Potted Peppers For A Winter Harvest: 5 Easy Tips

2024

Updated 12/9/2024

**Potted Peppers for Growing—in the Winter?**

‘Candy Cane’ sweet peppers.

Autumn Has Arrived!

With cool weather approaching, our attention shifts from harvesting heirloom tomatoes to preparing our gardens for winter. Some gardeners clean the shed, weed the beds, and pile fallen leaves onto bare soil or dig them into the ground. Others continue growing greens and vegetables outdoors. In this article, I’ll show you why and how to grow potted peppers through the winter!

Why would we grow potted peppers in winter?

Peppers are warm-climate perennials that, with proper care, can live for a few years. Here’s the key: these frost-tender plants must stay indoors through the colder seasons. Left outdoors, they’ll die with the first freeze of early autumn.

For the coming months, you’ll be able to enjoy moderate harvests for salads, frying, stir-fries, dips, and veggie omelets. They’ll bear fruit over most of the cool season, from mid-autumn through spring, although not as heavily as they would in summer.

During the short days of January and into February, the plants might stop flowering, although fruits that have already set will continue developing. As days lengthen, the plants begin blooming and fruiting again.

Earlier this year, I retired the potted peppers—‘Aura’, ‘Glow’, and ‘Candy Cane’—I’d been growing for 3 years. But several others now fruiting in pots will take their place indoors for the winter.

With good sunlight and proper temperatures, I’ll harvest dozens of peppers from a few moderately sized plants. I’ve been doing this for years at other residences, but now the sunny enclosed porch makes it much easier.

As the temperature drops, warm season crops outdoors will succumb to seasonal changes. Pepper plants begin to decline when temperatures dip below 50°F. If you decide to proceed with this project, you’ll need to watch the weather very carefully.

Early Fruits Next Summer

Peppers take quite a while to grow and mature. Most cultivars of peppers require around 2 months of growing time after transplanting into the garden for fruits to form. Since they must have warm soil and air temperatures, they can’t be planted too early. Even if frosts are over, the ground might still be too cold—from a few days of rain or cloudy weather—to plant sensitive crops, such as peppers and basil. They sulk or die in cold, wet soil.

If your last spring frost date is May 1, for example, you’ll pick your first bell pepper from a new transplant from early to mid-July. For a colorful ripe fruit, you’ll need to wait another 3 weeks. In contrast, potted peppers begin bearing fruits months earlier than new transplants set in the spring garden. You’ll enjoy a significant head start by overwintering these plants indoors. For that reason alone, you might decide to give this a try.

Many of my farmers’ market customers complained of poor flowering and fruit set due to extreme heat and drought this past summer (2024). Each variety of pepper and tomato has a threshold above which the pollen denatures, or dies. No living pollen = no pollination = no fruits. Some gardeners harvested no peppers at all! Growing potted pepper plants indoors could be the solution to poor harvests. Because they’ll be in flower and fruiting by the time they go outdoors for the summer, you’ll have harvested several peppers before the hottest months settle in. Covering tomato and pepper plants with shade fabric can prevent non-fruiting during the hottest weeks of summer.

Are you ready to expand your horticultural experience? If so, here are the 5 tips describing how to grow potted peppers:

Tip #1: Start with Healthy Transplants

Young pepper seedlings in spring.

When planning your summer garden, consider keeping one or a few vegetable plants in pots. Keep in mind that some pepper varieties grow large while others attain only half that size. This information is often found in the catalog. Because roots are restricted, potted vegetables normally won’t grow as large as healthy plants in the garden.

A grower in your area might have kept some pepper plants from an early sowing. I ordinarily grow more than I can sell, so I keep a few dozen potted peppers well into the summer for customers who regretted not planting them earlier.

Another option is to start seeds in early summer. Raised in containers all season and properly fertilized, these plants grow fruits from late summer and continue as long as outdoor conditions favor growth. It helps to let the plants root into garden soil under the pots. This way, their roots can explore the soil for moisture and nutrients.

Later, you’ll sever the roots from each of the drainage holes, one at a time, giving the plant time to adjust before autumn arrives. The leaves probably will wilt somewhat as you cut the roots at the drainage holes, but less severely if you remove some of the foliage. For vigorously growing plants, it would be a good idea to cut back some of the stems by mid to late summer.

Look for plants without symptoms of disease, including wilt and heavily spotted or discolored leaves. Remove old pale or insect-eaten foliage. Potted peppers in winter might not have perfect foliage, but if the leaves are green and photosynthetic, they can remain on the plant.

Inadvertently, a few small peppers hang around here in their market packs, undernourished and barely alive, with some reduced to just a few leaves. Plants often can be restored to a healthier state with proper potting and pampering, as long as the roots have not been severely compromised.

Tip #2: Transplanting Potted Peppers

Orange and red ‘Lunchbox’ peppers.

The Pots

I transplant plants that prefer warmer conditions, particularly sweet or hot peppers, into black nursery pots. You can buy them or ask a landscaper or a local nursery if they can spare a few pots that they might otherwise discard or recycle. Black pots absorb more of the sun’s energy, helping to warm up the soil in cooler months.

Conversely, try to shade the pot so the soil doesn’t overheat in the summer. In hot climates, the sun bakes the soil on the sunny side and damages the roots. I either shade the black pots with other plants or drop them into larger white nursery pots. All pots must have drainage holes.

Avoid planting a young seedling directly into a 2-gallon pot. Instead, transplant the small plant into a 6″ pot and let it thoroughly root into that pot. A few weeks later, move it into the larger pot. This helps the plant develop roots with a more extensive branching structure.

Moisture in a pot behaves differently than moisture in the ground. New soil (with no roots growing through it) in a large pot stays saturated after a day of rain and could suffocate the roots. Even though much of the excess water drains through the holes, a layer of wetter soil remains in the bottom of the pot before it is absorbed by the roots. But in the ground, water is pulled through the soil by gravity and capillary action. As water drains, air is pulled into the soil. Roots need oxygen in the soil as much as they need water.

The Potting Soil

Potting soil should drain well, but it also should be able to hold some moisture and nutrients. Most potting soils today contain large amounts of wood products (bark, wood), which cause them to quickly drain and dry out. A few brands offer excellent soils, but they’re quite expensive.

I tailor the potting soil for each plant species by amending it with ingredients that improve either drainage or moisture retention. Clean garden loam, peat moss, compost, finely ground coir, and aged cow manure have smaller particles and, therefore, help hold water in the air pore spaces.

On the other hand, perlite, pine fines, pieces of wood, coarse coir, and expanded rock products introduce larger air pores spaces, facilitating drainage and drying the soil.

Information on the bag of soil usually indicates whether it’s best used in pots (“potting soil”, “raised beds”, or “container gardening”) or for planting in the garden (“planting mix”, “garden beds”, or “in-ground gardening”). Potting soils tend to have a finer texture than planting mixes.

Amend potting soil that seems coarse (has lots of large particles) with some of the components that hold moisture, as mentioned above. If you’re using more than a small amount of peat moss, which is very acidic, mix in a teaspoon of pulverized limestone. The soil pH should be around 6.0-6.5 for peppers, which is slightly acidic.

If in doubt, have the soil tested for pH and nutrients through your local cooperative extension service. Lime can take a while to work on the pH, so test your soil before adding lime.

The Process

Scoring the root ball encourages rapid re-rooting.

Most nursery pots have large drainage holes which can cause erosion of the soil. To prevent loss of soil, line the pot on the bottom and partway up the sides with a piece of landscape fabric, polyester fiberfill, or similar material. Water can still drain from the pot, but soil particles won’t wash though the holes. This compromises the plant’s ability to root into the ground beneath the pot, however, so you’ll need to carefully monitor soil moisture levels.

Fill the new pot almost to the rim with lightly dampened potting soil, firming gently. Before setting the plant into the new soil, score the outside of the root ball or use a fork to tease some of the roots out from the root ball. This slight damage stimulates the root system to branch out, helping new roots establish quickly in the soil.

Set the transplant into a hole in the center, and firm the soil around the root ball. Don’t bury the stem with new potting soil when transplanting peppers. If space is a consideration, 2 plants might comfortably fit into a pot that’s a bit larger than you’d use for just one plant. This works better for cultivars that normally grow into small or medium-sized plants.

The finished soil surface should be 1-2″ below the rim of the pot. A pot completely filled with soil can be quite messy when applying a thorough watering.

After planting the pepper, insert a stake (2-3′ long bamboo, a tomato cage, vinyl-clad metal, or a twig) all the way to the bottom of the pot. Secure the stem with twine, but not tightly, to keep the stem upright. The main stem or side branches heavy with fruits will slump over and might need additional support as the plant grows.

The First Watering

High yielding ‘Flavorburst’ pepper in the summer garden.

Water the plant. Apply enough water to soak the original root ball and some of the soil surrounding it. Thoroughly watering a new transplant needlessly leaches nutrients out through the drainage holes.

As roots grow into the soil, you’ll need to moisten more of the soil volume. If you begin this process by midsummer, the pot will have filled with roots by late summer to early autumn.

Plants slow their growth as days shorten, so they might struggle to fully root into their pots if you delay transplanting until autumn. If you transplant them at that time, be very careful not to overwater.

Keep the potted peppers outdoors in full sun (7-8+ hours/day) through the summer and early fall, or until nighttime temperatures drop below 55°F. While pepper plants can tolerate colder conditions than that once in a while—but not close to freezing—exposing them to low temperatures on consecutive nights weakens them.

Varieties of Potted Peppers I’m Growing This Year

‘Flavorburst’ is a medium-large sweet bell pepper (photo, above) that starts out lime green and matures to a golden orange color. The flavor is milder than the deep green bells. The plant is a medium-large grower, so it’s in a 3-gallon pot.

‘Olympus’ is a medium-sized plant growing in a 2-gallon pot. This large, deep green bell pepper turns red when fully ripe. I’ll harvest most ‘Olympus’ peppers, however, in the mature green stage when preparing curried tuna or sweet-and-sour chicken. (Photo, bottom of this page.)

‘Lunchbox’ peppers are medium-sized plants. They grow very well in 1-2-gallon pots over the winter. The red fruits on some plants are a bit smaller, so most of the ones I’m saving ripen to orange. Each plant develops fruits that start green and ripen to just one color: red, orange, or yellow. (Photo, bottom of this page.)

‘Aura’ and ‘Gourmet’, in 1- or 2-gallon pots, are orange-when-ripe bell peppers on small plants. Sweet bell peppers that ripen to orange contain extremely high levels of zeaxanthin—10 times more than ripe red peppers. The antioxidants zeaxanthin and lutein help preserve eyesight. (Spinach, pistachios, goji berries, and egg yolks also boast high levels of these antioxidants.) If I need bell peppers when my plants aren’t producing, I usually buy orange bells. I’ve read that orange hot peppers do not contain those elevated levels of zeaxanthin.

'Candy Cane', a variegated pepper, white splotches in leaves, striped fruits.

‘Candy Cane’ variegated pepper.

‘Candy Cane’, a sweet pepper with green and white variegated leaves, is among the potted peppers I’ll grow again this winter. The thin-walled fruits grow irregularly striped green and creamy-white, ripening to bright red (photos, top of article and above). This cultivar needs full direct sun to maintain good variegation in both the foliage and the fruits. Even if it loses its white splotches, it will yield good peppers.

‘Jimmy Nardello’, an heirloom Italian frying pepper, has long, curved, red, sweet fruits when mature. At the last minute, before cool weather moved in, I literally yanked a few young plants out of the ground and potted them into 6-8″ pots. (Photo, next page.)

You can dig up peppers that aren’t very big but try to keep the root system intact. Removing half of the foliage (by cutting back the stems) and lightly shading them for a couple of days prevents severe wilt. Misting a few times a day for a few days should help. Then, with good sunlight and careful watering, they’ll recover.

I don’t eat hot peppers and will sell the rest of the potted habaneros, cayennes, and jalapeños. ‘Helios’ habanero is so cute with its bright orange lanterns (photo, below) hanging on small glossy-leaved plants. It’s ornamental qualities merit keeping it around during the autumn holidays.

: ‘Olympus’ sweet bell pepper.

: Red ‘Lunchbox’ pepper.

: Habanero ‘Helios’ hot pepper.

Headings

Page 1: Autumn Has Arrived! (Why would we grow potted peppers in winter?, Early Fruits Next Summer), Tip #1: Start with Healthy Transplants, Tip #2: Transplanting Potted Peppers (The Pots, The Potting Soil, The Process, The First Watering, Varieties of Potted Peppers I’m Growing This Year)

Page 2: Tip #3: Caring for Your Potted Peppers (Direct Sunlight and Temperature, Artificial Light, Water for Potted Peppers, Fertilizer, Timed Release Fertilizer, “Should I use organic fertilizer?”, Insects and Spider Mites), Tip #4: Pollinating Your Potted Peppers, Tip #5: Fruits from Your Potted Peppers (No New Fruits?)

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Asparagus: Tips For Long-Term Production In Your Garden

Jul8

2024

The Tip of the Spear

How exciting to see new asparagus spears emerging from the ground with warming spring weather! But, as with icebergs, most of what asparagus is all about happens below the surface (of the ground). This article provides tips for producing healthy crops in your own garden over a long period of time.

Asparagus is a herbaceous perennial grown in USDA zones 2 through 9. This spring, a 2-year-old bed produced beautiful thick spears for 2 dinners and 2 small freezer bags. Normally, we don’t start harvesting asparagus until the third year, but I couldn’t resist… Next year, it should produce a few weeks longer.

In the fourth year and thereafter, a healthy asparagus bed can be picked for up to 8 weeks. For the rest of the summer season, ferny growth stocks the root system with nutrients that will fuel next year’s growth.

Because these plants can last 15-20 years or longer in the garden, it’s worth paying special attention to soil preparation.

Cut asparagus is readily available in early spring, when it’s least expensive in grocery stores. After a few weeks, however, the price triples. For that reason and because I like harvesting unsprayed fruits and vegetables from my yard, it was time to plant an asparagus bed. Plus, I now have the space, and never turn down an opportunity to reduce mowing time.

Preparing the Asparagus Bed

I chose a spot that gets 10 hours of direct sun each day during the growing season.

Asparagus suffers less root disturbance if it’s grown in a bed of its own rather than mixed among other seasonal vegetables. The airy fernlike growth can reach over 5′ tall, so keep this in mind if planting shorter plants that need sun in the next bed. I live in the northern hemisphere, so tall plants (pole beans, ‘Sugar Snap’ peas, staked tomatoes) go on the northern end of each garden.

In early spring of 2023, I planted 10 robust crowns of 1-year-old Asparagus officinalis ‘Millennium’ from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. This variety comprises mostly male plants, reducing the chore of thinning out young seedlings that eventually crowd the bed. The crowns had multiple buds—dormant but visible—and the roots stretched about 12″ long.

There was no indication of fusarium, a disease that turns root interiors brown. Check a few roots by cutting them; they should be white inside. Destroy infected crowns. ‘Millennium’ has intermediate resistance to rust, another fungal disease.

For asparagus, thorough soil preparation results in highly productive harvests. I strongly believe in getting the soil in optimal condition for stress-free trees, shrubs, perennials, vegetables, and flowers. Robust growth, relatively few insect problems, and bountiful harvests attest to the extra effort. Amending heavy clay, sandy, or rocky soil is quite the challenge, but the payoff is always worth it.

Soil Testing

PH should be slightly acidic to neutral, in a range from 6.5 to 7.0. If in doubt about the pH of your soil, have it tested by your local agricultural extension service (the Master Gardeners). Do this a few months before planting, if possible, and add agricultural lime according to the results and your extension agent’s recommendations.

Clearing the Surface

The area where I originally planted the asparagus was grass and weeds. I stripped the top layer of soil, including all vegetation, from a plot measuring 4′ x 15′, setting it aside for later use.

The area is close to a vein of quartz running through the back yard, so a large quantity of rocks larger than 3/4″ was removed. You’ll notice in the photo at the top of the page that I missed a few! Over time, as more rocks work their way to the surface, they’ll be removed.

Excavating the Asparagus Bed

A garden fork I’ve used for decades.

With a sturdy garden fork, I dug out almost 24″ of native clay and set it aside, separate from the surface vegetation. Then, in the bottom of the trench, the vegetation removed from the surface was mixed with small twigs, oak leaves, old potting soil, leaf litter from the woods, pine fines, and some of the excavated clay soil.

Weeds that low in the ground will die and decompose. But if they ended up within 6-12″ of the surface, dandelions and other long-rooted perennial weeds could grow back.

Continuing To Fill the Trench

I added more materials to the trench, including about 200 pounds of coarse (large-grained) sand, more oak leaves and leaf litter, purchased planting mix, and the excavated soil. Mixing the materials rather than layering them produces a medium that drains consistently through the soil profile.

Organic matter decomposes in the soil, thanks to the huge populations of microbes thriving in organically rich soil. Living microorganisms fare much better when we don’t regularly add chemical products.

Earthworms also help themselves to this bounty. They consume soil and organic matter, excreting nutrient-rich castings and beneficial microbes. As they tunnel through the ground, they improve percolation. Air, water, and roots can more easily penetrate the soil.

You’d think that adding all those oak leaves would acidify the soil, but once they begin to decompose, they’re slightly acidic or close to neutral. Cow manure helps nudge the pH a bit higher. Peat moss acidifies the soil, so I didn’t add any other than the small amount in the amendments.

With the surface of the bed almost level with the ground outside the bed, I incorporated 150 pounds of aged cow manure in the top 6-8″ of improved soil. Rain and irrigation move nutrients lower into the soil, where roots can absorb them. I lightly firmed the soil as I added materials to the trench.

All these amendments raised the surface of the bed several inches. It will settle somewhat as the organic materials compress and decompose.

Planting the Asparagus Crowns

Laying Out the Bed

Once the trench had been almost filled and lightly firmed, I spaced out locations for the crowns. Catalogs recommend planting them 10-14″ apart. But I’ve read that more generous spacing can lead to a longer-lasting planting. Now in my 70’s, I want to be able to pick asparagus from this bed for the rest of my life, but 30 years will do!

The bed is wide to accommodate a zig-zag pattern for the crowns spaced about 24″ apart. An old native dogwood tree off the west end and a Japanese maple off the east end of the bed limited the length of the asparagus garden; hence, the zig-zag pattern.

I spread the long roots over a raised cone of soil in the trench, with the dormant stem buds at the top. Amended backfill was pulled over the roots, so only about 1″ of soil covered the crowns.

Suppliers sometimes recommend planting 10 plants per person.

The First Year

For the first summer of this planting, I watered heavily (1½”) when there was no rain for a week. The ferns grew well, although I didn’t pick any of the spears.

A thick layer of the previous autumn’s oak leaves covered the bed all summer. Much of it decomposed and was incorporated into the soil by earthworms. Mulch conserves moisture, suppresses weeds, cools the soil, and contributes organic matter. Oak leaves on the property are plentiful and free, so I collect white and willow oak leaves in autumn. They’re stockpiled near the woods or stored in large bags placed outside, against the basement wall.

In late April of 2023, high winds and hail from an F1 tornado flattened the 4′ tall ferns to the ground. Large hailstones battered the stems, leaving them pocked or broken and the greenery shredded. After a while, new stems grew from the ground. Using branches from the woods, I propped up any existing ferns that looked as though they could still photosynthesize. Dozens of flats of vegetable seedlings—destined for the farmers’ markets—growing near the asparagus bed were destroyed (photo, below).

The Second Year of the Asparagus Bed

Each plant grew an impressively vigorous root system in the first year. The reason I know this is because I needed to move the plants to make room for a small greenhouse.

The Japanese maple I’d brought from Maryland and kept potted for 10 years before planting it here needed a new location as well. Because the maple would soon begin leafing out, I dug it out first and replanted it in the front, near the street. It survived abnormally hot weather as it began growing leaves, but the uppermost twigs died off despite frequent watering. We’ve had a 6-week drought—with high heat, no less—but it finally rained a few days ago.

Young asparagus divisions beginning to grow.

When moving the asparagus plants, I made a few divisions and temporarily planted them in this pot.

Moving the Asparagus

The new location for the asparagus bed is about 25′ from the original plot, farther from the quartz deposit. I dug a new trench, of course, taking all the enriched soil from the old bed and moving it to the new excavation. And I supplemented with more aged cow manure, planting mix, and half-decomposed leaf litter from the woods to the north.

I dug each substantial clump and planted it after opening a hole in the new bed. This exposed the roots to the air for only a brief period of time. At the time of the transplant in late winter, the asparagus was still dormant. Again, I set the root ball so the crown would end up only 1″ below the surface, firmed the soil, and watered them in.

After the sun had started warming the soil and as weed seeds began germinating, I mulched with dry oak leaves saved from last autumn.

Every few weeks (three times), I pulled the mulch aside and added 1″ of compost, excavated soil, and cow manure over the early spears. This encourages the plants to grow thicker spears. Shallow planting results in thin spears. They won’t need more soil, but each year, I’ll add a few bags of aged cow manure and compost under the mulch.

Avoid burying the crown too deeply at the beginning. There might not be enough energy stored in the roots for the spears to grow to the surface before they fail.

Male Or Female Plants for Better Asparagus?

Asparagus berries, with seeds inside.

Asparagus is dioecious, meaning an individual plant is either male or female. Both male and female plants flower, but males lack the reproductive parts to make berries and seeds. Here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, the plants flower in late spring to early summer.

As new varieties become available, the preference among growers leans toward male plants. Females grow thicker stems, but males grow more of them. Male plants live longer, according to the University of Illinois. Some of the older varieties, such as the ‘Jersey’ series, are being retired by propagators.

Females have small green-to-red berries that need nourishment. They consume resources that instead could have contributed to foliage or root growth. When the seeds drop to the ground and germinate, they cause crowding within the bed. Consequently, extra effort is required to maintain adequate spacing between plants. The berries, by the way, are toxic to humans.

The ‘Millennium’ crowns I received last year and this year are about 75% male plants. I planted 10 last year (a few females) and potted up the rest to sell at the farmers’ markets. In the future, I’ll hold the confirmed female plants aside and plant them together in a bed of their own. Removing the berries would solve the problem of crowding.

I might experiment germinating the seeds. ‘Millennium’ is a hybrid, so the offspring could vary from each other, but I think the differences would be negligible. These plants will not be sold, but kept for my own use only.

Asparagus started from seed takes an additional year to grow before beginning the harvest. Seed suppliers offer seeds of named varieties.

White and Purple Asparagus?

White asparagus has been blanched, or covered with soil to prevent light from reaching emerging spears. Deprived of light, they can’t form chlorophyll, so they grow white. They are more tender but have slightly reduced nutrient levels.

Purple asparagus varieties are available. ‘Erasmus’ is 100% male, and ‘Purple Passion’ comprises 60% male plants.

Purples have the advantage of additional antioxidants—the anthocyanins. Anthocyanins (pigments that make leaves and fruits red, blue, or purple) can boost cardiovascular health, help prevent cancer, and help regulate blood pressure. Berries—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries—also have high levels of anthocyanins.

Asparagus Nutrients

Asparagus is a low-fat, low-calorie vegetable. Half a cup of plain asparagus contains:

20 calories
3.7 grams of carbohydrates
1.8 g. fiber (mostly water insoluble, helping with regularity)
2.2 g. protein
some vitamins A and C, iron, potassium, and phosphorus
51% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin K. Because of the high vitamin K content, consult a registered dietician if you’re taking blood thinners.
34% of the recommended folate
11% of the recommended riboflavin (B2)

A Healthy Gut

Asparagus aids our digestive health by eliminating toxins from our large intestine. It’s a source of inulin, a prebiotic fermentable fiber consumed by beneficial gut bacteria, which, in turn, suppress harmful species of bacteria.

Several intestinal problems can be helped by consuming asparagus (check with your doctor or dietician). While not as effective as beets, okra, kale, and collard greens, asparagus does moderately well in binding bile acids in the intestine. Asparagus can help repair intestinal damage from Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and gastrointestinal diseases.

You’ve probably heard of the benefits of a “healthy gut”, and asparagus is among the best foods to achieve this. These advantages help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Consuming asparagus can produce the strong smell of sulfurous compounds excreted in urine. The odor is from amino acids (asparagusic acid). Some people have the genes that give them the ability to detect the smell, which is perfectly harmless. Asparagus is mildly diuretic, helping to regulate blood pressure.

Young, thin spears eaten raw can cause contact dermatitis in sensitive people.

Yearly Maintenance of the Asparagus Bed

Once the asparagus bed becomes established, there isn’t much you’ll need to do:

Provide water if there’s prolonged drought. Asparagus roots grow deep into the soil, taking moisture stored there. They store water in their fleshy roots and can overcome a couple of weeks of dry weather.
Address issues with insects early on to prevent widespread damage.
Fertilize with 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 (N-P-K), or similar organic fertilizer, after harvesting the spears, but not late in the season. If the soil test indicates sufficient phosphorus (P), find a fertilizer low in the middle number. Look for a higher percentage of nitrate nitrogen (N), rather than urea or ammoniacal N. That information is on the label. Urea and ammoniacal N slowly lower the pH, making the soil more acidic. Nitrate N slowly raises the pH over time, preferred by asparagus.
Topdress the bed once or twice a year, in spring and early summer, with aged manure and compost.
Weed the bed.
After a freeze kills the ferns, cut them at soil level and remove from the bed.

Chickweed, an edible annual cool season weed.

Concluding

Doing extensive groundwork when planting this vegetable will reward you and your family long into the future.

How to cook it:

Enjoy your asparagus steamed, adding butter and a dash of salt.
Occasionally, I incorporate lightly cooked asparagus neatly lined up in an omelet (use thin spears or cut larger ones in half, lengthwise).
Grill or stir-fry it.
Steam it, adding butter and minced garlic, and garnish with grated Romano cheese.
Use it in pasta primavera with other spring vegetables.

No matter how you prepare it, asparagus is an elegant, delicious springtime vegetable. Something to look forward to for the next 20 years, or maybe 30…

Enjoy!

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Sowing Seeds For Early Crops

Feb29

2024

Updated 12/11/2024

Brassicas germinated 3 days after sowing seeds in these round 6″ pots.

Sowing Seeds For The First Crops: Too Early?

We’re getting close to my favorite part of the year—warming temperatures… birds singing their special songs… starting seeds for the garden. New crops of brassicas—arugula, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard greens, pac choi—top the list. I also grow lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, peas, bunching onions, and others. In this article, I’ll describe a step-by-step process for sowing seeds you can do right now, well before frost has left the area.

Bumble bee on ‘Arcadia’ broccoli in spring.

Some varieties of leafy greens are productive from early autumn through spring here in zone 7b, in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Last fall’s crops flower in late winter or spring (photo, right), and are then replaced with young transplants. With cooperative weather, cool season crops offer a fantastic return on investment!

Starting in late winter, I’ll sell transplants at the Surry County NC farmers’ markets or plant them into my own gardens. In preparation for the season, though, growers have nurtured these plants for 4-6 weeks before they’re offered for sale.

It’s important to plant young plants; heading crops, such as broccoli and cauliflower, confined in cell packs only 1 or 2 weeks too long will not properly head up. So, it’s important to start sowing seeds and to plant the seedlings at the proper time—not too early and not too late.

Gardeners living in colder climates need to adjust their gardening calendar accordingly. Yes, at this time, it might be too early for some. Leafy greens prefer chilly weather. Many fail in the heat of high summer, although they might succeed in northern gardens (northern hemisphere) at that time. With careful variety selection and placement (light shade during the hottest hours of the day), we can stretch the season for these healthy greens.

Summer Broccoli?

***Update***: This section added 12/11/2024.

The summer of 2024 tormented us with extremely high temperatures (over 100°F heat index) for many days at a time, coupled with periods of prolonged drought. The broccoli I planted in early March yielded well, but I left them in the garden after their main season had passed. The summer crop of tomatoes cast dappled shade on these normally cool-loving ‘Green Magic’ broccoli plants. I cut off large broccoli leaves for the purpose of shading the tomatoes’ flower clusters and ripening fruits, preventing pollen death and sun scald in the tomatoes.

Over the hot summer, I picked small side shoots from the broccoli plants (that was unexpected), and, when the temperatures began dropping in late summer, the broccoli yielded many more and larger side shoots! So, it was worth keeping them in the garden. With partial sun, great soil, regular watering, and a thick mulch of oak leaves, they surprised me with their abundant offerings. I will do this again!

“How do I use these greens?”

Although I’m not a vegetarian, cool season greens are the foundation of my diet. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to pick fresh greens for salads, sauces, veggie omelets, soups, sandwiches, and stir-fries in winter. And as a side dish, on pizza, with pasta, and in smoothies, if you like them. It never gets old!

Cool season greens are versatile in the kitchen but curiously underrepresented in our gardens. Considering the fact that many contain the highest levels of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and beneficial antioxidants among edible foods, it’s a wonder more gardeners aren’t growing them! The brassicas (Brassicaceae family, formerly Cruciferae) are particularly nutrient-dense, and this family of plants is the only one with measurable amounts of the sulforaphanes. Sulforaphanes are antioxidants that help prevent cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory illnesses. They also help maintain eyesight, brain function, and healthy skin.

Growing your own produce from seed saves money in these times of high inflation. You can harvest what you need for the day, so nothing goes to waste. And most crops can be grown cleanly, without pesticides, before the insects move in. Furthermore, there are hundreds of varieties to choose from that never appear in garden centers or grocery stores.

Maybe you’d enjoy experimenting with new varieties each year, as I do. Some have become my favorite foods, so they’re planted in my gardens each year. Among cool season greens, those include my favorite vegetable—mini broccoli ‘Happy Rich’—as well as ‘Nabechan’ bunching onions, Johnny’s AllStar Gourmet Lettuce mix, a butterhead lettuce called ‘Skyphos’, arugula ‘Astro’, ‘Arcadia’ broccoli (in autumn), dinosaur kale, and ‘Sugar Snap’ and ‘Oregon Giant’ peas.

Ready to begin?

Preparing To Sow Seeds

Pepper seeds sown in a 9-cell market pack.

It’s helpful to read this entire article before proceeding so you can gather materials and plan your setup. You will need:

supplies (cell packs or pots, flats, labels, soil, seeds, vegetable fertilizer)
warmth to start the seeds
a waterproof surface
adequate light to keep seedlings healthy and strong
timely transplanting to prevent crowded plants
detailed records for future reference

Perhaps you’ve chosen lettuce, arugula, and ‘Black Magic’ kale seeds for your first project. You’ll need clean cell packs or pots, fresh seedling mix, and at least one flat to keep them in. You might already have used pots and flats lying around somewhere. Disinfect them first with a 10% bleach solution to kill pathogens, or at least clean them very well.

Instead of trashing the failing window blinds, I cut the plastic slats, which make perfect plant labels. You can also use a plastic milk jug. Sharpie pens write smoothly, but the ink eventually fades in bright sun. Placing the label below ground or on the shady side of the plant keeps it legible for a while longer. A journal or a computer log is recommended as a backup and for additional notes.

I recently bought a few inexpensive heavy gauge flats from a big box store. Made by Ferry-Morse, they have no holes in the bottom and measure 10 x 20½” (inside diameter). They’ve proven their usefulness for holding pots of germinating seeds, so I’ll go back for several more. You can find similar trays from horticultural supply companies or Amazon, often in the “Microgreens” section.

Temperature For Sowing Seeds

Successful germination depends on a source of warmth if your home is on the cool side, as mine is. Although lettuce can sprout at 40-50° F, it germinates erratically or not at all above 70-75°. Other greens will get off to a better start when the soil temperature is in the 70’s to low 80’s. After germination, these seedlings will need cooler temperatures.

What are the options? Heat mats are available. One that measures 21 x 21″ consumes 45 watts of electricity and costs about $40-60. Larger commercial sizes, for 8-10 flats, cost over $125. (***Update***: I just received heat mats from Amazon at a much lower price, but I haven’t tried them yet. 12/11/2024)

Maybe the top of the water heater provides suitable temperatures for starting a few pots of seeds. You might need to moderate the heat by raising the pots above the warm surface. Check them daily!

Miniature Incandescent Christmas Lights

These brassica seeds germinated overnight, above the mini lights.

I use indoor/outdoor miniature incandescent Christmas lights for warmth—not light—under the seeded flats. One 100-bulb string of lights (approximately 40 watts) on the hard floor of the spare bedroom and covered with 6 upside-down mesh flats (photo, above) works for me. Their gentle warmth is distributed over a large area, so I can start many flats of seeded pots at one time.

Be careful not to crush any bulbs, as this can cause remaining bulbs to burn hotter or to go out entirely. Don’t use higher wattage bulbs. Safety first! Incandescent lights are becoming harder to find, so check with online sources. I bought several from a big box hardware store’s website, although the retail store didn’t have any for sale.

You might want to test this layout before proceeding. Perhaps you have a folding table or counter space in the utility room that could serve this purpose.

When that greenhouse kit gets built, I’ll probably start seeds out there. Indoor space is very limited, and plants fill every bright window. Now that the knee replacement has improved mobility, I’ll work on a more efficient infrastructure for sowing seeds and transitioning them to outdoor growing. Maybe I’ll start seeds indoors and grow them on in the minimally heated greenhouse; it all depends on the severity of the weather and electric rates.

Preparing Pots For Sowing Seeds

A flat of seeds over mini lights, with plastic to hold the warmth until seeds germinate.

I start over 200 varieties of plants for the farmers’ markets, so many of the flats are shifted around almost daily. After the first round of seedlings has been transplanted, I start another. Some varieties need more time to sprout, while others, such as arugula, germinate in just 2 days.

A sheet of clear plastic over the flats holds in humidity and warmth from the mini lights. Labels identifying each variety hold the plastic above the soil. For good air circulation and to let condensation evaporate, keep the plastic open on the edges.

Light For Germinating Seeds

Your seedlings must receive direct sunlight or strong artificial light as soon as they emerge from the soil. One or two days in inadequate light will cause the seedlings to weaken and stretch toward the light, so don’t delay getting them into the sun.

From horticultural supply companies, you can find ready-to-assemble light stands with shelves and LED fixtures. There’s one with 3 shelves, six 4′ LED tubes, and an attractive powder-coated aluminum frame that costs $1,000. Smaller units for 1-3 flats are more affordable at $100-400. They might give off enough warmth to satisfy the need for warm soil. One advantage in using this setup is that the light fixture above each shelf sustains transplanted seedlings for 2-3 weeks as long as the temperature is at acceptable levels. Cool season greens do best with a drop in temperature (below 60-65°) after germination.

You won’t need advanced carpentry skills to put something together yourself. One or two 4′ long shop lights each fitted with 2 “daylight” (full spectrum LED or fluorescent) tubes cost $30-70. Use 2 x 4’s for the supporting framework or suspend the fixture under a table. Chains and S-hooks raise or lower the fixture, or simply elevate the seed trays to get them closer to the light.

In My Basement

In the basement and over two 6′ tables, I nailed chains and rope to the floor joists and positioned the lights as needed (photo, above). I’ve used these fixtures for decades to start seeds and root cuttings, to rehabilitate plants, and to grow delicate species and stock plants.

Plants that need strong light (vegetables, herbs, succulents) grow only 3-4″ below the tubes; 12″ below the tubes, however, is too far away. Light intensity drops precipitously with each inch of distance from the light source. Running the fixtures for 16-18 hours per day should supply enough energy for the plants to grow normally.

Seedlings won’t mind 24/7 lighting over the short term. Not turning the lights on and off every day adds to their longevity.

I prefer to start seeds without relying on electricity, using just the sun. But, at times, starting seeds under these light fixtures is convenient, particularly when they can grow there for a week or two before I’m able to transplant them.

Natural Sunlight And Temperature

sowing seeds, small transplanted seedlings

Seedlings and fresh transplants enjoy the protected space on the porch.

Newly transplanted seedlings go out to the sunny enclosed porch (photo, above), which faces south. I usually keep them there, in sun that’s lightly filtered by the plastic enclosure, for their first 1-2 days. On an overcast, calm day, new transplants can go outside to the open air if the temperature is above 50°. When the wind’s blowing, though, I keep the flats on the porch and vent the plastic to admit cool air. The enclosed porch—when the plastic “door” is closed—heats up to 90° or higher on a sunny winter day.

For a few nights when the porch was too cold for young plants, I brought them back indoors. Now, at the end of February, dozens of flats stay outside on black woven ground cover (a durable polypropylene fabric), hugging the wall of the porch. That’s on the south side of my house, a warm microclimate. There’s less wind here and nighttime temperatures stay a few degrees above areas farther from the house.

Success depends on temperature, so I check expected hourly temperatures daily and the forecast for the coming week. I cover the flats with plastic or an old sheet when they need a little protection. But, at this stage, they’re becoming more resilient to temperature fluctuations.

In the morning, I’ll remove the plastic and let them bask in the sunshine. Those little seedlings double in size in a week, and roots are filling the pots. Almost ready for the market!

How Low Can They Go?

Maturing seedlings of cool season greens tolerate temperatures in the high 20’s and 30’s. They’ll take temperatures lower than that when they’re a bit older and planted in the garden. Remember, this regimen applies to cool season greens and vegetables, not to main (summer) season crops, which need a frost-free environment.

In this part of northern North Carolina, elevation 1200′, late February temperatures range from the mid- to high 50’s in the daytime to the mid-30’s at night. Keep in mind that those are averages and that actual temperatures can vary considerably from the average.

As an experiment, I left 3 containers of newly transplanted ‘Freckles’ lettuce seedlings outside, exposed to 21-22° on 2 nights. They’re fine! Lettuce resists damage better than some of the other crops.

One Step At A Time

We don’t want to subject tender seedlings only a few days old to the rigors of outdoor conditions, especially freezes and wind. Indoor-grown seedlings that received less than adequate sunlight will need a more gradual transition. Some will thrive, while others—the spindly, weak ones—will sulk or die.

When in doubt, proceed in incremental steps—gradually lowering the temperature and introducing seedlings to increasing sun and wind speeds. (For summer vegetables, harsh sunlight is another factor to consider.) This is called hardening off. Assuming the weather cooperates, vegetable plants can be hardened off within one week.

Root systems grow quite fast in order to supply water to foliage and stems. Leaves adapt to prevailing outdoor conditions, growing a thicker cuticle. The cuticle is a protective waxy outer layer over the epidermis, designed to slow moisture loss from within the leaves.

Headings:

Page 1: Sowing Seeds For The First Crops: Too Early? (Summer Broccoli?, “How do I use these greens?”), Preparing To Sow Seeds (Temperature For Sowing Seeds, Miniature Incandescent Christmas Lights, Preparing Pots For Sowing Seeds, Light For Germinating Seeds, In My Basement, Natural Sunlight And Temperature, How Low Can They Go?, One Step At A Time), Growing On To Transplant Size (Fertilizer)

Page 2: Sowing Seeds: The Process, Transplanting Into Larger Containers (The Process, Sowing Seeds and Transplanting In Multiples)

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The ‘Cherokee Purple’ Tomato

May31

Updated 10/22/2024

‘Cherokee Purple’ tomatoes from my garden.

The Last of the ‘Cherokee Purple’

One of the most popular tomatoes offered at farmers’ markets is an heirloom called ‘Cherokee Purple’. We rarely see them in grocery stores because they don’t travel well over long distances. At the markets where I sell several heirloom tomato transplants, customers request this one most often.

In 1990, Craig LeHoullier, chemist and grower of hundreds of heirloom tomatoes near Raleigh NC, received unnamed tomato seeds and a note in the mail. John D. Green, of Sevierville TN, sent the material. Green received seeds that had been saved and passed among a few generations of local gardeners. His note said the Cherokee Indians in the area had been growing this lobed variety since the late 1800’s.

LeHoullier planted the seeds in 1991. Confident in this tomato’s marketable qualities—and naming it—he distributed seeds saved from the trial to Jeff McCormack of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and to Rob Johnston of Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Beginning in 1993, these seed suppliers included the ‘Cherokee Purple’ tomato in their catalogs.

LeHoullier continued selecting variants of this variety, coming up with ‘Cherokee Green’ in 1997. This tomato is striped green and yellow, and has some orange tints at the blossom end of fully ripe fruits. After trialing a batch of seeds sent from another grower, Lehoullier named this one ‘Cherokee Chocolate’ in 1995. This variety is mahogany brown.

Attributes of the ‘Cherokee Purple’ Tomato

Often called “ugly” by some (no, not me), their flavor, nevertheless, is outstanding! The 8-12-ounce tomatoes might appear lumpy due to asymmetrical ribbing, but they’re often shaped like regular tomatoes.

The skin color is uniquely brick red to maroon, perhaps brownish, and often with green shoulders. The interior is also variably red to purple, sometimes with green.

When exposed to dappled sunlight, the fruits darken. The deeper “black” color indicates higher levels of beneficial antioxidants called anthocyanins. I prefer these super-nutrient fruits and vegetables, from red lettuces to blueberries to black tomatoes. A diet rich in antioxidants can help protect us from many kinds of cancer, inflammation, and cardiovascular illnesses.

