Cauliflower is one of Travis's favorite fall crops to grow due to three major benefits. The first benefit is the ability to succession plant it throughout the growing season. This means when growing cauliflower you can plant it at several different times throughout the fall and get multiple harvestings. The second...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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If you are not a big fan of planting in the garden year-round, we recommend keeping the garden area clean and healthy instead of letting it grow up with grass and weeds every year. If you allow the area to grow up with grass and weeds every year you will have a continuous battle of fighting them off once you
Posted on August 22, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis explains the first fall crop he prefers to plant for the upcoming growing season. When preparing for the Fall garden, Travis recommends going ahead and planting a few crops right before the weather conditions start to break so we can get an early start on preparation for...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Not only are weeds unattractive, but they steal nutrients and irrigation from the plants you are growing in the vegetable garden. This will cause issues with plants because they need all the available nutrients and irrigation they can get in order to grow in the garden area. Another issue with weeds in the garden is they can...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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The best time to grow cayenne peppers is during the warmer months. The cayenne peppers are an heirloom variety that produces long slim deep red peppers with a hotter flavor profile. They are mostly used for hot sauce but can be prepared as red pepper flakes for pizza toppings or pasta dishes...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis talks all about our TubTrug harvesting containers. The TubTrugs are made to be lightweight and flexible for many different uses in the garden and around the homestead. Unlike other plastic harvesting buckets, the TubTrugs are UV resistance so they will not crack if left out in the sun and...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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When planting okra the best time to plant is during the spring, summer, or fall months. Due to these plants loving the warmer weather temperatures they need to be planted in an area with plenty of sunlight. We recommend transplanting okra in the early spring to get a jumpstart on production and early germination...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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When breaking down all the various essential nutrients that vegetable plants need in the garden can be hard to understand at first. However, the three major nutrients that plants need are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous. Nitrogen is important for the improvement of great stalk growth and productivity of plant...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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There are a couple of important benefits to having good soil structure in the vegetable garden. The first benefit is the improvement of crop quality. The crop quality in the soil is important because the plant roots need the ability to move throughout the soil structure to find the essential nutrients that they are...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis demonstrates how to quickly and easily turnover crops in the vegetable garden. In order for us to efficiently grow crops year-round in the vegetable garden, we have to maintain a quick and easy crop turnover time. In the garden, Travis has a couple of rows of romaine lettuce that he...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis explains the most effective trellis technique that he has come across so far in the vegetable garden. He currently has three rows of determinate tomatoes such as Bella Rosa, Brickyard, and Mountain Glory growing in the garden. When trellising tomatoes we recommend using the Florida...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Depending on certain tomato varieties they can vary from indeterminate and determinate. When distinguishing between the two different tomatoes, indeterminate tomatoes have a longer growing period than determinate tomatoes that tend to ripen quickly. Determinate tomato varieties will stop growing once...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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When it comes to trellising tomato plants there are many advantages that improve the overall health of these plants. The easiest Florida weave trellis technique is used for determinate tomatoes, while tomato cages are typically used for indeterminate tomatoes in the vegetable garden. We use the...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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On the week's episode, Travis explains the differences between monogerm and multigerm beet seeds. Beet seeds are naturally multigerm varieties which means that each seed contains more than one embryo. Multigerm seeds happen when flowers grow in clusters which in return produces multigerm seed balls...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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The best method when growing vegetables in the garden is by planting in rows. Row planting is when plants are grown in single rows that allow for more space and easier cultivating in the vegetable garden. Depending on how much room plants need for growing the rows can be adjusted between the plants and in...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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When looking at growing an early spring crop have you ever thought about green onions in the garden area? Green onions are immature little onions that are just starting the bulbing stage in the garden. Once they reach this stage they start to swell up a little bit and we will harvest a few of these small onions at this...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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To increase the productivity, growth, and healthier plants in the vegetable garden adding the best soil amendment will leave your soil structure with so many benefits for many growing seasons. Using great compost contains four key components -- organic matter, moisture, bacteria, and oxygen. The...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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There are several reasons for planting tomato plants the right way in the garden. To avoid tomato plant mistakes growing them in seed trays instead of individual pots is a major priority. We recommend transplanting tomatoes because it allows us to get a jumpstart on the growing season that are ready to go in the ground...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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If you struggle with a little amount of garden space to grow a variety of vegetables in the garden you have to find clever methods to improve your growing area. Using the straddle weeding technique allows for planting on tight row spacing. While the Floride weave technique or the...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Although collards have been a staple in the South throughout several years, collards have become increasingly popular around the world. In the past, Travis has tried growing several different collard varieties such as the Top Bunch, Champion, and Vates. However, the most productive collard variety and his...