Are you a green apple lover? ‘Granny Smith’ is the variety for you! It grows versatile apples that taste great, either fresh or cooked. Learn all there is to know for a successful harvest each year with this apple guide from gardener Jerad Bryant. If you love apple pie and caramel apples, ‘Granny Smith’ is the variety to grow at home. The fresh-picked apples taste delicious and are hard to compare to store-bought ones. Grocery stores sell apples before they ripen, and they lack the sugar content that makes homegrown produce preferable. Of all the apple varieties, ‘Granny Smith’ is iconic for its green fruit and tart flavor. If you’ve eaten a green apple in your life, chances are you ate a ‘Granny Smith.’ From its humble beginnings in an Australian homesteader’s orchard, this tree now grows in orchards throughout the northern and southern hemispheres, from Australia to the United States. Have you heard that fruit growing is a challenge? There are chill hours, ripening seasons, and pollination buddies to consider. Fear not, as we’ll learn everything there is to know about growing a thriving ‘Granny Smith’ tree below. What are ‘Granny Smith’ Apples? ‘Granny Smith’ is an apple tree that produces bright green, tangy, and juicy apples. Unlike most other varieties, the fruits are ripe when they’re green. They make excellent caramel apples, applesauce, and other prepared apple dishes. When cooked, the zesty flavor complements the sugar content. Each September, they ripen on my backyard tree. Right before the tree’s leaves change color, I pick the green apples to make apple jam. If you like sharp-tasting apples, they are also excellent fresh. Just know you might pucker up a bit after eating one! Apple trees not only create delicious produce, but they also form graceful statures in maturity. They sprout sweet-smelling flowers that are a boon for pollinators, as the bees and bugs in your area benefit from the surplus of apple nectar. Native Area For more than 100 years, apple breeders have crossed and bred species to produce the hybrids we know and love today. Species like Malus sylvestris from Europe and Malus coronaria from America shared pollen and created new hybrids. To make classification easy, most cultivated apple species are now considered Malus domestica. Apples are native to central Asia and Afghanistan, although they now grow in Australia, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They are a worldwide fruit phenomenon beloved by many different cultures. Each variety has growing preferences, and with hundreds of options, there is surely an apple that will thrive in your garden. The ‘Granny Smith’ parent tree originally grew in Australia at the hands of Maria Ann Smith. It prefers a long and hot growing season, and ripens later than most apples. In the United States, the West, the East Coast, and areas of the South have optimal conditions for growing this variety. Characteristics I value my ‘Granny Smith’ tree for its ornamental beauty and its bountiful fruit production. It is deciduous, and the leaves turn a buttery yellow each fall. In the spring, it sprouts pinkish-white blossoms that bees and pollinators love. This variety grows to 12 feet tall as a dwarf, and 16 as a semi-dwarf. Standard ‘Granny Smith’ trees can grow over 20 feet tall! Dwarfs make excellent espaliers. Semi-dwarfs and standards spread to be anywhere from 15 to 20 feet wide. ‘Granny Smith’ apples ripen to a distinctive glossy green color. Tiny white spots speckle over the bright green skin. Pick them in the late fall after they’ve swelled to a good size. If left on the tree, the apples may turn yellowish-green and lose their tang. Dwarf trees may need additional staking when young and are more susceptible to storm damage than semi-dwarfs and standards. Choose the right type for your garden size, and you’ll treasure your tree for decades to come. While ‘Granny Smith’ apple trees are self-pollinating, apples benefit from another pollinator tree nearby for maximum fruit production. Propagation How do you best propagate an apple variety? To achieve the same genetics as your parent tree, you’ll need to take cuttings from a ‘Granny Smith.’ Apples grow from seed in the wild and are hybrids of their two parent trees. Growing apples from seed is a fun activity, but not a reliable means for fruit production. I am not discouraging you from growing apples from seed! Just know that your daughter tree will not look like ‘Granny Smith’, and its apples may look and taste completely different.

