Corn is something that most of us think of as a large-scale crop and expect to see growing in fields with hundreds — or at least dozens — of rows. But if you dream of harvesting ears of corn minutes before boiling or grilling it to perfection for you and your guests to enjoy, you can grow this tasty treat in your backyard garden. In fact, you can obtain a nice harvest from as little as about 15 square feet, which means you might already have the perfect raised garden bed or corner of your yard just waiting to be planted with a crop for this year.

When you choose to grow corn in your backyard vegetable garden, you can also enjoy the added benefit of a temporary privacy screen as the stalks climb to an average of about eight feet but up to about 15 feet, depending on the type of corn you grow, the climate in your area and just how hands on you are with caring for your crop.

How to Grow Corn in Small Spaces —

Here are eight steps to growing corn in a backyard vegetable garden.

1. Plan Your Space for Successful Pollination

The first step in successfully growing backyard corn is to plan the space you will dedicate to this crop. While it may be tempting to grow your corn in one long row along a fence or between other crops, you will find that this garden design will not bode well for your harvest.

Unlike most of the plants home gardeners grow for food, corn is not pollinated by bees, butterflies and other insects. At the top of the stalk, there is a tassel. Pollen comes from the center spike in this tassel and, hopefully, falls onto the silks. When this happens successfully, pollination occurs.

Corn relies on wind to assist in this pollination and most of the pollen actually pollinates silks on neighboring stalks rather than those on the same stalk. Because of this, it is critical that your corn is planted in rows or blocks, ideally with at least three rows of stalks. Since you will want to plant your stalks about one foot apart, you will need to create a block in an area that is at least three feet by five feet or four feet by four feet. Of course, you can plan out a larger space for a bigger crop of corn when harvest time comes around, but this is the minimum size you should dedicate for growing your corn.

It is best to choose a location that is in full sun or receives sun most of the day. Corn requires more water than a lot of the food-producing plants commonly found in backyard vegetable gardens, so you will want to keep this in mind if you design your garden to group plants with similar water needs.

Corn can be grown directly in the ground, in raised garden beds or in large containers that can be positioned to form a block or rows.

Because corn does not continue to produce after harvest, gardeners with enough space may want to plan for multiple blocks of corn planted a couple of weeks apart to ensure an ongoing crop.

2. Prepare Your Soil

Corn is a bit more nutrient hungry than other common vegetable garden plants. It also likes well-drained, acidic soil with a pH of around 6.0 but up to about 6.8. Tilling the top six to 10 inches of soil will help to loosen the earth and improve drainage, which you can improve more by amending the soil. You may want to do this anyways to add nutrients. Mixing in some compost from your local garden center or backyard compost bin is a good way to add nutrients to the soil while you prepare it for planting.

3. Plant the Seeds

Corn seeds should be placed about one foot apart, but many gardeners prefer to plant them closer together, and then thin the seedlings once they have grown to a few inches in height. Each seed should be placed between one inch and 1.5 inches into the ground and covered with soil. Immediately after planting your corn, water it enough to moisten the soil.

4. Watering Your Corn

Corn is not a drought-tolerant plant and requires regular irrigation. Germination takes about two weeks, and during this time you will need to water the area regularly to keep the soil moist. Once you have seedlings that are a few inches tall, you can move to a deep watering once a week or twice per week when it is particularly hot and dry.

5. Fertilize Your Crop

You will want to fertilize your corn crop at least once about six weeks to two months into its growth cycle. You will want to choose a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content for the best results.

6. Hand Pollinate Your Corn

If you plant our corn in blocks or rows that are at least three deep, you may have a successful crop without the help of hand pollination, but to hedge your bet and help your corn produce as much as possible, it is a good idea to assist in the pollination process. To do this, cut off a tassel from one of your stalks, and then lightly dust silks with the tassel to distribute the pollen. You will want to do this every morning for about a week to help ensure proper pollination.

7. Harvest Your Corn

Once the silks are mostly dry and brown, it is time to check your ears to see if they are ready to harvest. The easiest way to determine whether or not it is time to harvest your corn is to open the husk just enough to poke a kernel with your fingernail. The resulting liquid should be a bit like milky water. If it is more like clear water, then in it not yet time. If it is super milky, then it is actually past the ideal time for harvesting. In this case, the corn will likely taste starchier and not as sweet, but it is still edible.

8. Store Your Corn

If possible, harvest your corn just before you plan to use it in order to enjoy the freshest taste. If this is not possible, store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it. If you have a particularly abundant harvest and have too much corn to use at once, you can blanch it and freeze it for future use. Alternatively, you may want to dry part of your corn to grind into corn meal.

Your Turn…

Do you grow corn in your backyard garden? If so, we would love to hear your favorite tricks or tips for a bountiful harvest.

Photo Credits (in order of appearance): morgueFile, Penywise; morgueFile, kconnors; morgueFile, mensatic

The post How To Grow Corn In Your Backyard {Guide} appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

Edamame is not yet a common site in backyard gardens in America, but it is quickly becoming more popular. As more people become aware of the nutritional value and great taste of these green soybeans, more backyard gardeners are looking into how to grow edamame in their vegetable gardens.

If you live in San Diego County, Riverside County, Orange County or the surrounding areas, edamame might be a particularly good crop for you to consider. Not only is this a unique addition to your garden, but edamame can do quite will in two things Southern California has plenty of: drought conditions and clay soil.

Before we go into how to grow edamame in your garden, it is important to note that edamame is not the same thing as the soybeans grown for livestock feed. It is also not the same thing used to make the many soy-based products you can find at the grocery store, such as tofu, miso, tempeh or soy burgers. Soybeans used for these purposes have been allowed to fully ripen and mature. Edamame is picked when it is younger — generally being harvested around just 35 days after the plants flower. This means that edamame beans are softer and sweeter than soybeans.

How to Grow Edamame: Planting Green Soybeans

Your edamame will do best in a spot in your garden that has well-draining soil and gets full sun. If possible, test your soil and pick a spot (or amend it) to provide your edamame with slightly acidic soil with lots of organic matter, such as compost, mixed in. You will likely find that raised garden beds are easier to work with for this and other crops, particularly since it makes it easier to achieve the preferred soil quality and to control the conditions in which your plants are grown.

You can grow green soybeans from seeds or purchase seedlings at your local garden center to transplant into your garden. Edamame is definitely a warm-weather plant, so if you live in an area that gets frost, you should start your seeds indoors and transplant them into your garden beds once the weather warms up. If planting seeds in the soil, you can start by planting about four inches apart in rows that are about two feet apart. If you are planting seedlings, space them about one foot to 18 inches apart to get the best harvest per plant. Green soybeans can also grow well when planted closer together, so that is an option if you have limited space.

How to Grow Edamame: Tending to Your Plants

As with most crops, you will need to regularly pull weeds, add a layer of mulch or compost around the plants and water frequently until the plants are established. Once your plants are established, you should be able to water once or twice per week, depending on the weather. Simply check the soil and give your edamame water whenever it is dry.

Since these are bushy plants, it is a good idea to use tomato cages or stakes to provide support as they grow.

How to Grow Edamame: Harvesting and Storing

All of the pods on an edamame plant will be ready to harvest at the same time. Keep an eye on the pods when you are getting close to 35 days after flowering, since you want to be sure to pick them while they are still young and tender. You will be looking for the pods to be plump and a vibrant green.

Edamame does not keep well, so you will want to harvest it close to the time it will be eaten, if possible. You will enjoy the best flavor and nutritional value if you eat your edamame the same day that you harvest it, but you can generally keep it in the refrigerator for two to three days, if needed.

If your harvest is too large to be consumed within a few days, you can blanch your beans in the pods and freeze them for future use.

Photo Credits (in order of appearance): morgueFile, thesuccess; morgueFile, rikahi; Wikimedia Commons/Tammy Green; Wikimedia Commons/Kanko

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It’s often said that in Southern California, fall symbolizes the beginning of the year’s second planting season. It’s true. There’s plenty of “cool-weather” vegetables that thrive in San Diego the last few months of the year, and we’re lucky to live in a region where gardening is possible year-round. Fall also represents a fantastic time to grow a garden because weeds grow slower, pests become less active, and watering can be less frequent.

So how do you grow an autumn vegetable garden?

