Vegetables, herbs, sowing, harvest, food-growing methods and home food preservation.
Quick answer: Use a 30–45 litre (8–10 gallon) grow bag with drainage holes, plant 3–4 chitted seed potatoes per bag in loose, well-draining soil, and keep hilling up more soil as the plant grows. Water more often than you would in the ground, and expect a harvest in 10–16 weeks depending on the variety.
Quick answer: Build your raised bed 100–120 cm (40–48 in) wide if you can reach it from both sides, or no more than 75–80 cm (30 in) wide against a wall, and at least 30 cm (12 in) tall — ideally 40–50 cm (16–20 in) for root vegetables and an easier working height. Screw the…
Quick answer: The best raised bed soil mix is roughly 50% quality topsoil, 30% compost or well-rotted manure, and 20% coarser material such as aged bark or perlite for drainage. Build it in layers, with coarser material at the bottom, and plan on about 25–27 liters (roughly 1 cubic foot) of mix per square foot…
Quick answer: Grow garlic by planting cloves in fall, one to two weeks after the first killing frost and at least three weeks before the ground freezes. Set each clove pointed end up, 5 cm (2 in) deep, 15 cm (6 in) apart in rows 30 cm (12 in) apart, then mulch. Harvest in July…
Quick answer: Maximize a small vegetable garden by planting in tight blocks instead of long rows, spacing plants by square-foot grid amounts (up to 16 radishes or 9 bush beans per square foot), training vining crops up a trellis instead of letting them sprawl, sowing little and often instead of all at once, and choosing…
Quick answer: Pruning tomato suckers means pinching out the shoots that form in the leaf axils, where a leaf meets the main stem. On indeterminate plants, remove them every 7–10 days while they are 3–8 cm (1–3 in) long. On determinate plants, remove only the suckers below the first flower cluster. Work on a dry…
Quick answer: Grow lettuce by sowing a short row every 2–3 weeks instead of the whole packet at once. Sow 0.5–1 cm (1/4–1/2 in) deep, thin to 15 cm (6 in) for leaf types and 25–30 cm (10–12 in) for heading types. Pick leaf lettuce in 30–45 days, heads in 70–80. Above 25 °C (77…
Quick answer: Square foot gardening means dividing a raised bed into a grid of 30 cm (1 ft) squares and planting a set number of plants in each one — 1, 4, 9, or 16, depending on how big that plant grows. It produces more food per square metre, cuts weeding drastically, and makes planning…
Quick answer: Sow courgette (zucchini) seeds indoors 3–4 weeks before your last frost, or direct-sow outdoors once the soil has warmed to at least 15°C (60°F). Space plants 75–100 cm (30–40 in) apart in rich, well-drained soil in full sun. Water deeply and consistently, and start picking fruit at 15–20 cm (6–8 in) long, about…
Quick answer: Yellow leaves on a tomato plant are usually caused by natural aging of the lowest leaves, inconsistent watering, or a nutrient shortfall — most often nitrogen or magnesium. Check where the yellowing sits and how it’s shaped: a few old leaves at the bottom is normal, while yellowing that spreads fast, shows up…