Vegetables Archives - Page 5 of 6

Why Do Beets Always Need to Be Thinned?

You sow beet seed in the garden, and they come up too thick. So next year you plant less seed, and what happens? They grow too thick and need thinning again. Why is it that beet seed can’t be sown so that it does not need to be thinned?

I decided to have a close look at beet seed and in this post I’ll explain why beet seed is always planted too thick. I’ll also introduce you to a couple of new cultivars that don’t need to be thinned and tell you about my favorite heirloom beet which I have been growing for 30 years.

Why Do Beets Always Need to Be Thinned? germinating beet seed — Why Do Beets Always Need to Be Thinned?

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Potato Towers – Do They Really Produce High Yields?

Potato towers are a hot topic, probably because a lot of people have smaller backyards and they want to produce as much food as they can. The ads are very seductive: “Grow 100 pounds of potatoes in a 4 x 4 ft tower.” And then there are the pictures of someone opening a small container and having dozens of large potatoes falling out. I never knew gardening was so easy.

There are two approaches to finding out if potato towers actually work. One is to look for actual studies that compare potato towers to other forms of growing potatoes, and the other is to try and understand how potatoes grow. After all, humans have been growing them for hundreds of years, so we do know something about them. I’ll take both approaches in this post.

Potato towers made from wood, built by craftthyme.com

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Heirloom Seed Myths – Are They Worth Buying?

What is so special about heirloom seeds? I see a lot of online questions from people looking to source heirloom seeds. Are these seeds really that much better, or is this just another new craze or fad?

People grow their own food mostly to be healthier and they believe heirloom seeds are better for you. Is this true? Do they produce better tasting food, or produce a better yield? What is the real value in heirlooms?

Maybe the attraction to heirloom has more to do with tradition as suggested by this comment; “To the gardeners who love them (heirlooms), it matters that ‘Mortgage Lifter’ tomato came from a man who bred his own tomato plants, selling enough of them to pay off his mortgage”.

Heirloom Seed Myths - Are They Worth Buying? — Heirloom Seed Myths – Are They Worth Buying?

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Tomato Seed Fermentation – Is it Required?

Is tomato seed fermentation required? There are quite a few methods described on the internet for collecting and cleaning tomato seed, but which one works best? How do we define ‘best’? What works well for a commercial seed company may not be the best option for a home gardener.

A very common option is the ‘tomato seed fermentation’ method. Some say that it is absolutely necessary in order to get a high germination rate, but not everyone uses it, and they still claim to get good germination.

It is also believed that fermentation reduces pathogens on the seed. In this post, I will look at the science behind collecting and cleaning tomato seeds.

Tomato Seed Fermentation - Is it Required? — Tomato Seed Fermentation – Is it Required?

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Planting Garlic – How Late is Too Late?

I hear about a lot of people planting garlic in winter or even early spring. In most cases they never report how well the crop turned out so I wondered, how good is the crop if you plant late? Can you plant in spring, in a cold climate, and still get a good crop?

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Garlic – the King of Companion Planting

Garlic is one of the most popular companion plants. It can be grown next to most plants as a natural pest and fungus deterrent. It takes up little space, is not fussy about soil and can grow in most conditions.

I am sure that its pungent flavor is what convinces people that it keeps pests and diseases away. If it keeps vampires away, surely a few bugs are not a problem for it.

Garlic - the King of Companion Planting — Garlic – the King of Companion Planting

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Three Sisters Agriculture – an Example of Companion Planting

I’d like to talk about the Three Sisters. No, not the play written by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, and not the three mountain peaks near Canmore, Alberta , Canada. I am talking about Three Sisters Agriculture used by Native Americans; corn, beans and squash.

If you have read anything about companion planting you will have come across a description of the Three Sisters as one of the best examples of companion planting that works. But have you ever seen any data to show that this system works? Did the Native Americans actually use this system?

The Three Sisters are the corner stone of the companion planting movement and if it is all a myth, is there any validity to the whole idea?

Iroquois family growing beans, corn, and squash using three sisters agricultural companion planting — Iroquois family growing beans, corn, and squash using Three Sisters agricultural companion planting

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Seedless Tomatoes – Everything You Need to Know

I understand the reason we want seedless watermelons – because of the big seeds, but seedless tomatoes? Do we really need them? Why would you grow them? If they don’t make seed, how can they be grown from seed? Are these some kind of new GMO franken-toms?

The story of seedless tomatoes is quite interesting and can teach us a lot about plants. In this post, I’ll squash out the current knowledge about them and provide you with the background you need to make the proper choice when buying plants for your garden.

Ketchup manufacturers would love seedless tomatoes

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Aquaponics – Grow Vegetables in Your Pond

Imagine growing vegetables in your pond. You never have to water them or fertilize them. Since ponds stay cooler than soil, cool-growing crops like lettuce can be grown over a longer period of time. Ponds are a natural source of nutrients, especially if they contain fish, and these nutrients help vegetables grow aquaponically. Not only do you produce food, but the growing vegetables also help keep algae levels low.

Vegetables can be grown right in the pond or in an associated bog garden without any extra equipment, or you can get more serious about this and pump water to an external hydroponic growing area.

Lettuce ready to harvest from a Styrofoam raft floating on a pond — Lettuce is ready to harvest from a Styrofoam raft floating on a pond

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Will TUMS Cure Blossom End Rot?

People speculate that blossom end rot in tomatoes and peppers is caused by a lack of calcium in the soil. Many now suggest that dropping a TUMS (common brand of antacid) into the soil below each tomato or pepper will prevent this problem.

Will TUMS cure blossom end rot (BER)?

This is a very good example of a myth that can be debunked very easily, knowing nothing about BER.

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Chives, Garlic Chives, Onion Chives, Garlic Scapes – Which One Do You have?

There is a lot of confusion out there about various chives and garlics. Identifying one from the other is actually quite simple, until we add other alliums to the list, then it can become very complicated. In this post I will look at the common ones and provide a simple way to correctly identify your plant. I’ll also include some cultural information.

Allium Globemaster in the authors garden, by Robert Pavlis

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Planting Garlic – When Is The Right Time?

The recommended time for planting garlic in colder climates is mid-fall – October in zone 5. That certainly works but is that the best time?

Spring bulbs, like tulips, are also planted in fall but common advice for these is to plant them as soon as you get them. Earlier is certainly better than later. Planting earlier allows the bulb more time to develop a good root system before winter sets in. Since garlic is a bulb, would the same logic not apply to it? Would it not be better to plant garlic sooner?

Planting garlic - When Is The Right Time? From left to right, Aug 2, Sept 1, Oct 1, by Robert Pavlis — Planting garlic – When Is The Right Time? From left to right, Aug 2, Sept 1, Oct 1, by Robert Pavlis

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