Pick the right site

Although San Diego tends to stay relatively sunny from September through November, you still want to choose a spot in your yard that receives full sun. This is because the sun is less intense in the fall. For the best growth, choose a growing area that receives at least seven hours of sunlight a day. Only lettuces and leafy greens do well in less sunlight.

To that end, pick a spot that is away from trees and structures that cast shade. Also, keep in mind that trees’ root systems can steal your fall vegetables’ nutrients and water, so locate your plots away from large trees. Also consider using areas along fences or interplanting vegetables in flower beds exposed to full sun.

If you can’t find a suitable spot in the ground, grow vegetables in raised beds for more location flexibility. The side benefits of raised-bed planting is that your growing vegetables will be much easier to manage, and you can place plants closer together, and grow more in a smaller space. Just be sure to buy soil for that purpose.

For container gardening, buy big pots because the more soil you have, the better the plants are going to do because they’ve got more room for their roots. Two feet across is a good size. Lettuces and peas lend themselves to well to container growing, but cauliflower and cabbage tend to need more room than containers can typically provide.

Finally, when you shop for plants, note how wide and how tall the plant will grow because you want to put a plant in the appropriately-sized area.

Choose cool-season vegetables that thrive

Good “fall” vegetables to include in your garden include:

• asparagus
• beets
• broccoli
• brussels sprouts
• cabbage
• carrots
• cauliflower
• celery
• endive
• garlic
• kale
• leeks
• lettuce
• onions
• peas
• potatoes
• radishes
• shallots
• spinach
• turnips

The hardiest vegetables include onions, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, spinach, turnips, radishes, and asparagus.

Less hardy plants that are still well suited to Southern California fall gardening are: lettuce, beets, carrots, chard, parsley,
parsnips,  broccoli, potatoes, and cauliflower.

“Tender” vegetables, or those impacted by the lightest frost or low temperatures even though frost does not occur include snap beans and sweet potatoes.

The most fragile vegetables that require the warmest fall soil include eggplant, squash, and pumpkin.

Prepare your plants and soil

Most of the fall vegetables you choose to plant will be planted from seeds, but others, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery and onions can be purchased as transplants at a local nursery. Using transplants typically saves six weeks of growing time.

To prepare the garden for planting, rototill or spade the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inches, then break up clumps and rake the surface until it’s smooth. Organic compost and manures can be incorporated into the soil, and a fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorous and
potassium can also be mixed into the soil before planting. Mix fertilizer into the top six inches of  the soil just before planting at the rate recommended on the product label. Water your garden space and let the soil settle for two days; then sow your seeds while the soil is still moist.

Plant more seeds than recommended, as some will not germinate. When the young seedlings appear and grow to a couple of inches high, thin them to the distances recommended on the seed packets. It is sometimes difficult, especially for the beginning gardener to pull up young, healthy plants, but thinning is an important process in successful gardening and must be done ruthlessly.

When transplanting vegetable plants into the garden, try to avoid making the transplant during the heat of midday. The best transplanting time is toward evening so the plants will have the cool night temperature to recover from transplant shock. Water the plants during the transplanting process.

Keep to an autumn garden timeline for planting and maintenance

According to Master Gardeners San Diego, the below timeline provides a good overview of the fall planting process:

September

• Start the fall vegetable garden.
• Plant carrots, radishes, beets, peas, and spinach seeds directly into the garden.
• Start seeds for cabbage, chard, onions, and scallions in flats.
• Keep beds moist.

October

• Continue to plant cool-season vegetables to extend harvest time.
• Fertilize the plants set out in September.
• Keep beds moist to ensure good germination.
• Pull weeds as they appear.
• Pick off insects and snails.

November

• Continue to plant fall/winter vegetables.
• Thin earlier plantings such as spinach and lettuce.
• Pull weeds and control pests.
• Keep plants moist.

December

• Feed plants that are actively growing with a balanced fertilizer. Those that have just been planted should not be fed again.
• Water unless there are substantial rains.

Additional autumn garden notes

Harvest begins in mid-November, although certain vegetables like radishes and lettuces tend to pop up earlier, while Brussels sprouts don’t mature until later in the season.

If you haven’t planted a fall garden before, start with a small area, and see evaluate how much time you have (and want) to devote to the second growing season. 

Beyond planting vegetables, fall is the time to plant deciduous fruit trees, shrubs, and native California plants.

Read more

• Take a look at some of these great cookbooks and recipes for preparing (and eating) your fall garden bounty.
• Learn more about summer vegetables that yield a fall harvest.

Final thoughts…

A fall garden can actually be easier to manage than its warm-weather counterpart. Many of the crops grown in the cooler season tend to be hardier and require less maintenance than spring/summer vegetables. With the huge variety of plants that thrive when grown in the fall, why not give an autumn garden a go?

Do you garden in the fall? Do you have any tips to share?

The post How To Grow An Autumn Vegetable Garden? appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

Southern California gardeners often seem perplexed about how to grow potatoes and often shy away from adding them to their backyard gardens. Some believe potatoes are difficult to grow, others think they will not grow well in our area, and some think it requires a lot of space to grow them. None of these things are true.

In fact, you can quite easily grow potatoes in containers right on your patio in your Southern California backyard. As with some other crops, SoCal is one of the few places in the country where you can even grow potatoes year round.

Potatoes can certainly be grown in the ground, but there are many reasons to choose container gardening instead. Container potatoes take up less space, are not invaded by gophers, are easy to harvest, and add color and texture to your patio. They are a great way to break up hardscapes and a great addition to your backyard garden.

How to Grow Potatoes: Choosing a Container

Potatoes are pretty forgiving when it comes to the container in which you choose to grow them. While it should be noted that planting in the ground is an option, it is actually much easier and more convenient to grow potatoes above ground, particularly when it comes time to harvest your crop. And, of course, if you are planning to grow potatoes on your patio or balcony, you will certainly need containers to accomplish this.

Here are just a handful of container options you can use for growing potatoes:

1. Plastic trashcans
2. Plastic or rubber buckets
3. Reusable shopping bags
4. Fabric planting bags
5. Plastic planting bags
6. Old tires
7. Conventional pots
8. Plastic storage bins
9. Wood planters or boxes
10. Wood barrels cut in half
11. Old laundry baskets
12. Burlap sacks
13. Wire cages

It is best to plant one seed potato for each five gallons of container space, so choose the size of your containers based on how many plants you would like to grow in each one. If you might need to move the container when entertaining or for any other reason, you will also want to choose pots or bags that will be a manageable weight once they are filled with soil.

How to Grow Potatoes: Choosing Your Soil

Potatoes prefer well-drained, loose soil that is a bit on the acidic side. If you are planting in San Diego’s clay soil, you will likely want to amend it with peat moss, mix in compost and double dig it. If you are planting in containers to grow potatoes on your patio, you can purchase bags of soil at your local garden center. You may still need to add peat moss to get to an appropriate pH. Also, it is worth purchasing a pH test kit to test your soil before planting.

How to Grow Potatoes: Planting Guide

You have two options when it comes to acquiring potatoes to plant in your backyard garden. You can either use leftover potatoes from the grocery store or farmers market, or you can purchase seed potatoes. You can often purchase seed potatoes at garden centers, but you may need to purchase them online if they are not readily available in your area.

Most experienced gardeners agree that you are much more likely to have satisfying results if you opt for seed potatoes. Organic gardeners will also point out that the potatoes in your local grocery store have been sprayed with chemicals that make them a less appealing option. On the other hand, folks grow backyard potatoes from potatoes they bought in their local produce department all the time. So if you are just starting out or are planting potatoes on a whim, this may be the more convenient option to try. You can always order seed potatoes next year if you decide that potato growing is for you.

Once you have acquired your potatoes, it is time to get them in the dirt. Smaller seed potatoes can be planted whole. Store-bought potatoes and larger seed potatoes should be cut into small chunks with at least two eyes per piece. Allow the chunks to dry at least overnight before planting them.

Plant your chunks with the eyes pointing up about a five inches deep in your container. Make sure your chunks are at least six inches apart to give your plants enough space as they grow, and keep in mind that you should plant one chunk for every five gallons of container space.

You will want to start with a low soil level that will allow you to add more soil as your plants grow.

How to Grow Potatoes: Caring for Your Potatoes

Once your potato plants have grown about six to eight inches, you will want to add more soil to your container to cover most of the new plant. Do this again when it has grown another six inches. By this time, you should be pretty close to the top of your container.

