Amid all the chaos in The House Plant Expert, I zeroed in on FOOD PLANTS . . . I suppose this page caught my eye because of all the buzz lately about more people getting into vegetable gardening. Or was it because I’d just been to the grocery store?

To harvest tomatoes well before your neighbors do, plan ahead! You’ll need to start tomato seeds in February and then follow a few easy steps.

Bring out the flavor of root vegetables with this easy recipe.

What member of the plant kingdom produces fruit that can hold beverages, float fishing nets, house crickets and make music? It’s the gourd, of the Cucurbitacea, the large family that ranges from the salad cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and melon (C. melo) to winter squash and pumpkins (C. maxima). This versatile plant likely has held a longer association with humans than any other.

fresh picked: white asparagus

Commercial fig production takes place in California and the Southwest, but gardeners can successfully grow in-ground figs as far north as Massachusetts.

For gardeners who want an early start on bean production, fava beans fit the bill…

In late summer, my neighbor, who has been growing vegetables since the 1930s, cranks up his tiller to make room for fall crops, including a couple of good long rows of kale. Kale is one of the essential winter vegetables, as pretty as it is delicious, and not hard to grow…

With the first frost coming soon, will you tell me which vegetables will survive unprotected in the garden?…

Though it is pretty enough in the garden, celeriac wins no beauty contests on the kitchen counter. The edible part is a knobby root, and its thick skin must be cut away before the cream-colored flesh is revealed. But if your favorite part of celery is the carefully pared bit at the end, celeriac, its close relative, is for you…

A chili pepper’s heat comes from the alkaloid capsaicin. Though practically devoid of odor and flavor, capsaicin packs a wallop. The human tongue can detect it in concentrations as low as one drop in 30 million…