Beautiful Blueberries:

Blueberry bushes are easy to grow, and don’t need much attention. The main thing to remember is that they need to be grown in acidic soil and kept consistently moist. If you don’t have acidic soil in your garden, blueberries grow very well in pots. They also contain good amounts of fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidant anthocyanins. Eating blueberries may help reduce risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.

Our favorite blueberry varieties:

1. Vaccinium corymbosum – Blueberry ‘Cabernet Splash’
2. Vaccinium corymbosum – Blueberry ‘Bluecrop’
3. Vaccinium corymbosum – Bushel and Berry® Blueberry ‘Peach Sorbet’
4. Vaccinium corymbosum – Blueberry ‘Blueberry Buckle’
5. Vaccinium ‘Pink Lemonade’ –  Blueberry ‘Pink Lemonade’
6. Vaccinium corymbosum – Bushel and Berry® ‘Blueberry Buckle’
7. Vaccinium corymbosum – Highbush Blueberry ‘Duke’

How to Grow Blueberries:

1. Choose a sunny location. Blueberries will grow in semi-shade but will thrive in sunshine.
2. Test soil for pH levels. Soil should be in an acidic range of 4 to 5 using sulfur. The plants will grow in more alkaline soils, but fruiting and leaf production will likely slow down.
3. Amend the soil. Soil that is high in organic matter, like well-aged compost, will result in better growth of the blueberry plant. Do not add nitrogen amendments such as manures.
4. Acidic materials are gold. Add several inches of peat moss to the hole when planting to give your plant an extra boost of acidic matter. Top with a 3-inch layer of acidic mulch, such as pine needles or pine straw.
5. Water well. Using a drip system instead of hand-watering these plants can make a world of  difference in growth.

Bountiful Blackberries:

Blackberries are a very easy berry to grow. Once this native berry is ripe, get ready for an abundant harvest, picking every couple of days. They are packed with vitamins C and K, high in fiber and antioxidants and deliver a variety of health benefits.

Our favorite blackberry varieties:

1. Rubus allegheniensis – Bushel and Berry® Baby Cakes Blackberry
2. Rubus L. subgenus Rubus – Blackberry ‘Marionberry’
3. Rubus fruticosus ‘Triple Crown’ – Blackberry ‘Triple Crown’

How to Grow Blackberries:

1. Full sun is best. Blackberries are among some of the easiest berries to grow, but they still need lots of sun.
2. Test soil for pH levels. Soil should be well-draining and in a mildly acidic to neutral pH of about 5 to 6. Amend as needed (see blueberries).
3. Water regularly. Watering regularly during the first growing season is crucial to establishing a deep, extensive root system.
4. Fertilize and mulch. Fertilizing should be done before new growth begins in spring. When planted, cover with a 3-inch layer of organic mulch, but make sure the mulch is placed 2 inches away from the crown to prevent rotting.
5. Picking tip: Blackberries are ready to be picked when they go from glossy to dull, usually within a 2- to 3-day span.

Sweet Strawberries:

Strawberries can be easy to grow, if you know a few tricks. Their beauty is that they are perennial: Plant them once, and they produce year after year. They are also an excellent source of vitamin C. They may also help reduce risk factors for heart disease and control blood sugar.

Our favorite strawberry varieties:

1. Fragaria x ananassa ‘Quinalt’ – Strawberry ‘Quinalt’
2. Fragaria x ananassa ‘Chandler’ – Strawberry ‘Chandler
3. Fragaria x ananassa ‘Ozark Beauty’ – Strawberry ‘Ozark Beauty’
4. Fragaria vesca – Strawberry ‘Alpine Mignonette’
5. Fragaria ananassa ‘Berried Treasure® Pink’ – Strawberry ‘Berried Treasure® Pink’

How to Grow Strawberries:

1. Two main types. Strawberries are broken down into two main types – June-bearing and ever-bearing – it is important to know which type you are growing.
2. Strawberries thrive in full sun with fertile, evenly moist, well-drained soil.
3. Plant early. Strawberries can be planted as early as 6 weeks before your last frost. Use row covers to protect new plantings from cold weather and wind.
4. After harvesting the berries, hand-prune old leaves to allow for sunlight to hit the center of the plant.

Rad Raspberries:

Raspberry bushes are easy to grow and yield an impressive harvest. A few bushes will give you enough fruit to eat, preserve, and share. They are also full of fiber and antioxidant polyphenols. Black raspberries, in particular, may benefit heart health.

