Have you ever come home from work dog-tired on a cool evening and smelled fried potatoes and onions? In my book, they belong alongside freshly baked bread as a “welcome-homer.”

If you, too, are a confirmed onion eater, no matter what anyone says then you might like to know what varieties are best suited to the many. different uses of onion.

There are hundreds of varieties of onions, but we seldom use more than four or five.

Here are some facts that will help you “know your onions.”

“Bunch” onions are those which are used green. They may be used in salads and relishes.

There are many varieties of the “dry” onion type. Any of these can also be used green. Some are better winter keepers than others.

Some are excellent keepers and good for general use.

A small, mild variety is good for creaming and for glace onions. They are best when used before fully mature.

Spanish onions are a good all-around variety but cannot be kept too long. They are good fried or creamed.

Of course, if you are a real, honest-to-goodness onion eater, you’ll want to grow a few red ones. Now, there’s a real onion!

Leeks are a less-known member of the onion family. They are used mainly in Vichyssoise and are sometimes used in a casserole with a cheese sauce. Leeks may be stored like celery.

We should not fail to mention our old friends, the chives. There are few garden plants as adaptable and useful as chives. If your family doe knot care for an overpowering onion flavor, chives are for you. A very few seeds will give you all you can use for years plus a share for all your friends. An occasional trimming with the power mower will keep young, fresh, new tops at their flavorful best.

In the fall, you can bring a small clump into the house for your kitchen window. They will provide plenty for the winter.

Chives are excellent in potato salad and cottage cheese if added just before serving.

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It is the first day of Spring, and the nurseries have a big stock of tomato seedlings. But the weather is still quite cold. Don’t buy those seedlings, yet. There is no advantage to putting tomato seedlings out extra early.

You will find that early planted tomatoes and and later planted will mature and produce at about the same time. Neither get growing until the soil gets warmed up. The nursery hopes you don’t know that!

If you have your own green house, go ahead and buy them early. But don’t put them out in the garden until you are sure you are at least 2 weeks past the last freeze, and the soil has warmed up.

The tomato plant is the largest seller of all plants in the United States. Did you know that? No surprise to me. And that is why you will find them in the nursery so early. A long buying season is great for the nurseries. But, don’t be tempted too soon. They will be there for quite a while!

And they will offer you lots of variety. Tomatoes are of two types, but, many varieties with-in those types. You know the types, hybrid and heirloom. Heirloom is the old standbys. The ones your Grandmother served you with sugar, or maybe salt, like a real treat. And indeed they can be. They can be counted on for flavor, every variety. In fact, my Grandfather used to save his own seeds, every year.

Hybrids are just what they sound like. Developed for a purpose. Usually performance and keeping qualities. Most store bought tomatoes will be of a hybrid variety for obvious reasons. They are going to have to last for the travel time between harvest and your table.

But, don’t be afraid to grow hybrid tomatoes yourself. They won’t be the hard and tasteless red rocks you find in the grocery. You can let them ripen on the vine, and harvest when they are truly ripe. They will be delicious.

For a home garden, I suggest planting (not too early) both types. The hybrids will give you a great crop, and will keep after picking for a good time. The heirlooms for their unbeatable flavors. You tomato crop will be enviable!

Now that you know which tomato seedlings you will buy, you probably want to learn how to plant and all that goes with that. There is a web site, www.ourhomegarden.infowhere you can learn all that you need to know andmuch, much more. My immigrant Irish farmer Granddad would be impressed with all the information that is available from www.ourhomegarden.info

An organic vegetable garden sounds ecological, rewarding, healthy but challenging. The cultivation process as such could take several seasons, but when you finally get results you’ll be able to enjoy homegrown veggies that are not only tasty but very healthy too. Organic gardening in fact makes the oldest form of plant cultivation, it is not at all expensive and it can be undertaken by any one preoccupied with developing a hobby or improving health.Click over here for additional information about starting a vegetable garden.

The size of the organic vegetable garden is not important: in fact it can cover just a few square feet on the top of your house roof or several acres. The first difficulty one may encounter in the attempt to start the cultivation of the plants is the crisis of organic seeds.

The thing is that in order to have a real organic vegetable garden, you have to begin with seeds that are completely free of all toxic residues. Therefore, if you can’t find organic seeds in your neighborhood, try on the Internet.

