Grow more per square foot, with less water, less back stress, fewer pest problems and an extended growing season, by growing vegetables in a raised bed. Nan presents different examples of raised beds and includes construction diagrams plus some tips and tricks she has learned in her years of raised bed gardening
Raise Your Vegetables in Bed
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Growing Tomatoes
Of all the vegetables I grow, tomatoes are my favorite. Hands down, it’s tomatoes. A few years ago, I grew 18 different kinds of tomatoes in my garden beds, just to see how they all compared. It was glorious. I’m often asked which tomatoes I recommend. That is an impossible question to answer. Everyone’s growing conditions are different, not just in different states or different counties or neighborhoods, but even from one backyard to the next, the growing conditions can be surprisingly different. And those differences determine whether a particular kind of tomato will thrive and produce, or simply survive. Two days' harvest from my garden There are thousands of varieties of tomatoes available as seed and certainly hundreds now sold in nurseries as seedlings. So rather than urge you to grow my favorite (which from that summer of 18 tomatoes, turns out to be a Japanese hybrid called Apple…
What are Seeds?
Vegetable Seeds are amazing little things. They look like dead specs of wood but when the temperature is just right, they have something to grow on, and enough light, all you need is water, and they sprout. I’ve been growing plants from seed for years and years, and I’m still in awe of the process. Seeds are so tiny and in just weeks, they grow into huge plants that make food! What are seeds? Every organism’s goal is to reproduce, to perpetuate its species. That’s true for humans, insects, mammals, birds, fungus, and every other living thing, including plants. As plants grow, they reach a point of maturity when they are ready to reproduce. When animals reach that point, their bodies are ready to make babies. For plants, maturity means making flowers that make seeds, some of which are enclosed in fruits. In fact, seeds are plant embryos. Seeds are…
How to Start Your First Vegetable Garden
Are you ready to start your first vegetable garden or refresh a tired one? This is the perfect time to do that work. Here are the basics for creating a productive, attractive, easy-care vegetable garden to feed you, your family, and maybe your friends, too. Where to put the garden The best place for a vegetable garden is close to your kitchen. That makes it easy to step out the door, pick some herbs or veggies, and add them to whatever you are cooking. Plus, the closer the garden is, the more likely you’ll tend to your plants regularly. Summer vegetable plants need full sun, six or more hours of unfiltered sunlight per day. If your garden gets scorching hot in late summer, use shade cloth for temporary protection. Shade cloth is a synthetic, breathable fabric that offers just the right amount of shade. Drape the shadecloth over lengths of…