‘Cherokee Purple’ is shorter than most indeterminate tomatoes, staying around 5′ in height when staked. For tomato lovers without gardens, try growing it in a large container. It doesn’t bear as many fruits as some, such as ‘Black Prince’, but yields—and flavor— are sufficient to merit including it in your garden.

Because this variety developed in a naturally humid region of eastern United States, it probably has some disease resistance built into its genetics. In my experience, it’s less susceptible to disease than many other heirlooms.

As an heirloom tomato and not a hybrid, ‘Cherokee Purple’ is open-pollinated. So, you can save seeds from ripe fruits for next year’s garden. The offspring will be identical—or nearly so—to the parent plant.

“Mmmm… BLT”

There is no sandwich, burger, or salad that isn’t enhanced by adding this richly flavored tomato. Some call it smoky, while others consider it sweet, complex, or balanced. Try a “sloppy BLT” on lightly toasted rye with a fair amount of Duke’s mayonnaise (on both slices), bacon, lettuce, and this tomato, of course, but also with cheese and ripe avocado.

It is juicier than many other tomatoes and, therefore, is not recommended for sauce. But, if I have some ripe fruits, I’ll add them to the stock pot when making sauce, which simmers on low heat for 2 hours or longer.

Regardless how it’s described, the ‘Cherokee Purple’ tomato always has a place in my garden. In fact, when cool weather arrives in autumn, I place large pieces of clear plastic raised over the plants to protect them from frost. For a little extra warmth, add a hot water bottle or a string of miniature incandescent Christmas lights to extend the season for a few more ripe fruits.

When a freeze threatens, pick all remaining full-sized or nearly full-sized tomatoes and let them ripen on the kitchen counter. Be careful not to bruise them.

A few other varieties also get covered in the garden to give the fruits additional time to ripen, but it’s these last ‘Cherokee Purple’ tomatoes that wrap up the season.

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How To Grow Potatoes In 5 Simple Steps

Mar29

Can we grow new potatoes from old potatoes?

Yes!

So… those potatoes left in the pantry or the bottom of the refrigerator decided to sprout. Instead of throwing them into the trash or the compost bin, try growing them! You can grow potatoes in the home garden or in large pots, following a few simple guidelines.

Too withered for consumption, but fine for the garden.

We don’t recommend planting potatoes recently purchased from the grocery store because they’ve likely been treated with a sprout inhibitor. After the effect wears off, you’ll see the eyes begin growing. That, though, could take months.

Organic potatoes, if treated with sprout suppressors approved by the National Organic Program, sprout earlier than non-organic potatoes. Inhibitors, such as spearmint, peppermint, and clove oils, must be applied more frequently than chemicals used on traditionally treated potatoes.

Spouting potatoes (like the ‘Yukon Gold’ in photo, top) are still edible, after removing the eyes. Discard moldy and rotting potatoes. But save for the garden the ones with well-developed sprouts and those that have withered beyond the point of palatability.

Carbohydrates stored in the tuber provide energy for the developing shoots. When green leaves begin growing, photosynthesis will sustain the plant.

When can we grow potatoes outside?

Potatoes can tolerate cool soil, but not cold, wet soil or freezing temperatures. I live in USDA plant hardiness zone 7, where we plant early maturing varieties 4-6 weeks before the last spring frost. Gardeners plant mid-season and late varieties after that.

Wait for the soil to warm up to at least 45°F before planting tubers. Long-range weather forecasts might indicate whether it’s safe to plant or prudent to delay.

A garden exposed to full direct sunlight warms up earlier in spring than one in partial sun. Grow potatoes in full sun, but avoid exposing them to searing summer heat. Gardeners living in higher elevations or in cooler summer regions can grow potatoes through the season.

If the weather forecast predicts temperatures below freezing, I’ll mulch the soil with several inches of oak leaves, never in short supply around here. A thick, airy mulch insulates the ground from a sudden drop in temperature. Plants benefit from mulch kept in place all season. Not only does it moderate temperature, suppress weeds, and keep moisture in the ground, but it also prevents disease spores from splashing onto the potato’s leaves. This is easier to do in small garden plots than in larger farming operations.

Emerging foliage can tolerate light frost. It could take a few weeks for growth to show above ground.

Seed Potatoes

For a wider selection of varieties offered to farmers and home gardeners, look for “seed potatoes”. Some garden centers and many seed suppliers stock seed potatoes. They’re not actually seeds, but certified young potatoes almost ready for planting. Although they’re certified disease-free when purchased, plants are susceptible to a few pathogens as they grow.

Favorable conditions and good management practices decrease the likelihood of problems. If you’ve had diseases in your potato crops, don’t save potatoes year to year, but purchase certified potatoes instead. Don’t grow potatoes where they’ve been planted any time in the past 4 years.

Botanically speaking, potatoes are classified as Solanum tuberosum. They belong to the Solanaceae family and call tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants their cousins. Tobacco, petunias, and deadly nightshade, a poisonous weed, also belong to the nightshade family.

Potatoes are native to the cool mountainous regions of South America. In the 1530’s, European explorers gathered them and introduced potatoes to their homeland. Irish immigrants brought them to North America in the early 1700’s. Approximately 4,000 varieties of potatoes have been bred. True seeds, as opposed to seed potatoes, are poisonous when eaten and are used only for breeding purposes.

You can find potatoes with white, yellow, tan, red, blue, and purple skins and flesh. Thin-skinned potatoes, such as ‘Yukon Gold’, ‘Kennebec’, and ‘Red Pontiac’, grow well in the eastern parts of the U.S. The western states suit the thicker-skinned ‘Russet’ and other baking potatoes.

Crop Rotation

One of those good management practices involves rotating our crops. Related plants tend to be susceptible to the same pathogens and insect pests. When growing one crop in the same plot of land year after year, disease spores and insects can build up in that location. That’s why it’s recommended to move all members of a particular plant family to different plots over the next several growing seasons.

For example, if you grew potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants in Plot A in any of the last 4 years, move your potatoes and other members of the Solanaceae family to Plot B this year, Plot C next year, and then Plot D the year after that.

Rotate among the various plant families, such as:

brassicas—arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, etc., in the Brassicaceae family
cucurbits—cucumber, squash, zucchini, melons, in the Cucurbitaceae family
legumes—peas, beans, in the Fabaceae family
lettuces, in the Asteraceae family
onions, leeks, garlic, in the Amaryllidaceae family
Swiss chard, spinach, beets, in the Amaranthaceae family

Several varieties of potatoes.

How To Grow Potatoes In the Garden

Step 1: The First Cut

Before planting potatoes in the ground, cut them into pieces about 1½” long. Each piece should have 2-3 eyes. Let them sit in the open air for 1-2 days to seal the cut surface. This helps prevent rot in moist soil.

Small potatoes can be planted whole.

Step 2: Prepare the Soil If You Want To Grow Potatoes

Thorough soil preparation serves the immediate purpose as well as plantings in years to come. After improving the soil with generous amounts of drainage materials, you’ll need to add nutrient-rich amendments a few times each year after that.

Not repeatedly disturbing the soil profile retains healthy populations of beneficial microbes. Farmers are increasingly using no-till methods and cover crops to preserve soil structure and prevent erosion of valuable topsoil. Frequent tilling also introduces high levels of oxygen between the particles of soil, so organic matter is broken down too quickly.

Vegetable plants need good drainage, and potatoes are no exception. Loosen the soil at least 12″ deep, breaking up the clods. Potatoes struggle in compacted clay and stony soils; tubers that do form are often misshapen. Potatoes grow very well in raised beds.

Incorporate a few inches of pine fines, soil conditioner, peat moss, and/or coarse sand to improve the tilth (or workability) of the soil. Avoid layering materials in the soil profile. Layers of coarse and fine materials, with differing air pore spaces from one material to another, obstruct water percolating through the soil. This could cause soggy layers that can rot roots. For that reason, I never place a layer of gravel under plantings.

In the top 5″ of loosened soil, mix in compost, leaf mold, or planting mixes. These materials contain a variety of nutrients required by vegetables, and they encourage rapid rooting.

Aged manure and mushroom compost are not recommended for root vegetables.

Soil PH

Potatoes love heavily composted soil. They also require acidic soil, with a pH between 5.0 and 6.0. (Various websites recommend a pH anywhere between 4.8 and 7.0.)

Low pH helps prevent scab, a disfiguring disease of potato skins. Soil pH outside the preferred range for potatoes limits nutrient absorption and might cause nutrient toxicities.

Contact your local agricultural extension agents for information on taking a soil test. They can recommend preferred fertilizers, methods to lower soil pH, and varieties appropriate for your area.

Step 3: Place the Seed Potatoes

In rich, organic soil, simply lay the potato pieces on top of moist, loosened soil or nestle them into the surface. The eyes should face upward. Then mulch over the seed potatoes.

They’ll also grow when planted 2″ deep. Space potatoes 6-12″ apart, depending on variety. Because potato plants grow 2-3′ tall and might sprawl a bit, allow 30-36″ between rows.

Mulch the bed with a few inches of leaf litter, shredded leaves, and pine needles to cover the planted potatoes. It’s important to adequately shade the surface of the ground from sunlight to protect growing tubers from greening…

“Greening”?

Potatoes with green skin needed deeper mulch.

Greening is caused by exposure to light, which, in itself, is not harmful. But the green pigment (chlorophyll) in potatoes is associated with the formation of a toxic glycoalkaloid called solanine.

Never eat green potatoes; if only the skin is green, cut off and discard that part before cooking. Never eat leaves, stems, or the berries that develop on potato plants.

Solanine in potatoes is more concentrated when growing potatoes in high nitrogen soils and in soil that’s compacted or very sandy. Bruised potatoes, those held a long time in storage, and potatoes with large eyes are higher in this toxin. The greener the potato, the higher the level of solanine. This bitter substance is a natural repellent to insects and browsing animals.

Solanine can’t be boiled or cooked away. The level is somewhat lower in foods fried at very high temperatures, but that brings its own problems, described later in this article. I’m not intent on discouraging you from growing or eating potatoes, but moderate consumption of this popular vegetable and proper preparation make it a healthier indulgence.

Symptoms of solanine toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, slow pulse or breathing, low blood pressure, and abdominal pain. It can cause coma and death in rare instances, so be very careful with green potatoes. If any of the flesh is green after removing the skin, I would discard the potato.

Step 4: Maintenance

Water

Water the garden thoroughly after planting and mulching. If rain is unreliable, water the garden every week, never letting the soil become dry. Provide 1-1½” of water each week if it doesn’t rain.

Avoid wetting the foliage, and water in the morning so the foliage is dry going into the night. This helps cut down on the incidence of disease. Some varieties are resistant to blight, scab, Rhizoctonia, and Verticillium wilt. Those that have not been bred with disease resistance often produce great yields when using good gardening practices.

Hollow Heart and Brown Center

Some large varieties, particularly ‘Atlantic’ (for potato chips) and ‘Yukon Gold’ (a personal favorite), might show hollow heart and/or brown center. These are physiological disorders characterized by a star-shaped cavity and a central area with dead brown tissue, respectively, in the center of the potato or near the ends.

These stress-related conditions often result from inconsistent soil moisture—for example, wet soil after a period of dry soil. In addition, a period of prolonged cold weather during tuber formation can cause brown center. Spacing seed potatoes too far apart and using small seed potatoes (with too few eyes) can be the cause. Low potassium and other nutrient deficiencies can initiate the disorders.

The potato’s skin shows no indication of a problem. Affected potatoes aren’t perfect but are still edible.

Hilling Up

As the plants grow, hill up soil against the stems of the plants. Take soil from another part of the garden, adding a few inches up the stem and about 12″ out from it. This is an option—not necessary—but it should increase the yield.

Like tomatoes, potatoes root along buried stems. As they root, they’ll develop another layer of young potatoes at the ends of the stolons. Hill up around the stems 2 or 3 times during the growing season to maximize the harvest.

An alternative is to start potatoes in a moderately deep trench, reserving excavated soil on the side of the bed. Periodically fill in the trench with amended soil, a few inches at a time.

Fertilizer

Every few weeks, apply a complete fertilizer. The 3 numbers on the package representing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) should be in a ratio of 1:1:1 or 1:2:2. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen. An analysis close to 10-10-10 or 5-10-10 is adequate.

Although you could use chemical fertilizers, they tend to damage populations of beneficial microbes. But, until the soil warms up, microbes aren’t sufficiently active to break down the organic components into molecules the plants can absorb. That’s when I use chemical fertilizers, and then switch to organic products when the soil warms.

To help prevent disorders in developing potatoes, it’s recommended to apply smaller concentrations of fertilizer more frequently.

Insect Pests

Colorado potato beetles can be especially bothersome as they consume significant amounts of foliage. Inspect the undersides of the leaves for yellow-orange egg masses and remove them. The beetles have 10 black stripes on their tan wings. Immature larvae are orangish-red with 2 rows of black dots down each side. Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis, a biological insecticide, kills this beetle.

Aphids might congregate in large numbers on the plants. A brisk spray of cool water from the hose takes care of most of them. Encourage ladybugs, braconid wasps, and green lacewings to populate your garden. For severe infestations, prepare a solution of horticultural oil and spray early in the morning. Apply the solution to the bottoms of the leaves as well. Read the label.

Cutworms feed on sprouts emerging from the ground. Since these C-shaped larvae become moths, treating the potatoes with Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki effectively kills them. Keep in mind that they’ll have to eat some of the foliage in order to ingest the Bt.

Slugs and Deer

A slug.

Slugs reproduce rapidly in moist conditions and where they can hide in crevices during the daytime.

Lay a board on moist ground, and slugs and snails will gather there after feeding through the night. You might notice those silvery slime trails on tender foliage. Early in the morning, take an old knife to the garden and… dispatch them forthwith! Or use organic Sluggo or similar product, which does not contain toxic chemicals. Except to slugs and snails. Read the label.

Although potato foliage is not the favorite choice of warm-blooded animals, deer and others will feed on it when not much else is available.

Other members of the nightshade family also host these pests. Row cover secured over the planting excludes most insects and browsing animals.

Potatoes that sprouted in storage are now growing new plants in 6″ pots. They’ll need protection from hard frost if planted, but I didn’t want to delay planting the deteriorating tubers.

Headings

Page 1: Can we grow new potatoes from old potatoes? (When can we grow potatoes outside?, Seed Potatoes, Crop Rotation), How To Grow Potatoes In the Garden, Step 1: The First Cut, Step 2: Prepare the Soil If You Want To Grow Potatoes (Soil PH), Step 3: Place the Seed Potatoes (“Greening”?), Step 4: Maintenance (Water, Hollow Heart and Brown Center, Hilling Up, Fertilizer, Insect Pests, Slugs and Deer)

Page 2: Step 5: Harvesting!, How To Grow Potatoes In Containers, Grow Potatoes For Their Nutrients (The Power Of the Purples, Potato Skins, Resistant Starch), The Problem With High Heat

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Enclosing the Porch For Winter Growing

Dec7

2022

Updated 11/5/2024

Enclosing the Porch for Growing Plants In Winter

Average Temperatures

Winter weather is in a rush to make its presence known here in northern North Carolina. Average nighttime low temperatures in October are in the 50’s F falling to the 40’s by the end of the month. In 2022, though, many nights were frosty. In this article, I’ll describe how enclosing the porch can add more growing space for sun-loving tender plants—those killed by freezing temperatures.

I moved to this beautiful acre outside Elkin, in USDA plant hardiness zone 7b, in October, 2021. The average lowest extreme temperatures in winter are 5-10° F, with January the coldest month. That won’t stop most gardeners from finding ways to extend the growing season, and, in fact, encourages us to do so.

Abnormally cold weather prompted me to gather all plants that would have been damaged or killed by frost. Both daytime and nighttime temperatures have fallen 10-20° below average on many days in October and November. On the other hand, we’ve also enjoyed a few shorts-and-tee-shirt days hovering well above average.

Priority: Plants

Succulents in this dish garden can begin stretching toward the light after less than a week in insufficient sunlight.

Priority went to succulents and tropical plants intolerant of cooling temperatures. Some I’ve had for decades and don’t want to lose. A collection that started in spring as 12 flats of tender plants blossomed to 40 by autumn.

Miniature succulents, succulent gardens in bonsai trays (photo, above), bromeliads, aroids (Alocasia, pothos, philodendron), amaryllis, leopard lilies (Drimiopsis, Ledebouria), tradescantias, ferns, ficus, begonias… I propagated all these houseplants for the farmers’ market, where I’ve been a vendor (“Wellspring Gardens”) since April, 2022.

Plants requiring warm temperatures fill every sunny window indoors. In the basement, more plants snuggle close to the 4′ fluorescent shop lights.

From autumn to spring, I carried many flats of houseplants outdoors to the sunny porch when it was warm enough, above 50° or 60°F. And later in the day, I brought them back indoors again. Almost every day. Winter ’21-’22 was quite mild.

That’s in addition to the dozens of flats of herbs and cool season greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula, broccoli, kale, etc.) started for the farmers’ markets and my own gardens. After 3-4 weeks of growth, they could safely be hardened off outdoors, exposed to colder temperatures—even frost—before planting or selling them.

The Best Option

I need an easier way to accommodate all these plants. A greenhouse is prohibitively expensive for now. Another option is to keep them in the porch, after enclosing it. In winter, this south-southwest-facing porch receives full sun from morning until sunset. Perfect!

How hard could it be to tack a big sheet of clear plastic to the structure? That will work in the daytime, when the sun’s out. But during cold overcast weather and at night, supplemental heat will be needed. Later in this article, you’ll see what I did to keep the tender plants comfortable.

Preliminary Plans

The goal was to create an inexpensive makeshift greenhouse environment from readily available materials, employing rudimentary carpentry skills. Winter winds, primarily from the west, can be fierce at times. This necessitated strong bracing for the structure to prevent the plastic from breaking loose.

At the hardware store, I bought a 12 x 100′ roll of clear 4-mil plastic for enclosing the porch and creating low tunnels in the garden for winter greens. You can find sheets and rolls of clear plastic in the paint department. Although it won’t last as long as greenhouse film, it is less expensive. A more attractive alternative is clear acrylic film, but I’m looking for the most economical solution for now.

Plastic degrades in sunlight, and faster in hot sunlight. So, if used on the porch only during the cold months, it should last 3-4 years. That’s based on many years’ experience using plastic to protect plants from cold winter weather.

The plan is to leave the wooden support grid in place all year. After weather warms up in spring, I’ll remove the plastic panels, still stapled to their 1 x 2 x 8′ posts, clean them, and store them in the basement. In the future, enclosing the porch in permanent materials (floor-to-ceiling operable windows) is a strong possibility.

Updates:

***Plastic used in the garden lasts longer than the plastic used to enclose the porch. After 2 full seasons, the porch plastic is showing signs of weakening in the hottest spots because the enclosed space heats up significantly, shortening the life of the plastic. If I don’t vent the plastic or open the front door and use a fan to blow the heat into the house, the porch heats up to 90-105° F on a sunny winter day. The air under plastic in the garden doesn’t get that hot because the plastic is removed or vented to prevent overheating the greens. January 14, 2024

***Recently, I bought a large roll of 6-mil greenhouse film that was on sale. It should last 3-4 years, and there’s plenty to cover other structures which are in the planning stage for now. I used the same staple gun and 1″ x 2″ x 8′ posts for the new plastic. Because this product is clearer than the hardware store’s plastic, it transfers more of the sun’s energy to the inside of the porch…so it gets hotter in the sun. That’s probably okay in the dead of winter when it gets very cold, but in autumn, some plants show a bit of sunscald. If it stays unusually warm over the next month as it did in October, I’ll tack up some of the old plastic on the inside to filter the sun. 11/5/2024

Enclosing the Porch: First, the Support System

Before cutting the plastic, I had to figure out how to put this whole thing together, preferably without piercing the aluminum siding. Where to start? How to seal it from drafts? What about a door?

The front porch measures approximately 20′ x 8′, so the 1 x 2″ x 8′ wood posts from the hardware store fit well. I used a hand saw for a few cuts. Posts with large knots, not visible when purchased in bundles, were returned to the store. Those are weak spots that could break in high winds. These posts have a smoother side—the side in contact with the plastic.

6 x 6″ timbers with 1 x 2″ x 8′ posts across the front of the porch.

Four 6 x 6″ timbers support the roof along the front edge of the porch, and the attic above is insulated. The timbers are secured 3″ inside the outer edge of the decking. Because the 1 x 2’s are attached at the top of the timbers and extend 8′ down, past the edge of the decking, the posts are slightly off vertical when viewed from the side.

I didn’t attach plastic directly to the bottom of the timbers because I wanted it to fall all the way to the ground on the 3 sides. That would help warm up the concrete block foundation and the ground underneath the decking. The goal was to retain the maximum amount of heat in the enclosed porch.

The porch is elevated 2 steps up from the ground. That made my time on the ladder somewhat less daunting. I took my time and was very careful. Safety first.

Brace Yourselves

Hardware included:

Hillman Red Exterior 8 x 1 5/8″ deck screws, with a special drill bit in the package
3″ galvanized corner braces with smaller screws
a few nails

Although the deck screws are supposed to require “no pre-drilling”, a few of the 1 x 2’s split. I used a couple of nails to hold them together.

corner brace screwed to decking and post

Brace was placed with the edge of the post flush with the front edge of the floor.

Holding a 1 x 2 post firmly against the house and the edge of the floor, I positioned a brace, then marked where the first screw would go. The west and east sides would have five 1 x 2’s each.

I used a reversible drill to screw braces to the floor. For each of the east and west sides, one brace went next to the house, one on the outside corner, and one in the middle. The other 2 posts on each side were screwed to the edge of the decking without braces.

I used 2 longer deck screws—instead of the smaller screws in the package—for the horizontal half of the brace attached to the floor. This made a stronger attachment. Because the long screws would have gone through the 1 x 2’s and pierced the plastic, I used shorter screws on the vertical part of the brace (photo, above).

Next Up: The Vertical Posts

Once the braces had been secured on the west and east sides, the vertical 1 x 2″ posts were next. I attached five 1 x 2″ posts to the decking—about every 2′—on the west side and 5 more on the east side. Each post was screwed on at the bottom securely enough for it to stand straight. A carpenter’s level established true vertical and horizontal before I tightened the screws.

Then I fastened the middle horizontal post, and the top horizontal post as close to the ceiling (overhang) as possible. I can add more supports at any time, if necessary.

Where the ground level was higher near the house, I cut the posts so they stopped right above the soil. In other areas, the 8′ length doesn’t extend that close to the soil, but that’s okay. The excess plastic made a flange over the ground, on which I placed heavy pots and cinder blocks to block air infiltration. I haven’t trimmed any of the 12′ wide plastic, but I can play with that later. Incidentally, the flange helped keep the basement drier during a recent rainstorm. For now, it stays.

enclosing the porch, west side wood supports

The west side with 5 vertical and 2 horizontal 1 x 2″ x 8′ posts.

The braces and posts were sturdy, but there was too much play in the sides. So, I drilled another 3″ brace inside each of the upper 2 corners adjacent to the house, through the siding in the ceiling and into the vertical 1 x 2 (photo, below). A wooden beam hides under the siding. First, I hammered a nail through the aluminum, then replaced it with a deck screw, stabilizing the sides.

Brace secures vertical post to the ceiling, near house. Clear tape, barely visible on the right, seals plastic to siding.

On the South Face

Posts: 1 2 3 4 door 5 6 7 8

Here’s the 20′ south face of the porch. Imagine the vertical posts are numbered, from #1 at the left (west) corner to #8 at the right corner, with a larger gap in the middle for the “door”. The numbers don’t exactly correlate with the posts, but you get the idea. The door has not been finalized. Posts #1 and 8 were added previously to the corner timbers, when I worked on the east and west sides.

Across the front, I fastened braces to the floor and then added 2 middle posts on each side of the door (#2, 3, 6, 7). The other 2 new posts were fastened to the top of the inner 6 x 6″ timbers (#4, 5), and screwed directly to the edge of the decking. All 1 x 2″ x 8′ posts angled out slightly, below the edge of the floor.

Then the horizontal members went up: top and middle. Later, I had to remember to leave some extra plastic at the top of the outside corners to accommodate the slightly angled vertical posts (and longer dimension at the floor). Some of the posts were a bit bowed, so I’ll tape the gaps at the top from inside the porch.

At this point, all braces and support posts are in place. Progress!

Headings

Page 1: Enclosing the Porch for the Winter (Average Temperatures, Priority: Plants, The Best Option), Preliminary Plans, ***Updates***, Enclosing the Porch: First, The Support System (Brace Yourselves, Next Up: The Vertical Posts, On the South Face)

Page 2: Enclosing the Porch: Second, Wrapping It Up (The West Side, The East and South Sides, How?), Warming Up to This, Enclosing the Porch: A Winter Retreat for Succulents (An Arctic Blast, and I Don’t Mean Fun Times with Santa, Blown Away Or Not?, Why Not LED’s?, Enclosing the Porch for Edible Plants, Potted Herbs and Tender Plants, Enclosing the Porch for Me, Too!)

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Pages: 1 2

Seedlings For Your Garden: 12 Tips

Jun27

2022

Updated 5/21/2024

Starting Seedlings For Your Garden

Busy spring! This lengthy article focuses on starting and caring for seedlings and getting them established in the garden. If I’m not working on the seedlings, I’m working in the gardens, creating new beds and expanding those started last fall and winter. Winter weather was delightfully mild to allow planting right through the cold season. The weeds and I have come to an understanding, and in the next article, I’ll tell you how in “Patches for Pollinators”.

Foremost on the agenda has been starting plants to sell at our local Elkin Farmers’ Market. It’s been a challenge this year, keeping plants in good condition with high heat, heavy humidity, and frequent rainstorms. If I had a climate-controlled greenhouse, there might have been fewer losses. But, for the most part, my company, Wellspring Gardens, is producing more seedlings than I can sell at the market.

Some of that overproduction is destined for the vegetable gardens. It will yield small harvests of produce to sell at the market in addition to what’s needed in the kitchen. This is new territory for me, adding produce to the plants offered at the farmers’ market.

I might even consider canning, which I’ve never done…but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That would be helpful, though, considering the rapidly rising prices at the grocery store. For that reason alone—the impact of rampant inflation on our wallets—it’s wise to learn how to grow at least a few vegetables.

The sun’s path across the sky, Charlotte NC.

Watching how the sun tracks across the sky from month to month reveals good spots for the sun worshipers and areas where leafy greens should thrive in partial sun. This is my first summer in this house. The massive oak trees create shifting shade patterns that cause me to periodically rethink the plans.

So, let’s begin!

12 Tips For Starting Seeds

1. Start with clean materials for seedlings.

Sweet pepper ‘Glow’, started in 9-cell packs.

This calls for packaged seedling mix or fine-grained potting soil. Don’t use “dirt” from the garden, with its pathogens, insects, weed seeds, and worms that disrupt soil structure around tiny roots. In addition to the unknowns lurking in garden soil, its high clay content causes drainage issues in containers.

Potting soil that has a lot of coarse materials, such as pine fines (bits of pine bark), can be improved by sifting the soil. I use a clean plastic pot with small holes in the bottom. Fill the pot partway with the soil, and shake it vigorously up and down over the containers. Do the same thing when covering seeds.

Soil used previously for potted plants is not a good medium for your seedlings. It’s often depleted of nutrients, might contain pathogens, and the organic matter has partially decomposed. If it’s only one season old, it’s probably safe for transplanting potted annuals, when mixed with fresh potting soil, or incorporated into the backfill for that new sourwood tree. Or simply throw it under the shrubs or into the compost pile (never in the trash!).

Because seedlings are susceptible to soil-borne diseases, play it safe and start with pasteurized bagged seedling mix or potting soil. This, however, doesn’t guarantee a successful outcome, as many disease spores are air-borne. But we can increase the odds of success by using clean materials.

When reusing cell packs, pots, and flats for seeding, wash them in a 10% bleach solution, and rinse well before proceeding. Don’t smoke around plants, and wash hands thoroughly before working with them. Tobacco and other plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae, including tomato, pepper, eggplant, and potato) can fall prey to the same disease organisms. Spores can transfer from tobacco products to your hands to the plants.

Pasteurizing Potting Soil

For bagged soil that’s questionable, you can pasteurize it in the oven. Don’t heat soil that contains timed release fertilizers. Use an oven-safe covered pot or baking dish, wet the soil, and heat the oven to 200°F. When the soil registers 140° on a meat thermometer, lower the oven temperature and maintain soil at that temperature for 30 minutes. This kills most pathogens. Wait for it to dry somewhat and to cool thoroughly before using. Various websites recommend different temperature levels from 140° to 300°. At the high end, however, beneficial microbes are killed off as well.

Let it cool down outdoors. Considering the pervasive “earthy” odor coming from hot soil, you might prefer buying a new bag of seedling mix or accept a small risk with the open bag in the garage.

Another method of pasteurizing (not sterilizing) soil is to place a heat-resistant container of soil in a black plastic bag. Place the bag in a sunny place outdoors on a warm day, and let the sun do the work for you. This is called solarization, and can raise the temperature inside the bag to 140-160°F. To prevent damage to the beneficial microbes, take the temperature, and maintain it at 140° for 30 minutes, opening the bag a bit to prevent overheating.

Most bagged potting soils and seedling mixes already have been heat-treated to eliminate pests. Close the bag securely and store in a cool dark place. The last and only time I pasteurized soil was nearly 50 years ago because that’s what the experts recommended.

2. Grow disease resistant varieties…

While fungicide and bactericide formulations—both organic and conventional—are available, I’d rather grow disease resistant varieties and not rely on spraying. Keep in mind that resistance is not 100% effective, particularly when plants are exposed to stressful weather or cultural conditions.

Certain varieties are more flavorful than others, but all well-grown fruits and vegetables from your own garden taste better than those purchased from grocery stores. Picked when vine-ripened perfect, anything coming from the garden will be superior to what’s found elsewhere except, perhaps, at farmers’ markets and farm stands. Freshly picked produce also has the highest nutrient content.

Digging in the garden is great exercise; proceed slowly at first. Working outside in nature feels good, and self-sufficiency is never amiss. A few steps from the back door gathering a green onion, spinach, dinosaur kale, and a little ripe sweet pepper for the veggie omelet is more rewarding than I can describe. You’ll see!

Those are just a few of the many benefits of growing our own vegetables. Using disease resistant varieties, if available, makes the job so much easier. Many new gardeners gave up after having suffered the disappointment of losing an entire crop to early blight or bacterial leaf spot. And we also have to deal with deer, rabbits, and insects!

Although this article concentrates primarily on edibles, flowering plants also have their own set of disease organisms. Again, look for resistant varieties, grow them in conditions that don’t favor infection, and look for remedies at the garden center.

…Especially Tomato Seedlings

Disease beginning on ‘Rutgers’ tomato.

Tomatoes and peppers, two of the most popular crops for home vegetable gardens, are vulnerable to many diseases. They’re caused by fungal, bacterial, or viral pathogens. In some areas, nematodes also can be a problem. Usually, we can harvest some fruits before disease claims them, but resistant plants last longer in the garden. Plants infected with viruses should be removed and destroyed. For fungal and bacterial pathogens, products at garden centers will help. Always read the labels.

Tomato diseases include Alternaria stem canker, early blight, late blight (Phytophthora; very few varieties are resistant to this one), Fusarium wilt, grey leaf spot, leaf mold, tobacco mosaic virus, tomato mosaic virus, tomato spotted wilt virus, and Verticillium wilt. Catalog listings use initials to indicate disease resistance. For tomatoes, AS, EB, LB, F, GLS, LM, TMV, ToMV, TSWV, and V, respectively, represent those diseases.

Tomatoes are weedy plants and normally produce good crops, despite many organisms that target them. Peppers are susceptible to several races of bacterial leaf spot, and basil to basil downy mildew. Some zinnias are plagued by powdery mildew. Weather conditions, such as high humidity and frequent rain, exacerbate these disease problems.

Most hybrid (or “F1”) tomatoes have some resistance to one or more pathogens, but not to all of them. ‘Big Beef Plus’ is resistant to a wide variety of diseases. ‘Damsel’ and ‘Defiant PhR’ are resistant to late blight. Hybrid seeds carry a higher price than open pollinated varieties due to the cost of research that developed them and the extra steps needed to produce hybrid seeds each year.

It’s so hot out there!

If you live in a hot climate, look for tomato varieties that have been bred to produce better at high temperatures. The pollen in tomatoes and peppers, and others, can die at high temperatures. While these plants are comfortable at 65-80°F, pollen dies above 88°, 90°, or 92°, depending on the cultivar. No pollination = no fruits! A reference to “heat” or to the “south” in the plant’s variety name indicates its higher tolerance for heat.

Researchers are investigating thermo-tolerant genetics in wild tomato species (Solanum pimpinellifolium) and incorporating them in tomato breeding programs.

One trick to preserve viable pollen is lightly shading the plant in the hot afternoon hours. Attach shade fabric—a black woven mesh—to a support over and on the west side of the tomato or pepper plants. This provides a decrease of up to several degrees in hot climates or temporarily during a heat wave. In the photo, above, mesh bags from the grocery store protect fruits from squirrels and sun scald, and lightly shade new flowers and their pollen from high heat.

The young ‘Estiva’ tomato plants (“estiva” refers to summer), a hybrid bred for heat tolerance and great taste, lost most of their diseased bottom leaves in heavy rains, but those little fruits are still growing! I’ll plant them out this weekend, after the temperatures drop well below the 108° heat index value we have now. Recent weather has been in the record-breaking mid- to high 90’s F, with high humidity. Not my favorite conditions to dig in the garden…so I don’t. I was not bred for heat tolerance!

***Update***: ‘Estiva’ tomatoes endured this hot summer and produced fruits past the first fall frosts. I covered them on chilly nights to ripen the last of the fruits. These were among the last tomatoes to succumb to the cold, in mid-November. Autumn 2022

A Few More Tomato Tips

Your best defense against tomato disease, in addition to growing disease resistant varieties, includes these tips:

Stake them. Tall indeterminate types need a 6-8′ tall stake, taller for some.
Space them farther apart, at least 3½-4′.
Thin the vines to 3 or 4 main stems by removing excess suckers.
Remove leaves on the bottom 12″ of the plants after they’ve become established.
Locate them where a breeze blows through the garden. These first 5 tips address increasing air circulation around and through the tomato plants.
Give them lots of direct sun—a minimum of 7 or 8 hours. The more sun they receive, the shorter the window of opportunity for pathogens to germinate on damp leaf surfaces.
Mulch the soil under the plants to prevent disease spores lying dormant in the soil from splashing onto and infecting the foliage. More on Page 4.
Water in the morning to early afternoon so all foliage is dry going into the night. Try to keep the foliage dry at all times and avoid handling wet foliage.
Water established plants heavily (1½”/week) when needed, but avoid giving little sips every day. Young seedlings need more frequent watering until their root systems expand.
Clip off leaves that show early symptoms (yellowing, spotting), and dip your pruners in alcohol when moving from plant to plant.
Don’t smoke near the garden, and wash hands thoroughly before working with plants.
Rotate your crops. Don’t plant a member of the Solanaceae family where any members have grown in the past 3-4 years. There’s more about crop rotation on Page 4.

All plants grown with good soil preparation, good air circulation, proper watering techniques, adequate sun, and appropriate fertilization are less stressed. Less stress equates to lower infection rates.

Growing Heirloom Seedlings

: These “black” heirloom tomatoes are higher in beneficial pigments called anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants. ‘Cherokee Purple’ (above) originated near the NC/TN border, and had been grown by the Cherokee for generations before seeds became widely available in the early 1990’s. ‘Black Prince’ (left), is a high-yielding variety, shown before fruits darkened.

Heirloom tomatoes are always in demand because of their exceptionally good flavor. Heirlooms are open pollinated, which means gardeners can save seeds from fully ripened fruits each year for the next season’s garden. Because they’re not F1 hybrids but have been breeding true, for the most part, for many decades, heirlooms retain their traits from one generation to the next.

These varieties, however, don’t have much built-in disease resistance. Nevertheless, I’m growing a few heirlooms, and spacing them 4′ apart for improved air circulation. We’ll see what happens.

Commercially grown tomatoes must be able to survive long distance transportation and handling without damage. They’re picked early, when green or first showing color. Varieties of these tomatoes have skins that normally are tougher.

Heirloom tomatoes have more desirable thinner skins and, therefore, travel poorly. So, you won’t see them in grocery stores unless those stores buy from local farms. Heirloom tomatoes from the grocery store might cost $5.00/lb. or more! So, yes, it is worth growing a couple of heirloom tomato plants in our gardens.

A few prolonged and heavy rainy periods this spring almost wiped out certain tomato varieties, namely ‘Carmello’, ‘Brandywine’, and ‘German Johnson’. I still have a few that show less damage than others. ‘Black Krim’ and ‘Cherokee Purple’ are doing fairly well, although they are heirlooms. Most of the remaining plants will be set in the garden. There’s usually a breeze blowing through the property, and by spacing them appropriately, I should get plenty of fruits.

Basil Downy Mildew

First symptom of BDM: yellow blotches between the main veins.

Although this dreaded disease targets only basil, it hasn’t appeared yet this year. But I’m prepared.

Last year, I grew ‘Rutgers Obsession DMR’ (DMR = Downy Mildew Resistant), an acceptable substitute for our beloved ‘Genovese’ and other susceptible sweet basils. Last year’s ‘Obsession’ did not develop any basil downy mildew (BDM)—not one speck—although wet and humid weather presented a worthy challenge. Other basil varieties in the ground or in pots succumbed to the disease within a week of infection…even young seedlings.

This year, I’m growing ‘Rutgers Obsession DMR’ and also ‘Rutgers Devotion DMR’ outside all summer. In addition, I’m seeding the old favorites, including ‘Genovese’, ‘Italian Large Leaf’, Thai basil ‘Siam Queen’, ‘Marseillais Dwarf’, and ‘Tuscany’, a lettuce-leaf basil. A few non-resistant basil plants will come indoors at night when warranted, as described below. But I’ll stop seeding susceptible varieties, except for a few pots, and concentrate on the resistant ones for the farmers’ market if the disease appears in the neighborhood.

Several other BDM resistant varieties can be purchased as seeds or as started plants.

Avoid High Humidity

Healthy sweet basil, in a pot.

If you want to grow your favorite basil varieties that are not resistant to BDM, there is a way to prevent a total loss.

BDM spores move up from the south on the breeze or on infected plants shipped into the area. The spores don’t overwinter in cold climates. If spores land on a susceptible variety, they need a relative humidity above 80-85% for a couple of hours in order to germinate.

Even during pleasant weather, the relative humidity can reach 90% or higher in the 2-3 hours around dawn. That’s when the temperature is usually the coolest and, therefore, the relative humidity is the highest.

When plants show early symptoms of BDM, remove the affected leaves. Take potted basil plants indoors for the night, every night. Indoor conditions never reach those high humidity levels, so you can still grow your preferred basil varieties successfully with a little effort. Remember to place the plants back outdoors after the sun has been up for a couple of hours.

Follow this regimen during rainy weather, although the plants might need to spend a day or two inside. Find the brightest spot to keep them during their temporary stay indoors. If possible, provide some artificial light. Unless it’s wilting, avoid watering basil indoors. Less sunlight means the plant won’t be photosynthesizing optimally or using much water, and wet soil can initiate root rot.

Headings

Page 1: 1. Start with clean materials for seedlings. (Pasteurizing Potting Soil), 2. Grow disease resistant varieties… (…Especially Tomato Seedlings, It’s so hot out there!, A Few More Tomato Tips, Growing Heirloom Seedlings, Basil Downy Mildew, Avoid High Humidity)

Page 2: 3. Timing is important for seedlings. (The Fall Growing Season, Keeping Records, The Cooperative Extension Service, Starting Seedlings Outdoors, Don’t Start Seedlings Too Early, Cool Season Crops, Extending the Growing Season, Seedlings Transplanted Into Bigger Pots, Bunching Onions, The Brassicas, Brassicas In My Garden, Lettuce), 4. Is the temperature suitable for seedlings? (Miniature Incandescent Lights For Warmth, Water Temperature)

Page 3: 5. Start seedlings in small batches. (My Simple Infrastructure), 6. Seedlings need strong light. (Growing Seedlings Under Shop Lights), 7. Cull the weaklings and anomalies. 8. Prevent damping-off disease from killing your seedlings. (Actinovate), 9. Seedlings and plants need fertilizer. (The Elements, Read the Label)

Page 4: 10. Prepare the soil for your transplants. (Start With Good Drainage, Air Pore Space, Gypsum and Lime, Add Nutrient-Rich Amendments, Bury It), 11. Try succession planting for maximum yield. (Crop Rotation, Mulch), 12. Stop the pests before they ruin your garden. (Slugs and Snails, Larvae of Moths and Butterflies, Spider Mites and Thrips, Deer and Rabbits), Concluding

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Herb Gardens: How To Grow Herbs In Pots

May11

2021

Updated 3/14/2024

Herb Gardens: The Scents and Flavors of Summer

Fresh ‘Genovese’ basil for the garden salad…savory French thyme on grilled fish…chives and flat parsley to enliven the egg salad and browned potatoes. Yummy! This lengthy article describes how you can plant and enjoy growing herb gardens in containers. Growing potted herbs on the balcony or the sunny patio is the perfect solution if you have no garden space.

