How to Grow Carrots

Every vegetable garden should grow at least one variety of carrots. Once you’ve grown them, I’m certain you’ll be hooked. I grew a row of 10 carrots wide by 25 feet long. That’s a lot of carrots and to my surprise, although I have a bunny running around the garden at night, not one of the carrots was destroyed! I will admit that a few of the leaves were eaten, but no digging or other damage.

I started all of my carrots by seed, and yes it is a little tough planting all of those tiny seeds, but the benefits were quite obviously worth the trouble. I planted in a row three feet wide, which equaled to a thinned row of ten carrots per row. I also planted each row three inches apart, so, my calculations tell me that at harvest time, barring any lose to rabbits, insects and diseases; I could easily harvest 1,000 carrots…That’s a lot of rabbit food.

After the seed germinated, I thinned the plants to three inches apart. I then spent the next several weeks watching them grow. Carrots have a beautiful, fernlike top, so it was a pleasure watching them wave in our Texas breezes. I checked them daily as they grew, and enjoyed the growth spurts after a wonderful rain, or after fertilizing.

Because I planted early, I had very little problem with pests. Right as I began to harvest some of them, I noticed some small grasshoppers starting to get interested in the tops. While harvesting, I noticed a caterpillar starting to munch. This caterpillar was so very small, that I could not really tell what it was, and quite honestly at this point I did not care.

I processed the carrots by cutting off the tops. Those tops immediately went back into the compost pile. I then cleaned them and did any necessary additional trimming. I put them on ice and made a plan for canning them. Once I found a good recipe, I broke out the canning gear and got busy in the kitchen. 16 pints later and I have a great feeling of accomplishment. To know that I can feed my family by the planning and hard work put into my vegetable garden just makes me feel really good.

I hope you are having some of the same successes as I am having. Please feel free to join us on my Facebook page, where I hope you will come and participate by asking questions, and posting your photos.

How to Grow Great Potatoes

I didn’t know this, but apparently there’s well over a 1000 known varieties of potatoes in existence around the world. Can you believe it?

Heirloom varieties are famous for their flavors, and equally notorious for growing well in some areas, but not in others.

The world’s number one “bible” on growing potatoes – How to Grow Great Potatoes – delivers 12 pages of detailed information on potato varieties. There’s photos, cultivation notes and cooking notes on over 100 varieties, including russet, red, white, fingerling and blue/purple potatoes.

Apparently when selecting varieties for your garden, you should consider your main cooking use, variety productivity, suitability to your soil conditions and disease resistance. The potato variety that you pick should also be a good fit for your climate because healthy plants produce better-tasting tubers.

This book contains 11 beautifully illustrated chapters which cover everything from soil preparation, planting, watering, nutrition and controlling pests and diseases.

I love this book. It’s got a quick start guide for beginners and quite advanced information for seasoned growers. Co-Author Lucia Grimmer holds a Masters Degree in Plant Pathology and Nutrition – so she knows a thing or two about pest, disease, nutrition and cultivation.

Click here to see the book.

Thank you,
Steven Coyne

PS: Oh, and the ebook comes with 2 further bonus ebooks too. One of them is a lovely recipe book called How to Cook Yummy Potatoes and provides 45 gorgeous recipes and images. The other is How to Cook Jerusalem Artichokes, another tasty vegetable which is surprisingly easy to grow.

Growing Zucchini Squash

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Growing zucchini squash is probably one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the garden. Most varieties are large quantity producers of beautiful 8 – 10 inch long pieces that can be used in a multitude of different recipes. From bread to casseroles and cookies, zucchini is one of the wonder veggies that every gardener should grow and share.

Prior to doing any planting in my garden, I usually dig in about 4 – 5 inches of finished compost and wait at least a week before I plant. Also known as Italian squash, zucchini is typically started by seed, directly sown into the spring garden row, after the last frost in your area. Seeds should be planted in rows 3 to 4 feet apart in groups of 4 – 6 seeds per spot. Once seeds germinate, usually within 7 – 10 days, I choose the strongest three and remove the rest. One week later, you can choose the strongest one plant and pull out the rest.

