If you think of green sprouts when you think of growing microgreens, you need to meet the beautiful Swiss chard microgreens. With their brightly colored stems and light green leaves, they’ll add much-appreciated color to your meals. Why settle for a green salad when you can add orange, yellow, or red chard? Table of Contents Swiss chard microgreens have a sweet earthy flavor similar to beets, which is no surprise since they’re in the beet family....

Suited to outdoor cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 12, Schlumbergera makes an easy-care houseplant in all regions. Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera spp., is a Brazilian rainforest plant that grows in the dappled sunlight that penetrates the tree canopy. It is an epiphyte that needs something to cling to for physical support, like a tree or rock. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Dog food that is expired or stale can be used to transform the infertile soil. It is rich in nutrients that are known to boost plant growth. To multiply the effects of this dog food fertilizer, you can add clay cat litter and alfalfa pellets. Before going into the requirements and procedure, let’s understand how these ingredients help the soil: Dog Food: Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and calcium are released into the soil when dog food breaks down....

First, we’ll take a quick look at what companion plants are and why they’re important, then we’ll offer some examples of what to group this herb with, and which ones to grow on the other side of the garden. The distinctive flavor of dill, Anethum graveolens, is said to resemble a combination of fennel, anise, and celery. The feathery leaves of this delicate and attractive herb are often used to season savory dishes, including fish, salads, and soups....

If you’re an avid tomato grower like me, you most likely have had to deal with tomato suckers at some point or another. They’re tricky little things, and I really struggled to figure out whether or not I should leave them be or cut them off. Table of Contents Lucky for you, I’m going to give you some tips and tricks that will help to prevent you from going through this same confusing experience....

Tasters put off by kale’s bitterness might like chard’s flavor better, too. Chard is more mild — its leaves taste similar to spinach (although they are unrelated), and the stalks’ flavor has been compared to that of the stalks of bok choy. Are you looking for a nutritious leafy green to add to your vegetable garden? Consider chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris). A member of the beet family, this versatile vegetable is an easy to grow source of cool weather greens that’s perfect for an early spring or autumn veggie path....

In this article, you’ll discover how to lift, cure, and store caladium corms for replanting the following spring. Caladiums are colorful, tropical foliage plants that grow as perennials in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11. In colder areas, where the ground freezes, they are often grown as annuals. They can be taken out of the ground in the fall, the corms stored during the winter months, and replanted the following spring....

Echeveria agavoides may be small, but it packs a powerful punch of color. Its triangular leaves are pale green with bright red tips. This contrast is an absolute eye-catcher! Table of Contents The species name “agavoides” was inspired by this plant’s agave-like appearance. It has almost no stem, and the leaves grow upwards before fanning out. An average height of 5 inches makes this one of the shortest Echeverias. It’s also low-maintenance and a great succulent for beginners....

Napa cabbage is a brassica family plant and commonly known as Chinese Cabbage around the globe. You may easily buy it from the supermarket but Growing Napa Cabbage in pots is a much better choice if you want to enjoy its fresh sweet flavor and soft taste in your platter. Best Climate: You can grow it in any climate as an annual, just like regular cabbage Botanical Name: Brassica rapa var....

If it looks good at the end of summer, should you try to overwinter it, or should you pull it up and put it on the compost pile? There are plenty of reasons why you might want to know whether kale, Brassica oleracea, the star of many a spring or fall veggie garden, is an annual or a perennial. Armed with this knowledge, you will be able to answer some of the other questions you may have about growing this cruciferous crop in your garden....

Are you having problems with Japanese beetles eating your plants? These adults burrow into the ground in the fall to lay eggs which eventually turn into grubs. And anyone with a lawn knows these grubs can devastate lawns and gardens. One organic control developed to tackle the Japanese beetle problem is called milky spore powder. Table of Contents Japanese beetles (especially adult beetles) take little time to eat up grass roots, actively feeding on whatever they can in their time above ground....

Read on to learn how to monitor and control this garden menace. Delia radicum Cabbage maggots are small insects that can have a huge impact on cole crops, such as cabbage, broccoli, turnips, rutabaga, radishes, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. The larvae live in the soil, feed on the fibrous roots, and then tunnel into the roots and stems. These insects can totally destroy a crop. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

A delicious summer staple, corn is the backbone of so much of what we eat in the United States. Whether it’s eaten as fresh sweet corn or dried to make cornbread or tortillas, we rely so much on this wonderful plant. But getting the timing right on when to harvest corn can be a little tricky. With its kernels hidden from view, how can we tell when our corn is ready to harvest and time to enjoy the sweet fruits of our labor?...

Garlic is my absolute favorite vegetable to grow. It is easy to care for, perfect for the beginner gardener and the reward is the unmistakable flavor essential to many great dishes. If you’d like to grow your own garlic, then it’s useful to understand the different garlic growing phases to ensure you make the most of it. Table of Contents Depending on where you live and the variety of garlic plant you grow, the time it takes from sowing to harvest can be anything between 5 and 10 months....

Beautiful in wildflower gardens, gaura lindheimeri is more commonly known as Lindheimer’s beeblossom. Named after the German-born botanist Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, gaura plant is from the family Onagraceae. Table of Contents The white flowers or pink flowers it produces look like butterflies, and it’s got a long blooming season. Drought-tolerant, this garden perennial looks best when it’s allowed to sprawl out and naturalize. It’s good for xeriscaping as well! A warm weather loving species, the butterfly plant is well worth adding to your garden beds....

There are three different types of peonies, all of which are long-lived perennials: The first summer I lived in Alaska, my neighbors brought over a bouquet of enormous, lush pink flowers that I had never seen before. Set in vases against the green walls in my home, I could’ve stared at them for hours. I soon learned that peonies (Paeonia spp.) are a big deal here in Alaska. Lots of Alaskan gardeners grow these cold-hardy blooms, which thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8....

Native to Brazil, Begonia semperflorens can be winter hardy in zones 10-11, but they are grown as annuals in most of the United States. Begonia Semperflorens For many gardeners, wax begonias – so named for their waxy leaves – have fallen out of favor and are thought of as rather old-fashioned. However, it’s hard to beat these sweet little plants when you’re looking for a space-filler that adds a generous dose of colorful single or double flowers in pink, white, or red....

We will describe methods you can take to keep slugs from devouring your cole crops. With the possibility of having up to 200 slugs on every square yard of your garden in cool humid climates, your cabbage plants and other brassicas may be in peril. Such a robust population can strip your garden of cole crops and other veggies. And each of these terrestrial gastropod mollusks can produce 400 eggs a year; and they are hermaphrodites meaning they all have both male and female sexual organs and can lay eggs....

Every gardener instinctively knows that puttering around with your plants can have a profoundly uplifting effect! The mental health benefits of gardening tend to be underestimated, but are definitely present. Table of Contents Our gardens confer a special kind of serenity upon us which is often hard to come by in our frenetic, pressured world. It is only in recent years that doctors and mental health professionals have begun to truly delve into the healing potential of gardening....

While I still cooked and enjoyed them, I was disappointed by the lack of development. Last spring, I dutifully watered my carrots and got overly excited as the seeds began to germinate. The tops grew to an impressive size and looked picture perfect. Everything seemed to be going well – until I pulled them up and found only teeny-tiny roots. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....