Potted herb gardens can be moved around to get just the right amount of sunlight the plants need. They can enjoy the morning sun on one side of the deck, and a few additional hours of afternoon sun on the other. As the sun’s arc changes from one season to the next, you can reposition the plants to capture the most light.

Several years ago, a gentleman asked me to pot herbs into a large strawberry jar. He traveled frequently between his residence and a summer home at the beach. Because he was a keen cook, he planned to take this herb garden with him to the next kitchen, wherever it was. So, if not prohibited where you’ll be traveling, consider taking your herb garden with you on your next road trip!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Place herb gardens on the picnic table for family and guests to sample as they enjoy the day’s barbecue. And then, in autumn, you can continue the harvest by growing them in sunny windows indoors.

Using herbs to flavor foods might help you kick the salt habit, or at least decrease its consumption. In addition to their wonderful flavors, herbs have high concentrations of beneficial antioxidants, which contribute to our well-being. In decreasing order, oregano, rosemary, parsley, basil, and thyme contain the most antioxidants among the common herbs.

I’ve sold herb gardens as wedding or birthday presents, for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, and as housewarming gifts. Families purchased herb gardens for retiring parents, who planned to devote more time to gardening. Over decades of selling potted plants, I estimate that about half of these delightful combinations were given as gifts.

Choosing the Right Containers for Herb Gardens

Style and Size

Visit any well-stocked garden center and you’ll see an extensive selection of terra cotta (clay), stoneware, ceramic, wood, and inexpensive plastic pots. Containers are available in all sizes and shapes. Plain or ornate finishes reflect modern, rustic, or classic styles. You’ll also find containers specially fitted for deck railings or for hanging on a wall. Plant a half whiskey barrel with one or more mint varieties, and let them take over…in the pot, that is.

Some ceramics are glazed with materials that should not be used with edible plants. There might be a sticker on the bottom indicating this.

Rabbits are cute, but…

Small clay pots dry out faster than large non-porous pots. Just one day too many in direct sun without water could kill the plants. Lining a clay pot with food-grade plastic and poking a few holes in the bottom will slow the evaporation to a degree. To be sure, your herb gardens—especially small ones—will need daily checking.

Potting herbs in hanging baskets is a great solution if you live where deer and rabbits are waiting for the instant you turn your back. They’re particularly attracted to parsley, cilantro, and dill.

Herbs need excellent drainage, so always choose pots that have holes in the bottom. Other than that requirement, just select the pots that appeal to you. Many gardeners look for a consistent style, favoring pots that harmonize with each other and with the setting.

Window Boxes

Clay pots for herb gardens.

A popular container for herb gardens is the window box. Window boxes come in many styles, from quite simple to highly ornate. They’re available in terra cotta (lower shelf in photo, above), plastic, and lined or unlined wood. Plastic containers often have plugs in the drainage holes; remove them to ensure proper drainage.

You can hang them outside windows in securely anchored frames; lighter weight containers are a safer bet. Or simply place them on a brick wall, along a sidewalk, or at the edge of a sunny patio. Several herbs in clay pots look charming clustered together on a table. Where wind is a concern, use heavier pots, but don’t place them where they could blow off the balcony to the sidewalk and harm someone.

Cracking

Handle clay pots carefully so they won’t crack. Clay pots might tolerate one or a few seasons of freezing weather; eventually most will begin to spall or crack. When clay absorbs water, and the water expands as it freezes, the clay degrades. Denser terra cotta (Italian for “baked earth”) survives more winters than softer clay.

This clay pot (photo, right) spent almost a decade outside, and it cracked this past winter. Until it crumbles, it will serve some purpose in the garden. I usually used Italian clay pots for my plant business and acknowledge that even better-quality pottery has limits.

Switching herbs into frost-resistant pots where winters are cold is one option. Other options include growing them indoors, in a cold frame, or in a conservatory—in other words, where the pots won’t freeze.

Tuscan Style

Years ago, I planted two herb gardens for a customer in Potomac, Maryland. They sat on a low stone wall surrounding a sunny Mediterranean-style garden. The Italian clay window boxes were over 4′ long and weighed more than 50 pounds empty. They were beautiful when finished—all those shades of green, purple, gray, variegated white and yellow—and the fragrances!

Even without flowers, potted herb gardens have their own unmistakable charm. Green algae and that white coating (efflorescence, from mineral salts) building up on clay pots won’t harm the plants but will amplify the rustic factor. And, yes, you can clean it off if you prefer.

Long Toms

Long toms, also called rose pots, are taller than they are wide (top shelf and part of next one, in photo under “Window Boxes”). Variegated lemon thyme or prostrate rosemary cascading over the side are perfect choices.

These pots are available in tiny sizes only 2″ wide, but 4″, 5″, and 6″ pots are more useful. Offer small herb containers as party favors for special occasions or use them to assign seating around the table.

While in Maryland, I potted herbs into 3″ stainless steel long toms for the tables at a popular seafood restaurant. I switched them out every couple of weeks.

I used to purchase clay long toms from a wholesale supplier in Baltimore. They normally came without drainage holes, so I added them, using a reversible drill and a masonry bit. Easy.

Plain Pots

“Azalea” pots are 3/4 as tall as they are wide.

Reusing what you have sitting around the garage is most economical.

Clean out those 12″ hanging baskets that held annuals last year, and repurpose them for herb gardens, with or without the wires. Green plastic pots last longer than white ones, which degrade faster in direct sun.

Empty the tired old soil into the shrub gardens and purchase new potting soil for your project. Some plants, particularly basil, are susceptible to several soil borne diseases. Starting with clean materials, therefore, is critical for their success. Wipe down used pots with a 10% bleach solution, rinse, and air-dry…for basil, at least.

Azalea pots are a bit shorter than they are wide and lend a more anchored look to potted plants. I prefer azalea pots over standard pots (height = width). It’s a personal choice, of course. You can pot them up with one plant or use a larger pot for a few plants.

Topiary

Rosemary and lavender topiary standards (the lollipop shape) look great in clay azalea pots, with some moss growing on the soil surface. Grow them indoors, in full sun, where they’re protected from hard winter freezes. But keeping them outdoors—even in chilly weather—ensures they get enough direct sunlight.

Try training the woody herbs “quasi-bonsai” style, with knobby stems, a few little weeds, and a fallen “log” embedded in the moss. Allowing the clay to mellow with algae and efflorescence, and those pots aren’t so plain after all.

Strawberry Pots

Lemon thyme in a clay strawberry jar.

Planting a strawberry jar is a bit more complicated, so it deserves a post of its own. If your attempts at planting a strawberry pot have been less than successful, refer to this article for solutions.

Pot Color

A fine point often overlooked in container gardening is the color of the pot. In summer, with scorching sun bearing down on a dark pot, that heat transfers to the soil. Consequently, the root system will be sparse on the hot side of the pot. Plants are happier without this stress.

You can alleviate their discomfort by shading the root system in summer with smaller pots of heat tolerant plants, such as dwarf zinnias or vinca. Or use white pots in hot weather to lower the temperature.

In autumn, I plant cool season greens and herbs in black nursery pots. Dark colors absorb more energy from the sun. Warming the soil a moderate amount helps limit the deep freeze in winter. The longer the roots can function, the more foliage I’ll be able to pick.

Curiously, clay pots with moist soil can feel cooler to the touch. This is due to evaporative cooling, where the temperature decreases as water evaporates from the surface. So, even in hot weather, a clay pot won’t feel as hot as most other pots. Your skin performs the same function.

Choosing pot colors might not be an option. Alternatively, plant herbs that dislike heat (such as cilantro) on the cooler north (northern hemisphere) or east side of the pot.

Choosing the Right Plants for Herb Gardens

A Proper Fit

First, decide which herbs you want to grow. Look for smaller varieties of the herbs you use in cooking, choosing young but well-rooted transplants. These will adapt better to containers than full size varieties. Sometimes there’s not much choice; maybe only ‘Italian Large Leaf’ basil is available. Okay, I’d rather have it than no basil at all, so there are 4 options when using large-growing herbs:

use fewer herbs in the herb garden to make room for the big basil
keep the basil in the combination pot, but cut it back more frequently
find a larger pot for the herb garden
grow this large basil by itself

We need to find a balance between plant size and available space relative to what other plants need. You can fit a few plants together, but they suffer when cramming all the herbs you like into too small a container. Plants growing in pots, however, don’t grow as large as those in the ground.

Seeds and Transplants

Seeds can be sown directly in the pots, but thin them once they sprout. Remember that some species are very slow to germinate, and you most likely will have better success with transplants. For new gardeners, I suggest buying young plants for now, and perhaps experimenting with seeds during the summer. But if the herbs you need are available only as seed, go for it.

Garden centers and farmers’ markets offer a wide variety of herbs grown as transplants. Some growers start them from seed, cuttings, or plugs (very young plants) several times a year. In one growing season, you might find dozens of varieties of basil alone! So, shop around for the local herb lady, and request certain plants she might grow for you.

I included a section on Propagating Herbs, which you’ll find on Page 5.

What’s the Difference Between Herbs and Spices?

: Cilantro, the herb.

: Coriander, the spice.

Although we use the two terms interchangeably, there is a difference between them. Herbs are leaves of edible plants, and the focus of this article. Spices comprise all other parts of edible plants—bark, seeds, roots, fruits, and flower parts.

Cilantro leaves and coriander seeds come from the same plant, but those interested in this minor technicality differentiate between the herb and the spice.

Turmeric, ginger, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper are spices that we keep in the pantry. Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, comes from the 3 threadlike female parts in a fall-blooming Crocus sativus flower.

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Headings:

Page 1: The Gift That Keeps On Giving, Choosing the Right Containers for Herb Gardens (Style and Size, Window Boxes, Long Toms, Plain Pots, Pot Color), Choosing the Right Plants for Herb Gardens (A Proper Fit, Seeds and Transplants, What’s the Difference Between Herbs and Spices?)

Page 2: Which Herbs Are Annuals? Biennials? Perennials?

Page 3: Herb Gardens Close To the Kitchen, Combination Pots, Potting Up Herb Gardens, How To Maintain Herb Gardens (Light, Natural Sunlight, Artificial Light)

Page 4: Tips For Watering Herb Gardens (Transpiration, Why Plants Wilt, Testing for Moisture, From Season To Season, Water Temperature), Fertilizing Herb Gardens (Organic or Synthetic?, Macronutrients and Micronutrients, How Often To Fertilize Herbs, When We Don’t Fertilize, The Taste Test), Temperature (As Temperatures Change)

Page 5: Common Pests (Better Options To Eradicate Pests, Bacillus Thuringiensis, Horticultural Oil, Organic Sluggo, Plain Water), Girth Control (It’s Thyme For Drying, Which Herbs Dry Well?), Renovating Herb Gardens (Propagating Herbs)

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Early Spring: Wrens, The Wire Basket, And Edibles

Mar1

2021

early spring offerings at garden center, potted bulbs, violas, lemon cypress

Early spring offerings at the garden center where I worked for a few years.

Early Spring Activities

This is my favorite time of the year…when winter transitions into spring. In this USDA zone 7b location, in southern North Carolina, warm spring weather might alternate with cold rainy days, but the trend, at least, is going in the right direction.

Give the gardens some time to dry somewhat before working in the soil. Walking on wet soil will collapse the minute air tunnels that help the soil drain. We’ve had so much rain through the winter that gardening activities might best be limited to growing plants in pots for now.

For the Birds

Yesterday, after working on the potted plants outdoors, I sat for a few minutes just to listen to the songbirds calling to each other. Cardinals, goldfinches, Carolina wrens, chipping sparrows, tufted titmice, and robins are communicating with their mates or looking for new ones. A delightful soundtrack!

In early spring of last year, a pair of wrens built their nest in an empty 6″ pot (photos, below), sitting on a plant stand. This location is under an overhang and faces south, creating a warm microclimate. The deer netting stopped raccoons from climbing the stand, but it didn’t deter the birds.

The wrens and nuthatches, in particular, normally come to the feeders only a few feet away from where I pot up plants. Unfortunately, the wrens abandoned the nest after laying eggs, even though they were comfortable having me around. It appeared that a snake must have scared them off. Occasional disappointments are par for the course in the natural world. The eggs were cold when I found them and wouldn’t have hatched.

The wrens are now investigating the pots stored under the potting table, so I moved one to the plant stand.

: The wrens collected moss, dry leaves, pine needles.

: Building the nest.

: Keeping the eggs warm.

: The abandoned nest and a snake skin.

Replanting the Wire Hanging Basket

The Basket and the Liner

A 16″ wire hanging basket has hung on the shepherd’s hook in the front garden for 5 or 6 years. It’s planted with a few perennials and a rotating cast of colorful characters. For fall through mid-spring, I add pansies and violas, and then replace them with heat tolerant annuals for the summer.

This time, instead of buying another coco liner that the birds will instantly pick to shreds, I used a large fabric pot that had been idly hanging around the shed for years. After planting and installing it on the hook, I wrapped the completed basket with deer netting to prevent the kind of damage they can do.

The heavy synthetic material was cut and shaped, and the excess was later trimmed to just above the rim. The material is similar to landscape fabric, but sturdier. So, I wasn’t concerned about the liner slumping through the wires. Nor am I concerned that the birds would steal it! Water will drain through without taking any soil with it. It doesn’t look bad, after smoothing the sides. In fact, I now prefer it over coco liner!

More Options

So, maybe you have something that can be repurposed to use in your wire baskets. A couple of layers of porous landscape fabric or heavy burlap probably would work as well. I was prepared to tie black deer netting inside the basket to support the liner, but it wasn’t needed.

When planting wire baskets, I always add a layer of plastic inside the liner to help slow evaporation. It also delays decomposition when using a coco liner. Poke several holes in the lower third of the plastic to allow for drainage. But keeping the lowest 1″ to 1 1/2″ intact will provide a small reservoir of water for thirsty plants on a hot summer day.

Add Some Color For Early Spring Plantings

On one of my daytrips to northern North Carolina last autumn, I bought a few packs of pansies and violas from Beautiful Earth Garden Shop on NC 704 in Lawsonville, North Carolina. (Phone 336 593-1083; call for hours.) Well, I never got around to planting them, so they overwintered on the covered porch. Rabbits helped themselves to the flowers as they opened. But the plants look fine, and it was time to give them a proper home.

Help wanted!

I replaced about 1/3 of the soil in the basket with fresh potting soil. The new soil contains a fair amount of peat moss, which provides the acidity these plants need. The pansies and violas will fill the spaces between the existing heuchera, variegated pachysandra, and acorus.

Golden creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) replaces the English ivy that the deer yanked out of the pot. Chartreuse foliage spreads wherever it wants and will trail over the sides. These existing perennials already have started growing during this early spring weather. Creeping jenny spreads rapidly in moist soil, so take care if you prefer not letting it escape to the garden.

I’ll enjoy this arrangement until warm weather settles in, and when summer annuals will be planted in all new potting soil. Violas and pansies die in hot temperatures but can be grown again in late summer/autumn. In this climate, they’ll survive the winter and flower most of that time.

: Trimming old growth.

: All planted and trimmed.

: I like this fabric pot as a liner.

: The same basket, 3 weeks after planting.

And Edibles for Early Spring

Spinach ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’

Last year’s spinach ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’.

Also called ‘Monster of Viroflay’, this is my favorite spinach to grow in pots. A few plants sown last fall remain in a 14″ wide bowl (6″ deep), so I added more seeds and some fresh potting soil around them. The seeds are 4 years old, so they might germinate…but they might not (…they didn’t).

Spinach, lettuce, and other greens are among the easiest crops to grow from seed, either in pots or in the garden. All seeded pots outside must be covered with deer netting to protect them from perpetually hungry chipmunks, mice, birds, and squirrels.

Oxalates and Kidney Stones

This spinach, a French heirloom dating back to 1866, has huge leaves and a milder flavor than the smaller-leaved varieties. It also has lower levels of oxalates, which, for some, are a concern. If you get kidney stones, ask your doctor, and also ask about kidney pH levels.

A diet high in animal proteins tends to lead to an acidic (or low) pH. On the other hand, those consuming a primarily plant-based diet have higher (more alkaline) pH levels. People with acidic systems are more likely to develop kidney stones.

We’re all different, of course. And to further complicate matters, our bodies make oxalates, some absorb more than others, and certain gut bacteria consume them!

Broccoli

This year, I bought a variety called ‘Lieutenant’. It was the only one the garden center had. The label says “few side shoots”, which is a disadvantage since those smaller side shoots can prolong the harvest for weeks or months. But I’ll try it. I planted 4 of them in a 20″ wide pot, in soil well enriched with composted manure.

As broccoli grows, I’ll harvest a lower leaf now and then to add to soup or a stir-fry. Super nutritious.

(***Update***: Although I’ve grown broccoli twice a year in these pots for a few years, this crop of ‘Lieutenant’ was rather disappointing. May 2021)

Lettuce

Lettuce ‘Red Sails’.

I planted a few ‘Red Sails’ from the cell pack into a 12″ wide pot. This red and green leaf lettuce is more heat tolerant than many and should keep producing for quite a long time. Even so, lettuce prefers cool weather and can be planted in late winter in southeastern U.S. Red-leaved lettuces have more beneficial antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, than green lettuces.

Pick the outer leaves and let the center of the plant continue growing. When it turns bitter or goes to flower, that’s the end of lettuce in the garden until the weather cools again in autumn. Regularly fertilizing all greens with fish emulsion or some other high nitrogen product provides nutrients for steady growth.

Sharp-tipped pine cones and deer netting discourage animals from burying seeds from the bird feeder.

Strawberries For Early Spring Planting

: Strawberry ‘Ozark Beauty’.

: In bloom, 3 weeks later.

The garden center also had strawberry plants, which looked very healthy. I planted all 4 ‘Ozark Beauty’ plants in a 12″ pot. Yes, that is tight. There’s limited space where I currently live, so this is just a fun experiment. Later, a larger garden will be planted with lots of berries and other perennial edibles.

When transplanting strawberries, be sure to keep the crown at or slightly above the soil surface (photo, above), not buried. Before long, big ripe berries will join me for breakfast, even though the first few weeks of flowers should be removed. This is another plant that will need to be netted. Everyone wants ripe strawberries.

***Update***: I harvested about 15 yummy strawberries this season. The first few were delicious and large, followed by smaller berries. It’s recommended to remove all flowers during the early weeks, but, for this pot, I just let them grow…and set fruit. June 2021

No, these did not grow on the potted plant.

* * * * * * * * *

I need a good-sized pot to grow snap peas on a trellis, and another for dinosaur kale. Maybe I’ll find them under the potting table, before they’re claimed by our local wrens.

This is just the beginning. There are so many cool season crops, from seeds or transplants, that can be grown in containers. Ask your local agricultural extension agent for early spring recommendations tailored to your climate.

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Microgreens: Healthy and So Easy To Grow!

Oct28

2020

Updated 9/24/2024

Mmm…Microgreens!

A mixture of microgreens—primarily brassicas—and a few beets.

Here’s an easy way to grow nutrient-dense plants in a tiny space without lifting a trowel. Have you ever tried growing microgreens? This is such a simple method of incorporating the most concentrated sources of antioxidants and other nutrients into your diet.

Maybe you’re not sure about all those supplements in the health food store, and you want to go the more natural route. Besides, the experts tell us, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are best obtained from a wide variety of foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables.

Eating from several of the plant families ensures that we get a diverse assortment of nutrients. Greens provide a hefty helping of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, but missing from the plant world is Vitamin B-12. This is of particular concern among vegetarians.

Vitamin B-12 is found in seafood, meats, dairy, and fortified cereals. Because I don’t eat red meat at all, and other animal proteins only a few times per week, I take Vitamin B complex, among a few other supplements.

If you have any questions, ask your health care professional.

Why Are Microgreens So Good For Us?

Certain nutrients have gained prominence over the past decades, as research suggests their efficacy in maintaining good health. Although not among the basic food categories needed for survival (carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals), these substances help us fight or prevent many serious illnesses, including cancer. Phytonutrients, polyphenols, prebiotics, and antioxidants—oh, my! Sure, it can be confusing.

Research indicates that microgreens have between 4 and 40 times more nutrients than a similar amount of the full-grown crops. That’s all it took to convince me!

Seed suppliers sell individual varieties as well as mixtures. Accordingly, they’ll vary in color and flavor. The mixtures I use are primarily composed of the brassicas, and here’s why…

**The Brassicaceae Family**

Arugula ‘Astro’ seedlings.

Let’s start with the First Family of Plant Nutrition, the cabbage and broccoli relatives, or the mustard family. Plant taxonomists changed the name of this family from Cruciferae to Brassicaceae (“brass·i·kay’·see·ee”), but the terms cruciferous vegetable, brassica, and cole crops refer to the same group of plants. These brassicas have uniquely beneficial properties that set them apart from other plant families.

I’ve written many times in The Farm In My Yard about the health benefits of these plants. If you do just one thing to improve your diet, start with the brassicas. It helps that these microgreens are really easy to grow—and fast!

This family comprises many types of super-healthy plants. I include at least one in my diet every day: arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mizuna, mustard greens, pac choi, radish, tatsoi, turnip greens, and others. Nasturtium, another brassica, can be grown as shoots.

I’ll prepare the broccoli, for example, steamed, in a stir-fry, or lightly cooked with garlic, olive oil, and mushrooms. Brassicas make healthful additions to pasta dishes, homemade or store-bought soups, pizza, omelets, salads, smoothies, and sauces.

You can harvest brassicas grown as microgreens within 3-4 weeks of sowing. Give them at least 6 hours of direct sunlight for optimal growth. With less than ideal conditions, you’ll still be able to harvest greens, but they’ll take longer to grow and they might lack some color. For the full complement of phytonutrients, though, give them sun.

Health Benefits of the Brassicas

Adopting a healthy lifestyle presupposes dropping some bad habits and incorporating those that contribute to greater longevity. Adding half a cup of microgreens might not negate the harm done by smoking or your daily dose of mac and cheese, but it’s a start. Consuming foods from the brassica group helps:

reduce inflammation
slow the aging process (skin, eyes, joints, brain, vascular system)
reduce the chances of getting age-related macular degeneration and cataracts
reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia

These greens and vegetables contain varying amounts of Vitamins A, B complex, C, E, and K. They contain calcium, fats (Omega-3), fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, protein, zinc, and more. Some of these nutrients are among the dozens of types of antioxidants, which neutralize potentially harmful free radicals.

What Are Free Radicals?

Remember learning about atoms, electrons, and protons? Well, here’s a summary:

The atom contains protons and neutrons in the positively-charged nucleus. The nucleus accounts for more than 99.9% of the atom’s mass. Surrounding the nucleus are the orbits, or shells, which hold the negatively-charged electrons. Up to two electrons fill the inner shell (“1 shell”), up to eight electrons fill the next shell (“2 shell”) and other shells contain up to 2 times the square of the shell number.

The number of protons (equal to the atomic number in the periodic table) distinguishes oxygen from carbon or sulfur or any other element. A stable atom, one that is inert, has an equal number of protons and electrons. Atoms of different elements bond together to form molecules, such as sugar, proteins, and water.

In order to become stable, atoms must complete their outer shells. They do that by stealing one or more electrons from, or giving them to, another atom. The outer shell is where chemical reactions with other atoms take place. Chemical bonds hold the atoms together. When weak bonds split between atoms or molecules, free radicals are formed.

These unstable free radicals seek to steal electrons from nearby molecules. This sets up a chain reaction of instability—one molecule stealing from another molecule—causing oxidative stress. This cascade of interactions is what can damage our cells. Cancer and other inflammatory diseases can begin if the disruption occurs near cell nuclei or membranes.

Those free radicals form in response to stresses in our bodies, including pollutants and toxins in our cells and bloodstream, and enzymes present in the normal process of digestion. We are healthier if there are more antioxidants than free radicals in our systems.

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are substances that prevent oxidative stress and reduce inflammation. They can be vitamins, minerals, or any of the many thousands of phytonutrients. Deep green, red, orange, and other colorful plant pigments are loaded with antioxidants.

Vitamin E is the most abundant fat-soluble antioxidant. It helps protect us from heart disease by limiting LDL (low-density lipoprotein) oxidation and plaque formation.

Vitamin C is the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant. It, too, donates electrons to free radicals, ending the damaging cascade of instability. Vitamin C shows promise in the fight against cancer, especially types that affect the mouth, larynx, and esophagus. (Discuss diagnoses and treatments with your doctor.)

In recent studies, researchers used isotopes to track the uptake of these nutrients. They associate antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene, with possible avenues of cancer treatment.

Glucosinolates

Phytonutrients are a major category of nutrients found in the brassicas. Of particular interest among this group are the glucosinolates, which include sulforaphanes. These substances are not found in significant amounts—or at all—in any other family of plants. These compounds, numbering more than 100 kinds, are key players in lowering the risk of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Different phytonutrients are found in brassicas eaten raw and in those which are cooked.

That’s why this is my go-to vegetable family. Every day. While preparing these greens for cooking, I also eat a few raw pieces. When possible, I’ll cut or chop the broccoli or kale (or any brassica) and let it rest on the kitchen counter for 30-60 minutes, so the enzyme, myrosinase, can start transforming precursors of sulforaphanes into the sulforaphanes themselves in the damaged plant cells. Heat destroys this essential enzyme, so we would miss out on those powerful sulforaphanes if we cooked the greens right away. Eating raw brassicas, however, also delivers the benefit of sulforaphanes. Broccoli sprouts contain the highest amounts of these beneficial nutrients.

Before you think you’re protected because of the three little broccoli florets you just had with your steak dinner, think again. Consider making brassicas and other vegetables the main attraction, and using chicken, beef, or pork as condiments. If this is too big a leap, try adding more vegetables and decreasing the amount of meat consumed over time. Baby steps are better than not moving at all.

Cabbage Red Cabbage Blue Cabbage - manfredrichter / Pixabay

Mature red cabbage, one of the brassicas.

Other Plant Families for Microgreens, Sprouts, or Shoots

**The Amaranthaceae Family**

Amaranth, beets, quinoa, spinach, and Swiss chard are members of this family. Because of the higher oxalate content in this group, check with your doctor if you’re prone to kidney stones. Lots of pigments are found in amaranth, beet greens, and ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard, adding color to your clippings.

**The Amaryllidaceae Family**

The onion group, which also includes garlic, green onion, leeks, and shallots. Seedlings are very finely textured and take longer to grow.

**The Apiaceae Family**

Many useful herbs and vegetables belong to this family: carrot, chervil, cilantro, celery, cutting celery, dill, fennel, parsley. All can be grown as microgreens.

**The Asteraceae Family**

This group includes endive, the lettuces, single marigold (the ‘Gem’ series), radicchio, and sunflowers. Look for varieties that have red pigments, which have more anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants.

Grains and Legumes

Barley, oats, rice, winter wheat; alfalfa, chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, pea and pea tendrils.

Microgreens on caprese salad.

**The Lamiaceae Family**

Mint, anise hyssop—minty anise flavor; basil—many colors and flavors, including cinnamon, sweet, lemony.

**The Polygonaceae Family**

Sorrel, red-vein sorrel.

Headings

Page 1: Mmm…Microgreens!, Why Are Microgreens So Good For Us? (The Brassicaceae Family, Health Benefits of the Brassicas, What Are Free Radicals?, What Are Antioxidants?, Glucosinolates), and Other Plant Families For Microgreens, Sprouts, or Shoots

Page 2: What Are Microgreens?, What Are Shoots?, What Are Sprouts?, and How To Grow Microgreens, (How To Use Microgreens, The Container, The Soil, The Seeds, Maintenance, Yellow Leaves?)

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Pages: 1 2

Dividing Chives: Easily Done!

Sep16

Updated 1/28/2024

Here’s How To Divide and Rejuvenate Chives

Potted chives, about to be divided.

There are few plants that are easier to manage than chives. This herb, in the onion family (Amaryllidaceae), benefits from an occasional division. And as autumn approaches, a rejuvenated plant will reward you with a fresh crop of flavorful leaves until the snow flies.

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) is super hardy, growing as a perennial in USDA plant hardiness zones 3 to 9. In the colder zones, it behaves as a herbaceous perennial, dying back to the soil after some hard freezes. A few months later, new leaves emerge from dormant bulbs in the ground when the soil begins warming up. Wherever I’ve lived, it has always been the first herb to sprout new foliage in late winter or early spring.

Here in zone 7 North Carolina, pot-grown chives has some usable foliage through most of the winter. If grown in a protected area or next to a south-facing wall (northern hemisphere), it will retain some foliage in cold weather. Potted chives is less winter hardy, by one or two zones, than those grown in the ground because the roots are fully exposed to cold air temperatures.

The term, “chives”, is from the French word cive, which derives from the Latin word for onion, cepa.

Some gardeners use the singular form of the word, “chive”, and others prefer using “chives” for both singular and plural applications. Your choice. Similar to the terms “species” and “impatiens”, I add the “s” at the end.

Why Divide Chives?

After a few years of growth, the small bulbs in the soil become very crowded. One year, the chives will look fine, and the next year it might fail to emerge at all. By dividing the clump every 2-3 years, the younger and more vigorous bulbs will have a chance to grow. Those old bulbs might already have decomposed, so you won’t see them in the soil.

Wet soil exacerbates any problems it might have, so plant it where the drainage is good, in a raised bed, or in a clay pot. In fact, chives can tolerate quite dry soil, and it doesn’t mind being potbound. But for the best growth, keep potted chives damp to lightly moist. It needs full sun—6 hours or more each day—to grow well.

Another reason to divide chives is to provide more plants for the garden, to give away, or to sell at the neighborhood yard sale. Perhaps you’d like to add a division to the strawberry jar you’re filling with herbs. Chives responds very quickly after division.

If onion aphids have weakened your chives early in the season, removing all the foliage is an option. That would be another good time to divide the plant, perhaps waiting until after the blooms fade. I’ve never had a problem with onion aphids after spring.

***Update***: These tiny young onion aphids (photo, below) hitched a ride on the potted chives brought indoors last month. So, I cut back the plant and moved it outside, after feeding a few aphids to the betta. The other chives on the deck already are beginning to show new leaves. 2/5/2021

Onion aphids from chives.

How To Divide Chives

The Pot

This process begins with digging up the clump or unpotting the potted chives. The plant in the photos has been growing in a 6½” clay azalea pot (shorter than wide—about 5″ tall). I will replant the same pot with one of the divisions, after cleaning it. Replanting in a dirty pot will make the next plant more difficult to remove. The new root ball will get stuck on the debris tightly clinging to the walls.

Another issue to consider is the shape of the pot. If the top curves inward, the root ball won’t slip beyond the narrow section, and you’ll have to cut straight or tapering sides to get the root ball out of the pot.

If you want to use Grandma’s ceramic pot, simply grow the chives in a plastic pot, with holes, that fits inside the prettier one. While double-potting lets you use a decorative pot without a drainage hole, remember to empty water collecting in the bottom.

Plastic or frost resistant ceramic pots are fine, but use one that is small to medium in size. A big pot holds a large volume of soil that stays wet in a rainy period or in the cold. The excess moisture could kill your chives unless you’ve added extra drainage material. Chives grows nicely with a few other herbs in a window box.

Cut It Back

Cutting leaves right above soil level.

Cut off all the foliage, down to about 1/2″ from the soil surface. While it might appear extreme, this plant won’t skip a beat. Already, a day after cutting back this plant, it has grown 1/3″ (photo at the end).

Removing the foliage makes the process easier and neater. Also, there’s less stress on the roots because they won’t have to supply water to the foliage. Take the good leaves to the kitchen, and add them to baked potatoes for dinner, or to eggs, a salad, or soup. You’ll have long leaves to snip from rejuvenated plants within a couple of weeks, depending on weather.

Look for leek moth larvae, immature insects that sometimes bore into the hollow leaves or burrow inside and destroy the bulbs. This insect is native to Europe and Asia, but also is found in North America, where it can become invasive.

Divide and Multiply

If you’re removing your chives from the ground, dig a few inches from the base of the clump, and about 8″ deep. Tease off loose soil and put the earthworms back in the garden. Don’t worry about some lost roots; chives’ roots regrow very fast.

: Chives’ root ball.

: Slicing off outer roots.

: Three divisions.

The root ball in a potted plant will become very congested with tightly packed roots, both dead and alive. Use an old serrated knife to slice off the outer edges of the root system. And remove that center part if there are no bulbs there. Compost this tired soil or toss it under the shrubs.

An old clump of chives often grows outward, while the center dies out. Identify the places where natural divisions can be separated. Now divide the plant. Use the knife to make a few or several divisions. I kept 12 to 20 shoots in each division. If you want, you could cut smaller divisions for more plants.

Potting Up

: Clay pot with polyester fiberfill covering drainage hole.

: Firm soil around the roots.

: Finished pot of chives.

Place a wad of polyester fiberfill over the pot’s drainage hole. A small bag can be purchased for a few dollars at hobby shops. Because it’s synthetic, it doesn’t break down and can be reused. The PF prevents soil erosion, leaving all the soil in the pot. Also, sowbugs, earthworms, and other critters will not be able to gain entrance to the soil through the drainage hole. But water will drain freely.

Add some potting soil to the pot and hollow out a depression for the fresh division. The soil line should be about 1/2″ to 1″ below the rim of the pot. Firm the soil around the roots to prevent settling or air channels through the soil. Add more soil if needed. But don’t bury the crown of the plant any deeper than it was growing before the division.

Water the plant and place the pot in the sun. Done! Wasn’t that easy?

Growing Chives Indoors

Light

Chives grows easily in a sunny window, where it gets at least 6 hours of direct sun. Abundant sunshine allows optimal photosynthesis and keeps the plant growing strong. Lack of adequate sun causes thin, weak growth that falls over.

Artificial light can help on cloudy days. Place the plant close to a light source to supplement the natural light it gets, but not so close that it can feel the heat.

Temperature

Even if the windowsill is chilly on winter nights, the plant should thrive there. Chives growing indoors should stay in leaf all season, even though those growing outdoors will go dormant. Cooler winter temperatures (45° to 65°F) indoors keep the plant shorter and in better condition. It will bloom in spring only if it has received enough cold, so don’t expect flowers.

If you must keep chives indoors in the summer, set the pot back several inches from the glass so it doesn’t overheat.

Water

Keep the soil damp. Water thoroughly, and then let it dry a bit. After 10 or 15 minutes, empty excess water that remains in a saucer. Chives can grow in a pot as small as 4″ across and doesn’t mind being potbound for some time. A full plant in a small pot requires water more often.

Fertilizer

Every 6 weeks, from mid-fall through winter, apply a dilute (1/4 to 1/2 strength) solution of fertilizer if the plant continues growing.

From spring through early fall, fertilize every 3 or 4 weeks at about half the strength recommended on the package. Chives just isn’t that fussy. Wait 5 or 6 weeks after dividing before starting to fertilize. Chives planted in the garden might need fertilizer only once or twice during the growing season.

Tips for Harvesting Chives

When cutting the leaves, cut the entire leaf, almost down to the soil. The bulbs will soon generate new growth. If you cut the tips off a bunch of leaves, all the ends of those leaves will turn yellow.

Intercalary meristematic tissues right above the bulbs permit regrowth of the leaf from the ground up.

Chives in flower.

Chives flowers in spring (or early summer in northern zones) after being exposed to several weeks of a cold winter. It’s very pretty in bloom, with pinkish purple flowers on sturdy stalks. It looks like their cousins, the ornamental Alliums, grown from bulbs planted in autumn.

This herb’s flowers produce generous amounts of nectar, attracting beneficial insects. Chives’ flowers are edible. Simply pull some of the little florets off the head and use as a garnish. Young flowers have a milder flavor than those that have been open for a few days.

The stalk, or peduncle, that the flower is attached to is quite tough, and not edible for most purposes. Hold the base of the plant and pull out the entire flower stem.

Chives from Seed

As a monocot, chives produces flower parts in multiples of threes. So, each floret has 6 petals and the seed capsule is 3-lobed.

Different varieties of chives have similar flavor, but some have finer foliage than others. ‘Dolores’ has thin foliage, while ‘Purly’ and ‘Staro’ have wider leaves.

Garlic chives going to seed.

And there’s garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, with a distinct mild garlic flavor. Very nice in salads, but it will spread all over the place if the seedheads are not removed (photo, above). It also spreads underground more vigorously than onion chives.

Garlic chives grows in zones 4 through 9. Its pretty white flowers appear later than onion chives. Enjoy the flowers for a few days but remove them before seeds develop. Most wild animals do not feed on chives.

Garlic chives has leaves that are flattened, while onion chives has leaves that are cylindrical in cross-section.

Growing chives from seed is quite easy. Sow chives about 1/4″ deep in moist potting soil. You can use market packs or individual 3½-4″ pots, with 10 or so seeds sown together. Some growers sow dozens of seeds in one pot for a faster sale.

As soon as the seeds germinate, give them full direct sun for strong plants. They can be planted out after hardening off the seedlings, and they’ll tolerate light frost at a young age.

*** * * * * * * ***

Chives has been used for 5,000 years by civilizations in both the Old World and the New World. The foliage is high in Vitamin C, carotenoids, and manganese. It’s very high in Vitamin K. Because we normally don’t consume chives in large quantities, it’s not considered a major source of nutrients.

Dividing chives is an easy project for a cool end-of-summer day. Clipped fresh chives is very nice on a chilly day with a baked potato, melted cheese, crumbled bacon, topped with barely cooked broccoli…and butter… Enjoy!

Chives, a day after dividing the original plant.

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Lavender Cuttings: Tips for Propagating Lavender

Aug11

2020

Updated 5/25/2024

Kim’s Tips for Rooting Your Own Lavender Cuttings

Cutting a lavender stem at a node.

How wonderful—the fragrance of lavender wafting through the back yard. You’re pleased beyond measure with these silver-leaved subshrubs in the pollinator garden, and perhaps you’d like more of them. The bees and butterflies are all over them! And the deer never touch them!! Garden centers stock several cultivars of lavender, but they are not inexpensive. Problem solved: “I’ll root my own lavender cuttings!”

The plants have performed well, and the garden is buzzing with activity. Now, you’d like to expand the garden to provide even more sustenance for all the bees and other insects. Admittedly, there is some work involved. Properly preparing the heavy clay soil takes effort and materials, but you know it will be worthwhile.

We need pollinators for farms and orchards, for our own vegetable gardens, and to regenerate natural stands of greenery. They pollinate every third bite of food we eat.

Because it takes several weeks to root cuttings and to grow them on to the proper size for transplanting, time is on your side. So, let’s begin by taking cuttings from the plants in the garden. While they’re rooting, you’ll have plenty of time to get the soil just right for the new plants.

Patent Rights

Because it’s illegal to propagate trademarked plants for resale, I bought the newer lavender cultivars in trays of 60 to 200 tiny rooted plants, called plugs. Labels of branded varieties carry the caution, “Unauthorized propagation prohibited”. Many varieties were not under patent protection, however, so those were the ones I propagated.

Lavender from Seed

Another option is sowing seeds—‘Ellagance Purple’ and ‘Lady’ are two that you might try growing. ‘Munstead’ is a strain that has been around for a long time. Seeds take a few weeks to germinate, so this project is best started in spring. Plants grown from seed (sexual propagation) can vary in certain characteristics, including plant size, foliage color, flower color and size, and time to first bloom.

Plants vegetatively propagated, on the other hand, will have consistently similar characteristics. Cloned plants, from cuttings, have the same genetics as the stock plant, so the rooted cuttings will look identical to the parent.

Prepare the Pots and Soil for Lavender Cuttings

First, assemble 4″ or 4 1/2″ plastic pots. Bigger pots hold a much larger volume of soil and dry too slowly.

Lavender is susceptible to several fungal diseases, so starting with clean materials is essential. At the very least, wash the pots with soap and hot water. Better yet, clean the pots with a bleach solution, let them sit for a few minutes, then rinse thoroughly.

Another option is to use new cell packs, with 4 to 9 cells per pack. Soil in small cells dries faster, so you’ll need to closely monitor these containers.

Don’t use soil left over from last year’s plants; it could be harboring disease spores. Never throw “used” soil into the trash. Instead, add it to the flower gardens or the shrub border, where it will contribute organic matter as it decomposes.

