Tips on Growing Fresh Produce

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen and I've got some tips on growing fresh produce. Now, growing your own vegetable garden or your fruit garden is so rewarding and you don't need a lot of space. So, my tip number one is that you don't need a lot of space. Even if you have a little balcony, or you have a little area, or a little raised bed, you can pack it and vertical is more. So, any way that you can get the plants to grow upwards, you've got it going on. So, even fencing, or any type of trellises, or tomato cages, are really where it's at. Now, when you're growing peas, too, my trick is just set them up against whatever you're growing on, as they grow up, just kind of wind them around. Another tip, too, is when you're taking the peas off of the plant, itself, instead of juts pulling it off, push the plant at one side and just pull it off that way, that makes it a lot easier and the same with the corn. Another tip is just follow whatever you've learned in the produce department. So, whatever stage where you would like to buy your vegetables, in the store, is the stage where you want to take them out of your garden. So, for example, my corn right here is getting bigger but it's still kind of small so I'm going to wait until the ears are a little bit bigger before I take them off. Now, I've got a zucchini here that looks just perfect, I don't think it's going to grow a lot more so this zucchini is ready to go. I can chop it and cut it and use it in a salad tonight. I love having my own vegetables, it's so rewarding. The same thing on these beautiful banana supreme peppers, it's just one little plant. You know, peppers are expensive at the store so my tip is less is more. One pepper plant and I've got twelve peppers and they look just like they would at the store, they're ready to go and you can snap them and use them right away. So, my rule of thumb with produce is as long as everything is green and lush, let it keep growing, as soon as it turns yellow and starts dying back and looking ratty, chop it right out and then just add a little more compost on top of everything next Spring and you can start your own fresh produce, for the next year. So, growing produce is not that difficult, just plant some seeds and they will come."