June 19 | Learn the Basics

Container Gardening 101: How to Care for Tomato Plants in Pots

Most gardeners know that tomatoes are best when you grow them at home because there’s nothing like eating a just-plucked tomato that’s still warm from the sun. But, what if you live in an apartment or condo and don’t have the space to grow tomatoes in the ground, or you have a shady yard that makes it impossible to give them the six to eight hours of sun they crave?

Don’t worry, you can still grow delicious tomatoes in containers on your patio or porch. Tomatoes can grow well in these situations, but it helps to know a few simple tricks about how to care for tomato plants in pots so you can set them up for success and yourself up for a long summer of fresh tomatoes.

June 9 | Learn the Basics

Save Space! Growing Zucchini Vertically

Do you want to grow zucchini, but you have limited space and worry that the large plants will take up too much room in your garden?

Or perhaps you just don’t find long vines or broad bushes attractive in the garden, or you might have back problems that make bending down to tend or harvest low-growing plants painful.

No problem, we have you covered! Growing zucchini vertically is an attractive, space-saving method for this popular summer veggie.

First, we’ll dive into options for trellises and then talk about staking and pruning these huge plants.

May 29 | Learn the Basics

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 bring in to your kitchen for dinner is crucial because you don’t want your zucchini to become overgrown and lose its tender-crisp texture.

In this article, I’ll discuss the process of harvesting, freezing, and storing zucchini.

Before you begin, though, you want to make sure that you understand the best methods of growing zucchini. Remember, too, that the plants can grow quite large, so if you have limited space, you might want to consider growing zucchini vertically.

May 26 | Learn the Basics

When to Transplant Tomatoes for a Bumper Harvest

When I used to garden in my local community garden, Memorial Day often felt like the official start of the gardening season. The garden would be bustling with excited gardeners carrying their recent farmers market purchases of tomatoes and peppers. Every tool and wheelbarrow from the shed was put to use. A popular topic of conversation was when to transplant tomatoes.

Here’s a little story about a mistake I made one year. The average last frost date in southern WI where I garden is around the first week of May. My husband and I made plans to go camping on Memorial day weekend, and wanted to get the plants in the ground before we left. Because it was past our average last frost, it seemed like a low risk gardening decision.

That week the forecast changed from cool to cold at night and a chance of frost was predicted for Memorial Day Weekend. What!? It was too late, the plants were in the ground and the camping tubs packed. The only option before leaving town was to try to protect the plants with row cover.

But, alas there was indeed a killing frost and I returned from my camping trip to a garden full of loss and sorrow. Most of my pepper plants were dead and the tomatoes didn’t look much better.

I don’t share this story to scare you, but rather to encourage you to consider when the best time to plant tomatoes is for your garden zone. In this article, we dig deeper into when to transplant tomatoes and explore how to best care for the plants once they’re in the ground so you’re guaranteed to be harvesting baskets full of colorful fruit all season long.

May 15 | Design Your Garden

Yellow Perennial Flowers: Bring Sunshine to Your Yard

Living in Zone 5a impacts a gardener’s desire to extend the season. From the sprouting of the first bulbs in spring to the battle against the first frost in fall (with a yard full of quilts and sheets protecting annual flowers), keeping the floral show live as long as possible is the goal.

In my flower garden, yellow perennial flowers form the backdrop for season long color. Their ability to complement bold colors like purple, or bring out the heat in oranges and reds, gives them a leading role.

As a gardener with a large vegetable garden to tend, I like to keep my perennial gardens simple and low maintenance, and also bursting with color and texture.

Over the years, I’ve purchased and planted a plethora of different perennials. Many of them were too high maintenance or didn’t survive the conditions in my garden.

In this article, I’m sharing my favorite yellow perennial flowers to add an extra pop of sunshine to your flower beds in spring, summer and fall.

May 8 | Learn the Basics

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, you can plant potatoes in early spring. But, if you missed that window, don’t worry, there’s still time. In this article, we’ll be answer the key question: how late can you plant potatoes?

We all love potatoes (fried! mashed! twice baked!) and there are a lot of good reasons to grow and eat them. Luckily, there is some flexibility in when they can be planted during the season.