Our favorite raspberry varieties:

1. Rubus idaeus – Bushel and Berry® Raspberry ‘Raspberry Shortcake®‘
2. Rubus occidentalis – Bristol Black Raspberry
3. Rubus idaeus var. strigosus – Raspberry ‘Encore Red’

How to Grow Raspberries:

1. Location, location, location. Raspberries thrive in areas with full sun and good air circulation. Avoid areas with high winds, as this can damage the berries.
2. Winter composting. Apply compost and a small amount of balanced organic fertilizer in late winter for optimal growth.
3. Mulch will discourage weeds and keep the soil evenly moist – water during dry spells.
4. Picking tip: If berries are wet, let them dry before picking.

It may be hard to know which berries to choose or what will grow best in your yard. We’re here to help. Email us at AskHomestead@homesteadgardens.com, or visit our stores.

And please follow us on social media and share photos of your gardens! Because we love plants as much as you do!

Photo Credits: Bushel and Berry

The post Plant the ‘Berry’ Best in Your Garden appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

We have compiled a list of the best of the best for each category for small-space gardening.

Fruits to Grow in Small Spaces

1. Blueberries. Pick fresh blueberries just steps from your door when you grow dwarf varieties in containers. Look for disease-resistant and drought-tolerant varieties. Plant in an area that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day and feed with a high-acid, organic fertilizer.
2. Strawberries. For small spaces, plant in a container and place in a spot that receives full sun. While February and March are peak season, strawberries can be planted in fall, winter or spring, and a mild winter will create an earlier fruiting season.
3. Meyer Lemon. Hardy and sweet, dwarf Meyer lemon trees grow perfectly in containers. You’ll love the smell of the sweet citrus blooms in the spring and the bright yellow lemons are sure to brighten any gloomy day. Feed plants regularly with an all-purpose fertilizer for best results.

Small-Space Veggies

1. Cherry Tomatoes. Small variety tomato plants that deliver big flavor are just right for growing in small gardens and in containers on decks, patios and balconies. Select tomato plants with strong stems, lots of flowers and even tiny, green fruit. Place in an area that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day. Water tomatoes regularly and feed bi-weekly with an organic vegetable fertilizer.
2. It’s a snap to grow peas in small spaces – especially containers. They grow quickly and don’t need much attention. Try dwarf varieties, keep soil moist, and harvest this healthy snack in only two months.
3. With lots of water and full sun, cucumbers grow like crazy. Don’t forget to use an organic fertilizer every other week during the growing season. For best results, choose an extra-large container to support a trellis. This exposes more leaves to the sun and deters pests.

Container Herb Combos

Basil Mash-Up. Plant up a mixed pot of various basil varieties from sweet to spicy for pizza and pasta night. Combine green-leafed ‘Genovese’ basil with a purple leafed variety such as ‘Purple Ruffles’. Add ‘Thai’ basil for spice. The more the basil is picked, the more leaves they produce.

1. Rosemary, Sage and Thyme. Gardeners who love to barbecue often reach for assertive herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme, which grow nicely when planted in the same pot. Tie stems together into a small bunch and use it as a barbeque brush. Woody rosemary stems can be used as skewers, too.
2. Dill and Basil. Planning to make pickles? Dwarf ‘Fernleaf’ dill will produce plenty of leaves and flowers, and you can pair it with any type of basil to make pickled cucumbers or beans, or zesty herb vinegars.

Grow Walls of Color with Annual Vines

1. Black-Eyed Susan Vine. Though this flower is most commonly orange, newer varieties bloom in pale yellow, white or pink. These vigorous vines are easy to grow from seed or purchased plants, and they bloom continuously from midsummer until the first hard freeze.
2. Morning Glories. Turn any fence into a masterpiece, with dramatic morning glories. Cypress vine morning glory, which produces dainty fernlike foliage and small red flowers that hummingbirds find irresistible, is the easiest to grow.
3. Sweet Peas. Plant these fragrant vines near windows often opened during the day. Sweet peas stop blooming by late summer, however, so plant a few scarlet runner beans when peas are 12” tall to continue the show.
4. Blossoming varieties such as scarlet runner beans and hyacinth beans have a coarse texture compared to other annual vines, but their exuberant growth makes them ideal if you want to grow a high green screen. These vines climb a 10’ trellis and keep on going, so they are the best annual vines for tall tripods or string trellises attached to the sunny side of a building.

It may be hard to know which fruits, vegetables, and herbs to choose or what will grow best in your small space garden. We’re here to help. Email us at AskHomestead@homesteadgardens.com, or visit our stores.

And please follow us on social media and share photos of your small space garden! Because we love plants as much as you do!

The post Best of the Best Plants for Small-Space Gardening appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

It’s harvest season! For Maryland gardeners, September brings a bounty. The tomatoes, peppers, and melons that come piling in are both wonderful and overwhelming. Learning how to preserve your harvest is key to making the most of all your hard work in the garden.

What Can I Preserve?

