Overview Description Cabbage is a biennial vegetable grown as an annual. Its has a short stem bearing rosettes of tightly packed, waxy leaves that wrap around a round, compact head or “heart” consisting of multiple layers of thick, sturdy leaves that grow in a tightly […]
Overview Description Cauliflower is an annual cool-season vegetable with a rosette of large, coarse, bluish-green leaves growing from a thick central stem. The edible part of the plant is a dense cluster of undeveloped flower buds known as the “curd.” The curd is usually white […]
Overview Description Carrots are biennial root vegetables, but they are commonly grown as annuals for their edible taproots. They have a rosette of 8-12 finely divided, feathery leaves with a fern-like appearance, reaching heights of 30-60 cm (12-24 in). The root can range from 15-30 […]
Overview Description Broccoli is an annual plant cultivated for its edible flower heads and stalks. It grows a thick, fibrous stalk topped with a dense cluster of green flower buds known as the “head.” The plant can reach a height of up to 1 m […]
Overview Description Beetroot is a biennial plant cultivated as an annual. It grows an upright rosette of broad, heart-shaped leaves that are dark green with red or purple veins. The round or cylindrical root develops underground and can vary in size, reaching up to 10 […]
Overview Description Amaranth plants belong to the genus Amaranthus, which encompasses a diverse group of annual and perennial plants known for their edible leaves, seeds, and vibrant flowers. These plants are cultivated worldwide for their nutritional value and ornamental beauty. When used for food, they’re […]
Overview Description Broad beans (Vicia faba), also known as fava bean, are annual legumes that grow as an upright, bushy plant reaching 0.6-1.5 meters (2-5 ft) in height. Plants often have multiple stems growing from the base. The stems are square in cross-section and slightly […]
During the summer season, bean plants may become unhealthy looking, with a mottled or stippled pattern of tiny whitish speckled spots, short streaks or short lines on the upper surface their leaves. These affected leaved may eventually turn yellow, then brown, and become dry and […]
The choko or chayote (Sechium edule) is a vigorous, herbaceous perennial vine from the Cucurbitaceae (gourd or cucumber) family, that is native to Central America, but is now cultivated in many parts of the world. Choko fruit are light green in colour and are variable […]
Fruit cracking is a common problem in tomatoes when there is a wide fluctuation in soil moisture levels, which leads to inconsistent water content within the plant. This is usually caused by huge temperature variations and/or inconsistent irrigation. The cracking or splitting of tomato fruit […]
Tomatoes require a sufficiently long growing season and suitable temperatures in order to ripen their fruit, otherwise the fruit may stay green and fail to ripen. When growing conditions are less than ideal, there are ways for gardeners to turn things in their favour, to […]
Tomatoes can be grown quite easily from seed, and you can use seeds collected from tomatoes you’ve grown yourself, or from ones you’ve purchase from the greengrocer! There are a few tricks to saving tomato seeds, as they are wet seeded crops, which have seeds […]
It’s quite disappointing for gardeners when healthy and vigorous tomato plants,drop their flowers and fail to produce fruit after a good growing season. Tomato plants have what are described as complete flowers, they contain both the male and female parts within the same flower. The […]
Container gardening is a great way to grow vegetables when there is no space left in the garden beds, or when space is limited, such as in a courtyard or balcony. When growing in a pot or container, the three main requirements are: The container […]
Gardeners are usually enticed by the exotic, the more unusual something is, the more attractive it seems! There are a few online stores selling seeds for rainbow tomatoes, claiming they will produce many different vivid colours of tomatoes from the same plant. Have a look […]
The amount of light that vegetables and herbs require varies, depending on the type of plant. We can make most of available garden spaces by observing which areas are in full sun and part shade, both during summer and winter, and then selecting the right […]
Many gardeners grow vegies in pots, tubs, planters, and self-watering pots. Container gardening is an excellent solution when space is limited or more growing area is required. When growing climbing vegetables such as beans and peas, indeterminate (vining) tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and zucchini in pots, […]