Options for Potting Soil:

Always begin with pasteurized potting soil. Mix this with clean coarse sand or perlite. The medium should drain well, allowing both water and air to percolate through the soil.
Use products formulated for succulents, and add houseplant potting soil to make a gritty medium, but one which will hold some water.
Or, simply, use a fresh bag of pasteurized potting soil, which includes perlite, and be very careful about watering.

Avoid using soil containing a large percentage of peat moss, which is acidic and stays too wet for lavender. This herb, like many others, needs close to a neutral pH.

Incidentally, most potting soils sold in garden centers contain no soil at all, and are sometimes called “soilless potting mixtures”. For our purposes, the term “potting soil” will do.

If the medium is dusty dry, mix in a small amount of water. Avoid breathing in the dust. The soil should be slightly damp. Fill the pots with potting soil, and firm lightly. Leave about 1/2″ to 1″ of space between the soil surface and the pot’s rim.

Making the Cut

Joyce Chen scissors.

When To Cut

Cuttings taken in early to mid summer should root adequately before autumn. These are considered “semi hardwood” cuttings. The stems aren’t fully matured, but they aren’t too tender, either. Tough old woody stems will not root.

Collect lavender cuttings in the morning, when they’re fully plumped with water. Don’t use material from the bottom or from the shady side of the plant. Use healthy foliage, without any spots. Cuttings from plants that have not been overfertilized with nitrogen are more likely to root successfully.

How To Take Lavender Cuttings

With clean sharp scissors, take cuttings from non-blooming, non-budded stems. Lavender cuttings from the tips of the stems, rather than from middle sections, make better propagating material. If your early blooming lavender plants were deadheaded (old flower stems cut back) early in the season, the remaining stems might already have branched out, providing fresh cutting material.

Cuttings, before removing bottom leaves.

Lavender cuttings should be only 2″ to 3 1/2″ long, depending on variety. Large cuttings have greater leaf surface area, and the cuttings might wither before roots form. When taking cuttings from any plant, consider the number of leaves, light, water, humidity, and time to root. Each variety has its own combination of variables that results in prompt, successful rooting. Long cuttings, low humidity, lack of light, and wet or dry soil will not yield rooted plants.

Make the cut where two leaves join the stem (photo at top). This part of the stem is called the “node”, and the first roots often emerge there.

Now, remove leaves on the bottom inch or so of the stem. Gently peel them off. Otherwise, leaves will rot in the soil, which could rot the stem.

Cuttings, ready for sticking.

Rooting Lavender Cuttings In Water

Coleus cuttings start rooting in water in a few days; lavender requires weeks in soil. When possible, I always root plants in potting soil rather than in water. The roots’ cell structures differ between the two methods, and those growing in water often die when re-adapting to soil.

If you have plenty of cuttings, perhaps rooting some in water will work for you. Cuttings should still be about 3 1/2″ long. Use only an inch of water in a glass, don’t crowd the cuttings, and remove leaves in the water. Place the glass in part sun, and change the water every few days.

Sticking the Lavender Cuttings

After decades of rooting plants under lights for my business, I’ve had the most success with cuttings that were stuck right next to the inside of the pot. Particles of soil touching the wall of the pot tend to permit more air to circulate around the stems. That’s precisely what lavender needs.

The stems aren’t sitting in wet soil, although there is some contact. At night, as the temperature drops, water vapor precipitates on the inside of the pot. And the humid air in that space helps the cuttings root.

Lavender cuttings.

This 4 1/2″ pot accepted 9 cuttings, with 1 in the center. Avoid crowding the cuttings; space them so their leaves don’t touch each other. Lightly water in the cuttings to make better contact between the stems and the soil.

I propagate other herbs, including thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, and bay laurel, in the same way.

Actinovate

When propagating herbs and perennials each season, I use an organic biological fungicide called Actinovate. This product, a bacterium called Streptomyces lydicus strain WYEC 108, prevents vulnerable plants from succumbing to most diseases. Water the solution into the soil after sticking or lightly mist the cuttings, occasionally, in the morning. I also use it when germinating seeds.

This fungicide is quite expensive, but it makes plant propagation much easier for me. It carries the OMRI label and is safe to use on edibles.

Always exercise caution when using materials for treating plants. Don’t breathe the dust, avoid getting it on your skin (rinse thoroughly), and don’t improperly dispose of leftover product or the container. Read the label.

Rooting Hormone

Rooting hormone powder coats the base of the cutting with a chemical fungicide and plant hormones. While it accelerates the rooting process for many plants, this product carries the Environmental Protection Agency’s Caution rating, as does Actinovate.

I haven’t used it for many years, but, if you’ve had good results using rooting powder, then try it on your lavender cuttings. Always read the label, and never discard leftover powder where it can pollute streams.

Raise the Humidity

Pot of cuttings in open plastic bag.

To raise the humidity around the cuttings without causing rot, place the pot of cuttings into a clear plastic bag. Pull up the bag so it surrounds the cuttings, but don’t secure it. Fuzzy-leaved plants, such as lavender, rot (not “root”) easily in high humidity. A closed plastic bag or some other closed system raises the relative humidity to 100%. It also causes the “greenhouse effect”, raising the temperature too high when exposed to the sun.

So, keep the top of the bag open. Enough humidity will remain around the lavender cuttings. In very dry environments, the bag can be partially closed, but don’t let heat build up. Empty any water that collects at the bottom. If the soil is moist and there’s significant condensation inside the bag, open the top more widely, and let excess moisture dissipate. Wet soil will rot the cuttings.

Light For Lavender Cuttings

Lavender loves to bask in the sunshine. The sooner the cuttings get back to the sun, the sooner they can resume strong growth. But harsh sun will desiccate the unrooted cuttings. This is a race against time.

Indoors

Indoors, place the cuttings where they will get gentle direct sunlight. Sunlight helps cuttings root faster, but strong sun will dry them and overheat the air inside the bag. Bright filtered sun most of the day, as through a sheer curtain, works well. Average indoor temperatures (high 60’s F to the mid 70’s) will help them root.

Don’t put the cuttings too close to a window, in the hot sun. Check to make sure excess heat can escape. Lavender cuttings will not root in low light, so it might require a bit of experimentation to find the perfect light level to root the cuttings without desiccating them.

New growth emerging from the tip of the stem indicates a cutting that is beginning to root. Congratulations! Patience pays off!

Artificial Light

A 4′ long fixture with 2 daylight LED or fluorescent tubes makes a perfect nursery. Here, the plants never see a cloudy day, and you can keep a close eye on progress.

Place the lavender cuttings close to the tubes, within 3″. They should be as close as possible to the lights, but not feel heat from the fixture. Keep the lights on for 16-18 hours each day.

Smaller tubes and grow bulbs emit less light, which might not be enough for lavender. But if that’s what you have, try it. Make sure the cuttings are close to the tubes and that the lights are kept on for 18 hours each day.

Outdoors

Many of us don’t have indoor space suitable for rooting lavender cuttings. In that case, place the pots outdoors in dappled shade when the temperature is suitable. Give them more bright shade than harsh sun. Don’t expose them to hot afternoon sun and find a location out of the wind.

In a pinch, take a few cuttings and simply stick them at the edge of a planter, in light shade cast by a plant. I’ve been able to root many kinds of plants this way. Watch out for slugs, by the way, and use organic Sluggo to bait them. Scoop out rooted plants, and pot up for a few additional weeks of growing and getting used to full sun before planting them in the garden.

The cuttings in the photographs go outdoors on the deck in the morning. I take them back inside at noon or in early afternoon. It’s been way too hot and humid outside this summer—mid 90’s F, over 100° heat index for days at a time. When it cools down, they’ll spend more time outdoors.

(***Update***: The pot of cuttings in the photographs has only one survivor. Prolonged heat, frequent downpours, and mischievous chipmunks digging in the soil killed the rest. But that one well-rooted plant looks great, and will stay in its 4″ pot over the winter. 1/1/2021)

Ready for Transplant?

Okay…it’s been about 5 or 6 weeks and most of the cuttings show new leaves growing at the tips of the stems. That’s great!

If you see roots at the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot, the cuttings might be ready to divide. Remove the cuttings from the pot by gently tipping the pot upside-down. See if there are enough roots to move them to the next stage. Each cutting should have a few 1″ to 2″ long roots. Handle with care, since the roots detach easily from the stems and dry quickly when exposed to air.

Cuttings Rooted in Pots

Before settling them into their permanent homes, the rooted cuttings in pots will need to grow a more extensive root system. Transplant them individually into their own small pot or into 4-cell market packs. Be sure to maintain the same soil level against the stem; never bury the stems. Use the same kind of soil you used to root them.

If they’re rooted, give them a few hours of direct sun for a few days before exposing them to full sun. Let them root into the pots before planting in the garden. Rooted cuttings don’t require high humidity, so remove the plastic bag.

Cuttings Rooted in Cell Packs

If you planted the cuttings in market packs to begin with, simply push up the bottom of a cell to check root growth. Don’t pull the cutting itself. Well-rooted plants can be planted directly into the garden if you monitor them very closely. If needed, cover temporarily with a “caterpillar” tunnel fitted with bird netting. This protection admits air and sunlight, and will prevent damage from digging animals while the lavender becomes established.

If cold weather is approaching, use a clear plastic cover over the tunnel, and vent it in the daytime. This will buffer severe conditions, and could save the plants.

Harden Off the Lavender Cuttings

Harden off the cuttings by gradually introducing them to outdoor conditions over a period of a week or so. Place the pots of lavender outdoors, in morning sun for a few days, then in more hours of sun. It’s easy to forget them, when they’re out of sight, so remember to water! Plants receiving abundant sunshine make more food for themselves, through photosynthesis, so their roots will grow faster. By the end of the hardening off process, the plants should be able to tolerate direct sun all day.

Remove flower buds appearing on young cuttings. For now, all energy should be directed toward growing a robust root system.

Any cuttings that haven’t rooted and have foliage that feels limp can be discarded. If they look like this after a month, it’s not likely they will root. Figure out how to improve the growing conditions, and try again.

The Garden is Ready

And so are the plants. Water them first. Then remove the rooted plant from its pot and gently loosen the outer roots if they form a tight root ball.

Plant the little lavenders, maintaining the same soil level next to the stem. Firm the soil around the roots to eliminate air pockets. For almost all plants, you should be able to see the top of the original root ball after transplanting.

Be sure to space them properly, according to the variety. Some mature at 16″ tall and wide, while others can grow as large as 3′ or 4′ across. Lightly shade the plants if the leaves wilt in moist soil. Sticking a leafy twig in the ground on the sunny side works well enough.

During hot weather, check the soil moisture every day, although you might not have to water every day. Feel the soil a few inches down and next to the root ball. If you detect moisture, don’t water. If it wilts or the soil feels dry, water around the root ball.

When you do water, keep the foliage dry. This helps prevent disease.

To Mulch Or Not To Mulch

If you use mulch in the garden, avoid placing it under the canopy of the plant. Where it rains regularly, mulch can hold too much moisture in the soil, so use only a thin layer or, preferably, none at all right under the plant. Keep mulch off the stems.

Avoid finely shredded hardwood mulches, and choose pine fines or small nuggets instead. They permit better air circulation around the lavender.

Planting lavender on raised ground helps the soil drain faster, and plants display better when elevated above surrounding lawn or paving.

Is Your Lavender Winter Hardy?

Each plant variety has a hardiness zone rating, usually between zone 5 and zone 9 for lavender. If you live at the colder end of that variety’s hardiness zone, the rooted plants might need the protection of a cool greenhouse or a cold frame until next spring. It depends on expected weather patterns—temperature and precipitation—over the next several months for the cultivars you’ve selected.

At this point, in late summer, waiting to propagate lavender until next year might be more feasible, especially for gardeners in colder climates.

Lavender is drought resistant once established in the garden, but often dies when overwatered. Improving soil drainage is especially important for cultivars planted in the colder regions of their hardiness zones. “Winter wet” is a frequent cause of lavender failure.

Plant lavender with other perennials and shrubs that share its preferred growing conditions. Although it isn’t native to the U.S., it is non-invasive.

You might enjoy reading about the history of lavender and its uses through the centuries. This article at The Farm In My Yard includes more detailed information for growing lavender successfully.

Better for the Environment

Traditional property management calls for removing winter shelter and sources of food for insects and animals, so this is how we can begin to compensate, right in our own gardens.

Propagating plants is an economical means of providing new material for your gardens. Planting species that offer sustenance to pollinators is not only ecologically preferable to maintaining lawn grass, but it’s also prettier!

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Basil Downy Mildew: You Can Prevent It!

Jul19

Yes, You Can Prevent Basil Downy Mildew!

Pots of young lettuce-leaf basil.

What could be more refreshing than a garden salad harvested from your own back yard? We love our tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, ripe sweet peppers, and the ‘Tango’ celery added to mixed greens. And don’t forget the basil!

But you’ve noticed how basil has struggled the past few years despite all the suggestions offered by the garden center. It just doesn’t look quite right, which prompts the question,

**“What Is Wrong With My Basil?”**

Gardeners throughout the world are having issues with basil. From Anchorage to Adelaide, readers at The Farm In My Yard clearly have problems with this herb. And it used to be so easy to grow! Now their leaves develop black spots every summer, and they’re yellow between the veins. This is not appetizing at all.

Does that sound familiar?

Well, join the club! For over a decade, we’ve been dealing with spotty ugly basil, infected by that awful disease known as basil downy mildew. This water mold has been seen in more than 44 of these United States, and in just about every country where this herb is grown. Once the disease has reached your plants, you might think it’s all over.

But it isn’t! By managing it differently than you normally do, you can have beautiful basil once again. I’ve successfully grown it in pots every year since the disease was first identified in the United States. The plants grown in the garden, however, almost always have succumbed to BDM. But there’s more to it than just growing them in pots, as you’ll read later.

You need not worry that Peronospora belbahrii will infect other plants in your garden. BDM targets only basil.

Yellow areas between the veins.

How To Recognize Basil Downy Mildew

As you can see in the photo, above, formerly healthy green leaves developed yellow patches bordered by the main veins. After a stretch of high humidity or rain, the symptoms became readily apparent. The plant looked fine one day, and the next morning it looked like this!

The condition worsened, as it infected more leaves and more stems. The leaves became yellow overall, and black spots showed up. Within a week, the plant was worthless. It had been growing in a large pot with a tomato, so I cut the basil at soil level and threw it in the trash.

We’ve had a very rainy spring and summer so far (2020), and this plant started showing signs of distress by mid June. I picked the good green tips, and kept them indoors in a glass of water until they went into tomato-basil salads.

The local grocery store had full sweet basil in small pots, so I bought one. The first thing to do is to discard the clear plastic wrap around the plant. Why? Because humidity causes the problem in the first place!

This is a pot of healthy sweet basil.

How BDM Starts

Microscopic BDM spores on the leaves need relative humidity above 80% or 85% for only a few hours in order to germinate. Local weather reports will indicate the relative humidity, and you might be surprised by how high that number is at dawn, even during “nice” weather.

Although you might not have had rain or high humidity during the daytime, your basil can still become infected. Here’s how:

As the temperature decreases through the night, the relative humidity rises. It’s usually around dawn, the coolest hours, that the relative humidity reaches its highest reading. With BDM spores on a susceptible variety, 2 or 3 hours of high humidity will get the disease growing. So, even during comfortable daytime weather, the infection gets its start quietly, hours before the alarm clock goes off.

Most years, we can grow basil successfully for a few months before the humidity increases. But over the past few years, BDM has struck earlier in the growing season.

If the summer is hot—in the mid 90’s and above—and the nights don’t cool off very much, the relative humidity won’t rise to the critical 80-85% level required for germination. Unless there’s rain.

Gardeners living where the humidity is always low probably won’t have problems with BDM. But one brief rainstorm could be enough to initiate the disease, if spores are present, even in a normally dry region. If the weather dries sufficiently, though, the disease will subside. Pick off and discard infected leaves, and normal growth should resume.

Wind carries the spores from infected southern-grown plants to northern zones (northern hemisphere) each year. Plants that are shipped to garden centers around the country, infected seeds, and overwintered infected plants are potential sources of basil downy mildew. But the spores do not survive cold winters, and the disease needs a living host.

At Dawn, The First Day

Early symptom–fuzzy gray layer on reverse.

Once the spores germinate, they grow into a gray fuzzy film on the leaf’s reverse. You have to be an early riser to catch this stage of the disease. You’ll notice a change in the leaf’s appearance, showing light green to yellow areas between the main veins.

Later, Or The Next Day

The mold progresses to the next stage, when tiny black dots become visible on the back of the leaf. Those dots are the sporangia that have burst open, releasing spores to infect the next basil that comes along. The leaf becomes more discolored, wrinkled, and spotted. The sporangia can be so thick that most of the leaf reverse is covered in black.

Black sporangia on reverse.

And Then

Yellowing between the veins continues, and leaves develop black edges or spots. Although the infected leaves won’t harm you if eaten (unless there’s a true allergy to the mold), they will not have that rich summer basil flavor and aroma you longed for. It’s time to look for new, healthy young plants. Or start some seeds!

Any basil without good color, either light or dark green, or purple, tastes awful. Whether it’s caused by disease, poor growing conditions, or lack of nitrogen, pale leaves will disappoint your taste buds. Some varieties, notably the lettuce-leaf basils, normally have light green leaves (photo at top).

: Pick all the good leaves.

: Advanced BDM.

Three Suggestions To Prevent Basil Downy Mildew

At the end of this post, I’ll include links to other articles at The Farm In My Yard with information on basil downy mildew. They have all the details you’ll need to grow beautiful basil. And there are methods for growing this herb outdoors in the garden in ways which might decrease the likelihood of BDM.

For disease-free basil, consider these 3 tips:

1. Grow Basil Under Artificial Lights

The Structure

Many gardeners don’t have sunny windows or any garden space to grow basil. You can grow a decent crop, however, under artificial lights, such as fluorescent tubes or LED’s. The more expensive LED’s last longer and consume less energy.

You can buy light cart kits to assemble at home, but they will cost you dearly. Instead, gather a few materials from the hardware store, including the light fixtures, and construct your own light table. Another option would make use of an empty bookshelf. Perhaps the basement or a spare bedroom could become indoor growing space for houseplants and edibles. I recommend a small fan to circulate the air.

A 4′ long plug-in fixture with 2 tubes and a reflector on top will suffice. Smaller units emit much less light and might not provide enough light for herbs. So, for plants that normally require lots of sunlight, try to find space for the larger fixture.

Two or three fixtures lined up about 2′ apart significantly increase the light levels, so you can grow other edibles or houseplants with the basil. Maybe you’d like to add parsley and cilantro to your indoor garden. Lots of possibilities!

For 35 years, I used plant tables originally built by our contractor friend, Wally. I broke them down and reassembled them each time we moved. Constructed from 2″ x 4″ framing, carriage bolts, screws, hooks, small chains, 4′ light fixtures, and 4′ x 8′ sheets of exterior grade plywood, each table was a marvel of functional simplicity. Matte white surfaces reflect light back to the plants, so consider painting the structure, including the plywood, and the room white or off-white.

Be careful using electricity and water in close proximity. If you have any doubts, ask a licensed electrical contractor for advice. But it’s not difficult to set up a simple table with lights. Double the fun and add fixtures under the table, where it’s a bit cooler. Lettuce and mesclun should do well there.

Growing Basil

Keep the plants very close to the tubes—within a couple of inches—and leave the lights on for 14 to 16 hours each day. Yes, this is more hours of light than they’d receive outdoors, but with lower photosynthetic photon flux density (“weaker” light) indoors, plants use this light more efficiently over a longer period of time, resulting in increased growth. Your indoor basil probably will look better than outdoor basil.

Basil likes temperatures from the high 60’s and into the 80’s F, but prefers to be above 70°. You might be able to grow it indoors all year. Keep the soil slightly moist, but not wet.

Pinch back the stems so the basil won’t grow too tall. This prevents lower leaves from being shaded, which will cause yellowing. Cutting back the plants also forces branching, supplying more tender growth for the kitchen. Remember to fertilize every 2 to 3 weeks to keep the foliage a rich green color; pale foliage tastes terrible.

Start seeds or buy young transplants every few months. Basil is an annual, and once in flower mode, it often starts deteriorating. Cutting off the flower buds and a few nodes (pairs of leaves) under them, however, will delay its demise. Place potted basil plants on inverted pots, if needed, to raise young plants closer to the lights.

Microgreens, primarily broccoli.

Growing microgreens in shallow trays is another worthwhile project for your light table. Tender basil seedlings, among many other edible plants grown for microgreens (photo, above), can be harvested 2 to 4 weeks after germination.

Advantages:

Basil is within reach of your kitchen.
You can grow it all year long.
No insects, with careful monitoring. No pesticides.
Pick only what you need, without any of it deteriorating in one of those plastic clamshell containers.
Basil growing in conditioned air (heat or AC) indoors has low relative humidity, so downy mildew will never be a concern. Don’t mist the plants.
Growing plants indoors keeps you connected to nature, which has proven psychological benefits.

Tomato-basil salad.

2. Move Potted Basil Indoors In the Evening

Now that you know how BDM becomes established in your plants, keeping basil in pots is a good solution. Sure, you can also grow it in the summer garden. But having at least one potted basil is a safety net if BDM ravages your garden.

Once rainy weather settles into your neighborhood, or if you’ve noticed BDM in gardens around town, it’s time to pull the pots indoors for the night. Humidity indoors will never reach the levels that exist in the garden outside. Basil I’ve kept indoors has never gotten BDM.

Don’t forget to place the pots back outside in the morning, if it’s warm enough. Basil should receive at least 6 hours of direct sun outdoors. If rainy weather is in the forecast, keep potted basil plants in a bright spot or under lights indoors for the day. Avoid watering them indoors unless it’s absolutely necessary. Plants in 7″ or 8″ pots are easier to move around than basil in huge, heavy ceramic pots. So, consider ahead of time which pots you’re going to use.

A collection of several pots will be easier to wheel back and forth on a cart. How convenient is that?! Treat yourself to one of those carts with a recessed surface, which doubles as a saucer. But don’t let water collect beneath the pots. This will cut off air circulation in the root ball, and could rot the roots. Out to the deck for sunshine, indoors at night for disease-free basil!

3. Use Varieties That Are Resistant to Basil Downy Mildew

Recent breakthroughs in basil breeding show promise for disease-free and pesticide-free growing. Rutgers University developed several new BDM resistant varieties of sweet basil. Look for ‘Rutgers Obsession’, ‘Rutgers Devotion’, ‘Rutgers Thunderstruck’, and ‘Rutgers Passion’. When I ordered seeds this spring, my regular supplier had already sold out.

In Israel, Genesis Seeds and Bar-Ilan University bred the variety called ‘Prospera’. It is available through the commercial arm of the partnership, BIRAD Research and Development Company, Ltd. Your favorite seed house might stock it.

Proven Winners is offering ‘Amazel’. This is a vegetatively propagated variety, and is sterile. It will be sold only as plants since it doesn’t set seed.

In a Maryland trial testing all of these BDM resistant varieties, ‘Prospera’ and ‘Amazel’ did not show any symptoms. Some of the Rutgers plants showed very mild symptoms in autumn, probably because other stressors made them more vulnerable at that time.

I look forward to trying some of these new varieties next year. Check with these suppliers: Johnny’s Seeds, High Mowing Seeds, Harris Seeds, and Proven Winners. As far as I know, only sweet basil is available as disease resistant varieties. I’m not aware of disease resistant lemon and Thai basils, two more of my favorites.

No, none of these new varieties are genetically modified organisms (GMO’s).

(***Update***: I’m pleased to report that the ‘Rutgers Obsession’ basil growing in front of a tomato plant in a 20″ pot outdoors has not shown one speck of basil downy mildew. We’ve had the weather to put it to the test, though, with high humidity and long periods of rainy weather. 9/2/2021)

Concluding

Male American goldfinch.

At the end of the season, as any surviving basil goes to seed, consider leaving it in the garden. The cheery little American goldfinches will appreciate this windfall.

I hope you’re encouraged by these options for growing BDM-free sweet basil. It takes a little effort, yes, but I can’t imagine a season without this fresh herb. I strongly recommend growing the new BDM-resistant varieties.

Good luck, and happy gardening!

Here are two other posts about basil (Ocimum basilicum), with detailed growing instructions:

Growing Basil In Pots: How and Why

Basil Downy Mildew: Symptoms and Solutions

Symptoms of basil downy mildew.

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How To Get Healthy? Start With More Greens!

Jun14

2020

Updated 9/28/2024

Tomatoes, A Tribute to My Mother, Takotsubo, and A Tactic Called “Just One Leaf”

Open any food or garden section in print or online sites, and you’ll see articles on the benefits of eating healthy greens and colorful foods. Today, I’ll show how you can start adding leafy greens to your diet without being terribly inconvenienced. And I’ll mention how it might have saved my life.

How exciting—the first two ripe tomatoes of the season came off the vine this morning. And there’s some beautiful ‘Genovese’ basil begging to be picked. So, you can guess what will be served tonight:

Tomato-Basil Salad!

It’s so easy to prepare:

ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks, including the juice
freshly picked sweet basil
cucumber, cubed or sliced
thinly sliced onion
mozzarella cheese
Italian oregano
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Mix it all together, and enjoy with some good bread for dunking (optional). This salad hits the spot when it’s hot, for one person or for a crowd.

But First, A Tribute To My Mother

My mother and I have lived together for the past 7½ years. Many of the ripe tomatoes from the garden ended up in tomato-basil salad, a summertime staple for this family of Italian descent. How we loved our eggplant parmigiana, vegetarian lasagna, manicotti, and stuffed artichokes! How we loved to eat! In so many of our memories growing up and growing older—the holidays with family, sitting around the table for hours—good food always featured prominently.

Early last month, I had notified my family that there wasn’t much time left for Mother. So, my siblings prepared for a visit, and my sister sent an early Mother’s Day bouquet of white roses, purple statice, and baby’s breath—very much appreciated.

One brother came from out of town and spent the day with us, recalling some of the funnier family moments. We had ravioli and Easy Broccoli One for dinner. I’m a firm believer in the health-giving powers of broccoli, so I prepared it one way or another quite often. I’ve joked before about broccoli being Mother’s “favorite”, and she did too. “Oh, what a surprise—broccoli … … thank you…” She ate well that evening, better than any day in recent months.

But, the next morning, her time had come. She passed quickly and peacefully while I spoke to her and with 9-1-1. A friend said that the sense of hearing is the last to go, which gives some consolation, knowing she might have heard me.

“Don’t Forget To Watch Bob Ross”

My mother lived for 95 years, leaving behind a brood of 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. Photographs of family reunions, grandkids, and the great-grandchildren sat in a neat pile within reach of her favorite chair. Mother often lamented the fact that the family had scattered all over the country and couldn’t get together more often for the holidays.

She enjoyed driving her little Toyota, running errands nearby, right up until early last year. Have Rollator, will travel! When speaking with friends on the phone, her humorous references to the “joys” of growing old brought a smile to my face. Humor is the best medicine.

She was an artist, as a few relatives are and were, and I’m inclined to pick up the brush myself and give it a whirl (photo, above—a detail from one of her paintings). I don’t have to wonder very long where this stubborn streak of independence or rebelliousness came from…or my love of animals and of all nature. So, maybe some of her talents run through my veins as well. I hope so. Sure, we had occasional disagreements, but the foundation of our commitment to family was unshaken.

Stress, Nevertheless

People often speak of “a good death”, and, in all honesty, we could not have asked for a more peaceful departure. The next few days, though, taught me that the body reacts to experiences differently than the brain does. While my brain thought I was handling this major event quite calmly, my body had a different opinion.

Soon after Mother had died, the four of us siblings got together, telling stories while dividing those belongings she had gathered—and loved—for nearly a century. Whether it was the distress of a misplaced ring or the stress of her passing, I ended up in the hospital three days later.

With Covid concerns at the time, I drove myself to the emergency room, with moderate chest pain. My mother had had serious heart disease for a few decades but was able to function fairly normally with assistance from her medications and her cardiologist. But I had to wonder: is it my turn? My blood pressure had soared to a dangerous level, so I was admitted.

After several tests over the next two days, the doctors did not find any “separation of the layers” or blockages in my coronary arteries, and the valves were working as they should. But my blood pressure stayed very high. Blood tests also showed the presence of those markers when the heart has been impaired.

One consequence of blood pressure this high could be stroke, and my release from the hospital was contingent upon healthier numbers. A few medications attempted to normalize the readings, and one in particular did an astonishingly good job of lowering those numbers to 79/51. Won’t be taking that one again! (It was hydralazine.)

Takotsubo Two!

Almost 4 years previously, I woke at 4:00 in the morning with a stabbing pain in the center of my chest. Considering our family history, I thought it could have been a heart attack. The ambulance came, the EMT recorded my blood pressure at 275/135, and off to the hospital I went.

The usual tests were performed, and a cardiologist administered a catheterization to trace the blood flow in and around my heart. The score: although I was lightly sedated, his words indicating that I had “the arteries of a 20-year-old” were music to my ears. After decades of being more than careful with diet, I wondered if I had needlessly missed out on all those BLT’s, pasta, and toffee cookies.

On the day of discharge from the hospital, another cardiologist explained what happened. He said one of the lower chambers of the heart (the left ventricle) had ballooned out, giving it an odd outline. Good news—I would fully recover but would experience fatigue for a few months. He and a dietician recommended continuing with a diet heavy in healthy leafy greens and losing some weight.

What’s Takotsubo?

That’s when I first heard the term “Takotsubo”. This Japanese word means “octopus pot”, a reference to the interior shape of the affected ventricle. The syndrome was first described in Japan in 1990. More than 90% of the cases involve women, aged 58 to 75 (check, and check).

So, it happened again. This time, though, stress was very much the precipitating cause. Often called “broken heart syndrome” or “stress-induced cardiomyopathy”, a sudden life-changing event, such as the loss of a loved one, winning a lottery, being assaulted, or a car accident, can trigger Takotsubo syndrome. Most cases are due to a stressor, but around one-fourth occur for no discernible reason.

The ring, by the way, was found after my return from the hospital.

Add Just a Little More Green

Greens from the garden: green onion, mustard greens, dinosaur kale, arugula, ‘Red Russian’ kale.

I’m not a nutritionist. All I know is what I’ve read or heard over the years and observed from family members. The purpose for writing this article is simply to credit how changing my diet many years ago might have prevented a stroke or a heart attack, possibly saving my life during these two bouts with Takotsubo. (Even though the death rate from this condition is fairly low, other contributing factors and our family history concerned me.) You, too, might decide to make some improvements in your own family’s habits.

Take from it what you want—and take heart—this doesn’t have to happen overnight. I encourage you not to wait, however, until after you’ve gotten your first stent to make some changes. We did eat pretty well growing up. But, in retrospect, we consumed more carbohydrates than is currently considered healthy, and certainly fewer healthy greens.

Simply adding fresh leafy greens to soup, a smoothie, sauces, salads, a stir-fry, store-bought pizza, or rice and pasta dishes is a great step toward a healthier future. Grocery stores offer a much wider variety of greens than they did decades ago.

Growing your own plants from seed opens up so many more options. And you can’t beat the convenience of walking a few feet out the kitchen door to pick fresh healthy greens for today’s omelet or soup. Many of them can be grown in pots on the deck or the balcony if you don’t have garden space.

At the end of this article is a list of links to posts I’ve written about growing and using greens. You’ll notice the frequency with which I refer to “the brassicas” (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, etc.), the source of the most beneficial and densely packed nutrients.

Try this: a simple egg salad sandwich, on rye, made with one hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, green olives, chopped dinosaur kale (a brassica, and super healthy), and topped with lettuce. Add chopped onion, if you like. No salt needed. I usually serve it on a bed of lettuce or mixed greens, without the bread. You can do the same with tuna or chicken salad. Adding “Just One Leaf” of kale significantly elevated the nutritional value.

Greens In Small Steps

Easing into dietary improvements by making small changes might meet with less resistance from your family. Perhaps starting a garden and letting the kids participate will get them engaged.

Children who help care for a garden are more likely to eat what they harvest. Start with easy crops, such as dinosaur or ‘Red Russian’ kale, collards, lettuce, a cherry tomato, Swiss chard, and radishes. Mustard greens are colorful and fast-growing—‘Florida Broadleaf’ has mild mustard flavor (and it self-seeds), while ‘Scarlet Frills’ offers a spark of heat and spice. These are easily grown from seed.

nasturtium 'Alaska', edible flowers and greens

Nasturtium ‘Alaska’, easy from seed, needs darkness for germination.

If your garden has good, rock-free soil, sow a pack of carrot seeds, and thin them properly. You’ll find traditional orange carrots and also nearly white, yellow, red, and purple varieties. ‘Rainbow’ is a blend of colors. Watch how excited your children will be when they harvest their buried treasure! Try growing ‘Adelaide’, a miniature carrot, in 6″ pots. Delicious, and so cute.

A customer at the farmers’ market in Rockville MD added chopped ‘Alaska’ nasturtium flowers and leaves to his grilled hamburgers. Each bite revealed a different combination of colors. Every year, he came to the market for his “burger-fetti” nasturtiums. Look for ways to introduce greens and colors at mealtime to make it fun.

Just One Leaf

As the first bits of greens have been accepted, keep adding more leafy greens (Just One Leaf or two at a time) and cutting down on some of the carbohydrates and animal proteins. Get creative in the kitchen. Soon, you’ll notice a boost in energy and might reach for a cup of tea and a handful of nuts for a mid-afternoon snack, packed with vitamins and minerals, fiber, phytonutrients, and protein, instead of soda and a chocolate doughnut.

Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I never peel fruits and vegetables. The skins have more antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins than the flesh. So, I don’t peel apples, peaches, carrots, cucumbers (some are less bitter, such as ‘Diva’ and ‘Mini Me’), eggplants, sweet/white/pigmented potatoes, tomatoes, or zucchini.

But I Miss My…

Once in a while, it’s perfectly okay to indulge in an ice cream sundae or Christmas cookies. But you might find that the desire for such decadent treats decreases as your interest in healthy foods increases. Sugar is addictive!

Over time, adding healthy greens to the spaghetti sauce, a stir-fry, or the morning smoothie will become second nature. Not doing so might make you feel as though you’re missing out.

Eat Your Colors

red and yellow peppers, with healthy pigments

Ripe sweet bell peppers.

You’ll discover a new appreciation for incorporating colorful greens and vegetables into your salads. Deep green, purple, red, orange, and yellow pigments are filled with healthy antioxidants and other nutrients.

These plant pigments help prevent many major illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, inflammation, premature aging, and other disorders. Understand that they will help prevent illness. Do your best to eliminate other risk factors, too, and you know what they are.

Ask your doctor if you have any dietary concerns. While it is true that spinach, Swiss Chard, and beet greens (in the Amaranthaceae family) are high in oxalates, we need to examine the relationship between oxalate content and kidney stones. Some nutritionists believe that including more meat in the diet lowers the blood pH level, while a primarily plant-based diet raises the pH and lowers the incidence of kidney stones. Kale, incidentally, has extremely low levels of oxalates.

Another issue is how eating large amounts of certain raw brassicas can affect the thyroid gland, so, again, ask your doctor.

Add these to your salad and you’ll soon say good-bye to pale iceberg wedges:

deep green and red lettuces
purplish ‘Red Russian’ or blue-gray dinosaur kale (brassica)
baby beet greens (more nutrients than the roots)
turnip greens (brassica)
arugula (brassica)
spinach
Swiss chard
radish (brassica)
shredded red cabbage (brassica)
Asian greens, such as tatsoi, mustard, mizuna, napa cabbage, ‘Tokyo Bekana’ (brassicas)
broccoli leaves, or stems, leaves, and small heads of ‘Happy Rich’ (brassicas)
purple and orange carrots (heated carrots have more available antioxidants)
ripe lunchbox sweet pepper (red, orange, yellow) and bell peppers (orange bell peppers are extremely high in zeaxanthin, an antioxidant that’s good for eyesight)
tomato, cucumber, green onion, celery, cooked button mushrooms, lightly roasted pecans, feta or bleu cheese, fresh basil, avocado, a hard-boiled egg, kalamata olives
and a simple homemade dressing: extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, water, fresh minced garlic, some herbs (small amounts of Italian oregano, and maybe thyme and sweet marjoram) and lemon if you like, some Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper

Colorful lettuces.

Headings

Page 1: Tomato-Basil Salad, But First, A Tribute To My Mother (Stress, Nevertheless, Takotsubo Two!), Add Just a Little More Green (Greens In Small Steps, Just One Leaf, But I Miss My…), Eat Your Colors, and Add these to your salad…

Page 2: The Veggie Omelet With Greens (Juice?, Or Cereal?), How It All Began (Close To Home, The Food Pyramid), But How Safe Are the Complex Carbs? (The Insulin Response, Too Many Carbs), In Conclusion, and Links

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Pages: 1 2

Daffodils and Birdsong: The Signs of Spring

Feb10

2020

cherry trees and daffodils for early spring color

These cherry trees started blooming in January.

Warming Up: The First Daffodils

Early Daffodils

Around the corner, white daffodils bloomed incredibly early—on New Year’s Day! A neighbor’s hellebore, or Lenten rose, was in full flower at the same time, and the local cherry trees (photo, above) have been covered in pink for weeks starting in January. Forsythias are beginning to flower, and the bulbs are coming up thick and healthy after all this rain.

Daffodils in February, Cane Creek Park, Waxhaw NC.

At some point in the early months of the year, seasonal signals indicate the coming of warmer weather to this USDA zone 7b (borderline 8a) area. Flowers popped open this morning that weren’t there yesterday. The grass is greener. Songbirds are more vocal than they were last month. And on blueberries and other shrubs, leaf and flower buds are plumping up, preparing to push those bud scales aside. Mother Nature puts on quite a show in spring, my favorite season.

Maybe there are other indicators that you look for in your landscape. First snake sighting? Migrating birds flying north? Moths flitting around the porch light at night?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the National Weather Service) predicts a greater chance for above normal temperatures over the next 3 months (spring, 2020). This prediction is for the southwest U.S., across the south, and partway up the Atlantic coast. Northern Alaska has a high probability of higher than normal temperatures. Check NOAA’s map for your region’s long-term temperature and precipitation forecasts.

Wood hyacinth, Hyacinthoides hispanica, in January.

Punxsutawney Phil

A woodchuck.

This year, Punxsutawney Phil, the prognosticating rodent, concurred with NOAA’s forecast, calling for an early spring. Phil would be wise to check with NOAA every year before making his Groundhog Day predictions; his accuracy is below 40%. And there are only 2 possibilities: shadow, no shadow!

This tradition, celebrated in the United States and Canada, dates back to 1887, and is a fun, although not terribly accurate, test that helps build anticipation for spring.

Phil is one of several groundhogs, or woodchucks, around the country called upon to presage the coming weather. After being awakened at dawn on February 2, if he does not cast a shadow, the tradition dictates, spring will come early. The alternative is six more weeks of winter. Well…six weeks from Groundhog Day falls in mid-March. So, mid-March (“six more weeks of winter”) and early spring, as I see it, are the same thing. I guess you’d have to define “early”.

**What? Snow?!**

Squirrel takes all.

For a couple of hours on Saturday, I was mesmerized by a wet snow. We haven’t had any snow here this winter, and I just love to watch it. I also have to go outside and feel it. Then a beautiful Cooper’s hawk came for a visit. The question is…would he swoop down for one of the birds at our back yard bird feeder?

Earlier, I put outside a spoonful of peanut butter, suet, more seed, and whatever we had collected in the “bird cup”. This container sits on the kitchen counter, and is where we put crumbs, withered blueberries, strawberry tops, older peanuts, and anything else that might interest the birds. These morsels go into the box (photo, right) near the bird feeder, and the birds share this bounty with squirrels and various marauders in the night.

I didn’t cover the emerging bulbs to protect them from snow. Daffodils, hyacinths, and wood hyacinths get through this time of the year just fine with no help from me.

The Birds are Changing Their Tune

A male northern cardinal.

The local birds recently have been singing in what I call “the key of procreation”. When the birds change their tune, spring isn’t far behind. There’s something almost magical about birdsong at this time of the year. I love to hear it.

Northern cardinals, Carolina wrens, tufted titmice…they all have spring calls that are distinctly different from chirps and melodies sung later. These calls help unite young breeding pairs and reunite mated partners after a separation.

The hawk showed up, though, and everything suddenly went very quiet. He sat in the trees for two hours, his plumage camouflaged by the browns and grays of tree trunks and branches. But he did not make an attempt to catch lunch on the fly.

There are plenty of hiding places for the birds, and they were aware of the hawk’s presence. Birds warn each other of this kind of threat by issuing alarm chirps.

Daffodils and Deer

Some of the yellow daffodils on the berm are beginning to bloom, although recent wind (a tornado, actually) laid them nearly flat to the ground. I planted these bulbs several years ago, and it’s always a pleasure to see their green shoots emerge in January or February. But this winter, they began rising in late December.