One can think of many advantages to an organic vegetable garden. First of all when there are no pesticides or herbicides used in the plant cultivation, the crops will not suffer because of the chemicals, the soil preserves its quality for several years and the specific fauna will contribute to the regeneration of the garden. Furthermore, the organic vegetable garden presents the advantage of covering the needs of the family in a very safe, cheap and easy way. In caseone also runs a farm together with the organic vegetable garden, there are even more benefits to it.

The manure from the animals can be used as a natural fertilizer that makes the crops even more profitable. All one needs for an organic vegetable garden should be available locally; there are no high costs and the necessary items come for very decent prices. You can find all sorts of gardening tips in books on natural gardening and learn the tricks of the trade specific to tradition. Just a relevant example of this – it’s practical to grow beans and corn together; the beans climb up on the corn stocks and you won’t need any sticks at all.

The organic compost, the seeds and the soil will all have a heavy word to say in the evolution of the organic vegetable garden. Do not overlook any of these aspects and your home enterprise will be both successful and rewarding on the long run. You should get more worthwhile information about tomato gardening here.

There is nothing like the delicious taste of fresh picked vegetables from your own garden. It can be a challenge to plant a vegetable garden when you don’t have a backyard. But never fear, for you can still enjoy freshly grown vegetables in your very own indoor vegetable garden.

Pick Suitable Plants

Your indoor garden will have restrictions on the amount of available sunlight and space, so you will have to keep this in mind when deciding which vegetables to grow indoors. Fruit bearing plants require large amounts of sunshine which will make them difficult to grow indoors. Plants such as lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, and miniature cabbages need much less light and so thrive indoors.

The pots you choose will have to be big enough to support the root system of the plant. The larger the plant the larger the container needs to be. Plants such as radishes, onions and small root carrots are good choices. Herbs, which are more compact, also do very well in an indoor garden. Miniature versions of eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes also grow well in an indoor garden.

Find the Perfect Spot for Growing

A bright south-facing window is best for your garden. Plants need as much sunlight as they can get. As long as the place you choose gets at least five hours of sunlight a day it should be ok. If you can’t find such a spot, you can always buy lightbulbs that can simulate natural sunlight.

Don’t forget about traffic flow. Plants bruise easily so you will need to choose a spot where the plants will have little chance of human contact. If there are pets or small children in your house you will need to place the plants out of their reach. You will also want to keep your gardening tools in easy reach as well as something to clean up the occasional mess. Plants do grow in dirt after all.

Improve The Microclimate Of The Garden

For plants to grow their best, they require high humidity and moderate temperatures. Usually, indoor gardens don’t have enough humidity and you will need to fix this. Place a pan of gravel underneath your pots so that excess water can run out. As the water evaporates from the pan the humidity for the plants will increase.

You can also group plants together in order to optimize your microclimate. Take your vegetable plants and group them with more decorative houseplants. This will also look more beautiful. You can easily control the temperature by simply drawing the shades. Also protect your plants from drafts.

Good Potting Soil Is Key

Your indoor vegetable garden needs potting soil which drains well and has the nutrients your plants need to grow and remain healthy. At your local garden center, you can buy premixed potting soil which already has the correct amount of fertilizer. You can also buy organic potting soil if you prefer. It is easy to cause fertilizer buildup in containers so use caution when adding nutrients.

It is very rewarding to grow your own vegetables indoors, so be sure to give it a try. You can even grow enough to give away as presents to family and friends.

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Perhaps you’ve done some container gardening on the balcony or patio, and you’ve even planted some vegetables along with flowers and herbs. But what if you’ve enjoyed the experience so much that you don’t want it to stop throughout the winter months? Is it possible to create a container garden inside as well as out?

It certainly is, to a limited extent at least, however, there are some prerequisites. You may not be surprised to find out that the most important of these is sunshine. Should you have a sunny window, preferably facing south, this will be the first ingredient in your container garden’s successful outcome. You might also need a fluorescent lamp that you can concentrate on particular veggies, such as tomatoes and peppers, to produce enough light so they won’t grow spindly or fail to bear fruit.

To a certain extent, it’s possible to prepare the pots in much the same way you would for an outdoor garden, with the right soil mix, plenty of drainage, and so forth. But these pots are likely to be somewhat more compact, and being indoors throughout the winter, they may not have as much humidity as they need. One way to work around this may be to place your pots in large trays instead of on saucers, sitting on a layer of pebbles, and keep water in the trays. This should not only help them access water as they require it, but it will intensify the humidity around them also. Another distinction between outdoor and indoor containers is going to be that you’ll require less fertilizer, considering that vegetables will grow more slowly in the house.

