Page 138

The 7 Best Pieces of Equipment for Houseplants During Winter

Winter can be a challenging time for houseplants, but with some basic equipment and a little knowledge, you can help them thrive.

Even though they live in a climate-controlled environment, houseplants suffer from the wintertime blues almost as much as we do. Between the lower light levels and the reduced indoor humidity, houseplants can struggle over the winter. The good news is that with the right equipment and a little knowledge, you can help your plants overcome these challenges.

Most houseplant species come from tropical regions with humidity levels between 40–50%. Home humidity levels in the winter are usually around 10–20%, which is bad news for plants. Dry air puts roots at risk of drying out and makes plants more vulnerable to pests like spider mites. If you want your houseplants to stay lush and green through the darkest, coldest parts of the year, investing in a few key items will keep them thriving and healthy. Read on to learn about the seven best pieces of equipment you can buy for houseplants to help get them through the winter.

1. Humidifier

There are three types of humidifiers: evaporative, ultrasonic, and warm mist. Evaporative-mist humidifiers can be a little louder than the other two types, so if noise is an issue, you may want to steer clear. On the other hand, an evaporative humidifier cannot oversaturate the air, so there is no risk of making a room too humid if you forget to turn the humidifier off. A warm-mist humidifier uses a heating element to vaporize water, but the hot element uses more electricity and can be dangerous for children or pets.

When purchasing a humidifier, you should consider the size of the room you want to humidify and for how long of an interval you want the humidifier to run. All units will come with a listing for their run time and volume capacity—so make sure you know the size of the room or rooms you want to humidify. Ideally, you’ll want to place a humidifier in the room where you have the most plants.

2. Hygrometer

A humidifier is most useful when used in tandem with a hygrometer. This simple, inexpensive device will tell you the humidity level in your home, making it easier to determine the best humidifier settings. There are other DIY methods of testing indoor humidity, but a hygrometer is by far the most efficient and accurate.

3. Space Heater

If your home heating is uneven or extremely inefficient, you may prefer to only heat the room where your plants are located. A small space heater can help you keep your plants’ room at 70-80 degrees during the day and 65-70 degrees at night, which is what most houseplants prefer. One thing to note, however, is that if you are using a space heater, you will definitely want to use a humidifier to offset the drier air in the room you designate as the “grow room.”

4. Watering Can

It’s not a fancy digital device, but a good watering can is just as important as any other piece of winter plant care equipment. A nice, long spout will make it easier to pour water precisely where you want it to go. Most plants are a little picky about the quality of water you give them, and prefer rain water. If rainwater isn’t available, the next best thing is to leave tap water in the can out overnight and let the chlorine and fluorine evaporate before watering your houseplants.

5. Moisture Meter

With all the emphasis on dry indoor air, it might come as a surprise that houseplants actually need to be watered less in the winter season. The short days of winter mean that plants get less sunlight, resulting in slower plant growth and less water uptake by roots. You can use a fingertip inserted into the soil in a pot to check for moisture, but an aquameter eliminates any guesswork. Take care not to overwater plants in the winter; root rot is one of the most common causes of houseplants failing. If in doubt, err on the side of caution and water less.

6. Air Deflector

Depending on the location and orientation of your air vents, you may want to invest in some air deflectors. This simple plastic shield is placed over vents that normally blow warm air directly onto indoor plants, re-routinng the air so that it spares the plants from a direct hit. This will keep your plants from drying out quickly or getting their leaves dried out too quickly.

7. LED Grow Lights

When the days grow shorter, the first thing you should do is to move plants into a spot with a south-facing window. If this isn’t an option, the next best thing is to supplement your houseplants’ light with some LED grow lamps. Plants rely on two different spectrums of light: one for growth and the other for photosynthesis. Unlike regular light bulbs, specialized LED grow lights supply a combination of these red and blue spectrums. An inexpensive LED grow lamp gives the type of light plants need to thrive without generating much heat or using a lot of electricity. This type of plant light is so popular that many people use them year-round to keep plants in parts of their home that don’t get enough light otherwise.

Some Extra Care

While not a device you can purchase, wintertime houseplant care should also include a little common sense and some extra pampering for your leafy green housemates. Clustering plants close together will help them maintain more moisture, with or without a humidifier. Keeping a flat tray filled with pebbles and topped off with water underneath potted plants that love high humidity can help to humidify individual plants.

