The best new vegetable seeds are the key to a bountiful summer harvest. Dozens of new varieties of vegetable garden seeds and starter plants are introduced every year. But how do you decide which ones deserve a place in your garden? As anticipation of a new gardening season gives way to planting season, it's time to see what new vegetable seeds are available. Then it's time to decide what you actually want to plant in your garden. This spring, seed companies have introduced an impressive selection of the new vegetable seeds. Some of these new vegetable varieties put a new spin on garden favorites. Others bring back heirloom selections that have a long history of outstanding garden production. Sometimes the best new vegetable seeds and plants offer bigger harvests and better hardiness. Sometimes the appeal is a different color, or a new variety designed especially for small gardens or container growing. The best new vegetable seeds presented here are sure to be among this … [Read more...] about Best new vegetable seeds and plants for your garden
pepper
2022 Green Thumb Award Winners
The 2022 Green Thumb Award winners have been announced by National Garden Bureau (NGB). This year’s winners include four outstanding new plant varieties and one new gardening product. Winners of the 2022 Green Thumb Awards were chosen based on four criteria. These are: uniqueness, technological innovation, ability to solve a gardening problem or provide a gardening opportunity, and appeal to gardeners. Winners were selected by a panel of National Garden Bureau members. “The Green Thumb Award is an exciting program that aligns well with NGB’s mission to inspire, connect and grow,” said NGB Vice-President Jeannine Bogard from Syngenta. “Our members are proud to evaluate and provide our ‘thumbs-up’ to the outstanding new garden plants and products.” The Green Thumb Award program was created in 1998 to recognize the best new plants and gardening products available each year. The Green Thumb Awards were originally created by the Mailorder Gardening Association, which later … [Read more...] about 2022 Green Thumb Award Winners
How to Harvest and Store Seeds
One of the easiest ways for gardeners to save money is to harvest and store seeds from their gardens. It’s easy. It’s fun. And harvesting and storing seeds is a tradition that goes back for many centuries. Fall and early winter is when you harvest and store seeds. For many gardeners, it’s the final activity of the garden season. Harvesting and storing seeds is a bittersweet way to say goodbye to one gardening season and look forward to the next one. You’ll be in good company when you start planting your stored seeds at the dawning of a new spring! How to Properly Harvest Seeds Harvesting your seeds is easy. You can get it done in these three steps: 1. Let the Plants Go to Seed Simply let a plant’s flowers go to seed. Think of a flower as a seed factory—because that’s exactly what it is. Leave the spent flowers on the plant so it can set seeds. Then, let the seeds dry on the plants. Don’t pluck them off before they are completely dry. And resist the temptation to … [Read more...] about How to Harvest and Store Seeds
Container Gardening for Beginners
Gardening is trending again, and container gardening for beginners is leading the way. People who have never grown plants before are suddenly interested in planting a garden. Call it a “green lining” in this strange, pandemic-dominated year. “Whether you live in a densely packed city or in suburbia, you can successfully grow edible plants and vegetables,” said Randy Schultz, content editor for Home, Garden and Homestead. “You can grow tomatoes, beans, spinach, squash and so much more. Container gardening for beginners is the way to go, and the time to start is right now.” What is container gardening? Quite simply, container gardening is growing plants in pots, planters, tubs, half barrels, an old cowboy boot or any other thing that can hold some potting soil and a plant. Basically, it is growing a plant in anything that’s not a traditional in-the-ground garden plot. That’s why container gardening for beginners is so perfect. No garden plot is required, and you can … [Read more...] about Container Gardening for Beginners
