SHIFTING ROOTS

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Avoid These 8 Mistakes for a Better Vegetable Container Garden

March 4, 2020

This year I had visions of a beautiful container garden filled with vegetables on my back deck.  I would make it interesting by adding flowers to some of the pots and create a space that was both beautiful and edible.  However, my dreams and reality did not meet.  Here’s the mistakes I made and how you can learn from them.

Really quick gardening disclaimer: I garden in zone 3b in Saskatchewan, Canada, and as such, my gardening advice is best suited to the Canadian Prairies.  While I try to make my gardening tips applicable to as many locations as possible, it is impossible to be 100% relevant to every single zone in North America and beyond.  Thanks for understanding!

Second disclaimer: Nobody really wants to see pictures of practically dead plants.  The pictures here are of my pots when they last looked good, around the mid-point of the growing season.  They went downhill shortly after.

Do you dream of having a container vegetable garden on your patio, balcony, or other small space?  Gardening in pots can be tricky for beginners--here's 8 mistakes you'll want to avoid. #gardening #containergardening #pots #vegetables #vegetablegardening #beginners #plantcare
[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

13 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Vegetables Tagged: beginner gardener, beginner gardening, container gardening, containers, growing vegetables, pots, small space garden, vegetable garden, vegetable gardening, Vegetables

5 Secrets to Growing Better Peppers from Seed

April 26, 2019

Peppers are fun to start from seed and are a welcome distraction to the bitter February cold. But pepper seedlings can be tricky to grow well. You might frequently find yourself asking, “why are my peppers not growing?” and be tempted to throw the whole tray into the compost.

I’ve been growing peppers indoors for quite a few years, and have finally figured out the best ways to avoid the biggest pepper growing problem and get the results everyone wants–good side growth and strong, thick stalks.

So grab your jiffy pods and seed starting equipment and let’s get you growing your best peppers yet!

Growing peppers from seed doesn't have to be an impossible task!  Even a beginner can grow lots of peppers in their vegetable garden.  Here's my best pepper growing tips for healthy plants, and good pepper yields!  #peppers #gardening #tips #vegetable
This was the first pepper from seed that I grew really well. It took me years to get it right, so yes, I am insanely proud of it.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read more about it here in my privacy policy. Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

The Basics of Starting Peppers from Seed

Before we get into the secrets to growing strong pepper plants from seed, let’s just make sure you’ve got your seed starting basics covered. All the tricks in the world won’t help you if you don’t have these things in order. You’ll need:

  • Pepper seeds
  • Good quality potting soil (Don’t use soil straight from the garden) The one I’ve linked above uses coconut coir, a more environmentally friendly alternative to peat moss.
  • Jiffy pods (if you use them)
  • A grow light, or south facing window

If you’re having trouble deciding what pepper varieties to plant, here’s my favourite pepper varieties for beginners.

New to seed starting in general? Here’s my primer on seed starting from your window. All the pictures of peppers in this post have been started my me personally in my south facing window.

Finally, peppers can take a long time to germinate. Don’t expect to see any green until around 2 weeks after you’ve sown the seeds.

With that out of the way, on to my 5 pepper growing tips!

1. Plant Two Pepper Seedlings to a Container

Peppers will grow well just by themselves, but they’re more productive if you plant two of them together. I started these peppers separately in jiffy pods, then grouped them together when it was time to move them to bigger pots.

As you can see, the stem growth isn’t affected and they are looking very healthy.

Growing peppers from seed doesn't have to be an impossible task!  Even a beginner can grow lots of peppers in their vegetable garden.  Here's my best pepper growing tips for healthy plants, and good pepper yields!  #peppers #gardening #tips #vegetable

P.S. Curious about these newspaper pots? Here’s how to make them.

2. Start Indoors 8-10 Weeks Before the Last Frost Date

What is the best time to plant peppers? Ideally you’ll start the seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before your last frost date, harden them off to survive the outdoors the week after the frost date, then plant them in the ground the week after that.

Peppers have a longer growing season, so if you’re gardening in zone 3 like I am, or some other cold climate, you must start them in that time frame.

