Marigolds are easy to grow, and their bright autumn colors make for a perfect addition to any floral garden. But this hardy flower also makes a great companion plant for your vegetable garden. Here are six ways this amazing flower can benefit the food crops you grow at home.1. Marigolds Attract…
Butternut squash is a fantastic addition to any garden, especially for those who want to try their hand at growing something other than the traditional summer squashes like zucchini, yellow squash, and patty pan (scallop squash). This somewhat gourd-shaped squash with a sweet, nutty taste is a good source of…
Lettuce, like Swiss chard, kale, and spinach, tastes so much better when grown at home. There is nothing like harvesting the fresh, organic leaves from your back porch or nearby kitchen garden just before a meal. Harvesting greens is easy enough for children to do but still fun for the…
Sweet potatoes are nutritious and delicious root vegetables that are easy to grow in beds or containers. Root vegetables like carrots, turnips, and beets are grown from seed, but sweet potatoes are grown from slips. Slips are short vines that have sprouted from a mature sweet potato. You can purchase slips online…
Marigolds are one of the easiest flowers to grow. They are perfect for beginner gardeners, although experienced gardeners will love them also. In addition to being easy to grow, they are low maintenance, hardy, and beautiful! The yellow, gold, orange, or maroon blossoms, show off their warm hues from spring to fall.…
Rosemary is a beautiful, fragrant herb that originated in the Mediterranean. Like lavender, thyme, oregano, and basil, it is a member of the mint family. This low-maintenance shrub has slender, needle-like leaves that grow on woody stems. It can reach between two and six feet (.6 and 1.8 meters) tall and…
Lush, green carrots tops are not always a sign that the root is developing properly beneath the soil. On the contrary, while the tops look healthy and vibrant, the roots can be stunted, forked, twisted, or otherwise deformed. It can be disappointing and frustrating to wait 75 to 80 days…
Bean rust is a fungal disease that attacks legumes, like black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, green beans, pole beans, fava beans, snow peas, snap peas, etc. The spores, which spread easily, can affect all parts of the plant, including the leaves, pods, stems, and shoots. Rust fungi have a complicated life…
Turnips are members of the brassica family, and therefore, better suited to the cooler weather of spring and fall. This root crop is often considered to be a sweeter and less starchy substitute for potatoes. Turnips, like carrots and other root crops, can easily be grown in containers or raised…
Patty pan squash, also known as scallop squash, sunburst squash, white squash, scaloppini, and button squash, is a summer squash that has a nutty buttery flavor. Unlike the elongated cylindrical shape of zucchini or the somewhat elongated or crooked neck of yellow squash, patty pan squash has a flattened spherical…