You will need to water your potato plants regularly, particularly if you are growing them during the warmer months in Southern California. Once a week may suffice, but check soil moisture regularly to see if you need to up it to twice a week.

How to Grow Potatoes: Harvesting Your Patio Potatoes

When your potato plants begin to flower, you can begin gently digging around in the soil to find small potatoes (aka new potatoes) to harvest. This allows your plants to continue growing other potatoes and can extend your harvest a bit.

Once the foliage starts turning yellow and dying off, your potatoes are ready to harvest. Stop watering your plants when you notice this, and it is best to wait about a week or two to harvest after you have stopped watering.

This is when you really see the benefit of growing potatoes in containers, because it makes harvesting very easy. You can remove the foliage for easier harvesting, and then spread a tarp on the ground. Tilt your container and gently dump the contents on the tarp. Dig through the soil to find your potatoes, and you are done. It really is that simple to harvest container potatoes.

Do not clean all of the soil off of them and spread them out in a cool, dry place to dry out a bit before storing them.

Your Turn…

What are your favorite tips for growing patio potatoes?

Photo Credits (in order of appearance): morgueFile, MaxStraeten; Wikimedia Commons/Jolly Janner; morgueFile, gary3141; Wikimedia Commons/Paebi; Wikimedia Commons/Keith Weller; morgueFile, jeanneg

The post How to Grow Potatoes on Your Patio {Guide} appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

If you are a fan of asparagus and are interested in growing it in your Southern California garden, pick a spot, prepare the soil and get ready to buy asparagus crowns as soon as they are locally available in early spring. It will be a couple of years before you get any sort of decent harvest and even longer before your crop really begins to flourish. This means that you should start to grow asparagus now so that you can enjoy it as soon as possible.

Of course, this also means that you will need a good bit of patience to get you through the next couple of years while you will be tending to your garden bed without harvesting spears as you allow plants to become established.

Since there is no time to waste in getting your asparagus patch going, let’s jump right into how to grow asparagus in Southern California.

Choosing a Spot:

Once established, you can expect your asparagus plants to provide spring and fall harvests for about 20 years. Because they are going to stick around much longer than most of the food plants in your garden, choosing the spot where you want them to be for the next two decades is even more important.

The first thing you should consider when choosing a spot is that your asparagus should get at least six hours of sun each day, and it would be even better if it can get eight hours. Therefore, you will want to be sure to pick a sunny spot in your garden or yard.

Because of the fern-like appearance of asparagus plants, you could use them as part of an edible landscape design or intermixed with ornamental plants in flowerbeds.

Another important consideration when picking a spot is that the leaves of asparagus plants are toxic to dogs. Therefore, if you have a dog that tends to get in the garden or eat your plants, you will want to be sure to plant your asparagus away from areas frequented by your pets.

Preparing the Soil:

Remember — this garden bed is going to be in use by the same plants for 20+ years, so it is well worth it to make the effort to really prepare the soil well for your future asparagus harvests. While you can plant asparagus in the ground, it is going to be a better idea to plant it in raised garden beds in most parts of Southern California.

Installing raised garden beds allows you to have much better control over the soil and to more easily build the slightly acidic, well-draining, nutrient-rich soil in which asparagus thrives. You can achieve this by mixing compost and peat moss into garden soil.

If you choose to plant your asparagus in the ground, plan on turning over about one foot of soil in your garden bed. If you are working with clay soil, you will want to mix in some compost to improve the drainage. If you are planting in the ground with sandy soil, mix in some compost and peat moss. You will also want to make sure the area is free of weeds before planting.

Planting Asparagus:

Asparagus plants can be started from seed, but this is going to add up to two years to your waiting time before your first harvest, so, unless you are just really patient and committed to starting your plants from seeds, start from one- or two-year-old crowns. You can purchase asparagus crowns at your local nursery in spring and will want to plant them right away after acquiring them. Be sure to ask for an all-male cultivar to ensure a more bountiful harvest.

To plant asparagus, dig a trench or small holes that are about six inches deep and 12 inches apart. Spread the roots as you set your crowns (crown facing up) in each of the holes. Cover the bottom three inches of each crown with soil, making sure that the top of the crown is not covered in dirt.

As your plants grow, continue adding small amounts of soil until the original hole is filled and your asparagus is growing above ground level.

Caring for Asparagus:

For the first one to two years, you should not harvest any asparagus, because you must first allow the plants to develop root systems and become well established. After all, these plants are going to be producing delicious asparagus spears for up to about 20 years, so it is certainly worth the wait to allow them to become established.

Until it is time to begin harvesting your asparagus (ideally in the third growing season), you will need to regularly water your asparagus bed and keep a thick layer of mulch around the plants to inhibit weed growth. Once your asparagus is established, it will crowd out most weeds, but until then it needs a little help so that it does not have to compete with weeds for water and nutrients.

Side dress your asparagus plants with compost in spring and fall. You can also apply a small amount of organic fertilizer. In fall, remove any dead foliage.

Harvesting Asparagus:

One of the most important things you need to remember about harvesting asparagus is that you must leave some spears so that they can mature, develop their fern-like foliage, and continue to nourish and strengthen the plant in preparation for the next growing season.

If you begin to harvest your asparagus in the second year, take only a small amount and be sure to only cut spears once they have reached about five inches in height and about one-quarter inch in diameter. Also, you should only harvest spears for two to three weeks, and then leave remaining spears alone to mature and strengthen the plant.

One you have reached the third growing season, you will be able to harvest more asparagus and for longer periods of time. Look for spears that are between five inches and seven inches in length and more than one-quarter inch in diameter. During this third growing season, you will likely be able to harvest spears for up to about five weeks before leaving the rest to allow the ferns to grow.

If your plants are well established and producing well by the fourth season, you can harvest spears for about two months.

To harvest spears, you can simply snap them off at ground level, or you can use a knife or garden shears to cut them.

Storing Asparagus:

Asparagus can be kept at room temperature if it will be eaten within a few hours of harvesting. It can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator for longer storage. To store asparagus in the refrigerator for up to one week, stand the spears up in one inch of water in a jar, bowl or glass. Cover the asparagus loosely with a produce bag or other plastic bag.

To store asparagus in the freezer, you must first blanch it, then place it in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process before draining it and placing it in plastic bags.

Related Resources

• How to Grow Chard as Edible Landscaping (Guide + Tips)
• How to Grow an Herbal Tea Garden (Guide)
• How to Grow Kale Anywhere (Guide)
• How to Grow Edamame in Your Backyard

The post How to Grow Asparagus in Southern California (Guide) appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

There is not a lot to know when growing zucchini, but there are a few things that are critical, such as preparing the soil and knowing how to avoid common issues that can ruin your crop.

Here is all you need to know to plant, maintain and harvest zucchini in your garden.

What is the Best Soil for Zucchini?

The best soil for zucchini is well draining and nutrient dense. Of course, if you are growing zucchini in Southern California, you are more likely working with clay soil that does have lots of nutrients but does not drain well and does not allow for the air circulation that plants need to thrive and be able to use those nutrients.

Additionally, the fragile roots of most vegetable plants have a hard time pushing through clay soil and, due to the poor drainage, clay soil can rot roots and bulbs during the rainy season or if you over-water.

Therefore, if you want to grow zucchini or any other vegetables in your Southern California garden, you are most likely either going to need to plant in raised garden beds or amend your soil to make it more amenable for food plants.

The easiest way to get around clay soil is to install raised garden beds. This allows you to easily add well-draining soil on top of the clay and to have more control of your soil content moving forward. If you install low garden beds, you will still want to work the clay soil beneath the beds and add organic matter to make the soil lighter to allow for air circulation and root growth. If you build garden beds that are at least 12 inches deep, you can skip the hard labor and simply add well-draining soil on top of the clay.

If you choose to grow zucchini or other vegetables in the ground, you will need to till the soil at least eight inches down, but preferably 12 inches, and add compost, gypsum, sand or other organic matter. Thoroughly mix the compost or other matter into the clay before planting.

When is the Best Time to Plant Zucchini Plants?

The best time to plant zucchini depends on where you live. In Southern California, it is generally best to plant your zucchini in April, May, June or July.

