Posts Tagged ‘vegetables’
Deer Resistant Vegetables and Herbs
Deer Resistant Vegetables and Herbs taken from NW Farms and Food If you want to minimize deer damage in an open garden, its best to start with plants that deer don’t like. Deer will “browse” on most anything when wild...
Container Gardening – Vegetables
Though the trend now is to rent rather than own a home, the urge to grow your own food is still strong. Rather than dig a permanent garden plot, you can get great yields from containers on your patio, deck...
Frost Tolerance – Vegetables and Flowers
When frost is forecast, whether in spring or fall, some vegetables and flowers are more or less likely to be damaged. Here is a list of plants and their tolerance of light frost: Vegetables Hardy Slightly Tolerant Tender Asparagus Beet...
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis Broccoli is a member of the mustard family, and grows along the seacoasts of Europe from Denmark to France, and in other locations from Greece to Great Britain. • More detailed information can be found in...
Onions and Leeks – Home Garden
Growing Onions and Leeks in the Home Garden by Orin Martin taken from the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems newsletter zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/community/20.2.pdf Over time the genus Allium, which includes onions, leeks, and garlic, has been variously listed under the...
Squash – Pollination
Gardeners growing yellow squash and zucchini may notice that many blooms come on the plant early but fall off without forming fruit. Members of the cucurbit family (melons, squash, pumpkins, gourds) have separate male and female blooms on each plant....
Potato
Solanum tuberosum The potato ranks with rice and wheat as one of the world’s leading food crops. It is the number one vegetable crop, grown in nearly every country of the world. The potato is actually a shortened stem called...
Spinach
Spinacia oleracea Spinach is probably native to southwest Asia. Gardeners have cultivated it for centuries as a salad green and cooked vegetable. Even though many youngsters are dissuaded by early experiences with boiled spinach, most adults eventually appreciate its diversity...
Pea, Southern
Vigna unguiculata To a Southerner, “peas” means blackeyed, not English. Also known as field pea, cowpea, and protopea – or just plain Southern pea – these high-protein bean relatives come in a huge array of pod and seed color, size,...
Sorrel
Rumex acetosa (scutatus) Sorrel, commonly called garden sorrel, produces leaves with a sharp, lemony flavor. A high oxalic acid content, which may be troublesome for persons subject to gout, causes the sharpness. • More detailed information can be found in...
Squash
Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita mixta Squashes are warm-season vine crops with flavorful flesh. The many types are divided into summer squash, grown for the immature fruit, and winter squash, which is harvested mature. • More detailed information...
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis Asparagus is a cool-climate perennial plant that is fairly well adapted to all but the hottest areas of the South. Its tender spears, which arise from the crowns in the spring, make it an appetizing product of the...
Mustard Greens
Brassica juncea This leafy relative of cabbage and collards is grown early in the season and also as a fall crop. Mustard, close in popularity to collards and turnips, is an important green vegetable in southern gardens and one of...
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa No other salad crop is grown or used in such large quantities as lettuce, which has become an essential part of salads. Lettuce is a cool-weather crop that can be grown in spring or fall. Hot weather causes...
Pepper
Capsicum annuum, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum frutescens Peppers are available in so many types and varieties that most gardeners stick to a few types that they will use in their recipes. The most familiar peppers are the bells: green-red, yellow, purple-lilac,...
Chinese Cabbage
Brassica rapa var. pekinensis Chinese cabbage is another of the cole crops, cultivated in China for 1,500 years. Its mild taste (compared to regular cabbage) makes it excellent when eaten fresh, steamed, or as “stir fry.” • More detailed information...
Kale
Brassica oleracea Kale is a cool-season cooking green used similarly to collards (most Southerners prefer collards in taste). Seed in late summer or very early spring. • This information can be found in The Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Book by...
Rhubarb
Rheum rhabarbarum Rhubarb is not a “traditional” Southern vegetable, though many cooks look forward to harvesting the leaf stems from this cool-season perennial plants for making pies, sauces, custards, and Because of its intensely bitter flavor, they usually combine it...
