Savvy Gardening

Growing Swiss chard: Tips for nurturing this ornamental, leafy green

Swiss chard is one of those leafy greens that is so gorgeous it strays into ornamental territory. I love planting “decorative” vegetables and herbs, like lemon thyme and mustard greens, in the empty spots of the garden where I usually plant annual flowers. With Swiss chard you get a nutritious, leafy green, chock-full of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as antioxidants. And it looks great both in a garden or in a container arrangement with flowering annuals. In this article, I’m going to share some advice on growing Swiss chard from seed—wherever you choose to plant it!

Growing chamomile for tea: From sowing seeds to harvesting and drying the flowers

Written by Tara Nolan

I love growing chamomile for tea. Not only do the plants produce beautiful ornamental blooms in the garden, those daisy-like flowers can be dried and enjoyed in a hot cuppa. It was a university roommate who introduced me to the soothing digestive properties of dried chamomile flowers—and I’ve been drinking it ever since. If you brew it often, it makes sense economically to grow your own plants. And you can use the whole flowers. Often tea brands pulverize the flowers into dust. You can also package, label, and give small batches of your dried chamomile flowers as gifts.

How to grow pinto beans in a vegetable garden

Written by Niki Jabbour

As you look toward building your roster of storage crops, go ahead and put “how to grow pinto beans” on this year’s to-learn list. Or maybe it’s not storage crops that you’re into but heirlooms. On the other hand, it could be that you’re looking for something both interesting and edible to grace an archway or trellis. The point is there are a lot of reasons why you might want to learn how to grow pinto beans. In this article, I’ll cover the basics of growing pinto beans; specific tips for growing them in gardens, raised beds, and containers; how to harvest pinto beans; and a few troubleshooting pointers.

Growing snow peas: A seed-to-harvest guide

Written by Jessica Walliser

Considering they require no shelling, are super tasty, and are about half the calories of traditional English peas, growing snow peas in your home garden should be a no-brainer. You can toss just-picked snow peas with spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes to give salads an extra sweet crunch. Snow peas are also a staple in stir-fries and, if you grow many more than you can reasonably use, you can always blanch and freeze them for later. Flavor aside, there’s a lot of nutrition packed into every edible pod. Snow peas provide protein, fiber, iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, and more. And, because these legumes can fix nitrogen in the soil, growing snow peas is good for the health of your garden, too. In this article, I’ll explain how to grow snow peas in garden beds and containers, from seed right through to harvest.
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The best broccoli plant spacing for high yields

Written by Tara Nolan

Broccoli plants like to spread out in the garden, so it’s important to get broccoli plant spacing right. This cool-season annual vegetable yields one main head and, often, several smaller side shoots. But it’s the large leaves that grow around the broccoli head that make it possible for the plant to photosynthesize and grow. The broccoli plant leaves are kind of like solar panels for the broccoli head, and they need space to access the sun. This is a primary reason you should pay attention to where you place your seedlings.

Growing bok choy: Tips for starting seeds indoors and for direct sowing

Written by Tara Nolan

If I were to list my favorite greens in the garden for stir fries, growing bok choy would be at the top of my list. One of those shoulder season crops that are easy to grow, I sow bok choy seeds in the spring for an early-season harvest, and in the late summer for a fall crop. In this article, I’ll share tips on growing bok choy from seed, as well as how to prevent pests from destroying those luscious leaves.