Ready to start growing?
This page collects all my “How to Grow” posts in one place. I will be adding more soon, as well as posts on composting, fertilizing and more. If you’re just starting out, I recommend trying just a few of your favorite crops first. My guides are tailored to USDA zone 7b in southern New Jersey.
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I don’t change it up much from year to year. I like to grow things that I like to eat, and I’m kind of a basic gal. So this list looks much like last year’s. Someday when I have more room, I can grow luffas and tomatillos, but not now. Nothing listed here is new
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When I was young, green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were one of the few vegetables I would eat. I enjoyed when my mom would assign me the task of snapping off the ends. Today, while my kids wouldn’t eat them when they were little, now as teens they like them. And I’ve grown a respectable amount
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Basil is easy to grow and so great to have on hand fresh! I bought “Emily” basil seeds way back when I first started gardening. And that’s mostly what I’ve grown ever since. Emily is a variety of classic Genovese basil. Start basil inside in early March. Sprinkle a few seeds per plastic cup filled
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I love carrots. I don’t get tired of them. I like them raw, in salads, roasted in a savory way, roasted in a sweet way. Soon as I get some more growing space I will be sure to grow more of them. The timing is tricky though with this cool-weather-loving crop. You need to get
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Tomatoes! Nearly every year, I grow more tomatoes than anything else. Enough to make gallons of sauce and to give them away in free piles outside my house. Indeterminate tomatoes are those that vine and sprawl all over. Determinate ones have neat and tidy bushes. I’ve only ever grown indeterminate. My tried and true tomato
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I have grown onions. Not every year, and not always with great success. It can be done, but it’s not as easy as, say, tomatoes (in my opinion). And since supermarket onions are cheap, it doesn’t always seem worthwhile. But according to my husband, it’s worth it. He always raves about our homegrown onions and
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I purchased some garlic at a nearby farmers’ market recently, and the seller apologized for the price, and explained it was due to the fact that “garlic is so hard to grow in Jersey.” Is it, though? IDK. I have grown it a few times with no problem. Of course, growing 12 plants is not
Hearts and Flowers
The random urge to craft struck me again this weekend. I was taking down our remaining Christmas decorations and wishing for something to replace them with. Inspiration struck in the form of the Baker Creek seed catalog. I had wanted to make a garlands of hearts for the fireplace mantel, but had no red paper.…
Snow, No Pho
It’s been sleeting here for hours. We definitely got more sleet than snow, and knock on wood, it looks like we will escape the ice. Today was a nearly perfect snow day. All five of us shared the shoveling. The kids learned early on that they won’t have school tomorrow. I busied myself baking chocolate…
Pho and Snow
Happy three-day weekend to those who are so blessed. I have many small fulfilling things to report this week! Perhaps the most important is that I refinanced my car loan yesterday. Now my interest rate is more than 4% lower and I also shortened the term. It told me how much I was saving –…
Garden State of Mind 