If you want to extend your harvest with succession planting, make sure your last seeds are in the ground by mid-august.

You can reduce your risk of squash vine borers destroying your plants by holding off on sowing your seeds until July.

Should I Plant Zucchini from Seeds or Seedlings?

Zucchini grown from seeds or seedlings usually does equally well in Southern California. Seeds are less expensive and can be started in the ground. They do not need to be started indoors in seed pots and will germinate quickly when directly sown in your garden.

Seedlings will be a little more expensive to purchase at your local nursery, but they give you a head start and are easier for some gardeners.

How Far to Space Zucchini Plants

Zucchini plants take up a lot of space in backyard gardens, so make sure you can dedicate a large area to them before planting.

If you are going to allow your zucchini plants to naturally vine out across the ground, you need to plant them at three feet apart in rows that are about eight feet apart. Alternatively, you can hill them by planting two to four seeds together on a short mound, which increases the chances of pollination.

If you do not have this much space available, you can cage your zucchini plants to provide support for vertical growth. When growing zucchini in cages, you can plant them about two feet apart.

How Often Should I Water Zucchini Plants?

Zucchini plants require moist soil while they become established, but it needs to be well draining, and they will not do well in soggy soil. Once established, give your zucchini about one inch of water per week. Keep in mind that consistent watering is necessary to help prevent blossom-end rot. During hotter months, more frequent watering may be necessary.

Adding a layer of mulch around your plants can help the soil retain moisture between watering.

How to Maintain Zucchini Plants Once Established

Zucchini is very easy to grow and requires little maintenance.

Add a thick layer of mulch around your plants to retain soil moisture and inhibit weed growth. Pull weeds regularly so that they will not compete with your food plants for food and water. As mentioned above, give your plants one inch of water per week. You may need to water more often during hotter months.

Some gardeners have issues with pollination. One way to avoid this is to invite pollinators to your garden by planting herbs and flowers near your garden beds. If this is not enough to produce a good harvest, you may need to get a little more hands on and use a cotton swab or small, soft paint brush to gather pollen from male blossoms and transfer it to the female blossoms. You can tell which blossoms are male and which are female by looking just below the blossom: Female flowers have fuller stems that almost look bulbous, while male flowers just have a straight, narrow stem.

How and When to Harvest Zucchini

It may be tempting to grow the biggest zucchini on the block, but it is best to harvest this squash when it reaches six to eight inches in length. This is when it will be most tender and delicious. Larger fruits are nice to look at, but the skin will be tough and the flavor will be bitter. Be sure to gently peek under your plants’ large leaves to hunt for the zucchinis that are probably hiding under them.

When you harvest zucchini, use garden shears to gently cut them from the plant. Do not simply pull or twist them off, since this could damage your plant.

Harvesting zucchini often will generally lead to larger harvests from each plant overall.

Remember that you can also harvest and eat some of the male blossoms – just be sure to leave enough for pollination.

Common Problems When Growing Zucchini

While zucchini plants are easy to grow, there are a few common problems you may encounter. The issue you are most likely to deal with is powdery mildew, which looks like a white coating of powder on the leaves. To avoid powdery mildew, water early in the day, dry the leaves of your plants if it rains in the evening, make sure your plants have enough space between them to allow for proper air circulation, and be sure to plant your zucchini in a spot where they will receive a minimum of six hours of full sunlight every day.

Taking these steps will not guarantee that you will not get this common fungus, so you will also need to be ready to treat it if it occurs. While it can be difficult to get powdery mildew under control, organic gardeners have two simple options: potassium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate. You can purchase a product with potassium bicarbonate at your local nursery or you can make your own anti-mildew spray by mixing one teaspoon of baking soda and a few drops of liquid dish soap with about one quart of water in a spray bottle.

Squash vine borers are another common issue, but you can reduce your risk of borers laying their eggs at the base of your zucchini plants by waiting to sow your seeds until July.

An annoying but easy to spot problem is squash bugs. These small bugs can be spotted sucking the life out of your leaves and will most likely need to be manually removed. These are tough little guys that are not phased by most pesticides.

A lack of calcium can cause blossom-end rot, but adding calcium to the soil will not take care of this problem. The best way to avoid this issue is to water your plants consistently because your plants get their calcium as they absorb water from the soil.

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There is plenty of evidence that juicing can help people eat more fruits and vegetables, provide our bodies with easy-to-digest vitamins and minerals, and serve up disease-fighting and anti-aging antioxidants. We know it is best to purchase organic produce when possible, to avoid genetically modified foods and to seek out the freshest produce we can find to have the most nutrient-dense foods.

Most folks also know that buying the amount of organic produce necessary to maintain a regular juicing routine can be quite expensive and requires frequent trips to the grocery store to keep your refrigerator stocked without losing produce to spoilage.

Knowing all of this, some people choose to grow at least part of their juicing ingredients right at home to make juicing more convenient and less expensive. Regular juicing requires a lot of produce, so it is important to note that most people most likely do not have the space or time to meet all of their juicing needs with food from their backyard garden.

However, if you can cut down a bit on your grocery bill and save yourself at least a few trips to the store, you will likely find that it is well worth it to grow at least some of your juicing ingredients at home. Growing some of your own food also allows you to know exactly where that food came from, what was used to grow it and that it is as fresh as possible when it comes from just a few feet away from your kitchen.

While you may not be able to meet all of your produce needs, a backyard juicing garden is a great way to supplement the fruits, vegetables and herbs you currently buy at the farmers’ market, produce stand or local grocery store. Plus, it is quite handy to be able to throw a quick juice together with some spinach, tomatoes and parsley from your garden when you have not had time to go the market.

The more room and time you have, the more produce you can grow, but folks with limited space should not be dissuaded from installing at least a small potager. You can grow a small space juicing garden in containers on your patio, in a raised garden bed or in a plot that is no larger than 10 square feet in size.

If your garden space is limited, you will need to pick just a few favorites to include. Here are nine options to consider that you can use in either an extraction juicer or blender to make fresh juices.

Top 9 Foods to Grow in Small Space Juicing Garden

1. Basil: This aromatic herb is easy to grow and adds great flavor to juicing recipes. It is high in vitamin K and has historically been used for its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Basil prefers moist, well-draining soil in a sunny spot in your garden. It is easy to tell if you are not watering your basil plants enough, since the leaves will noticeably droop and wilt.

2. Parsley: Parsley takes a while to get going, but once it is established and going strong, it can provide you with plenty of parsley for your juicing needs. While it does not add as much flavor to your juice as basil does, it is packed with nutrients. This includes vitamin K, vitamin C, iron, folate and vitamin A. Historically, parsley has been used for detoxing the liver, reducing the risk of developing cancer or diabetes, and freshening breath.

3. Tomatoes: Tomatoes are just so easy to grow that any backyard garden should have at least one tomato plant. Tomatoes are a great base for lots of simple juicing recipes and have plenty of other culinary uses. They offer a variety of vitamins and minerals — such as vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A and copper — and are rich in lycopene, which has been linked to reducing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

4. Kale: Dark, leafy greens are a great addition to fresh juices. Kale can be easily started from seed indoors or right in your garden. If you prefer starting from seedlings, your local garden center is sure to have plenty in stock during the best times to plant it in your area. Many long-time juicing enthusiasts believe dark, leafy greens are among the most important and beneficial ingredients to include when juicing.

5. Spinach: This is another dark, leafy green that is easy to grow in your juicing garden. Spinach plants can be quite prolific and allow you to take just what you need, and then come back for more as they keep producing more leaves. Spinach plants like nutrient-rich, well-draining soil and grows as an annual. To extend your harvest, try planting in cycles about 10-14 days apart.

6. Carrots: If you are maximizing a small space for your juicing garden, carrots are a great option for growing around the perimeter with your taller plants — like tomatoes or cucumbers — planted in the middle of the bed. Since these are root vegetables that grow deep, be sure to till your soil deeper than you would for most plants. This will provide your carrots with loose soil in which to grow. This is another crop where you can spread out planting days to extend your harvest.

Carrots add lots of nutrients and flavor to fresh juices and are a staple in juicing, so this is one vegetable you should definitely consider growing in your juicing garden. While most of us are used to seeing and growing orange carrots, you can also grow other colors to make your juicing more fun, such as purple, red, yellow or white.

