Savvy Gardening

Front yard vegetable garden ideas: Grow a mix of food and flowers

Wish you could grow veggies, but your backyard is in complete shade? Or perhaps it’s taken up by a deck or laid out with a play for kids? Why not plan a front yard vegetable garden? With attitudes changing towards what a front yard should look like, more and more green thumbs are taking advantage of that valuable space and planting food. Oftentimes, the front yard presents the better option for growing fruit, vegetables, and herbs, because it offers perfect growing conditions.

How to grow quinoa in a vegetable garden

by Niki JabbourComments (0)

Quinoa is a cool season crop grown for its tiny, protein-packed seeds. It’s also a beautiful vegetable, producing tall plants with silvery-green leaves and brilliant red, pink, and gold seedheads. It’s easy to grow, drought tolerant, and disease resistant with the seed harvest taking place in autumn before the first hard frost. If you want to learn how to grow quinoa in a vegetable garden, keep reading.

Zucchini companion plants for the vegetable garden

by Jessica WalliserComments (0)

Companion planting has been around for generations, but most of the plant partnerships recommended have little basis in actual science. Times are changing though, thanks to an abundance of current research looking at the benefits of partnering certain plants together. My most recent book, Plant Partners: Science-based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden (Storey Publishing, 2020), presents effective interplanting strategies home gardeners can use to grow a better garden. In a prior article, I’ve examined the best companion plants for tomatoes, but in this article, let’s take a look at science-backed zucchini companion plants for the vegetable garden.
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New Zealand spinach: Growing this leafy green that’s not really spinach

by Tara NolanComments (4)

I first planted New Zealand spinach in one of my raised beds a few years ago and I’ve never had to replant it since. Little seedlings dependably reappear in my garden every year. I didn’t know much about this healthy leafy green until a friend offered me a few extra seedlings she had growing in her garden. Always keen to try something new, I eagerly planted them in the garden.

Growing loofah gourds: Learn how to grow your own loofah sponges

by Niki JabbourComment (1)

Loofah sponges are great in the shower and handy in the kitchen, but did you know you can grow them in your garden? A loofah sponge is the fibrous interior of a loofah gourd, which are produced on vining plants that are closely related to cucumbers and squash. Growing loofah gourds isn’t difficult but they do need a long growing season. I grow them successfully in my short season garden by starting the seeds indoors in mid-spring, giving the plants plenty of sun, and providing consistent moisture during the summer months. If you want to learn how to grow this unique – and edible! – gourd, read on.

Cattle panel trellis: How to build a DIY vegetable garden arch

by Jessica WalliserComments (11)

Growing vegetables vertically has many benefits. It allows you to grow more food in a given area and makes harvesting so simple. Vertical gardening increases the air circulation around your plants, making them less susceptible to fungal diseases. It also keeps the plants off the ground, distancing them from soil-dwelling pests. And in many cases, growing vertically is also really beautiful. In this article, I share one of my favorite ways to grow food vertically: by using a cattle panel trellis.
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