Posted by Elaine Cooper
Among the most welcome signs that spring has arrived, is that your local farmers market is abundant with leafy green vegetables and plumb fruits.
Consider the debut of fresh local asparagus, a healthy pound of asparagus contains around 60 calories more or less, yet these delicious green spears are abundant in vitamins A,B,B2 and C.
Check for stalks that appear straight with compact tips. Prior to cooking, snip off the wood-like lower portion and toss it. If the spear is more than 1" thick, trim it down with a veggie peeler.
Steam (steamer baskets are largely available at gourmet store) over boiling water for around 5 minutes, or simply cover with a lovely olive oil and toss lightly on the grill for around 3-5 minutes on each side.
Yummy green grapes make a great high-fiber snack and are super easy to pack and go. They also contain more B-complex vitamins than the darker varieties.
Farm fresh green peas are abundant with proteins, carbohydrates and are high in fiber. After encouraging volunteers to assist you with the shelling and blanching your fresh peas in a scant amount of water (only enough to cover the top of peas is needed) for just 2-3 minutes.
Some of the pluses of Kiwifruit, is not only being low-calories, they are super-rich in vitamin C. Just one kiwi has as much vitamin C as 10 lemons. Purchase firm kiwifruit and store them at room temperature; your kiwis will be ripened and ready to eat in a couple of days.
Artichokes while tasty are also low in calories and rich in calcium, phosphorus and potassium, that tends to help maintain strong bones and teeth. Seek out artichokes with bright green, compact globes and that have firm leaves.
To prepare and cook artichokes, snip off the spiny leaf tips with kitchen shears. Using a large knife, remove the stem, and then cut an inch off the top. Steam artichokes in a single layer over 1 inch of simmering water for about 35 minutes (covered) until the leaves pull out easily. Serve hot, at room temperature or chilled with a low-fat sauce or salad dressing for dipping. Sugar snap peas are one of my all time favorite snacks. Before cooking, break off the stem end of each pod, then pull the "string" along the thicker seam.
These sweeties are packed with fiber as well as vitamins C and K. Steam or stir fry until tender for about 4 minutes.
Want to find out more about local gardening, then visit Elaine Cooper's site on how to grow the best vegetables easy to grow veggies for your more tips and ideas.
Tags: Garden, Gardening, growing greens, growing tomatoes, growing your own vegetables, vegetables
Posted by Annie Thompson
The idea to embark on a growing tomato system is an excellent idea as it could help you save money that would have otherwise been spent buying tomatoes from the grocery store. It is an undertaking that will require much dedication and patience to bring it to fruition.
If one feels the necessity of having the fruit right from the seed, then it is important to give the seedlings once they have sprouted enough time to branch out. Allowing them to grow in a closed condition can prevent them from receiving the right airing for good growth. The seedlings need to be given sufficient direct sunlight or glow light for as many hours as possible. The plants while still small require glow light to be placed from few inches away from it. One can finally plant the seedlings in an airy and sunny section of the garden.
The tomato plant needs to develop strong stems to be able to hold the fruits. Therefore, a fan might be important to ensure they move and sway in the breeze. The breeze should however be provided only for a few minutes during the day. Tomatoes do well in an area where there is heat and that is why one should cover the planting area with dark plastic weeks before the intended period of planting. This will help in bringing forth tomatoes earlier than normal.
The tomato plants should be planted much deeper than they appear on the nursery bed, leaving only a few leaves above ground level. This is because tomatoes can develop roots on their stems. The best way to do this is to dig a deeper hole or alternatively plant them sideways on a tunnel because they will still grow up and straighten towards the direction of the sun.
Mulching is very important. It should be done during the hot season, so that the water in the soil can be preserved.Mulching also helps in prevention of soil diseases that are harmful to the plants. Mulching should not be done when the plant has just sprouted because it will cause the soil to retain too much water, which is not recommended.
The first leaves of the tomato plant should be removed after it has attained a certain height because these tend to bring fungus infections to the plant later. This is as a result of them accumulating pathogens from the soil because they are not exposed from much sunlight. The other way of getting rid of these infections is spraying the plants using compost tea on a weekly basis.
The suckers that grow from the joints should be cut off early enough because all they do is to drain the plant of the much needed energy. The pruning should be handled with care because doing it excessively will affect photosynthesis that aids in the development of sugars that give flavor to the tomatoes.
The other important aspect in growing tomato plants is watering the plants, which should be done on a regular basis in the early stages of growth. Irregular watering can cause some conditions such as rot to the fruit or an end crack. This usually happens as a result of the sugars accumulating at the bottom of the fruits, which greatly affects the flavor.
