Farming Calculator

Onion planting requires a certain optimism. Sowing or transplanting now expects seeds or tiny transplants to root and overwinter. They must then push through freezing … Read more

MID-MAY: You survey a tray of barely-big Poblano seedlings, thinking, panic, it’s going to get hot (ninety degrees, says the prediction), and you need roasted … Read more

Purple potatoes are not like other kinds of potatoes. Meaning you treat them differently, since growing conditions for bringing out their color are specific. Getting … Read more

But there’s something risky about growing shishito peppers: One in ten pods will be hot. You think you’re eating sweet, blistered vegetables, but suddenly, boom! … Read more

Three weeks until frost, and those sweet potato vines are still green? Panic sets in. Many gardeners feel this way, especially those who see the … Read more

The dilemma is particular to late summer: Cayenne has long, green pods, so they appear ripe enough to pluck. If you do, though, the flavor … Read more

One kind of potato failure is planting them prematurely. The calendar says it’s time. The air warm and the ground thaws. You’re all excited and … Read more

There’s something quietly frustrating about sowing seed in cold soil and waiting (nothing happening). Water the dirt. Wait. Stare at the dirt: Did I plant … Read more

Most people begin well-intentioned and hopeful, envisioning bright green heads in three short weeks. And then it happens: the leaves stay small, and the roots … Read more

Transplant day is A finish line in most gardeners’ minds: Mark it off the calendar, let the frost danger recede, and then go shove those … Read more

Success with growing serranos depends on following certain timeline for producing fruit, which is all about understanding that natural cycle of the pepper. Get out … Read more