Misting with a hand-held mister will hydrate thirsty plants that have thick, smooth foliage. You can also use a soft microfiber cloth to gently wipe the dust off leaf surfaces to help them absorb all the light they can. While you’re at it, check the undersides of leaves for mites or scale insects, and treat any you find with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.

While it can be tempting to give slow-growing plants a dose of fertilizer during the winter months, resist the urge. Houseplants are unlikely to grow much in the colder months, so take the opportunity to give them a rest. With a little extra care and attention, your houseplants can emerge from winter looking lush and healthy.

What to Do About Brown Tips on Plants?

One of a gardener’s worst fears is spotting brown tips on their plants. Here is what to do when that happens.

All gardeners hope that their plants will live healthy lives without any complications. However, as you likely know, that ideal scenario rarely takes place. What’s more common is that your plants will face some sort of challenge while they try to grow and expand. One of the most prevalent of those issues is finding brown tips on your plants.

Brown tips on plants can be concerning at first. But if you know what to do, dealing with this situation is a somewhat straightforward process. We’ll describe what you should do when brown tips appear on your plant’s leaves. We’ll also explore some of the top reasons why this problem occurs in the first place.

1. Remove Brown Tips from Your Plants

The approach you should take to remove brown tips from your plants will differ depending on the scenario. In some cases, the brown parts of your plant will appear only at the tips of the leaves. In other instances, the brown color may spread to cover most or all of a leaf.

Cut off the brown tip

This first remedy is helpful for the times when the brown appears only on the tips of your plant’s leaves rather than overtaking the majority of the leaf. This resolution involves these three simple steps:

Those tasks appear easy on the surface. However, take some time to understand the details of why each one is important.

Sharp and sterile scissors

The first stage of nearly any gardening chore is to gather the right tools and materials for the job. Regarding pruning, the most important tool you’ll need is a set of scissors or hand pruners that are both sharp and sterile.

The sharper your pruning tools are, the easier it will be to cut through your plant’s living tissues. This makes for a clean cut that is not likely to cause any further damage to your plant. But effective cutting capabilities are not all that you should look for in a pruning tool.

Your pruner should also be exceptionally clean, otherwise it could pass bacteria and disease to the plants you prune. That threat of infection is why you should always take time to sterilize your pruning tools before and after you use them. Wiping them with rubbing alcohol is a fantastic way to eliminate any harmful germs.

Mimic the shape of the leaf

Once you have a suitable set of scissors or hand pruners, it is time to cut the brown tips from your plants. Again, remember that this tactic is only appropriate when just the tips of your plants are brown. If that is true for your plants, here is what you should do:

Follow the general shape of a healthy leaf until you have removed most of the brown part of the plant. Using that shape will make it more likely that your affected leaf will look more like the others once it has healed.

Leave some brown parts

In the last step, we mentioned cutting near where the brown meets the green part of your plant. However, that direction may not be detailed enough. What some gardeners claim is best is to leave some of the brown on the plant.

The idea here is that if you don’t cut into the green part of the leaf, you won’t do any more damage to the plant. If the brown part you leave is small enough, the plant should have no problem healing it and returning to its healthiest state.

Or, prune the entire leaf

Sometimes, the brown parts of your plant appear on more than just the tip of the leaves. Instead, the brown portion may overtake most of the leaf. If that is what you are seeing on your plants, then you’ll need to take a different pruning approach.

The initial step of this pruning job is the same. You’ll need to find a clean and sharp pair of scissors or pruning shears. The difference comes when it is time to make a cut.

Rather than carefully cutting away a small part of the leaf, the chances are that you’ll need to remove the entire leaf. To do so, follow the leaf to where it connects with a branch. Make a clean cut close to the branch to remove the leaf while encouraging your plant to heal quickly from your pruning cut.

2. Treat the Root Cause of Brown Tips on Plants

By now, you know how to treat a plant that has brown tips. But what is more crucial is understanding why that brown part appeared in the first place. To do that, you’ll need to know the answer to one essential question.

Why do brown tips appear on plants?

There are many reasons why brown tips may appear on your favorite plants. Here are some of the most widespread reasons:

Once you know the reason why your plant has brown tips, you are one step closer to preventing the problem from occurring again.

Go forth with confidence

The emergence of brown tips on your plants is worthy of your concern. But if you know what to do, resolving that problem is something you can do quickly and easily. All you need to do is use the information in the sections above, and you can get rid of those brown spots right away.

10 Best Flowers to Plant in Late Spring

Nature moves in seasons, and if you watch your garden closely, there are more than just four. When the earliest spring blooms are already fading and falling away, the plants on this list are ready to take over the next shift, growing in your garden in the later part of spring and produce pretty blooms.

