Does the smell of tomato leaves make you swoon? Imagine putting that rich, deep, viney essence in your favorite foods! Tomato leaves are one of the most surprising edible greens from a garden, and if they're used well, they can really kick up the flavor (without overpowering a recipe). Here are seven of my favorite ways to cook with tomato stems.| Garden Betty
If you've ever spotted a weird-looking flower on your tomato plant, it's probably a megabloom! These mutated flowers are relatively rare but are known to produce monster tomatoes with bizarre bulges. Here's how (and why) megablooms happen, and what you should do if you find one.| Garden Betty
If you're looking for something to add zest to your garden as well as your meal, you cannot go wrong with edible flowers. You might even be growing some of these flowers already and had no idea they were edible! This is a huge list of my favorite plants that bloom their heads off and add beauty and flavor to drinks, desserts, and other dishes.| Garden Betty
The secret to getting flowers all summer long is knowing when (and how) to prune your plants. Deadheading your annuals and perennials not only keeps them healthy and beautiful, it can encourage continuous blooms or a flush of new flowers later in the season.| Garden Betty
The "1 inch of water" a week you've likely heard as a gardener is as helpful as it is confusing. How do you measure an inch of water? And how does that translate to real-life watering scenarios using a garden hose, soaker hose, drip irrigation, or sprinklers? Let's break down the math and get you some real answers!| Garden Betty
You know that water is critical for the health and growth of your plants, but how much water do they actually need? Too little can cause drought stress and nutrient deficiencies, while too much can lead to root rot and other diseases. Use my plant watering calculator to help you determine the proper amount of water your plants need each week, based on plant types, soil composition, and climate conditions.| Garden Betty
As temperatures soar in summer, it may feel like your garden's come to a screeching halt. Stunted growth, misshapen fruit, and dried-up flowers are among the common problems caused by extreme heat, and while you can't change the weather, you can definitely do something to help your plants through the season.| Garden Betty
Have you ever wondered why your squash plant is full of flowers but no fruits? Or tiny fruits that keep rotting and falling off the vine? The problem isn't pests or diseases—it's the birds and the bees (or lack thereof). Learn how you can hand-pollinate squash plants yourself in the absence of pollinators and multiply your harvest.| Garden Betty
You're not the only one wilting in triple-digit temps—your plants are too. Many warm-weather crops like tomatoes and cucumbers can't take the heat like we think they can, which makes it tough to grow anything in summer. But you don't have to shut down your vegetable garden altogether—you just have to grow the right kind of plants that truly thrive in high temps. Here's what works in hot climates like Texas, Arizona, and other parts of the southwest.| Garden Betty
Ladybugs are an important ally to have in your garden as a form of biological pest control. But unless you know how to attract ladybugs and keep them there, they'll likely fly away before they can make a dent in your aphid problem.| Garden Betty
What should you fill your garden beds with? Not all soil is created equal, and if you were thinking you'd just buy bags from the store, read this first. It's always worth investing in soil for the future health of your plants! Learn what constitutes the ideal soil mix for raised beds, where to find it, and how to build up fertility without fertilizer.| Garden Betty
What happens when a seed germinates? Learn about the magic of seed germination, the process of a seed swelling and rupturing (what we call sprouting), and how to identify all the different parts of a seed and seedling (so you can understand why a seed might not germinate).| Garden Betty
If you love to curl up with a seed catalog and devour it like a good book, this is my roundup of the best seed catalogs that I order from year after year for my vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. You'll find heirloom seeds, certified organic seeds, open-pollinated seeds, and hybrid seeds.| Garden Betty
Help! Did your seedlings suddenly fall over and die overnight? It's not from pests, and it's not because the wind knocked them over. In fact, the problem starts below the surface... not above it. Find out why damping off disease happens to even healthy seedlings and how to prevent this common fungal infection.| Garden Betty