Cultivating curiosity and confidence
Tomatillos are a favorite in my veggie garden. One plant can produce an almost overwhelming harvest, which for me means I can make lots of salsa verde (a staple in my fall pantry). Knowing when to harvest tomatillos will help to make sure you are picking the fruit when it’s at its most flavorful.
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When creating a garden bed, my goal is to create a space that provides color and interest all year long. In spring and summer there’s plenty of bold and bright flowers and foliage but by late summer many plants have begun to wind down for the season. Yet, that doesn’t have to be the case as there is no shortage of striking late-season shrubs that add long-lasting beauty and appeal to the garden. In fact, by August, the five plants below are just getting started. Today I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite shrubs for late summer and autumn. These plants are featured on Savvy Gardening thanks to the sponsorship of Bloomin’ Easy Plants, the grower and supplier of these autumn blooming beauties.
I’ll admit it. I’m a reformed “beet hater.” When I was a kid, I thought I didn’t like beets because the only ones I’d ever eaten had come from a can and tasted like dirt. But when I grew up and had my first oven-roasted beet from a friend’s garden, I had my own personal beet epiphany and went from being a beet hater to a beet lover. Now, beets are an essential crop in my garden every season. Like carrots, radish, turnips, and other root crops, learning the best time to harvest beets plays an important role in the flavor and texture of your harvest. In this article, I’ll share some important details regarding when to harvest beets for peak nutrition, taste, texture, and storage life.
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After the first spring bulbs appear, the blooms I look forward to with the most anticipation in the spring are peonies. I love when I finally spot those big buds getting ready to burst open and reveal all the frilly petals they’ve been holding in. Knowing when to cut back peonies will ensure those beautiful blooms reappear next spring. Luckily once the flowers die back, you’re left with nice, strong foliage that will provide a backdrop for subsequent blooms.
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An herb spiral is a raised garden bed that is both beautiful and functional. It’s perfect for small space food gardens, but can also be tucked into ornamental landscapes to supply fresh herbs for the kitchen. Like other types of raised beds, spiral gardens are low-care spaces and their unique shape allows the gardener to plant both sun and shade-loving herbs in the same bed. Intrigued? Keep reading to learn more about building and gardening in a spiral herb garden.
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Would-be food gardeners who are short on garden space but want to grow vegetables and herbs can find success in container growing. You can use traditional containers, like plastic pots or you can up-cycle materials like trash cans and wood crates as demonstrated in the below DIY’s. These fun and easy projects are perfect for growing a bumper crop of potatoes and culinary herbs and use inexpensive and easy-to-source materials. We have excerpted the following DIY’s from GrowVeg: The Beginner’s Guide to Easy Vegetable Gardening by Benedict Vanheems and used with permission from Storey Publishing. The book is packed with dozens of clever ideas for growing tasty and attractive edibles when your ambition is bigger than the space you have to grow. Keep reading to learn more about growing potatoes in trash cans and kitchen herbs in recycled wood crates.
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