Broccoli has quite a few close relatives and variations, and these are designated in botany by the use of “cultivar groups.” Kale and collards, Chinese broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi all share the Latin name B. oleracea, but belong to different groups within that single species. Broccoli itself has several varieties: The most common you’re likely to see in grocery stores is called Calabrese in the UK, and just “broccoli” here in North America.
Continue ReadingMany people in North America think of kohlrabi as being a distinctly European vegetable, but it is actually a staple ingredient in many international cuisines. It is has been a popular crop, for instance, in Northern India and Kashmir since the 1600s.
Continue ReadingArchaeological evidence suggests peas were grown as food crops in Neolithic Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, and in the Nile valley in Egypt as early as 4500 BC. Dried peas remained an important foodstuff in Europe into the Middle Ages, but some time in the late 1600s eating green peas (as we do today) became a culinary fad in France and England.
Continue ReadingKnown since ancient Greece and Rome, the modern cabbage is a descendant of wild mustard. The Roman statesman Cato the Elder wrote of its medicinal properties, “It is the cabbage which surpasses all other vegetables.” The seventeenth century English physician...
Continue ReadingMicro Clover Seeding Calculator Overseeding an Established Lawn:50g for 1,000 square feet250g for 5,000 square feet500g for 10,000 square feet2.5kg for 50,000 square feet (one acre) Sowing Rate with No Grass (recommended):50g for 100 square feet250g for 500 square feet500g...
Continue ReadingThe changing seasons, and the longer daylight hours in summer are a result of the angle of the Earth’s axis in relation to the sun. It’s easy to forget how these changes can affect the growth of plants, and in...
Continue ReadingLast summer I planted a few rows of fall and winter harvest leeks in our demonstration beds at Kirkland House here in Ladner. We chose the varieties described as “winter harvest” since they are bred to stand up to frost,...
Continue ReadingThere are loads of ways to start seeds indoors in the late winter and early spring. You can use really basic tools like egg cartons on a windowsill, and this will achieve a perfectly reasonable end for most types of...
Continue ReadingAll gardeners can appreciate a gift that is thoughtful and useful. From newbies to gardening veterans, we have a gift that any gardener will love. Check out our favourite holiday gifts for gardeners, and consider adding a few to your...
Continue ReadingHorseradish belongs in the perennial food garden. Once the plants are established, they can be harvested at any time of the year, and the flavour is particularly good in winter, when cold temperatures bring out a sweetness in the roots....
Continue ReadingThese instructions will help you plan your garden, making a cloche greenhouse configuration, choose your covering material and pipe frame. Then they will help you set up your greenhouse and make the very best use of it for great gardening...
Continue ReadingIf you ever find yourself tempted to purchase kale from a supermarket, you really ought to try growing it. By its nature, kale is one of the easiest, hardiest, and most productive of all crops. It doesn’t need warm soil...
Continue ReadingBack on Day 2 of our Twenty-one Days of Green, we talked about planting chives. We chose chives because they have to be among the very simplest of all herbs to grow from seed. They are extremely useful in the...
Continue ReadingFor the 21 days leading up to Earth Day, we are asking you to Commit to Grow with us. We appreciate that some of you might not even have outdoor gardening space, so today we’re going to talk about Sprouts!...
Continue ReadingParsnip (Pastinaca sativa) As a member of the family Apiaciae, the parsnip counts among its close cousins the carrot, parsley, dill, fennel, cilantro, and celery. All of these bear tall umbels of flowers, but like the carrot, parsnip is biennial,...
Continue ReadingCress (sometimes called garden cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort, or pepper grass) is a leafy annual herb from the Brassica family. It is harvested when immature, around one to two weeks after germination, but will grow to a height of around 60cm (24”) if left undisturbed, and then form racemes of white flowers followed by small seedpods.
Continue ReadingCatnip (Nepeta cataria) This perennial member of the mint family is native from eastern Europe eastward to China. It is a bushy, branching herb that grows to 50–100cm (20–39″) tall. Like many mints, its stems are square in cross section,...
Continue ReadingAbout Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea Botrytis group) Modern cauliflower has been grown since the 15th century, and it was grown almost exclusively in Italy until the 16th century when it gradually migrated to France and then to American gardens 100 years...
Continue ReadingCelery (Apium graveolens var. dulce) & Celeriac (A. graveolens var. rapaceum) The Latin names for the different types of celery are revealing. In both cases, graveolens means “strong smelling” or “heavily scented.” Dulce implies sweetness, while rapaceum means “turnip-like.” Few...
Continue ReadingChives (Allium schoenoprasum) Chives have been in cultivation since at least the Middle Ages in Europe, and there are references to their use in ancient Rome, but primarily as a medicinal herb. They were used to treat sunburn and sore...
Continue ReadingAbout Arugula Arugula is a low-growing member of the Brassica family that forms rosettes that resemble a cross between lettuce and dandelions. Its leaves have deep, round indentations reminiscent of oak leaves. These, as well as the flowers and seed...
Continue ReadingGarlic is an incredibly economical crop. Planted in the fall, it grows very slowly over winter, and is ready to harvest in late spring to early summer the following year. If it is dried and cured properly, it will stay...
Continue ReadingThe first two weeks of May is the ideal time window for starting squash seeds (including zucchini and pumpkin) indoors. By starting the seeds indoors, there is less risk of the seedlings being damaged during their most vulnerable early weeks....
Continue ReadingIt may seem counter-intuitive for a gardener to actually plant what must be the world’s commonest weed. But dandelions have lots of culinary potential, they feed pollinators, and they cultivate the soil with their long taproots. Latin Tarataxacum officinale Family:...
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