About Radishes

This week’s lesson: Radishes! Radishes come in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. They are a popular crop for gardeners because of how quickly they can be harvested after planting… some are ready in just three weeks! Plus you can plant them every two weeks or so...

What Happens at a Se...

The 10th Annual Peterson Garden Project Seed Swap is coming up on Sunday, March 3, 2019.  Join us (and more than 150 gardeners) in the 2nd Floor Ballroom at Broadway Armory to start selecting seeds for your garden. What Happens at a Seed Swap? You get to meet fellow gardeners: Selecting seeds...

Seed Starting Tips

If you’ve ever seen a volunteer tomato, dill or squash seedling pop up unexpectedly in your garden plot, you may think that starting seeds is as easy as dropping them in the soil and waiting. And it is – given the right temperature, moisture, soil, and passage of time. But getting...

De-Mystifying Seed C...

For some enthusiastic gardeners, the seed catalog is a giant wish list, with nearly every seed variety circled, regardless of the size of the vegetable garden they’ll be planted in! But for others, the array of tomato varieties, mysterious codes and symbols next to plant names, and figuring...

Grow2Give

At this time of year, we often think of what we are thankful for, and give to others in need. With many food pantries and soup kitchens relying on donations or cheaply purchased leftover or unwanted food, fresh fruits and vegetables are a rare sight among staples like canned beans, rice and...

Putting the Garden t...

With just a few weeks left in the Chicagoland growing season, October is the month where you’ll want to monitor the weather fairly closely, as we approach the first frost. The first frost is usually a “light frost”, where nighttime temperatures are between 32F and 30F. At...

Basil at Summer̵...

With the cooler nighttime temperatures we’ll soon be experiencing later this month, it’s a good time to harvest, protect, or bring cold-sensitive plants like basil indoors. Basil’s tender leaves turn brown when exposed to low temperatures, which usually happens below 50...

30 Days of Doing Ret...

Summer is winding down, but we’re already thinking ahead to 2019 programs and scholarships. Join us October 15 to November 15 for team-building, volunteering, and community engagement as we work towards our mission to recruit, educate and inspire everyone to grow their own food! There will...

August in Photos

The abundance of August is a beautiful sight! Tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, sunflowers, melons – and a brand new garden were just a few of the highlights you shared this month. Be sure to tag us on Instagram or Twitter with @petersongarden or #petersongardenproject or share your...

Preserve the Season ...

Giardiniera means “female gardener” in Italian—fitting, since often women were responsible for managing and harvesting the family vegetable garden and finding ways to preserve a mix of summer vegetables for the cold winter months. Traditionally, giardiniera is made with peppers, cauliflower,...

Husky Edibles –...

Tomatillos and ground cherries both belong to the nightshade family, and although they taste very different, they look very similar. Both fruits grow like paper lanterns, enclosed in an inedible husk. Tomatillos are medium sized, while ground cherries produce a cherry-sized fruit and closely...

Tomato POW(d)ER!

Tomato Preservation: Easy Homemade Tomato Powder Running out of ways to preserve your tomatoes? Canning and freezing are good options, but can take up space in your cabinet or freezer that you may not have this late in the season. Another easy way to bottle the fresh garden flavor...

Harvesting Green Tom...

Green tomatoes for frying aren’t often sold at markets in Chicagoland, and are one of the unique treats one can enjoy from the garden. While all tomatoes are green while unripe, there is a right time to pick a green tomato for frying, and this is not often explained in fried green...

July in Photos

The very first tomatoes are here!! And so are peppers, beans, zucchini, sunflowers… This time of year is one of the best as all your hard work planting, fertilizing, tending, watering, and weeding starts to pay off in abundance – and it tastes great! Be sure to tag us...

What I’m Plant...

Summer is here in Chicagoland and, if you planted earlier this spring, most of your cool-weather crops have matured and been harvested, leaving open spaces in your plot. Others may be just about ready to pick. Or maybe you are starting your garden for the first time this season and are unsure...