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By Jessica Mousseau

Broccoli has become a popular vegetable in recent years with its one of a kind taste and multiple ways to prepare. Children and adults alike are beginning to fully enjoy the flavor of these delicious vegetables and take advantage of the nutrition they have to offer as well.

Growing Broccoli

Almost any type of soil will be fine for broccoli to thrive as long as the soil preparation is done properly. Basically good organic matter is definitely essential for the best broccoli to be harvested. If early crop is what you are going for the best choice to make is to begin sowing the seeds inside of the house. This should be done around 8 weeks ahead of your putting them into the garden. When starting inside you will want to plant them about ¼ inch deep with a minimal spacing of 2 inches apart from each other. At about 4 inches high you can move them into your garden. Be sure to water well and soon you will enjoy fresh home grown broccoli.

Eating Broccoli

There are so many ways to prepare broccoli, making it a very well liked vegetable among all. Steaming broccoli and adding it to the top of a potato seems to be a favorite among the younger broccoli lovers. But you can also stem them and have them as a side dish with butter or add some cheese. They are also wonderful in a stir-fry as well as raw with some vegetable dip or alone. They can be successfully added into a casserole, so the possibilities are endless.

By Jessica Mousseau

The broad bean also very well known as the fava bean, field bean, horse bean and even the tick bean.. These tasty beans have a great amount of nutrition within them. Growing these beans is pretty simple and easy to do. Broad beans are an excellent addition to any vegetable garden.

Growing Your Own Broad Beans

In order to grow broad beans, you will need to have a heavily-manured soil for planting. Sow in the beginning of November on a sheltered border in order to get early crop, then again in the month of January. Cover the seeds with some branches or leaves to protect them from the elements. The rows of broad beans should be about 2 feet away from each other and approximately 3 inches in between the seeds with a depth of 3 inches as well. Sowing should be done from January to June in regular intervals. If there is any sign of black fly, be sure to pinch the tops of the broad bean.

Preparing Broad Beans

A fresh broad bean only requires a blanching time of around 3 minutes or so. There are many tasty ways to eat broad beans, such as in a salad, as a curry or even as a side dish. The possibilities for broad beans are only limited by your individual creativity.

Broad beans add a nice flavor without overpowering your main course if it is added to the meat during the cooking process, adding broad beans to a pasta salad can prove to be a nice change of flavor as well. You can be as creative as you desire in preparing broad beans or you can do very little in preparation. The choice is all up to the individual.

By Jessica Mousseau

Beetroot is generally served cold as it adds a little extra color to a fresh garden salad. It has a deep red coloring and it can also be served cooked. They seem to be an extremely versatile vegetable and they can be stored for months after they have been picked, giving fresh vegetables an option throughout the year. There are several different varieties of the beetroot, such as Bolthardy, Burpee’s Golden, Pablo, Red Ace and Wodan. Most prefer the taste of the Bolthardy though.

Growing Beetroot

Beetroot seems to be a very tolerant vegetable to grow. It can thrive in the sun and also in the shade. It also does well in almost any soil type, making them a fairly easy plant to harvest. They should be planted in rows with a minimal spacing of 2 feet and about 3 inches or so apart from each other. Generally they should be planted for around 10 weeks for the more common round types of beetroot and about 18 weeks for the longer types of beetroot. The Bolthardy variety seems to be among the most popular of beetroot because of its taste and ease of harvesting alike. They can be harvested as early as the weather will allow to do.

In the Kitchen

For preparation of beetroot, one can really use their own discretion as they can be fully enjoyed as an uncooked accent in a side salad, as a cooked vegetable or side dish, they are delicious both ways. Many that choose to cook them choose to boil them or even fry them. The decision will have to be entirely up to the preparer themselves and their personal preference.

by Jessica Mousseau

French Beans are more commonly known as kidney beans. Kidney beans are actually the name of a French bean once it has reached its full maturity. These easy to grow beans are not only very tasty, but they are also healthy; thus, giving any experienced gardener an excellent excuse for growing them.

Growing your French Beans

French Beans need a soil temperature of at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They also need to be kept away from frost. Be sure to plant late in April to ensure the last frost has passed in order to keep your veggies free from harm. If your seedlings are subjected to a frost, they will need to be taken out and plant new ones.

Dig about a 2 inch hole with approximately 1 foot between each hole for the French Beans. If more than a few rows are going to be planted, leave a minimal space of 3 feet or so between every two rows of seeds. The germination rate is around 75%, so be sure to sow thinly. Around 1 seedling every 6 or so inches should be fine, and then they can be thinned down to about 1 seedling every foot or so. This should be down around three weeks after sowing. If necessary the seedlings at the end of the rows can be moved to fill in the spaces where other seedlings did not grow.

Watch Out

Halo Blight is a disease that should be looked for when harvesting French Beans. Halo Blight is brown spots on the French Beans leaves, and has a halo-like appearance. The most common reasons for this to show up on French Beans is because they were not properly stored prior to being planted. Also if they have been soaked prior to planting, it is actually possible to have purchased them from a not-so good source. As you are planting your seeds, be aware of the seeds. Basically be sure that they do not have an unusual shape, markings, and/or wrinkles, if so, then they do not need to be planted. If you notice the Halo Blight on any of your plants, immediately pull the entire plant from the ground and throw it away.

Slugs

Slugs are a in seventh heaven when they get the chance to feast on the French Bean. There is not a single area of the French Bean that a slug does not find appealing and tasty. Be sure to keep slugs away from your veggies. The pesky blackfly also loves to destroy French Beans. A fairly easy way to keep the black fly from eating your French Beans is to plant marigolds nearby. Marigolds attract many beneficial insects that will take care of the blackfly for you.