Plant Gardens 101

Nothing says success as a gardener more than when the first vegetables start sprouting. All of that hard work, from cultivating the soil, adding in compost, and growing your seeds indoors has all finally come to a positive climax.

However, it doesn’t have to end there. With the many blogs, message boards and groups on vegetable gardening, why not share your results with other gardeners with some photos. With today’s digital cameras and photo editing software, you can have wonderful pictures uploaded and online in no time. Here are some tips to make sure your shots make your veggies look pristine rather than dumpy.

Take a Close Up Even though you might have the latest and greatest super zoom camera, I have found that my best photos have come when I move in closer to the vegetable or vegetable plant I am trying to take a picture of. Make sure the plant you are photographing takes up as much space on the view lens as possible. (more…)

You have put a lot of hard work into your vegetable garden and the fruits of your labor, the composting, watering, nurturing, should not go without reward. Sure you are going to enjoy the many benefits of healthy vegetables grown right in your backyard (or on your porch), but you can also earn some extra spending cash with them as well.

I have put together this small list of ideas and venues where you can give selling your delicious fruits and vegetables a try. Who knows you might even make enough to pay off a lot of bills or take a great vacation getaway.

Schools, Churches, Synagogues etc. Is your local school or place of worship having an event to raise some money like a craft fair, science fair and so on? Chances are you can rent a table from them for as little as $10. Bring in your fruits and vegetables to sell at a price far more affordable then the competition and you can walk away with some extra cash and you will be helping out your community by supporting a good cause. (more…)

By default gardeners are green, green thumbed that is. They take necessary steps to cultivate their land, regardless of the size, and do the things to make their gardens a success. But did you know you can also do some other things that not only will add to your green thumb but make you go green and be more environmentally friendly? Here are some things as a gardener you can start implementing today for a cleaner environment.

Recycle Water Well you are not really recycling water but what you are doing to trapping rain water to be used at a later date so you do not pull more water from the municipal supply. You do this by using a rain barrel, which is just really a fancy word for a container that catches rain water from your down spouts. Just use a garbage can, rubber maid container or something similar and instead of your rain down spouts just going to the ground, redirect them into your containers. When they get full, use the water in your garden. (more…)

Billions upon billions of pounds of food waste every year are thrown away with the regular garbage pick up. This puts a tremendous strain on not only our environment but our wallets to pay people to come pick it up and hail it off to a local landfill.

All is not lost though. You can do your part and solve this problem by recycling your food waste. By recycling your food waste you are create what is called compost. Compost is the end result of organic matter that decomposes.

Your food waste doesn’t simply sit in your kitchen and rot away, which wouldn’t be too pleasant, you actually do something with it and that is you bury it. I will get to more on that in a moment. (more…)

Composting is the process of organic material breaking down. The process of breaking down is more commonly known as decomposing. There is an entire ecosystem of earthly creatures, some you can see like worms, and many you can not like bacteria, that are working hard for you to give you great compost.

With that said there are still some things you can do to either speed up the process or make it more efficient. I have listed some of my tips below that have helped me with my gardening adventures and I am sure they will help you as well.

Ventilation & Aeration Oxygen is required by all living organisms. For humans we need it to breathe and stay alive. The ecosystem in your compost pile is the same way. They need oxygen to live, throve and prosper. So when you build your compost bin, whether it is a wooden box or a store bought one, make sure there is plenty of ventilation holes in it so oxygen can get in. (more…)

Vermicompost is the end result of organic material such as food waste after it has been digested by some species of earth worm. Commonly referred to as worm castings, vermicompost contains water soluble nutrients and bacteria that make a great organic fertilizer for your garden.

The process in which you feed a worm organic material and turn it into vermicompost has an actual name called vermicomposting.

Although every worm produces worm castings, the worm best for the job to produce quality vermicompost for your garden’s soil is called Eisenia foetida or the red wiggler earthworm. Most of North America will use this species of worm, but if you live in a tropical part of the world, look towards Perionyx excavatus (Blue worms) and if you have a more acidic soil then use Eisenia hortensis (night crawlers). (more…)

Frost forms as a result of the surface of some object being chilled below the dew point of the surrounding air. The dew point is the temperature at which air must be cooled in order to be condensed into water. When the chill point is met crystals form on the surface of the object and appear as ice.

