Gardening

As the temperatures cool and the sun begins to dip lower in the sky, your vegetable garden may start to look a bit bedraggled. This is a completely normal part of the cycle of an annual vegetable garden, but it doesn’t mean your work is done for the year. Preparing your vegetable garden for winter...

The falling temperatures and falling leaves are signaling that soon the green in our gardens will turn brown as life moves into its annual winter dormancy. There’s a handful of plants that can survive—and even thrive—in the harshness of winter. One of those plants is garlic. Typically planted in the...

Beets were most likely first cultivated thousands of years ago by the Greeks and Romans. Early beets were primarily grown for their fleshy leaves which were similar to what we now call “Swiss Chard.” The first recorded evidence of beets being grown for their bulbous roots was in the 1500s in Germany...

Saving your own seeds from your garden is a rewarding practice and over time it will adapt your veggies to your garden’s specific microclimate. Here are a few tips for new seed savers and some veggies to get started with. For a more detailed description on how to save seeds, check out this article...

Okra was first cultivated thousands of years ago by farmers in current-day Ethiopia. From there it traveled North making its way across the fertile crescent where it became common fare in the Arab world and eventually in India. Okra was most likely brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans...

The first carrots were likely domesticated from a thin white root in modern-day Afghanistan just over 1,000 years ago. As domesticated vegetables go, carrots are relatively new to the scene. Early domesticated carrots were purple and yellow according to historical records. Over time orange carrots...

Watermelon was likely first cultivated around 5,000 years ago by farmers in current-day Botswana. It is believed that its wild ancestor is a bitter melon known as “kengwe.” Originally the melon was used primarily as a source of water and the seeds were roasted and eaten for protein. Over time the...

In these hot days of summer, right as your summer harvest is probably beginning to peak, it might seem strange to start thinking about a fall garden. But the truth is, this is exactly the right time to start planning–and even planting–your fall garden. Depending on how much time your fall plants...

The history of grape production is as diverse and sprawling as the many uses for this dynamic plant. “European” grapes were likely first cultivated around 8,000 years ago in the Middle East before traveling west to Europe. Once there, they became a vital part of European culture in the form of wine...

The final crop in our series on growing a Three Sisters garden is the baby sister, squash. Like corn and beans, squash is thought to have been first cultivated around 10,000 years ago in current day Mexico. The English word “squash” comes from the Narragansett, “askutasquash” which roughly...

It seems like there are as many ways to prune a tomato as there are varieties of tomatoes. The size of your tomato depends on a lot of things including the variety you plant, soil quality, and climate in a given year. But in addition to these characteristics that are incredibly important, we’ve also...