than any other fruit except the olive—20 to 30 percent fat—93 percent unsaturated. There are more than 500 avocado varieties. Some can be grown in warm winter temperate […] More
Growing backyard grapes is not difficult, but success depends upon choosing the right variety for your climate, training the vine, and pruning regularly. Grapes require a cold spell during the winter (but not a killing freeze), warmth in spring for flowering and fruit set, and heat and sunshine in summer to ripen the fruit. Dessert […] More
You can grow borage in minutes. Borage is a decorative herb festooned in summer with clusters of intensely blue star-shaped flowers. The leaves and flowers of borage taste like cucumbers. The flowers can be floated in summer drinks and candied for decoration. The leaves can be used in salads, sandwiches, and desserts or sautéed like […] More
Common fennel–also called sweet fennel–can be grown for its leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds. Common fennel is grown as an herb. Its leaves and seeds are used in cooking and baking. Florence fennel—which has a bulbous stem and is a variety of common fennel– is grown for its stem which is eaten as a vegetable. […] More
Stephen Albert