The most common form of frost on vegetation is Hoar Frost also known as Radiation Frost. This occurs when ice crystals form overnight due to drops in temperature and heat loss because objects become colder than the surrounding air.

Many plants can be damaged by the affects of frost and some, such as tomatoes, will die. To know which plants will survive a cold night, refer to the back of the package of seeds that you bought as they have excellent instructions as to temperature ratings. (more…)

It is Monday morning and it is raining cats and dogs. You think to yourself that the buckets of water that are falling out of the sky are a good thing. Good because your vegetable garden really does need a good watering. So you grab your hot cup of coffee, stair out the window and watch as much needed rain falls onto your plants that you are hoping will produce a lot of vegetables.

Later that week, Thursday rolls around faster than a cherry red Corvette on a straight away leading you to wonder where did the go? You check you calendar and have marked on there that it is time to water the vegetable garden. (more…)

There are many varieties of eggplants and they come in all shapes and sizes. The most common eggplant is called black beauty.

There are a number of great dishes you can make with eggplant including my favorite eggplant parmesan.

If eggplant is not part of your home vegetable garden you really should consider it. They are easy to grow with a little care and a couple of plants can produce all the of the eggplant you will need for an entire growing season.
If you plan on starting your eggplant from seed, as opposed to buying a plant from a local home or garden center, you should start them indoors about 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last frost of the season, in a portable planting greenhouse available at any garden center for less than $5.00.

Eggplants grow best when the soil temperature is 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread about an inch to two inches of freshly cut grass clippings at the base of each eggplant to help keep a warmer temperature in the soil. (more…)

Melons aren’t vegetables of course but that does not mean you can’t add a few varieties to your home vegetable garden.

Melons range from cantaloupe to watermelon and honeydew and many other varieties in between.

Most grow on vines, so they do take up some space if you do not put the time in to have them grow vertically up a trellis.

If you are willing to either put the time in to direct growth vertically or are willing to part with your gardening area, melons can add some great tasting produce just a few feet from the kitchen window. (more…)

Arugula is a very popular green to add to any salad or as a stand alone side to your dinner or lunch. And who can resist, it is enriched with plenty of Vitamins A, C, K and Folate as well as the nutritional minerals Calcium and Potassium. Its rich peppery taste also makes arugula a good choice to use in pasta dishes. Here is how you can grow some great tasting arugula in your home vegetable garden.

Arugula is a colder weather crop and germinates best in a soil temperature in the range of forty to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you work the soil (after the freeze is over) you can begin planting arugula.

Arugula is typical to many other vegetables in that it likes a pH level in the soil to be as neutral as possible. Test your soil to make sure the level sits above six and as close to seven as possible. You can get a pH soil tester at any home or garden center for a few bucks. (more…)

Root rot can affect just about every plant you can think of growing in your home vegetable garden.

Various organisms can cause root rot but the results are basically the same. The plant will begin to wilt and look like it is about to die and the leaves begin to turn yellow.

This process will speed up when the ground is extremely moist or becomes too wet.

Here are some steps you can take to tackle root rot head on and potentially save your harvest.

As soon as you notice a plant has been infected with root rot remove that plant immediately. Failure to do so can result in the condition spreading to other plants. (more…)

Cauliflower is part of the cabbage family. However, unlike the cabbage plant, cauliflower can be easily stressed. If not taken care of properly it will lead to a less than adequate harvest.

If you are a fan of cauliflower (which I am once I cover it with melted cheddar cheese), then you should definitely add a head or two to your home vegetable garden.

Here are the steps you can take to ensure a good cauliflower harvest in your home vegetable garden.

Start by preparing the site where you cauliflower will be planted. Cauliflower grows best when the pH level of the soil is at least 6.5 and no higher than 7.5. You can test the pH level of your soil with a simple home test available at your local home or garden center. (more…)

Brussel sprouts are a great vegetable to add to anyone’s garden. They do well in a variety of temperate climates, so regions where cold weather sets in, brussel sprouts will do just fine.