From artichokes to zucchini, there’s a way to preserve almost anything in your garden. You can dry edible flowers, can dilly beans, and freeze broccoli. However, it’s worth noting that you cannot eat ornamental peppers, in case you were wondering.

How you preserve food will be determined by what you’re processing. Safety is the most important part of food preservation, but you’ll also want to choose a method that best preserves the food’s texture and flavor.

Dehydrating

Drying or dehydrating food is one of the oldest methods of preservation. There are two ways to dry produce: air-drying or using a dehydrator. Due to Maryland’s humid climate, most foods will need to be dried in a dehydrator. You can purchase an electric dehydrator, or you can make a solar dehydrator if you’re feeling adventurous. Plans for solar dehydrators can be found online for free. Electric dehydrators come in a variety of styles and sizes. Purchasing one that has temperature and time adjustments is ideal if you’ll be using it a lot.

When drying food for storage, you want to get as much moisture out of it as possible, and then store it in airtight containers. For produce like tomatoes and herbs, this means that when they’re finished drying, they should be crisp and breakable. Otherwise, they’ll become moldy in storage. Some foods like raisins are high in natural sugar (a natural preservative) and don’t need to be as dry.

Herbs

Herbs like basil, oregano, and sage can all be air-dried or dried in a dehydrator. The best way to air-dry herbs is to hang small bundles upside down, in paper bags, in a cool, dark area of your home. The paper bags keep dust off and catch any leaves that may fall.

Using a dehydrator, herbs and other light foods, such as edible flowers, should be dried around 105°F, or the lowest setting possible on your dehydrator. This will help preserve their flavor.

Tomatoes

Similar to sun-dried tomatoes, you can make dried tomatoes using a dehydrator. Plum and Roma tomatoes work best for drying. Cut your tomatoes into quarters or halves, then arrange them so that they’re not touching, skin-side down, on your trays. Dry tomatoes at about 135°F.

Fruit

If you have fruit trees or berry bushes in your backyard, dehydrating is a great way to preserve what you can’t enjoy fresh. Slice fruit into bite-sized pieces and dehydrate at around 135°F. These pieces are great for eating with cereal in the morning, and can also be added to homemade trail mix or granola.

You can also blend fresh fruit and make fruit leathers. You’ll need parchment paper, or special sheets for your dehydrator, because the blended fruit will be a smoothie-like consistency when you first start. Spread your blended fruit into a thin layer and dry at 135°F until the layer is the desired consistency. Because the pieces won’t be fully dry, but still chewy, they should be stored in the refrigerator or frozen for long-term storage.

Vegetables

Drying vegetables used to be very common. Some people probably remember drying “leather britches” with their grandparents, which were green beans threaded and hung on strings. Today, canning and freezing tend to be more popular ways to preserve vegetables, though you can dehydrate them. To maintain the best flavor and consistency, vegetables should be blanched or dunked in boiling water for three minutes, then dunked in cold water and drained before dehydrating. Try drying vegetables like peas, summer squash, green beans, or sweet corn. They can be added to soups, stews, and sauces later in the year.

Related: Best Vegetables to Grow in the Heat

Canning

Much like dehydrating, there are two main types of canning: pressure canning and water bath canning. Water bath canning is the simplest method, but can only be done with high-acid foods like pickles or certain fruit and tomato recipes. Pressure canning is a bit more involved, but easier than you’d think! You can pressure can beans, carrots, sweet corn, and many other vegetables.

Tomatoes

Can tomatoes in a variety of ways, including spaghetti sauce, whole or diced tomatoes, salsa, tomato juice, and tomato soup. The recipe you use will dictate whether you need to water bath or pressure can your product.

Fruit

Many types of fruit can be water bath canned because they have high acidity, but some will need to be pressure canned. You can preserve fruits simply sliced in syrup or juice, or take it a step further and can recipes like apple sauce, jam, or apple butter.

Pickles

As pickles have high acidity, they are generally safe to water bath can and fairly easy to make. You can find many recipes including cucumber, dill, and bread and butter pickles, as well as pickle recipes that use other vegetables like beets, radishes, beans, and even cherry tomatoes.

Beans

It’s possible to can both soup/dry beans and green/snap beans. Soup beans are canned less often, though doing so will make meal preparation easier in the future, as the beans won’t take hours to cook. For either type of bean, unless you’re making pickled beans, they’ll need to be pressure canned.

Corn

Sweet corn is a vegetable with low acidity, and will need to be pressured canned similarly to green beans.

Collard Greens

Collards and other greens need to be pressure canned. Greens shrink significantly when they’re cooked, so they’re typically blanched before canning.

Freezing

Freezing your garden produce is a really easy way to process a lot of food quickly. However, it’s not as simple as chucking food into the freezer. Many vegetables should be blanched, or dunked in boiling water for a few minutes and then rinsed in ice water, before they’re frozen. This stops the breakdown of cells and keeps the vegetables from getting mushy.