Deer resting among the untouched daffodils.

Deer regularly pass by them as they travel the berm, but they never eat them. All parts of daffodils are poisonous to warm-blooded animals. But bees and other pollinators looking for pollen and nectar when not much is available appreciate the early blooming bulbs, brassicas, and fruit trees.

The bulbs’ foliage is the only ground-level greenery in that area for now. It’s a small thrill to see these bulbs thriving up there, and a bigger one watching the deer walk around them! (***Update***: Several deer rested all morning on the berm, among the blooming daffodils. They sniffed but didn’t eat the flowers. Feb. 14, 2020.)

If deer have eaten every one of your cherished tulips, you’ll have greater success with daffodils.

The Edibles

Miniature broccoli ‘Aspabroc’.

We had a very mild winter. True—it’s not over. But I covered the broccoli, the kale, and the green onions on only a few nights. Although these plants can tolerate temperatures into the teens, I prefer to protect them below 25°F. This keeps their foliage in great shape. And the green onions would be very difficult to pull from frozen soil!

The microclimate created by the corner between the house and the shed keeps the deck a few degrees warmer than out in the open. Maybe there’s a sunny corner where you can tuck in a few pots of winter greens. Or you might be able to dig a small garden next to a south-facing brick wall.

It won’t be long before you’ll see small pots of hardy cool season greens showing up at the garden center. You can get a head start and plant seeds indoors now for many of these plants.

Mustard greens from last year’s spring garden volunteered in the front garden by mid-summer. The Italian parsley is growing large, and, recently, I picked a few substantial stems of ‘Aspabroc’ miniature broccoli for dinner. The ‘Arcadia’ broccoli heads were harvested in December, but side shoots will provide additional harvests for the next 2 or 3 months. Broccoli leaves are edible, too, and highly nutritious.

Frequent heavy rainstorms washed away much of the soil’s fertility, so I fertilized the pots a few times through the winter. Without it, the broccoli heads would have been much smaller and the greens…well, less green. When the temperatures were more moderate, I used SeaPlus (seaweed and fish emulsion). In cooler soil, though, when microorganisms aren’t active, a soluble synthetic fertilizer works better. Microbes break down the nutrients in organic fertilizers and make them available to plant roots, but they’re dormant in cold soil.

: Side shoots forming on broccoli ‘Arcadia’.

: Mustard greens ‘Florida Broadleaf’.

: Dinosaur (‘Lacinato’ or ‘Toscano’) kale.

: Green onions, with a few more sets to be planted.

A Few Simple Chores In the Garden

As you make your rounds through the garden, note the chores that need to be done. Maybe the mulch needs a refresh by simply turning it over with a garden rake. Are chickweed and other winter-germinating weeds about to go to seed? Don’t let them! Just one seedpod can turn into dozens of weeds next year.

Yellowed leaves caused by shade.

A thick blanket of last year’s fallen leaves will block light from the daffodils and hyacinths emerging from the ground. Although the shaded spears look yellowed now, they’ll quickly green up when exposed to sunlight. Take some of the leaves to the compost pile, or to the brush pile where insects and other animals find refuge in inclement weather.

Have you noticed the first bulbs emerging from your lasagna pot (photo, above)? Be sure to water them if they’ve been under cover, and give them sunlight to green up etiolated foliage. Gardeners in colder climates still need to protect the pots from alternate freezing and thawing, which could kill the bulbs. Their roots don’t have the benefit of insulation provided by the mass of soil around them, as do bulbs planted in the garden.

: Potted green onions.

: Iberis with flower buds.

: Astilbe sprouting in a pot.

: ‘Kopper Kettle’ Itoh peony.

: Bridal Veil spirea.

: ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’ spinach seedlings.

Even though it’s still chilly, these stirrings in our gardens point to nature’s own impatience to get the show on the road. So, bundle up, and take the kids, the dog, or your thermos to the garden. For me, the thought of going out in the cold is worse than actually being there. Besides, if you stay indoors, you could miss the first act!

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10 Tips for Protecting Cool Season Vegetables

Dec16

2019

Updated 9/24/2024

Here are 10 Tips for protecting cool season vegetables from freezing temperatures.

Cool season vegetables: from the top, broccoli, leeks, ‘Red Russian’ kale, light green mustard greens, and collards.

Ready For Fall?

Throughout parts of the United States, and in chilly climates everywhere, gardeners are scrambling to save their tender plants. Most of us have brought in all the houseplants. More laissez-faire gardeners do nothing special to extend the season, beyond harvesting the last of the cherry tomatoes and clearing out the frosted vines.

And there are those of us who strive to keep cool season vegetables growing even in winter. And we’ll plant more of them! Soon I’ll transplant ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’ spinach seedlings into pots to grow on the deck through the winter. This French heirloom spinach has huge leaves with a milder flavor. It has lower levels of oxalates, so those who have been advised to avoid eating spinach might be able to eat this variety. Ask your doctor.

In early October, I planted 2 dozen onion sets (for green onions) in a 12″ pot on the deck. Green onions are ready for harvest, in mild weather, only a few weeks after planting the sets. To preserve them in the cold, I’ll cover them with plastic sheeting (Tip #2). Green and bunching onions grow more slowly in cold weather.

I planted more sets every couple of weeks and will soon plant the remaining bulbs before they dry up. A favorite bunching onion called ‘Nabechan’ has straight sides. Not having a bulb at the bottom makes it easier to harvest. Sets are not available for bunching onions, though, so they must be started from seeds.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

Potted cool season vegetables will grow under a plastic covering in cold weather. To extend the season, strings of miniature incandescent Christmas lights (Tip #6) will raise the temperature to more comfortable levels. Later in this article, I will list all 10 Tips for protecting crops in winter.

Starting with the simplest ideas and progressing to the more advanced methods, find the level you’re most comfortable with this season. Your budget, your USDA plant hardiness zone (photo, above), and the types of crops themselves must factor into your decision.

As you gain confidence and become more motivated to keep the garden producing, you might decide to try the next level. Cost savings realized by growing your own fresh food might justify the expense of new materials.

It’s only through experimentation, by taking a chance, that you might discover all the opportunities—and the limits—of gardening challenges. This is how green thumbs are cultivated.

If you’ve never grown cool season vegetables, several articles at The Farm In My Yard provide detailed information to get you started. For a greater understanding of any issue, enter the term in the search bar or click it in the tag cloud.

The Advantage of This Latitude

I’ve been growing greens in winter for decades, for my customers and for my family. Fortunately for us, living in the southeast doesn’t present as difficult a winter hardship as would living in Montreal, Montana, or Scotland. But there are options for just about every climate.

There’s no substitute for stepping outside and collecting a green onion, a mild mustard leaf, and some kale and spinach for our Sunday morning omelet. We pick what we need when we need it.

Succession Planting: Warm, Then Cool Season Vegetables

Because our favorite greens love cool weather, they grow in the garden after the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers have been harvested. So, with some planning, you can schedule a succession of crops. When one crop finishes up, new transplants or seeds are ready to take its place. Now, that’s an efficient use of space!

Cool season vegetables and greens replace summer tomatoes and peppers. Plastic protects plants on very cold nights and the netting deters deer.

Radishes, beets, spinach, and other fast-growing plants can be sown directly into the garden in late summer to early autumn. After they’ve been harvested, there might be time for another quick fall crop.

Certain greens and root vegetables have a shorter window of time during which they retain the best quality. So don’t let them linger in the garden. On the other hand, some cool season vegetables can be harvested over many months of growing! That’s at a time when there are fewer weeds, fewer bugs, and less drought to worry about.

If the weather is still warm for the first round of seeds, look for varieties of cool season vegetables that are more heat tolerant. Some catalogs indicate the preferred soil temperature for each crop, or you can get that information from your agricultural extension office. Soil temperature can be lowered by irrigating during hot weather. Additionally, frames covered with knitted shade cloth, made from black polyethylene (available from Johnny’s Selected Seeds and others), provide consistent shade until the weather cools. That bit of shade can make the difference between seeds germinating in August or having to wait until late September to sow them.

Here in zone 7b (average lowest winter temperatures 5° to 10°F), we enjoy productive edible crops and herbs in the garden year-round…with some protection in winter, of course. But we’ve also grown them in colder Maryland winters.

Because I’ve been “advised” by the HOA to stop growing vegetables in the garden (photo, above), they’re now in pots (photo, below) on the fenced deck. (Note to self: next move, no HOA!) Young ‘Aspabroc’ miniature broccoli plants grow in a 20″ pot, where a tomato grew during in the summer. Italian parsley lasts all winter, and sharp-tipped pine cones discourage squirrels.

***Update***: In October, 2021, after my mother passed away, I moved to a small town in northern North Carolina. More property, more nature, woods in the back (where a bobcat and I came face-to-face!), no traffic, gorgeous topography, great friends, just a couple of degrees cooler than Charlotte, and no HOA to tell me what I must or can’t do on my property. 3/1/2024

‘Aspabroc’ miniature broccoli and parsley.

Peas…Yummy!

Peas grow best in the garden’s “shoulder seasons”. That’s when temperatures can be cool to warm, and when frost is no surprise. So, before the end of tomato and pepper season, you can sow a pack of pea seeds next to a trellis and begin harvesting two months later.

Edible podded snap peas and snow peas are absolutely delicious. Many are eaten on the spot. And because they grow vertically, the vines take up little square footage. During the shoulder seasons, in moderate climates, they don’t normally require a protective covering.

Peas growing next to the house, a warmer microclimate, in the Charlotte garden.

If you have facilities that can accommodate pea vines, such as a lean-to or a cool greenhouse (Tips #9, #10), this crop can be grown as the temperatures dip lower during the winter months. But there is a point below which the vines will be killed in unheated structures.

Last autumn’s loosely covered pea vines (photo, right) made it just fine through the mild winter and started bearing pods in late winter.

Look for disease resistant varieties when growing any vegetables or greens under cover. Plants are more susceptible to diseases when grown in humid conditions.

Gather Information

Get to know each crop, and how much cold it can tolerate with or without protection from freezing weather. I’ve researched calendars for scheduling vegetables in this zone and have found some of them, compared to my own experience, to be overly conservative. They restrict sowing and transplanting to a narrower period of the calendar than I’m willing to gamble with.

Gardening in a warmer microclimate offers more protection than growing plants out in the open. Planting against a sunny south-facing wall or in a protected corner out of the wind provides opportunities to extend the season.

bees and butterflies feed on nectar in winter

‘Red Russian’ kale in bud.

Kale, collards, spinach, Brussels sprouts, mustard spinach, arugula, leeks, and green onions can tolerate the coldest conditions, within reason. I cover the crops when temperatures dip below the mid 20’s. Even if they’re not covered, they will survive. But I want the plants to continue providing premium quality greens. If not stressed by very low temperatures all day and night, these crops will grow if daytime temperatures rise into the mid 40’s.

Cauliflower and ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard need to be covered earlier than other greens. Frost normally won’t kill the plants. But repeated freezing will damage the foliage, halting growth until warmer temperatures (or the protective coverings) return.

These crops and other cool season vegetables won’t need protection if grown farther south. Again, cold tolerance is variety specific, so try new cultivars now and then and see which ones work best for you. For example, ‘Green Magic’ broccoli does well when planted in early spring and again in early autumn. This variety needs a warmer temperature when forming its head. On the other hand, ‘Arcadia’ broccoli can mature in very cold weather, so this is the one I plant later in autumn. Another benefit is ‘Arcadia’s bumper crop of side shoots; in Charlotte, they produced for months.

For More Information

There is so much information online and in catalogs, books, and magazines. But, for local perspectives and information about other growing conditions, check with your agricultural extension office. And speak with helpful vendors at the neighborhood farmers’ market.

Garden clubs, botanical gardens, and garden centers selling seeds, supplies, and transplants sometimes offer classes covering various subjects. My “Cool Season Vegetables and Greens” presentations drew the most attendees. Many of my customers started with just one crop and then returned for more. A healthy addiction!

Keep Records

As you begin new garden projects, place labels with the plants, photograph progress, and take notes for future reference. Add some varieties you’ve never grown before to discover delightful new flavors. Observation of the varieties you’re growing in your garden is invaluable when planning future garden projects. There is no substitute for hands-on experience…and records of successes and failures!

Keeping detailed drawings of crop placement in the garden will help when considering crop rotation. Not growing plants from the same family in the same place every year helps decrease concentrations of pathogens and insects. But, because so many of the cool season vegetables are in the Brassicaceae family, it’s difficult to rotate these crops in our limited space.

Succession planting calls for sequential use of space, maximizing the amount of produce harvested through the seasons. It is especially important to prepare the soil before the fall or spring season, adding fresh compost, aged manure, or planting mix.

For optimal harvests, you’ll need to fertilize regularly as the plants grow. Instead of relying on memory, record the names of the products and when you applied them.

Have all underground utilities marked by your municipality before proceeding and keep a record of their locations. Call 8-1-1 to schedule an appointment.

Headings:

Page 1: Ready For Fall?, Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way (The Advantage Of This Latitude), and Succession Planting: Warm, Then Cool Season Vegetables (Peas, Yummy!, Gather Information)

Page 2: Seed or Transplant? (Seeds, Temperature, Transplants, More Favorites), Crops With Ornamental Edible Leaves (Tender Leaf Kales), Crops That Form Heads, Soil Fertility (The Importance of Microbes), Nutritional Benefits, and Ready For the 10 Tips?

Page 3: Tip #1: Move Tender Plants Indoors, Tip #2: “Quick! Cover Up!”, Tip #3: The Hot Water Bottle, Tip #4: Low Tunnels, Tip #5: Deal with the Wind, Tip #6: Add Christmas Lights, Tip #7: I’ll Have a Double

Page 4: Tip #8: A Simple Cold Frame For Cool Season Vegetables, Tip #9: A Lean-To, Tip #10: The Greenhouse, Finally!

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Pages: 1 2 3 4

Pumpkins At The Union Market

Oct30

The Union Market, a Local Favorite

Anyone traveling on Providence Rd. south from Charlotte toward Waxhaw, North Carolina, is familiar with this roadside market. Union Market carries vegetables and greens from local farms, freshly-cut herbs (in season), fruits from orchards nearby, Duke’s breads, and a selection of refrigerated meats, dairy products, and prepared meals. (In order to stock a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, though, they are sometimes brought in from elsewhere. But the emphasis is on fresh, locally grown produce.)

I sometimes buy heirloom tomatoes (‘Cherokee Purple’ and ‘Pineapple’), sweet peppers and cucumbers before mine are ready, cantaloupe, and a loaf of rye bread. After the Christmas trees and greens, they’ll close for the winter for a well-deserved rest.

Now, of course, it’s pumpkin season! You can hunt for the perfect pumpkin, or for one that’s not so perfect. This year, there’s a huge one tucked into the autumn vignette, weighing in at almost 400 pounds.

The biggest one on the lot.

So, you can carve your terrier’s smile, a grim monster, or a psychopathic clown face into your pumpkin. But don’t delay; Halloween is here! Union market has lots of pumpkins and squashes to choose from—the pinkish ‘Porcelain Doll’, the striped ‘Speckled Hound’, and the bumpy ‘Knuckle Head’… Small ones, big ones, smooth ones, warty ones… Round orange, blocky pink, flattened white, orange splotched with green, and some that are kind of bluish gray…

While you’re there, pick up a bunch of corn stalks. And they have a good selection of ornamental corn—tiny ears and full-size, too.

Ready for the Holidays?

Here’s an old family recipe for pumpkin pie that uses canned pumpkin. (I’ve used fresh pumpkin, but results weren’t as good.) Delicious! My daughter, Brynn, is coming for a visit soon, so I’ll be making a couple of pumpkin pies, with homemade crust.

These autumn fruits can dress up the front door or the view out the kitchen window. They’ll last through Halloween and right up to Thanksgiving. And after Thanksgiving, it’ll be time for winter delights—garlands and lights, bows and paperwhites. And, yes, Union Market will have Christmas trees and greens.

For more information

The Union Market

Owners: David and Christine White

Address: 1316 Providence Rd. South, Waxhaw NC

Phone: (704) 843-0227

Hours: This is a 3-season market. Check the website for hours.

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Growing Basil In Pots: How and Why

May2

2019

Updated 3/5/2024

Why Should We Grow Basil in Pots?

‘Valentino’, a lettuce leaf basil, normally is light green in color.

This year, I’ll grow basil in pots. It’s too early to grow basil outdoors, but I am starting seeds now for early sales (transplants and cut herbs) at the farmers’ markets.

Although summer thunderstorms are most welcome after a dry patch, that’s when Basil Downy Mildew becomes a real problem. In this article, I’ll describe the disease and offer tips for growing perfect basil once again.

Basil Downy Mildew was first described in Uganda in the 1930’s. It has been a serious problem in the United States since 2007, when it first appeared in Florida. The disease now has appeared in most of the U.S. and elsewhere around the globe. I lived in Maryland at the time of the first outbreak and was selling plants at farmers’ markets and garden shows.

How To Recognize Basil Downy Mildew

The leaves of affected plants become speckled in pale green or yellowish blotches, mostly bordered by the main veins. Eventually, entire leaves turn pale green.

: Yellow areas between the veins.

: Center leaf beginning to grow pale.

A coating of grayish felt, visible at dawn, covers the bottom of the leaf. Soon afterward, small black dots appear. Those black dots (sporangia) released their spores, which will infect other basil plants. The plant looks sickly, as if it needs fertilizer…or something…and never again has that healthy basil look.

: Black sporangia on reverse.

: Advanced BDM.

Do you recognize some of these symptoms? These characteristics are diagnostic for Basil Downy Mildew. (***Update***: Photograph above, left, was taken at a Charlotte garden center on May 20, 2019. BDM arrived early that year.)

Spores float on air currents, usually migrating north from infected southern-grown plants. They also can be carried on seeds or spread from overwintering local greenhouse plants.

Humidity that rises higher than 85% for a few hours is sufficient to initiate this infection on susceptible varieties. Other water molds affect coleus and seed-grown impatiens, but only basil (Ocimum basilicum) can catch this one. And its name is Peronospora belbahrii.

Can we do something for our beloved basil?…

Easy Solution: Basil In Pots

…Yes we can! Growing basil in pots is the answer! Take the pots indoors in rainy weather to prevent spores from germinating.

But that’s not the only time basil is susceptible to this disease. Nighttime humidity levels can rise quite high even on a day that was perfectly clear and comfortable. When the temperature drops through the night, the lowest temperature usually occurs right around dawn. When the temperature drops to its lowest measurement, the relative humidity increases to the highest level.

Check your local weather report early in the morning. Look for the relative humidity measurement, which can be 85% or 95% at dawn. Rain doesn’t even have to be in the forecast. With spores in the air and basil exposed to high relative humidity, it will become infected. The spores need a few hours of these conditions to germinate. Fortunately, normal indoor conditions never come close to those levels of humidity.

Every year that I moved them indoors at night, the potted basil plants remained BDM free. And almost every year I grew basil outside, BDM was inevitable.

None of the relatively non-toxic sprays I tested worked well enough. But I prefer to not spray herbs at all. Some cultivars introduced over the past several years are recommended as having “some tolerance to Basil Downy Mildew”…but they still can develop the disease in humid areas.

New Varieties

Fortunately, new varieties promise “high tolerance to BDM”. Rutgers University and Van Drunen Farms developed resistant varieties that are available to growers, and, more recently, to retail customers. A huge demand for production of basil downy mildew resistant varieties is driving the research.

(***Update***: Basil ‘Obsession’, from Rutgers, has grown extremely well this summer, and with no BDM. I’ll take some cuttings for winter pots. Several seed suppliers stock these new resistant varieties, but demand might exceed supply, so order early. 9/2/2021)

Long-Time Favorite Herb

Since it was my customers’ favorite herb, I had to figure out a way to grow basil without using chemicals. I couldn’t afford to lose my best-seller. At that time, I started many varieties of basil from seed under fluorescent lights in the basement. They grew larger outside, after transplanting (2½”, 3½”, 4½” pots, and some that were larger), until they were sold at the markets.

Tomato-basil salad.

Knowing that high humidity provided the right conditions for this infection, I moved all the basil flats into the garage at night. Every day! Two small table fans kept the air moving around the plants, so the basil never caught BDM when handled this way.

My business infrastructure was very simple and did not include greenhouse space at that time. During the height of the market season, I grew several dozen flats of basil in various stages of growth at any one time.

These tips were passed along to my customers, who were glad to know how to stay ahead of the problem.

So, I always grow basil in pots, and take them indoors when the humidity is expected to rise high enough to cause trouble. It is a commitment, but the reward is freshly picked luscious basil for summer salads and lasagna. The disease often appears by mid- to late summer, but it can show up earlier.

‘Miniature Purple’ basil for salads or trained as a tiny topiary standard.

Varieties Included:

sweet basil: ‘Genovese’, ‘Genovese Compact’, ‘Fino Verde’, ‘Italian Large Leaf’, ‘Aroma 2’, ‘Nufar’, ‘Marseillais Dwarf’, ‘Amethyst’, ‘Miniature Purple’, and others
lettuce-leaf sweet basil: ‘Napoletano’, ‘Tuscany’, ‘Valentino’
Greek basil: ‘Yevani’, ‘Minette’, and 2 ‘Columnar’ varieties
lemon basil: ‘Mrs. Burns Lemon’
Thai basil: ‘Siam Queen’, ‘Sweet Thai’
‘Magical Michael’
lime (good with cucumbers)
holy: ‘Kapoor tulsi’ (O. americanum v. pilosum)
‘Mexican Spice’
‘African Blue’ (an ornamental basil and an excellent pollinator magnet)
‘Cardinal’ (a cinnamon type; this one and the previous 3 basils have some or good resistance to BDM)

The few that showed any resistance to the disease, however, were not the varieties we prefer in the kitchen.

It wasn’t long before basil started disappearing from other growers’ booths at the markets. So, it was worth the effort to keep basil alive and growing.

Basil In Pots: Potting Up

Start with clean materials. If you’re reusing a 12″ wide pot, clean it out very well, including all the old soil. Don’t discard it, though; throw it under the shrubs or dig it into the flower garden. Even used potting soil has value in the garden. A pot this size will accommodate several stems of basil for the entire growing season.

Wipe down the inside and the outside of the pot with a 10% bleach solution. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly.

Basil is susceptible to several air-, water-, and soil-borne pathogens. That’s why it’s important to begin with clean materials.

Shopping For Basil Transplants

Look for rich green uniform coloring in the foliage. Familiarize yourself with the normal coloring for the varieties you’re interested in growing. For example, ‘Siam Queen’ Thai basil has dark green foliage, while lettuce-leaf basils (top of page) have light green puckered leaves.

Avoid wilted plants and those with brown edges, yellow lower leaves, pale green foliage, splotchy surfaces of leaves, and black spotting on the stems or leaves. Turn the leaves over and look for the tiny black dots of BDM. Inspect purple-leaved varieties carefully. Avoid buying basil that has started flowering.

Underpotted (tightly potbound) and underfertilized basil is stressed and will not last all season. Leaves that are off-color taste awful!

Look for small pots (2½-4½”) with 2 or 3 seedlings in the pot. The plants should have foliage down to the soil or close to it.

Growing Basil From Seed

If you can’t find the varieties you’d like to grow, consider starting them from seed. This gives you an opportunity to try new flavors—maybe lemon or lime, or anise-flavored Thai basil.

Seeds that are kept cool and dry remain viable for a few years, so you won’t have to germinate the entire packet…unless you want to.

Lemon basil sown in 4″ pots.

Pots and Seedling Mix

Have market packs or 4″ pots cleaned and ready. Use the same bleach solution recommended for larger pots, described above.

New peat pots are an option, and can be planted pot and all, without disturbance. Always pinch the bottom open in a few places before transplanting peat pots. This allows roots to quickly grow into the potting soil. Peel off the rim of the pot protruding above the soil level to prevent water from wicking away to the atmosphere. Roots will soon grow through the peat pot in moist soil.

Use pasteurized seedling mix. Most pathogens have been destroyed and its finer particles make better contact with the seeds. Fill containers with the seedling mix to within 1/2″ of the rim, tamping lightly. Fresh, fine-grained, high quality potting soil also works well.

Water gently, using lukewarm (around 85° F) water. Label the pots with the varieties of basil you’re growing and the date—for example, “Sweet basil ‘Genovese Compact’, 4/20/19”. Labels are easily fashioned from a clean, repurposed plastic milk jug.

Now, make a small depression in the center of the pot, about 1/4″ deep. Drop in a few seeds. Or make a few separate small depressions in the pot and drop a seed in each one. The latter is my preferred method; the separation gives each stem a little breathing room.

Cover with 1/4″ of soil. An exception is Thai Basil, which prefers to be sown on the surface of the soil and not covered.

Water

When moistened, basil seeds develop a grayish-white mucilaginous coating. This is normal. The gel holds water next to the seeds and it might attract insects, which help distribute seeds in the wild. And the stickiness helps seeds adhere to the soil.

Place the pots in a flat or a tray and give them warm sun indoors. Basil germinates within a week in damp soil at temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s F. If it’s too chilly, you can place the pots of basil on a heat mat. Seeds won’t germinate and young seedlings will fail in cold soil.

Keep the soil damp to moist but not wet. Never let water collect in the tray. Use lukewarm water, and water gently so the seeds won’t become dislodged. You could water from the bottom but pour off the excess once the soil surface has moistened.

Now That They’re Germinating

As soon as the seeds germinate, give them at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. This ensures shorter sturdy stems that are less susceptible to damping off disease. Use artificial light (see “Maintenance”, page 2) if you don’t have sunny windows.

Seedlings (not basil) stretching due to insufficient light.

With favorable outdoor conditions, young seedlings can be placed outside for at least part of the day. Don’t expose them to temperatures below 70°, or to wind or full hot sun if they have been indoors for a while. Check the weather forecast.

Basil needs warmer temperatures than most herbs and vegetables. Even if it’s frost-free and the garden is ready, don’t be tempted to plant basil until the soil has warmed up. Basil will either sit still or deteriorate in cool or wet soil.

Damping off is a fungal disease that appears as a narrowed, light brown section of the stem that causes the stem to bend over, killing the seedling. Avoid overly wet and humid conditions, stagnant air, low light, and cold temperatures. Young seedlings are more susceptible to damping off than older plants.

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Headings

Page 1: Why Should We Grow Basil In Pots?, How To Recognize Basil Downy Mildew, Easy Solution: Basil In Pots (New Varieties), Long-Time Favorite Herb (Varieties Included), and Basil In Pots: Potting Up (Shopping for Basil Transplants, Growing Basil from Seed)

Page 2: Repotting Basil In Pots (The Soil, Score the Root Ball, Add Plants, A Small Pot of Dwarf Basil), Maintenance For Basil In Pots (Light For Basil In Pots, Temperature, Watering Basil In Pots, Dealing With Slugs and Snails (Caterpillars), Fertilizer For Basil In Pots, Harvesting and Hormones), and About That Basil Downy Mildew (Growing Basil Outdoors)

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Grow a Potted Tomato: A Step-By-Step Guide

Apr8

How To Grow a Potted Tomato

Young tomato plants.

This year’s plan is to grow two potted tomato plants on the deck, inside the fence and away from deer. But less than a week ago, it snowed! For the near future, we’ll be having temperatures in the 70’s F, and in the 50’s at night. It’s time!

Judging by the numbers of people shopping at the garden centers, I’m not the only optimist out there. Always check your local forecast to see if it’s safe to plant tender edibles. Our friends in the North are still shoveling snow. Sorry, guys. Here are today’s purchases, and the step-by-step guide on page 2.

Tomatoes

Warm temperatures turn thoughts to tomato plants, so off to the garden center I went. Since we rarely buy tomatoes from the grocery store in the winter, we’ve been looking forward to this moment.

In one of the pots, I’ll include a young flat-leaf parsley and a sweet basil I bought at the grocery store a few weeks ago. The two herbs will be planted on the south side of the heirloom ‘Rutgers’ tomato, so they won’t be shaded. I’ll remove tomato leaves that interfere with the herbs. In case raccoons and squirrels set their sights on a lovely ripe fruit, bird netting wrapped around the fruiting plants will deter them.

Unfortunately, direct sunlight is decreasing in the vegetable garden, next to the house, as the trees to the south grow larger. Even so, the new ‘Sun Gold’ cherry tomato will go into the garden; if any tomato will produce a crop, ‘Sun Gold’ will. Besides, it did well enough last year. It produces loads of bright orange super sweet tomatoes, great for salads and snacking. Bet you can’t eat just one!

Basil

‘Tuscany’ basil.

The garden center also had ‘Tuscany’ basil, a light green lettuce-leaf type, with huge puckered leaves. It is wonderfully sweet and lightly spicy, with a hint of fresh anise flavor. ‘Genovese’ and lettuce-leaf basil are among my favorites for Tomato-Basil Salad.

And I added to the cart a pot of ‘Siam Queen’ Thai basil, for the baked salmon. Basil needs warmer temperatures, so they’ll stay in pots for a while, and come inside at night. Potted basil will come indoors even in summer, during rainy or humid weather. That’s when Basil downy mildew becomes a problem.

Curly parsley, a rogue seedling with last year’s flat-leaf parsley, and arugula survived the winter and still look good enough to hold onto for a while. The enclosed deck is a warmer microclimate, where winter temperatures are always higher than on the other side of the fence.

Although there’s some potting soil around, I’ll need more to fill those large pots and a few others. So, I bought the largest bag of soil the garden center carries. There’s enough packaged fertilizer left over from last year.

Caterpillars, Anyone?

I always keep a supply of Bt for battling the caterpillar invasions. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is an organic alternative to substances I’d rather not consume, yet many people still consider it a “chemical”. It is not. Bt is a naturally occurring bacterium. An occasional spraying with Bt on the cole crops (kale, broccoli, cabbage, etc.) and on parsley and dill will save them from utter destruction!

The tobacco hornworm on a tomato leaf.

Sometimes, 1 or 2 tobacco hornworms attack our tomato plants. They look very similar to the tomato hornworm, which has V-shaped markings instead of the tobacco hornworm’s slashes (photo, above). They’re difficult to see because they blend so well with the foliage.

Left undisturbed, these larvae will develop into a type of hawk moth. But this very hungry caterpillar, as it grows, consumes large quantities of leaves, and leaves behind…well, you know what it leaves behind.

This nature nerd, as a young student, kept a tiny caterpillar indoors, and supplied daily rations of tomato leaves. Well, it grew enormous and wandered off to a secluded spot to pupate. My greatest fear was that my mother would find it. I finally found it, and donated it to a teacher’s Wardian case.

Spraying with Bt kills these hidden caterpillars if you can’t find them. It is more effective, however, when used on young caterpillars. But, if they have little things on their skin that look like grains of rice (photo, above), just pluck off the caterpillars and place them in the shrubs. A small female parasitic wasp laid eggs on or in the caterpillar, and the wasp larvae fed on and will soon kill the caterpillars. The “rice” grains are pupating wasps. And some little animal might appreciate a morsel such as this.

Big Pots

I bought two 7′ tall stakes and two 20″ diameter lime green pots, at first considered somewhat disagreeable, but now perfectly acceptable. This shade of green blends in with the greens and browns on the deck. When summer heat is a problem, light colors reflect some of the hot sun bearing down on the pots. This helps moderate soil temperature, which rises in a dark pot. Conversely, in the winter, black pots absorb warmth, keeping hardy herbs and cool season greens happy.

Discounted prices on vegetable transplants accomplished their intended effect: I bought more than I had planned. So, now there are 2 sweet peppers to plant, one a “green-to-red-when-ripe” bell, and the other a ‘Lunchbox’ orange.

Peppers

‘Lunchbox’ sweet peppers.

‘Lunchbox’ peppers are small and colorful (red, orange, or yellow—a separate color on each plant). I add them to omelets, salads, stir-fries, shrimp and vegetables with rice, and pizza.

They add great color accents as well as a higher vitamin C content than green peppers. In fact, one medium-large ripe lunchbox pepper has 100% of the RDA for Vitamin C.

It takes almost 3 weeks longer for a pepper to mature from the green stage to the colorful one. Normally, I would have waited a week or two for the pepper plants, but they were on sale…and it has been quite mild…

(“Weather Alert: severe thunderstorm watch, possible large hail, winds gusting to 60 miles per hour”. Time to move some things around outside.)

One More Tomato

The heirloom ‘Black Prince’ tomato is not as susceptible to cracking as some of the other black tomatoes. And the fruits are smaller. This one substitutes for the ‘Black Krim’ I was looking for.

If ‘Black Prince’ doesn’t do well enough, I’ll pull it out and plant something else. That’s one of the many advantages of living where the growing season is long. (***Update***: The ‘Black Prince’ has grown taller than the 7′ stake, and it is loaded with medium-sized fruits! I’ve already picked more than 20 richly flavored “black” tomatoes. Photo at end of Page 2. June 25, 2019)

And Zucchini

Zucchini with fruits.

The fourth of the four-for-$10 deal is a zucchini called ‘Black Beauty’. The seedlings have barely grown beyond the seed leaf stage, and they, with the basil, come indoors at night.

A 50-pound bag of aged cow manure rounded out the purchase.

I’ll plant the zucchini into a nursery pot, and later into the garden. But for now, the garden is still packed with cool season vegetables and greens.

Headings

Page 1: How To Grow a Potted Tomato, Tomatoes, Basil, Caterpillars, Anyone?, Big Pots (Peppers, One More Tomato, And Zucchini)

Page 2: A Step-By-Step Guide To Planting a Potted Tomato, Maintaining Your Potted Tomato, Temperature, Watering a Potted Tomato, Fertilizing a Potted Tomato, (How Often?, Blossom End Rot), Limiting the Suckers On Your Potted Tomato

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Pages: 1 2

More Quick Tips for Today’s Garden

Apr1

More Quick Tips For Today’s Garden

Here are several more quick tips for the gardens in early spring. Several links have been provided, where you’ll find more details.

1. Fertilize Violas and Pansies

It’s no wonder these cold-hardy little biennials are seen all around town. They’re planted in median strips, at neighborhood entrances, around shopping centers, and in our gardens.

They live through the winter, delighting all of us with their colorful, cheerful appearance. Cold is what they like; in late spring or early summer, they will fail in the heat. This year, we had a very mild winter in zone 7b Charlotte, so they looked beautiful all season.

A wire basket with hardy violas and ‘Cool Wave’ pansies.

Quick tips: As long as they’re in active growth, fertilize every 6 or 8 weeks, even in the winter! Use fertilizer that has a higher percentage of phosphorus, the middle number on a package. A ratio of 1-2-1 or 1-3-1 will work. Those three numbers represent the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus (phosphate), and potassium (potash) in the product. They are always listed in that order: N-P-K.

Keep in mind that violas and pansies need acidic soil. You can mix peat moss into the bed in preparation for planting, also incorporating pine fines (soil conditioner) to improve drainage. Or use a product (Soil Acidifier) that will lower the pH, if your soil tests on the high side. Soil that has been limed might be too alkaline for violas, which prefer a pH level around 5.5 to 6.0.

If you have a spare hour or so, deadhead (pinch off) the old faded flowers. Whether or not that actually helps promote bloom, it certainly will improve the appearance of the plants, especially for pansies.

2. Harvest Greens

Collards, with flower bud.

Recently I cleaned the vegetable garden. I harvested most, but not all, of the greens that have been producing since last fall.

Later today or tomorrow, I will wash and sauté the greens down to “wilt”. Then they will be divided into portions and frozen in plastic zip lock bags. The next time I make soup from scratch (or from a can), a rice dish with rotisserie chicken, lasagna, or buy a store-bought pizza, one or two of those bags of greens will be added to the dish. That’s an easy way to add greens to a meal, and increase the nutritional content.

The two large clumps of collards will make a fabulous Collards Soup. For that, I use a large stockpot, which makes about a gallon of soup. I also freeze some of it in plastic containers for later use.

Chinese cabbage ‘Tokyo Bekana’.

In addition to the collards, I harvested mustard greens and dinosaur and ‘Red Russian’ kales. The light green Chinese cabbage ‘Tokyo Bekana’ will be added to the next salad. Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’ remains in the garden, and should last until autumn if it’s partially shaded.

The vegetable garden next to the house is becoming increasingly shaded. The trees on the berm to the south have grown larger and wider over the past 5 years. At this point I’m seriously considering growing a couple of tomato plants in containers on the enclosed deck, safe from the deer.

The sweet pepper plant did well enough in the garden, so it will go there again this year. But most of that garden will contain a variety of greens, green onions, leeks, and probably a cucumber. It’s still the perfect place for fall and winter greens because it’s a warm microclimate, being right next to the house. And at that time, the trees are leafless, so there’s more sun.

The Beneficials

Quick tips: Several of the brassicas are in flower, so I left a few of them in the garden for the honey bees and the tiny braconid wasps. During late winter and early spring, few food sources are available for these beneficial insects, so I like to help when I can. And you can add some flowers to a salad or as a garnish.

3. Plant More Cool Season Greens and Vegetables

Dinosaur kale in bloom.

Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ is ready! So I made a trip to the garden center a few days ago to pick up a few pots of this delicious miniature broccoli. Ordering seeds is just not feasible right now; I’d have lost 4 or 5 weeks of growing time, so I went for the quick fix: transplants!

Broccoli ‘Imperial’ is one of the varieties recommended for growing in the spring and late summer. This crop will be able to tolerate the warmth of the late spring season, when it will be harvested. I love broccoli. So many vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients…and protein too.

Carrot, radish, and beet seeds can be planted now, even before frost has retreated north. Pea seeds could have gone into the ground weeks ago, but the ones I planted in the fall made it through the winter, and are now flowering and making pea pods (photo, below).

As space opens up in the garden, I’ll sow seeds of mesclun, tatsoi, leeks, and maybe ‘Scarlet Frills’ mustard for its beautiful and fairly spicy foliage, adding some spark to salads!

Fast growing edible-podded peas on a trellis.

Check with your local agricultural extension service for a chart describing what can be planted when. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a soil test, to remove doubt about the pH or which nutrients need to be added.

Lettuce

Pots of ‘Salanova’ lettuce ready for the garden.

A few pots and market packs of lettuce purchased over the past week will supplement the patch of lettuce seedlings that survived the winter in the garden. Smaller plants will continue to grow after the mature heads have been harvested.

A red butterhead lettuce called ‘Skyphos’ is reliable even in warm temperatures, up to a point. It retains very good flavor when others turn bitter in the heat.

When trying to extend the lettuce harvest, look for varieties that tolerate high temperatures. Varieties listed for planting at this time include ‘Nancy’ (green butterhead), ‘Vulcan’ (red leaf), ‘Sparx’ (Romaine), ‘Muir’ and ‘Magenta’ (summer crisp), and ‘Skyphos’, of course, one of the favorites I’ve grown for years. The heirloom ‘Black Seeded Simpson’, a loose-leaf lettuce, and ‘Outredgeous’ Romaine are more options for a spring garden.

healthy greens--AllStar Gourmet lettuce mix

Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ Allstar Gourmet lettuce mix.

Quick tips: ‘Red Sails’ lettuce is too pretty to pass up, and it can grow well into spring. Leafy vegetables with deep green color and red pigments, the anthocyanins, have more antioxidants. These nutrients help us fight many illnesses, including cancer and inflammation. So, I always prefer richly colored varieties.

More Quick Tips: How To Grow Lettuce

Lettuce seed germinates readily at a soil temperature in the 60’s F. It will take longer, but seeds will even germinate at 45°. They won’t, however, do anything above 75° or so.

Lettuce appreciates very rich, moist soil. Fertilize every couple of weeks with high nitrogen fish emulsion, earthworm castings, or compost if the soil temperature has increased. And provide ground limestone for calcium and to raise the pH, which prevents tip burn. If a soil test indicates proper pH for greens, add gypsum instead, which also provides calcium but doesn’t change the pH. It’s best to deal with pH months ahead of planting crops.

Organic products rely on soil microbes to break them down and to make their nutrients available to plant roots. But, in winter, microbes are dormant, so I use a synthetic soluble fertilizer.

As the weather warms up, give lettuce morning sun, which is less harsh than hot afternoon sun. You can plant a quick crop between young tomato plants, in partial shade.

Watch out for slugs; scatter granules of organic Sluggo outside the lettuce bed, to draw them away from their intended meal. Slugs can transmit a form of meningitis when ingested, so… And aphids can be a problem, too, but you can just wash them away.

4. Pick the Parsley

Italian (flat-leaf) parsley.

This versatile herb gives fresh flavor to meat, fish, and poultry dishes, sauces, soups, potatoes, eggs, salads, sandwiches, garlic bread, mayonnaise, and herb butter.

The addition of vitamin- and mineral-rich parsley enhances just abut anything you cook. But add it late in the cooking process, in the last few minutes, as you would most leafy herbs. Cooked for a long time, the flavors will evaporate away.

