Beetroots, garden beets, table beets – whatever you call them, these are probably the type that you’re most familiar with. But sugar beets are something different. Admittedly, that’s probably because they lack that earthy flavor and pleasant texture of their more familiar root veggie siblings. But that’s no reason for the home grower to ignore sugar beets altogether. These plants offer many uses beyond creating the granular white stuff that we use to bake our cakes and sweeten our morning coffee....

Over the years the nature of my woodland wandering has changed, but two things have remained consistent: A deep-seated affection for these places, and my always-scanning eye for edible plants. After reading this guide you’ll have a good introduction to the basics of foraging for food, paired with a closer look at edible berries – these are a great introduction to gathering your own wild food. You’re going to get a look at why it’s important to forage and gather....

The soil needs to be crumbly and deep, they need water and fertilizer, and there are a variety of insects that might insist on having the first munch – not the least of which is Psila rosae. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. How can you deal with these hungry maggots? Everything you need to know about them is laid out for you below!...

Most gardeners have heard of the plant macronutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), as well as minerals like calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. But they also need micronutrients such as copper, nickel, zinc, and boron. If a plant is deficient in nutrients, it can’t grow as well as it should, new shoots might not develop, and the existing foliage or flowers might turn yellow. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

So, what’s a gardener to do? Our guide to the most common tomato diseases will help you to identify, treat, and even prevent a variety of fungal, bacterial, and viral ailments, as well as physiological disorders and issues caused by other types of pathogens. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. If you discover a problem, all is not lost!...

When disease strikes, not only can it deprive you of your dinner, but it can turn those beautiful plants into a mushy mess – and nobody wants that. Fortunately, Swiss chard is pretty resistant to disease, especially if you know the right steps to take to help prevent problematic pathogens from visiting in the first place. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

These Southern US favorites are a New Year’s Day good luck tradition. But if you grow them in your vegetable garden, they’re also good: for the soil, for areas that get hot as Hades, and for drought resistance. From personal experience, I’d also add, “good for gardeners who like low-maintenance vegetables.” We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

It’s not one flower, but an entire genus in the Polemoniaceae or phlox family that contains 25 species with origins in eastern North America, Europe, and northern Asia. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Per the US Forest Service, it is locally extinct, or extirpated, in New Jersey; endangered in Pennsylvania and Maine; and threatened in Maryland, New York, Vermont, and West Virginia....

And over time, my eyes built up a visual immunity to them, like my taste buds did with honeycrisp apples. I can objectively say they’re great, but I don’t get that magical feeling of “WOW!” anymore, sadly. So whenever I run into sedum plantings in the landscape, I feel like a kid finding an Easter egg in the yard: I get super excited and wonder if there’s more nearby. Landscape succulents are an exciting novelty for me, and when it comes to stonecrop, an aesthetic mass or mat of it in someone’s garden is a breath of fresh air....

The tiny nutrition-packed seeds carry a robust nutty flavor enhanced by lightly toasting them. Sesamum indicum is responsible for the existence of many mouth-watering dishes, as well as snacks and desserts, in kitchens across the globe. Many people are familiar with sesame’s culinary use but have never seen the plant. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

A flock of hungry birds descends, and before you can get your hands on just one of those hard earned, mouth watering berries, your bushes are stripped clean. You can’t blame them for loving the fruit, but you don’t have to share your blueberries. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. If you think big fields of blueberries would attract more birds than your small garden might, I hate to break it to you, but small isolated plantings can actually have higher yield losses....

Raiders of the night, they have a discerning appetite for succulent foliage and flowers. And from dusk to dawn, they can make short work of leaves, flowers, soft herbs, vegetables, seedlings, tender green bark, and ripening fruit. The armored gastropods can become so prevalent in some locations that growing vegetables and ornamentals becomes difficult, if not impossible. These sticky critters can overrun bird feeders and hide under the rim of pots and containers, resulting in handfuls of slimy, squished snails when they are moved – ugh!...

In any region of the country, you can find native grasses that do quite well, and add textural variety and a soft, flowing aspect to the garden. These plants are particularly attractive when grown in groups. Examples include any of the many Miscanthus varieties, blue fescue (Festuca glauca), and Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima). A few are evergreen in the southernmost parts of the United States. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

While relatively low maintenance, early bolting of turnips is a common frustration among many growers. Luckily, preventing this from happening is easily doable with a few simple considerations. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. What is Bolting? Bolting is what happens when a plant transitions its energy from leaf or root production to flowering quickly and going to seed....

My aunt Karen, for example, thinks it’s the most vile-tasting herb on the planet. Interestingly, famed chef Julia Child disliked this plant’s flavor, as well. Me, I can’t get enough of it. I sprinkle it on everything. So if you’re like Karen and Julia, you might want to stop here and read about growing mint, instead. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

I’m going to encourage you to grow them, or at least allow them to germinate. The reality is that there’s a seed bank underground, an accumulation of seeds built up over the years, just waiting for their turn to germinate and outcompete your beloved edibles. In fact, there can be literally thousands of these undesirables laying in wait within just a single square foot of earth. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

Bachelor’s button flowers (which are technically what is known as an inflorescence), are frilly and vibrant. While their original color was a vivid blue, you can also find them today in pink, lavender, purple, and white. When cornflowers – as they are also known – are in bloom, they make a truly stunning sight. That’s why it’s so darn frustrating when you can’t enjoy the blossoms because they simply won’t stay upright....

It grows instead in the moist understories of South American rainforests. As a houseplant, it’s easy to maintain in a container of well-draining, organically-rich potting medium in a location with indirect sunlight. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. This article zeroes in on one particular characteristic: woody stems. Let’s get started. Why Do Stems Become Woody?...

They are not a unique floral family, but diverse members of numerous plant groups. What they have in common is their water-retaining, fleshy leaves and stems. The cactus is one type with which you are probably familiar, but there are loads more! And don’t worry about your USDA Hardiness Zone. Whether you grow them as annuals in the garden or in pots, there’s something for everyone to love. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

They are transition flowers that bloom from late summer into fall in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8. There are numerous types available, all with colorful daisy-like blossoms and a shrubby growth habit. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. The following list highlights the characteristics of 11 of the best perennial aster species....