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Experienced gardeners are well aware of this reality and have even come to enjoy the ephemeral nature of their outdoor spaces.
gardening experts
A rite of passage for most beginner gardeners is growing cherry tomatoes. It can kickstart the love of gardening! Our tips make it easy. Growing cherry tomatoes is a great place to start growing all sorts of tomatoes. Most gardeners have tomatoes growing at some point. There’s much to choose from, with over 100 established varieties of cherry tomatoes. In the scheme of all tomato varieties cherries are easy to grow. Cherry tomatoes or Solanum lycopersicum were cultivated for centuries from wild tomato fruits grown in the Andes. Inca peoples selected them for their sweet taste and snacking ability. Anyone with the privilege of eating a ripe cherry tomato right off the plant knows why this happened. When you’re stocking up on tomato seeds for spring, consider growing cherry tomatoes. We like Chadwick’s cherry tomatoes from San Diego Seed Co. Whether you’re interested in heirloom seeds, black cherry tomatoes, determinate, or indeterminate seeds, cherry tomatoes make it easy to produce something worthwhile throughout the growing season. Grow them, eat them fresh, can them, and have sweet flavor infused with the sun year-round! Forget other tomatoes; let’s grow cherry tomatoes! All About Cherry Tomatoes Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme is also known as cherry tomato, as well as a wide selection of varietal names ranging from tomaccio to Sungold to Dances With Smurfs. They originate from wild tomatoes cultivated in the Andes by Inca peoples about 80,000 years ago. Tomato plants have trichome-covered leaves and fruits that cluster. The difference between cherry tomato plants and other tomato plants is that cherry tomato fruits and seeds are smaller. These tomatoes grow from flowers blooming on branches covered with green serrated leaves which connect to a central stem. External pollination occurs on tomatoes, but they are self-pollinators. The yellow tomato plant flower has five petals. After flowers die, fruit forms. The edible part of a tomato plant is the fruit. Leaves can be eaten, but they are poisonous to humans in large quantities. Like other nightshade plants, tomato leaves contain alkaloids solanine and tomatine that are hard to digest. Still, there is a lot of debate as to whether tomato leaves can be cooked. There are tons of cherry tomato varieties to choose from. I’m currently growing Cherokee purple cherry tomatoes, an indeterminate variety that exploded since spring moved into summer. They have purple skin, a red interior, and great flavor. Traditional red varieties are a great way to start your tomato journey. If a red tomato bores you, there are many types of tomatoes to choose from, including yellow and orange varieties. Planting Cherry Tomatoes Determinate varieties are easier to grow in containers (like the Air Pots stocked in our online store) or raised beds. Indeterminate varieties go wild in the garden and require a lot of space and care. Plant them in prepared ground. Leave at least four feet between each row of these plants. But choosing the right variety will have bearing on how to plant your tomatoes. Transplant summer varieties after the last frost. If you’re starting your tomatoes from seed, start those tomato seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. Plant fall varieties a few months before the first frost. Tomato plants need deep holes, at least 10 inches down. Plant your tomatoes in deep holes to allow solid root growth and nutrient uptake. Add a tomato trellis early on instead of a tomato cage which cherry tomatoes quickly outgrow. The trellises or stakes (instead of cages) give you vertical room to work within your garden. This also prevents heirloom tomatoes from contracting diseases. Cages and stakes are great supports for your plants but due to clustering, consider a trellis for your tomatoes. Cages are a no-go here unless you have extremely tall cages that can handle indeterminate growth. Caring for Cherry Tomatoes Caring for a cherry tomato plant is easy if the right conditions are met and maintained every day. Here are key aspects to pay attention to.
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Looking for easy flowers? Bachelor's buttons come in a range of shades in blue, pink, and purple! Lorin Nielsen explains these easy annuals and provides all the tips you need to grow them for a beautiful wild garden.One of my favorite flowers, bachelor’s buttons, is sometimes called cornflowers. And from there, the color “cornflower blue” derives its name! Also called basket flowers, blue bonnets, blue cap, and many other names, this popular plant is a hardy annual. It blooms in an array of color from early spring through the fall months. Leave some of the spent flowers on the plant, and it’ll happily reseed its bed and grow again next year. But what are bachelor’s buttons, and are they all blue? Do they prefer sunlight or shade? How much water do they need? We’ll cover all this and more today as we explore the world of the bachelor’s buttons!Botanically, it’s called Centaurea cyanus and commonly called bachelor button, blue cornflower, or bachelor’s buttons. This name refers to old folklore. Young love-struck men would wear them on their lapels. If the early flowering bloom faded fast, it was thought the object of their desire didn’t love them.Bachelor’s button has a long list of names, including unusual ones like blue blob, corn bottle, gogglebuster, and hurt sickle. One name, cornflower, originated from the tendency of these plants to grow as native plants in European cornfields. It is also found naturally in areas of the Middle East. While declining in its natural habitat, the growth of this plant worldwide has expanded via gardens designed for cut flowers. Many varieties are blue. However, bachelor’s buttons can be pink, purple, and white as well. This annual’s self-sowing tendency has caused them to become listed on the USDA’s list of introduced, invasive, and noxious plants. North Carolina has become so plagued by it that selling its seeds or live plants is prohibited in that state! Try planting in a container if you live in this plant’s invasive area.Grey-green or silvery-green slender foliage with long, lanceolate leaves forms the base upon which bright flowers form. It can reach up to three feet in height and can sprawl out one to two feet wide. The greyish or silvery tint is actually caused by fine white hairs on the leaves. Their edible flowers can be used in salads as a touch of added color. Petals are often dried and added to loose tea blends for a pop of color. In addition, the flowers are a historical pigment or dye source for painting or dyeing fabric.To plant bachelor’s buttons, choose a spot with full sun and well-draining soil. Loosen the soil to a depth of six to eight inches and mix in compost to enrich it. Sow the seeds directly outdoors after the last frost, spacing them six to eight inches apart. Cover the seeds lightly with about a quarter of an inch of soil, and water gently to keep the soil evenly moist until germination, which usually takes seven to ten days. Once established, the plants require little care, though occasional watering during dry spells will help them thrive.