7. Swiss Chard: Chard is easy to grow, does well in Southern California’s warmer climate and is a good source of fiber, vitamin K, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C and more. It is believed to be helpful in preventing diabetes and in treating it naturally through diet. It is also known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. When you are not in the mood for fresh juice, it is also a great addition to salads and can be sautéed as a healthy side dish. This is another plant that allows you to take what you need and will continue to grow new leaves for futures juices.

8. Beets: Like carrots, beets like soil that has been deeply tilled to provide loose, well-draining soil in which to grow. Beets like full sun, so pick a sunny spot in your garden to grow this one. Juicing enthusiasts generally choose this earthy root vegetable for its high vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, manganese and fiber.

9. Cucumbers: You can grow cucumbers in containers, in a raised garden bed or in the ground. You will want to support this trailing vine with a tomato cage, stakes or trellis. Cucumbers can be a bit trickier to grow than the other options in this list, but it is well worth a bit of trial and error to have fresh cucumbers to include in juices. Cucumbers make particularly refreshing juices and add vitamin K, B vitamins, potassium, copper and fiber.

Growing a Small Space Juicing Garden: Further Reading

• Free Fertilizer for Flowerbeds + Vegetable Gardens + Natural Lawns {PRO Guide}
• How to Find Free Seeds for Your Backyard Garden
• Vegetable Garden 101: TOP 10 Gardening Mistakes to Avoid
• 20 Tips for How to Maintain a Healthy, Attractive Vegetable Garden

Photo Credits (in order of appearance): morgueFile, Seemann; morgueFile, lisasolonynko; morgueFile, eliaszltd; morgueFile, MaxStraeten; morgueFile, svklimkin

The post Top 9 Foods to Grow in a Small Space For a Juicing Garden appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

The Roman naturalist and writer, Gaius Linius Secundus (AD 23-79), generally known as Pliny the Elder or just Pliny, included horseradish in his works as a medicinal plant that did not have culinary uses. By the Middle Ages, horseradish was being used both for medicine and cooking, particularly as a condiment for meats. It is also one of the Maror (bitter herbs) options commonly used on traditional Passover Seder plates.

Throughout the ages and continuing today, horseradish is used in home remedies and by herbalists to treat an array of ailments, such as sinus infections, kidney stones, bladder infections, indigestion, lung ailments, gout, intestinal worms, high blood pressure, and joint pain.

Most people growing horseradish in modern, backyard gardens intend to use the root to make spicy, flavorful condiments, but you can also eat horseradish leaves by adding raw leaves to salads or cooking them in your favorite stir fry or soup.

It should be noted that horseradish plants are considered highly toxic to livestock, such as horses, cattle, goats, and sheep, and they are considered potentially toxic to other animals, such as dogs and cats.

Human consumption of horseradish leaves is generally considered safe in small to moderate quantities, but the consumption of large amounts of horseradish leaves or any part of the horseradish plant should be avoided.

How to Grow Horseradish: Starting Horseradish Plants

Horseradish plants are not started from seeds. Instead, they are started from sets, which are secondary roots. You can purchase horseradish sets online or from your local nursery, and you can even start your plants from roots purchased at the grocery store or farmers market. Backyard gardeners plant horseradish in either early spring or late fall with early spring generally considered the best time to plant.

When you buy your sets from a nursery, they should already be cut and ready to plant. If you purchase roots at a farmers market or grocery store, cut the top part of the root off to use for cooking or home remedies, and keep the bottom part to plant in your garden.

Horseradish can be grown in just about any soil type, but it usually does best in loamy soil. For those of us working with the clay soil found in many parts of Southern California, it is a good idea to add organic matter, such as compost, before planting your sets. You may also want to test your soil to see if additional amendments are necessary, since you will have the most satisfactory results growing horseradish in soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8.

Dig a hole at least one foot deep, add compost, and place the root in the hole at a 45-degree angle with the larger end or crown resting an inch or two below the ground. If you are planting a crown instead of a root, make sure the leaves are above ground. Fill the hole with soil and water the plant thoroughly.

Most people need just one plant to supply enough horseradish for their family, but if you have a large family or are particularly fond of horseradish, you may want two or three plants, which should be planted about 24-30 inches apart.

How to Grow Horseradish: Where to Plant Horseradish

Gardeners can successfully grow horseradish in the ground, raised garden beds or containers. Because it can become invasive, some gardeners prefer to control its tendency to spread by growing horseradish in a container, which should be at least about 15 gallons in size. Make sure the pot is at least 24 inches deep – preferably 36 inches – so that the root system will have plenty of room to grow.

Horseradish grows quite well in containers, so if you have limited space or are worried about its invasive nature, containers are the way to go. Plus, this gives you the option of moving your horseradish for it to receive more or less sunlight throughout the day and will make it easier to harvest the roots.

If you choose to grow it in the ground or a raised garden bed, be sure to plant it in full sun or partial shade in an area where its invasive nature or large root system will not disturb other plants.

If you are planning to grow your horseradish as a perennial, be sure to pick a spot where it can continue to grow for years to come.

How to Grow Horseradish: Caring for Horseradish

As your horseradish begins to grow, you will notice several shoots coming up through the soil. Remove most of the shoots to focus on growing one good taproot. You will also need to pull weeds and suckers regularly. When the plant begins to flower, you can leave the flowers to enjoy the extra color in your garden, or you can remove them to encourage the plant to focus its energy on growing the taproot.

Once established, you will need to water your horseradish once each week. When it is particularly dry or hot, you will need to water it twice each week. When growing horseradish in pots, you may need to water more often.

Horseradish needs very little care to thrive, but it is beneficial to side dress your plants with a little compost a couple of times between planting and harvesting. This will help the soil retain moisture and will add nutrients back into the soil.

Horseradish roots are usually not affected by pests, but keep an eye out for aphids on the leaves, which will need to be removed.

How to Grow Horseradish: Harvesting and Storing Horseradish

Although it is a perennial herb, most gardeners prefer to grow horseradish as an annual. When doing so, you will harvest the entire plant each year. When growing horseradish in this manner, be sure to set aside some roots to save for next year’s planting.

Your horseradish should be ready to harvest approximately 150 days after planting, give or take a week or two. You can harvest it in either fall, winter or spring. If you happen to live in an area where the temperature drops enough to have a first frost in fall or early winter, it is best to harvest it after this first frost.

Loosen the ground around the plant before gently removing the entire plant from the ground. Any bits of the root system left behind will become new horseradish plants, so if you are growing horseradish as an annual, you will want to be sure to remove the entire root system. However, you can keep some roots in the ground if you would like to continue harvesting horseradish into winter. You can even harvest remaining roots in spring at which time you can also move any horseradish plants that have spread.

If you want to grow horseradish as a perennial, harvest the plant and main root, but allow some of the secondary roots to remain in the soil. These roots will become new horseradish plants for next year’s harvest.

Harvested roots should be rinsed, dried, and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, such as a mason jar. When stored in this manner, your horseradish should keep for about four to six months.

You can also clean, peel, and grate your horseradish to store it in the freezer for future use. Keep in mind that this process will cause the horseradish root to lose some of its pungency.

If you plan to use the leaves, they should be used fresh and not stored. If you are not going to use them, add them to your backyard compost bin.

When using fresh horseradish, cut off and peel only the amount you need. Dip the cut end of the remaining root in lemon juice or vinegar and place it an airtight container in the refrigerator. Once you have peeled or grated a section of horseradish root, it should be used right away or stored in an airtight jar in a brine made from water, vinegar, and salt. Your grated horseradish should be okay to use for about two weeks when stored in the refrigerator in the brine.

How to Grow Horseradish: Horseradish Recipes

Before you start peeling, grating, and using your horseradish in recipes, you need to know that working with fresh horseradish can be much more tearful and sinus-irritating than any onion you have ever cut. You will want to either peel and grate it outside or, at the very least, open some windows for proper ventilation before cutting into a horseradish root in your kitchen.

The second thing you need to know about working with horseradish is that you can control the spiciness of your prepared horseradish by how you time placing the grated root in vinegar. Vinegar stops the enzyme process that breaks down the sinigrin and releases mustard oil; therefore, the longer you wait to place the horseradish in vinegar, the stronger the flavor will be. For milder horseradish, place the grated root in vinegar right away. For stronger horseradish preparations, wait three to four minutes before adding vinegar.

