How to ripen green tomatoes starts with choosing fruit that has finished growing: full-size, firm tomatoes with a lighter green or whitish cast have a better chance than small, uniformly dark-green fruit. Pick sound fruit before damaging frost, remove the stems, and arrange it in a dry, ventilated box at moderate room temperature. Direct sunlight…
When to cut back peonies depends on the type and the condition of the foliage. Cut ordinary herbaceous peonies close to soil level after their leaves and stems die back in fall, often following a hard freeze. Keep healthy green leaves after flowering. Tree peonies retain woody branches above ground, and Itoh peonies need a…
How to plant tulip bulbs successfully depends on choosing a draining site, planting during the local fall window, and measuring depth from the correct part of the bulb. Follow the instructions for your variety. Place each bulb with its pointed growing tip up and flat root plate down, cover with soil, then water to settle…
How to grow mint indoors depends on giving the plant enough light to replace the leaves you pick and keeping its roots moist and free to drain. Start with a healthy mint plant or rooted cutting, use a pot with drainage holes, and place it at a sunny window or beneath a suitable grow light….
How often to water cactus plants depends on their type, the moisture around their roots, and how quickly the pot dries. For an established desert cactus, let the growing mix dry completely between thorough waterings. For a forest cactus such as a Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus, allow some drying without leaving the roots chronically dry….
Purple vegetables include roots, tubers, leaves, swollen stems, flower heads, shoots, and fruits. Their color does not put them in one plant family or give them one growing season. Purple carrots may have orange centers. A purple-skinned potato may have white flesh. Purple eggplant needs warm growing weather, and purple kale can suit a cooler…
Types of orchids differ in more than flower color. A moth orchid with broad leaves, a slipper orchid with a pouch-shaped flower, and a Vanda with hanging roots have different growth habits and different demands on your home. Begin with the flowers and foliage to recognize the likely group. Then compare the plant label with…
How to grow cilantro starts with giving this annual herb a cool growing window, loose soil, and time to make leaves before flowering. Sow directly where the plants will grow, keep the seedbed moist during establishment, and harvest lightly when the stems remain leafy. A sunny spring or fall bed often works better than trying…
How to start a small vegetable garden begins with one reachable patch, a few crops suited to the season, and enough attention to get them established. A 4-by-8-foot bed gives you 32 square feet of growing soil. You can mark it with string, open measured seed rows, and plant without building a wooden frame when…
How to preserve basil depends on the texture and flavor you want when you cook. Freeze washed, dried leaves or small sprigs for later cooked dishes. Freeze chopped basil mixed with oil in small portions for sauces and soups. Dry the leaves thoroughly if you want a shelf-stored seasoning. Each method changes the fresh leaf,…
How to store beets depends on whether you have whole roots, leafy tops, or cut and cooked portions. Remove the greens from fresh roots, keep the two parts separately in the refrigerator, and use the leaves first. Whole sound roots need cold storage with moisture protection. Cut or cooked beets need clean covered containers and…
How to store onions depends first on whether the bulb is whole and dry or already cut. Sound, cured onions need a cool location with air circulating around them. Cut onions belong in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. A damp bag of whole bulbs and an open bowl of onion slices are both…
How to freeze peppers starts with washing sound fruit, choosing a useful cut, and packing it for the freezer. Bell and sweet peppers can go in raw without blanching. Cut them into strips or dice, freeze the pieces separately on a tray, then move them into a freezer bag with the air pressed out. Small…
Gardening tools make more sense when you look at the working end first. A pointed scoop digs and carries soil. A flat blade cuts a neater edge. Short rigid rake teeth level a seedbed, and a flexible fan gathers loose leaves. The handle gives you reach or leverage; the head determines what happens when the…
Orchid roots growing out of pot are normal on many moth orchids when the roots remain firm and the potting medium is in good condition. A thick silvery root curling over the rim is not automatically a sign that the container is too small. Phalaenopsis orchids are epiphytes, adapted to growing with roots exposed to…
How to get rid of tree of heaven depends on whether you have an independent seedling or shoots supplied by an established root system. Pulling a genuinely small seedling is a different task from removing a mature tree whose roots already extend through the yard. Cutting that tree first often produces more shoots, leaving a…