Savvy Gardening

When to pick zucchini for the best flavor and quality

Zucchini plants are incredibly productive, but if you don’t know when to harvest, you may end up with tough, tasteless fruits. Knowing when to pick zucchini is the best way to ensure a high quality crop. Perfectly picked zucchini are super tender and have a mild, almost nutty flavor. Below I’ll offer advice on when to harvest all types of zucchini as well as share tips on the best ways to harvest. (Hint – it’s not by pulling the fruits from the plant!) Keep reading to learn more.

Potatoes in raised beds: A growing guide for success

Written by Jessica Walliser

Growing potatoes in raised beds has many benefits. You’ll find they are easy to plant and care for, and yields are prolific. Potatoes thrive in the well-drained soil of a raised bed garden. Like tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables, growing your own saves money at the supermarket, brings more flavor to the table, and if you harvest and store them correctly, you can enjoy your potatoes for many months to come. This article is a complete guide for successfully growing potatoes in raised beds.
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How to grow oyster mushrooms at home

Written by Jessica Walliser

You might not know how to grow oyster mushrooms—or that growing your own is even possible!—but it’s actually quite simple. Better still, with good initial preparation, you can end up with several years’ worth of harvests. Including shades of blue, pink, and even bright gold, fungi in the Pleurotus genus are colorful, prolific, and they’ll grow in everything from gallon buckets filled with straw to newly cut logs, mulch, or sawdust. So, whether you want to be a casual mushroom grower or think you might want to try organic mushroom farming someday, starting with oyster mushrooms makes good sense.
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How to grow radishes from seed: Tips for sowing in early spring and late summer

Written by Tara Nolan

Radishes are one of those first treats to come from the spring garden. There is nothing like pulling out a colorful root veggie, giving it a little dust and polish, and biting into it before it has a chance to see the kitchen. Did you know you can also enjoy fresh radishes in the fall, as well? In this article, I’m going to explain the difference between spring and winter radishes, and share some tips on growing radishes from seed for a spring crop and for a fall crop. Timing your radish seeding is simply a matter of counting forwards or backwards to frost-free and frost dates.
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When to pick cherry tomatoes for the best flavor and quality

Written by Niki Jabbour

Cherry tomatoes are a sweet garden treat and easy to grow in garden beds or containers. To ensure you enjoy the highest quality harvest, it’s important to know when to pick cherry tomatoes. If you harvest them too early, they’ll be underripe and you’ll miss out on maximum flavor. Wait too long and the thin-skinned fruits may split while still on the plants. Below I’ll share tips on how and when to pick cherry tomatoes for option flavor and quality.

How to freeze kale: A step by step guide

Written by Jessica Walliser

Kale is a go-to ingredient for smoothies, soups, stews, and dishes like kale pesto. This super-food is easy to grow and can even replace spinach in many recipes. If you have an overabundance of kale from your garden or the grocery store, you may want to learn how to freeze kale so you can enjoy it for months to come. Here are step-by-step instructions for freezing this delicious green.
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