Herbs

A delicious way to preserve your herbs is to make herbal butter. Finely chop any fresh herbs you have, such as basil, thyme, or dill, and mix them with butter before freezing. They’re a great way to add fresh flavor to meals throughout the year.

Herbs can also be frozen on their own. Freezing herbs on a cookie sheet, before transferring them to a container or bag, will prevent the leaves from sticking together. You can also finely dice them and freeze them in ice cube trays with broth or olive oil.

Broccoli/Cauliflower

Before freezing, broccoli and cauliflower should be blanched in boiling water for three minutes, rinsed in ice water, and then drained. If you skip this step, you’ll end up with mushy broccoli when you go to use it. Like herbs. you may want to freeze your broccoli on a cookie sheet first to ensure that it doesn’t stick together.

Tomatoes

You can freeze many of the same tomato recipes that are intended for eventual canning, including spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, tomato soup, and even whole tomatoes. All tomatoes should be heated and peeled before being frozen.

Other Vegetables

Just like broccoli and cauliflower, you can blanch and freeze green beans, summer squash, sweet corn, and greens. Tender greens only need to be blanched for one minute.

Don’t let all your hard work in the garden go to waste. This fall, learn to dehydrate, can, and freeze your garden produce so that you can use it throughout the winter. It will help you make delicious, healthy meals and save money!

The post How to Preserve Your Summer and Fall Harvest appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Best Vegetables to Grow in the Heat

Sweet Potatoes

Grown from transplants called slips, sweet potatoes love hot weather but do require a long growing season. Sweet potato vines are great groundcovers. You can even grow them in your regular landscape beds. In the heat, they’ll produce long vines, so be sure to give them plenty of space in the garden! If the vines grow “out of bounds,” just snip off the ends or wind them back into the beds to keep them contained.

Growing your own sweet potatoes can give you access to a greater variety than you’ll find at the grocery store. Some are starchy, while others are sweet, and the “finished product” comes in several colors including orange, white, and even purple.

Peppers

Thanks to Maryland’s warm, long summer, some pepper varieties can be set out as late as July. They thrive in hot temperatures, and just a few plants can produce a surprising bounty of peppers perfect for pizza toppings or homemade salsa. Just two jalapeno plants will give you enough peppers for anything you could ever need. These are some of the easiest veggies to grow.

Sunflowers

Great for pollinators, these incredible flowers come in all shapes and sizes, and grow well in the heat. For cut flowers, you can find colorful varieties like “Evening Sun” that produce multiple heads. (Cut varieties don’t produce edible seeds, usually.) For sunflower seeds to snack on, plant “Mammoth.” The towering plants sometimes reach 12 feet in height and produce tons of seeds. If you don’t want to eat the seeds, leave the plants standing in the garden to attract birds.

Swiss Chard

Many greens will bolt and turn bitter when hot weather arrives, but not Swiss chard. This mild green can be harvested small for use in salads, eaten lightly sautéed, or used in place of spinach in a number of dishes. For extra color, opt for “Rainbow” chard that has dark green leaves and red, pink, white, yellow, and orange stems.

Okra

Okra is one of those vegetables that people either love or hate. If you’re an okra fan, it’s an excellent choice for when the temperatures soar. It can be direct sown until July, and is great for making classics like fried okra and gumbo, or adding to your own soups and stews. Harvest pods when they are no longer than 3-4  inches long for a tender bite.

Zucchini & Summer Squash

Zucchini and summer squashes like “Yellow Straight Neck” and “Patty Pan” are some of the most productive plants you can grow, and they love hot weather. Sow just a few plants at a time, every few weeks throughout the summer, to avoid being overwhelmed by the harvest. Harvest when fruits are still small for the best flavor.

Green Beans

Green beans tolerate heat well and they’re quick to mature, making them ideal for succession planting. Varieties like “Royalty Purple Pod” are fun, especially if you’ve got young children. If you’re limited on space, look for bush types to sow directly into the garden. For an edible groundcover, or to cover a trellis, plant “pole bean” types.

Eggplants

If you love eggplant parmesan, adding a few plants to your garden might be a great choice. Eggplants are actually much more productive in hot weather and are amazingly easy to grow. Provide full sun and plenty of water.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are cool and refreshing to eat on a hot summer day and, thankfully, the plants don’t mind the heat. Plant cucumbers in your garden for fresh eating or to make your own pickles. There are bush types that are perfect for container gardening and vining types that will cover a trellis or study support.

