A Compact Bush Bean Bed With Easy Picking
Bush beans suit a short accessible bed because the pods are held close to a compact canopy. Work gently around the plants and avoid forcing wet stems apart during inspection.
THE GARDEN JOURNAL
The garden journal.
Good growing starts with a little understanding. Find practical ideas for your plants, your patch and your everyday home.
Building a Stable Home for Climbing Beans
Climbing beans need a support that will remain stable after the vines and pods add considerable weight.
Making Room for a Cool Season Fava Crop
Fava beans develop substantial stems and pods, so a row can benefit from a simple enclosing support before it leans.
Training Cucumbers Without Letting Roots Dry
Cucumber varieties differ in habit and pollination requirements. Read the variety information before assuming every cucumber needs the same training or flower management.
Managing a Productive Zucchini Plant in Limited Space
A zucchini plant produces separate male and female flowers. The female flower has a small immature fruit behind it, which helps distinguish an early lack of female flowers from a pollination problem.
Harvesting Pattypan Squash at Its Best Size
Pattypan fruits are easiest to appreciate while the scalloped shape is still small and tender.
Planning a Winter Squash Vine Before It Spreads
Winter squash variety choice matters as much as routine care because some vines need much more space and a longer season than others.
Helping Tomatoes Establish Before Heavy Fruiting
Identify a tomato as a bush or cordon type before pruning. These habits require different management, and indiscriminate removal of shoots can reduce a bush plant unnecessarily.
Creating Warm Consistent Conditions for Peppers
Pepper plants may carry green fruit for some time before the final color develops. Green picking and ripe picking are different harvest choices rather than evidence that one fruit is growing incorrectly.
Keeping Eggplants Warm and Steadily Growing
An eggplant fruit should be assessed by its variety shape gloss and firmness rather than by waiting for the largest possible size.
Growing Okra Where the Season Is Warm Enough
Okra pods develop quickly in hot weather. A harvest interval that works during a cool spell may be too long once warm conditions return.
Planning Sweet Corn as a Small Block
Corn is wind pollinated, so a block of plants usually offers a better arrangement than a single isolated line.
Growing Potatoes With Room for Earthing Up
Potatoes need protection from light as tubers develop. If soil settles or watering exposes a tuber, restore suitable coverage without snapping stems.
Giving Sweet Potatoes a Long Warm Rooting Season
Sweet potato slips are not managed in the same way as seed potatoes. Give them a warm establishment period and sufficient season for storage roots to develop.
Preparing a Garlic Bed That Drains in Winter
Garlic foliage provides a harvest clue, but the entire plant does not need to become completely dry before lifting.
Choosing the Right Onion for Your Day Length
Onion day length adaptation is a basic variety choice that cannot be corrected later with extra feeding.
Keeping a Small Supply of Garden Scallions
Scallions can be grown as a continuing small stem harvest rather than a crop that waits for a large mature bulb.
Growing Leeks With Patient Steady Development
Leeks need a long enough season to make useful stems. Soil drawn around the lower stem can increase the pale section, but soil poured into the leaf funnel creates a gritty harvest.