The Horseradish Information Council (horseradish.org) recommends placing small cubes of peeled horseradish in a blender with water, blend to the desired consistency, and add two to three tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt per cup of horseradish root. You can then store this mixture in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

You can add this prepared horseradish mixture to various condiments or use it in recipes to create your own condiments with a kick. For example, add ½ teaspoon of prepared horseradish to one cup of mayonnaise for use on hot sandwiches or add ½ teaspoon prepared horseradish to ½ cup ketchup for cocktail sauce. You can also add ½ teaspoon to a cup of sour cream for a tasty sauce to use on meats, or add some fire to your next Bloody Mary by adding ½ teaspoon horseradish to the recipe.

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Kale is one of the most popular superfoods in America and has become such a staple in healthy diets here that you can now see people donning t-shirts and carrying reusable grocery bags with messages like “Kale Powered” and “Kale, Yeah!” on them.

The popularity of kale has made it quite easy to find, and you can buy it at almost any grocery store or farmers’ market, as well as at some produce stands. Grocers often offer both conventionally grown and organic options, and it is usually easy to find organic kale at your local farmers’ market. Plus, it is easy to grow just about anywhere inside or outside of your home.

If you currently include kale in your meal planning, you likely already know just how quickly you can go through a full bunch and how quickly the cost of buying kale every few days can add up. If you do not yet eat kale but are considering adding it to your diet, you may be interested in knowing that this low-glycemic food has just 36 calories per cup and is packed with vitamins and minerals.

If you need a bit of convincing, here are some of the many health benefits of kale:

• Linked to lower risk of developing breast, colon, bladder, ovary or prostate cancer
• Aids in DNA cell repair and slows cancer cell growth (attributed to phytonutrient indole-3-carbinol)
• High in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
• Contains lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health
• Anti-inflammatory qualities
• Antioxidant qualities
• Aids in detoxification
• Aids in lowering cholesterol

One cup of kale provides:

• 1180% DV vitamin K
• 98% DV vitamin A
• 71% DV vitamin C
• 27% DV manganese
• 22% DV copper
• 10% DV fiber
• 9% DV calcium
• 8% DV potassium
• 7% DV iron
• 5% DV protein

Kale also contains vitamin B6, vitamin B3, vitamin B2, vitamin B1, vitamin E, folate and more. You can read more about the health benefits of kale here and here.

How to Grow Kale Anywhere

Kale is so hardy and frost proof that you actually can grow this leafy green just about anywhere in the country; however, we are specifically going to talk about how to grow it indoors and outdoors in Southern California.

Here are 7 places you can grow kale.

1. Grow kale in the ground.

Like most fruits and vegetables, kale will do just fine if grown in the ground in Southern California. The San Diego area tends to have clay soil, so you may need to amend your soil before planting seeds. You can also start your kale garden from nursery plants planted about one foot apart. If you live in an area that gets frost, you can start your seeds indoors, and then set them outside about a month before the last frost of the year.

2. Grow kale in raised garden beds.

Growing kale and other food plants in raised garden beds is often preferred by home gardeners. This allows you to have better control over the soil, increases the visual appeal of your garden and can make your garden easier to manage overall. Kale loves nutrient-rich soil that is not too high in nitrogen, so some gardeners may find greater success by choosing raised garden beds and adding compost and fertilizer to the soil.

3. Grow kale in outdoor containers.

If you are short on space, you can easily grow kale in containers on your patio, porch, balcony or anywhere you can find a spot. The container needs to provide at least six square inches of space in which your kale can grow; however, your kale harvest will be more plentiful if you give it more room. If you want to grow multiple kale plants in one container, you might want to consider a window box that can be attached to your home or deck railing. Growing your kale in containers allows you to move it into the shade during warmer months, which can help avoid bitterness.

4. Grow kale in turfstones.

The negative space in turfstone or cinder blocks provides enough room for growing kale, which allows you to create a garden in borders, along walkways or anywhere else you are using these hardscaping materials.

5. Grow kale in indoor containers.

If you have a sunny spot near a window, you can grow kale indoors. Keep in mind that it will do better in a larger container, so you may want to save the herbs for the windowsill and give your kale plants a bit more room.

6. Grow kale in an outdoor vertical garden.

If you have a small backyard or simply want to maximize your garden space, kale can be successfully grown in a vertical garden. There are lots of ways to create a vertical garden, including repurposing wood pallets or purchasing hanging pockets in which to plant your herbs, fruits and vegetables.

7. Grow kale in an indoor vertical garden.

You can also mount a vertical garden on a wall in your home to grow kale and other leafy greens or herbs indoors. Be sure to use a vertical garden system that is designed for indoor use to avoid water seeping out and causing damage. When grown indoors, kale and other plants generally do better when they are away from air conditioning and heat sources. Growing kale in an indoor vertical garden is particularly convenient for folks who plan on using their kale often for juicing, salads or cooked dishes.

Tips for Growing Kale

Here are 11 quick tips for successfully growing kale.

1. Add a layer of mulch to help protect the roots and retain moisture.
2. Add gravel or wood chips around the base of your plants to limit weed growth.
3. Kale plants usually need one inch to 1.5 inches per week, more during hotter and drier times.
4. Harvest leaves from the outer edges of the plant to keep new leaves coming in for future harvests.
5. Kale leaves are sweeter when the weather is cooler and more bitter when temperatures rise.
6. For the most flavor, crispness and nutrition, eat your kale within a few days of harvesting it.
7. Kale is usually grown as an annual, but it is actually a biennial (so you can get two years of harvests).
8. For best results in most areas of San Diego, you can plant kale in spring, and then again in fall.
9. If planting seeds, plant them about ½ inch into the soil and about three to six inches apart. Then thin plants to one foot apart.
10. Seedlings that you started indoors or bought at the nursery should be planted at least 12 inches apart.
11. It can take up to 75 days for some varieties of kale to be ready to harvest, so plan your garden accordingly.

Additional Reading

• How to Grow Winter Greens
• 10 Super Foods to Grow Yourself

Photo Credits (in order of appearance): morgueFile, missyredboots; morgueFile, missyredboots; morgueFile, NDPettit; morgueFile, kakisky; morgueFile, kzinn Nutritional information gathered from Food Facts Presented by Mercola and from The World’s Healthiest Foods.

The post How to Grow Kale Anywhere (Guide) appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

According to Organic Facts and Food Facts, eating parsnips has a variety of potential health benefits, including:

• Boosting the immune system
• Reducing the risk of birth defects
• Improving heart health
• Increasing fiber intake
• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Reducing the risk of developing diabetes
• Helping to maintain a healthy weight
• Improving digestion

While these are probably enough reasons for most folks to consider increasing their parsnip consumption, it might also be helpful to know that parsnips have 75 calories, 36mg of calcium, 29mg of magnesium, 375mg or potassium, 17mg of vitamin C, and 22.5mg of vitamin K per 100-gram portion (United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database). You can read the full list of parsnips nutrition facts here.

Parsnips are easy to incorporate into meals. The most popular options are roasting them alone or with other root vegetables or adding them to soups and stews. You can also boil and mash them along with potatoes, sautée them with herbs, or you can even bake them into desserts.

But before you can roast them, bake them, or mash them, you first must acquire them. One way, of course, is to add them to your weekly shopping list and pick some up next time you are at the farmers market or in the produce section of your local grocery store. However, since they are easy to grow, you might want to enjoy them even fresher and more local by growing them in your backyard vegetable garden.

How to Grow Parsnips in Southern California

The first thing to know about growing parsnips in Southern California is that they are actually a biennial plant, but you will be growing them as an annual. This means that you will need to plant parsnip seeds in your garden every year. With some food plants, you can continue to plant seeds from the same seed packet for a few years, but this is not the case with parsnips. While you might get lucky and have some seeds that will germinate the second year, it is best to discard any leftover seeds after the growing season and start with new seeds each year.

How to Plant Parsnips

Parsnips are most delicious when they can stay in the ground until after the first frost, which makes them sweeter. You can plant your parsnips in late spring or early summer. Before planting your seeds, it is best to loosen the top 12 inches of soil in your garden bed and to mix in compost to add nutrients to the soil.

You have two basic options when planting parsnip seeds: You can either sow the dry seeds directly into the ground and allow them to start there, or you can loosely wrap them in a wet paper towel in a sealed mason jar or food storage container for a few days to give them a head start.

