Want to grow vegetables and take it easy? Perennial vegetables are the way to go. Supreme among the perennial vegetables is asparagus—plant it and then reap the benefits for up to 20 years. An asparagus bed (raised or not) will produce over and over again, and you’ll be dining on delicately flavored, homegrown spears you can pick just before a meal—which might be each meal during asparagus season. Did you ever hear anyone say, No thanks, I’ve eaten enough asparagus this…
February 21, 2013 - Charlotte from Peaceful Valley
We’re always talking about extending your growing season with floating row covers, low tunnels, and hoop houses. These all protect your plants from frost. Today we’ll give you easy instructions…
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Don’t leave your garden yet! Late fall and early winter is the time to plant some easy edibles, and scatter the sweeps of wildflowers that will be a delight come spring and summer. Tricia has winter…
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It’s the plaintive cry of gardeners, “What’s wrong?” Happily, co-authors David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth answer the question in their two best-selling books—What’s…
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What do gardeners in the West need? A shovel, a hose, and the Sunset Western Garden Book. The latest edition of the Western gardener’s best friend is stuffed with color photos of plants. Find out…
read more»
We had fun talking with children’s gardening expert Sharon Lovejoy at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Watch Sharon with Tricia in our video, pick up tips on growing in metal containers,…
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Do you have a small garden? Make it do double-duty as a space for outdoor entertaining and growing edibles. Garden designer Susan Morrison is an expert on small space landscapes and she gave us quick design…
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Water pressure and water flow are key to answering that basic gardening question, How do you get water to the plants? We all know how to water plants.You can: * hand water (time consuming) * …
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Double digging revitalizes garden soil and gives it better tilth. It’s one of the basic practices of “French intensive” or “biointensive” organic gardening. French intensive…
read more»
Check the soil temperature before you transplant your vegetable seedlings and starts. Vegetables need specific soil temperatures to grow properly, as Tricia mentions in our new video on Planting Vegetables.…
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Ready to start your first vegetable garden? The three essentials for an easy vegetable garden are: Full sun Convenient water supply Good soil Add some basic supplies and you’ll be off and growing.…
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I really like your idea of asparagus in the raised bed. Your bed in the video looks like it is constructed using treated lumber. Is that true? I was told never to use treated lumber around vegetables that i intend to eat. What is the solution to have a raised bed that will hold up for many years for my asparagus. Thanks for the fine video
Stephanie from Peaceful Valley Says:
Jan 20th, 2012 at 9:30 am
Thank you for your kind words about our video! Redwood and cedar are often favored for making raised beds because of there high weather resistance. There are natural oils that can be applied as well to improve their weather resistance.
Toril Fisher Says:
Jan 20th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
I just ordered my asparagus crowns and the came today. I live in Wisconsin and have a long while before my soil outdoors will become 50 degrees. What should I do with the box of crowns. How should I store them? Should I even open the box? HELP!! I hope my investment isn’t wasted. Love all of your videos. What a great learning tool. Thank you!
Stephanie from Peaceful Valley Says:
Jan 24th, 2012 at 9:45 am
I’m glad your asparagus made it to you! By all means open the box and you will find instructions packed with the crowns that tell you how to heel the plants in until you are ready to plant them outside. Basically put them in a bucket of sand or compost or loose soil in the garage or root cellar until it is the right time to plant outside.
Alice Mark Says:
Apr 7th, 2012 at 12:33 am
I’m a new fan club member, and I’m enjoying your excellent videos. They’re so well done!
Stephanie responded to an inquiry, regarding the use of redwood and cedar for raised beds. She noted natural oils can be used to improve their weather resistance. What natural oils do you recommend? How should the oil best be applied and how often? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Theresa Says:
Mar 9th, 2013 at 9:32 am
I’m also interested in the construction of the beds behind the woman doing this video, as well as the bed she was working. Were the pipes laying on the dirt for irrigation of the beds? Were they metal (they didn’t seem like flexible drip tubing)? What was the spacing between raised beds? Some of the beds had “french door” type cross bracing—was this for plants which climb, like beans, or for plants which need support, like tomatoes?
Thank you for the video. I’m very interested in growing asparagus.
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Don’t leave your garden yet! Late fall and early winter is the time to plant some easy edibles, and scatter the sweeps of wildflowers that will be a delight come spring and summer. Tricia has winter…
It’s the plaintive cry of gardeners, “What’s wrong?” Happily, co-authors David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth answer the question in their two best-selling books—What’s…
What do gardeners in the West need? A shovel, a hose, and the Sunset Western Garden Book. The latest edition of the Western gardener’s best friend is stuffed with color photos of plants. Find out…
We had fun talking with children’s gardening expert Sharon Lovejoy at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Watch Sharon with Tricia in our video, pick up tips on growing in metal containers,…
Do you have a small garden? Make it do double-duty as a space for outdoor entertaining and growing edibles. Garden designer Susan Morrison is an expert on small space landscapes and she gave us quick design…
Water pressure and water flow are key to answering that basic gardening question, How do you get water to the plants? We all know how to water plants.You can: * hand water (time consuming) * …
Double digging revitalizes garden soil and gives it better tilth. It’s one of the basic practices of “French intensive” or “biointensive” organic gardening. French intensive…
Check the soil temperature before you transplant your vegetable seedlings and starts. Vegetables need specific soil temperatures to grow properly, as Tricia mentions in our new video on Planting Vegetables.…
Ready to start your first vegetable garden? The three essentials for an easy vegetable garden are: Full sun Convenient water supply Good soil Add some basic supplies and you’ll be off and growing.…
Everyone tells you to mulch your vegetable garden—but exactly how should you choose a mulch? In…
Most cover crops are planted in late summer, but there are some cover crop seed mixes that can go in…
