Seed Starting
Starting your garden from seeds might be easier than you think. Check out this article to get practical tips on starting your plants from seeds.
Vegetables
It’s easy to grow fresh, nutritious and tasty vegetables in your own yard, community garden plot, or even in containers on a deck or patio. The University of Wisconsin – Madison Division of Extension offers home vegetable gardeners a tremendous number of resources to learn how to grow vegetables, as well as how to prevent and control diseases and insects. Browsing our publications and fact sheets will help you be successful in achieving a bountiful harvest.
Featured Vegetable Articles
Making and Using Compost in the Garden
Making your own compost is an easy, practical, and satisfying way to make use of yard waste and table scraps. With this publication, designed for the home gardener, you’ll be composting like a pro in no time!
Using Crop Rotation in Home Vegetable Garden
Crop rotation in the home vegetable garden involves changing the planting location of vegetables within the garden each season. Crop rotation is used to reduce damage from insect pests, to limit the development of vegetable diseases, and to manage soil fertility. Learn the basics in this factsheet.
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Articles
Tomato Pruning
Tomatoes are a popular vegetable that many people grow in their home gardens. Pruning tomatoes can create stronger and healthier plants that will grow larger numbers of higher quality tomato fruits later into the growing season.
Ten Common Plant Diseases / Disorders You Can Diagnose by Eye
This fact sheet provided a list of 10 relatively easy to identify plant diseases.
Beginning Vegetable Garden Basics: Site Selection and Soil Preparation
Starting a vegetable garden may seem overwhelming to a first-time gardener. However, learning gardening basics and being successful in gardening endeavors can be quite easy. This fact sheet focuses on how novice gardeners can select and prepare their garden site to ensure maximum success.
Tobacco Mosaic
Tobacco mosaic causing a blotchy light and dark coloring (mosaic) of tobacco leaves. Tobacco mosaic causing a blotchy light and dark coloring (mosaic) of tobacco leaves.
Growing Vegetables in Containers
This article provides practical tips on growing plants in containers. With a few tips, growing plants in containers can be easy!
Verticillium Wilt of Vegetables
Authors: Ken Frost* and Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology Last Revised: 05/05/2013 X-number: XHT1146 What is Verticillium wilt? Verticillium wilt is a typically fatal disease that affects a wide range of vegetable crops in Wisconsin. Vegetables commonly and severely affected by Verticillium wilt include tomato, potato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, muskmelon, pumpkin and watermelon. Other vegetables […]
Bacterial Wilt of Cucurbits
What is bacterial wilt? Bacterial wilt is a common and destructive disease that affects cucurbits (i.e., plants in the cucumber family), including economically important crops such as melon (Cucumis melo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and, to a lesser extent, squash and pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.). This disease is distributed throughout the United States; and can be found anywhere that cucurbits are grown.
Tomato Spotted Wilt of Potato
Tomato spotted wilt is a common viral disease of worldwide distribution that can affect over 1000 plant species. Economically important hosts include a wide range of vegetables, fruits, field crops, and ornamentals. Many weeds are also potential hosts.
Mulches for Home Gardens and Plantings
Boost your garden’s production with mulches. This publication shows when to use organic mulches, like bark or leaves, and synthetic mulches, like plastic sheets, and teaches how to apply them.
Best Practices for Community Gardens During COVID-19
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services provides guidance for various types of organizations and service providers operating and providing assistance or safeguards in our communities. DHS Community Garden Guidelines for coordinators and gardeners Community Garden Signage
Using Wood Ash in the Home Garden
Authors: Kevin Schoessow, Extension Burnett, Sawyer and Washburn Counties Last Revised: 02/27/2020 X-number: XHT1268 Home gardeners often ask if wood ash can be used as a fertilizer in vegetable gardens and flowerbeds, around landscape trees and shrubs, and on lawns. Wood ash can be a valuable source of certain nutrients and can also be used to modify […]