Common columbine

The Common columbine is a tall, flowering plant, typically with a long stem and light purple flowers. The Latin specific name for the plant, “vulgaris,” means “common,” and it comes from the fact that the plants spread easily and grow in many places around Europe. Ancient Romans considered the Common columbine to be sacred for the goddess, Venus.

Pansy

Pansy (Viola wittrockiana) is a flowering plant species native to Europe and western Asia. The Pansy is a large-flowered hybrid plant species often planted as an ornamental garden flower. This species grows best in sunlight and well-drained soil. The Pansy is vulnerable to attack by aphids and the fungal leaf spot disease.

Jacob's ladder

Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) grows in temperate habitats in Europe and has been imported to North America. It takes root in damp soils and rocky areas. Jacob’s ladder is used as an ingredient in some dyes and occasionally ends up in potpourri mixes.

Lenten rose

The Lenten rose has been cultivated since the Germans began to do so in the mid-1800s, with varieties being created in the United Kingdom shortly after. Between the 1920s and 1960s, there was little interest in its cultivation until Helen Ballard bred new varieties. They blooming early in the year hence they get their name of “Lenten rose”.

Lily of the valley

Lily of the valley is highly poisonous and originates in Euroasia. Although it is toxic, it is popular in gardens and perfume industry for its charming flowers and fragrance. Lily of the valley is the national flower of Finland and was the national flower of former Yugoslavia.

Common lilac

The Common lilac is a sweet-smelling flowering plant with cloudy purple leaves. The scent is so popular that it has found its way into body-care products of all types. It is a member of the olive family. The Common lilac can be found around the world today, but it is native to the Balkan Peninsula and thrives in rocky environments.

Rose geranium

The Rose geranium is best known for its rose-scented essential oil and is widely cultivated for the perfume industry. It is also planted in gardens for its ornamental value and pleasant aroma. Though it cannot be consumed in large quantities, Rose geranium is used as a flavoring in rose-flavored desserts and teas.

Common primrose

Common primrose is a welcome sight in an early spring landscape. The vibrant colors of the flowers and a light, delicate scent make the Common primrose a favorite. This plant provides vibrant color to any container or flowerbed, with hues available in yellow, pink, purple, blue, orange, red, white and bi-color.

Bleeding heart

Bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) is a flowering plant related to the poppy. Bleeding heart is native to Siberia, China, Korea, and Japan. This plant is commonly referred to as the Japanese bleeding heart. Bleeding heart is a popular ornamental plant and grows best in moist soils and full sunlight.

Giant onion

Giant onion, Allium giganteum, or ornamental onion, is a member of the Amaryllidaceae family. This hardy perennial grows large purple clusters of tiny florets. It’s the largest of the ornamental onions, and although it produces onion-like fragrances, it is not grown for consumption.

8 Kitchen Herbs to Grow in Your Spring Garden

As the days get longer and the sunlight strengthens, some start looking for fresh ideas in the kitchen as well as the garden. Why not refresh both with the rich flavors of these delicious herbs, which are best planted in the springtime. You’ll be reaping flavor for the rest of the year.

Coriander

Coriander is well-known in many countries and is most commonly used for cooking. The dried seeds of the Coriander plant are ground and used to season dishes, while the leaves and stems can be eaten cooked or raw. In the United States, the leaves and stems of this plant are called cilantro.

Basil

Basil is a species of mint plant native to Asia and Africa. It is a popular houseplant, and thrives when it receives plenty of regular sun and water. This plant is also easy to transfer from one soil environment to another. The edible Basil leaves can be eaten fresh or dried with pizza, salads, soups, teas, and many other dishes.

Common sage

Salvia officinalis, colloquially known as Common sage, is an evergreen woody shrub that grows in dry and stony places. It has a long history of cultivation for culinary purposes as well as for its distinctive scent, which is now incorporated into candles, potpourri, and beauty products, often combined with lemon. Common sage’s lovely purple flowers adorn many gardens and flower beds all over the world.

Dill

Dill grows upright with fine, delicate leaves. The main use of dill is in cooking, and its culinary applications vary widely. Whether dried or as a fresh garnish, Dill has a long history as a flavoring herb. It has even been found in 3400-year-old Egyptian tombs. In North America, it may be most well-known as the distinctive flavoring in dill pickles.