Concerned about your breath? Chew on a couple of leaves; the chlorophyll will freshen it.

There are two main groups of parsley:

flat-leaf, plain, or Italian (‘Giant of Italy’, a new improved sweeter ‘Peione’, and smaller ‘Titan’)
curled leaf parsley (‘Favorit’, ‘Double moss curled’, ‘Paramount’), famous as a garnish and pretty as a garden edging, but also edible.

Decades ago, as a kid, I remember seeing my grandmother in her Englewood, New Jersey, kitchen, holding a huge bunch of flat-leaf parsley inside her arm. Nanny was the real thing—Sicilian-born and a great cook—so for those looking for real parsley flavor, go for the flat-leaf.

When I was growing up, my mother (Nanny’s daughter) always used curly parsley. Several years ago, I asked her why she used the curled and not the flat-leaf. She said the Italian parsley always tasted funny, so she preferred the curled. Do you know which other herb looks like flat-leaf parsley? That’s right…she must have bought cilantro! Neither of us likes this herb at all! So, if you’ve been reluctant to buy or grow flat-leaf parsley, see if its resemblance to cilantro might be the root of that problem.

Here’s good news: it’s easy to grow!

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a biennial member of the Apiaceae family, a cousin of dill, cilantro, carrot, and fennel. Set young transplants into the garden in early spring, through the summer, and in the fall. Fertilize every few weeks with a high nitrogen product, such as fish emulsion. Parsley also is adaptable to growing in potted herb gardens.

In areas with moderately cold winters, it will tolerate freezing temperatures. The foliage will stay in better condition if it receives some protection from a warmer microclimate, such as next to a south-facing wall. Or grow it in a cold frame in colder climates.

Flat leaf parsley, going to flower.

Quick tips: Plant parsley in rich soil. Amended with compost or aged manure to a depth of 12″ or more, parsley will develop a large root system when grown in the ground. ‘Gigante’ (or ‘Giant of Italy’) grows into a massive mound of dark green leaves, 2′ tall and wider than that. In spring, the stems begin to grow tall, preparing for its blooming phase (photo, right).

This is parsley’s natural cycle of growth as a biennial. It’s seeded in one year, grows, overwinters once, and then flowers the next spring or early summer. Sometimes parsley goes to flower the first year if it was seeded very early.

Harvest the plant before it goes to flower, or when you notice that the stems are growing tall (photo, right). If you wait much longer than that, the sweet flavor will become strong or bitter. Cut the stem at soil level, and remove any yellow or pale green leaves.

Cut parsley stems will stay fresh for a few days in a glass of water on the counter or in the refrigerator.

Prepare the rest this way:

Wash the parsley thoroughly in cool running water. Shake off as much water as you can, or put it through a salad spinner.
Have a couple of 1- or 2-cup plastic containers handy.
Remove thick stems. Cut and reserve the leaflets, and keep them intact.
Transfer leaflets to the plastic containers, packing them in tightly.
Freeze the containers.
The next time you need some parsley for soup or tomato sauce or roasted vegetables, simply flake off the quantity you need. Chop them before adding to cooking.
Simple! Although it doesn’t look like fresh parsley (it looks wilted), the flavor is better than the dried option. And it takes up less space than chopped parsley frozen in ice cubes.

Who’s eating all the parsley?

Deer and Rabbits

Does this sound familiar? The parsley is growing beautifully, it has great color, and it’s providing lots of clippings for the kitchen. All of a sudden, the leaves disappeared…overnight! Well, we’re not the only ones who are fond of parsley. Deer and rabbits like it, too. They can do a lot of damage in one sitting.

Quick tips: You can’t use chemical deer repellents, but you can construct a frame around the parsley plants. If you have a big old lamp shade with “ribs”, remove the fabric and replace it with bird (deer) netting. The bigger the shade, the better. Anchor it to the ground so it can’t be kicked over. Or fabricate something yourself from hardware cloth or chicken wire. Make sure young rabbits won’t be able to squeeze through the openings. The goal is to physically exclude animals from reaching the parsley, cilantro, and dill.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillars

black swallowtail butterfly egg on parsley

Yellow egg, left of center, on parsley flower bud.

If the parsley looks smaller than it did last week, look for little caterpillars feeding on the leaves. The female black swallowtail lays tiny yellow eggs on plants in the Apiaceae family (parsley, cilantro, fennel, dill). She deposits them primarily on the bottoms of the leaves. They’re hard to spot, but once you’ve learned to recognize them, you can simply rub them off.

Quick tips: Look for young caterpillars a few days or a week later, in case you missed a few of the eggs. The young brown and white larvae look like bird droppings, appearing less appealing to predators. An organic approach is to spray with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a naturally occurring bacterium. Bt causes caterpillars of moths and butterflies to stop feeding, and they’ll die a day or two later.

**But I like butterflies!**

Black swallowtail larva on fennel.

Quick tips: Now, if you would rather keep the butterflies, as I do, simply transfer caterpillars from the parsley to a bronze fennel plant. Bronze fennel is a large growing and pretty perennial herb, and a food source for this insect. The fennel is edible for us as well, in salads or to garnish fish.

As the larvae grow, they turn into large black and green striped caterpillars (photo, right). These parsley worms, as they’re sometimes called, will consume more and more of the foliage. Not a problem for the vigorous bronze fennel, but a smaller parsley plant can disappear in a flash.

5. Weed!

Dandelions, chickweed, and hairy bittercress top the list of winter weeds around here. In untended fields, the bright yellow flowers of wintercress cover acres of ground, not unattractive at all!

Your local garden center can help with products that prevent weed seeds from germinating or that will kill weeds after they sprout. Don’t use them, though, near the edibles. Bring fresh samples with you. Diligent weeding and mulch are recommended.

Dandelion

: Tiny umbrellas (pappi, plural; pappus, singular) carry away the seeds in the slightest breeze.

Derived from the French “dent de lion”, dandelion refers to the toothed (dent) edges of the leaves. Bright yellow flowers dot the landscape from late winter on. If they are not killed or removed, each of those flowers will develop into a cluster of seeds. This method of seed dispersal, by the wind, is called anemochory.

Quick tips: This weed develops a taproot sometimes more than a foot deep. Leaving part of the taproot behind after “pulling” the weed will result in a new dandelion regrowing from the root. Either remove the entire root (there’s a tool for that), spot treat with a non-selective herbicide, or use a broadleaf weed killer. Always read the labels. Keep weed killers away from herbs and vegetables.

The dandelion in our lawns (Taraxacum officinale) looks similar to edible “dandelion greens”, in the species Cichorium intybus, a type of chicory.

Chickweed

Common chickweed, with small white daisy flowers.

Chickweed grows close to the ground, spreading about 1 1/2′ wide. Thick mats of this weed will hide among the lawn grasses, winter greens, and last year’s fallen leaves. Their seeds germinate in cool seasons, and the plants grow fast, lodging against walls and other objects that trap winter warmth.

If you pull the top, the roots have such a strong hold on the soil that the stem will stretch and break off. In a couple of weeks, you’ll have the pleasure of pulling it again. Grasp firmly under the crown of the plant, just below where the stem meets the soil, and make sure you get the roots.

Two species that often grow here in North Carolina are common chickweed and the more hairy mouse-ear chickweed.

Quick tips: Don’t wait as long as I did for this garden chore. Next winter, there will be an even bigger crop of chickweed. That’s not such a bad thing, though, because tender young greens are edible. Like many greens, common chickweed (Stellaria media) is very high in vitamins and minerals. One website claims it is fairly high in oxalic acid; for those with certain health conditions, check with your doctor. Add it to salads, soups, sandwiches, and stir-fries.

Hairy Bittercress

bitter cress. Quick tip: remove weeds before they seed about.

Hairy bittercress.

This species of cress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a short but abundant winter annual that grows a small rosette of edible bitter foliage, topped by a cluster of white flowers. It is related to broccoli and cabbage, in the Brassicaceae family. Disturbed seedpods open explosively, dispersing seeds in every direction. Ballochory is the name of this method of seed dispersal.

The “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” axiom certainly holds true with weeds. Many times more weeds will grow in the next season if they are allowed to go to seed.

Not all of them will germinate, though. Seeds can remain viable for decades, patiently waiting underground for that moment when the soil is disturbed. Exposing the seed to favorable conditions, such as light, water, and the right temperature, is all they need to germinate.

6. Take a Moment to Just Enjoy Spring

There will always be more quick tips for the garden, but they can wait. Take the kids or the dog or yourself outside, listen to the sounds of nature, and just enjoy being!

Japanese maple, new leaves. Quick tip: enjoy spring!

New leaves on Japanese maple.

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Starting Seeds for Cool Season Greens

Feb24

Starting Seeds for Cool Season Greens

The coldest part of winter has passed for most of us, and it’s time to start seeds for cool season greens. Late winter transitioning to spring is my favorite time of the year. That’s when I start seeds for early harvests. This article covers details for growing some of the early greens, particularly spinach and the brassicas. On Page 3 is a recipe for a veggie omelet, an easy way to get more greens into the diet.

If the garden were bare, I would have started seeds a few weeks ago. But the greens in the vegetable garden continue to offer harvests. Unfortunately, the “list of wants” from the seed catalog is far more extensive than the garden’s square footage can accommodate! It’s time for the last harvest of collards for soup; that’ll open up some space.

While we’re harvesting established cool season greens, I’ll start several new crops indoors. These plants will be plugged into the garden as space opens up. But the seedlings will not be kept in their little pots very long; this stresses the plants and causes them to bolt, or to flower prematurely. (Photo, above: dinosaur kale germinated at night; it will green up in the sunlight.)

The First of the Cool Season Greens: Spinach

Young spinach ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’.

I would have sown spinach directly into the garden by now, but we’ve had a long run of chilly rain. The soil is so wet that it’s doubtful any seedlings would even be tempted to germinate. At this time of the year, pay close attention to the weather forecasts. Conditions could deviate considerably from the averages.

It’s not good to dig in soil this wet anyway. That would drive out air spaces and ruin the tilth of the soil by compacting it.

As temperatures begin to moderate, slugs come out in force and will decimate any seedlings that dare to grow in this weather. Rain: good for slugs. Sluggo: bad for slugs! Organic Sluggo pellets attract and kill slugs and snails. This version of the product contains materials (iron phosphate) that add nutrients to the soil. Check the label, though; Sluggo has other products with added ingredients. The organic option is safe to use around the edibles.

Spinach From Seed Is Easy!

Spinach germinates readily, from 50°F up to the mid 70’s (soil temperature), as soon as the ground can be worked in late winter or early spring. For better chances of success, choose varieties that are disease resistant and slow-bolting. In well-prepared soil, spinach is one of the easiest crops to seed directly into the garden.

Prepare the bed by incorporating 2″ to 3″ of compost and/or aged manure into the top 5″ of soil. Spinach prefers soil pH near neutral, from 6.5 to 7.3. A soil test will indicate how much lime, if any, should be added to raise the pH.

For baby leaf harvest, sow the seeds thickly in a patch, about 1″ apart. For full-size leaves, space the seeds a few inches apart, with rows 8-10″ apart. Crowding the seeds too closely or poor soil will result in a disappointing crop.

‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’

There’s a wonderful variety called ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’ (photos, above and below), a French heirloom dating to 1866. It grows very large for spinach, up to 20″ tall with 10″ leaves, and should be spaced several inches apart.

Viroflay, or Monster, as it is often called, is lower in oxalic acid, or oxalates, than other spinach varieties. It might be acceptable for people with health concerns that prohibit spinach consumption. Check with your doctor.

Keep the soil moist and add organic fertilizers, such as fish emulsion, Sea-Plus, or earthworm castings, every 2 weeks. In cold soil, however, liquid synthetic fertilizers high in nitrogen work better than the organics. Microbes in the soil break down organic material and make those nutrients available to plant roots. But microbes are dormant in cold soil, so they can’t perform this vital service. They’ll become more active as the soil warms up in late winter or early spring.

‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’ spinach seedlings.

Spinach Bowl

Another option is to sow seeds directly into a 14″ wide, 6″ deep bowl filled with fresh potting soil (photo, above). The pot has drainage holes. Portability allows me to bring the pot indoors on especially cold nights while the cool season greens are beginning to germinate. And moisture levels can be carefully monitored.

Since the sappy crooked pine tree that shaded the deck from afternoon sun has been cut down, conditions on the fenced-in deck are more favorable to growing vegetables in containers.

Fill the pot with potting soil to within an inch of the rim. Simply scatter seeds on the surface, a couple of inches apart for smaller varieties and a few inches apart for Viroflay. Cover with another 1/3″ to 1/2″ of soil. Water…and wait… Spinach’s two seed leaves, the cotyledons, are easily differentiated from other seedlings by their long narrow shape. Thin as necessary; you can eat the culls.

Don’t neglect fertilizing potted greens. Rain and irrigation quickly wash nitrogen out of the soil.

Harvesting Spinach

Spinach.

Harvesting the crowns begins within 4 or 5 weeks, depending on weather and soil fertility. Pick individual leaves at any age, allowing the central growing tip to continue producing new leaves. Or cut the entire plant at the soil line before flower buds begin to grow.

By sowing new crops of spinach every week or two, you’ll have continuous harvests of spinach, as long as the weather favors growth.

Spinach quickly bolts, or goes to flower, at temperatures above 75°. Dry or nutrient-poor soil stresses the plants. And spinach will flower prematurely if the plants are stressed by growing too close together.

Harvest the entire plant if you notice flower buds forming. Cutting off the flowers will not stimulate spinach to grow a new bunch of leaves. Instead, start more seeds.

Use spinach steamed as a side dish, or in sauces, soups, smoothies, salads, pasta dishes, or an omelet.

And Then the Brassicas

These microgreens are mostly brassicas.

The Brassicaceae family is a huge group of edibles. It includes arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, komatsuna, mizuna, mustard greens, pac choi, radish, tatsoi, turnip, and others.

All members have similarly notched seed leaves, or cotyledons. Those are the first two heart-shaped leaves to emerge from the seeds (photo, above). Because the seed leaves are already formed inside the seed, the little plant can begin photosynthesizing—and feeding itself—immediately upon germination. True leaves, which develop after the seed leaves, are also similar for most of the cruciferous vegetables. That’s why it’s important to label your pots so you can distinguish “this” seedling from “this other similar looking” seedling.

Include On the Label:

the name of the crop (dinosaur kale)
the name of the cultivar (‘Black Magic’)
the date of sowing (brassicas germinate in less than a week if sown indoors)

Store leftover seeds in their original packets, and make sure the cultivar name is included on the label. Store in a cool, dry place, such as the refrigerator. Most seeds of cool season greens are viable for 2 years or so. If not already indicated, mark the year of purchase on the packet.

It’s helpful to keep a record of the varieties you’ve tried and liked or disliked. Include how you started the seeds (in 4″ pots or cell-packs, under lights, directly in the garden), the dates you seeded and transplanted, and the weather conditions. Include notes on what was successful and what wasn’t, and possible explanations. Did the seeds germinate and then keel over and die (damping-off disease)? Did critters eat your cool season greens as soon as they started growing? Should the seeds have been started earlier? Or later?

There are successes and failures in every gardener’s life. Being able to pinpoint the reasons for a disappointing crop will enable you to be more watchful or to try a different approach next time. Check with your local cooperative extension office, through state land-grant colleges and universities, for advice. Failure is a learning experience, not a reason to stop trying!

Damping-Off

Damping-off disease can appear soon after germination. Sometimes, diseased seedlings don’t even appear above the soil, looking as though the seeds didn’t sprout at all. The small seedling develops a narrowed brown spot on the stem. Then the top of the plant falls over, and the seedling dies. This is caused by several species of fungus, whose spores are in the air, in the soil, in the water, or on the seeds themselves.

Damping-off often accompanies:

poor air circulation
high humidity
crowding
low light
low temperatures
reusing old soil
and overwatering

Space the seeds farther apart, run a small fan nearby, water in the morning, and increase the temperature and light levels if they’re low.

The first time I used the organic biological fungicide called Actinovate, life became a bit sweeter. It is costly, but a much safer option than chemical fungicides. And, with the number of seedlings I grow each year, a wise investment. Make up a small amount of the solution when needed and apply from a spray bottle or a small watering can when sowing the seeds and as soon as the seeds germinate. Always exercise caution when using sprays, and read the labels.

Caterpillars on Cool Season Greens

When the weather warms up in mid- or late spring, you’ll notice butterflies and moths flying around your cool season greens. How nice, you might think. But those lovely insects are on a mission, and that mission is to find suitable plants on which to lay their eggs.

: Cross-striped cabbageworm, becoming more common here, on mustard greens. Expect several generations per season. Look for clusters of white woolly eggs.

: Broccoli leaves eaten by caterpillars.

Most of the brassicas are targeted by the female:

Cabbage Moth (or Diamondback Moth)
Cabbage Looper
the velvety green Imported Cabbageworm (also called the Small White Butterfly or Cabbage White Butterfly—white with black markings). Look for them lined up on the leaf’s midrib.
Cross-striped Cabbageworm (fine black stripes across the back, yellow stripe on the sides).
A few other species target particular brassicas or are limited geographically.

Here in my North Carolina garden, the 1¼” long Imported Cabbageworm has been the most commonly seen caterpillar on the brassicas. It is well-camouflaged in the green foliage. But for the past couple of years, populations of the Cross-striped Cabbageworm have been increasing. They’re especially pesky when lodged among the broccoli florets. Sometimes I don’t see them until I begin cutting the broccoli (just remove them). Inspecting the produce and spraying Bt regularly takes care of that.

Eggs hatch in a few days to a week, and immediately get to work chewing little holes and then bigger holes in your broccoli, kale, and other brassicas.

Harlequin bugs on cabbage

Another insect feeding on brassicas is the black and orange harlequin bug (photo, above). I squish them when I see them, although they’ll see you approaching them and will try to hide. They cause whitish blotches and distortions in the foliage.

Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt)

As soon as you notice the white moths and butterflies flitting near the brassicas, it’s time to get the sprayer bottle ready. The imported cabbageworm is the larval stage of a butterfly and the one you’ll see in the daytime. The other caterpillars are moth larvae and are active at dusk or at night.

Mix up a solution of Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis, available from the garden center. Dipel and Thuricide are brand names for Bt. It doesn’t take long for these voracious little caterpillars to inflict considerable damage to your plants, so don’t delay.

Spray both the upper and lower surfaces of the foliage, occasionally agitating the solution. Begin spraying a few days after first seeing the moths, or certainly when you see holes appearing. Set the sprayer nozzle to a very fine spray; larger drops of water will bead off the waxy foliage. One or two drops of dish soap in the sprayer will help the solution stick to the foliage if you can’t get a fine spray.

It washes off in the rain, but any Bt clinging on the reverse (bottom leaf surface) might be enough for the current batch of caterpillars. Spray the brassicas every 5 to 10 days, as long as the insects are active.

How Does Bt Work?

Bt is a naturally occurring bacterium that disrupts the caterpillar’s digestive system when ingested. The insects stop feeding immediately and die within a day or two. Spray as soon as you notice them because young caterpillars are more susceptible to Bt than older caterpillars.

Bt effectively rids the garden of moth and butterfly larvae, including swallowtails that eat parsley. Although they won’t bother your broccoli, black swallowtail larvae feed on parsley and its relatives in the Apiaceae family, including dill, cilantro, and bronze fennel.

The tradeoff? Fewer moths and butterflies, but more undamaged produce. I enjoy watching the black swallowtail butterflies, though, so I plant the large perennial bronze fennel for the caterpillars picked off the parsley and dill. Bt targets larvae of moths and butterflies, and nothing else.

After picking the crops, I sometimes let the caterpillars feast on the remains. Those caterpillars might feed another brood of baby birds or green anoles at that time of year. Once cold autumn weather has settled into the area, these caterpillars will no longer be around to bother the fall crop. Autumn is another delightful time to garden.

Bt is perfectly safe to use on edibles. Use up the diluted solution within a few days. Store Bt in a cool location out of the sun. Buy a small fresh bottle every couple of years, as this is a live organism, not a chemical.

Headings

Page 1: Starting Seeds for Cool Season Greens, The First of the Cool Season Greens: Spinach (Spinach from Seed Is Easy!, ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’, Spinach Bowl, Harvesting Spinach), And Then the Brassicas (Include On the Label, Damping-Off, Caterpillars on Cool Season Greens, Bacillus Thuringiensis [Bt], How Does Bt Work?)

Page 2: Broccoli (Improve the Soil for Cool Season Greens, Harvesting and Side Shoots, When the Brassicas Bloom), Mini Broccoli (Early Sprouting Broccoli and ‘Spring Raab’, Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’, Who’s My Favorite?, Gai Lan and ‘De Cicco’, Sowing Seeds, Late Sprouting Broccoli)

Page 3: Dinosaur Kale, Hardening Off Cool Season Greens (Gradual Changes), Growing Plants Under Lights (More Tips Using Artificial Light), Getting More Cool Season Greens Into Your Diet, A Veggie Omelet Recipe Using Cool Season Greens

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Pages: 1 2 3

Spring Is Coming: The Earliest Signs

Feb13

2019

Signs of Spring

cherry tree, late winter to spring blooms

An early blooming cherry tree in the neighborhood. Rain darkened the bark, providing contrast with flowers.

Early Spring Bloomers

: One of the small cherry trees.

: Rows of lenticels in the bark.

The birds are singing their spring songs (I love waking up to that), and the delicate sweet fragrance from early blooming trees floats on the breeze. Spring-flowering bulbs of all sorts are pushing up emerald green spears, and some of the daffodils are coming into full bloom.

A few varieties of cherry trees, with their characteristic horizontal banding of lenticels on the bark, are blooming now, in late winter. Lenticels are pores that allow gas exchange between the plant and the atmosphere. Autumn cherry trees (Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’) in neighborhoods I sometimes drive through have been flowering non-stop for months. They don’t have the short, showy burst of a ‘Yoshino’ cherry, but any flowers on a winter day are a welcome sight.

magnolia's big pink blooms, early spring

Saucer Magnolia.

Neighborhood saucer magnolias (Magnolia x soulangeana) just started blooming with their pinkish-purple cup-shaped flowers. This can be a tricky species; an untimely frost can turn all the open flowers brown in a flash. Look for a later-blooming cultivar to plant in spring, plant it in a protected location, or take your chances! You can now find a wider range of flower colors (yellows and purples) thanks to modern breeding.

Star magnolia.

The related star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is another late winter or early spring flowering tree. Its blooms are white or pink, depending on cultivar, shown against silvery gray bark.

Magnolias prefer full sun and moist, well-drained soil. They dislike root disturbance, so situate them where you won’t be digging around the root system.

Their smaller size recommends them to areas of the property where large trees would be out of place. When designing your landscape, always consider the mature height and spread of a tree’s canopy.

The ‘Yoshino’ Cherry For Spring Flowers

‘Yoshino’ is a hybrid between Prunus speciosa and P. pendula, and was first introduced to Europe and North America in 1902. It grows in USDA Zones 5-8, to a height of about 35′ or 40′. Plant taxonomists proposed that the true scientific name should be Prunus x yedoensis ‘Somei-yoshino’. (The lower-case “x” after the genus Prunus signifies that this variety is an inter-specific hybrid; “yedo”=Tokyo.)

There was some doubt, now resolved, whether this variety was distinguishable from the Jeju flowering cherry. ‘Yoshino’ is genetically different from the King cherry, now named Cerasus x nudiflora. The Jeju cherry is an endangered species, with only a few hundred specimens remaining on Jeju Island.

If you’re planning a trip to the U.S. capital, try to schedule it when the ‘Yoshino’ and other varieties of cherry trees are in full bloom around the city, and particularly at the Tidal Basin (photo, below). Just gorgeous! Much has been written about Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki’s generous gift of thousands of cherry trees back in 1912, meant to celebrate the growing friendship between Japan and the United States. See if you can find a live cam of the Tidal Basin’s cherry trees as they begin to bloom.

cherry trees, Tidal Basin, early spring bloom

The Washington Monument and cherry trees around the Tidal Basin.

One year, my daughter, Brynn, marched with her high school band in Washington D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival parade. The festival is an annual commemoration of Japan’s gift and a celebration of spring. Check with the National Park Service for the progress of the trees’ buds (posted about March 6), because the two events—the festival and the trees’ peak bloom—often don’t coincide.

In the Landscape

I planted a ‘Yoshino’ cherry in a customer’s garden, behind a pergola that the owner had built at the end of a large pond installed in the family’s back yard. Their concern that it would grow too slowly for them to enjoy the flowers and the full stature of the tree was dispelled after only a handful of years. This is a fast grower, with smooth maroon bark and attractive horizontal branching. Pink flower buds open to clouds of white to pale pink blooms. For many gardeners, ‘Yoshino’ cherry trees are synonymous with spring.

It’s no wonder cherry trees are held in such reverence in Japan and in gardens around the world. They are perfect complements to a pergola, a pond, or an old barn, and often feature prominently in Asian-style naturalistic garden design. Although the ‘Yoshino’ cherry is not the longest living ornamental tree, there are some gnarly 100-year-old specimens in Washington, D.C.

I used to cut budded branches from a tree in our back yard, and force them in a vase indoors. Use stems with buds that have visibly swelled in anticipation of spring.

Another show takes place when all the petals fall to the ground, like pink snow. It’s a lovely sight, and the flowers blow away or disintegrate after a few days. They will stick to the soles of your shoes, so consider that fact if you want one near the house or a frequently used sidewalk.

Headings

Page 1: Early Spring Bloomers, and The ‘Yoshino’ Cherry For Spring Flowers (In the Landscape)

Page 2: Finally, Amaryllis! (“Can I Plant Amaryllis Outdoors?”), Primrose For Spring, Forcing Hyacinth Bulbs (And After They Bloom?), Daffodils, Columbine, The Vegetable Garden (Herbs), Viola, A Rare and Perfect Day, and Ah, Spring!

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Brussels Sprouts Slaw: The Recipe

Aug8

Brussels Sprouts Slaw

Here’s a recipe for Brussels Sprouts Slaw—absolutely delicious and nutritious! If you like garlic and cheese and pine nuts, you’ll love this dish. And if you like this recipe, you might want to try growing your own Brussels sprouts for super-fresh flavor.

Ingredients

1 pound raw Brussels sprouts, rinsed, hard core removed, and finely shredded or sliced. Place in medium size bowl.
1/4 to 1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in dry pan, turning often. Set aside.
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
Dressing, below

Brussels sprouts grow on the plant’s stem.

Ingredients For The Dressing

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 small shallot, minced
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small to medium clove garlic, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash black pepper
3 to 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Mix together all the dressing ingredients, except the olive oil, in a bowl. Now slowly whisk in the olive oil. Adjust measurements of ingredients, if desired. Some like less mustard; some like more garlic.

And Combine

Add dressing to Brussels sprouts, mix well, and refrigerate 30 minutes or more.
Then add the toasted pine nuts.
Add Romano cheese.
Adjust salt and pepper, if necessary.

Mix well and serve. This side dish can turn Brussels sprouts haters into Brussels sprouts lovers. Take it on your next picnic or try it as a light dinner. Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts Slaw—it’s ready!

* * * * * * * * * *

Quickly Cooked Brussels Sprouts

Here’s another simple way to serve Brussels sprouts:

Rinse the sprouts and cut them in half.
Add to a pot of boiling water, or steam them in a smaller amount of water to preserve nutrients.
Let them cook on medium heat for a few minutes, then drain. Cooking longer makes them softer, but be careful not to overcook.
Either in the empty pot or in a serving bowl, add butter, a bit of salt, and chopped fresh basil to the sprouts.
Toss and serve.

Brussels sprouts is a member of the Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae) family, sometimes called the cruciferous vegetables. This large group of plants also includes arugula, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard greens, pac choi, turnip greens, and others.

“Mmm…Sulforaphanes!”

: Miniature broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ my favorite vegetable.

: Dinosaur (‘Lacinato’ or ‘Toscano’) kale.

: Cauliflower.

: Pac choi, or bok choy.

The brassicas are famous not only for their generous vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but also, significantly, for their phytonutrients. And that’s not all—the anti-inflammatory brassicas also contain some protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Raw brassicas contain a group of nutrients called sulforaphanes, phytonutrients that help prevent many illnesses, including cancer. They also contribute to cardiovascular health and help preserve eyesight and brain function. No other group of edible plants has nearly the level of antioxidant glucosinolates that this one can boast; I’m not sure they have any!

Cutting up and immediately cooking the brassicas, however, will not produce the beneficial sulforaphanes. But there are 2 ways to get these powerful antioxidants. One is to eat them raw, as in the recipe for Brussels Sprouts Slaw.

The second way is to chop them up and let them sit on the counter for 40 minutes. There’s an enzyme in brassica tissues, called myrosinase, that is needed to produce the sulforaphanes. This enzyme, once activated by damaging the plant cells, needs time to convert sulforaphane precursors into the sulforaphane itself. But myrosinase is destroyed by heat; that’s why we need to wait before cooking them if we want those benefits.

So, if you’re preparing cooked Broccoli One or Two, Collards Soup, or simply adding any of the brassicas to store-bought pizza, steamed greens, or Eggplant Parmigiana, consider this “chop and hold” method of bringing out the best in the brassicas.

Because of the numerous health-giving attributes of the brassicas, I include at least one in my diet every day.

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Easy Broccoli One and Easy Broccoli Two: Recipes

Aug1

Fresh broccoli crowns.

The route from “farm to table” can’t be any shorter than if it starts in your own back yard. Here are two broccoli recipes that take minutes to prepare, and might convince you to grow some plants this fall. 2 or 3 servings.

Easy Broccoli One:

Use a medium size pot, with a lid. Add 2 or 3 Tbsp. water.
Broccoli: Rinse a fresh crown, about 5″ in diameter. Remove tough, thick stem. Cut head into bite-size florets; remaining tender stems should be cut smaller. Some people don’t use the stems, just under the head, but they’re perfectly edible, as are the leaves. Place florets into the pot.
Mushrooms: Wash and trim stems of a few white button mushrooms, slice, and add to pot.
Cover, heat up the pot, then lower temperature, to steam the broccoli and mushrooms. Mix once or twice. Don’t overcook; heat enough to turn broccoli to a bright dark green color, which takes only a minute or two. Overcooking this vegetable makes it soft and smelly.
Finely mince a clove of garlic, and add to a small butter pot (ours is 3″ in diameter, stainless steel) with 1 tsp. butter and 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Heat this pot over low to medium heat until garlic is a light golden color. (Burned garlic tastes terrible. If you have to start over, that’s better than using the burned garlic.) This step might take a bit longer than cooking the broccoli; I start this one first.
Drain water from the broccoli pot. Add to the broccoli the contents from the garlic pot and a dash of salt. Mix and serve.

This is a great, fast side dish by itself. Or use it over some enriched pasta, with a little more oil and grated Romano cheese. Photo, below—it’s dinner, with a few black olives on the side.

Easy Broccoli Two:

In a medium frying pan, add about 2 Tbsp. thinly sliced onion and 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil. On medium heat, cook and turn until onion is transparent to a light golden color.
Then add broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces, prepared as in Easy Broccoli One. Add 2 Tbsp. water and a dash of salt.
Mix well, and cover to steam over low heat. Stir once or twice, adding water if necessary. It’s done when it turns a bright green color or cook it to the desired tenderness. Drain excess water.
Serve with grated Romano cheese.

Wasn’t that easy? Delicious and super-healthy! Sometimes I add a few stems of ‘Happy Rich’ miniature broccoli (photo, below) if they’re ready to pick. This variety has small heads with great flavor. Several inches of the stem and the leaves are also edible. Like other brassicas, it tolerates freezing temperatures, and this one often forms heads until mid summer.

B and C vitamins are water soluble. Use as little water as possible so nutrients aren’t washed down the drain. Or, add the liquid to soup or freeze for later use.

After trying these recipes, you might decide to grow your own broccoli. Start seeds yourself or look for transplants at your local garden center or farmers’ market in mid summer to early fall and again in late winter to early spring. After you pick the main head, smaller side shoots (photo, below) will grow above the remaining leaves for many more weeks. You’d be right if you were thinking that broccoli is “the gift that keeps on giving”. Enjoy!

: Broccoli ‘Arcadia’ side shoots.

: Miniature broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ has white flowers.

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Time To Think About Fall Greens and Vegetables

Jul29

Updated 11/16/2024

Ready To Grow Fall Greens and Vegetables?

It’s hard to believe it’s already time to start seeds for fall greens and vegetables. I’ve been putting it off because of the hot weather we’ve been having. But, unless I want to buy transplants, seeds will have to be started soon. You folks up north probably have sown seeds for the broccoli and cauliflower by now, and certainly the Brussels Sprouts.

Here in North Carolina, fall seems a long time away, but in order for us to harvest those fall greens, we need to start sowing seeds now. Remember to locate your fall/winter garden where it will receive adequate sunlight. And, of course, I’ll sow successive crops through the rest of summer and early fall, as space permits.

Because we have a long growing season in the Carolinas, we can squeeze in another crop of summer vegetables. Zucchini, summer squash, cucumber, and beans can be sown again. But with the encroaching canopy of the trees on the berm, south of the garden, I’ll be planting only cool-season vegetables for late summer and autumn harvests. The ‘Diva’ cucumber is loaded with fruits. And I will wait patiently for every last fruit to ripen on the tomatoes and peppers.

(***Update***: A few days ago, a large and dangerously crooked pine tree was taken down, and now there’s more afternoon sun for the tomatoes and peppers. More sun also gives us opportunities to grow containerized vegetables and fall greens inside the fence, protected from deer. August 2018)

If They Can’t Take the Heat

Spinach.

Temperatures are still too high to sow lettuce and spinach outdoors, so I’ll wait another week or two. It’s still in the 90’s! They can be started indoors, in air-conditioned space, if needed.

Check the temperature of the soil before sowing seeds in the garden. Direct sun beating down on the dark soil surface can raise the temperature too high and dry it out very quickly. Look for one of those “Easy Tunnels”, or fabricate something yourself, to partially shade the soil and the tender young seedlings. You can purchase knitted shade fabric, made from black polyethylene, from mail order suppliers. In the southern states, 30-50% shading should work during the late summer months. This could lower the temperature by 10° or 15°F. Keep the soil surface moist to ensure good germination and to cool it down.

The best germination occurs between 55° and 70°F for lettuce and spinach. I usually put transplants into the garden instead of sowing seeds directly because hungry slugs, snails, and cutworms find tiny seedlings very tender and delicious.

Organic Sluggo will bait the mollusks (slugs and snails) to their deaths, and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), sprayed on the seedlings, will kill cutworms. Slug baits made with iron phosphate, such as organic Sluggo, are far less harmful to pets and to people than products containing metaldehyde, so be sure to read the labels.

One way to gather up a whole lot of slugs is to place a board, maybe 1′ x 2′, over damp soil. Go out and check the underside early the next morning, old knife in hand, and cut them quickly in half or squish them any way you choose…but, don’t use salt in the garden!

Choosing Varieties of Fall Greens

Sowing seeds for fall greens and vegetables, which prefer cool weather, can be tricky in July’s heat. Look online or through seed catalogs for lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and other crops that are described as being heat tolerant varieties. Yes, all lettuce and broccoli varieties prefer cool temperatures, but some will take warmer or colder weather than others as they form heads. If you’re buying transplants, ask the grower.

Either way, plan to provide some sort of device that will lower the temperature during these last hot weeks of summer. For later harvests, I’ll sow seeds that grow cool and mature in cold weather, and they will not need the shade fabric. Plants grow better with more hours of direct sun as the temperatures cool down.

Check with your local agricultural extension office for recommendations or for a planting calendar.

Planting Young Transplants

Soil

Rich, dark soil with lighter brown clumps of clay, before incorporating.

Starting a vegetable garden with soil that has not been conditioned could result in a mediocre or poor harvest. Fall greens grow faster and larger in well-prepared soil.

Garden soil for these crops needs additional organic matter (compost, composted cow manure), drainage material (pine fines, coarse sand), and sometimes lime. A soil test will indicate the need for lime.

Our fall greens are being planted in soil that has been worked for 6 years, so it’s in very good condition. I will, however, continue to add compost, fertilizer, or manure to the garden with all new plants.

When digging soil, bring some of the lower-level clay up to the surface, and turn under the richer topsoil 4″ to 6″ deep (a few inches deeper for tomatoes, in spring). Over time, the clay soil on the surface will improve as mulch decomposes or when compost is added as a top dressing. Here you can see clumps of light brown clay that were brought to the surface of the soil (photo, above) before they were broken up.

Roots

Growers use pots and market packs of various sizes, including small 9-cell packs, 4-cell packs, 2″ peat pots and 4″ plastic pots. A smaller root ball needs more careful monitoring while the plant becomes established.

: Broccoli roots before…

: …and after.

An important step before planting is to rough up the outside of the root ball (photos, above). This slightly injures the inner root layer called the pericycle, stimulating the plant to quickly send out new lateral roots into the soil. Be careful not to so severely damage the root system that the plant can’t supply water to the leaves on a hot, sunny day. Do this for every plant that is about to be repotted or planted into the garden.

A root ball that’s tightly packed with roots can be shallowly scored down the sides in a few places. Use a knife, a rock, or even a twig. Or use a cultivator to pry out some of the roots.

To Bury or Not To Bury?

Broccoli ‘Arcadia’ from 4-cell-pack.

Most young vegetable transplants can be placed an inch deeper into the soil, or up to the bottom leaves. If the plant is more mature and has developed a somewhat woody or tough stem, plant it at the same level it was growing in the pot. But always, if possible, choose younger transplants.

Older plants can be stressed by being potbound or underfertilized, and might go to flower or head up prematurely, yielding undersized harvests. Young plants require more time to grow, but they will give you the largest heads of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. If in doubt, plant the top of the root ball level with the soil surface.

Firm the soil around the roots and stem using medium pressure. Humidity between the soil particles encourages the stem to grow fine roots without interference from tightly packed soil. Watering the plant helps the soil settle in around the root system and charges the soil with much-needed moisture.

Broccoli ‘Arcadia’ in winter.

These are same broccoli ‘Arcadia’ plants photographed in late December (photo, above). Trees on the berm cast too much shade until leaves dropped off, delaying harvest. When the garden gets more sun, heads should form in mid to late winter.

Fertilizer for Fall Greens

Planting fall greens and vegetables into late September, I mix a handful of granular organic vegetable fertilizer into the planting area. These crops grow beautifully with adequate nitrogen, so I will soon use higher nitrogen fish emulsion. Another application of fish emulsion will be made every 2-3 weeks through November, or every 2 weeks for potted greens.

Mustard seedlings in the garden.

Microbes in the soil break down organic compounds and make nutrients available to the roots. But, as the weather cools significantly, microbial activity slows down. I’ll use synthetic soluble fertilizers a few times in winter to keep the plants growing.

Greens and vegetables can grow all winter here, with some protection during very cold weather. This is worth the effort, since I can pick beautifully fresh kale and spinach for the Sunday omelet, or a big bunch of collards for collards soup.

Mustard greens ‘Florida Broadleaf’ was sown in late September, and germinated a few days later. The thinned seedlings will be used in soup, salad, or an omelet. Spinach sprouted about a week later.

Arugula

: Arugula flowers.

: Arugula ‘Astro’ seedlings.

Love, love arugula! A forkful of salad greens that has a piece of arugula in it…mmm… The variety I prefer is ‘Astro’. It’s not as hot as the wild types, and it tolerates warmer temperatures. Arugula self-sows if it likes where it’s growing. Just let it flower and set seed. The papery seed capsules release the seeds, which germinate within 2 weeks, during favorable weather, near the mother plant.

It grows well in morning sun, during warm weather, and in moist, rich soil. Those who are more adventurous than I might enjoy growing the hotter ‘Wasabi’. Arugula doesn’t look like a member of the family Brassicaceae, but it, too, is in that famous family.

You might have seen the term “cruciferous” being used when describing members of the Brassicaceae family (formerly Cruciferae). It refers to the flowers of these plants, which have 4 petals arranged in the shape of a crucifix. The terms brassica, cole crops, and crucifer (or cruciferous) refer to the same plants.

Broccoli

One of the most nutrient-rich foods, broccoli is a must in my garden. Nutrients include protein, Vitamins A, several B’s, C, K, minerals, fiber, and their famous phytonutrients. To say that we eat broccoli in one form or another every 2 or 3 days is not an exaggeration. Just ask Mother.

Broccoli crowns.

Heat and cold tolerance ranges from poor to excellent, depending on the cultivar. In this zone 7b area, ‘Imperial’ can be sown in July or planted as transplants from July through August; Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ catalog rates it “excellent” in heat tolerance for broccoli. Normally, broccoli grows best in cool weather, but you can extend the harvest by choosing 2 or 3 varieties that are suited to the weather at different times of the year.

