Nightshade Family (Solanaceae) Ideas, Tips & Guides

A tart gift from Mexico, tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica) are commonly used by chefs and home cooks throughout the United States and worldwide to add a piquant va-va-voom to sauces and chutneys.Beneath an intriguing yet inedible, papery husk lies a

Tomatoes can be finicky when it comes to watering. Too much or too little can both lead to wilting leaves, damaged fruit, and disease.We link to vendors to he

Tomatoes are a much-loved summer crop, but everyone from the newbies to the most seasoned green thumbs may discover a problem or two afflicting their plants.So, what’s a gardener to do?Our guide to the most

If you grow tomatoes, you have almost certainly run afoul of the fungus that causes the disease known as early blight.This ubiquitous tomato disease

Do you have a hankering for the taste of homegrown tomatoes, but lack the real estate for a garden plot?Well, there’s no need for despai

I find peppers to be polarizing. Some people love them (me) and others (my mom) don’t even want to have them in their house.I wish pests felt the same way that my mom does,

Splashy, colorful ornamental peppers add dazzling bursts of red, purple, yellow, orange, black, or white to the garden. And many cultivars display upright fruits that change color as they mature.While the species Capsicum a

One of the most popular annual flowers, easy-care petunias thrive in containers – and pots and planters make a beautiful framework to showcase these exuberant ornamentals.We link to vendors to help you f

Referred to as timber rot, white mold, or sclerotinia stem rot, this disease can wreak havoc on tomato plants in cold, wet climates, and may persist in the soil for up to 10 years.And it’s not only your tomatoes that may be at risk. White mold can infect

According to the National Gardening Association, tomatoes are the most commonly grown backyard vegetable, and for good reason.Not only is a fresh-picked, homegrown tomato extraordinarily tasty

Seeing red? If you’re looking at your homegrown tomatoes, I hope they are a bright, cheery red color as they’re ripening on the vine.And yet, I know that even experienced gardeners have times when t

Every summer, I wait impatiently for my tomato plants to ripen. And I relish the moment the first ‘Brandywine’ tomato is ready to be picked in particular.In my opinion, there is nothing quite as juicy and flavorful as a freshl

‘Cherokee Purple’ is a delightfully scrumptious beefsteak in the tomato repertoire. A tomato with a story, this garden favorite can purportedly be traced back to Cherokee hands, carefully passed down through the generations.Sizeable in both vine and fruit, this indeterminate heirloom can yield tomat

Wait, ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’ tomatoes?I bet you’re wondering how an heirloom tomato came to share a name with cereals

Do you want to grow the best tomatoes?Then planting heirloom varieties is the way to go.

No one will ever mistake a garden fruit for a candy bar. But flavorful, homegrown tomatoes that taste sweet are a treat in their own right.Numerous varieties are able to claim the

Some vegetables we grow in our gardens have names that may exaggerate a little. Take ‘Great White Northern’ beans, for example, which I’d argue are just a bit above average, but not necessarily “great.”‘Supersweet 100’ tomatoes go in the opposite direction.We link to ve

You never forget your first. Homegrown heirloom tomato plant, that is.Well, I haven’t, at least. It was a ‘Yellow Pear,’ purchased during one of th

We dutifully prune our fruit trees and our rose bushes, but not all of us are taking the same care with our tomatoes.We link to vendors to help you find re

Regarding Solanum lycopersicum‘Hawaiian Pineapple’ tomatoes, I have good news and possibly bad some news for home gardeners.The good news: These pretty, bicolor heirloom tomatoes taste mildly sweet and fruit

There is nothing like a big slab of juicy, tasty, meaty… tomato? That’s right, beefsteak tomato plants grow hefty fruits with pink, red, or orange flesh that taste great fresh, and fit perfectly on burgers or sandwiches.While growing beefsteak tomatoes is si

At the start of the new year, seed catalogs hold me spellbound, particularly as I try to decide which slicing tomatoes I will plant this year.I attempt to be conservative when selecting how many

Can you freeze fresh tomatoes? Short answer: sure.But this is one of those times when you should hold out for the lo

From the gentle heat of a banana pepper to the searing, sinus-clearing pain of a ‘Carolina Reaper,’ there’s a hot pepper for everyone.We link to vendors to help you find relevant

Cherry tomatoes are vigorous plants that are easily cultivated in containers or out in the garden.Fast growing, they quickly produce large clusters of

I’m a practical-minded vegetable gardener, and that’s why I favor banana peppers.This type of Capsicum annuum earned its fruity name by producing ligh

You probably recognize some heirloom tomatoes when you see them – big, juicy looking, ribbed fruits with beautiful streaky coloring.But what is it exactly th

Do you love the idea of picking sweet, ripe tomatoes fresh from the vine but aren’t sure how to begin?Cherry tomatoes are great plants to start with.Rewardin

Tomatoes are a versatile ingredient, and when they’re perfectly ripe, they are exceptionally delicious.If I close my eyes, I can almost taste a sun-ripene

I’m sure we can all agree that there is nothing quite like a freshly picked, homegrown tomato. In fact, I would go so far as to say enjoying an exceptional tomato can genuinely be a life changing experience.This might sound a tad dramatic, but I can certai

When the warm days announce that it’s tomato growing season and you’re ready to choose which varieties to include in your garden, there are many characteristics to consider.What will they taste like? How big will they get? What do they look

Tomatoes come in an astonishing range of colors, shapes, and sizes.Gone are the days when you might o

Eggplant, Solanum melongena, is suited to cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 10.It prefers full sun and organically-ric

Growing ‘Costoluto Genovese’ tomatoes is one way to experience a taste of Italy without a passport or plane ride.This heirloom tomato variety hails from Genoa, a Mediterranean port city in northwestern I

When you want to grow tomatoes but the soil in your garden is sticky and lumpy, is there any way to meet your goals?You’ll be happy to know you can grow toma

It’s pretty easy and convenient to pick up a pack of tomato seedlings from your local garden center and plug them into the soil.So you might wonder, what are the advantages