The Vegetable Patch - page 2

Advice on how to grow vegetables from seed to harvest, care for them, protect them from diseases, and boost harvests. Natural treatments only!

25 Vegetables that resist drought and dry spells

“Climate change”. Hard to have a day go by when this phrase isn’t heard in a conversation. And, like it or not, seasons are changing: frost dates are shifting, winters get milder, summer heat waves strike stronger, drought becomes a thing where it previously never was…
Drought-resistant vegetables

New Zealand spinach, grow Tetragonia in your garden

New Zealand spinach is a vegetable that loves full sun. Key Tetragonia facts: Latin Names: Tetragonia expansa, Tetragonia tetragonoïdes Common: tetragonia, New Zealand Spinach Family: Aizoaceae Type: Leafy vegetable Height: about 3.3 feet (environ 1 m) Planting Distance: 32 inches (80 cm) Exposure: Sunny Soil: limestone to neutral, light, rich in humus Planting: April-May – […]
New Zealand spinach

Pattypan squash, how to grow flat patisson squash

Patty pan squash, or patisson, is a tasty and cute flat squash variety. Key pattypan squash facts: Latin name: Cucurbita pepo var. ovifera Common name: patty pan, patisson Family: Cucurbitaceae Type: vegetable plant
Pattypan squash, patisson

Mashua, the tuber nasturtium

Mashua is a nasturtium root crop selected by ancient Incas. Key mashua facts Name: Tropaeolum tuberosum Common: mashua, tuber nasturtium Family: Tropaeolaceae, tuber veggie Height: 6 to 10 feet (2 to 3 m) Exposure: sun, part shade eventually Planting distance: 20 inches (50 cm) Soil: light, humiferous, well-draining  –  Planting: spring’s end –  Harvest: fall […]
Mashua harvest

Germinating potatoes at the right time

Germinating potato tubers before planting them helps increase growth of your young plants. It brings the harvest a few days or weeks earlier, and increases harvest size and quality.
Germinated potatoes chopped up in quarters for more plants.

Container pea, how to grow green peas in containers

Green pea, a veggie plant from the Fabaceae family, definitely gets a lot of love for its round, smooth (and sometimes wrinkled) peas. Typically, it’s eaten cooked, and they’re delicious – but there’s lots more to know about them!
How to grow green peas in pots

Winter, what’s there to do in the permaculture veggie patch?

Even though winter might seem like a waste of time for your permaculture vegetable garden, many tasks still need tending to. Most of all, this quiet, dormant time is the perfect opportunity to prep your garden for the vibrant spring season that’s just around the corner.
Winter in a permaculture vegetable patch

Planting an organic square-foot vegetable patch

You’ll simply adore biting into the organic vegetables you’ve grown yourself – all the more because it won’t have cost you any heavy garden work at all! Preparing an organic square-foot vegetable patch is your key to this dream situation.
Three square-foot vegetable beds

Rototiller, scores of advantages

A rototiller is a very useful when starting a vegetable patch or lawn, and it also helps for tilling the soil, hoeing and cultivating or removing weeds. Whether the surface is large or small, a mini tiller or a rototiller will greatly ease any garden work
Rototiller

Sowing in rows, get the basics right

Sowing in rows is one of the most common methods. It is widely used for growing vegetables. It is very easy to perform and is particularly well suited to outdoor sowing
Sowing in rows

Grow vegetables on a patch of limestone soil

Limestone soil is clearly gets a lot of hate by gardeners. Rocky, chalky, dry, and poor, cultivating anything in such harsh conditions is indeed far from seeming easy at first glance. However, thanks to small adjustments, you will be able to enjoy a productive vegetable garden, even in alkaline soil.
Grow vegetables in alkaline, limestone soil

Enjoying tomatoes in the garden

Biting into the juicy fragrant flesh of a home-grown tomato is within reach if you have a little space in your vegetable patch.
easy enjoyable tomato varieties

Direct sowing, sowing plants directly in the ground

Whether for vegetables or certain flower species, direct sowing or sowing in the plot is very easy. It takes place in spring, after the last frost has passed. It’s also practiced during summer for the planting of most fall and winter vegetables.
Direct sowing

Tomato suckers: remove or keep? [Battle begins]

Gardeners face each other off with pitchforks when it comes to this question… It’s a topic that’s almost as controversial as that other big tomato question: is a fruit or a vegetable? Discover both options regarding sucker removal here, the pros of each and our tips to make the choice that’s right for you.
Tomato suckers, keep or remove them

Root parsley, the double-decker parsley

Root parsley is a great veggie & herb: both root and leaves are edible! Parsley root key facts: Name: Petroselinum crispum var tuberosum Common: Hamburg or root parsley Family: Apiaceae Type: root vegetable, biennial herb (but grown as an annual) Height: 4 to 20 inches (10 to 50 cm) Planting distance: every 6 inches (15 cm) Exposure: full sun, eventually part […]
Root parsley

Sowing, different ways to sow seeds

Who hasn’t yet dreamed of sowing a plant to see it sprout in their garden, admiring the magic of a seed bursting forth and growing to become an entire plant? There is nothing that a gardener enjoys more than the pleasure of watching a seedling grow. This growing technique is actually very easy, and is […]
Sowing

Sorrel, a unique taste

Sorrel is an herb from which leaves are eaten. Their acidic taste is quite distinctive.
Sorrel

Perennial leek, delicious, tasty… and self-caring, too!

Perennial leek sprouts anew from its bulbs year after year. Perennial leek key facts: Botanical name – Allium polyanthum Common names – Wild leek, perennial leek, many-flowered garlic Family – Alliaceae Type – Perennial vegetable Height – 1 foot (30cm) Exposure – Sun to part shade Soil – any type, cool but well-draining Planting distance […]
Perennial leek

Sowing in trays, crates or boxes

Sowing in trays is perfectly suited to growing plants in a sheltered place. Thanks to small holes drilled at the bottom of the tray, drainage can be optimized and
Seed sowing tray

Tomato care – watering, fertilizing, companions, pruning…

Truth be said, tomato plants reign as kings in every vegetable patch, be it in the ground or on a balcony or terrace. Never does one get bored with that tasty, juicy flesh. Notwithstanding this aura, sometimes they play hard-to-get and at times even require full-time care.
Tomato care
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