When cabbages are first planted they initially produce lots of large broad leaves, but in the latter part of their growing season the inner leaves at the centre of the plant begin curling inwards and cupping around a short-thick stem, growing tightly together to form […]
It’s always a great idea to let vegetables such as lettuce to go to seed, because a single plant can produce hundreds of seeds, resulting in lettuce seedlings popping up all around the garden. Plants that grow on their own, that weren’t intentionally planted, are […]
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are a herbaceous, perennial, root-crop plant from the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family that grow to around 60cm (24”) high, and are native to Central and South America. They originated in the Andean highlands almost 10,000 years ago, but have naturalised widely and spread […]
How to Plant Seedling in Six Easy Steps Once we’ve selected the appropriate seedlings that are in season, it’s seedling planting time! In this article we’ll cover the fundamentals of seedling planting, the procedure is very simple and much easier than sowing seeds. If you’re […]
Tomatoes grow well during warmer weather, and that is expected since they are subtropical plants native to western South America and Central America. In cool to temperate climates tomatoes are grown as annuals, since they start to decline as temperatures drop in late autumn to […]
White leaf spot is a fungal disease of cruciferous vegetables (brassicas) caused by the pathogen Mycosphaerella capsellae, which is also known as Pseudocercosporella capsellae. The distribution of this disease pathogen is worldwide, it can be found in many countries with temperate climates, where brassicas are […]
Sowing Seeds Directly Into the Ground or Into Seedling Trays Once we’ve selected the appropriate seeds or seedlings that are in season, it’s seed sowing or seedling planting time! In this article we’ll cover the fundamentals of seed sowing, the procedure is quite straightforward and […]
Sowing Seeds and Planting Seedlings at The Right Time of the Year Once you’ve selected a good location to start a food garden, and prepared the soil in the garden bed to make it suitable for growing plants, the next step is to plant it […]
Preparing the Soil for Growing Food The secret to successful food gardening is rich, healthy soil. What goes into the soil goes into the food coming out of it! Plants take mineral nutrients and water from the soil, along with carbon dioxide from the air […]
Sometimes governments do give sound advice to their nations… During World War I and World War II, in a an effort to reduce the public demand on food supplies and leave more food to send to the soldiers fighting overseas, governments encouraged their people to […]
Chilli peppers (Capsicum species) are members of the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family, along with tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. They are native to the warm climates of South America and Central America, and they’re perennial plants in tropical and subtropical climates, but are grown as warm season […]
The practice of saving seeds is as old as agriculture itself, and dates back to over 10,000 years ago. Early human civilizations harvested seeds and selectively bred crop plants to create domesticated varieties which displayed specific desirable traits. Saving seeds has many benefits in the […]
Indeterminate (vining) tomatoes are very vigorous growers, and if they’re neglected they can easily become overgrown, with multiple tangled branches sprawling across the ground. If this happens to your tomato plants, all is not lost. In fact, you can take advantage of the situation to […]
Want to grow lots of tomatoes in limited spaces, even containers? Ever wondered how the commercial hydroponic growers pack in as many plants as possible in their growing areas? By understanding the way tomatoes grow, we can select the right plants and utilise their growth […]
The great thing about gardening with annual vegetables is that it’s very cheap to get started and the plants grow very quickly, so gardeners get to see (and taste) the results of their efforts in a very short time. Some gardeners get discouraged after a […]
In a cold climate, such as in Melbourne, Australia, the summer is never quite long enough to grow all your summer annuals vegetables, such as tomatoes, chillies, capsicums and so on. The best way to get a long productive season is to start the seedlings […]
A veriety of “Devil Plant” , giant devil fig Solanum chrysotrichum for grafting eggplant Would you like to grow an eggplant tree, yes you heard right, a tree, that can produce dozens of eggplants, and not die down in winter? Well, you can if you […]