Sweet Corn

Sweet Corn is one of the best plants at handling hot, dry weather. For thousands of years, it was a staple food for many Native American cultures — even in places like the desert southwest. Plant in 4 foot by 4-foot squares to ensure cross-pollination by wind, or plant multiple rows next to each other. For extra fun, grow a popcorn type. (It has the same growing requirements as sweet corn, but you’ll harvest later.)

Just because hot weather has arrived doesn’t mean you have to stop planting. Try growing some of these heat-loving vegetables to extend your harvest season.

For more vegetable gardening tips, read our From Garden to Table: Salad Gardens blog or visit one of our locations and speak to an expert for more information.

The post Best Vegetables to Grow in the Heat appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

What to Plant in Your Pizza Garden

There are many pizza toppings that come from plants you can easily cultivate at home. Try growing a few of these options for delicious pizza later in the year!

Oregano

A pizza essential, oregano is a beautiful perennial herb that’s easy to grow in the home garden. Oregano loses flavor after it flowers, so pinch or cut off the flowers to prolong the harvest and encourage bushier growth. Native to the Mediterranean, oregano grows well in hot, sunny areas and is drought tolerant. It’s easy to grow in containers, and one plant is definitely enough.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are an excellent choice for nearly all small gardens because they’re extremely productive. If you’re short on space, look for patio or “determinate” varieties. Both will stay relatively small.

If you’re interested in making your own marinara sauce for pizza, try growing paste tomatoes. This type of tomato has less water and will cook down into a thicker sauce than slicing or cherry type tomatoes.

Grow tomatoes in full sun and keep their soil consistently moist. For a really spectacular harvest, grow your tomatoes in self-watering containers!

Jalapeño Peppers

One of the easiest peppers to grow, a couple of jalapeño plants can add a lot of flavor and heat to your pizza. Their dark green foliage, as well as their little red and green peppers, can be blended seamlessly into the garden among ornamental plants. Plant them in full sun and use well-drained soil. Push a small stake into the ground next to each plant when you plant them.

Banana Peppers

If you find jalapeños a bit too spicy, consider trying banana peppers. They’re an easy pepper to grow, and they mature quickly. You can slice up fresh ones on a pizza or pickle them for future use. They mature from very light green to yellow, then orange, and finally red, offering as much color to a landscape as many flowers. Large plants sometimes require staking to remain upright when they’re weighed down with peppers.

Mushrooms

Growing mushrooms may sound intimidating, but it’s actually quite simple. You can now find mushroom kits or “farms” that can be grown indoors and require surprisingly little care. If you’re feeling confident, you can also purchase mushroom spawn, which can be used to inoculate wood chips or logs depending on the variety. Popular varieties to grow at home include shiitakes, wine caps, and oyster mushrooms. This is a great project for kids!

Basil

Homegrown basil has so much more flavor than store-bought. It’s also much less expensive to grow your own basil than to continually buy it from the grocery store. Grow in full sun for the best flavor. Pinch leaves just above a set of two large leaves to encourage further sprouting. Trim flowers to keep the plant producing leaves. Speaking of leaves, there are varieties with variegated or purple leaves for a bit of extra flair!

Thyme

This perennial herb has a lot going for it. Thyme is both edible and medicinal and was historically used in a variety of dishes — including soups and dressings — as well as to treat respiratory ailments. Choose a thyme that suits your garden’s needs. ‘German Winter’ thyme is larger and bushier, while ‘Creeping’ thyme is an excellent ground cover in rock gardens. Thyme is native to the Mediterranean and prefers full sun and well-drained soil.

This year, take your landscaping to the next level by incorporating a pizza garden. Trust us, you’ll appreciate your garden more when you’re eating a delicious homemade slice with herbs and veggies fresh from the garden!

For more information on what to grow in your next foodscape project check out How to be an Edible Garden Guru or visit one of our in-store experts.

The post How to Plant a Pizza Garden appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

There are so many benefits to growing your own food, from increased flavor to taking control of what your food is exposed to. Plus, anyone can do it! 

Whether you have a yard with a large garden or a small plot, or a patio or deck and some containers, all you need is good organic soil, seeds or seedlings, water and sunshine to create an edible garden!

Here at Homestead Gardens, we know how important edible gardening is, so we have done some renovating and now have an entire room dedicated to it. Find all of the items you need to get your garden started in just one place; you just need to add the water and sunlight!

You don’t need a lot of space to grow an edible garden. If you have a sunny spot, you can plant your edibles in a small or large garden plot or in a container. It’s simpler than it seems!

What do you want to grow? Choose varieties that are hard to find in the grocery store such as heirloom tomatoes and colorful veggies. Make sure to pick some of your favorites. Chesapeake Harvest’s high-quality starter plants set you up for success. Chesapeake Harvest has over fifty varieties of vegetables and herbs that naturally thrive in this region without harming the environment. These starter plants even come in biodegradable containers, so you just plant the entire thing, water, and watch them grow!

