Gardens

When you decide to plant tomatoes in your garden, there are two types from which to choose –determinate and indeterminate. There are distinct differences between the indeterminate tomatoes and determinate tomatoes and reasons you may select one over the other. Although we’ll do a comparison between the two types later in this article, our main focus will be indeterminate tomatoes which will give you mouthful after mouthful of juicy goodness all season long. What are … Read more

There are many types of basil. All of them are easy to grow. Basil belongs to the mint family, which encompasses a broad range of herbs including mint, rosemary, lavender, and sage. We discuss the most popular basil varieties below. We discuss popular varieties of green-leafed and purple-leafed basil along with plants that produce green leaves with purple flowers. There are as many as 150 different types of basil plants, with sweet basil being the … Read more

Learn how to prune basil to ensure lush, vigorous growth. Pruning basil correctly will help the plant to grow bushy and longer.  Basil grows easily. Taking steps to trim it properly and timely will enable you to use the leaves, grow more leaves, and propagate new basil plants.  Why You Should Prune Basil There are a few good reasons for trimming basil, including harvesting, spurring growth, growing new plants, and prohibiting it from going to … Read more

Growing lettuce is easy when you know what you are doing. Here I explain how to grow lettuce from seed or regrow from lettuce.  Lettuce grows quickly. It’s a cool season crop. It can grows well in growing zones 2 – 11 as long as you plant it at the right time of year. Lettuce doesn’t like extreme temperatures. If you plant late in the season, you can choose a faster maturing variety. You can … Read more

Growing a stevia plant is a way to enjoy sweet leaves whenever you want. You can use them fresh, dried, powdered, and as a liquid to sweeten drinks and food. Stevia grows well in garden beds and containers and makes an edible houseplant. They are high-yielding plants that produce all year. They grow much like basil. We explain how to grow a stevia plant, how to care for it, plant uses, and more so you … Read more

Growing a pomegranate tree will yield mighty pomegranates in your backyard. They also grow well in container gardens and indoors. It’s a pretty tree with colorful blooms. These deciduous shrubs are easy to care for, drought tolerant, and typically unaffected by pests and disease. A pomegranate tree is a good choice if you want a fruit-bearing tree. They are suitable for beginner gardeners. Pomegranate trees are ideal first trees to start a small orchard. It … Read more

The loquat tree, also known as Erioboytra japonica, produces juicy, sweet, tangy plum-sized fruits with a yellow or orange thin downy skin. Depending on the cultivar, their flesh can be white, orange, or yellow. The fruit is delicious, whether fresh or dried. It can be added to fruit salads or fruit caps or cooked and preserved. They also make excellent pies, preserves, and jams. It’s possible to grow a loquat tree in a pot. They … Read more

The yucca plant is a popular ornamental indoor and outdoor shrub. Although it’s easy to confuse the names yucca and yuca, these are two different plant species. We’ll be covering the yucca plant here, which doesn’t have an edible starchy root but has excellent medicinal properties and other uses. Yucca plants are perennial evergreen trees and shrubs. Most are in the family Asparagaceae.  Some varieties flower and a few produce edible fruit. They are not … Read more

Pepino melon – The perennial pepino shrub often produces an abundance of fruit in various types of conditions. It has recently become more popular to plant in home gardens, especially in warmer climates. Where it originates naturally is South America, where the climate is warmer and humid. If you’re wondering what it is, where to grow pepino plants, and when to harvest pepino melon, read on to learn more about these unique fruits. The great … Read more

Filled with nutrients and a great addition to salads and other dishes, you might be ready to dig into the beets in your garden. However, knowing when to harvest beets is vital to their quality and taste. Beets grow quickly and will be ready to harvest in less than two months. In this guide, we’ll help you identify if your homegrown beets are plump and ready for picking. You can eat the beetroot leaves and … Read more