Aeration: The loosening of soil by digging or other mechanical means to allow air to pass freely.

Blanching: The process of growing plants away from light to prevent photosynthesis from occurring in the developing vegetable, causing it to become white and free of chlorophyll. This is preferred because too much sun exposure can cause the developing vegetable to take on a less desirable flavor.

Annual: Plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season. This means that the seed germinates, sprouts, and matures to seed within a year.

Biennial: Plants that complete their life cycle in two years. In the first year they put on vegetative growth followed by reproductive growth in the second year. You can harvest the fruit the first year, they go to seed in the second year.

Bolting (Bolt): The survival process of rapidly focusing on reproductive growth rather than foliar. Usually bolting is triggered by hot weather causing the plant to produce another generation as fast as possible. Home gardeners typically grow flowering fruits and vegetables that will quickly produce flowers then "go to seed" when distressed from summer heat. When the temperatures get above 85 °F plants start to stop growing until it gets cooler. Once a plant bolts the foliage that is normally tender and delicious becomes tough, bitter, or woody.

Grown As Annual: Perennials that are hardy to a warmer zone range but can be grown as an annual in areas with warm summers.

Companion Planting: The sowing of seeds in the garden in such a way that plants help each other grow instead of competing against each other.

Compost: Completely decayed organic matter used for conditioning soil. It is dark, odorless and rich in nutrients.

Cover Crop: Vegetation grown to protect and build the soil during an interval when the area would otherwise lie fallow.

Culinary Herb: A plant grown for its strong flavor which is used to cook with in dishes and salads. The parts of the plant used are the leaves, flowers, or bulbs.

Cultivate: Breaking the topsoil so water and air can penetrate, and to remove and prevent weeds.

Cultivation:  The technique of weeding and hoeing for the purpose of increasing the air in the to layers of the soil and to break up the soil so water will penetrate.

Cutting: A piece of a plant (leaf, stem, or root) which can be used to produce a new plant.

Direct Seeding, Direct Sow: - putting the seed directly in the soil it will mature in as opposed to transplanting seedlings.

Erosion: The wearing away of soil created by man, rain, or wind.

Fertilize (Fertilizers): The act of or the actual substance added to soil to provide additional nutrients for plants. May also be used to describe the pollination process flowers undergo with the help of bees and other insects.

Frost Hardy: Plants that can survive winter frosts without damage to their leaves (i.e. evergreens) or damage to dormant stems, buts or roots (i.e. deciduous plants). Very much relative to geographic areas.

Full Sun: Six hours or more in the direct sun during the growing season of the year.

Germinate: The beginning of growth in seeds, the action of sprouting, budding or shooting, above the soil. This occurs whenever a plant or seed begins to vegetate into leafy young plants. The breaking of dormancy in seeds or the sprouting of pollen grains deposited on a stigma.

Growth Habit: A direction or shape a plant takes as it grows. It is important to know the habits of a plant so one can expect certain growth patterns.

Habitat: The environment in which a plant is usually found growing, the factors being climate and soil. Microclimates will also play into this.

Hardy: A plant which can withstand prolonged exposure to temperatures at or below 45o F. Compare half-hardy and tender.

Heirloom Plant: Plants that have been around for 50 years or more. Not all people will consider the same plant an heirloom.

Herb: A plant grown for flavoring or medicinal purposes.

Invasive: The ability of a plant to spread quickly and crowd out other plantings. Great for a ground cover but dangerous for a well-kept, under control garden bed

Loam: Good quality soil used in preparing compost. Adequate supplies of clay, sand and fiber must be present.

No-Till-Gardening: This type of gardening calls for no cultivation (or tilling) of the soil after the initial tilling. In its place, regular mulches are added, and plants are planted through the mulch. This saves on labor and eliminates weeds, which might germinate as a result of tilling.

pH: A scale from 0-14 that explains the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the water or soil. Soil pH is very important because it affects the availability of nutrients to plants and the activity of microorganisms in the soil.

Open-Pollinated (OP): Open pollinated seed varieties are those that result from pollination by insects, wind, self-pollination, or other natural forms of pollination. If you save seeds from open-pollinated varieties and grow them, they will come true, meaning that the seeds will produce plants with characteristics or traits like the parent plant from which the seeds were harvested (Assuming they did not cross pollinate with another of the same family.

Perennial: Perennials are plants that have persistent growth and live longer than 2 years. Many perennials die back during the winter months and come back from the same root system the following growing season. Tender Perennials are perennials that are used in climates below their appropriate growing zones as annuals.

Pruning: A method of cutting off leaves or branches within limits to remove dead or diseased foliage or branches. Also used to control or direct growth, increase quality or yield of flowers or fruit and to ensure growth position of main branches to enhance structural strength.

Pollination: The process of moving pollen from an anther to the stigma of a flower enabling fertilization to produce fruit and seed.

Pollinator: Pollinators are the individual creatures that transport pollen from plant to plant. This group includes many animals and insects including birds, bees, bats, flies, beetles, butterflies, and small mammals.

Raised Bed: Any ornamental or vegetable bed that has soil higher than the surrounding immediate area. Sometimes it is bordered by boards, stone, brick, or any material to hold in the soil. Created to make a supreme growing area.

Root Rot: Quite common in plants that are affected by fungus diseases and have poor drainage.

Seedling: The stage after germination takes place. The seed will have sprouted with two small cotyledons showing. These are the embryonic leaves that developed from the nutrients provided in the seed.

Self-pollination: A flower containing both male and female parts can use its own pollen, or pollen from other flowers of the same type for fertilization.

Successive Sowing: Successive Sowing is a means of having a continual harvest. There are a few different methods to achieve this. The classic method is to simply stagger your sowing dates causing each group to mature at different times. The second method is to plant two varieties of the same vegetable with different days to maturity. Essentially you are reaching the same results with the first method with one planting date. And third, you can plant in succession, meaning you plant a new crop in the place of one that has just been harvested.

Sucker: A shoot which arises from an underground shoot or root of a plant.

Tamping: A method by which one will press that soil around a plant that has just been planted making sure soil is secure and firm around the roots.

Tap Root: A strong root, sometimes swollen, which grows vertically into the soil or compost.

Thinning: Removing young plants to make room for others to grow stronger and healthier. By removing a few plants that are too close together you enable better root development, access to light, and prevent stunted growth that can occur when plants are densely packed together.

Till: Another definition for cultivating. Plowing the earth and preparing it for planting.

Transplanting: Transferring a plant to a new planting location. It is common to transplant young trees, bushes, fruits, vegetables, and houseplants. After fruits and vegetables are started indoors, they are traditionally transplanted outside after the last spring frost has passed.

Umbel: A part of the plant bearing flowers in which all the flower stalks are of similar length and arise from the same point.

Variety: One of possibly many closely related plant species.

Variety Name: This is the scientific name or botanical name of a specific plant. It is shown in italic print.

Vegetation: An all-encompassing word for the plants of an area or territory.