Lemon balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an herbaceous perennial famous for its essential oils and mild scent. Its oils and extracts are widely used in perfume and beauty products, as well as household cleaning products. Lemon balm can be cultivated as an ornamental plant that also attracts honeybees. It has been grown and cultivated by humans since at least the 16th century.

Common borage

Common borage is often used to make soup, sauces, pasta filling, and a flavoring for pickles in Germany, Spain, Greece, and Italy. It is also occasionally used as a drink garnish and is an ingredient in some gins. Common borage flowers can also be made into blue or pink dyes.

Garden thyme

While best known for culinary purposes, Garden thyme has historically seen use in embalming rituals and as incense. In the kitchen, it most often ends up as a flavoring herb or brewed in tea. Garden thyme was gifted to warriors in the Middle Ages because it was supposed to spur courage and energy.

Parsley

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is one of the world’s most popular herbs and is used extensively in the cuisines of the USA, Europe, and The Middle East. It is a nutritious ingredient that adds flavor to the famous parsley sauce and texture and aroma to soups and stews. It is also used raw as a garnish. In the garden, Parsley attracts swallowtail butterflies and bees to its flowers, and birds feed on its seeds.

8 Easy Vegetables to Direct Sow in Garden Beds

Want to grow your own vegetables? Create your perfect vegetable patch by choosing the best and easiest veggies to sow and grow in your own garden. Enjoy your hard work and show off your skills to friends and family.

Radish

Radish (Raphanus sativus) is a plant species that represents a food staple in many cultures around the world. The Radish has a wide range of variations, including variants that grow in the spring, summer and winter. The root is generally eaten raw and can be used in salads or as a garnish.

Garden pea

Garden pea (Pisum sativum) is an annual vegetable that makes a hardy, cold weather crop. Also known as the green pea or garden pea, it grows from 1 to 1.5 feet tall. Peapods form after the first year and both peas and pods are edible and can be eaten cooked or raw. Excellent in stir fry, tender tips, called pea shoots, are also edible.

Beet

The Beet (Beta vulgaris) provides a variety of uses for food products and garden growth. The roots are commonly consumed as nutrient-rich vegetables, the body of the sugar beet is used to make table sugar, and the leaves are harvested as a separate vegetable: chard. In 18th-Century Silesia, an area that is now part of Poland, the first-ever beet sugar extraction plant was created by a royal decree from the king.

Cabbage

When you look at a wild Cabbage plant, you may be surprised by how many edible vegetables were derived from it. Native peoples selectively cultivated the wild Cabbage over centuries to produce broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, and more. The wild form of the plant is also edible.

Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard is a leafy green that’s cultivated and sold worldwide. It is cultivated for its leaves and stalks, and unlike other beet varieties, it does not produce fleshy roots. Despite being called “Swiss Chard”, this plant doesn’t come from Switzerland; its place of origin is Sicily.

Lettuce

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a hardy annual plant commonly cultivated as a leafy vegetable. The earliest evidence of its cultivation goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt. Its leaves are often used for making salads and they are an excellent source of vitamins K and A.

Common bean

Common bean is one of the most widely produced cash crops in the world, with 23.6 million tons grown in 2016. China is the largest producer of the Common bean, accounting for 79% of the market share. While the Common bean is known as a staple food source, the leaves can be used to trap bedbugs and the beans are widely used in a type of fortune-telling called “favomancy”.

Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an edible plant species that is often considered a ‘superfood’ due to its high content of vitamins, folate, fiber, iron, magnesium, and other nutrients. Spinach is grown in gardens around the world and provides an important food source.

9 Houseplants That Can Be Dangerous to Children and Pets

We all have that single friend whose beautiful house would never safely support a toddler. But not everyone is in that situation. These nine popular houseplants should be avoided if you have kids or anima

Amazonian Elephant Ear

Amazonian Elephant Ear (Alocasia mortfontanensis) is a hybrid species between Alocasia longiloba and Alocasia sanderiana. The Alocasia is known for its large leaves and wide variety of cultivars within the species. Amazonian Elephant Ear is native to tropical Asia and Australia.

Crown of thorns

The Euphorbia milii is commonly known as the Crown of thorns or Christ thorn, as it is believed to the plant associated with the crown of thorns that was worn by Christ. It needs to stay above 10 °C with full sun.

Sago palm

The Sago palm is said to be a source of sago, a starch and carbohydrate source eaten in certain countries. Great care must be taken, however, because Sago palm is poisonous that could cause vomiting, diarrhea and headache, etc. These palm-like plants are more often kept for their decorative value. But make sure that your pet is away from this plant, which could be fatal to pets if consumed.

