“Will my peppers continue to ripen? How about my eggplants?” It is common knowledge to most gardeners (and home cooks) that tomatoes will ripen on the kitchen counter, as will bananas and several other fruits. You know that one day your bananas look perfectly ripe and the next they’re a brown mush But does this work for all fruits? We often get questions about whether specific fruits will continue to ripen after picking. And the answer is…..… Continue reading this article “Ripe for the picking: Which fruits keep ripening after harvest?”
Tag: edible
Rhymes with nārang
By Visiting Professors Dr. Charlie Rohwer and Ulrike Carlson
I’ve had this dream of doing a full academic etymological study of oranges, with the help of a second-cousin-by-marriage linguist and her historian husband. Being honest with myself, I know that’ll never happen. And also, honestly, they’d have to do all the work anyway.
But, the Garden Professor’s Facebook post about the citrus family tree revived my interest. Not for a full-blown academic analysis of the word ‘orange,’ but for a blog-friendly, factual, interesting post.… Continue reading this article “Rhymes with nārang”
Ray’s 2015 Tomatoes
I thought I’d share some of the new varieties of tomatoes I’m growing this year, along with some old favorites.
First up is a picture of a new variety from Dr. Harry Klee’s research at the U. of Florida called Garden Gem, along with Blush from Artisan Seeds.
Garden Gem is a new hybrid, poised to take the fresh market grocery store tomatoes on. Same disease resistance, same shipping quality, but with much improved flavor. … Continue reading this article “Ray’s 2015 Tomatoes”
Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens
Megan M. Gregory, Blog Contributor, Cover Crop Nerd, and Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University
Email: meganmgregory1@gmail.com
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/gep/
This article is part of a four-part series about cover cropping in vegetable gardens. Stay tuned for Part III next week.
- Part I: Introduction to Cover Cropping
- Part II: Types of Cover Crops — Non-Legumes, Legumes, and Mixtures (oh, my!)
- Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens
Once you’ve chosen cover crops that fit your vegetable rotation, management goals, and garden site (See Part III: Selecting Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens), it’s time to plant!… Continue reading this article “Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens”
Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part III: Selecting Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens
Megan M. Gregory, Blog Contributor, Cover Crop Nerd, and Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University
Email: meganmgregory1@gmail.com
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/gep/
This article is part of a four-part series about cover cropping in vegetable gardens. Stay tuned for Part III next week.
- Part I: Introduction to Cover Cropping
- Part II: Types of Cover Crops — Non-Legumes, Legumes, and Mixtures (oh, my!)
- Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens
As I outlined in Part I and II of this series, cover crops can serve many purposes in small-scale vegetable gardens, including soil quality improvement, nitrogen (N) fixation, weed suppression, and habitat for beneficial insects. … Continue reading this article “Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part III: Selecting Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens”
Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part II: Types of Cover Crops – Non-legumes, Legumes, and Mixtures
Megan M. Gregory, Blog Contributor, Cover Crop Nerd, and Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University
Email: meganmgregory1@gmail.com
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/gep/
This article is part of a four-part series about cover cropping in vegetable gardens. Stay tuned for Part III next week.
- Part I: Introduction to Cover Cropping
- Part III: Selecting Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens
- Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens
Vegetable gardeners are turning to cover crops to improve soil quality, add nitrogen (N) to the soil through legume N fixation, suppress weeds, and attract beneficial insects in their gardens. … Continue reading this article “Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part II: Types of Cover Crops – Non-legumes, Legumes, and Mixtures”
Garden Site Selection
Shawn Banks: Extension Blog Contributor
Johnston County Extension Agent/Educator
North Carolina State University
shawn_banks@ncsu.edu
As an extension agent one question I often get asked by new gardeners is, “Where do I put a vegetable garden in my yard?” That leads to a lot more questions, but let’s answer the where question first. There are four basic considerations when selecting a garden site.
The first thing to consider is the need for direct or full sunlight. Most vegetables need a minimum of six to eight hours in order to produce a crop.… Continue reading this article “Garden Site Selection”
Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part I: Introduction to Cover Cropping
Megan M. Gregory, Blog Contributor, Cover Crop Nerd, and Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University
Email: meganmgregory1@gmail.com
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/gep/
This article is part of a four-part series about cover cropping in vegetable gardens. Stay tuned next week for Part II
- Part II: Types of Cover Crops — Non-Legumes, Legumes, and Mixtures (oh, my!)
- Part III: Selecting Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens
- Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens
What are cover crops, anyway?
Cover crops are close-growing plants sown in rotation with food crops, or inter-seeded between food crops to cover bare ground. … Continue reading this article “Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part I: Introduction to Cover Cropping”
Pruning Overgrown Apple Trees
Ward Upham: Extension Blog Contributor
Extension Associate – Home Horticulture Rapid Response Coordinator
& Extension Master Gardener Coordinator
Kansas State University Extension
wupham@ksu.edu
Apple trees that are not pruned for several years will often produce so many branches that very little energy is left for fruit production. Overgrown apple trees are also difficult to harvest and spray. Gardeners who have such a tree are often at a loss as to how to get it back in shape.… Continue reading this article “Pruning Overgrown Apple Trees”
Prepping Your Garden for The Next Growing Season
William H. McCaleb, Blog Contributor
Program Assistant for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Halifax County, VA. and Master Gardener
For gardeners in the eastern U.S., last year was a better than normal gardening season. Better than normal yield, better than normal precipitation, and in our case in Virginia cooler than normal which yielded excellent spring cool season crops as well as early summer crops.
But all good things must come to an end; that being the result of several heavy frosts. … Continue reading this article “Prepping Your Garden for The Next Growing Season”