This site will really surprise you with the huge amount of how to videos and articles. Leave as many comments as you want. This site has a ton of tomato info. Container Vegetable Gardening
Tags: Gardening Articles, gardens, grow tomato plants, growing tomatoes, vegetable gardening
Posted by Ann Jackson
Growing hanging tomato is a strange system that has been adopted by many farmers. There are many reasons that has driven farmer to make this drastic move. Growing hanging tomatoes has very varied advantages one of them being that you do not encounter sol related diseases. Most pests and rodents will easily attack plants that have been grown on the ground. These plants are usually planted in containers and are therefore very easy to move them.
The system has proven to be more superior that the usual method due to the high yields experienced healthy fruits and less weather related diseases. Since any mode of planting is new it has its own challenges, one being that the containers are capable of loosing lots of moisture requiring one to check the plants more constantly.
Many people have adopted this kind of growing tomatoes simply because it is simple plus tomatoes are known to well in containers, plants in containers can be easily moved thereby avoiding any hazards that might be brought by extreme weather changes. Suppose one of the plants is infected or even a group of them, the infected plants can be quarantined and therefore given specialized care until they recover.
When you have made a decision to hang your plants above the ground say at about eye level it brings added advantages since you can gain easy access while tending to your plants. You end up managing to spend long hours attending the plants since you do not have to squat hence hurting you knees and the back. The plants will enjoy longer hours in the sun, plus you will have additional space on the floor.
The idea behind hanging the plants upside down is to be able to accommodate the long heights of the tomato plant. Plants are made to grow down ward hence making it fro the fruits to grow and eliminating the need for supporting stakes. This solves the problem of loss of perfect fruits so as to relieve the weight of the plant.
A hanging plant has a lot of advantages one of them being that they are able to resists many diseases since they enjoy lots of air. This factor allows them to be immune to water or moisture related diseases . Rotting and other moisture related diseases have been known to bring about a lot of losses in tomatoes farming. The same has also been known to increase costs due to chemicals purchased for the control of such incidences.
One of the most prevalent demerits in the hanging tomato method is the difficulty presented while watering. A hanging container does not give access to watering of the plant. Since they dry off quickly there is a need to water them occasionally. Establishing an automated system that will water them when they require water completely resolves the problem.
Growing hanging tomatoes method has focused on changing the previous methods of growing tomatoes making them to be grown almost every where with minimum complication. Provide that there is water the weather is the least of your worries this method can be established anywhere and it will ensure minimum labor and in return ensure maximum yield hence bigger profits.
Other free resources are scheduled for release over the next few months. Growing Greenhouse Tomatoes In fact, how to videos on tomato growing are our speciality. The free report on tomato problems is 10 pages long.
Tags: Gardening, Gardening Articles, gardens, grow tomato plants, growing tomatoes, vegetable growing
Posted by Lesley Pirrie
It's now spring and winter is finally over. The time has come to start planting those organic tomatoes just in time for summer. It doesn't matter if you intend planting hybrid or heirloom tomato plants, you should now be ready to begin planting as soon as the temperatures are warm and stable enough for the organic tomatoes to thrive.
So, here are 6 tips and hints for growing organic tomatoes.
1. The Weather: Make sure you don't plant until the temperatures are above 10 degrees which is no problem these days as you can either go online or I have downloaded an app for my iPhone which gives me accurate temperature measurements
2. Temperature of the Soil: May is the time I tend to plant my organic tomatoes but that is here in the UK and the soil is about 12 degrees. You might prefer to plant earlier or later depending on where you live
3. Warming the Soil: You can speed up the warming process of the soil by covering your beds with clear plastic about a week before planting
4. Separate your organic tomato plants: Organic Tomatoes prefer to be about three feet apart which allows the roots to spread out. Also make sure you plant your tomato plant in a deep enough hole
5. Feeding & Watering: Place a cup of organic fertiliser such as bone meal in the ground before you plant and make sure you water your organic plants. When you first plant make sure you press down the soil
6. Insect & Pest Control: Did you know that you can buy ladybugs for your garden? They eat the insects that like to eat your plants. You can also consider planting some bulbs of garlic as bugs hate the odour
Growing plants and vegetables is fun so don't take it too seriously. Enjoy your garden, breathing fresh air, listening to the birdsong and feeling the warmth of the sun and you will have a bumper crop of organic tomatoes
Want to find out more about Organic Tomatoes, then visit Lesley Pirrie's site on How to Plant Tomatoes for more Free Information.
categories: organic tomatoes,organic tomato,growing tomatoes,how to plant tomatoes
Tags: Gardening Articles, growing tomatoes, How to plant tomatoes, organic tomato, organic tomatoes
