Grow Food

When the end of winter is in sight, it’s time to bring out your multi-year collection of garden seeds and start planning for an abundant new season. But are those …

I’ve come to realize that January feels to me, as a gardener, very much like that week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The first part of the celebration is …

It appears we can thank the French for taking the headache out of growing indeterminate tomatoes. I’ve expressed my annoyance with their annual habit of taking over the garden at …

If you’ve read any of Cheryl’s great articles about no-dig gardening, you’ve probably wondered if this way of gardening would work with your existing raised beds. And the answer is …

Ready, set, wait. Just because you are ready to close your garden down for winter doesn’t mean that nature is willing and ready. And so it happened that in early …

A raised garden bed, freshly filled up with healthy soil for the first time, is a wonderful thing. The soil mix is fluffy and porous and an absolute delight to …

Growing potatoes in sacks or grow bags isn’t anything new under the sun. Yet, we’ve never tried it, and we didn’t know anyone who ever has. Until now. Let’s just …

When those first cool days of autumn arrive, those of us with tomatoes still on the vine start watching the ten-day forecast a little closer. Time is running out, and …

Whether you ascribe pumpkin spice lattes to the arrival of fall or not, it’s hard to deny that pumpkins are the harbinger of Autumn. When cooler weather is finally on …

Growing buckets of fresh tomatoes is every gardener’s dream, along with a pantry full of homegrown tomato sauce. But growing what you need is not always an easy feat. In …

Some years it feels like fall comes and goes with a few blinks of the eye. One week there are green leaves on the trees, then, unexpectedly, cold nights come, …

As the temperatures lean toward the cooler side and the growing season is winding down, strawberries are usually the last thing you’re thinking about. However, if you want to ensure …

When it comes to a bountiful garden harvest, one doesn’t often stop to think, “the smaller, the better.” Yet, it depends on what you’re harvesting. Everybody loves an enormous pumpkin, …

Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) aren’t native to Jerusalem, nor the Middle East, as their name suggests. They have been cultivated as native plants in North America and Canada for hundreds …

All gardeners make mistakes. It could be sowing all your seeds at once – who has time to spread out planting while at the same time remembering where the seeds …

As it often happens, this article was inspired by a leisurely puttering session in my garden. I was collecting seeds, as you do in late summer, and wondering how many …

I hate to say it, but the end of summer is drawing near. Yup, we all blinked, and here it is. The shadows are growing longer each afternoon, and we’ve …

You know you can stop digging your garden anytime, right? It’s not a must to create a lush, backyard garden full of nutritious edible vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits. Gone …

Beets are a cool season crop to love or loathe. While some of us adore the earthy flavor, especially in pickled beets, others claim the roots taste like dirt – …

As gardeners, it’s often necessary to wear different hats for all the various jobs that tending a garden entails. Depending on the day (and time of year), we’re site planners, …

I love summer squash, don’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever had a garden that didn’t have a zucchini plant in it. And why not? Zucchini and summer squash are …

The other day, my sweetie came out to the garden to find me buried head first in our Amish Paste tomatoes, hacking away and cursing. He had to duck as …

When it comes to summertime fruit, our favorite is blueberries. They’re infinitely snackable. A bowl left unattended on the counter, destined for jam or homemade blueberry syrup, will likely disappear …

So, you’ve finally taken some gardening advice from Rural Sprout and are putting that spade or rototiller down for a nap. Now what? Your questioning and calculating mind may be …