The choices of plants will naturally be more restrictive than in an outdoor container garden. However, you can grow tomatoes, radishes and small peppers, various types of lettuce, and all sorts of herbs. Together with the standard herbs like sage, basil, and thyme, you can plant parsley, chives, and cilantro also. You should be able to plant these in six-inch pots on a windowsill.

Radishes will almost certainly be the fastest growing vegetable to start with. Get a six- or eight-inch pot and sprinkle seeds on the moist soil, then cover with another 1/4 inch of soil. To make the seeds sprout quickly, try a “greenhouse” effect, either by setting some glass over top of the container to preserve moisture or stretching some plastic wrap over it until the seeds have sprouted.

Small peppers, tomatoes, and many types of lettuce will grow in the house, but must have sunny, warm surroundings. With the peppers and tomatoes, you’ll need to keep an eye open for whiteflies and aphids, and get rid of them with insecticidal soap or another form of insect killer when they first emerge. You should be able to harvest both peppers and tomatoes about ten weeks after planting. Carrots with small roots may also be grown inside.

Your choices of vegetables will be more limited with indoor pots than with outdoor, and you’ll have to ensure appropriate conditions for their development. But you can still have at least a partial garden to keep you during the winter months, and remind you of all the possibilities for your outdoor container garden in the coming spring.

If you’re serious about indoor gardening, you might want to think about hydroponics gardening using water instead of soil. Click here for some helpful advice on hydroponic greenhouse systems.

More and more seed companies are marketing and regularly selling heirloom vegetable seeds to today’s gardeners. Heirloom seeds normally grow richer flavored vegetables which our grandparents used to regularly eat in the years when there were no modern hybrid seeds. Of course, our hybrid vegetables continue to be nourishing, tasty, and more convenient to grow when measured against heirloom vegetables. As a matter of fact, these advantages continue to be the purpose which led to the creation of hybrid seeds from the start. Although, just as with homemade jelly and hand fashioned sweaters, many people feel the added effort that these vegetables need is justified by the old-fashioned taste and the tactile connection to our ancestors.

Generally speaking, the vegetable seeds which are called heirloom seeds should have two traits. They should be open-pollinated, and the variety should be at least 50 years old. While many seeds now being sold in catalogs or stores could meet one of the aforementioned prerequisites, they really have to meet both requirements for an established seed retailer to call them Heirloom.

Most seeds sold today are labeled as Hybrids. A hybrid is a plant which is the outcome of cross-pollinating two different varieties. A common drawback experienced with hybrids is, they aren’t able to replicate themselves. If you plant these seeds, then gather the seeds from the first generation plants, that next generation of seeds will only contain the traits of one of its genetic parents. Possibly a more concrete illustration may help. If some seeds produce hybrid plants resulting from a combination of red peppers and yellow peppers, the hybrid will produce orange peppers. If you harvest the seeds from these peppers and plant them, the resulting plants would just offer either green or yellow peppers.

Heirloom seeds, on the other hand, are open-pollinated varieties. Therefore, if you remove seeds from heirloom plants, the resulting plants will grow “true to type”, in other words, the exact same vegetable will be grown over and over. The capability of these vegetables to reproduce themselves is the means by which these varieties have carried on for fifty or a hundred years.

While the fifty year standard for tracing back heirloom varieties may seem arbitrary, the decade after the Second World War marks the start of when major seed companies started developing and selling the more robust hybrid vegetable seeds. This generation’s gardeners have developed a new approval for the old fashioned vegetable varieties, however, and the seed companies have reacted by dedicating increasing amounts of advertising space to Heirloom seeds.

Please do not presume that hybrid vegetables are inherently unhealthy. The effort which produced today’s hybrid vegetables has produced less expensive planting and higher yields in modern agriculture, and that has multinational advantages. Heirloom vegetables are appreciated by a few home gardeners, anyway, because of their texture and flavor, as well as their penchant to bring back memories of Grandma’s tomato slices.