The variety that will see us through the winter is cold-hardy ‘Arcadia’, which grows a large number of side shoots once the main head has been harvested. For that reason, don’t cut off too many leaves when you do harvest broccoli, because each of those leaves could be topped by another side shoot.

By the way, tender broccoli leaves are edible as well. Add them to soup, a smoothie, pasta, or a stir-fry. After the harvest is done, I keep the plants in the garden to flower. Bumble bees and other early risers are fond of this bounty, and the flowers are quite pretty!

Bumble bee visiting broccoli flowers in early spring.

Miniature Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’

Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’.

I’ve grown ‘Happy Rich’ for many years. This plant grows a small head at the end of a stem, harvested ideally before the white flowers open. Each of those little green beads is a flower bud, and even if the buds start opening when the stems are picked, they’re still going to the kitchen.

The head will never get to the same size as regular broccoli, but the flavor is superb. Once the little heads have been cut off with 6″ to 10″ of the stem, the plant will branch out and grow more little heads. The stem, the leaves, and the head are edible—steamed, stir-fried, or added to soup or a pasta dish.

Two plants have been growing in the garden since the spring, and they don’t look very happy. It’s been a hot summer in Charlotte, so I didn’t expect them to survive this long.

***Update***: In autumn, 2021, I moved to a larger property in the Piedmont, with lots of gardening potential. In the photo, below, ‘Happy Rich’ produced harvests for over 9 months in 2022. An Arctic Blast just before Christmas, when the temperature dropped 50 degrees to the low single digits, put an end to this planting. This area is in USDA zone 7b, so average temperatures allow growth all through the winter for many types of greens…usually. 11/16/2024

Miniature broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ in spring.

Bt

: Cabbage worms on broccoli.

: Adult form of imported cabbage worm.

The imported white cabbage butterflies visit frequently—more frequently, alas, than I do with the bottle of Bt.

Bt is an abbreviation for Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally-occurring bacterium that kills caterpillars of moths and butterflies, and nothing else. Before you groan “no chemicals”, Bt is used by organic growers and it’s been around for decades. Perfectly safe, even for pollinators, and not a chemical. It easily rinses off produce. You can find both organic and conventionally prepared products.

All brassica crops are targeted by a few kinds of moths and one species of butterfly, which lay eggs on the leaves. The eggs soon hatch into voraciously hungry and well-camouflaged caterpillars. After consuming some of the Bt, they stop feeding and die shortly thereafter. Young caterpillars are more easily controlled than older caterpillars. Thuricide and Dipel are two brand-name products with Bt as the active ingredient.

Cross-striped cabbageworm, becoming more common here, on mustard greens. Expect several generations per season. Look for clusters of white woolly eggs.

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Page 1: Ready To Grow Fall Greens and Vegetables?, If They Can’t Take the Heat (Choosing Varieties of Fall Greens), Planting Young Transplants (Soil, Roots, To Bury Or Not To Bury?, Fertilizer for Fall Greens), Arugula, Broccoli, and Miniature Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ (Bt)

Page 2: Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Nutritional Considerations of Fall Greens (The Sulforaphanes, Where’s the Beef?), and Only the Beginning

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Easy Herbed Salmon For A Quick Dinner

Jul20

Herbed Salmon

The Good

Most of us are familiar with the benefits of including salmon in our diets. It’s an excellent source of protein, Vitamins B12, B3, B6, D, Omega-3 fats, and the mineral selenium. Other nutrients include phosphorus, iodine, choline, pantothenic acid, and some potassium, iron, and zinc.

Research indicates that salmon helps ease the inflammatory process (through bioactive peptides—amino acids—affecting joints, brain, and heart tissues), and plays a part in preventing macular degeneration and certain kinds of cancer. The Omega-3 fats it contains are the ones that are most helpful, namely DHA and EPA.

The Bad

Every now and then, I come across someone who recommends not consuming it. The stated cause for concern is the level of pollutants found in salmon. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), no longer produced but still circulating in the environment, and other contaminants are thought to contribute to some types of cancer.

After reading over a dozen credible websites comparing wild-caught salmon to farm-raised salmon and their positions on PCB’s, I decided to summarize and offer this: Wild salmon is many times lower in PCB’s than farm-raised salmon. And, many studies show no correlation between salmon consumption and an increase in cancer.

Consistency among the websites is as scattered as confetti in the wind! Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency don’t agree on the acceptable level of PCB’s in our food sources, last time I checked.

Farmed salmon originating in Washington State and Chile have less contamination than farmed salmon coming from Europe. Wild-caught salmon from Alaska has lower levels than any other sources. Because PCB’s accumulate in fatty tissues, it is often recommended to trim off excess fat and the skin.

As consumers, we have access to both farm-raised and wild-caught salmon. So I purchase only wild-caught salmon from Alaska. When it is available, I buy a larger fillet, rinse it, place serving-size pieces into plastic bags, and freeze it. Admittedly, the texture is much better when cooked fresh, and that’s how I serve it to others.

And the Not-So-Pretty

There’s another significant difference between salmon from farmed sources and salmon that’s wild-caught. The healthier Omega-3 polyunsaturated fat is higher in wild salmon, and the less healthy Omega-6 is higher in farmed salmon. You want to consume a higher Omega-3 level compared to Omega-6, even though we do need a smaller amount of Omega-6 fat in our diets. So, wild salmon wins again.

Even though there’s some scary, and dubious, information on a few websites I visited, the consensus remains on the “we recommend a moderate consumption of wild-caught salmon” side of the argument. One site, among my favorites for science-based nutritional information, strongly supports a plant-based diet and therefore recommends against eating any salmon.

I like this fish too much to eliminate it from my diet, and we eat other kinds of fish as well. For its heart-healthy benefits, I will continue to prepare it every week or two. Most of the websites I visited recommended consuming salmon once or twice a month. Including salmon in your diet is your choice, and the information is out there for you to decide.

How to Prepare Herbed Salmon

Ingredients

This is for 2 servings.

8 to 12 ounces fresh salmon fillet, rinsed
1 quick spritz non-stick cooking spray, optional
several leaves of ‘Siam Queen’ Thai basil, coarsely chopped, or 2 tsp. dried (more or less according to taste)
1½-2 tsp. fresh dill weed, or 1 tsp. dried (or to taste)
Salt to taste
2 to 3 Tbsp. butter

The Process

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray, if you choose.
Lay the salmon, skin side down, if you choose to keep it on, on top of a small amount of butter in the dish. If fish is thick, score the thick part with a knife to cook it faster.
Press the basil and dill onto the salmon. Fresh herbs are preferred, but these two herbs retain good flavor when dried.
Place the rest of the butter, in pieces, on top of the fish.
Bake hot 8 to 15 minutes, shorter or longer depending on thickness of the fish. Baste once or twice while cooking to distribute those delicious flavors.
It’s done when the flesh flakes. Monitor closely because fish will be dry if overcooked.
Sometimes I broil it for the last minute to “caramelize” the points.
No need to turn it unless it’s very thick.
Give it a dash of salt after removing it from the oven.
Serve with the herbed butter in the pan. I don’t use lemon, which would overpower the flavors of the herbs.

If you prefer, fish can be grilled. Avoid very high temperatures or burning the fish, as this can affect nutrients and produce free radicals, which you don’t want.

It’s that easy! A little experimentation in the kitchen can result in fabulous meals for you and your family, ones you’ll go back to regularly. When I started offering Thai basil for sale at farmers’ markets, I had to figure out a way to use it in cooking. I never was fond of the licorice flavor of Thai basil. So I tried it in a couple of dishes and salads…nothing clicked.

Then, I thought, since I like salmon with dill, let’s try Thai basil with fish. Now, that’s the only way I make salmon! Over the years, I’ve tried other varieties of Thai basil and sweet basils, but prefer the richly-flavored ‘Siam Queen’ Thai basil, an All-America Selections Winner. Even though it has a powerful fragrance fresh, it mellows beautifully during cooking. This herb loves our hot summers, and, so far this year, we have been spared that dreaded basil disease, Basil Downy Mildew.

How to Dry Basil

When the plant starts to produce flowers, I cut back the flowering stems to a few inches above the soil, discard the flowers, rinse leaves and pat dry.

Remove any leaves that lack good color; pale leaves or very old ones are off-flavor or more bitter. Basil is a fast-growing leafy herb that needs to be fertilized now and then to produce high quality foliage.

Thai basil ‘Siam Queen’.

Lay the leafy stems on a dish lined with a paper towel, and keep at room temperature, out of direct sun. Turn them occasionally. When leaves are almost dry and beginning to curl, strip or snip them from the stems and place them back in the dish to dry thoroughly. Instead, you can remove all the good leaves from the stems at the start, placing them in a single thickness on the paper towel so they don’t mat together.

Another option is to hang small clusters of stems to dry. Gather the stems together with a rubber band, which will continue to hold the stems firmly as they shrink.

Microwaving or oven-drying herbs at very low heat is faster, but nutrients are destroyed, and, to me, the herbs always taste burned. I don’t recommend this practice.

Both Thai basil and dill retain very good flavor when dried. Use more, maybe twice as much, when using fresh herbs, which is my preference.

Storing Basil

Once they are crispy dry, store the whole leaves in a glass jar. The reason you don’t chop them up is that cut surfaces cause more of the flavor to dissipate. Be sure the leaves are dry; if there’s any moisture remaining, they will go moldy in storage. With one or two plants grown in the summer, I can harvest enough leaves to get us through the winter.

What’s for dinner at your place? After writing this, I think tonight we’ll have Herbed Salmon. And Tomato-Basil Salad, since I just picked 3 beautiful ‘Big Beef’ tomatoes from the garden.

Tomato-basil salad.

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Iced Tea Pots: Cool and Refreshing!

Jun30

Iced Tea Pots

Here’s an idea for an herb pot that’s perfect for these hot, humid days of summer. Grow herbs that you can use in iced tea! These iced tea pots will flavor your drinks all summer long.

The Plants

Spearmint

Mint ‘Julep’.

First decide which mints you like. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is a popular mint for iced tea and other drinks. There are several hybrids you can choose from, including ‘Kentucky Colonel’, ‘Mojito’, and ‘Julep’. Mint ‘Julep’ (photo, above) is my favorite; a pot that I brought from Maryland when I moved here several years ago is still in the front yard. And it is still growing in the pot.

“Common mint”, “garden mint”, or “mint” refer to spearmint, M. spicata, unless a variety has been indicated. This species originated in the area from Ireland to southern China.

Mentha x gracilis is a sterile hybrid cultivated for its essential oils. This is the flavorful ingredient in spearmint chewing gum.

Most mints are winter hardy in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 9 and have wide distribution around the globe. Species and their interspecific hybrids are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America.

Peppermint

Peppermint.

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita), including chocolate peppermint and a white variegated form, is another perennial mint. Variegated peppermint is beautiful, but the white sections scorch easily in hot sun.

Use peppermint in drinks and salads, and to help calm a queasy stomach.

This mint is an interspecific hybrid between Mentha aquatica (water mint) and M. spicata (spearmint). Anyone who enjoys some cool chocolate chip mint ice cream on a hot summer day will also like chocolate peppermint.

Other Mints

Mint flowers attract all sorts of pollinators.

And there’s orange mint, apple mint, pineapple mint, and Corsican mint, and many others. Gardeners can choose from among two dozen species and hundreds of varieties! They hybridize freely, although some of the seedlings can have an unpleasant taste. It’s best not to let them seed about.

Flowers appear at the tips of the stems. After letting the pollinators enjoy them for a couple of days, cut the stems back almost to the soil surface to prevent seeding and to encourage a flush of new growth.

Caution!

Anyone familiar with the invasive nature of mint gasps at the thought of growing it in the ground. Mint is an aggressively spreading perennial, and its mission in life is to cover the earth! Given moist, rich soil, it spreads by underground stems, called rhizomes. They multiply and spread in every direction.

The runners growing above ground will root wherever they touch the soil. I hope I’ve made my point. Unless you want them to take over, restrain them by keeping them in pots.

I’ve read articles that recommend keeping mint in a pot and burying the pot most of the way in the ground. This is supposed to prevent the rhizomes from escaping the confines of the pot. But rhizomes will pop up again unless the pot is very deep. And runners that grow over the edge of the pot will root into the surrounding soil unless they are relentlessly clipped back.

Lemon Balm

Another mint relative, lemon balm.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), also in the mint family, has a cool lemon scent and flavor, and can be used in the kitchen when lemon is called for. There has been some promising research in Alzheimer’s disease using lemon balm.

A patch of lemon balm grew in the Maryland back yard. I cut it back hard to control the growth for most of the summer. Then, late in the season, I let it go to flower and to seed for the American goldfinches. They landed on the flexible stems and bobbed up and down as they extracted the seeds.

Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena.

Now, if you like a really strong lemon flavor, and growing a lemon tree is out of the question, look for lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla). It grows somewhat on the weedy side unless it’s trimmed back once in a while. It will sprout again along the stems, as long as the roots are healthy.

Lemon verbena is native to South America and is hardy in zones 8 or 9 through 10 or 11. So, here in the piedmont of the Carolinas, this woody herb might survive a mild winter, although it will drop its leaves.

If you want to try growing it as a perennial, plant it in a warmer microclimate provided by a south-facing wall, and mulch it. Give it some time to re-leaf, as it can be a little slow.

Keep the soil moist. When watering, splash the leaves (top and bottom surfaces) to drown spider mites, which can be troublesome on this plant.

Stevia

If you like a little sweetness in your tea, add stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) to the mix. This is a summer annual throughout most of the country, but, with proper care, it can be grown in a sunny window in the winter. Stevia, or “sweet herb”, has been cultivated for a thousand years in South America.

Stevia.

This herb is many, many times sweeter than table sugar. Clip a few leaves or a small stem, mash it in your hand, and add to the tea. You can also pick healthy leaves, dry them, and pulverize them to add to your drinks and to baking. But remember the higher potential it has for sweetening.

Cut back stevia to a few inches above the soil surface when it flowers to encourage new stems to grow. It will self-seed if you let the seedpods mature.

Stevia is hardy in zones 9 through 11.

Start With A Pot and Potting Soil

Soil in plastic and ceramic pots stays moist longer than soil in terra cotta pots, but clay pots are preferred by many gardeners. Most likely, you’re going to have to water your iced tea pots every day anyway. So just use a pot you enjoy seeing.

A clay pot can be lined with a plastic bag, with a few holes punched in the bottom for drainage. This will keep moisture in the soil a little longer.

A pot at least 12″ in diameter will accommodate 3-4 4″ pots. Pots with wide openings will produce the nicest looking plantings.

Polyester fiberfill covers the drainage hole.

Put a small handful of polyester fiberfill (available at craft stores) over the drainage hole. This prevents soil from eroding through the hole while allowing excess water to drain. It also prevents insects or worms from entering it. An alternative is to use a piece of landscape fabric, cut to cover the hole or the inside bottom of the pot. If there are several small holes in the bottom of the pot, it’s not necessary to use a filter.

Now add potting soil, lightly firming it as you proceed. Fill to within 2″ or 3″ of the rim of the pot. The soil should contain peat moss, which holds water. Pine fines, perlite, lime, starter fertilizer, and a wetting agent are also included in most bagged soil products. Adding compost to the mix will enrich the medium if it isn’t already included. These foliage plants enjoy a nutrient-rich potting soil.

When I grow and sell iced tea pots, I plant one stevia, one or two mints, and something lemony. So, all the flavor groups were covered: mint, lemon, and sweet.

Add the Plants

Starting at the back of the pot, plant the lemon verbena. Remove it from its pot, score the outside of the root ball with a knife if it’s heavily rooted, scoop out a hole for the roots, and plant. Firm the soil around the roots so that the top of the root ball (the plant’s soil surface) is an inch or two below the rim of the pot. That reservoir will hold water until it seeps into the soil. Avoid placing potting soil all the way to the top of the pot.

Now plant the stevia in the same manner, also toward the back of the pot, or in the center.

Mint.

For the mint—or the mints—place them inside the front of the pot. Mint spreads and doesn’t grow as tall as the lemon verbena or the stevia, as it will be cut back periodically.

Firm the soil around all the plants. If the soil level settled too low, simply tuck in more soil under the roots. Finish off the pot by adding a layer of mulch, such as pine fines, which helps slow down evaporation. And it looks good. Water the pot to settle in all the plants.

Many customers have expressed concern about the flavors losing their identities because the roots are growing together in the pot. Not to worry; peppermint will always taste like peppermint. Keep the labels next to the plants, to identify the particular flavor you want. Sure, if a spearmint leaf rubs against a stevia leaf, you might get a faint taste of mint with the stevia. But it’ll wash off, and it’s always a good idea to rinse herbs and vegetables before consuming them.

Maintenance

Light

Your iced tea pot needs direct sunlight for at least half the day. If the weather is cool where you live, the plants can take—and prefer—full sun (6 hours or more). Once the temperatures start getting into the 80’s F or higher, place the pot where it gets morning and early afternoon sun, and light shade during the hottest hours.

If the plants are not getting enough direct sunlight, the stems will be thin and weak. They might give you some leaves or stems to clip, but will not regrow exuberantly, and could die off.

If the plants are weakened from lack of sun, cut them back, place them in more hours of direct sun, and cross your fingers. Usually the plants recover, but sometimes they don’t. When they do start to regrow, make sure they are getting enough water, as the demand for it will increase.

Water

These plants grow fast in warm weather. They will need frequent and deep watering to prevent wilt.

Once the roots grow throughout the pot, the plants will demand watering once or twice a day on warm, sunny days. Not just a cupful or two, either. It’ll be more like 3 or 4 quarts of water for a 12″ pot, and 3 gallons or more for a half whiskey barrel. Provide enough water to moisten the entire root ball, or until it starts seeping out through the drainage holes.

If water rushes out of the bottom of the pot immediately after watering, check to make sure the soil is firmed all the way around the pot. The water found the quickest exit, which is usually through an air channel in the soil, often along the inside surface of the pot.

In hot, breezy weather, it would be a good idea to keep a saucer under smaller pots. Let the excess water in the saucer get soaked up by the roots for up to an hour after watering. If it is absorbed by the roots quickly, then add more water.

Don’t, however, keep water in the saucer all the time. That could start rotting the roots, especially if the pot is kept in less than ideal sun. It might be a good idea to move the plants into a bigger pot if the plants wilt frequently. Or reduce the top growth (cut back) to slow the amount of water lost due to transpiration.

Always check the temperature of the water when it first comes out of the hose. It will be very hot if the hose has been kept in the sun. Too hot for plants!

Fertilizer

Espoma has many formulations of organic fertilizers.

Old leaves or those with poor color taste bitter or off-flavor. Fast-growing leafy herbs require fertilizer, especially nitrogen, every 2 or 3 weeks. Those include mint, basil, parsley, cilantro, and arugula.

I know; that’s contrary to what you might have heard from other gardeners. “Never fertilize your herbs; they’ll lose all their flavor.” Well, I disagree. Plants growing in pots don’t have the option of sending their roots a few feet away in search of nitrogen. They rely on you to provide it.

Since these are foliage plants, they need more nitrogen than they need other nutrients. Nitrogen (“N” on the package) is necessary for the formation of chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives leaves their characteristic color.

Both organic products and synthetics break down to the same or very similar compounds before the plant can use them. Plant-Tone and Garden-Tone are mild organic products from Espoma. High-nitrogen fish emulsion, earthworm castings, and Neptune’s Harvest are some of the organic products I use frequently.

Organic fertilizers also provide beneficial microbes, which break down organic matter in the soil and help the roots absorb nutrients and water more efficiently. Products containing microbes should be buried in the soil or covered with mulch, and watered in after application. Ultraviolet light from the sun kills microbes.

If plants are in need of a quick injection of nutrients, I have no problem using one of the soluble synthetics. Also, timed-release fertilizer products can be used if you tend to forget calendar reminders. If the product says “will fertilize 4 full months”, remember that the nutrients will be released faster in rainy or hot weather. Four months at 70 degrees would be about half that duration at 85 or 90 degrees. I often use a more expensive product that lasts “8 months”.

Pruning

The only way to keep mint looking beautiful and healthy is to cut it back regularly. When you harvest a stem, cut it almost all the way back to the soil, and use the good leaves at the tip. If you harvest stems frequently, and cut the stems hard (down to within 1/2″ to 1″ of the soil) each time, the plant will continually send up new growth from the base of the plant.

If you don’t use them often, the mints will start to look sickly, particularly in hot weather. Insects, mites, hot weather, and the occasional drought are stresses that take their toll. The plants will regrow beautiful new leaves for you. They just need a little encouragement. In fact, you can give the mints, including the lemon balm, a severe trim, cutting all of them to within 1″ of the soil if the pot is in need of rejuvenation. As long as the roots are healthy, the plants will bounce back from the underground rhizomes in a short period of time.

Lemon verbena and stevia will respond in the same way, just a little more slowly. Don’t cut them all the way down as you would cut mint. Just shape them up, or cut them back halfway, rinsing, harvesting, and drying the healthy leaves for future use.

Insects

Hot weather does bring out the beasts! You might see aphids, thrips, white flies, mealybugs, and little moth caterpillars rolled up in the leaves. As thrips scrape the cells on the leaf surface and collect the sugary sap, small scars become visible.

Most aphids can be dislodged with a strong spray from the hose. Horticultural oil will smother most insects and mites. Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, will get the caterpillars you might miss. If you want to use the clippings in your tea, rinse the foliage after spraying. These products are safe to use on edibles but remember to always read package directions.

Spider Mites

Tiny spider mites (arachnids, not insects) cause the characteristic stippling of the leaf surface as they feed on the reverse. Mites are easily drowned by occasionally spraying with water on the bottom of the foliage.

Overwintering

During cold weather, place the pot next to the south side of the house (northern hemisphere), and cover with a deep layer of leaves or pine needles. Partially planting the pot in the ground (“heeling in”) will better insulate the root system from extreme cold. The mints usually regrow a second season, but, most likely, stevia and lemon verbena will need to be replanted.

The root ball will be a solid mass of roots and rhizomes, which can be divided in the spring. Pot up some extras in case all the divisions you planted are of the same variety. Or wait until they emerge from dormancy, when you can more easily identify the varieties.

Refresh the soil, add more plants if you choose, and you’ll have another season to enjoy your iced tea pots!

When returning home from a hot day at work, I used to pick a stem from the potted mint ‘Julep’ sitting by the front door. A glass of freshly brewed iced tea, some lemon, stevia, and mint—how refreshing is that?!

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The Best Eggplant Parmigiana

Jun25

Updated 1/20/2024

Eggplant Parmigiana

One of the favorite dishes from our kitchen is Eggplant Parmigiana. First, I have to admit that I never use Parmesan. Locatelli Romano is our preferred cheese for Italian dishes. Purchased as a solid wedge, and grated in batches, it’s always on hand in the refrigerator.

As a kid, I would “borrow” a chunk of Romano from my Sicilian grandmother’s kitchen, and hide under the table where I could savor every little bite. Mmm….so good!

Over the years, I’ve tried many recipes for Eggplant Parmigiana, but it wasn’t until last year that I came up with this combination. An organized kitchen is helpful as this dish is being orchestrated. And having some potted herbs outside the kitchen door is very handy.

Have These Ready

one 13″x 9″ Pyrex baking dish, or other dish that can take low heat from the stovetop, and oven heat
2 non-stick frying pans, medium to large, for eggplant
separate bowls to hold zucchini and eggplant slices
pie plate for eggs and water
wide bowl for bread crumbs

Ingredients

1 or 2 small zucchini, yellow or green, unpeeled, cut into 1/4″ slices
2 medium (less seedy than large) fresh eggplants, unpeeled, cut lengthwise into 1/4″ slices (no need to “bleed” out moisture)
Your favorite meatless tomato sauce
2 cups or more seasoned bread crumbs; see below
2 eggs plus 1 Tbsp. water, stirred together in pie plate
Extra virgin olive oil
butter
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced
About 3/4 lb. Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1 to 1 1/2 cups Romano cheese, grated
1 or 2 cups wilted greens, such as spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, and dinosaur kale. Or use 1 or 2 bags of prepared greens. Greens are optional, but recommended. You can also use fresh greens.

Bread Crumbs—Ingredients

Mix together all these ingredients in the bowl:

Flat-leaf parsley.

Several slices dry rye, whole wheat, and/or white bread, processed to medium-fine crumbs. I collect odds and ends in an open bag in the refrigerator, letting them dry.
1/2 to 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese
2 or 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh or 1-1 ½ tsp. dry Italian oregano
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme, French preferred

The Process

Place baking dish on small burner of stove. Add a layer of sauce to coat the bottom of the pan.
Add zucchini slices close together in single layer, on top of sauce in baking dish. Turn on stove to very low heat, which will begin softening the zucchini as eggplant is being prepared. Move the pan around so no spots overheat. Turn over zucchini slices once for even heating. Make sure your dish will be safe to use like this. (If you prefer not to heat the pan, add some time when baking the eggplant.)
In frying pans, add olive oil and a little bit of butter. Not too much.
One slice at a time, dip eggplant in egg bath, then press into bread crumbs, coating both sides.
Add breaded eggplant slices to frying pans (I use 2 pans to speed up the process), and sauté over medium heat until medium brown. Don’t use high heat; this will brown the bread crumbs, leaving eggplant raw.
Place cooked eggplant slices close together, in a single layer on top of zucchini, into baking dish.
Continue sautéing eggplant slices, adding oil and butter as needed. While the next batch is cooking, add a layer of Romano, mozzarella, and Provolone cheeses, and more sauce, to the baking dish.
Add the greens in the middle layers.

Continue Layering

Continue layering eggplant, cheeses, and sauce until dish is filled. Usually there are 2 or 3 layers of eggplant. You can add leftover egg and bread crumbs, finishing with sauce.
Drizzle 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil over the top, plus a couple of pinches of oregano.
Bake at 350 degrees, loosely covered with foil. If the pan is filled to the top, place an old cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch the spillover. If sauce is watery, lower heat, loosen foil, and cook a bit longer.
It’s done when sauce is gently bubbling all over, usually 40 to 50 minutes.
Serve with extra grated Romano cheese and sauce, if needed.

Wasn’t that easy? Maybe not the first time, but it is delicious! Serve with some good bread and a green salad or tomato-basil salad. Maybe some wine…good company…and…

Fresh artichoke.

…Stuffed Artichokes

Snip the points off the artichoke leaves, remove the smallest bottom leaves, trim the stem to an inch or so, rinse, and drain.

Use the bread crumb recipe above, adding more Romano cheese, salt, and garlic. Place the artichoke in the bowl of bread crumbs and spoon the mixture between the leaves. Use your fingers to firm more crumbs between the leaves.

Place in artichoke holders and add 2 to 3 cups of water in a heavy stock pot. Drizzle olive oil, 2 or 3 Tbsp. water, and a dash of salt over the tops of the artichokes.

Using a covered stock pot, 2 well-stuffed large artichokes will need 2 to 3 hours on a low simmer to steam. Add water as necessary. They’re done when you can easily remove a large leaf. When you pull the leaf through your teeth, the green part is tender and will scrape off. (Artichoke greens are good for gut health.) Some prefer to use a pressure cooker, which speeds things up considerably.

Stuffed artichokes can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven, covered with foil.

This dinner was a big hit when relatives came to town earlier this month. Enjoy!

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No Fruits On Your Tomato Plants?

Jun24

2018

Here Are Some Simple Solutions If Your Tomato Plants Have No Fruits In July and August

No Fruits In Hot Weather?

It looks as if we’re in for more above-normal temperatures in the Southeast through the growing season. No surprise there! I’m going to spend a few minutes to explain why we often have no fruits on our tomato plants when it gets real hot outside. In most years, though, production picks up again in late August or September when the temperatures drop several degrees.

The main crop that most home gardeners are concerned with is the tomato, although this could happen to peppers, eggplants, and other vegetables as well. When temperatures soar into the 90’s F, the pollen produced in the flower is “denatured”, or, essentially, killed. No pollen means no fruits!

When the air is very still or humid, the pollen grains are less likely to be dispersed. But, we can’t control the weather, so I’ll concentrate on what we can do.

Try Some Shade For Tomatoes With No Fruits

Before you replace your vegetables with agaves and astroturf, there is something you can try in order to harvest a continuous crop. If temperature is the problem, and not lack of pollinating insects, you can simply provide a bit of shade during the hottest part of the day, usually from 1:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon.

Here’s How:

Some tall stakes stuck in the ground and an old sheer curtain could work. Make sure any covering is above the foliage, so air flow is not impeded. One day, a customer stopped by the garden center where I used to work and wanted to thank me for the suggestion. He said he finally (after many years of trying!) was able to get tomatoes in the hot summer months by simply repositioning the patio umbrella to shade his tomatoes for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Look for black UV stabilized polyethylene mesh, sold as “knitted shade cloth”, from garden supply companies. Johnny’s Selected Seeds lists the product in their catalog. For the hot south, a product that casts 30% shade works well. Or you might find that 50% shade works better. Position it overhead, and on the west side to cut the harsh afternoon sun. A little experimenting will indicate the best arrangement.

Rat snake caught in bird netting. yes, it was freed.

This non-venomous snake was freed by snipping the mesh, starting at the tail end.

If you have a package of black deer netting, folding it over several times will give you about the same effect as the shade cloth. Check it daily, though, for snakes that can get caught up in it. A few times, I used sharp-pointed scissors to free non-venomous snakes that had become entangled in the netting.

Another option is lattice or snow fence attached to a sturdy frame.

The point is not to block all the light. You just want to moderate the harsh sun for a few hours a day, dropping the temperature to below 90 degrees. Not every growing season will require this mitigation. But, if you don’t see tiny tomatoes growing on your plants in mid-summer, this is one option you can try. When the temperatures moderate, remove the covering.

Shading the Flowers and Fruits

Sometimes it’s not practical or necessary to entirely shade the large plants on the deck. So, I’ll use those mesh bags found in the produce section at the grocery store (holding avocados, tangerines, etc.). When it’s hot, I drape the mesh over the young flower cluster. It will stay in place as the fruit develops. This helps keep the animals away and prevents sun scald.

Occasionally we have summers when the temperature hovers in the mid to high 90’s for weeks at a time, not cooling off much at night. We might not get any tomatoes at that time, until the weather cools. But we do harvest more tomatoes by shading than if we did nothing.

Cultivars

‘Sun Gold’ tomato with netting to keep animals away.

Select varieties that are more heat-resistant; their pollen tolerates higher temperatures. Names that allude to the south or to heat are clues that those varieties could grow better in warm climates. ‘Phoenix’, ‘Estiva’, ‘Arkansas Traveler’, ‘Florida 91’, ‘Creole’, ‘Heatmaster’, and ‘Summer Set’ are cultivars often cited as being heat-resistant.

‘Better Boy’, ‘Terenzo’, and ‘Black Krim’ also should do well. The bright orange cherry tomato, ‘Sun Gold’, produces abundantly in our hot summers.

‘Big Beef’ has always been quite productive here and is highly disease resistant. If you must grow your favorites that are susceptible to heat, try using the shade cloth.

Check online or ask your local cooperative extension agent for information on recommended cultivars in your region. The varieties that had bountiful harvests every year when you lived in Buffalo, New York, might be disappointing in Birmingham, Alabama.

Pick Earlier

During very hot weather, fruits might not fully “color-up” to catalog pictures, so don’t leave them too long on the vine. Pick them once they’ve developed some color.

Let them ripen on the kitchen counter, but never in the refrigerator. Tomatoes exposed to temperatures below the mid 50’s undergo cellular changes that rob them of flavor and texture. Certain genes that enhance flavonoids in ripening fruits become inactive in cool temperatures.

Especially during periods of drought, thirsty animals know what’s inside those juicy ripe tomatoes! You won’t miss out on much flavor by picking them a day or two early…but they will.

Letting ripe fruits stay on the vine inhibits the production of new flowers. The plant thinks it has done its job by providing seeds for the next generation. Removing ripe or almost ripe fruits reminds the plant to resume its responsibilities.

Mulch

Pine straw.

Mulch the soil all around the plants with a thick layer of airy mulch, such as pine straw or oak leaves. Clean chemical-free grass clippings mixed with shredded leaves can be used, but not so deep that decomposition generates even more heat. These materials add organic matter to the soil as they break down, keeping the earthworms and the microbes happy, and provide nutrients to the plants.

Mulch also helps prevent disease spores lying dormant in the soil from splashing onto the lower leaves of the plant. And, of course, it holds moisture in the soil and keeps it a little cooler.

Water

Water thoroughly during hot, dry weather to moisten the top 10″ to 12″ of soil once or twice a week (more often in sandy soils). Established vegetables, in average soil, need 1″ to 2″ of water per week. Here’s why:

Lack of water causes wilt, stressing the plant.
Lack of water causes flower-drop. (Incidentally, flower-drop early in the season can be caused by cool weather.)
To prevent blossom-end rot, there needs to be enough moisture in the soil to keep calcium in solution.
Fruits that crack are responding to uneven soil moisture levels, although some cultivars are more susceptible to this. Cracked fruits are still edible, after checking for little critters (insects, slugs, sowbugs) that might be sipping the fluids. Ordinarily, it’s safer to discard fruits that have been partially eaten by raccoons or squirrels.
And a good watering in hot weather cools down the soil. But first check the temperature of the water coming out of a hose that sits in the sun. It could be too hot for plants. Don’t overdo the watering, which will dilute the flavor of ripening fruits and cause other problems.

Thorough and deep soil preparation invites roots to grow where the soil is cooler and where there’s more moisture. The more we can minimize stressful conditions, the more likely our vegetable garden will perform the way we’d like it to.

Better Pollination

Hand-Pollinate Flowers If No Fruits Are Growing

: Sweet bell pepper.

: Cherokee Purple tomato.

If pollinating insects are not plentiful around your garden, try hand-pollinating your tomatoes and peppers. Usually just shaking, tapping, or vibrating the flower is sufficient for the task.

Each tomato and pepper flower is perfect, containing both male and female flower parts. So, they can self-pollinate as well as receive pollen from other tomato plants. This will work if the pollen hasn’t already been killed by heat.

Photo, above right, shows simple procedure for pollinating a tomato flower. Gently flick, or tickle, a mature, but not old, flower to move pollen to the stigma.

The pepper (photo, above left) was unlabeled and purchased at a big box store. It had a big floppy habit. There were no fruits on it for the longest time, and I was about to remove it. But I gave it one last try, and hand-pollinated all the flowers. Since then, it has yielded a dozen big bell peppers, and it’s still full of fruit.

‘African Blue’ Basil

Plant an ‘African Blue’ basil near the garden. This is an ornamental basil and a pollinator magnet! Because it is sterile and can’t set seed, it keeps flowering all summer long. You can find this variety in late spring or summer as potted transplants.

Few plants attract as many pollinators. Having one of these plants near your vegetables will guarantee visits from honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. In fact, bumble bees often spend the night among its flowers, ready to go to work as soon as the sun comes up.

*** * * * * * * * ***

So, if you’re following sound horticultural practices and can’t understand why your vegetables have no fruits, try shading them for a few hours. Or perhaps one of the other suggestions will work for you.

I’ve had dozens of customers over the years who have tried shading when nothing else worked, and now they enjoy vine-ripened tomatoes and peppers without interruption. Tomato-basil salad, coming up!

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Vegetables in Containers: How To Grow Them

Jun17

2018

Updated 10/16/2024

No Garden Space? No Problem!

Growing Vegetables in Containers

Peppers and onions.

Before I started this blog, I managed the Edibles Department for a few years at an independent garden center in Charlotte, North Carolina. As some of our customers downsized to apartment living or to a condo with a balcony, they didn’t want to give up growing their own herbs and vegetables. So, they were glad to hear that they could grow vegetables in containers…as long as the balcony was on the right side of the building. And the right side for vegetables is the sunny side of the building.

Lack of direct sunlight and adequate growing space are limiting factors. Look around, though, and you might come up with some ideas. For example, some of our customers were given permission from their condo associations to garden in common areas. Running for open association board positions yourselves is one way to garner support. I encourage you to attend board meetings, bringing your neighbors, a plan, and a promise to maintain the site.

Neighborhood community gardens are another possibility, although there often is a waiting list. With so much emphasis on eating healthy foods, little pocket parks and community gardens are popping up all over the country.

For Your Convenience

A young tomato damaged by a squirrel.

Another reason to grow vegetables in containers is simply to have them close at hand when they’re needed. A few steps out the kitchen door to a handful of cherry tomatoes and a ripe ‘Flavorburst’ sweet pepper for today’s salad has its charms.

Keeping the pots elevated on the deck prevents some animals, such as deer and rabbits, from making off with the fruits of your labor. Won’t stop the raccoons, though. (***Update***: Or the squirrels; one thought this little green tomato had something to offer. Discard any fruits that have been chewed on by animals. If needed, I’ll wrap the potted tomato plants, growing on the deck, in bird netting. June, 2019.)

Sun? Not So Much

The choices for edibles in a shady spot are limited. The ones that might succeed in bright shade are arugula, cilantro, parsley, lemon balm (interesting research with Alzheimer’s), French sorrel, and seasonal leafy greens. With just a bit more sun, basil, rosemary, oregano, and maybe a cucumber plant could grow for you.

Reflected light counts, to a degree, including light bouncing off light-colored walls. And a white surface under the pots reflects more light onto the vegetables in containers.

Remember to monitor the sun’s path throughout the seasons. Once trees drop their leaves in the fall, your balcony or patio might receive more direct sunlight than it did in the summer. This opens up all kinds of possibilities for potted cool-season greens and vegetables. Pay close attention to expected temperature changes for the duration of your crops.

Fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and squash need at least 6, and preferably 7 or 8 hours of direct sun. These vegetables also need warm summery weather.

Approaching Summer Solstice

Our vegetable garden is now receiving the maximum amount of light, with the sun directly overhead. In the springtime of the last two years, heavy rains caused the tree canopy up on the berm, to the south, to swell with heavy, overhanging branches. Trees now cast considerable shade early and late in the day for most of the growing season. So, I planted fewer tomato plants and more greens.

Two large ‘Big Beef’ tomatoes are beginning to ripen, and a whole lot of ‘Sun Gold’ and ‘Mexico Midget’ cherry tomatoes. So, even with less-than-ideal conditions, there will be something to harvest.

At Julia’s Request

Several family members from New Jersey and California recently visited us in North Carolina. I promised Julia this article about growing summer vegetables in containers.

Vegetables In Containers: Which Ones?

: Potted green onions.

: Potted tomato.

Sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants can be grown in containers, as well as zucchini, yellow summer and Patty Pan squashes, cucumbers, and green beans. Also, it’s easy to grow most herbs in pots. Green onions, carrots, potatoes, and peas can grow in pots!

It’s just a matter of the details. One of those details is to look for dwarf or bush varieties of the crops you want to grow. There’s even a variety of corn (‘On Deck’) that grows in large pots.

One of the popular combinations I used to sell included a sweet or a hot pepper planted with two herbs. Theme combinations (‘Jalapeño’ pepper/cilantro/Greek oregano; ‘Carmen’ frying pepper/Italian parsley/Italian oregano) grew in 14″ pots. Customers found them irresistible if they were bearing fruit.

Growing more varieties of leafy greens in containers has become a priority as our garden becomes more shaded. In addition, greens can grow all year in regions with moderate winters.

Starting With Tomatoes

Much of the information in “Starting With Tomatoes” also applies to other vegetables in containers.

Potted ‘Indigo Blue Berries’ cherry tomato ripens to orange and black.

Beginning with America’s favorite, tomatoes grow well in pots. Will it be a beefsteak or a cherry? An heirloom or a modern hybrid? A slicer or a sauce-type? Determinate? Indeterminate (it keeps growing until frost, bearing fruit all summer)? Black, red, yellow, or orange? Striped or solid? There are many thousands of varieties of tomatoes to choose from!

‘Terenzo’ tomato.

A dwarf tomato called ‘Terenzo’ (photo, right) can grow in a 10″ hanging basket, but a ‘Cherokee Purple’ heirloom or a ‘Big Beef’ needs something considerably larger. For the large varieties, I use pots at least 20″ in diameter.

The long-vining indeterminate cherry types (‘Sun Gold’, ‘Black Cherry’, ‘Mexico Midget’) can grow in a pot as small as 14″ in diameter, but they’d be happier in bigger pots. You’ll need to pay closer attention to water and fertility when using smaller pots.

Vegetables In Containers: Types Of Pots

Each kind of pot has both advantages and disadvantages.

Summer vegetables generally fare better in larger pots rather than smaller pots. Although the pot looks enormous compared to the transplant’s diminutive size, don’t be tempted to plant more than one tomato per pot.

You’ll be amazed how quickly that one tomato plant fills a 20″ pot. A new transplant in a large pot runs a greater risk of root rot during rainy weather. But, placing it under an overhang will prevent this loss. It’ll be different once more roots and foliage have grown.