Everyone's looking to cut costs these days, and grocery bills are a good place to start. Though not all of us have the luxury of space to start growing our own veggies, herbs are generally low-maintenance and low-material plants you can grow in your own kitchen. Not only that, but some of them you don't even have to buy seeds or a plant for. Here are five herbs you can start from the ingredients you buy at the grocery store for a lower grocery bill and fresher ingredients. Mint Mint is a plant that is famously easy to grow and hard to kill. This is because (when planted in-ground) it's actually considered invasive, meaning it grows robustly, choking out other plants for light and nutrients. In a container on your kitchen counter, however, this just means an endless supply of fresh herbs. To start your own plant, take a few sprigs from the grocery store and place the stems in water. Ensure that no leaves are touching the water, as this can lead to rot, mildew, and mold. Change the water every few days, and in a few weeks, you should start to see root growth. Take these sprigs, plant them in a small container, and ta-da! You've got a plant that will continue to give fresh ingredients whenever you need them. Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! Basil Basil is not only easy to grow in the kitchen—It will also add a lovely aroma to your space. As with mint, simply pick a few leaves with developed, long stalks from what you bought at the supermarket and place them in water. After a few weeks of changing the water regularly, roots should begin to appear. Replant them in a medium-sized, well-draining pot, and harvest leaves as needed for cooking. Oregano Though it might take a while, oregano is yet another herb you can grow from supermarket propagations. Follow the same steps as for mint and basil: Pick a few healthy stems, put them in a cup of water, and pick off any leaves that might sit on or below the waterline. Change the water every few days to prevent mold, mildew, or rot. When you see roots form, transplant to a well-draining pot with soil. Water and provide light as with any other plant. Don't Prune Too Much For all herbs, make sure you're never taking more than 1/3 of the plant at a time. Rosemary Grow supermarket rosemary the same as basil: Pick sprigs with long, hardy stems and put them in water (with no leaves touching the water). Change water frequently, and plant in a pot when roots have grown out. Thyme For thyme, follow the same processes as for other herbs: Pick strong stems, place in water, replace water every few days, and—when roots have formed after a few weeks—transplant to a well-draining pot with soil and care for normally.

The perfect medley of decadent flavor and artistic color, ‘Green Zebra’ tomatoes are essential for the adventurous gardener or cook. In this article, former organic farmer and garden expert Logan Hailey explains how to grow this unique variety. Sometimes in gardening, we must sacrifice aesthetics for flavor, but ‘Green Zebra’ tomatoes elegantly achieve both. This extra vigorous breeder’s work of art combines the best flavor and color of an heirloom tomato with the vigor and resilience of a hybrid. While we often think of green tomatoes as under-ripe, this cultivar yields unique two to three-inch fruits that ripen with golden-chartreuse skins and forest green stripes. ‘Green Zebra’ was developed by an organic plant breeder who craved well-balanced, sweet, low-acidity fruits with superior crack resistance and an extraordinary zebra-striped aesthetic. This variety also boasts superior heat and drought tolerance. Let’s dig into everything you need to know about planting, growing, and caring for ‘Green Zebra’ tomatoes. History and Cultivation The idea for a ripe green tomato germinated in Tom Wagner’s mind in the 1950s. While green tomatoes are typically labeled unripe and left for frying or composting, he was determined to develop a cultivar that tasted delicious while green. An organic plant breeder from Everett, Washington, Wagner desired to cross several heirloom parents together for low-acidity, sweet tomatoes that ripened with yellowish-chartreuse skins. A product of traditional plant breeding, ‘Green Zebra’ is not a GMO (genetically modified organism). Instead, it is the result of cross-pollinating several different parent tomatoes and saving the seeds for several generations until the desired fruit is achieved. The process is similar to dog breeding, where a breeder chooses the best traits of two parents and crosses them together. Just like huskies are bred for sledding, and shepherds are bred for herding, ‘Green Zebra’ tomatoes are bred for amazingly delicious striped fruits. As you can imagine, this process took some time and taste-testing. The seeds were finally released in 1983 and are slowly becoming more popular amongst adventurous gardeners and chefs