by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Mar 14, 2022 | Vegetables
Vegetable gardening is easier than you think. Cool-season vegetables are planted in the spring or fall. They are the first vegetables you get in the spring and the last vegetables you get in the winter. In climates with mild winters, you can get some cool-season...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Mar 8, 2022 | Pak Choi
Baby Pak Choi Green Fortune Pak Choi (Brassica rapa chinensis, also called bok choy, pak choy, or bok choi) is an Asian vegetable used in stir-fries. This Baby Pak Choi Green Fortune is ready only 45 days after transplanting. It is not as picky as Chinese cabbage...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Mar 7, 2022 | gardening101
The term “Victory Garden” was used during World War I and World War II to describe vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens grown by people in the United States. These gardens made it possible for commercially grown vegetables to be fed to the troops here and...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Feb 28, 2022 | Leeks
Leeks I have never grown leeks. I bought these because the grocery store leeks are old by the time I get them. They don’t sell well here. Leeks are a relative of onions, shallots, garlic, and chives. They are not grown a lot in my area of Texas, but I am going...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Feb 19, 2022 | cauliflower
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) used to be a rather obscure vegetable but is very popular these days. The one I chose is Amazing Taste Cauliflower. I have to admit cauliflower has never been one of my favorite vegetables, but I am going to cook...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Feb 18, 2022 | gardening101
Vegetable Gardening From the Ground Up by Stephanie Suesan Smith Genre: How-To, DIY Gardening Beginning vegetable gardeners can harvest bountiful produce the first year. Even a beginner can succeed without enduring trial and error methods by...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Feb 14, 2022 | potatoes
In the Dallas, Texas area where I live, potatoes are planted on Valentine’s Day. However, you really need to buy your seed potatoes two weeks earlier to get them ready for planting. I went to North Haven Gardens to get my seed potatoes. You can grow red...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Feb 8, 2022 | Napa Cabbage
Baby Napa Cabbage Little Jade I like making stir-fries so I am growing this Baby Napa Cabbage Little Jade (Brassica rapa pekinensis). These mature early, about 60 days from transplanting, so I do not have to wait so long to taste them. Napa cabbage, also called...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 31, 2022 | gardening101
Seedlings about ready to plant outside I start my seedlings inside instead of buying them from the nursery. If you do the same, you must harden them off before planting, or they will die when planted. What is hardening off? Hardening off is the process of getting...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 24, 2022 | gardening101
A damping off Pinus taeda seedling Damping-off is usually caused by fungi, Rhizoctonia spp. and Fusarium spp., or by the water mold Pythiumspp. It most often attacks small seedlings and quickly kills them, Older plants can get root...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 21, 2022 | gardening101
Available in an ebook or a paperback from Amazon. It is also in Kindle Unlimited. Lots of people have discovered gardening in the past two years. Vegetable gardening not only gets you outside but gives you the freshest vegetables you will ever eat. New Gardens...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 17, 2022 | cabbage
Growing Cabbage is pretty easy. I decided to try these smaller cabbages this year instead of the regular large ones. Baby Cabbage Pixie is supposed to make 5-inch heads perfect for one meal. Big ones spoil before I can use them all. Seed Starting Start seeds 3-4 weeks...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 9, 2022 | after the harvest
Just as you have taken care of your vegetable plants so they will produce lots of good things to eat, you need to take care of your vegetables after you pick them. The goal after the harvest is to retain the freshness and nutrition that your vegetables have until you...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 4, 2022 | broccoli
Broccoli is a favorite cool-season vegetable. Growing Broccoli is not hard and it tastes much better right from the garden. I got a blend of three different broccolis this year. The cultivars in the packet can differ depending on supply, but I got Green...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Dec 27, 2021 | gardening101
Most people in the United States of America know what food stamps, now called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are. Right now, many people are able to use SNAP that have not had it in the past. In addition to buying food with SNAP, you can buy...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Dec 20, 2021 | gardening101
In North Central Texas, it is time to start your seeds for the cool spring plants you plant outside at the beginning of February. These plants include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and other above-ground plants. You can find information on when to plant in North...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Nov 25, 2021 | Vegetables
First Catalog of the January 2022 Season I got my first seed catalog of the year! Seed catalogs are great entertainment during the long winter. This year, I noticed something disturbing, though. The seed packets were much higher than I remember them...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Nov 19, 2021 | blogging
jill111 / Pixabay When I started writing for the web in 2010, influencers were still a new thing. Gardeners tended to skew toward older people who did not use social media. A lot has changed in eleven years. Gardening Changed When...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Dec 29, 2018 | product review
Last year, Renee’s Garden Seeds allowed members of the garden press to get seeds for free, up to a fairly generous amount. There were flowers, vegetables, and herbs to choose from. I took advantage of that offer and got a bunch of herb seeds as well as bell...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Dec 3, 2017 | gardening101
rawpixel / Pixabay Climate change can make gardening frustrating. Techniques that you have followed for years no longer work. Favorite plants die. Rainfall has changed and you are either in a drought or a monsoon. What can you do to cope?...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Mar 19, 2017 | entomology
How much would you give to know when bugs and other garden pests were coming so you could take preventive measures? The Big Bug Hunt is asking for your help to develop an app that does just that. Since gardeners are the ones who generally find new bugs...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Mar 3, 2017 | gardening101
Most people have heard that you are supposed to rotate your garden plants between plants from the same family. Many people have heard of companion planting where you plant certain plants together for a better harvest. However, few people have heard of...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Feb 21, 2017 | container gardening vegetables
European wood sorrel Why Not Grow Perennial Salad Leaves This Season? By Daniel Mowinski Perennial vegetables are making a comeback. I say comeback because if you were to travel a few centuries into the past you would find plants like Good King Henry and Sorrel in...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 30, 2017 | container gardening vegetables
Dwarf vegetable plants can produce enough food for several meals during the gardening season. Many of these new plants can produce great vegetables in as little as an eight inch pot set on the patio or balcony. These are part of a gardening craze aimed at people who...
by Stephanie Suesan Smith | Jan 8, 2017 | diseases
Rose Rosette Disease is thought to be caused by a virus that came over to the United States in the 1800s with Asian wild roses. Many of these roses were planted by settlers all over the United States and have become naturalized. Rose Rosette Disease is now infecting...