Learn the Basics of Gardening in Just a Few Minutes

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Enter your name and email address to download the Quick Start Garden Guide. You'll also get a mini-email course and weekly gardening tips and advice.

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For me, that means I’ll start them mid to late February, harden them off mid-May, then set them into the garden in late May or even early June.

Sure, they’ll get quite large and you’ll have to top them off (more about that later), but you’ll be able to harvest peppers all season long, as opposed to one pepper at the end of the summer.

Growing peppers from seed doesn't have to be an impossible task!  Even a beginner can grow lots of peppers in their vegetable garden.  Here's my best pepper growing tips for healthy plants, and good pepper yields!  #peppers #gardening #tips #vegetable
I don’t know if you can notice, but these plants are so big that my 7 year old is curled up behind them, hiding.

3. Keep the Grow Light Close (or use a South-Facing Window)

Nobody likes leggy seedlings! (Leggy seedlings are when your plants are stretched out because they’re trying to reach the light source). You can avoid this fate for your plants by keeping the grow light only 1 or 2 inches away.

If you’re growing your peppers in a south facing window, you won’t have to move the light, but you will have to move the plant. Turn your peppers around every few days so they don’t lean to one side. You’ll likely turn them every day after they first germinate, then every few days once they’ve established a bit more.

Growing peppers from seed doesn't have to be an impossible task!  Even a beginner can grow lots of peppers in their vegetable garden.  Here's my best pepper growing tips for healthy plants, and good pepper yields!  #peppers #gardening #tips #vegetable

4. Pinch Pepper Plants at the 8 to 10 Leaf Stage

Want strong stems and lots of side growth? Then you need to prune your pepper plants!! When the plant reaches the 8 or 10 leaf stage, pinch off the last 2-4 leaves on the top of the plant.

Yes, you will likely feel like a plant murderer for topping off your plants. But–I promise you that you will be rewarded with thick stalks, a bushy pepper plant, and lots of peppers!

Here’s a video showing exactly how easy it is to top off your peppers:

5. Plant in the Right Location

Once you grow that perfect pepper from seed, your job isn’t done! Peppers do not grow very tall and like as much sun and heat as possible. Plant them in a container, or in a spot in the garden that gets 6 or more hours of sun a day, in the hottest spot possible. (If you live somewhere very warm, you might want to ignore the hottest-spot-possible advice. Where I garden in zone 3, this is very good advice.)

Finally, don’t plop the pepper right next to a vegetable that will be tall. My peppers have suffered next to tomatoes or zucchini, because both plants have grown larger than anticipated and shaded my poor peppers out.

I have much better luck planting my peppers beside shorter crops like bush beans, lettuces, and root vegetables.

Growing peppers from seed doesn't have to be an impossible task!  Even a beginner can grow lots of peppers in their vegetable garden.  Here's my best pepper growing tips for healthy plants, and good pepper yields!  #peppers #gardening #tips #vegetable

There you have it–my best tips and tricks to growing beautiful peppers! With the right light, water, and a little know-how, you can grow your own peppers like these.

Learn the Basics of Gardening in Just a Few Minutes

Gardening doesn't have to be complicated. Learn the basics in minutes, get started with your first garden in a day or less, and start your lifetime gardening adventure.

Enter your name and email address to download the Quick Start Garden Guide. You'll also get a mini-email course and weekly gardening tips and advice.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

6 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Uncategorised, Vegetables Tagged: Peppers, seed starting, vegetable gardening

The Best Pepper Varieties for Beginners

January 14, 2019

Peppers are what I consider one of the “vegetable gardening glory plants.”  Nobody really cares if you can grow nice beans or zucchini, but everyone will ooh and ah over your peppers and tomatoes.

Unfortunately, if you live in a colder climate like I do, peppers can be tricky to grow, unless you’re an advanced enough gardener that you have a greenhouse or you’ve got some experience under your belt.

I hate to admit it, but it took me 4 YEARS to finally grow a grocery-store-sized bell pepper.  And you can bet I bragged about that pepper to practically everyone I knew.

Pepper Growing Tips for Beginners

So what did I learn from that experience?

