Reference

Plant Profiles

Everything worth growing, one plant per page — how to plant it, water it, feed it, harvest it and fix it when something goes wrong, with the free calculator that does the math for your patch.

Fruit Vegetables & Squash

Bell PepperCapsicum annuumThe warmth-obsessed summer fruit: set bell peppers out only when nights hold above 55°F, keep moisture even, and leave the fruit on the plant until it changes color.
CucumberCucumis sativusThe fastest vine in the garden: grow cucumbers on a trellis in warm, evenly moist soil, feed the heavy thirst, and pick every two days once the fruit starts coming.
TomatoSolanum lycopersicumThe garden's king fruit-vegetable: plant deep after frost in full sun, water on a steady rhythm, and choose determinate or indeterminate to match how you want to harvest.

Leafy & Stem Vegetables

LettuceLactuca sativaThe cool-season salad baseline: sow shallow in light, keep growth uninterrupted with steady water and nitrogen, and harvest outer leaves before summer heat turns the plant bitter.

Root, Bulb & Tuber Vegetables

GarlicAllium sativumThe autumn-planted bulb: set garlic cloves pointy-end up six weeks before hard frost, mulch deep, cut the scapes, and dig when the lower leaves brown.