This Week's Bounty: Green Tomatoes, Seeds for Planting, Best Time to Fertilize Plants, and More

Our weekly roundup of advice and tips for growing good food at home. [Food Gardening Network Weekly]( April 24, 2022  Enjoy this newsletter? Please forward it to your friends Featured Weekly Video [10 Easy DIY Garden Tools You Can Make]( [10 Easy DIY Garden Tools You Can Make]( There’s an anonymous quote out there about gardening that says, “gardening is cheaper than therapy, and you get tomatoes.” I don’t know about you, but gardening is definitely my most expensive hobby (except maybe skiing). Sure, I could save all my seeds, work harder to make as much compost as I need so I don’t need to buy it, maybe take care of my tools better, which would all be huge money-saving endeavors, but that would take all the fun out of going to the gardening supply store every weekend, wouldn’t it? And what say you about the DIY garden tools I could craft? [Read More...](  [Magazine Issue]( [April 2022 Issue Available Now!]( Don’t miss “5 Things to Plant in April”, “Choosing Between Types of Pruning Shears” and “10 Easy DIY Garden Tools You Can Make” and “Red Curry Coconut Zucchini Noodles”. Plus in-depth articles about Rhubarb, Strawberry, and Summer Squash. [Read More ...](  Vegetable Gardening [Can You Eat Green Tomatoes Raw or Are They Toxic?]( [Asparagus]( Can you eat green tomatoes? Raw? Cooked? Diced into a salsa? Oh, this question is as old as time. What else would we bicker about at our gardening clubs, if not green tomatoes? [Read More...](  [Tomatoes]( [The Everything Tomato Gardening Guide Available Now!]( Tomatoes are the most popular plant for home gardeners! With The Everything Tomato Gardening Guide, you’ll have everything you need to know about growing and enjoying this versatile food, from the history and background of the mighty tomato to specific advice on growing, harvesting, and enjoying your hard work! [Read More ...](  Composting [How to Keep an Odor Free Compost Bin in Your Home]( [Odor Free Compost Bin]( Composting used to scare me. I should say, compost bins used to scare me. I had heard all the great things about composting: that it was a super sustainable and a great cost-effective way of boosting nutrients into your soil. But, I was afraid of the stink of it all. Is it possible to have an odor-free compost bin? [Read More...](  [Okra]( [The Guide to Growing Okra Available Now!]( Okra is highly versatile and can grow almost anywhere that has lots of sun. From containers on balconies to open fields of freestanding plants, there’s an okra that you can grow. It’s delicious raw or cooked—and if you’re not big on that slime factor, no worries—there are plenty of ways to prepare okra that are totally slime-free! Come check out The Guide to Growing Okra. You get everything from the history of okra to planting to picking and storing and, of course, eating. Get it all in The Guide to Growing Okra Collection right now! [Read More ...](  Seeds & Seedlings [7 Tips for Selecting Seeds for Planting Heirloom Vegetables]( [Asian Jumping Worm]( Am I the only gardener who starts selecting seeds for planting the following season before I’ve harvested what’s currently growing? I’m going to guess not. It’s one of the joys of gardening. Sitting with a seed catalog and anticipating all the different possibilities is my adult version of any kid’s trip to the toy store. There’s not a wrong time for looking at seeds, either. In the fall, you can plan ahead for spring. In the winter, you can begin ordering seeds and starting some of them indoors. When spring rolls around, you can begin selecting seeds for planting in late summer, while those summer seeds are perfect for some winter greenhouse crops. But which seeds are the right ones for my garden? Or your garden? Sometimes, there’s more to it than just picking and choosing what looks good, although that’s certainly part of it. Here are some tips to help you decide which heirloom vegetable seeds are ideal for your garden. [Read More...](  [Sage]( [The Ultimate Sage Gardening Guide Available Now!]( Sage is one of the most versatile and easy herbs for home gardeners to grow! With The Ultimate Sage Gardening Guide, you’ll have everything you need to know about growing and enjoying this versatile herb. [Read More ...](  Composting [Is Pine Needle Compost too Acidic for Vegetable Gardens?]( [Pine Needle Compost]( Pine needle compost might be one of the most misunderstood areas of composting. Sure, there’s some confusion about whether that take-out container is compostable, but when it comes to pine needles, there’s a longstanding assumption that they are too acidic. [Read More...](  [Onions]( [The Outstanding Onion Gardening Guide Available Now!]( Onions make everything taste better! From burgers to salads to soups and more, onions offer a broad range of flavors from sweet to zesty. Gardeners love to grow them, and their friends and family love to eat them—raw or cooked! With The Outstanding Onion Gardening Guide, you’ll have everything you need to know about growing and enjoying this versatile food. [Read More ...](  Soil & Fertilizer [The Best Time to Fertilize Plants for a Bountiful Vegetable Harvest]( [Healthy Garden Soil]( When is the best time to fertilize plants in your vegetable garden? In truth, that’s a bit of a trick question. There are several factors that go into the fertilizer equation. [Read More...](  [Magazine Issue]( [Recipe Lion Magazine May / June 2022 Issue Available Now!]( In this issue, you’ll discover 43 Sweet and Savory Salads including “Fresh & Simple Dressings” and “Lettuce-less Bowls”. For your BBQs and Pot Lucks we have “The Best Pasta and Potato Salads Ever”, and for those with a sweet tooth, we have included “Sweet Fruit Salads for Dessert". [Read More ...](  Member Favorites - [How to Select Good Seeds for Planting & What Bad Seeds to Avoid]( - [How Often to Water Vegetable Seeds]( - [Easy Composting at Home: 5 Ways to Compost from Hardest to Easiest]( - [10 of the Best Vegetables for Canning and Preserving]( - [How to Grow Herbs in Mason Jars]( - [How to Make Homemade Fertilizer for Indoor Herbs]( - [How to Make Bokashi Compost in 5 Easy Steps]( - [5 Fast-Growing Fruit Trees for a Beginner's Backyard Orchard]( - [How to Build a DIY Vegetable Trellis from Recycled Materials]( Premium Recipes of the Week - [Classic Rhubarb Pie]( - [Zucchini Cornbread Casserole]( - [Zucchini Pizza Bake]( - [Garlicky Summer Squash and Fresh Corn]( - [Yellow Squash Patties]( [FREEBIES: Get Them Now!]( [Best way to grow tomatoes]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ]( [Recipes from Your Garden]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ]( [Vegetable Garden]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ](     You are receiving this email as part of your free subscription to email updates from Food Gardening Network. 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