With a ton of culinary uses and only a little growing space required, garlic in the garden is a must have. Plant individual cloves base down in fall. Cut the scapes, or seed stalks, in the summer for use in sautés and stir fries. Harvest cloves once the leaves have begun to brown and wither, then spread in a warm, airy place for a few days to dry out. Store in a cool, dark place through winter.
Beets and radishes are some of the easiest root vegetables to grow. Beets are a double crop as both root and leaves are edible. The keys to tender beets are rapid growth and timely harvest. Too little water or nutrients or too many weeds slow growth, yielding tough, woody beets. Leaving them in the ground does the same thing.
Planted in succession about every two weeks, lettuces promise a harvest throughout the season.
Beans are one of my favorites in the garden because they are so easy to grow and have abundant crops. It makes a great choice for a successful kid’s garden. Beans thrive in sunny locations with fertile, well draining soil.
Sweet and hot peppers are heat-loving plants that come in a dazzling array of shapes, sizes and colors. Peppers need moist soil to flower and set fruit, so keep soil moist around the plants, covering with mulch if necessary and watering the plants regularly in the height of summer. Sweet peppers you may recognize from your local grocer are bell peppers which are available from green, to yellow to sweet red, but why buy when you can grow your own?
Neither summer squash or cucumber require much care, but both will yield lots of vegetables per plant. There are three main varieties of summer squash: crookneck, pattypan, and zucchini. At Civano Nursery we carry a huge selection of all the popular and unique varieties.
There are two major types of peas: green peas, and edible-pod varieties such as sugar snap or snow peas. Regardless of the type, peas grow on vines that need the support of a trellis or netting fitted between two stakes. It is very important to set supports before planting.
Despite what everybody says, a tomato is really a fruit. In 1893, for trade purposes, the government decided to call this fruit a vegetable. One medium tomato supplies almost half of the vitamin C you need daily, as well as 20% of the vitamin A, plus fiber and essential minerals.
There comes a point during harvest when you have had your fill of whatever vegetable is taking over at the moment. Whether it’s beans or zucchini, one more bite and you or your family might swear it off forever, even in spite of the delicious garden fresh taste. To prevent waste and to prolong your harvest into the winter months, freeze vegetable for up to six months.