Many gardeners are now either planning or planting their spring or summer gardens. And many gardeners understand that it’s best not to grow the same variety of heavy feeder, or the same type of any vegetable, repeatedly in the same garden areas or bed, but may overlook the related issue of successive planting of heavy […]

Avid container gardeners may have considered growing lettuce, herbs or tomatoes in containers, but not cucumbers, corn, snap peas and eggplants. These four vegetables make excellent container plants, provided that you follow a few tips and select your varieties carefully. Cucumber. Most bush varieties and smaller vining cucumber varieties do well in containers. Use well-drained […]

Contrary to popular myth, hot pepper plants make good companions for sweet pepper plants and vice versa. Companion Plants to Avoid: Avoid planting sweet peppers or hot peppers with any plant that adds nitrogen to the soil, such as beans, kohlrabi, fennel, cabbage, and broccoli. Good Companion Plants for Pepper: Try interplanting peppers with sunflowers, […]

Sweet peppers are wonderful to eat fresh, roasted, fried and made into salsas and relishes. If you are thinking about growing sweet peppers in your garden, here are some tips for getting started. Sweet peppers can make attractive, colorful additions to your garden and are generally less vulnerable to pests and diseases than many other […]

When many gardeners in North America think sweet pepper, they think of the large, bell-type Emerald green sweet pepper with a slightly grassy flavor. Fortunately, all sweet peppers aren’t green: today’s gardeners have access to a wide array of sweet peppers, both bell and non-bell types, in a range of colors, sizes and shapes. Gardeners […]

Zucchini is easy to start from seed. Zucchini seeds germinate quickly and without excessive warmth. As a cucurbit, zucchini is sensitive to any root disturbance, such as from transplanting. Surface cultivation, digging, harvesting root crops, thinning, or weeding near established plants may also cause root disturbance to cucurbits. For both these reasons, GardenZeus recommends growing zucchini from seed, […]

With the hundreds of wonderful and reliable tomato varieties that are known to do well in California and other Mediterranean climates, in an astonishing diversity of colors, sizes, shapes and uses, it may take time and research to select varieties that best meet your needs. For help with making your selections, GardenZeus expert Darren Butler […]

Tomato seeds are easy to germinate. Gardeners often start tomatoes from seed in seed trays or peat pots for later transplanting, but starting tomato seeds in a glass dish or bowl can be an excellent alternative.   Use an existing dish or bowl, so there is no need to purchase seed trays or peat pots–and […]

For avid California gardeners, January marks the beginning of planning spring or summer  gardens and ordering seeds. Seed availability and turnaround time for orders is usually best early in the year, in January through early February, before the national seed-ordering rush begins from about February through April when most of the United States begins to […]