Vegetables

A collection of 24 posts

Vegetables

The Best Green Bean... Kentucky Blue Pole!

Note: This post was scheduled for 3 weeks ago, but I live in Sonoma county, Calif. where wildfires devastated huge areas of our county. Our home is located 1 mile from  the neighbor that was completely burned down. We were evacuated for four days but returned to a house that

Recipes

Tomato Fresh Salsa Hybrid - Perfect Bruschetta Tomato!

Summer means bruschetta, salsa and fresh sliced tomatoes…right? But somehow the tomatoes I grew were never quite right for the bruschetta I loved to make…..until now! When I saw that Burpee Seed Co. had a tomato called “Fresh Salsa Hybrid” I imagined plump, firm, flavorful tomatoes that weren’

Vegetables

Sex and the Single Zucchini!

We’ve all heard people complain about too much zucchini! But, I also get questions about why some plants have a ton of flowers and no squash. It’s actually quite simple once you understand the sex life of zucchinis! Look carefully at the following photo and you’ll see

Vegetables

Spring! Time to Start the Garden!

Here in northern California it’s time get started on your spring garden. Today, February 25th, is 7 weeks before our average last frost date of April 15th. So what can you do now to plant and prepare?     1. Clean up weeds and dead leaves left from winter. 2. Top

Vegetables

Zucchini in October?

In years past I, like most people, planted my zucchini seeds after the frost free date, around April 15 in our zone 9 northern California garden.  By October I was usually pulling out plants that were done producing and beginning to mildew and turn yellow. In fact, that’s what

Vegetables

Vegetable Garden Designs...Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden

Wandering through a well designed garden is one of the best ways to decide how to design a garden of your own. The vegetable garden at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden is a great place to observe raised beds, mixed gardens full of flowers and veggies, outbuildings and nice pathways.

Vegetables

Peas Please!

With three little granddaughters to play with I have neglected writing about the garden! The last frost date for us in Northern California was April 15, seedlings I grew indoors under lights have all been planted out, and it’s full steam ahead in the garden! I planted peas a

Vegetables

The National Heirloom Exposition...Garden Paradise!

This September The National Heirloom Exposition was held in Santa Rosa, Calif. I wasn’t sure what to expect but since it was 10 minutes from home and  it was about gardening  I had to check it out! The exhibits covered all kinds of heirloom vegetables: The squashes were small

Vegetables

Corn..."On Deck"..Big Flavor on Small Plants

My garden is not huge.  I plant vegetables in 4 raised beds that measure 2 feet by 8 feet and 3 beds that measure 2 feet by 4 feet. So, I didn’t think corn, which is usually huge, would be a good use of space. But then I noticed

Vegetables

Wild Boar Farms...What it takes to Great Tomatoes to Market

I thought I was going to the Wild Boar Tomato Event this weekend just to taste some cool tomatoes and actually see a blue tomato for the first time. But, I learned more, so much more. When I go to the farmers market I admit I don’t put much

Vegetables

Tomatoes for Raised Beds & Containers

I love big, red, ripe tomatoes, picked fresh from the garden. Who doesn’t? But what I don’t like is huge tomato plants falling all over the garden pathways.  No matter how I caged or staked last year my Big Boy and Big Beef  tomatoes took over and blocked

Vegetables

Veggies - Bigger is Not Always Better!

Tiny is tender! When harvesting zucchini 5″ is tender, 2 feet is tough. I’ve never understood it when people get excited over a huge, tough zucchini. They become tough and dry.  They may be OK to grate for zucchini bread (though even then the dryness and seediness is a

Vegetables

Garlic Harvest!

I’ve been waiting since last October to see what would become of the 20 little garlic cloves I planted in our raised beds. Since at least half the leaves were finally dried and the stalks had flopped over, today was the day to find out! Everything I read said

Vegetables

Vegetables for Raised Beds- Our Top Ten!

Raised beds are a great way to plant your garden.  The soil isn’t compressed by people walking on it, that nice fluffy soil can be adjusted easily with compost or manure, watering is efficient with drip lines, they warm up earlier in spring, they’re neat and contained and

Vegetables

Spring Garden Growth..What's Up this Month?

In our Northern California garden the weather has been beautiful.  Maybe too beautiful considering how desperately we need rain but things are really growing well even with the drip system being cut back some. The peas, seeded in the garden on Feb. 22 are doing well: The carrots and lettuce,

Vegetables

Spring is Planting Time!

Here in northern California April 15 is the “frost free” date. Tomatoes and other warm weather plants can begin to go in without fear of frost knocking them out. Since some summer veggies, like beans, need the soil to be warmed to around 60 degrees I use a soil thermometer

Garden

Cool Season Planting Time!

A friend recently told me she finally has her raised beds in…..but, what’s next? So, let’s talk about what to do now to have a great spring garden! First, good  soil is the most important thing necessary for a productive garden. Without a good mix, that’s

House Plants

Spring Time Indoors...Tomatoes in a Sunny Window!

Last October I brought a tiny potted cherry tomato indoors to see how it would do…..and, it’s doing well!  The sunny California days that have brought on our drought, also led to tiny tomatoes in my office window. I scrapped off the top 1″ of soil and replaced

Vegetables

Burpee Seeds, A wealth of information!

Fall is in full swing and winter is fast approaching. It’s planning time for gardeners!  There are some amazing seed companies out there with catalogs, blogs and videos to help gardeners grow just about anything! While I buy some things from my local big box retailers, others I can

Vegetables

How to Peel a Tomato...the Old Fashioned Way

When I was a girl, spending summers with my grandparents, my grandfather and I would frequently  take drives out into the country and stop at the fruit stands. In the central valley of California fruit stands are amazing places. The tomatoes are deep red and the size of a salad

Vegetables

Beans...time to replant and other garden chores!

There’s still time to replant crops for one more harvest before fall…at least here in Northern California.  I just finished picking purple and green beans planted in May so it’s time to turn the soil and begin again! While I got lazy and just seeded long rows

Vegetables

Fresh Veggie Scramble

I brought in a bunch of fresh veggies this morning. What to do with them? Saute everything in a little butter or olive oil, add a dollop of cream cheese, 2 eggs and you have a great breakfast….similar to the Sunday Scramble previously posted but totally different veggies=totally

Garden

Gardening with Kids...Try "Magic" Purple Green Beans!

Got a kiddo that doesn’t like to eat veggies? Try “Magic” beans! Bean seeds are nice and big and work well for little hands to plant.  They sprout and grow quickly as long as you wait until the soil is warmed up..(.it is now in June for sure!

Garden

Tomato Test: Miracle Gro General Purpose Food or Tomato Food- Which is best?

I wonder, do you really need special tomato food for great tomatoes? What is the difference between general purpose plant food and tomato food anyway?  Good question…. Well, general purpose Miracle Gro has 24% nitrogen which is good for leaf development, 8% Phosphate which is good for seed and  flower