Tomatoes are an incredible crop and probably the most popular garden vegetable. The tomato originated in South America and eventually made its way into the cuisine of just about every culture on the planet.

It’s the time of year when vegetable transplants (or “starts) begin to show up at nurseries, hardware and grocery stores, and plant sales. Transplants are wonderful for many reasons. First, certain crops are difficult to grow from seed and will simply perform better if transplanted.

Hilary and Kelly Smith Trimble discuss Kelly's new book, Vegetable Gardening Wisdom; and share simple words of advice and practical inspiration for getting most out of your vegetable garden! 

Turns out gardening in straw bales might be the least expensive and most effective way to create a season-long container garden! Hilary and Craig LeHoullier discuss what a straw bale garden is and how to set one up!

Tomatoes are probably the most popular garden vegetable, and for good reason; they're versatile, highly productive, and produce fruits that are far superior to any you can buy at the grocery store.

Emma Biggs talks with Hilary about the techniques she uses to grow 133 varieties of tomatoes, from seed to harvest, on her family’s urban lot in Toronto, Canada.

Hilary and Colin cover a wide range of listener questions in this late-summer Q+A episode.

Late blight is a fungus-like disease that mainly affects tomatoes and potatoes in the nightshade family.

Tomatoes are probably the most popular garden vegetable, and for good reason; they're versatile, highly productive, and produce fruits that are far superior to any you can buy at the grocery store.

Blossom end rot can be an incredibly frustrating challenge for any vegetable gardener.  There is something particularly upsetting about watching a perfectly healthy-looking plant produce damaged and rotten fruits!  Fortunately, blossom end rot can be avoided and, once in process can often be overcome. 

In some climates, tomatoes are endlessly bountiful.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, where even in mid-summer temperatures remain moderate, tomatoes can be the most unpredictable and uncertain of crops.  Professional growers in our area nearly always grow tomatoes under cover (meaning in a greenhouse or field tunnel), but this isn’t always a feasible option for the small-scale grower or home gardener.  Regardless of your tomato management techniques, if you want a prolific and tasty harvest, it helps to start with the right varieties.

It turned out 2014 was all about tomatoes! Tomatoes seem to be the crop that excites our clients and gardeners all around Seattle the most. While tomatoes are very easy to grow in many parts of the country, our summers tend to be relatively cool and short. While many Seattle transplants are used to eating fresh tomatoes off of the vine all summer long, it isn’t uncommon that we find ourselves harvesting tons of green tomatoes off dying vines at the end of September.