When you are ready to put your dry or sprouted seeds in the ground, plant them approximately one-half inch deep and about one inch apart in rows that are at least six inches apart (12 inches is better).

How to Care for Parsnips

As your plants begin to grow, you will start thinning out your rows of parsnips until each remaining parsnip has at least about a six-inch radius of space in all directions them.

Be sure to regularly weed your bed to keep weeds from competing with your parsnips for nutrients and water. Parsnips need at least one inch of water per week and they will need more if it is a particularly dry or hot year.

It is a good idea to side dress your parsnips with more compost about halfway through the growing season.

How to Harvest Parsnips

Depending on the variety you choose, your parsnips should be ready to harvest sometime between about four months and six months.

You can harvest parsnips by pulling them out of the ground much like you would carrots, but you will need to be careful not to break the root, if possible. Because of this, it is generally better to use a spading fork to gently dig them loose from the soil. If you do break some roots during the harvest, eat these first – broken roots do not store as well as intact roots.

One of the cool things about parsnips is that you can leave them in the ground until you are ready to eat them, so you can keep them fresher longer and not take up valuable space in your refrigerator.

If you live in an area with hard frosts, you will want to either harvest all of your parsnips before the ground hardens, or you will want to leave them until the ground thaws and harvest them then. However, this is not an issue for most Southern California gardeners. For us, it is more important to remember to harvest all of our parsnips before the weather begins to warm up in spring.

Once you harvest parsnips, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to two months.

Related Resources

• How to Maximize Your Garden Space for Urban Farming
• 25 Tips for Starting a Small Vegetable Garden
• Growing a Home Garden 101

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To create the first impression you want people to have and increase your home’s curb appeal, consider these 14 front yard landscaping ideas.

How Do I Style My Front Yard for Landscaping? 

Your front yard is an opportunity to welcome people into a warm, inviting space. Curating the outdoor space from the curb to your front door creates curb appeal, which enhances visual appeal and increases property value. Good landscaping design complements your home’s architectural style, size, and building materials while showing off your style. 

Easy & Low-Budget Front Yard Landscaping Ideas 

Front yard landscaping can be costly, but there are budget-friendly DIY options that will add beauty to your yard. 

1. Try gravel

Gravel is an affordable ground cover that requires no water and helps inhibit weed growth, allowing rainwater to filter through the soil. This low-maintenance hardscape comes in various sizes and colors, so finding an option that fits your landscaping is easy. Using gravel is a great way to cover bare earth, create an inexpensive guest parking area, or increase home security by placing it so you can hear people or wildlife approaching your home.

2. Use mulch

Like gravel, mulch is an affordable ground cover that inhibits weed growth, quickly and easily covers bare earth, and does not require water. One of the main reasons you might choose mulch over gravel is that mulch offers a softer, warmer look. It depends on how you plan to use the area and what your overall goals are for your front-of-house landscaping.

3. Add a seating area

Your backyard is not the only spot for an outdoor living area to entertain friends or have breakfast with your family. If you have the space, add a seating area to your front porch to wave to neighbors while enjoying your morning coffee or greet your guests when they arrive. 

Taking Your Front Yard Landscaping to the Next Level 

If you’re a homeowner looking to invest in a more significant change, consider these mid-tier design ideas to increase your home’s curb appeal.

4. Grow a food garden

Vegetable gardens are usually part of the backyard landscaping but consider incorporating food garden design in your front yard. If you are concerned about keeping a front yard garden looking tidy, choose plants that look more ornamental, such as lettuces or herbs.

5. Plant fruit trees

Consider planting fruit trees in your front yard. Fruit trees are a great way to add shade, color, and visual interest while also growing fruits for your family and friends.

6. Plant an island flower bed

Island flower beds serve a variety of purposes. First and foremost, they are perfect for adding a pop of color, particularly if your yard is mostly one color, like a green lawn or a gravel driveway. 

If you have a no- or low-water landscape for water conservation but would like to give your yard a bit of life and a softer texture among hardscapes, an island flower bed is a great way to create just a small area that requires regular watering. Check out our article with 30 flower bed ideas for more ways to incorporate flower beds into landscaping.

7. Plant a rose garden

There is nothing quite like a rose garden to brighten your home’s exterior. Monochromatic, dichromatic, or as colorful as a rainbow, a garden bed of roses is a great way to add height, texture, and color to your landscape design.

8. Plant native plants on or near your curb

The sidewalk in front of your house is most likely a right-of-way easement. The narrow strip of land between the sidewalk and street is probably a utility easement you cannot block and need to keep for utility company access. 

This does not mean you should neglect these areas when landscaping your front yard. Curbside easements are a great spot to plant native plants, a cutting garden, or pollinators. Consider drought-tolerant ground cover, succulents, gravel, mulch, or synthetic grass for a low-maintenance option.

9. Employ colorful borders

Another way to quickly add color to your yard is to plant colorful borders or a picket fence along your home’s exterior. When designing these borders, choose low-maintenance plants. If opting for flowers, perennials like hydrangeas, lavender, and azaleas will return year after year, while annuals will require replanting. 

Plants with colorful blooms bring great texture and vibrance to a front yard garden design, making this an easy, quick way to enhance curb appeal.

10. Hide your trash cans

Most cities now have a three-bin refuse, recycling, and yard waste system. While this is progress for the environment and helps us easily do our part, it also means that we must figure out where to put three waste bins.

It’s ideal to store bins in an accessible, inconspicuous place that does not detract from your home’s curb appeal. Keep your bins out of sight by investing in an enclosure or designing your landscape to create a privacy screen.

Luxury Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

These luxury landscaping ideas can make a significant impact on your curb appeal. Luxury design projects typically require special skills, so you’ll want to hire a professional to ensure they are high quality. 

11. Leverage landscape lighting

Outdoor lighting is an essential part of landscape design and can transform the look of your home after dark. Illuminating entries and dark corners improves home security while lighting driveways, stairs, and walkways increases your family’s and guests’ safety.

Landscape lighting is also one of the easiest ways to accentuate architectural features or interesting landscaping features. Whether you add a few lights around your yard or an entirely new landscape lighting design, upgrading your outdoor lighting will increase your curb appeal. 

12. Add a paving stone driveway or walkway

If you want to make an immediate, significant improvement to your front yard, upgrade to a pattern paver driveway or walkway. Paving stones are available in various colors and styles, so you can find an attractive option to complement any architectural style. Pavers allow you to express your personal style and have unparalleled durability and longevity.

Learn more about paver driveway design here or get an estimate for your project here.

13. Install artificial turf

Landscape design for Southern California front yards is moving away from conventional lawns towards more water-saving options that offer plenty of color and texture without the upkeep of a natural grass lawn. 

If you like the look of a lawn but want a low-water, low-maintenance option, artificial turf offers the same look, feel, and function as natural grass, but requires no mowing, edging, irrigation, fertilizing, or aerating.

14. Add a water feature

A water feature provides a visual focal point to your yard. Bird baths are great additions that charm gardens or small front yards. If you want to create a grand entryway into your home, tiered fountains look elegant. 

Improve Curb Appeal When You Hire the Landscapers at Install-It-Direct!

Our experienced landscaping designers can help design a beautiful, functional front yard that improves curb appeal. Get a free estimate to start planning a front yard you love that increases your home’s curb appeal. 

The post 14 Ways to Boost Curb Appeal with Front Yard Landscaping appeared first on INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

While they are relatively easy to grow, there are a few things to know about how to grow cucumbers to help ensure success. Follow this guide and you are sure to have plenty of cucumbers for side dishes, salads and pickling.

Growing Cucumbers: Choosing a Spot in Your Garden

Cucumber plants prefer full sun, so you will want to choose a spot in your garden that receives at least eight hours of sun each day. However, while cucumbers do like warm weather, they do not like extreme heat, so if you live in an area where it is regularly in the 90s, choose a spot that offers some partial shade in the afternoon to protect them from the heat.

You will also need to select a spot with plenty of space for your cucumber plants to grow. If you are growing bush varieties or will be using a trellis for vining varieties, then your plants will not take up as much space, but vining varieties that are allowed to grow along the ground need lots of room.