seeking more diversity in their tomato collections. What Are ‘Green Zebra’ Tomatoes? ‘Green Zebra’ is an organic hybrid cultivar developed by Tom Wagner in 1983. The ultra-vigorous indeterminate plants produce vines six feet or taller and copious amounts of two-to-three-inch diameter fruits. The flavorful tomatoes have zebra-striped skins that ripen to golden yellow, forest green, and a blush of amber. This crack-resistant variety is particularly suited to areas with summer rains. It is remarkably drought-tolerant and heat-tolerant, making it versatile in the south as well. What Do They Taste Like? The captivating striped appearance does not detract from the amazing flavor of this tomato. The well-balanced fruits are coveted for their perfect blend of sweetness, low acidity, and classic tomatoey flavor. They have the dense texture of an heirloom yet become slightly softer and juicier when fully ripe. The fruits are highly desirable for fresh eating in tangy or sweet salads. They are larger than cherry tomatoes but smaller than slicers. Cut them in half and sprinkle them with salt, olive oil, and balsamic for a colorful side dish. They also taste excellent in salsas, roasts, or paired with cheese boards. Propagation Like all tomatoes, this variety demands abundant warmth and sunshine to thrive. Seeds are the only way to start new plants unless you happen upon these rare seedlings at a local nursery. Seed A head start is recommended for tomato plants because it ensures early summer yields and extra strong root growth. Start these tomato seeds indoors four to six weeks before your last frost date. The plants should not be transplanted until one to two weeks after the average last frost. Seeds need plenty of warmth to germinate. The ideal soil temperature is 70-90°F (21-32°C). For the best results, use Epic 4-Cell trays or any tray of your choice and place them on top of a germination heat mat. Fill the trays with a well-drained seed starter mix, then tap them on a table to let the mix settle in place. Add a bit more soil to flatten the top of the trays. Use your finger to create small indentations in the center of each cell. ‘Green Zebra’ seeds should be planted at a depth of approximately ¼ inch. Sow one to two seeds per cell and thin to the strongest seedling once they are two inches tall. Use a bottom tray to water from the bottom, or gently saturate from the surface with a low-pressure hose or watering can. Avoid displacing the seeds with heavy blasts of water. Keep the soil consistently moist but never soggy. Place in a bright, sunny location like a south-facing windowsill or a greenhouse. In the right conditions, the seeds take approximately 5-10 days to germinate. If the seedlings appear spindly or “leggy,” they probably don’t have enough light. Add a grow light or move closer to the window. Direct sowing is only recommended in the warmest climates where nighttime temperatures are reliably above 45°F (7°C) and the soil is at least 70°F (21°C). Use a soil thermometer probe to check your beds before sowing. Planting ‘Green Zebra’ takes approximately 75 days from transplanting to begin fruiting. Once the first flowers appear, rest assured that you will have tomatoes all summer long! These indeterminate vines fruit continuously until the first fall frost. As long as they have somewhat consistent water and full sunshine, the plants are eager to yield in abundance. How to Grow These heat-and-drought-tolerant plants can easily grow in most zones. The secret to the sweetest, most flavorful tomatoes is to ensure strong, healthy plants through consistent moisture, moderate fertilizing, and regular pruning. Maintenance Tomatoes can practically grow themselves, but there is a key maintenance step that will make a huge difference in overall yields: Sucker removal! Suckers are the little side shoots that grow from tomato “elbow ditches.” These are the spots where leaves intersect with a main stem. You will also notice new shoots emerging at approximately a 45° angle from the main stem. These shoots are called suckers because they literally “suck” energy away from fruit production. Sucker removal is like a message to your plant that says, Hey, please focus your energy on fruiting. You don’t need to grow any more vines or leaves. You can start removing suckers at any stage of growth, and you will find it much easier to control the trellising of the plant. Better yet, sucker removal improves overall airflow and gives your tomato patch a tidier appearance. If left in place, every sucker can grow into an entirely new vine. Instead, high-efficiency gardeners aim to choose just one or two main vines where the plant can focus its fruit production. Removing any lateral vines helps keep the patch under control. Use sharp, sanitized shears or scissors to cut suckers before they grow too large, or you can snap them off if they are still small.