May 1 | Learn the Basics

When to Pick Cherry Tomatoes: Tips for Optimal Flavor

If I had to pick one variety of tomato to grow I would be hard pressed to make a decision. Would I skip the production and flavor of a classic paste tomato like Amish Paste? Or would I ignore the delicious flavor and beautiful color of the solid slicer Moonglow?

I do know one thing, if I had to choose just one variety of cherry tomato there would be no debate in my mind. Sun Gold is my hands down favorite cherry tomato. Growing Sun Golds in my garden is the closest I will ever come to having a living candy machine in my yard. They are as sweet as they are prolific.

When cherry tomatoes start to ripen, the first tomato you harvest is like a precious gift. Eventually, you are getting showered with these gifts and need to make sure your candy machine isn’t dropping treats all over the ground. Cherry tomatoes are fun to grow because each plant can produce hundreds of fruit.

This can also be potentially stressful if you’re not used to growing this type of tomato. Knowing when to pick cherry tomatoes will keep you from missing ripe fruit and prevent wasted fruit from rotting at the base of your plants.

In this article, you’ll learn tips for when to pick cherry tomatoes at just the right time, some critical information about the plant, and what to do with the bowls full of fruit when the plant is at its peak.

April 25 | Learn the Basics

Growing Bright and Beautiful Yellow Vegetables

Planning your garden can mirror the act of painting a canvas. When you pick varieties of vegetables and flowers with distinct colors, shapes, and patterns it allows you to add bold splashes of color.

Vegetables often hide in the green foliage of the garden, making the garden seem monochromatic. But, with a little extra planning you can substitute a few of your go-to veggies with yellow varieties to bring an extra splash of sunshine to your garden.

This year, think of your beds as a palette and try to add more brush strokes of yellow to your canvas. This list includes my favorite yellow vegetables and flowers that spark joy and enliven the beds I “paint” upon.

April 15 | Learn the Basics

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 grows well in most climates and produces abundant fruit.

If you’re thinking of including zucchini in your garden, but are a little nervous about trying it for the first time, relax! You don’t have to have a green thumb to grow it.

It does, however, help if you understand a little about the process of growing zucchini. In this article, I’ll share an overview of how to plant and care for zucchini and when to harvest zucchini.

April 15 | Learn the Basics

Russian Sage Vs. Lavender? The Choice is Yours!

Like many gardeners, you probably want to include a mixture of annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals in your garden. Lavenders and sages are particularly appealing because they have both culinary and aesthetic value.

You might be drawn to both lavender and Russian Sage, but you think that you might not have the time or garden space for both. Which one to choose, and how do you make that choice?

First, understand that it may not be necessary to choose. It’s possible to grow both, although you might want to consider growing lavender in your herb and vegetable garden. Then, you can display your showy Russian Sage in a perennial bed or wildflower garden.

In this article, I’ll share with you some information about both plants, including a description, a little about growing them, and some hints on what varieties might work best for you. Then, you can make an informed choice on the question of Russian Sage vs. Lavender.

April 10 | Learn the Basics

Pumpkin Growing Stages: From Seed to Harvest

Pumpkins bring out the child in all of us. We love seeing the colorful Jack O’ Lanterns at Halloween, and it’s exciting to see pumpkins ripening in the fields, their bright orange colors blending into the autumnal landscape.

Did you ever consider growing your own pumpkins? Pumpkins are a fun addition to any garden, and while they require a little space, they’re not hard to grow.

Pumpkins do require full sun, and the larger varieties require space because their vines can grow 20 feet long. However, if you’re space-challenged, there are smaller varieties available, and there are also some space-saving tips we’ll discuss later.

Before you begin planning your garden, you might want to read more about growing pumpkins in raised beds.

You’ll also want to learn more about the pumpkin growing stages, how many pumpkins you can expect from each plant, what the plants look like and how long they take to grow. In this article, we’ll dive into those topics and get you on the (garden) path towards growing pumpkins successfully.

March 19 | Learn the Basics

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 home garden.

Once they plant potatoes, many gardeners have questions about the best practices for watering potatoes. Like all vegetables in the garden, potatoes do need a regular supply of water throughout the growing season to ensure an abundant harvest.

How and when to water depends a lot on the climate in which you live. In general, most vegetable plants need 1 inch of water per week. I’ve written an extensive article with lots of details on watering your vegetable garden. Here we’ll cover watering potatoes specifically.

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