Growing Cucumbers: Preparing the Soil

Cucumbers are heavy feeders that prefer moist, well-draining soil. You can increase the nutrients in your soil and improve its structure by mixing in compost before planting. If you are working with the clay soil that is common in Southern California, it is particularly important to mix in several inches of organic matter to improve drainage.

Growing Cucumbers: When and How to Plant Cucumbers

It is best to plant cucumbers from mid-spring to early summer. If you are growing bush varieties or vining varieties that will be trained on trellises, you can plant your cucumbers about 18 inches apart. If you are growing vining varieties without trellises, you will need to plant your plants about 36 to 60 inches apart.

You can either start your cucumbers in the ground by pushing the seeds about one inch into the soil, or you can transplant young plants from the nursery or that you started indoors.

Growing Cucumbers in Containers

Cucumber plants tend to take up a lot of room, but if your backyard only allows for small-space gardening, you can grow them in containers. You will need to choose a compact variety for the best results. You can do this by comparing the information on various seed packets or by getting help from a knowledgeable staff member at your local garden center.

The next thing you will need is a large pot for each cucumber plant. The larger the container the better, so choose something that is at least the size of a five-gallon paint bucket. In fact, you can even use five-gallon buckets for growing cucumbers, but some gardeners recommend growing food plants in containers that are not made of plastic.

You will also need a trellis to train the vines on to help contain your cucumber plant and ensure proper air circulation and sun exposure.

For the soil, fill your container with a mix of well-draining garden soil and compost. Cucumbers thrive with plenty of nutrients, so mixing in compost will help set you up for success. You can side dress your cucumber plants with more compost throughout the growing season to continually add nutrients.

Soil in containers dries out faster and some types of containers dry out faster than others, so you will need to check the soil regularly to determine the best watering routine.

How to Grow Cucumbers: Watering and Care

Cucumber plants are heavy feeders and prefer moist soil, so you will need to stay on top of feeding and watering them. Start them off right by mixing at least a few inches of compost into your garden soil. Once established, side dress your plants with compost at least once per month to continuously add nutrients to the soil.

Cucumbers typically require weekly watering, but will need more during the hot, dry months of summer. You can help the soil retain moisture by adding a layer of mulch. You will also need to regularly pull any weeds that appear so that they will not compete with your cucumbers for water and nutrients.

How to Grow Cucumbers: Pests and Diseases

The most common issues you will face growing cucumbers in a backyard garden are cucumber beetles and powdery mildew. Cucumber beetles are generally most destructive when your seedlings are first emerging, so an easy way to prevent this problem is to start your plants indoors and transplant them into your garden after they have grown into young plants. Alternatively, you can purchase young plants from a local nursery to transplant in your garden.

If you want to start your seeds in the ground, use row covers to protect your plants as they mature. You will need to remove the row covers as soon as you start seeing flowers to allow for pollination.

Powdery mildew is a common fungus that weakens plants, reduces production and is easily spread throughout your garden. At the first signs of this white, powdery coating, remove any affected leaves and throw them away. Do not compost them.

You can help prevent powdery mildew from taking hold in your garden by watering early in the day, irrigating close to the soil to avoid wetting the leaves, pruning plants to increase air circulation, and spraying your plants with neem oil or a mixture of about one teaspoon baking soda per one quart of water.

How to Harvest Cucumbers

Leaving cucumbers on the vine too long can result in bitter fruit and reduced production; therefore, it is important to regularly harvest your cucumbers to encourage your plants to grow even more. Forget about the huge cucumbers you see at the grocery store; backyard cucumbers usually should be picked while they are small, particularly if they are pickling varieties. If you are growing slicing cucumbers, you may be able to leave them on the vine until they are six to eight inches in length.

Keep your seed packets or mark maturity dates on your calendar so you will know when to start harvesting each variety.

Use kitchen shears or pruning shears to cut the fruits from the vine.

How to Store Cucumbers

Cucumbers can be stored either on the counter or in the refrigerator. Most people like cold, crisp cucumbers and, therefore, prefer to keep them in the fridge. If this is your preference, make sure they are completely dry, wrap them in a paper towel and place them in an unsealed plastic bag. Cucumbers are extra sensitive to ethylene, so on the counter or in the refrigerator, they should be stored separately from bananas, melons, apples and other big ethylene producers.

While they will not be chilled, cucumbers will last longer if they are stored at room temperature in a spot with good air circulation, such as your kitchen counter.

Cucumbers can also be pickled for longer storage.

Easy Cucumber Recipes

Cucumbers are crisp and refreshing, which makes them the perfect produce pick for cooling salads and beverages. One easy way to use the cucumbers from your garden is to slice them and place them in water with a bit of fresh mint. For an even more refreshing elixir, try adding sliced cucumber and mint to sparkling water instead. And, for an adult beverage with a cucumber twist, add sliced cucumber to your next gin and tonic.

For a simple cucumber and tomato salad, cube about three cups of cucumber and mix with about one cup of halved cherry tomatoes and one-quarter cup chopped red onion in a bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil and vinegar over the mix and add salt and pepper to taste. Gently mix the ingredients to coat each piece evenly, serve and enjoy.

For a creamier salad, replace the olive oil with about one-quarter cup sour cream and about two teaspoons of fresh dill. Whisk the sour cream, vinegar, dill, salt, and pepper before adding them to the bowl with the cucumber, tomato and onion. Mix gently to coat, serve and enjoy.

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Radishes are among the easiest vegetables to grow and are among the many cool-weather crops that do just fine in Southern California. Some varieties are ready to harvest in just 21 days, which also makes this one of the fastest-growing options for your vegetable garden. This, of course, makes growing radishes a great choice for impatient gardeners who like quick results and for getting kids interested in gardening by allowing them to experience all of the growing stages in just three weeks.

Follow these simple steps and find out just how easy it is to grow radishes in your backyard garden.

How to Grow Radishes: Planting

Radishes prefer a sunny area with well-drained soil that has been well turned at least about six inches down. It is always a good idea to mix some compost into the top few inches of soil, particularly if you are planting in the ground or in a garden bed that may be deplete of nutrients from previous crops. However, you do not want to worry about this too much, since too much nitrogen or too much organic material added to the soil can actually take away from that crisp, fresh flavor that made you want to grow radishes in the first place.

When you are ready to plant your radishes, simply tuck the seeds between one-half inch and one inch into the soil about an inch apart in rows that are between four and six inches apart. Some gardeners plant rows that are 12 inches apart, but this is not necessary and can lead to unnecessarily smaller harvests by taking up more room than needed.

Because radishes grow so quickly and you can enjoy multiple harvests each year, it is best to practice succession planting with this crop. To partake in this practice, continue to plant new seeds every week to 10 days for an ongoing harvest.

Also, because radishes grow so quickly, they can be planted among slower-growing crops to save space in your garden.

How to Grow Radishes: Care While Growing

After your radishes begin to sprout, which will be very soon after planting, thin them to about two inches apart to allow for proper growing space. Once your radishes are a few inches tall, add a thin layer of compost to help maintain proper soil moisture levels. Radishes do not like their soil too dry or too wet, so you will want to water once or twice per week, depending on the weather.

While radishes are susceptible to some garden pests, very little care is required – aside from regular watering. If you are hoping to eat the greens as well as the roots, you may want to employ some natural methods to keep pests away.

How to Grow Radishes: Harvesting and Storing

Radishes are incredibly easy to harvest. When they are ready, you simply remove them from the ground with a gentle pull, and they are ready to go. The most difficult part of harvesting radishes is making sure you harvest them as soon as they are ready. Many root vegetables can be left in the ground a bit past maturity until you are ready to use them, but radishes are not among them. Be prepared to pull your radishes right at or soon after the maturity date noted on the seed packet.

Once you have harvested your radishes, cut off the greens and store your radishes in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator. You can use the greens for salads or sautéing up to about three days after the harvest. If you do not plan on eating your radish greens, you can add them to your compost bin.

Additional Tips

1. Rotate your radish crop every three years to avoid pests and diseases.
2. Radishes have two growing seasons: spring and fall.
3. If you time your succession planting properly, you can harvest your first crop and replant in that same area to continue your growing season.

Photo Credits (in order of appearance): Wikimedia Commons/Rasbak; Wikimedia Commons/Dennis Brown; Wikimedia Commons/Rasbak; Wikimedia Commons/Jengod

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