Peace lily

The Peace lily gets its scientific name Spathiphyllum wallisii from a combination of the two Greek words ‘spath’ and ‘phyl’, which means spoon and leaves, respectively. The large graceful white spath of the Peace lily resembles a white flag, which is an international symbol of truce or peace.

English ivy

English ivy is the most common climber of European forests. It is a perennial woody vine with evergreen, dark, shiny lobed leaves. It utilizes aerial rootlets to attach to the tree bark with exceptional strength, helping the ivy creep more than 15 m up a tree. English ivy also grows as a forest groundcover and is invasive outside of its native range.

Angle wings

The Heart of jesus is a poisonous leafy plant. Its paper-thin, heart-shaped leaves lend the plant its common nickname, along with names like “angel wings” and “elephant ear.” Though native to South America, its primary hub of cultivation is now around Lake Placid, Florida, where it has become a popular centerpiece for an annual festival.

Persian cyclamen

Persian cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) is a flowering herbaceous perennial native to Turkey, Israel, northern Africa and some Greek islands. The Persian cyclamen root can be combined with lime and added to lakes in order to stun fish. This method of fishing is banned in many jurisdictions.

Golden pothos

The Golden pothos is a popular flowering house plant that’s commonly seen in Australia, Asia, and the West Indies. It goes by many nicknames, including “devil’s ivy,” because it is so hard to kill, and can grow in the dark. Golden pothos has poisonous sap, so it should be kept away from pets and children.

Poinsettia

The Poinsettia is a common sight in the United States during Christmas time. It was popularized by Albert Ecke after he emigrated to California from Germany. Today, 70 million Poinsettia are sold in a short 6 week period.

9 Recommended Air Plants to Grow Indoors

While most popular garden plants grow in soil, air plants are different. They manage to spread their roots through the air alone. This captivating growth habit allows these plants to grow in striking hanging garden displays. If you want to grow these incredible plants in your home, here are a few of the species to try.

Giant airplant

Giant airplant, or Tillandsia fasciculata, is a large species of bromeliad. In the wild, it grows on tree trunks and produces a stunning flower-like inflorescence that can last for a year. This air plant is endangered in the United States.

Spanish moss

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is native to subtropical and tropical Mexico, Central America, South America, and the southern United States. Spanish moss is also known as grandpa’s beard in Polynesia. It grows on the surface of southern live oak and bald-cypress trees. It has spiritual symbolic significance in Hawaii and the American south. It is also finds commercial use in insulation, mulch, packing material, and mattress stuffing.

Small ball moss

Small ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is a flowering plant that grows on the surfaces of other plant species, most commonly the southern live oak. Small ball moss is not a true moss, despite its name. This species is native to the southern United States, Argentina, and Chile. It was consumed by the indigenous Pima people of Mexico and can also be fed to animals.

Octopus plant

Octopus plant, or Tillandsia caput-medusae, gets its Latin name from the Greek Medusa, an evil creature whose hair was made of snakes. This variety of air plant can tolerate more sun and less humidity than other varieties.

Air plant

Air plant (Tillandsia ionantha) is a plant species native to Central America, Mexico, Costa Rica, and South America. The Air plant has become naturalized in Florida. This species is a popularly sought-after air plant for home cultivation. It is popular because it is considered hearty and requires minimal care. Air plant grows best in warm, humid rooms with occasional misting with water.

Air plant

Graced with strong, silvery leaves, Air plant (Tillandsia xerographica) is one of a number of species colloquially known as “air plants.” This name references their preference to grow, suspended, in the highest branches of tropical trees. Quite remarkably, the Air plant does not necessarily need soil, instead absorbing water through its leaves.

Spreading airplant

Spreading airplant (Tillandsia utriculata) is native to Florida and Georgia within the United States. The Spreading airplant is also often called the giant airplant. This species is the host of many native invertebrate animals because it can hold a great deal of water in its leaves. It is susceptible to the invasive weevil Metamasius callizona, which has a profound effect on its native ecosystem.

Airplant

Airplant (Tillandsia stricta) is a miniature tropical plant that makes a great addition to a terrarium or an enclosed indoor garden. The lush green leaves fan out from the center, growing thick and bushy as it matures. It produces clusters of eye-catching, pinkish-purple flowers that rise up above the plant on a green spike. Prefers bright indirect sunlight or fluorescent lighting. Water-loving: soak twice a week or mist three to four times weekly.