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No green thumb? No problem! Growing vegetables doesn’t need to be hard. Some veggies are easier to grow than others, making them perfect for inexperienced gardeners. Here are 3 easy vegetables to grow. 1. Lettuce Most households eat lettuce a few times a week, if not everyday. Imagine salad fresh from the garden! Luckily, lettuce is super easy to grow and maintain. Lettuce comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Decide which variety to grow based on the time of year (some varieties cannot cope with very hot weather) and the taste and texture you prefer. Try the melt-in-the-mouth leaves of the Butterhead, and the tender and colourful Red Oak. Lettuces have shallow roots, so are sensitive to water. They require moist, but well-drained soil, and partial sun. You can sow lettuce seeds every two weeks or so to ensure you have lettuce to harvest throughout the growing season. 2. Potatoes If you’ve never tasted the difference between a homegrown and store-bought potato, you’re in for a real treat! Homegrown potatoes have a firmer texture, and much tastier flesh. Plus, potatoes are easy to grow, even for inexperienced gardeners, and they store well. You can grow potatoes in a garden bed, or in a container. You’ll need to properly prepare the soil, and do a little research on companion planting before you get started. Proper cultivation is essential when growing potatoes to prevent them going green – green potatoes are poisonous. Potatoes are very sensitive to the sun, so work well as a winter crop in warm climates. There are many varieties of potatoes you can grow, including sweet potatoes. Try out a range of colourful varieties, which are packed with nutrients. 3. Bush beans Beans come in two main varieties, bush beans and pole beans. Pole beans require a trellis, so they aren’t a low-maintenance plant. Bush beans, however, are very easy to grow. Bush beans do not require the same level of soil fertility that other plants need. In fact, overly rich soil can leave plants vulnerable to pests and diseases. So, if you don’t have your own compost heap, no worries. Bush beans do require well-drained soil and plenty of sunlight. They are best grown during warm summer months, and you can sow seeds every few weeks to ensure a continuous supply of delicious beans. Provider, Blue Lake and Tendercrop are good varieties of green bush beans that are widely available.
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While growing shiitake mushrooms takes a while to get started, the rewards are worth it. Our in-depth guide reveals how to get started!It’s wonderful to walk through a wooded forest after it’s rained and find a mushroom popping out of a log or in between downed trees! Most of these mushrooms however are not edible. But it is possible to start growing shiitake mushrooms in your own backyard or greenhouse – especially if you have a shiitake mushroom kit – and pick them as they spring out of the wood and beckon to be devoured. Mushroom growing is a little different from raising herbs or other veggies in your garden. But it is a fun process and a good way to get new gardeners involved with growing their own food. Once you understand a little about the steps involved, you’ll see it’s actually quite straightforward to grow shiitake mushrooms! Years ago, people could only grow shiitake mushrooms in forests in East Asia. However, we’ve come a long way and can now grow them around the world. They’ve become so popular that it’s estimated about 25% of yearly mushroom production is shiitake mushroom. With a taste similar to wild mushrooms and packed full of that deep umami flavor, this little mushroom is worth the wait. A little bit larger than button mushrooms and filled with vitamins, it is said that it can boost your immune system. Shiitake mushrooms are fundamentally different in their growth habits than anything else in your garden. They are fungal spores that are dormant until they find the right conditions to grow in. In order to help these little guys spring into life, you’ll need to create a home for the mushroom spores to grow and reproduce in. This planting medium is usually a freshly cut log or a sawdust substrate. With the growth of online retailers selling all sorts of plug spawn that has been inoculated, shiitake growing at home has never been easier!
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"For a JUICIER and TASTIER turkey, brine before cooking! If your turkey or chicken is kosher do not brine since it has already been salted. Brining isn't just for poultry but also lean cuts of meat and even fish and shrimp. But you must adjust time to their size. Example; a whole trout takes only 20 minutes and the same with shrimp, a whole chicken takes about 4 hours, a cut up chicken about 2hrs. May add honey or maple surup, may replace some of the water with something like apple cider or coffee. Let loose your creativity. Yes, you have to plan ahead but for little effort the results are WORTH IT!"
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A breakfast casserole with a Southwestern flare. Perfect for your weekend brunch with friends and family.
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How to assemble the most AMAZING vegetable platter! No more sad-looking veggies, so so perfect for entertaining!
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