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Plan to have a vegetable garden again this year. We have some mighty good reasons for growing our own. First, our gardens supply us with fresher vegetables than we can get from markets; second, they give us vegetables in the best stage of development; third, we can usually grow better varieties than the commercial ones; and finally we may grow some kinds rarely found in the markets. Then, too, there is the boon to health and vigor that comes from the labor of tending the garden.

Plan to keep a record. Begin now by listing the seeds needed for this season’s crop. Number the rows as they are planted. Record dates of planting, amount of seed used, distances between rows, spacing of plants in rows, depth of sowing, germination time, date when crops are ready to cat, time when production is finished, total yields and other successive plantings. Such a record, kept in table form, will help eliminate guess work next season.

Check over last year’s orders so that you will be sure to order enough for this season but not more than you can use. Check the seeds left from last season, too.

Seeds of most vegetables, if stored properly, will be satisfactory to use for three or four years. Salsify, onion, garlic, okra, parsley and parsnips lose their vitality after about a year. Seed saved from your own hybrid sweet corn will not come true to type. You must get new seed each season.

If you plan to use some leftover vegetable seeds, they should be tested. Count out a certain number of seeds, 50 or 100 and put them between two sheets of blotting paper in a saucer or plate. Dampen and set them in a warm place. Keep the blotting paper moist but not wet. Most seeds should germinate in a few days. At least 60 per cent of the seed ought to sprout in order to be worth planting.

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Are you looking for a great way to grow vegetables in your own yard? If so, then a raised vegetable garden may be just what you need. Sure, it will start out a bit more expensive and it can take some hard work, but a raised vegetable garden has a variety of benefits that will make the cost well worth it over time.

When you choose a raised vegetable garden, you’ll be able to get great crops without having to worry about bad soil problems or even pests causing problems in your garden. Not sure this is the right choice for you? Well, here are just some of the benefits you can enjoy when you go with a raised vegetable garden.

Good Soil Produces Good Crops

What type of dirt does your backyard consist of? Chances are your current soil is probably too sandy, rocky or clay-like to be considered a good environment for growing vegetables. It may take plenty of time, sweat and peat moss to create an ideal spot for your plants.

However, when you decide to go with a raised vegetable garden, you are able to choose what goes into the soil, which will help you get the great crops you are looking for. You’ll reduce the occurrence of dangerous pests and weeds, which will cut down on all the weeding you’ll have to do. So, with the great soil in your garden, you’ll be getting great crops of vegetables.

Easy to Contain

Going with a raised vegetable garden makes it a lot easier for you to contain your garden as well. There are many crops that can really work on taking over once they get started. Horseradish and mint sometimes seem like weeds because of the way they spread out and get in the way of other kinds of plants. Strawberries also grow and expand rapidly. These fast growing plants will be held in check by the walls of a raised bed vegetable garden.

Easier on Your Back

While many gardeners look forward to the warm weather so they can get outdoors and begin working the soil, most do not enjoy the sore backs and knees that are often the result. This is not the case with raised vegetable gardens, however. By lifting those crops off of the ground, you can tend to your plants without the back breaking position of bending far over the ground. And since you won’t be stepping around your crops, there is no chance of compacting the soil, which will allow your plants to grow and thrive.

This is also a great choice for people who have handicaps and find it hard to deal with regular gardens.

All in all, raised vegetable gardens can be a convenient and comfortable way to enjoy homegrown produce all season long. Check out your options in raised beds today, and get gardening!

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When the summer comes, people drive out in droves to the local farm to pick their own fruit and vegetables, but with a little bit of know-how, you can actually grow your own indoor vegetable garden. It doesn’t matter how much room you have available, you can always fit in a few plants here and there. Here are a few tips on getting started on growing fresh produce inside.

First off, you should choose the areas in your home where you want to grow your indoor garden. Take a look around and see where there are windows that give sufficient direct sunlight if you have plant containers sitting by it. This can be as simple as your window sill but can also be an area where you will place hanging plants. Once in the container, you just need to remember to turn the container so that each side gets the same amount of sunlight. Most plants need about 6 to 8 hours of sunshine each day.

If you have a window area in your kitchen, growing an indoor herb garden is fun and you’ll enjoy their delicious scent as they grow. Most herbs like basic and mint are very easy to grow. Herbs like rosemary and thyme need lots of sunlight and more care but if you have a big window where they can get direct light, this can work for you.