Try Container Gardening

First, choose the right container. You should pick one that is at least 14 inches wide, with drainage holes. If you’re growing multiple plants in one pot, select a bigger container. Check the seed packets or plant tags to ensure you’re giving your plants enough space.

Next, place your container somewhere with plenty of sunlight for your plants. Most fruits and vegetables need six to eight hours of sunlight per day.

Fill your container within two inches from the top with an organic potting mix, such as Espoma Organic’s Potting Mix or Homestead’s own blend Maryland Select Organic Potting Soil. Both will provide healthy nutrients your plants need. When you use organic soil and fertilizers, you will feel good about what you are feeding to your friends and family.

Depending on what you decide to grow, you may need to add stakes to help your crops grow in the right direction.

Come check it out! We are beyond excited to show off our expanded dedicated space just for edibles.  Homestead Gardens’ in-house experts can help you get started today!

The post Be an Edible Garden Guru appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Salads fresh from the garden are a highlight of spring and summer. No grocery store vegetable will ever match the flavor of a vegetable you’ve tended yourself. Growing your own salad is easier than you think! No matter what kind of space, money, or gardening experience you have, check out the options below to start planning your salad garden.

Spring Salad

Spring in the garden means plenty of cool weather tolerant leafy greens, perfect for creating spring salads. When paired with other spring vegetables like broccoli, peas, chives, and root vegetables, you can make delicious combinations.

Lettuce

Most lettuce varieties have a tendency to bolt in hot weather, so you’ll want to start your lettuce about two weeks before the last expected frost date (about April 1 for Davidsonville). You can grow looseleaf, Bibb, or romaine type lettuces, depending on your preference. For those with limited space, it’s often best to choose a looseleaf “cut and come again” mix, which will provide multiple harvests.

Spinach

As another cool weather green, spinach should be direct-sown (seeds planted right in the garden) in the early spring. Like looseleaf lettuce, you can often get multiple harvests. Begin harvesting spinach when the leaves are 3-4 inches tall. You can either harvest the outer leaves (leaving about a third of the plant) or cut the whole plant near the base and allow it to re-sprout. If you go this route, take care not to cut off the growing tip at the base of the plant.

Green Onions

Onions can be started from seed, sets, or transplants in early spring. While larger onions for storage won’t reach maturity until later in the season, bunching onions will be ready to harvest during the late spring and early summer. C

Carrots

Carrots are fun and easy to grow. Plant one row every two weeks through late May to get multiple harvests. If you want your children to eat more carrots, growing a rainbow mix can be an exciting twist.

Radishes

Radishes are some of the easiest vegetables to grow, and some varieties are ready to harvest in as little as 21 days. Their cold tolerance makes them perfect for spring gardens, and they’ll add just a touch of zest to a fresh salad. Direct sow these fast-growing root vegetables. The tops are edible, too!

Beets

If your childhood memories include ample amounts of canned or pickled beets, they might not be first on your list for a salad garden. However, fresh beets are surprisingly sweet and tasty. They complement spring greens well, and they are an excellent salad base themselves when paired with grated ginger and carrots. Young beet leaves are tasty salad additions, and larger leaves can be steamed like spinach or Swiss chard.

Broccoli

Transplant broccoli plants into the garden in the early spring. The first harvest will be the large, main head. After you cut off the head, many plants will grow smaller side shoots, giving you a second harvest of smaller shoots.

Swiss Chard

There are several varieties of chard, but many people prefer rainbow chard (five-color silverbeet) for its yellow, pink, red, white, and orange stalks. It has a mild flavor, but it can add bulk and color to any salad. It will also go to seed much later than other cool weather greens, allowing you to continue to harvest as the summer progresses.

Chives

A hardy perennial, chives will start growing in early spring and are an easy way to add a lot of flavor to your salads. Simply snip the leaves and toss them in with salad greens. Chives grow well in containers, so they’re a great choice if you’re renting.

Kale

One of the most cold-tolerant greens, kale will provide fresh leaves early in the season. Smaller kale leaves are excellent in salad mixes during the spring.

Dill

This lacy herb offers a lot of flavor to any salad. Dill doesn’t like to be transplanted, so it’s best to start from seed. Sow in the garden outside after all danger of frost has passed. Dill is a larval host plant for some butterflies, so if you see caterpillars eating some of your plants, leave them alone.

Summer Salad

As summer temperatures climb, early spring vegetables will be replaced by the stars of summer: slow-growing, heat-loving vegetables. Together, these vegetables make an excellent panzanella salad when paired with crunchy chunks of bread and a vinegar dressing.