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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n the South, due to our high pest and disease pressure environment growing heirloom tomatoes can be difficult to grow in the vegetable garden. When discussing between hybrid and heirloom varieties there are major differences to take into account when thinking about planting one or the other variety...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Instead of buying the bland lettuce at the grocery store, you should try growing your own healthy lettuce in the vegetable garden. The perfect time to grow lettuce is between the fall and winter because weather conditions are just right. With cooler temperatures, these excellent varieties of lettuce are less likely...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Unlike your traditional red or green cabbage that forms big heads and is used in soups and salads, an uncommon and different type of cabbage is Bok Choy. Also, known as Pak Choy or Pok Choy depending on what area of the world it is being grown. Bok Choy falls under the Chinese cabbage category but does...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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The Purple Vienna and White Vienna Kohlrabi are two varieties of Kohlrabi that have productive yields and are the most underrated cold weather staple crops to grow during the cooler seasons. During the Fall and Winter months, Kohlrabi takes 45 days to maturity which works great for succession planting because...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Unlike the traditional garlic varieties, Elephant garlic is actually more related to a leek that has the look, taste, and easy to grow like garlic. Elephant garlic gets its name due to the large size it obtains that is twice the size of regular garlic. Containing a hardy bulb the elephant garlic typically has 5 to 6 individual...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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In order to ensure you have long-lasting garden tools, it is important to properly take care of them when not using them in the vegetable garden. To keep them from losing their effectiveness and sharpness over time we should spend a little time to properly maintain the conditioning of them by sharpening, removing...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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The overall reason for cultivating the garden area is to improve the soil for the next crop planting. Cultivating the garden allows you to break up the soil surface to enhance better penetration of water, air, and nutrients in the soil that plants need access to for all stages of growth. Penetrating air will improve the...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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It is a known fact that drip irrigation should be used in your garden because it reduces disease and weed pressures. Another advantage of having simple drip irrigation is it conserves water because you are not wasting water applying to the edges of the garden and in between rows of plants through overhead watering...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Weeds are a commonly known issue for every homeowner, business property, and home garden. The are several important reasons for removing thick weeds in the vegetable garden. The major reason to remove pesky weeds from the garden is they steal nutrients and water from the soil and plants. The soil in the...
Posted on August 22, 2023
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Transplants offer bountiful benefits when it comes to growing vegetables in the garden. Not only do you get to control when you plant seedlings but you also get healthier growing plants. If you have warmer weather vegetables that you would like to get a headstart on growing this allows you to prepare those vegetables...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Many gardeners know that the controversial topic of seed starting trays and soil blocks is all based on personal preference. The major difference in the two is all about time efficiency whether you are planting in a seed starting tray or you have all day to make soil blocks. It is no secret that making soil blocks are a...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Known as the greatest threat for sweet corn production, earworms are an insect that can be hard to control and kill in the garden area. Corn earworms have various different color combinations including green or brown. The problem with not effectively removing earworms is they can overwinter in the soil which will...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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There are several different green varieties that can be grown in the vegetable garden. Leafy green vegetable varieties like lettuce, kale, beans, collards, or peas all add a variation to the garden area. When growing greens they should be planted during early spring or late summer. Not only are they easy to grow...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Root-knot nematodes are microscopic parasitic roundworms that like to feed on the roots of the vegetable plants. Some crops such as okra, squash, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, or eggplants tend to be highly-susceptible to root-knot nematode problems more than other any other crops in the garden...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Why is growing vegetable transplants better than direct seeding? There are a number of reasons why vegetable transplants sometimes are better than direct seeding. These benefits include more control, increase production, reduce pest problems, and improve healthier plants. Transplants give you a jumpstart...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Traditionally grown in the South, okra thrives well due to its love for warmer weather. So planting okra in the summer growing seasons is perfect because many other vegetable crops cannot grow due to the harsh climate conditions. Okra plants tend to grow tall and need plenty of spacing to grow...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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When producing vegetables in the garden you are prone to have many issues with critters eating away at your freshly growing plants. There a couple of methods to help control these rabbits, squirrels, or deer from destroying your garden. Once you identify which critter is nibbling in the garden you can...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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The best method to effectively provide enough water to the garden is using a drip tape irrigation system. Drip tape systems allow you to conserve water and supply the plant with all the water it needs for all growing stages. Another benefit is drip tape irrigations reduces disease and weed pressures in the vegetable...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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There are countless benefits when it comes to why drip tape is important in the garden area. Not only is it better for the vegetable plants in the garden, but it will conserve water, reduce disease and pest pressures, and improve plant growth. Other alternatives like overhead irrigation or soaker hoses will leave you...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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