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The Great Debate! Choosing Between Bush Beans vs Pole Beans
True fact: I rarely buy green beans from the grocery store. I find them to be waxy and virtually tasteless most of the time. They’re one of the vegetables I only eat during their growing season. That’s why I think they’re one of the most “worth it” vegetables to grow in your garden. One of […]
Growing Zucchini 101: A Beginner’s Guide
Zucchini continues to be one of the most popular squashes. A versatile vegetable, it can be eaten raw or cooked, and it can be enjoyed by itself or included in casseroles and pasta dishes. People not only love to eat it, but they also love growing zucchini. It’s a popular crop with home gardeners, perhaps because it […]
Watering Potatoes: Best Practices for a Healthy Harvest
Potatoes are a delicious part of most gardeners’ diets. They’re tasty no matter how you eat them – baked, fried, mashed, or stuffed, with or without a big pat of butter. And if you know how to care for them correctly to set them up for success, they can be easy to grow in your […]
Essential Guide to Growing Sweet Peppers
Growing sweet peppers and then harvesting large amounts of bright red, orange and yellow fruit each summer makes me feel rich like no other vegetable can. It’s one of the things I get most excited about in the summer garden. But difficulty growing sweet peppers is one of the most common issues I hear from […]
DIY Tomato Cage: How to Make the Best Affordable Option
We gardeners love our tomatoes! You seldom see a vegetable garden without at least one tomato plant growing. They’re really remarkable if you think about it. You plant a small seedling in spring, and then by the end of the summer, the plant is a huge monster producing more tomatoes than you can possibly eat. […]
Here’s a Quick Way to Prune Indeterminate Tomato Plants
Pruning indeterminate tomatoes should be at the top of your garden task list this season. Why, you ask? Take a moment and read through these questions… Do your tomato plants grow huge and out of control each year? Do they flop over, get taken down by diseases, or overwhelm parts of your garden? Do you […]
My philosophy?
Get more with less.
Keep it simple.
Learn how to garden the smart way & get great results.
We’ll start with the top 5 mistakes to avoid.
Recent
Perfect Timing: When is a Tomatillo Ready to Pick?
Tomatillos aren’t just green tomatoes! They’re a unique vegetable with it’s own tangy taste that’s nothing like its cousin tomato. They may not be as popular in home gardens, but those of us who do grow them have learned that they’re extremely productive and definitely deserve space in our garden beds. Although tomatillos definitely fall […]
Are Tomatillos Self-Pollinating? A Gardener’s Guide
One season, I was tending to a client’s garden and her tomatillo plant was flowering, but wasn’t producing any fruit. I was confused because usually tomatillos are super productive. It’s easy to grow more than you can use in your kitchen. What the heck was going on? I was comparing the tomatillo plants in my […]
The Big Question: How Long Does It Take for Tomatoes to Grow?
I know we all agree, there’s nothing quite like the taste of a homegrown tomato straight from the garden! No wonder it’s one of the most popular vegetables grown by gardeners. Since you’re probably counting down the days until your first harvest, you’re likely wondering how long does it take for tomatoes to grow? It […]
When to Start Seeds Indoors in Zone 5 Demystified
I’ve lived and gardened in zone 5 (Madison, Wisconsin) for the bulk of my gardening life, over 20 years! This zone is no joke with bitterly cold winters and hot, humid summers – we have it all. The winters are long in Wisconsin, which is one of the reasons why I love starting seeds for […]
Seed to Harvest: Growing Pumpkins in Raised Beds
After building several different gardens of my own and working with hundreds of gardeners over the years, I’ve found that building and growing vegetables in raised beds is the best choice for most people. Raised beds offer lots of important benefits: they require less work to prepare in spring and less long term maintenance, they’re […]
Harvesting Leeks Like a Pro: Tips from the Garden
I’m not shy about how much I love growing alliums in my garden. Every fall I plant 220 garlic and each spring 500 onions. I harvest and cure them in my garage in mid July and in fall I transfer them to my basement to use throughout the winter so I never have to buy […]
Books to help you get the most from your vegetable garden
Grow more vegetables than ever in your garden this season. This book is a fresh and simple approach to planning your garden. At the end, you’ll have a personalized blueprint for what a successful season in your garden looks like.
Eat food from your garden all year round! Preserving food doesn’t have to be difficult or take up a lot of time. And if you think canning is the only option – this book is for you! I’ll teach you how easy it can be to use your basement, fridge, and freezer instead.
SPRING
Timing Matters: Know When to Harvest Zucchini
All summer you’ve been busy growing zucchini, and now it’s time for the most fun part of all – harvesting. Zucchini grows quickly, and within 45-60 days after planting you will likely see small fruits emerging from the large, colorful blossoms. But how do you decide when to harvest zucchini? Knowing when it’s ready to […]
Pushing the Limits: How Late Can You Plant Potatoes?
Where I live in Wisconsin, there’s lots of garden lore around when you should plant potatoes – on St. Patrick’s Day, when you see the first crocus, the first day of Lent, or as early as possible after the ground thaws. All of these times are very early in the gardening season. And it’s true, […]
Pepper Plant Spacing Made Simple!
Growing peppers can be so delicious that when you’re out in the garden harvesting the colorful, ripe fruit, you’ll be tempted to bite right into them. But, successfully planting and caring for your plants so they yield baskets full of rainbow colored peppers can be challenging. First, you’ll want t make sure you choose the […]
Help! How Do I Keep My Cilantro From Bolting?
“Help, my cilantro always bolts! Why can’t I grow it well in my garden?” That’s a common plea I hear from gardeners everywhere in the spring and summer. And no wonder, cilantro bolting is a very common occurrence in those seasons, and it can be very frustrating. In this article I’m going to share my best […]
3 Design Ideas for a Cattle Panel Trellis
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the steps of building a simple and eye-catching cattle panel trellis to add height and a little bit of wow-factor to your garden. These trellises are the most commented-upon features in my home garden. During harvest season in my garden the plants are big and lush, bursting […]
Secrets to Watering Your Vegetable Garden the Right Way
Along with soil and sunlight, water is an extremely vital part of your garden’s success. But, watering your vegetable garden can be tricky. Water too much and some plants, like tomatoes and squash, will be more prone to disease and even start to look very unhappy. Water too little and vegetables like onions won’t grow […]
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