Peppers

The easiest way to grow peppers is to plant transplants into the garden as soon as nighttime temperatures are consistently 60 degrees or higher. Use scissors to snip ripe peppers from the plants so you don’t accidentally yank the whole plant out of the garden.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a productive addition to any garden. They can also be made into pickles, but if canning isn’t your idea of a fun summer project, you may not need to plant as many cucumber seeds as you’d think. For fresh eating, plan on about 2-3 plants per person in your household. If you have a small space, consider growing vining cucumbers vertically on a sturdy trellis. (There are also bush types that don’t require a trellis.)

Tomatoes

A garden favorite of children and adults alike, tomatoes are surprisingly easy to grow at home. There are so many fun heirloom varieties, like Cherokee Purple, Big Rainbow, and Mortgage Lifters, that offer a wide selection of color, size, and flavor. For those with smaller gardens, look for “patio” or “determinate” tomatoes because they’ll take up less space and provide abundant fruit over a long period.

Eggplants

Eggplants love hot weather, so don’t put these in the ground too soon. They grow well in containers, but no matter where you plant them, note that they’re heavy feeders and will need to be fertilized during the season.

Basil

Fresh basil is incredible, and it’s easy to grow yourself. If grown from seed, basil should be started in early spring and transplanted out after the danger of frost has passed. Trim the flowers off the plant throughout the growing season to ensure a long harvest of tender leaves.

Zucchini

Super easy to grow, zucchini plants can provide a bountiful harvest. Chunks of grilled zucchini add an interesting touch to your summer salads.

You don’t have to be a farmer to grow your own salad! Even if you only have balcony space, you can grow a few of these plants in pots and enjoy homegrown food this summer. Visit Homestead Gardens for more plant inspiration or gardening advice. We’re always happy to help!

The post From Garden to Table: Salad Gardens appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Do you think you’ve reached the finale for your garden? Think again. You’re just entering the third act! Autumn is a wonderful time of year to plant and grow vegetables; you just have to be strategic about which seeds you choose.

With the weather turning and temperatures dropping, you can still enjoy a bounty of fresh produce from your garden. In fact, some plants enjoy the cooler weather and do much better than in the heat of the summer. Consider these seed options based on your needs and enjoy impressive yields over the next several months.

Fast-Growing Plants

With just a few months to go from seed to yield, you want to select plant varieties that grow quickly. Here are some ideal for autumn that will provide tasty produce in as little as one month:

Baby carrots: Harvest in 30 days
Spinach: Harvest in 45 days
Bush beans: Harvest in 45-65 days

Plants that Survive Light Frost

You know winter is coming when you wake up to the first morning frost. Don’t fret! This doesn’t signal the end of your garden when you plant certain crops. If you experience light frost earlier in fall, try planting:

Turnips: 30-60 days
Kohlrabi: Harvest in 50-60 days 
Leaf lettuce: Harvest in 30 days

Plants that Survive Hard Frost

Many plants can’t survive hard frost, but not all plants. Some superstars can take the chill and continue to provide you with green goodies to supplement your grocery needs.

These plants can survive evening dips into the high 20s Fahrenheit: 

Beets: Harvest in 30-60 days
Green onions: Harvest in 60-70 days 
Peas: Harvest in 70-80 days

Can you say hardy? These plants can survive evening dips into the low 20s Fahrenheit: 

Kale: Harvest in 30-60 days
Cabbage: Harvest in 50-90 days 
Collard greens: Harvest in 40-65 days
Kale: Harvest in 40-65 days
Radishes: Harvest in 30-60 days

Armed with this list, you can plan your autumn garden and feel confident you’ll get amazing results, even when you start from seed. If you have any questions, a Homestead Gardens expert is always available to help.

The post Vegetable Plants that Thrive in the Fall appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

By Guest Author Brie Arthur

“Garden to Table” is the best way to describe my passion for adding purpose to landscapes in suburban neighborhoods, office parks, school campuses and retirement communities. With an education in design, an enthusiasm for ornamental horticulture, and a hunger for local, organically raised produce I see that there is the potential to grow food in every cultivated space. In fact, according to extension service data, there’s about 190 million acres that could be utilized in the suburbs alone!

Foodscaping is simply the integration of edibles in a traditional ornamental landscape. This design strategy is meant to empower home growers, landscapers and professional gardeners by connecting sustainable food production to the everyday landscape. Edibles enhance landscapes by providing a unique seasonal component with a multitude of health and economic benefits.

Landscapes that present nutritional, ecological and aesthetic value meet the needs of the modern day American. I am not only referring to “millennials” but also baby boomers who like my parents, are retiring and downsizing. They are approaching the landscape with a different sensibility and have a desire to make the most of less square footage. They are steering away from large lawns, high maintenance hedges and spray regiments. What they are looking for now is “garden-landscape fusion” with fresh tomatoes alongside the boxwood hedge with and a ground cover of fresh salad greens adjacent to the knock-out rose.   

