Top Ten Garden Blog

When winter comes, it doesn’t mean you need to give up on the vegetable gardens. The determined gardener can find many opportunities to keep their garden producing through the colder months. What you can grow in winter will depend in large part on your growing zone. In zones 7 through 11, there are several vegetables you can plant and grow all through the winter. In zones 6 and below, you can help mother nature along by setting up a cold frame or greenhouse. Eight Winter Garden Crops If you want to keep the garden growing all year long, give one of these cold-hardy vegetables a try. 1. Onions There are many onion varieties that can be planted in the fall, allowed to grow throughout the winter and harvested in the spring. The advantage of planting onions in the autumn is they will be ready to harvest a month or so earlier than spring-planted onion sets. Cold-tolerant and hardy, the winter onion is a low maintenance plant. Onion sets (young bulbs) are the easiest to grow and can b...

Spring is one of the best times to start a container garden. After the long winter, we are all ready for a bit of color in our gardens. Setting out a few cold-tolerant annuals in pots is a quick way to get the garden started while its still a bit too cold to work the ground. Early Spring Flowers To Plant In Your Container Garden A good container plant is compact in nature, blooms for an extended period and generally doesn't mind a bit of crowding. Here are some of the the best spring flowers to plant in your containers this year. 1. Geraniums Geraniums are America’s favorite summer flower; however, they can be even more vigorous during the cool days of spring. An old-fashioned plant, geraniums are often included in a cottage garden design, but they are most commonly found in the pots and planters around our homes. Zonal geraniums are the most widely known variety and are identified by the dark rings that appear on the leaves. Ivy geraniums are a trailing form of this flower a...

When most people talk about winter, they imagine a peaceful evening by the fire, no outdoor work, putting away all of your gardening equipment and simply plan for next year. While all of these statements may be true, winter doesn’t completely limit your activities in the garden. Whether you’re an expert or a rookie gardener, it is important to keep in mind that several winter garden tasks may be of use to you once summer season sets in again. 10 Winter Garden Tasks In this article, we will talk about things that will keep you busy! Winter is no time to slack around. Here are ten things to do to keep you pre-occupied all throughout winter. 1. Raised Bed Gardening Building raised gardens or other structures is an excellent activity for the winter months. If you set out a new raised garden in the late fall, there will be plenty of time to give lasagna gardening a try. Fill the area with alternating layers of compost, brown and green material. Keep the area well turned throughout the ...

If you want to grow a garden this spring, it’s never too early to start planning. One of the best ways to “learn as you go” is to read the seed catalogs that many companies will send for free. One of our favorites, with lots of gardening advice and great color photos, is Johnny’s Selected Seeds. If you’re a beginner, consider starting with the 10 crops discussed below. All are easy to grow, and this combination offers lots of possibilities for cooking. Some of these crops are best grown by setting out started seedlings, but most are easy to grow from a packet of seeds. 1. Radishes. Radishes do well even in not-so-great garden soil and are ready to harvest in only a few weeks. Plant the seeds in spring and fall. 2. Salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula and corn salad). Pick your favorite, or try a mix — many companies sell mixed packets for summer and winter gardening. Plant the seeds in spring and fall, and you can pick salads almost year-round. 3. Green beans. Easy...