Once plants are about one foot in diameter, I lay down a soaker hose the entire length of the row, placing the hose right up against the underside of the plants. Plants should receive at least one inch of water per week throughout their life and mulched with something like wheat straw about 3 – 4 inches thick. This mulching will help to retain moisture and deter most weed growth. The weeds that you do have pop up can be easily pulled by hand, as they are usually weak from having to struggle to grow through the mulch.

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2012 Vegetable Gardening Begins

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Well, it’s time to get started with the garden again, here in the great state of Texas. I am so excited this year, as the garden has gotten bigger and that means (God willing) a bigger harvest, from a larger variety of plantings.

A lot has happened through the fall and winter months in my vegetable garden in regard to soil improvement. I’ve brought in over 100 yards of rotted horse manure and either turned it into the garden, or I’ve composted it with a variety of other plant wastes and then turned it under as well. This type of diligent soil improvement is necessary in my Black Gumbo Clay soil.

Doing so has made a major difference in the structure and tilth of the soil. The red worms and night crawlers have exploded in quantity, and now they help do the hard work for me. Every time you take advantage of doing soil improvement in your garden is always worth the effort. Planting a cover crop of some kind also helps. I planted Annual Rye Grass in the fall and turned it under in January.

I’ve recently planted Bush variety Green Beans, Asparagus, Yellow Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Yellow and Red Onions, Red Potatoes, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Carrots, Sunflower, Pickling Cucumbers, Cilantro, Jalapeno Peppers and Pumpkin. You can click on the “bold” vegetables to read my articles on growing them. I’ll be writing more articles soon.

Please subscribe to the blog so you receive important growing information, as well as other information related to vegetable gardening. I will also include pictures, so that you can read and see what I’m doing. I’ll also provide you with canning and preservation practices so that you can eat your bounty during the winter months, or share it with family and friends.

I hope you will please feel free to click the “Share” button at the bottom of any article to share with your gardening friends and family.

How to Grow Broccoli

Broccoli is considered a cole crop and can be grown in late summer and grown through the fall, or it can also be started in early spring. Broccoli is one of the most popular vegetables; however, it also gets a lot of negative comments about its taste from children. It is very easy to grow and should be planted in gardens across the USA.

I direct seed my broccoli into the garden in both the spring and the fall because you need a good lighting system in the house if you are going to start your own transplants. The seedlings tend to get leggie very fast if you don’t control the lighting consistently. I plant seeds in my fall garden by about August 20th here in Texas, but sometimes it’s still too hot, so, I play it by ear. I may need a shade cloche to protect the young seedlings until they are strong enough to handle the late summer sun.

I’ll plant seeds about 1-2 weeks after the last frost at springtime, and I’ll plant transplants at about the same time. I’ll plant seeds about 15-16 weeks before the first frost in the fall/winter. Planting seed should be done at no more than a half inch deep, approximately 2 feet apart. If I’m planting more than one row of broccoli, I plant the rows 3 feet apart.

Keep the ground around your broccoli plants evenly moist by adding a 6 inch layer of straw mulch under the plants. I typically lay a soaker hose down the middle of the row at the base of each plant, and then cover with the mulch. I enjoy using straw mulch for my entire garden, as it retains a lot of moisture and keeps the plants and garden looking clean.

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How to Grow Cucumbers

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What’s the secret to avoiding bitter Cucumbers?

Cucumbers planted in the garden are very prolific producers and can be great for pickling or eating fresh in salads or just freshly peeled. Cucumber, Tomato and Onion salad in an Italian dressing has always been one of my favorites.

Since it is a warmer season vegetable, cucumbers should be planted, as with most other vegetables, after the last chance of frost. Check the date on the seed packet for the expected last frost, as it is different across the United States. I keep the USDA’s website as a favorite on my computer for a variety of information.

Planting by seed has always worked best for me. I plant multiple seeds in groups four feet apart and then thin all but the strongest one plant. Spacing between rows should be at least six feet as the plants can easily grow together. If you are planting so the cucumbers can climb a sturdy fence, I would plant seeds about 4 inches apart and thin to the best plants about one foot apart. In my home state of Texas, if I am going to plant a second crop I make sure I have plenty of time for the cucumbers to reach maturity prior to the first frost late in the growing season. Cucumbers usually need about 2 months to reach harvesting size.

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