They are a great source of many minerals and vitamins that the human body required, meaning that adding them to your diet can satisfy many nutritional needs.

Here in this tutorial I give you some simple steps you can follow to increase the harvest of these wonderfully nutritious vegetables right in your own backyard.

Start by preparing your site. If you are going to grow them in pots on your porch or balcony make sure have a pot at least twelve inches deep with a diameter of ten inches filled with garden soil available from any home or garden center. For the traditional backyard garden, make sure you mix in plenty of compost or manure in the fall so the soil is ready in the spring. Get yourself a pH soil tester. Brussel sprouts require soil to be less acidic so keep the soil pH level under 7. (more…)

Healthy cell growth and the process of photosynthesis in your home vegetable garden’s plants are two of the many reasons why nitrogen is needed. Without adequate supplies of nitrogen you will be inhibiting both processes and that is not good to produce healthy fruits and veggies.

Due to the volatility of nitrogen, you can easily run short of this important element in no time. Nitrogen can escape in the air and more commonly get washed away when you water your plants too much or receive excessive rain falls.

For these reasons stated above nitrogen needs to be added more often. If you do not have a tester that will give you a reading of nitrogen in the soil, you will easily tell with your eyes when the leaves of the plants start turning yellow and/or brown. Many novice gardeners think, when the leaves are turning color like this, it is due to not enough water. So they water some more and that washes even more nitrogen away making the soil conditions worse. (more…)

Cucumbers are a great vegetable to grow in any garden. They are excellent for salads, or to simply dip in some ranch dressing (or your favorite flavor).

There are a variety of great dishes you can make with cucumbers and if you have time to learn it, the skill of “pickling” can take your cucumber even further.

More importantly though, is, all of that is for naught if your vegetable garden does not produce plenty of healthy cucumbers.

Here are some steps you can take to increase your chances of healthy and more abundant harvest in your home vegetable garden. (more…)

Phosphorus is very important in the early stages of vegetable plant development. Plants need this element in order to sustain good root development. If phosphorus is in short supply in your soil, your vegetable plant’s growth will slow very quickly or even worse, not grow at all.

A common appearance of lack of phosphorous in your soil is streaks of purple up and down stems or on the leaves and low yield of fruits and vegetables.

Phosphorus makes up one of the five elements needed in plant DNA for the process of photosynthesis, with the other four being carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. All of the pieces to this puzzle must be in place, otherwise during seed development the plant’s DNA will not form properly. (more…)

Blossom end rot occurs because the soil in your home vegetable garden is deficient in calcium. It also occurs when the weather in your area has been considerably wet followed by an immediate dry period.

Blossom end rot most notably affects peppers, squash, tomatoes and watermelon. As you can see in the picture, it looks like a dark circle and spreads to the end fruit as the vegetable will then look like it is rotting.
If not taken care of it could spread to the remaining of the unaffected portion of your garden and also lead to additional or secondary rotting.

Here are steps you can take to control blossom end rot in your home vegetable garden.

Prior to planting any vegetables, always obtain a pH level reading on your soil conditions. You can obtain good testing kits at your local garden center that will give you the amount of calcium you have in your soil. (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…)

Earworms are also referred sometimes as the fruit worm. They look like caterpillars and can grow over an inch in length. Their color range can be green, brown, yellow or tan and have black or brown stripes on their sides. They lay their eggs in the spring then continue to eat the silk of corn before it gets to the actual ear. However, this pesky insect does not just limit itself to corn. It also goes after beans, peas, peppers, potatoes, squash and tomatoes.
Spray the affected plants with Btn which is bacillus thuringiensis in the spring just before the eggs begin to hatch. Bacillus thuringiensis is a soil dwelling bacterium that is commonly used as a natural pesticide. It occurs naturally in caterpillars as well as moths, butterflies and on the surface of dark plants.

Create an environment in your garden to allow beneficial insects to enter. Such insects include lacewings and trichogramma wasps. A lacewing is a winged insect in the order Neuroptera and a trichogramma wasp is a common wasp insect used to control pests. (more…)