Tomato Basics
Getting Ready to Preserve Select only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm tomatoes with a deep red color. For easy peeling, dip tomatoes in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds until skins...
Category: Fruits & Vegetables
Sweet Potato Basics
Selecting & Storing Look for firm, well-shaped sweetpotatoes with clean, smooth skins. Avoid any that have soft spots or bruises. Do not refrigerate sweetpotatoes. Refrigeration temperatures can...
Pruning Peaches & Nectarines
Growing peach (Prunus persica) and nectarine (P. persica) trees in the landscape or backyard orchard in South Carolina can be both fun and rewarding. However, the success of your peach-growing...
Peaches & Nectarines
Growing peaches (Prunus persica) and nectarines (P. persica) in South Carolina can be both fun and rewarding, providing you with the opportunity to put part of the lawn area to good use by producing...
Sweetpotato
Planting The sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is a warm-season crop that is not planted until well after the last chance of frost in the spring. The soil temperature should be above 65 °F before...
Pumpkin Basics
Pumpkin Information The deep orange color of pumpkin flesh is a sure sign that pumpkin is a good source of vitamin A. One cup of cooked pumpkin (without salt) has only 49 calories and is a great...
Turnips & Rutabagas
Turnips (Brassica rapa) and rutabagas (Brassica napus) have edible leaves and roots, though turnip greens are more commonly eaten than rutabaga greens. Turnips have crisp, white flesh and a spicy,...
Tomato
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are a popular staple in Southern vegetable gardens. Tomatoes are warm-season plants that grow best at 70 to 80 °F during the day and 60 to 70 °F during the night...
Pawpaw
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), also known as papaw, Indiana banana, Hoosier banana, Michigan banana, and poor man’s banana, is the only temperate member of the tropical Annonaceae family (custard...
Cabbage, Broccoli & Other Cole Crop Insect Pests
Introduction Each year numerous insect pests damage crops in home gardens and commercial fruit and vegetable fields. Caterpillars, the immature larval stage of butterflies and moths, are the most...
Managing Fire Ants in the Vegetable Garden
Fire ants are a common nuisance in home vegetable gardens. In addition to being a stinging pest, they can cause damage to vegetable crops, such as okra and Irish potatoes. In dry conditions, they...
Potato
Potatoes are a very easy and fun crop to grow in the home garden. White-skinned and red-skinned potatoes can be grown as an early crop for new potatoes and as a late crop for storage. Choose an...