Hybrid or Open Pollinated
Careful observation and detailed notes are key to the identifying superior vegetable varieties It's a struggle, even for experienced gardeners, to choose the best varieties of vegetables. Every catalog description includes only positive ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
The Facts of Life About Melons and Squash
There are many old myths about the freak results of cross-pollination between cucumbers and melons, pumpkins and squashes prevail, and most need clearing up. Mixed breeding of melons or squash only matters if you want to save seed from one year ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Growing Sedums
Sedums, also called stonecrop, are versatile plants. They grow well in perennial borders, containers, and rock gardens. However, it's their thick, fleshy leaves and colorful blossoms that makes them sought-after additions to any garden. And they ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Grafting
Grafting is the process of connecting two different plants so they grow as one. The advantages of grafting include combining attributes that don't naturally occur in a single plant, for instance flavorful fruit with dwarfing or disease-resistant ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
How to Have the Earliest Corn
Corn germinates best at soil temperatures above 55° F and can't germinate in soil that's too cool, so the seeds may take longer to come up than you'd expect. After the first hot sunny spring day, however, you'll see the seedlings shoot up and ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Easy Slipping Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are at the bottom of the list of gardeners' favorite vegetables, and that's just not right. Varieties such as 'Beauregard', 'Vardaman', and 'Centennial' are truly exceptional (much better tasting than the kind in the store). Kids ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Hardening Off Tomato Transplants
One of the most important steps in planting comes before seedlings get near the garden. This is the process of hardening off, or gradually acclimating seedlings to outdoor conditions. These plants have spent their short lives in a warm, sunny, ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Greek oregano
In recent years, many new varieties of herbs have been introduced, some of which do better indoors than the traditional varieties. Here are 10 herbs notable for their consistent, compact growth habit and strong flavor. (Allium schoenoprasum): ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Garden Guru: Howard Dill
Howard Dill is a giant among giant pumpkin growers. He grew four consecutive world champion pumpkins from 1979 to '82 and missed winning the fifth year by a mere 5 pounds. Today, his patented Dill Atlantic Giant seeds are sold worldwide to more ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
If you live in zones 4b to 6a:
If you thought broccoli was a once-a-year, one-shot affair, think again. Just about any gardener in the United States can harvest crops two, or even three times a year. How? In most areas, by sowing seed in July. For that third harvest of the ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Fish Emulsion Stops Damping Off
Winter is seed starting time for many gardeners. One scourge of seed starting are fungal diseases such as Pythium and Rhizoctonia. These diseases are commonly called "damping off" because they cause a sudden rot of seedling stems. Researchers .. [... more]
National Gardening Association |
Confessions of a Plant Thief
It's easy to be a plant thief of the breadbox poppy (Papaver somniferum). The seeds are simple to collect and germinate readily. I have a guilty secret. I am a plant thief. It must be genetic, because my granny was a plant thief too. Dearie, as ... [... more]
National Gardening Association |
