Plant Gardens 101

Many times we go to our local supermarket or farmer’s market to stock up on fresh vegetables. In a matter of a few days, lettuce can become wilted or worse…slimy. Here are five ways to keep your lettuce fresh for that delicious salad recipe you want to make for lunch or dinner.

1. The Tupperware Fridgesmart

Tupperware Fridgesmart is a container that you can store your vegetables in and makes them last even longer. These containers have two special holes that you leave open or closed depending on the specific vegetable. Store your lettuce in the Tupperware Fridgesmart and you will be amazed how long your lettuce lasts!

2. Zip Lock Plastic Bags

After washing your lettuce, shake the excess water off and lay the lettuce flat on a few paper towels. Place the wrapped lettuce in a Zip Lock plastic bag and the lettuce should last for the next 7-10 days. Just grab the lettuce when you need it! (more…)

I think of lettuce as one of those “staple” vegetables. In other words it can be used in a variety of recipes, from salads, to sandwiches.

Because lettuce thrives in cooler temperatures, it is best to grow it in early spring or fall.

Here are some steps you can take to improve the conditions where your lettuce will grow to optimize and increase your harvest.

As stated earlier lettuce is a cooler temperature vegetable. The seeds will germinate best when the temperature of the soil is between 40 to 60 degrees F (4 to 16 C). Once the seeds have germinated they thrive best when the soil temperature is 55 to 65 F (13 to 18 C). (more…)

As a rule, we choose to grow bush beans rather than pole beans. I cannot make up my mind whether or not this is from sheer laziness. In a city backyard the tall varieties might perhaps be a problem since it would be difficult to get poles. But these running beans can be trained along old fences and with little urging will run up the stalks of the tallest sunflowers. So that settles the pole question. There is an ornamental side to the bean question. Suppose you plant these tall beans at the extreme rear end of each vegetable row. Make arches with supple tree limbs, binding them over to form the arch. Train the beans over these. When one stands facing the garden, what a beautiful terminus these bean arches make.

Beans like rich, warm, sandy soil. In order to assist the soil be sure to dig deeply, and work it over thoroughly for bean culture. It never does to plant beans before the world has warmed up from its spring chills. There is another advantage in early digging of soil. It brings to the surface eggs and larvae of insects. The birds eager for food will even follow the plough to pick from the soil these choice morsels. A little lime worked in with the soil is helpful in the cultivation of beans. (more…)

Let us face it growing lettuce is one of the favorite crops in the garden because it is relatively easy to grow, it grows fast and saves you lots of money compared to buying it in the shops! It is one of the first salad vegetables of the year that can be planted, and so it is one of the first to be harvested in the spring.

It takes well to most soils and you can squeeze it into a small space, also as it has shallow roots it is also suited to growing in containers as well.

Planting it.?? You can plant it as early as 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost as it tolerates temperature changes such as frost very well, although it is not suited to ongoing freezing temperatures, and can run wild bolting in higher temperatures. So ideally it is suited to growing in the Autumn or Fall seasons. Lettuce can make do with as little as five hours of sunshine per day, and whilst okay in full sunshine is better suited to a shadier area of your plot to stop it bolting, accordingly it is better when picked early rather than late. (more…)

Gardening in a small space is definitely possible. In fact, a well-planned patio garden allows gardeners to make the most of a small space and still maintain control – unlike those who plant in the ground.

Sun seeking potted plants can be moved accordingly, holes can be added to assist drainage and composts and pesticides can be used directly on the target, without wastage. Plants are also better watered, as the containers and pots contain the water better than open soil.

Some plants take to containers and pots better than others. For example, herbs are excellent container plants, as they generally like drier conditions. Just about any vegetable can be planted in an above-ground container but the most common seem to be tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, beans, and spinach. (more…)