Savvy Gardening

Cayenne pepper plant: How to plant and grow cayenne peppers

A cayenne pepper plant is a productive, easy-to-grow hot pepper perfect for anyone that wants medium-hot fruits. Grow them in garden beds or pots and expect each plant to yield dozens of slender glossy peppers. The 4 to 6 inch long fruits are typically green maturing to red and can be eaten fresh, dried, or used for hot sauce. In this article you’ll learn all about how to plant, grow, and harvest cayenne peppers from your garden.

Our 6 favorite raised garden beds for both beginners and experts

Written by The Savvy Experts

Raised garden beds are an excellent choice for gardeners looking to enhance their growing space. The best raised garden beds offer benefits, such as improved soil conditions, better pest control, and easier maintenance. Our expertise at Savvy Gardening stems from years of hands-on gardening in raised beds and thorough research, ensuring that our recommendations are practical and reliable.

Spotted a caterpillar on dill or parsley in your garden? IDing black swallowtail caterpillars

Written by Tara Nolan

When you see a caterpillar on dill in your garden—or other plants—you may be startled, grossed out, or annoyed that your plant is being systematically decimated. I get excited. Because I know it’s a black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes) that’s going to turn into a beautiful butterfly. And that butterfly is going to become one of many valuable pollinators in my garden.

What to plant in front of boxwoods for easy care

Written by Niki Jabbour

Boxwoods can be fantastically formal hedges or the basis of whimsical topiaries on their own, but, if you know what to plant in front of boxwoods, they’re also the perfect backdrop for a dazzling mix of companion plants. You can pair boxwoods with a combination of smaller shrubs, perennial plants, herbs, and even flowering bulbs. This supplies winter interest, attracts pollinators, keeps deer away, and more. No matter what effect you’re after, the plants you choose should play nicely with your boxwoods and fit in with your growing conditions as well as the size of your landscaping area. Keep reading for lots of beautiful ideas of what to plant in front of boxwoods.

How to freeze broccoli from the garden

Written by Tara Nolan

Looking at your latest bountiful harvest, you may realize that you need to learn how to freeze broccoli. This is a great problem to have! When your garden efforts pay off with a bumper crop, you can preserve your vegetables to enjoy year-round. There are several steps required to freeze broccoli, but it’s pretty easy. All you need is a good knife and cutting board, along with a large pot and a large bowl. In this article, you’ll read tips for harvesting broccoli, all you need to know to prep broccoli, and finally, how to freeze broccoli that you grew yourself.

When to harvest cauliflower and how to do it right

Written by Niki Jabbour

For the best cauliflower from your garden, it’s important to learn when to harvest cauliflower. This cool-weather brassica crop is joy to grow. Firm, often colorful cauliflower heads offset by large, green leaves—which are also edible—make a statement among your garden rows. Cauliflower growing in a container is also a pretty sight! Once the head starts forming, the countdown to the harvest begins. As you’ll learn in this article, cauliflower has similar growth habits, climate needs, and pest pressure as its brassica cousins, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale. The precise timing of when to harvest cauliflower is really what sets it apart from other garden vegetables.