There are many choices when it comes to vegetables that can be grown indoors. Garlic is very easily grown by planting a couple of cloves in the pot with the tip up. In only a week’s time, you’ll already see green shoots, which can be used in salads, soups, and meat dishes. Green onions can also be grown in a similar manner in a short amount of time if you prefer to grow these. Other vegetables you can try your hand at are spinach, butter head lettuce, arugula and parsley, which all grow well indoors. You can visit your local garden center to find specific vegetable seeds that are meant to grow in pots, like dwarf carrots and radishes.

Some novice gardeners may think growing fruits can be difficult but it’s not once you research what you plan on growing. Homegrown fruits are delicious whether it’s indoors or outdoors. Strawberries are popular with most and can easily be grown in hanging containers. There are citrus trees that you can order from special places online if they are not available locally. These include kumquats, mandarins and lemons. Just remember if you opt for fruit trees, it can take quite a while before you see any fruits.

If you’re serious about indoor gardening, you might want to consider hydroponic gardening using water instead of soil. Click here for some helpful advice on hydroponic vegetable gardening.

Planting a vegetable garden can be a very rewarding project. It is also great for your body simply because of all the exercise you will get, and the healthy vegetables you will eat. Nowadays it is also desirable to have pesticide free vegetables, yet people often feel intimidated by the idea of planting vegetable gardens especially in a city. What with the busy lifestyle, tight spaces and air pollution, it might seem unlikely a vegetable garden would survive. The fact is you can grow vegetables even if the center of a busy city. To maximize your chances of success, though, it is important you start by getting the basics right.

Vegetable gardens are usually easier to maintain than flower gardens simply because veggies are more resilient, especially in differing types of weathers. Flowers are typically affected a lot more by changes in the weather, and do not easily adapt. Vegetable gardens usually require a lot of space, even though a few veggies are going to thrive in plant boxes. The space required depends on what type of vegetables you plant, and what you expect from your vegetable garden.

Regardless of whether you expect to use a plot of land in your backyard or start with just plant boxes, soil preparation plays an important role in the survival of your vegetable garden. There are three types of soil: sand, clay and silt. Sandy soil is loose and helps the roots of plants breathe because it lets the air pass through very easily. Clay soil absorbs water faster and keeps it inside longer; a soil composition with a lot more clay particles in it would be ideal for places which are as well hot, and also the soil dries up swiftly. Silt is a fine mixture of sand and clay particles.

Check to make sure you have just the right mixture of sand, silt, and clay before you begin planting your garden. Ideally, silt and sand should both be 40%, and clay should be 20%; this is to make sure water drains correctly. Too much water can choke the roots or even make them start to rot! One good method to test whether the composition of your soil is right starts by scooping out a handful and forming a ball with it. The soil should hold the shape of the ball easily. If it cannot hold the shape, your mixture probably has too much silt or sand. On the other hand, if the ball does not crumble easily when you poke it, the soil mixture probably has too much clay in it. Experiment with this until you have the proper balance of silt, sand and clay.

To prepare the soil for your vegetable garden, dig up the soil and break up the lumps. Take out the rocks, roots, and weeds while you’re at it. Once you finish cultivating the soil, pick what kind of vegetable you want to grow there. Keep in mind, some veggies do not grow well when planted too close to certain other types. For example, avoid planting potatoes close to squash or tomatoes because it inhibits their growth. They can co-exist but just not beside each other.

The traditional way of planting vegetables is in straight rows. Some individuals prefer to plant alternating rows of different sorts of veggies. This way, when one vegetable is ready for harvest, the rows between have veggies that are not yet ripe. An alternative method is to plant in beds rather than the conventional rows. Plan the size of the beds so you can very easily reach into it and pull out the weeds that are going to grow among your plants. Raising the beds slightly off the ground allows for better heat retention during cold weather. It also makes for a good drainage around the beds.

After you decide on the kind of vegetables you want and plant them, you need to learn about how to water them adequately. Vegetables require consistent watering. When planting a vegetable garden in a big space, think about utilizing a soaker hose. A soaker hose has numerous holes along its body and waters your garden by letting the water seep through its holes.

Planting a vegetable garden will require some work and a fair amount of patience. The rewards are easily worth it all, though. Particularly for people concerned with the state of their health. Growing your own veggies allows you to raise crops without the use of pesticides. Besides contributing to your wellness, it is a great feeling knowing that your are eating something that you grew in your own vegetable garden.

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