Quick Summary: Traditional Italian winter squash varieties like Marina di Chioggia, Piena di Napoli, and Violina Rugosa offer superior flavor but aren’t available in stores. They’re easy to grow, store for months, and work beautifully in pasta, risotto, and roasted dishes. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: Italian Squash …
Quick Summary: Design a kitchen garden by starting with what you want to cook, then selecting 5-12 vegetables that match your space. Plan paths and structures before placing plants. Use succession planting for continuous harvests. This guide covers plant selection, design styles, blueprints, spacing, and equipment. Read time: 15 min | Experience level: Beginner to …
Quick Summary: An Italian kitchen garden needs tomatoes (paste, slicer, and cherry types), squash, beans, chicory, peppers, eggplant, kale, broccoli, onions, lettuce, and herbs like basil, oregano, and parsley. Grow in the ground or containers. Most Italian varieties thrive in US gardens with warm summers. Read time: 12 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate …
Quick Summary: Romano beans (Italian flat beans) are easy to grow, disease-resistant, and highly productive. Pole varieties need trellising and reach up to 10 feet; bush varieties stay compact. Sow directly in garden after soil reaches 60°F. Harvest at 6 inches for tender pods. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner Jump to: What …
Quick Summary: Most garden fruits and vegetables need bee pollination to produce crops. Attract pollinators by planting nectar flowers near your vegetables throughout the growing season. For indoor gardens, hand-pollinate using a small brush to transfer pollen between flowers. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: |Why Pollination is Needed …
Quick Summary: Mulch protects vegetable and fruit plants from winter cold by insulating the soil. Straw works well for strawberries and garlic. Wood chips suit berry shrubs. Apply 2 to 4 inches in late fall before the ground freezes. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner Jump to: What Is Mulch? | What Needs …
The seed catalogs all start coming to the mailbox in late Winter and that means it’s time to dream of your perfect garden. It’s going to be different this year right? Well gardening has a ton of benefits, even when it’s not perfect, and these gift ideas are perfect for your favorite gardener and their …
Neighborhood cats often treat garden beds like litter boxes. Beyond the unpleasantness of grabbing cat feces while weeding, there are real concerns: cat waste carries pathogens, digging damages plants, and cats kill billions of songbirds annually. You don’t need poison or traps to control cats in the garden. These eight humane methods make your garden …
Quick Summary: Raspberry sweetness depends on variety, full sun, proper pruning, and harvesting at peak ripeness. Summer-bearing varieties like Tulameen and Cascade Delight tend to be very sweet. For everbearing, Anne (yellow) and Caroline are excellent choices. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: Sweetest Varieties | Summer Varieties vs …
Blueberry plants grown in containers will thrive in the summer but in many climates they will need a little extra care in winter to prevent their roots from freezing. Find out how to protect a potted blueberry bush in winter, whether you’re overwintering it indoors or outdoors! Jump to: Hardiness Considerations | Outdoor Care | …
Quick Summary: Strawberry sweetness depends on variety, potassium fertilizer, full sun, and harvesting at peak ripeness. June-bearing varieties like Earliglow and Honeoye tend to be sweetest, but day-neutrals like Albion and Seascape also deliver excellent flavor. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: Sweetest Varieties | How To Grow | …
Quick Summary: Common blueberry myths debunked: Blueberries don’t ripen after picking (pick only when fully blue). Coffee grounds don’t acidify soil (use peat or sulfur). Blueberries need full sun, not shade. Frozen berries are as nutritious as fresh. Multiple varieties dramatically increase yields. They’re easy to grow if you get the soil acidity right. Health …
Quick Summary: Blueberry sweetness depends on variety, potassium levels, and growing conditions. Half-high varieties like St. Cloud and highbush varieties like Bluecrop tend to be the sweeter varieties for the Midwest. Use a high-potassium fertilizer during fruiting, avoid overwatering, and let berries fully ripen before picking. Read time: 8 min | Experience level: Beginner to …
Blueberries don’t ripen after picking, and if you harvest them too early, you will get sour berries that will never sweeten up. I grow 600 blueberry plants at HeathGlen Organic Farm for the farmers’ markets, and have found that the single biggest factor in sweetness is picking at the right time. The key indicator is …
Blueberries were the first crop I planted back in 1998 when I decided to become a farmer. Over the years I was able to figure out their best growing conditions and the variables that led to the most prolific harvest. One of the growing conditions I noticed was which companion plants actually help and which …