Solanaceae - Fine Gardening

  • Kitchen Gardening

    Great New Tomato Varieties

    In the last 10 years, tomatoes have undergone a renaissance of sorts. The number of new varieties filling the pages of seed catalogs is mind-boggling, even for a tomato breeder…

  • Colorful arrangement of sweet peppers
    How-To

    Easy-to-Grow Sweet Peppers

    Growing sweet peppers at home is easy, fun, and rewarding. Besides the ever-popular bell peppers that ripen from green to red, there are bells of different sizes and colors and…

  • How-To

    A Complete Guide to Growing Cherry Tomatoes

    Growing more than 800 tomatoes each year gives me lots of chances to evaluate the good and bad among varieties. My collection includes all different shapes, sizes, and colors, but…

  • Article

    19 Varieties of Heirloom Tomatoes to Grow in the Kitchen Garden

    Nothing tastes better than an heirloom tomato. Eating a sun-ripened juicy ‘Brandywine’ or a meaty ‘Mortgage Lifter’ means you will never look at grocery-store offerings the same way again. But…

  • Kitchen Gardening

    The Best Heirloom Tomatoes in Town

    I’ve been growing tomatoes for—yikes!—almost 40 years. This is no casual acquaintance. We’re talking true intimacy here, so I have a strong bias toward these fleshy, luscious, savory fruits. The…

  • Article

    Part 1: Best Vegetables for the Midwest

    1. ‘Diamond’ eggplant Maturity: 70 to 80 days from transplant Yield: 20 to 30 fruit per plant Needs: Full sun; rich, moist, well-drained soil; lots of heat Eggplants love heat;…