  • Location is everything.  Do not put your peppers by much larger vegetables where they will be shaded out.  You know the super hot and sheltered spot in your yard where practically nothing else grows?  Put your peppers there.  (But make sure you have good soil with a healthy dose of compost and manure added to it.)
  • Peppers can take their sweet time germinating.  If you’re starting them from seed for the first time, start them a tiny bit earlier than you think you need to.  If you have a heat mat for your seedlings, use it.
  • Not all pepper varieties are created equal.  In subsequent years, I’ve had much more success with different pepper varieties.

Here’s some of my favourites that I think beginner gardeners will have better success with.

The Easiest Peppers to Grow in Cold Climates (like zone 3)

Hungarian Wax Peppers

If you’ve never planted a pepper before in your life, start with Hungarian was peppers.  They’re super easy to grow, produce lots of fruit, and can handle your abuse.  When I had to abandon my garden this summer because of health issues, my Hungarian wax peppers still kept producing.

Does this mean you can plant them and forget them?  No.  But they’re not so delicate that missing one watering is the end of them.

Related: The 10 best vegetables for beginner gardeners

Hungarian Wax Peppers are such an easy vegetable to grow in the garden.  Perfect for beginners and a good idea in a container garden or small space #gardening #peppers #beginner #vegetable

Cayenne Peppers

Much like the Hungarian wax peppers, cayenne peppers are peppers that just keep on giving.  I like to harvest them when they are green and let them turn red in the house, so that I can get more peppers in my short growing season.

Carmen and Escamillo Peppers

I have not personally grown these–yet, but lots of my friends have and they’ve all raved about them.  I’ll be starting some seeds this winter and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Learn the Basics of Gardening in Just a Few Minutes

Gardening doesn't have to be complicated. Learn the basics in minutes, get started with your first garden in a day or less, and start your lifetime gardening adventure.

Enter your name and email address to download the Quick Start Garden Guide. You'll also get a mini-email course and weekly gardening tips and advice.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

What about Growing Peppers in a Warmer Climate?

For the last year I’ve felt really bad that I don’t have answers like this for all of my readers who live in much warmer climates than I do.  So I’ve hired another gardener who lives in South Carolina to write and consult for me occasionally so I can better serve you.  The following suggestions are based off of her advice.

First of all, if you live in a warmer climate, you’ll have a MUCH easier time growing peppers than I do.  In fact, you might even have to shade your peppers in the afternoon to avoid sunscald.

Smaller chili and cayenne hot peppers are easier to grow vegetables for beginner gardeners.  I'm going to plant some this spring in my vegetable garden. #peppers #gardening #vegetable

Here’s seven varieties that are better suited to beginners in warmer climates:

  • Jalapeño
  • Poblano
  • Anaheim Chiles
  • Orange Blaze Mini Pepper
  • Lamuyo

She also mentioned all of the pepper varieties up above that worked well for me in zone 3.

Whatever pepper you decide to grow, I wish you the best of luck in your gardening adventures!

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

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Filed Under: Gardening, Vegetables Tagged: beginner gardener, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, Garden, gardening tips, hot pepper, Hungarian wax pepper, Peppers

Garden Fresh Tomato Tart with Phyllo Pastry and Boursin Cheese

October 1, 2018

Do you ever see an image on a food magazine and can’t get it out of your head?  About two or three years ago, I saw a beautiful rainbow-coloured tomato tart on the cover of a magazine.  Was it Martha Stewart?  Real Simple?  Another food magazine?  I have no idea.  But that photo stuck with me and I’ve been waiting to create my own version for awhile.

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: Entertaining, Recipes, Simple & Easy, Vegetables Tagged: appetizer, Autumn, easy, entertaining, Holiday, recipe, tart, tomato

3 Easy Steps to Fix Blossom End Rot

July 3, 2018

You’ve planted the tomato seeds, watched them grow, and now you’re finally starting to get some beautiful tomatoes!  But what’s this?  Who put this disgusting black scab on the bottom of my beautiful tomato?

That horrible scab that’s ruining your tomato is called Blossom End Rot.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

110 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Vegetables Tagged: blossom end rot, calcium, Tomatoes, vegetable garden

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Privacy Policy

Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
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P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
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