Garden Wisdom Blog — how-to-grow

It’s tempting to imagine, when planting a row of spring radishes, that they will be ready in perfect shape at harvest time, free from blemishes, and wholly uniform in size and shape. Typically, though, this is not the case. There are a number of common radish problems that can result from environmental impacts and a handful of garden pests. And there are some practical measures the home gardener can take to minimize them. Uniformity A commercial radish grower who contracts with grocery store distribution might opt for one of the hybrid varieties that have been bred for uniform growth. These...

Gardening instructions can be full of peculiar phrases from British gardening traditions. “Potting on,” “pricking out,” and “hardening off” are all things we do with seedlings to help them prepare for eventual transplanting out into the garden. Hardening off seedlings is probably the most important concept that new gardeners can grasp to improve successful transplants. It is the process of gradually introducing seedlings started indoors to the much harsher conditions of the garden outside. As bright as any indoor grow lights might be, none compare to direct sunlight. Plants that have not been introduced gently to direct sunshine may show...

The bean is an annual plant of the family Fabaceae. This is a huge plant family, with over 19,000 species, so there are many interesting facts about beans. Only orchids and asters outnumber the members of this botanical group. Among the bean plant’s many close relatives are peas, runner beans, broad beans, soya beans, peanuts, alfalfa, clover, lupins, and sweet peas. All these plants are grouped botanically based on the common structure of their flowers and other characteristics. All of them can be considered “Legumes,” although most of them are inedible and many are even poisonous. The particular species we...

Although it’s still cold outside and the days are still short, there are many seeds to start in February indoors. The early start means your seedlings do some essential early development, and when they are transplanted outdoors in the spring, they’ve had a head start. This is especially important for perennial flowers and herbs that take longer to reach maturity and begin to bloom. These recommendations are for the BC Lower Mainland, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and coastal WA & OR. If you live outside this area, please have a look at our other Regional Planting Charts. Click on the...