Questions tagged [vegetables]

Any edible plant or part of a plant. For questions if an unknown plant is edible use the [edible] tag.

Vegetables are plants. Technically they exclude actual , although many so-called vegetables (e.g. peppers, , and ) are the fruit of the plant in question. Questions about anything typically grown in a vegetable garden are on-topic for this tag.

For questions about a particular vegetable, use in combination with a tag for the specific vegetable you're asking about (e.g. or ).

If you're having a problem with a vegetable (leaves turning yellow, plants die, etc), use in addition.

This tag can also be used for general questions about vegetable gardening (getting started, mulching, fertilizing, watering, etc), so please add the appropriate tags for these questions too.

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How true is the idea that weeding your vegetable garden is necessary?

I have heard constantly that weeding is a must for growing healthy vegetables else the weeds will "steal nutrients" from the plants you want to grow and your garden will produce less. How true is that statement? I've been reading about organic…
user36333
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What vegetables can be grown effectively in a small, urban garden?

I currently live in a condo with a limited sized balcony. Which vegetables work out best for a small garden?
silent1mezzo
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What are inexpensive materials for homemade tomato cages?

After starting our tomato plants from seed this year, we have many more small plants in the ground than in the past years. We are looking to make our own inexpensive and durable cages that we could use year after year. What are starting materials…
kmm
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Does water temperature affect vegetable plant growth?

Generally speaking, when watering a vegetable garden, are there any benefits to using cold water vs warm or vice versa? I'm in Wisconsin, so 90+°F is about as hot as it gets around here. Typically the temps are in the 80s during summer months. I'm…
Jim Geurts
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Can I harvest vegetable seeds and store for the next year?

This discussion of seed storage got me wondering if it is feasible to harvest seeds from vegetables (I'm partial to tomatoes) as I cut them up for consumption. Generally, I buy seeds each year. But if I have a steady supply, and it's not…
kmm
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How does one determine when to pick corn?

Last year I grew a little stand (4x4) of short-season corn. I hand-pollinated it and everything was growing great. But I waited a little too long, I guess, and when I picked it, my corn tasted horribly starchy. What is the best way to know when…
Scott Stafford
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Why did my jalapeños turn black?

Last year I grew jalapeños. The fruits were tiny, but I was able to harvest a few handfuls. I noticed that many of them started to turn black on the plant. They were still edible, and they weren't rotten. The skin of the fruit developed black…
bstpierre
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Starting tomato from seed

We are wanting to grow tomato plants from seed this year. We've not done this before, so we have some questions. How big should the containers be that we start the seeds in? How long should they be in the containers before they get transferred…
David Oneill
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What is the right way to pick peppers so the plant keeps producing?

Does it matter where on the stalk you cut or remove the fruit off the plant so that you don't suck away its future earning potential? Let's take the photo here, of a Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum), where the chilli is now ripe and ready to burn up…
Eight Days of Malaise
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Rats have transferred poison into my compost. Is the compost usable on vegetables?

Delighted to observe that the rat poison we put down was disappearing. Less delighted to find some weeks later that they had moved it all to a larder in the compost. The poison is Slaymore (as far as I understand it is a standard household rat…
Tea Drinker
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What happens if you plant lettuce in hot weather?

For whatever reason my lettuce (except for the mustard) in my mesclun mix didn't take this year. I'm about ready to rotate in something else, but I'd really like a decent crop of lettuce. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to plant…
Peter Turner
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Why don't my radishes swell up?

When I grow radishes, I find that some of them don't swell up to form the globe I expect; instead the root stays thin. These are planted in the same bed and at the same time as radishes that do swell. I believe I'm doing everything right:…
Niall C.
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When will my tomatoes be ready to harvest?

I am planning to serve homemade tomato soup for a large dinner party on Sept 24, 2011 (42 days from this posting). This dinner is really important to me; so important, that I decided to plant my own tomato garden (those gas treated supermarket…
Derek Hunziker
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Do peppers change color when left on the plant?

My mother and I purchased some pepper plants from Costco. The info card they came with (which identifies them as Capsicum annuum bell peppers†) depicts vibrant red bell peppers. However, they've started to sprout their fruit, and we're noticing…
Grace Note
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Does cauliflower produce secondary growth after the main harvest?

Will cauliflower do anything after you pick the main flower like broccoli or should I just pull the whole plant out when I'm harvesting?
Peter Turner
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