Practical vegetable gardening guides covering tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, garlic, root crops and other edible plants, with planting, care, feeding and harvest advice.
Garlic is usually grown by planting individual cloves, not by sowing a whole bulb. Separate a healthy bulb into cloves, keep the papery skins intact, and plant each clove with the pointed end facing up and the flat root end…
Potatoes can respond strongly to good fertility management, but high yield does not come from simply applying more fertilizer. A productive potato crop needs the right nutrient in the right amount, placed where roots can reach it and timed to…
Potatoes need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients to build a productive crop, but there is no single fertilizer ratio that is perfect for every garden. The best potato fertilizer is the one that corrects what your soil actually lacks,…
A practical, lower-impact way to confirm squash bugs, understand the risk to your cucurbits, and respond before a small problem becomes a stressed plant. Quick answer Squash bugs are gray-brown, shield-shaped sap feeders that target squash-family plants. Their bronze egg…
Learn how to spot tomato hornworms, assess the damage they cause, and choose an effective control method — without unnecessary treatment. 1. How to Identify Tomato Hornworms Tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) are large, bright-green caterpillars that can reach 10 cm…
Everything you need to know about growing zucchini at home — from planting time and soil prep to harvest day. 1. When to Plant Zucchini Zucchini and squash are warm-season crops that hate frost. Plant seeds or seedlings outdoors only…