 Many homeowners believe property values will go down with a rogue farmer on the cul de sac, hence the many restrictive HOA covenants. It is important to recognize that landscapes are not meant to be farms.  Rather, the goal of a foodscape is to cultivate supplemental amounts of produce while meeting the aesthetic standards of the surrounding community. This starts by thinking “outside of the box.”  Lumber encased beds are NOT the only way to grow food.  In fact, raised beds are generally the cause for the “no food in the front yard” mantra of suburbia. Boxed beds can also cause decreased production due to over planting which invite insect and disease to wreak havoc. Additionally this method of containing edibles creates monocultures, as our food crops lack biological diversity. In fact four plant families make up the lions share of the edibles grown by home gardeners:

• Amaranthaceae- beats, quinoa, spinach and Swiss chard
• Brassicaeae- cool season crops such a broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale
• Fabaceae- beans, peas and peanuts  
• Solanaceae- warm season crops like eggplant, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes  

Fruit and nut trees offer long term harvests while herbaceous perennials such as asparagus and strawberries provide seasonal bounty and textural contrast.  Herbs like oregano, rosemary and thyme are low maintenance plants that add high culinary impact.

The inclusion of flashy annual crops like tomatoes, peppers, kale and chard will add brilliant colors that blend beauty and abundant harvest.

Traditional field crops are seldom addressed in the local food movement, but offer incredible opportunity in the landscape.  Ancients grains are making waves, recently named “the next culinary obsession” according to the New York Times.  From edible meadows to sophisticated spaces using clumps of oats, quinoa, rice, sorghum and wheat grains offer low maintenance requirements with a big design impact.  They are essentially an ornamental grass with a nutritional benefit.  Grains provide seasonal interest and actively engage people who have likely never seen a wheat or rice plant growing.

As professional horticulturist I strive to meet the needs of a growing population and focus on ways to extend horticultural relevance in the American society.   I am proud to see plants being recognized for all of the attributes they represent: beauty, ecology, health, wellness, nutrition and lifestyle.  Foodscaping is a design technique that embraces the heritage of home gardening while developing a new level of sophistication for modern day living.  Join the Foodscape Revolution and make the most of the space you cultivate.  Harness the power of the sun, soil and irrigation systems of the everyday landscape and grow some food of your own!

About Brie Arthur

Originally from southeastern Michigan, Brie Arthur studied Landscape Design and Horticulture at Purdue University. With more than a decade of experience as a grower and propagator at leading nurseries such as Plant Delights and Camellia Forest, Brie is combining her passion for plants and design by communicating the value of horticulture. She is leading the national suburban Foodscape movement; a model of community development that incorporates sustainable, local food production. She is a correspondent on the PBS television show Growing A Greener World. Her forth coming book The Foodscape Revolution will be available March 2017, published by St Lynn’s Press.

The post The Foodscape Revolution appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..

Fresh vegetables and fruits are one of the best things about spring and summer. Growing your own can be rewarding, and you don’t need a big garden plot to fill your table with fresh, home-grown produce. Many delicious, nourishing fruits and vegetables are great for vertical growing, and will do just fine if you train them up a trellis or other upright structure.

You might be surprised at some of the summer favorites that can work well in a vertical vegetable garden, including cucumbers, squash and even melons! As a rule of thumb, if the produce grows on vines and is fairly lightweight (2 pounds or less), you can probably grow it vertically.

Vertical growing offers many advantages, including allowing you to plant more in a small space, harvest without bending down and keep fruits and veggies off the ground where they’re exposed to insects and fungus.

Here are a handful of unexpected vertical garden plants to try this summer:

• Cucumbers — Plant seedlings at the base of a trellis or cage, and loosely tie vines to the bottom of the support. Once the plants start to grow, they’ll naturally climb the support with a little encouragement.
• Butternut squash — Because they’re a mid-sized — and delicious — variety of squash, butternuts do great in a vertical vegetable garden.
• Zucchini — Everyone’s favorite summertime squash is a natural for vertical gardening. Sturdy, leafy vines need little encouragement to grow upwards. Just be sure to harvest before the squash reach violin-size!
• Midget watermelon — Petite and sweet, midget watermelon have all the flavor and appeal of their larger cousins at a more manageable size. They’re a vertical-growing version of a classic summertime favorite.

Of course, beans and tomatoes also do well in vertical gardens, and you can surely find other plants that are perfect for vertical growing. Whatever you choose to include in your vertical garden, be sure to follow growers’ recommendations for sun exposure, shade, watering and soil for each type of plant. With a little creativity, the sky’s the limit for your vertical garden!

The post Surprising Veggies to Grow Vertically appeared first on Homestead Gardens, Inc..