Bulbous airplant

Bulbous airplant(Tillandsia bulbosa) is a species in the genus Tillandsia. It is widespread across Central America, the West Indies, southern Mexico (Chiapas, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatán Peninsula), and northern and eastern South America (Venezuela, Colombia, the Guianas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Alagoas, Amapá, Pernambuco).

12 Easy Vegetables to Grow Indoors

If you don’t have a green thumb, finding plants that you’re confident you can grow successfully can be challenging. Thankfully, many vegetables are easy to plant and maintain. Many of these plants grow well in indoor locations, and this list will introduce you to 12 such species.

Radish

Beet

Garlic

Garlic (Allium sativum) is an extremely popular garden plant because of its use for flavoring dishes, as well as its ease of care and growth. It is traditionally planted in autumn and harvested in mid-summer. This plant is also called the stinking rose, and it is useful as an insect repellent in gardens. Garlic is important to Korean creation myths, and is believed to ward off vampires and other spirits in European folklore.

Field mustard

Field mustard (Brassica rapa) is a plant that is widely cultivated and produces oilseed. Canola oil is made from the Field mustard oilseed. Field mustard attracts white butterflies who gain nutrients from its flowers.

Welsh onion

Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum) is cultivated for its onion-flavored leaves, which are used like scallions. Originally from Asia, it was brought to Europe in the 17th century and has now naturalized in various parts of North America, including Canada, Alaska and areas of the northern United States.

Basil

Basil is a species of mint plant native to Asia and Africa. It is a popular houseplant, and thrives when it receives plenty of regular sun and water. This plant is also easy to transfer from one soil environment to another. The edible Sweet basil leaves can be eaten fresh or dried with pizza, salads, soups, teas, and many other dishes.

Swiss Chard

Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum is an annual or perennial herbaceous vine native to Central and South America that produces a large, juicy, edible fruit known as Tomato. Today there are over 10000 cultivated varieties. Although tomato is the world’s most popular vegetable, botanically it is a fruit.

Lettuce

Arugula

Arugula (Eruca vesicaria) is an annual cool-season vegetable with peppery-tasting leaves. It will grow from 12 to 18 inches tall. It is often eaten in salads. The flowers and seeds are also edible. It prefers full sun to partial shade and tolerates wet soil and light frosts.

Peppers

The Peppers is a plant that produces bright red pepper vegetables. This chili pepper is commonly used for cooking in places such as the Southern U.S. and Central America. Most are moderately spicy, though because there are so many variants, the spice level can vary dramatically. Cayenne powder is also a popular seasoning product made from Peppers plants.

Spinach

8 Climbing Vegetables to Grow Vertically

Few plants are as impressive as climbing vines. Such species use their unique growth habits to entwine themselves with trellises, arbors, and other garden structures. Many of these climbing vines can reach incredible heights and grow some of the most popular foods in the world. Read through this article to learn about a few climbing vegetables you can grow.

Garden pea

Pea (Pisum sativum) is an annual vegetable that makes a hardy, cold weather crop. Also known as the green pea or garden pea, it grows from 1 to 1.5 feet tall. Peapods form after the first year and both peas and pods are edible and can be eaten cooked or raw. Excellent in stir fry, tender tips, called pea shoots, are also edible.

Field pumpkin

Field pumpkin are most commonly seen as decorations throughout the autumn and during the Halloween holiday, when they are carved and used as traditional jack-o’-lanterns. While the taste of Field pumpkin flesh may not be ideal, eating the seeds after toasting them with a bit of salt can be a delicious treat!

Malabar spinach

Not actually spinach at all, Malabar spinach is a vining plant that thrives in the heat of summer. It is very prolific in warm weather and the leaves are edible with a peppery citrus flavor. It can be eaten as salad greens or cooked or steamed. In warm climates, this vine can become invasive although a hard frost will kill it.

Cucumber

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a creeping vine native to South Asia. It has a long history of cultivation – mentions of its use are found in various ancient scripts, including the Bible, Epic of Gilgamesh and Pliny the Elder’s “Natural History”. Today, Cucumber is one of the most widely cultivated vegetable species in the world.

Tomato

Common bean

Cantaloupe

Cucumis melo includes a variety of melons, including honeydew, cantaloupe, and muskmelon. These melons are an excellent source of vitamins A and C and are commonly eaten fresh or dried. It is occasionally turned into oil or liqueur.

Bottle gourd

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is an annual vine that is considered easy to grow from its seeds. This species is also known as calabash. This gourd is edible and is also used to make bowls and musical instruments.