An indeterminate tomato, such as ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Sun Gold’, or ‘Black Krim’, can share a 20″ diameter pot (photo, below) with a couple of herbs, such as parsley and oregano. Plant the tomato toward the back of the pot, on the north side (northern hemisphere), and plant the herbs near the southern rim.

Terra Cotta

Terra cotta looks good and has some weight. But clay is porous, so water vapor passes through the pot to the air outside, quickly drying the soil. If you want to use your large clay pots, you could line them with food-grade plastic and punch some holes in the bottom for drainage. This will slow down the evaporation process.

Certainly, use clay pots if you prefer, but prepare to water more often.

Ceramic Pots

Ceramics are beautiful and heavy, and they can be expensive. Soil temperature rises uncomfortably on the sunny side unless the pot is shaded. Try using light colored pots in the summer, which will reflect most of the heat.

If you’re unsure of the safety of the glaze, line the inside of the pot with food-grade plastic bags, poking several holes in the bottom for drainage. Choose a different pot if a sticker on the bottom warns “Not for direct contact with food”.

You could also plant the tomato in a large nursery pot, and then insert it into the decorative glazed container. Make sure both pots have drainage holes. This “double-potting” allows air circulation around the interior pot and eliminates concerns about questionable glazes.

Tomato ‘Rutgers’, sweet basil, and Italian parsley in a 20″ wide pot, April, 2019.

Plastic and Vinyl

These pots are inexpensive, readily available, and easily moved. They’re also the most likely to blow over in windy weather. But this is the first choice for most gardeners. Most of these pots last a few to several years in the sun, but, eventually, sunlight will degrade the material.

Wood Containers

Untreated cedar or redwood and half whiskey barrels are suitable for growing vegetables in containers. Check to make sure the pots drain freely.

Reservoirs and Other Considerations

Earth boxes and plastic pots often have built-in reservoirs or detachable saucers. And you can purchase caster kits and trellises for increased functionality. Some gardeners have the option to move their plants from the morning sun on one side of the deck to the afternoon sun on the other side; wheels make this so much easier.

Caution: some of the reservoirs are too deep before the water begins to exit the overflow hole. This can cause young plants to rot if the soil stays sodden all the time. You could drill a hole in the side, below the overflow hole, reducing the capacity of the reservoir. Or simply tilt the pot to allow excess water to drain. Older plants, full of foliage, will absorb water in the bottom of the planter, as long as it isn’t raining for several days straight.

Mosquitoes and Tree Roots

Add a piece of Mosquito Dunks to prevent mosquitoes from maturing in the secluded reservoir. They need only a few days in warm weather to complete their life cycle. Or tip the container to drain all excess water.

A pot sitting directly on soil anywhere near trees or shrubs will invite their roots to invade. Believe me, they will try to grow in that beautiful composted soil. Elevate the pot off the ground. This also facilitates drainage from the pot.

A few pieces of broken flagstone or “pot feet” raise the pots above the surface of the deck, helping to preserve the deck’s finish.

Saucers

Use saucers under the pots, but don’t let water remain in them for more than an hour. Plant roots need oxygen as much as they need water. Water in the saucer prevents air from entering the bottom of the pot.

Saucers aren’t absolutely necessary, but help if the soil has gone too dry. Just keep filling them until no more water is absorbed by the soil. In tall pots, though, the force of gravity will prevail over capillary action, preventing water from reaching the top of the root ball. So, you’ll also need to water the top portion of soil.

During long periods of rainy weather, I remove the saucers, or turn them upside down and keep them under the containers. This is impractical, however, if the pot weighs 50 pounds. Consider removing the saucer and using a few pieces of broken flagstone or brick to elevate the pots, if necessary.

Potting Soil

Reused polyester fiberfill covers the drainage hole.

Before filling the pot, place a small handful of polyester fiberfill (from a hobby store) over the drainage hole. This prevents soil from eroding through the hole, and prevents earthworms and other critters from entering. If you pull some of it through the hole to a point at the bottom, excess water will continue to drain if there’s soil in the little cone. This is helpful for potted plants that rot easily during long stretches of rainy weather (succulents, lavender, thyme, sage). This synthetic material doesn’t rot, so it’s reusable.

Use a good quality potting soil that drains well, but has peat moss to hold moisture. In addition to the peat moss, the mixture will have perlite (white particles that help drainage), pine bark chips (drainage), lime (to adjust the pH), compost or a starter charge of fertilizer, and often a wetting agent (to help the soil absorb water).

Amending the Potting Soil

Feel free to experiment with mixtures of different materials. Soils with a lot of bark (pine fines, wood products) in the mix tend to dry out faster. You can mix in smaller-particle loamy topsoil, spongy peat moss, aged manure, or compost to help slow water loss. Water-absorbing crystals might help, too. But moisten them before you add them to the soil. If you don’t, you’ll understand why I italicized the word “before”.

Adding a layer of undyed mulch on top of the soil helps conserve water and keeps the soil a bit cooler.

While some gardeners add rocks to the bottom of the pot, I never do. It was thought the rocks increased drainage, but the opposite is true; they create a perched water table in the layer of soil right above the rocks. Water percolating through the soil profile is held in this layer by capillarity, and often rots roots trying to grow there, limiting the useful volume of soil.

Headings

Page 1: Growing Vegetables In Containers, Sun? Not So Much, Vegetables In Containers: Which Ones?, and Starting With Tomatoes (Vegetables In Containers: Types Of Pots, Reservoirs and Other Considerations, Mosquitoes and Tree Roots, Saucers, Potting Soil (Amending the Potting Soil)…

Page 2: Transplanting the Tomato, Water, Going Away?, Staking, Fertilizing Vegetables In Containers, Blossom End Rot, On PH, Pollination), Peppers and Eggplants, Cucumbers, Squash (Squash Vine Borers), Green Onions (Bunching Onions from Seed), Leafy Greens, and Picking Vegetables In Containers

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Pollinators: What’s All the Buzz About?

Jun2

What’s All the Buzz About Pollinators?

Trips to the garden center and articles about landscaping and edible gardening. Radio garden programs and school field trips. What do they have in common?

The subject of Pollinators will come up!

And for good reason: we rely on pollinators for more than a third of our entire food supply! Without the bees, butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds, we would not be able to feed our growing populations. Apple, peach, and nut trees, tomatoes and peppers. Zucchini, cucumbers, berry bushes, and farm animal feed. These are just a few crops that depend on these little critters. Trees, grasses, shrubs, and wildflowers also rely on pollinators for procreation.

Pollinators are attracted to the flowers’ sweet nectar, for carbohydrates, and to pollen for proteins and lipids. Insects and other pollinators gather nectar and pollen from the flowers they visit. During this beneficial arrangement, called mutualism, they unintentionally transfer pollen grains from one flower to the next.

The Fruits of Pollination

Pollen (the male component) deposited onto a receptive stigma (female) in a flower belonging to the same species initiates the fruiting process. The half set of haploid chromosomes in ovules and sperm are recombined during fertilization. (This is not the kind of fertilization that involves nutrients). This restores the full diploid chromosome count. The ovary (fruit) grows and toughens, protecting the seeds until the fruits are harvested or the seeds dispersed.

Fruits, though, aren’t limited to the recognizable apples, peaches, and pears on a grocery store shelf. Botanically, a fruit is any seed- or spore-bearing structure in flowering plants and other organisms. This includes wheat, a kernel of corn, a plump blueberry, a sweet cherry, or an heirloom tomato. Even fungi, including mushrooms, have “fruiting bodies”.

Animals attracted to these nutritious fruits aid in seed dispersal, although in many cases, the seeds themselves are consumed and digested.

And there are some anomalies in Mother Nature’s kingdom that permit us to call strawberries “fruits” or “berries”, although they are neither! The luscious little strawberry is the swollen receptacle, the part that connects the flower to the stem. The actual fruits, or achenes, are those little brown things on the outside. And there’s a seed inside each achene.

No pollination means no fruit in up to 80% of our edible crops!

Honey Bees

A honeycomb.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are not native to the Americas. They originated in Africa and migrated to Indonesia, Europe, and Asia. The early colonists brought them here, where they proliferated throughout the frontier, preceding the settlers’ expansion into new territory. Before this species was imported, thousands of other types of insects and animals pollinated flowers. And they still do!

As the nation’s population grew, more crops entered cultivation. Agriculture became even more dependent upon these easily domesticated pollinators.

Almonds.

California’s almond harvest relies entirely on bee activity for nut production. In fact, beekeepers ship 75% of the country’s “beehives for hire” to flowering almond orchards to ensure a good crop.

Of the many thousands of bee species found worldwide, the honey bee is the only one that makes honey. Forager bees returning to the hive with nectar give this bounty to the processor bees. Processors pass the nectar among themselves, helping to lower the water content. Then they deposit the liquid into cells and fan it with their wings to concentrate the honey. After that, they cap the cells with wax to seal the compartment.

Forager bees mix their saliva with the pollen they collected, which the processors place in the cells. Once they’re capped, the mixture begins fermenting, resulting in a substance called bee bread. Both types of cells, with pollen and nectar, also contain enzymes from the bees. Nurse bees feed this bee bread to all larvae, and the colony can access it for sustenance during winter. Enriched bee bread, called royal jelly, is reserved for queen larvae. Not all the honey is harvested by beekeepers; most is kept in the hives.

Why All the Fuss About Pollinators?

A syndrome known as Colony Collapse Disorder has raised the alarm to protect the honey bees. It is not precisely known what prevents most of the bees from returning to the hives. However, it is known that the queen, the larvae, and the honey have been abandoned. Without help from the drones and worker bees, the colony fails.

This is not a new phenomenon, though. Farmers a hundred years ago reported losing up to 90% of their bees to this “disappearing disease”.

CCD was named around 2006, when sudden losses affected increasingly larger proportions of total hive counts. By then, some honey bee operations had lost 50 to 90% of their hives. For the next 8 years, farmers reported hive losses averaging 33% per year.

Current Research

Research has pointed to several possible explanations, although combinations of factors are probably in play. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency joined forces to monitor CCD.

Various avenues of research are being pursued involving mites, fungi, loss of habitat, and lack of genetic diversity. Additional issues include chemical contamination of food sources and agricultural pesticides, notably the controversial neonicotinoids and fungicides. The Varroa mite and phorid flies are being researched for diseases that they could be vectoring into the hives.

Another question centers on pollen’s nutritional content from our crops, which might be weakening immunity.

In 2006, the honey bee’s genetic code was sequenced, opening up molecular approaches to treating CCD. Continuing research projects, through surveys, samples, and mitigation techniques overseen by the USDA, are getting closer to solutions. Unfortunately, there are no definitive answers for now.

Courses of action currently being followed include using antibiotics, fumigants, and genetic stock showing immunity to disease.

Honey bee on aster.

So, What Can We Do About It?

To Spray Or Not to Spray

We can manage our properties in ways that are less harmful to the bees’ health. First, consider whether or not we really need to spray every insect that shows up in our landscape. No, of course we don’t!

Maybe you’ve been using a certain product for the last 30 years because it has delivered a 100% kill rate. Overkill? Okay, then, now might be a good time to reassess the need for it. By the way, most municipal recycling stations take old or unwanted containers of chemicals. Please don’t throw them in the trash or pour them down the drain or in the yard!

Make some changes today that help restore ecological health and predator/prey balance to your landscape.

If there are only a few pests damaging your plants, hand-pick them. Cutting them in half or squashing them is more humane than salting them or dropping them in a bucket of soapy water. Never use salt in the garden. A strong spray of water from the hose will wash away most of the aphids.

It’s unrealistic to be entirely free of insect life. And no one wants to live in that world.

Try Using These

In my gardens, I rarely use anything stronger than horticultural oil, organic Sluggo, or Bt. All of them are available in garden centers. See if you can tolerate less than perfect foliage or fruit in return for a cleaner environment. As I grow older, imperfection becomes increasingly acceptable.

Investigate some of the organic options, which are gaining favor throughout the gardening world. The products I mentioned are available from some manufacturers that have been licensed to print the “OMRI” logo (Organic Materials Review Institute) on their labels. Some companies choose not to pay the licensing fee, but their products are “just as organic” as the OMRI products.

Most importantly, don’t spray plants when pollinators are actively visiting them. The products mentioned above do not harm honey bees if used according to label instructions. Follow them carefully, paying special attention to dilution rates and time of application.

Bt

Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a naturally occurring bacterium that paralyzes the digestive system of moth and butterfly larvae by changing the pH in their gut. After ingesting some of the Bt, the caterpillar stops feeding and dies a day or two later. It is more effective on younger caterpillars.

Dinosaur kale with caterpillar holes.

I use it on the brassicas (broccoli, kale, etc.) to prevent utter devastation by caterpillars. Not using it at all means more than just a few holes in the leaves. The leaves disappear!

It works on gypsy moths, canker worms, cabbage worms, cutworms, squash vine borers, tent caterpillars, and the “very hungry caterpillar” known as the tobacco hornworm, among others.

The tomato hornworm looks similar to the tobacco hornworm (photo, below), except it has V-shaped lines and a black “horn” instead of a red one. But, again, if you see entire tomato stems denuded of their leaves, look for that hornworm first before filling the sprayer. There might be only one or two on a large plant. (Tip: if you see their poop pellets, look above them.)

Different strains of Bt also control fungus gnats, potato beetles, mosquitoes, and nematodes.

Tobacco hornworm with parasitic wasp pupae.

Braconid Wasps

This species of Braconid wasp, Cotesia congregata, will kill or severely weaken the tobacco hornworm (photo, above). First, a female wasp lays eggs on or in the caterpillar. After hatching, the wasp larvae feed on the caterpillar’s internal tissues, and then pupate in the white cocoons.

Although it looks menacing, there’s really no need to spray this one. Simply remove the weakened caterpillar to the shrubs. The adult wasps will emerge, and then a bird or a lizard might finish off the caterpillar. The adult form of the hornworm is a type of hawk moth.

Headings

Page 1: What’s All the Buzz About Pollinators? (The Fruits of Pollination), Honey Bees (Why All the Fuss About Pollinators?, Current Research), and So, What Can We Do About It? (To Spray Or Not To Spray, Try Using These, Bt, Braconid Wasps)

Page 2: Planting for Pollinators (For Bees, For Butterflies and Moths, For Hummingbirds), Pollinators In the Landscape (Plant Selection, Host Plants and Nectar Plants, The Importance of Native Plants for Pollinators, Water and Minerals, Shelter), Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden, and National Pollinator Week

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Shrimp, Vegetable, and Rice Stir-Fry

May28

2018

Shrimp, Vegetable, and Rice Stir-Fry

Cauliflower just picked from the garden, planted last fall.

Here’s an easy recipe I’ve adapted from something seen last year in “Southern Living”. Mother took some shrimp out of the freezer, and I had just picked this beautiful head of cauliflower. Add a few other ingredients, and — Bingo, a Winner!

shrimp for shrimp, vegetable, and rice stir-fry

Raw shrimp.

Ingredients

Rice, cooked separately (flavored, brown…your choice)
1/2 lb. to 1 lb. shrimp, cleaned
2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1/3 tsp. kosher salt
About 1 or 2 cups fresh green beans or haricots verts, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces (frozen will work)
1 1/2 cups small fresh cauliflower florets
One or two ‘Lunchbox’ sweet peppers for color, diced (optional)
3 green onions, green and white parts sliced separately
Leftover vegetables (optional)
1 large or 2 medium fresh garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. tsp. dried ginger
1 large egg
1 tsp. butter
2 or 3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh basil
2/3 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 or 2 Tbsp. soy sauce

: Bunching onions.

: Lunchbox peppers.

: Green beans.

The Process

First, start cooking a pot of flavored rice, or plain rice, if you prefer, according to package instructions. I use Rice Pilaf. Don’t overcook it, or it will be sticky. Set it aside when it’s done (about 15 to 20 minutes), and start the rest of the recipe after you get the rice going.
Heat a large non-stick wok or other pan. Add half the oil, half the salt, and the shrimp. Cook hot, turning occasionally, until shrimp is no longer clear. This takes only 2 minutes or so. Remove shrimp; set aside.
Add the green beans, cauliflower, and ‘Lunchbox’ pepper to the remaining liquids in the pan, along with the garlic, ginger, the rest of the oil, and the white part of the green onions. Stir frequently for about 2 minutes, at medium-high heat. This is a good opportunity to use up leftovers, such as broccoli, dinosaur kale, peas, and carrots.
Add the rest of the salt and 2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked rice. Cook and stir until rice is just a bit dried. This takes a minute or two. Lower heat if necessary.
Push the rice mixture to one side, and add butter to the open area. Add the egg to the butter, scramble, and chop in the pan while it’s cooking. When the egg is done, mix it into the rice.
Add shrimp, soy sauce, basil, and toasted sesame oil. Stir to heat evenly.
Garnish with green parts of green onion.

This recipe for Shrimp, Vegetable, and Rice Stir-Fry takes only half an hour to prepare, and serves 2 to 4. Yummy.

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Cilantro: Love It Or Hate It, And How To Grow It

May20

Updated 6/18/2024

Why We Either Love Or Hate Cilantro

Cilantro is one of those herbs that can elicit memories of mouth-watering foodie forays to Mexico, China, and India, or… maybe not! People who know it either love it or hate it. Count me among those in the latter category. But, as a grower, I included it in my farmers’ market inventory, displaying it downwind from where I stood.

Young potted cilantro.

Those who dislike cilantro have a spot in their genotype resulting in taste and olfactory receptors that can detect aldehyde compounds. This substance reminds us of soap or something metallic. About 15% to 20% are not keen to keep it in the kitchen, although in those countries where it is a dietary staple, a greater percentage of the population like it. Closer to 25% of my customers did not use cilantro.

Cilantro originated in Iran, and spread to southern Europe, northern Africa, and southeast Asia. It has been cultivated for several thousand years. In fact, the oldest remains of coriander were discovered in pottery found in a dry Israeli cave. They were dated to approximately 8,000 years ago!

This article describes some of the problems gardeners face when growing this plant and offers some solutions.

The Nature of Cilantro

Cilantro flowers.

The difference between cilantro and coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is based simply on which part of the plant you’re referring to. Cilantro refers to the leaves and coriander refers to the seed.

Cilantro is a short-lived annual that prefers cool weather. All parts are edible, including the roots, although leaves and seeds are consumed most often. Other parts might be bitter.

As a member of the Apiaceae family, its flowers are umbel-shaped, as indicated in the former name for the family, Umbelliferae. This family of plants also includes parsley, dill, chervil, celery, fennel, and carrot—all characterized by their umbrella-shaped flowers. The current family name is a clue that bees (such as the honey bee, Apis mellifera) are attracted to the flowers.

Cilantro Substitutes

Another plant with similar flavor grows better in the summer than most varieties of cilantro. Mexican coriander (Eryngium foetidum), also in the family Apiaceae, from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean, is popular in the cuisine of the area. Slow to grow from seed, culantro (with a “u”) develops leaves with raspy edges, so use the younger foliage in cooking.

Vietnamese coriander, Persicaria odorata, a perennial native to southeast Asia, also has cilantro-like flavor. It’s in the Polygonaceae family and is related to the smartweeds and knotweeds.

Papalo (Porophyllum ruderale or P. tagetoides, in the Asteraceae family) is a herbaceous annual found in Central and South America. It has cilantro flavor, apparently with mint and arugula mixed in.

Although these herbs can substitute for cilantro, this article describes the plant we’re more familiar with—Coriandrum sativum.

Consider Climate

In the moderate climates of the southern U.S., cilantro planted in the autumn grows beautifully, but slows down as cold weather approaches. It often survives winter conditions with a little protection or with none at all. From the end of winter into spring, it resumes growth.

Before long, warm temperatures signal the plant to flower. When the new leaves become small and finely dissected, flowering soon follows. Pull the whole plant and use the harvested leaves. Time to start a new crop! It is best used fresh; most flavor is lost when dried.

Successive crops of cilantro grow from spring through fall in the northern half of the country. A prolonged summertime heat wave, though, even far into the north, is the beginning of the end for this crop of cilantro. Try shading young plants during hot weather, and water with cold water to prolong the harvest.

Winter Protection

The small greenhouse in Maryland.

Cilantro is not likely to survive severely cold winters without the protection of a cold frame, a greenhouse, or a sunroom. Don’t coddle it with indoor temperatures that are comfortable for you. Grow it very cool, even cold (40’s to low 60’s F), for longevity and the best quality.

An unheated greenhouse offers adequate conditions for continued growth through the winter in the southern half of the country. Farther north, cilantro will grow in such a structure with minimal heating. Remember to open vents to prevent overheating in the daytime, and close them in mid to late afternoon.

Coriander

Cilantro seedpods, or coriander.

If you’re growing cilantro for the seeds (coriander), let the plant mature naturally. Small white flower clusters will develop fruits, each of which contains 2 seeds. The round seedpods are fairly large and can be harvested when they are light brown and dry, but don’t wait until they start rolling away! Consider loosely wrapping the flower clusters with a fine mesh bag in order to catch the seeds.

Another way to harvest the seeds is to pull the plant and hang it upside down, in a mesh bag or a paper bag that permits air flow. Just make sure there are seeds already developing before you uproot the plant.

Or, let Mother Nature do her thing. Let the plant stay in the garden, go to flower, and set seed. The varieties of cilantro I’ve grown are open pollinated and not hybrids, so the next generation will look and taste like the parent generation. Ripened seeds will fall to the ground and germinate. But you might see young seedlings growing a few feet away, or at the end of the sidewalk. Maybe the critters that reside in your garden will be the only ones to reap this harvest.

What Cilantro Likes

Cilantro leaves.

When growing cilantro, remember these 5 things: cool, young, fertile, moist, and fast. I’ll call them “Cilantro’s 5 Needs”. Customers often complained that the transplants they’d just bought from the garden center immediately went to seed. The following tips will help you grow a great crop of cilantro.

Keep a supply of seeds on hand, in case nurseries in your area don’t have the plants. Cilantro seeds germinate and grow rapidly. Starting cilantro from seed is one of the easiest projects for beginning gardeners. Seeds remain viable for a few years if they’re kept cool and dry.

1. Cool

Ask for cilantro in February or March, or whenever the “shoulder season” occurs where you live. Although that’s weeks before the last spring frost, that’s precisely what cilantro likes.

Make sure the plants are properly hardened off. That’s a process that gradually introduces cooler, sunnier, and breezier conditions to a greenhouse-grown plant. Any plant that is coddled in the warm, almost still environment inside a greenhouse is very likely to suffer stress or even death when suddenly exposed to the rigors of the outdoors.

During the cooler months of the year and during the transitional shoulder seasons, grow cilantro in full sun. At higher temperatures, provide direct sun in the morning hours, and light shade the rest of the day. You might have better results growing cilantro in the summer if it is planted in dappled sun or light afternoon shade cast by a tomato plant.

Because garden soil is cooler than soil in a pot, summer-grown cilantro will last longer if it’s planted in the ground. A thin layer of mulch will keep the soil a bit cooler.

Pot Color

If your only option is growing cilantro in a pot, choose a light-colored pot during the warm months and a dark pot in the cooler months. Why? Because the color of the pot reflects or absorbs energy from the sun.

Summer sun beating down on a lovely cobalt blue ceramic pot can heat the soil to over 100°F. Conversely, a dark pot absorbs the sun’s energy in winter, and keeps the soil unfrozen a while longer.

If you want to include cilantro in a combination planter, plant the cilantro on the east or north side (in the northern hemisphere) of the pot. The soil there will be cooler than that on the south or west side.

2. Young

When purchasing plants from a grower, look for the youngest ones you can find. However, they shouldn’t be so young that the root system is too fragile to survive the transplant. Unless you need fresh cilantro now, avoid large plants in small pots.

If the plants are potbound, where roots tightly fill the pot, they are stressed. They should not stay in their little pots so long that the cramped quarters check their growth. If they have not been fertilized, or if they are showing signs that even a young plant’s leaves are getting finer in texture, they are stressed. And stressed cilantro plants bolt, or flower prematurely.

I’ve seen cilantro with one seed per pot and I’ve seen it sown with 50 seeds in a pot. You want to find the happy medium, the right number of seeds to give lots of leaves to pick, but not so many that they intensely compete with each other. When I grow cilantro for sale, I sow 3 to 5 seeds in a pot.

Since cilantro is a short-lived plant to begin with, its days are numbered with any of those warning signs: tight pot, too many seeds, finely dissected leaves, poor color. And if they’re already in flower, plant them, pick what you can, and let the bees collect nectar and pollen…for a little while. You can try cutting them back hard. If weather is favorable, you might get some regrowth out of them, but not usually.

3. Fertile

Organic fertilizers, including worm castings, bat guano, blood meal.

Dark green leafy herbs, such as parsley, basil, arugula, mint, and cilantro, need rich, fertile soil. Nitrogen, one of the primary macronutrients, is needed on a regular basis and in larger amounts than other nutrients.

Nitrogen is highly mobile, so it is easily washed through the soil by rain or irrigation. Potted leafy herbs should be fertilized every 1½ to 3 weeks, depending on soil quality, frequency of irrigation, temperature, and pot size.

Without enough nitrogen, plants lose their rich green color and become pale. New growth slows down, and older leaves turn yellow and eventually die. More importantly, poorly colored leaves taste bitter or, at least, off-flavor.

Many plant experts recommend not fertilizing herbs, but I disagree. And, no, fertilizer doesn’t make cilantro toxic! Fertilizers break down into simpler molecules, and the plant recombines these molecules into compounds needed to carry out cellular processes.

N-P-K

For cilantro, use fertilizer that has a higher first number on the package. Examples: 10-6-4, 24-8-16, and fish emulsion’s 5-1-1. Those 3 numbers on the product label refer to the percentage content of Nitrogen, Phosphorus (phosphate), and Potassium (potash) in the formula. They always appear in that order on any label: N-P-K.

Nitrogen is essential for building chlorophyll, the green pigment in foliage and stems. Phosphorus stimulates flower and fruit production, and root development. Potassium affects cell wall strength and hardiness. This is a simplified depiction of the roles these 3 major nutrients play; there are many other ways they contribute to plant growth and function.

4. Moist

Keep soil evenly moist—not too dry, which causes wilt, and not too wet, which rots the roots. Once root rot has claimed the root system, it will not recover. Make sure the soil drains well, and don’t let the plant sit in a saucer of water. A well-established potted plant likes a thorough watering—that is, until water begins to exit the drainage hole.

Sometimes water rushes out the drainage hole immediately after application. This occurs when the soil has dried too much, causing the root ball to shrink from the inside of the pot. The next time the plant is watered, the water will find the path of least resistance, which is the air gap between the inside of the pot and the root ball. Most of the root ball will miss the opportunity to absorb water. Fill the gap with potting soil and use a wooden dowel or chop stick to firm the soil, filling the space. This will slow down percolation, allowing the entire root system to pick up moisture.

Potting soils with a large percentage of coarse material, such as perlite and pine fines (or “wood products”), drain and dry quickly. Products with finer particles, such as peat moss, compost, and loam, tend to hold water better.

Garden soil well-enriched with compost, aged manure, or planting mix encourages deep rooting. Lower levels of soil, 8-12″ down, are cooler and have more moisture, contributing to a longer life for this herb. Cilantro is less susceptible to root damage in freezing weather when grown in the ground.

Cilantro doesn’t mind cool water from the tap or even refrigerated water, but never use warm or hot water. Check the temperature of water coming from a hose that has been sitting in the sun; it might be too hot for any plant!

5. Fast

An herb that completes its life cycle in a short period of time, like cilantro, can’t be forced to live as long as other plants do. It’s not in its nature! You can have cilantro almost year-round, though, if you start seeds every few weeks or purchase new transplants, if they’re available.

Weather permitting, sow a few seeds 4″ apart in a row, about 1/2″ deep. If the soil isn’t too cold, seeds should germinate in a week to 10 days. As the seedlings grow, thin to 1 or 2 plants per 4″ of row; thinnings can go right to the kitchen.

Another option is to experiment, sowing a few seeds in each of several spots around the garden. You’ll soon notice where they grow best in any particular season.

In soils with high clay content, loosen the bed to a depth of 12-14″, incorporating (not layering) pine fines or grit to increase drainage. Amending the top 6-8″ of the garden bed with lots of organic matter encourages roots to grow quickly. Apply fertilizer every few weeks to encourage leaf production.

You can begin harvesting some of the leaves soon after transplanting, or a month or so after seeding. Pick mature outer leaves first but allow the young leaves in the center of the rosette to continue growing.

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Headings

Page 1: Why We Either Love Or Hate Cilantro, The Nature of Cilantro, Cilantro Substitutes, Consider Climate, Winter Protection, Coriander, and What Cilantro Likes (Cool, Young, Fertile, N-P-K, Moist, Fast)

Page 2: What Is Eating My Cilantro? (Rabbits and Deer, The Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Safe Haven, Raising Caterpillars, At The Olney Farmers’ and Artists’ Market), More Insects and Diseases (Insects and Nematodes, Diseases), and The Best Variety I’ve Grown

Pages: 1 2

So, What Can I Do With All Those Greens?

May16

“So, what can I do with all those greens?”

When there’s a bumper crop of kale, collards, spinach, Swiss Chard, or any of the other greens (which are so good for you, by the way), this is what you can do. Whether your winter greens are looking a little tired, or you just need to remove them to make space for the warm-season vegetables, many are asking that question.

Curly kale, Swiss chard, dinosaur kale, arugula.

Cook ‘n’ Freeze Those Greens

Have a few zip-lock sandwich bags handy.
Select healthy-looking greens and wash thoroughly. Inspect carefully for slugs, caterpillars, and other insects.
Cut and remove the thickest of the midribs.
Separate the varieties, or combine them.
Cut into wide ribbons, or thin, if you prefer.
Get out the Big Wok, or any other large, heavy pot.
Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter, more or less, to the pan. Heat it up.
Add a clove or two of minced fresh garlic. Saute until it begins to turn a pale golden color, but not brown (browned garlic is burned and tastes awful).
Add the greens. Lots of them.
Turn the greens continuously over low-medium heat, so they’re well-coated with the oil. You’ll see that they wilt down quickly.
Season with salt and pepper (optional).
When evenly wilted, allow to cool somewhat.
Ladle half a cup or a cupful into each sandwich bag.
Squeeze out the air, seal up the bags, and set aside to cool.
Put them into a larger freezer bag or plastic container.
Freeze. Use within a few months.

In the Kitchen

***Update*** July 11, 2019: I harvested all the remaining Swiss chard and kale from last year (photos, below) and cooked them up this morning. There was a cup of leftover chicken stock, so that, too, was added to the pot while the vegetables cooked.

: Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’.

: Swiss chard.

: ‘Lacinato’ and ‘Red Russian’ kale.

: Cooked greens ready to freeze.

Next time you make soup or an omelet, bring home a pizza, or serve rotisserie chicken over seasoned rice, add a bag of these magical greens. Add these greens to a dish of lasagna or eggplant parmigiana. Simple! Put a bag in the refrigerator in the morning to thaw for that night’s dinner. Even canned soup from the grocery store is more nutritious after adding these greens. Fresh leaves added when the soup is heating up wilt almost instantly and double the vitamin content.

When you realize how simple this is—and how good it is for you—you’ll plant a whole lot more this fall. It’s easy to sneak these greens into your cooking, and your finicky eaters might not even notice!

Veggie omelet with fresh microgreens. You could also use a bag of thawed greens in the fold.

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Did She Say Sustainable Bunching Onions?

May15

Updated 3/8/2024

The Onion Patch

In a patch of soil under the cold frame in the old Maryland garden, I grew several dozen Japanese bunching onions. Although the frame was cold in the winter, it didn’t freeze, and those little plants provided us with all the green onions we needed for 5 or 6 years without replanting!

So, how do you get sustainable bunching onions? After describing two species of onions and sowing seeds, I’ll explain the “sustainable” part.

Bunching onions purchased from the grocery store.

Two Species of Onions

Allium Cepa, the Bulbing Onion

Allium cepa is the commonly grown bulbing onion. Onion sets, small immature bulbs, can be purchased from garden centers in late winter and sometimes in autumn. Plant onion sets a few inches underground, and pull them as green onions before they form bulbs. Planting sets every couple of weeks will provide a continuous harvest.

Left longer in the garden and spaced properly, though, the bulbs will grow larger. Your garden’s latitude, which affects day length in the growing season, will determine which onion varieties will successfully form bulbs. Short-day onions are grown in the southern United States, and long-day or intermediate varieties are grown farther north.

Check with your local agricultural extension office for names of varieties that will mature as bulbs in your region. Bulbing onions also can be grown from seed or purchased in bunches of young seedlings, but most varieties require more than 110 days to mature.

Allium Fistulosum, the Bunching Onion

The variety I grew in the cold frame was called ‘Nabechan’. This variety is a member of the species, Allium fistulosum. Japanese bunching onions, or scallions, don’t grow bulbs. Several varieties are available, and all remain straight-sided, with minor swelling at the base. Bunching onions are available as seeds for home gardeners.

Bunching onions are the ones usually sold in small bunches at the grocery store (photo, above). I use them in salads, omelets, stir-fries, and soups. Once or twice a week, I add a green onion to the spinach, mushrooms, a colorful lunchbox pepper, and kale in the veggie omelet. It’s really good with cheese and microgreens or slices of avocado in the fold…maybe some bacon on the side, and rye toast.

Although both species of onions can be harvested as green onions, the ones I sold at farmers’ markets were ‘Nabechan’ bunching onions. They were ready for the market when the 15 or 20 seedlings in 6″ or 6½” pots approached a harvestable size. Here’s how to grow them, if you’d like to give it a try.

Starting Seeds For Bunching Onions

Sow the seeds 1/4″ deep and about 1/4″ apart in 6″ pots filled with seedling mix. Water gently, so the seeds aren’t dislodged. They germinate well at temperatures around 70° to 80° F.

When the seeds germinate, give them full direct sunlight (6 hours at least), and lower the temperature. They thrive with cool to moderate temperatures, but avoid subjecting them to frost at this early stage. Inadequate light creates weak seedlings and feeble roots.

Keep the soil moist. Onions have shallow roots, and fail when grown too dry. Fertilize every 2 weeks with fish emulsion, Sea-Plus, or any complete fertilizer.

Transplanting Seedlings Of Bunching Onions

Once they’ve grown a few inches tall and are easier to handle, the seedlings will need to be spaced farther apart.

First, fill the new pot or pots with dampened potting soil to within 4-5″ of the rim. Yes, that seems too low, but more potting soil will be added as the seedlings grow. Firm it in lightly.

Where To Place the Crown

Now, gently ease the young plants and the soil mass out of the pot. Don’t let exposed roots dry out during this process. Cover them with a damp towel as you work.

You’ll see the 3 main parts of the onion: the green leaves, the white roots, and the region between the leaves and the roots, called the crown.

Hold up the seedling’s leaves and transplant it into the new pot. Space seedlings 3/4-1″ apart. It might be easier using a pencil to poke a hole into the soil for the roots. Plant with the crown at the soil surface, and lightly firm the soil around its roots. Add a small amount of potting soil over the bases of the stems to stabilize them. Plant them in wider nursery pots, if you choose, where they can remain until harvested. But they won’t require a deep pot.

Water the seedlings and place the pot in direct sun. But avoid harsh hot sun for a couple of days while the roots recover.

Growing Long White Stems

The trick to getting those long white stems is simply to plant the seedlings lower in the soil. Excluding light prevents chlorophyll from developing, blanching the stem. Leeks, another member of the Amaryllidaceae family, get their long white stems in the same way.

Every 10-14 days, add soil between the seedlings, an inch or so at a time, while holding the leaves upright. Although this sounds contrary to normal horticultural practices, the onions will recover. Chlorophyll in the covered stems will be reabsorbed by the plants.

Older leaves will turn brown and can be removed. But strong new foliage will emerge while the underground stem continues to thicken. It’s important to give seedlings full sun for optimal photosynthesis.

The pot is finished when the soil surface is about 1″ below the rim of the pot. The bunching onions will have 4″ or 5″ of white stem below the green leaves (longer than in the photo of store-bought onions, above).

Introduce the seedlings to stronger sun and cooler temperatures outside in the daytime. Protect them from frost while they’re hardening off. With good growing conditions (direct sun, moderate to cool temperatures, moist soil, and fertilizer every 2 weeks), the onions can remain in pots until they’re harvested.

Here’s Another Method of Seeding Bunching Onions

‘Evergreen’ bunching onions.

In the photo above, I started seeds about 1½” above the bottom of a 6½” pot, and spaced them farther apart. Adding soil every couple of weeks blanched the stems. Spacing them farther apart from the beginning obviates the need for transplanting.

I tilted the pot on the plant stand outside so the seedlings could catch the rays of the low sun during the shortest days of the year. On cold nights, the pot came indoors. These are seedlings of a variety called ‘Evergreen’.

Planting Bunching Onions Outdoors in the Garden

If you want to grow bunching onions in the ground, plant the pot of seedlings as a unit, covering the stems with 1″ to 2″ of soil. With good soil preparation and careful monitoring, young seedlings can be transplanted into the garden at this stage, weather permitting.

Seeding directly into prepared garden soil is another option if you can monitor progress and keep pests away. Remove weeds when they’re small; onions’ roots can be damaged even with shallow cultivation. By the way, deer and rabbits don’t eat onions.

As the seedlings grow, occasionally hill up soil around the base of the plants to lengthen the white stems. Within about 2 months of seeding, the bunching onions are ready to pull as needed in the kitchen. Younger plants are especially delicate and tender as a garnish. If they’re spaced an inch apart, the seedlings won’t need to be thinned.

Non-bulbing onions are easier to pull from the soil than other types of green onions that have begun to form bulbs. That’s why I prefer growing Japanese bunching onions for green onions. If needed, use a narrow trowel or a butter knife to help pry them from the soil if you want to harvest the whole plant or if bulbs have started forming when using onion sets.

Negi Onions

Bunching onions traditionally are sown in cell packs with several seeds per cell. Later, they’re planted out without separating the seedlings, allowing them to grow and be harvested as a “bunch”. But, in order to grow “sustainable” bunching onions, they need to be grown separately from each other.

In the popular “Negi” method of growing bunching onions, seedlings are spaced farther apart from the beginning and hilled deeply over time. These scallions are older and larger than the ones I grow, resembling leeks.

Here’s the Sustainable Part

This is where bunching onions become sustainable bunching onions.

Instead of pulling out the entire plant when harvesting, insert a knife into the soil a few inches, making a cut through the stem 1/2″ to 2/3″ above the root system. By leaving the bottom of the stem and the roots intact, the plant will regenerate and give you another green onion after 2 or 3 weeks of favorable weather!

Experience will sharpen your aim, but whether the stem was cut too high or too low, it doesn’t matter. It’s all edible. If you removed the whole stem accidentally, just cut off the bottom 1/2″, with roots, and replant 2″ below ground. It’ll take longer to grow, but it probably will survive.

With some protection in colder climates, it’s possible to harvest mature bunching onions all winter long. That’s why I grew them in a cold frame. Just be sure to plant enough of them. Depending on the temperature, they might remain semi-dormant and not regrow until the soil warms up. And what a surprise to see them vigorously re-emerge in the spring to provide another year of harvests!

“Can I Plant Bunching Onions From the Store?”

Cut stems from the grocery store, later planted into a pot.

Sure can! Buy a bunch of green onions (as in the photo at the top), looking for those with clean white roots. Choose the stems you intend to use in cooking, and cut 1/2″ above the crown. Don’t let them dry out, and plant 2″ deep into a pot of lightly moist soil as soon as possible. Adding more soil later will lengthen the white part of the stem. Cut stems initially planted too deeply might exhaust themselves before reaching the light.

In the photo above, I cut these bunching onions over a period of a few days, and placed them in a clear plastic bag with 2 drops of water. Until a pot of soil had been prepared, the bag sat on the counter, in bright indirect light. You can see the older ones already sprouting. Growing onions in water, even short term, can turn them mushy and really smelly. That’s why planting them directly in soil is preferred.

Keep the pot moist and sunny, and you’ll see a green onion growing probably within 7 to 10 days during the growing season. In the middle of cold winter weather, though, keep the pot in a cool but sunny window indoors or in a cold frame. Soil that freezes could kill the root at this stage. Pick the entire plant or cut the stem when it has grown to the desired size.

Bottoms Up!

If you’re growing green onions from onion sets, this is one of the easiest crops to grow. Seedlings take a little more patience. Because they retain good flavor and substance for a long time, you can harvest what you need and let the rest of the bunching onions continue to grow. Sometimes, all I need is a single green leaf for a small omelet or a garnish.

Here’s to sustainability! Oh, and the reason why those ‘Nabechan’ bunching onions in Maryland failed after several years: contractors replacing the siding on the house trampled them to mush.

These were planted as onion sets in late winter, before starting seeds of bunching onions. They’ll be harvested as green onions or when they have small bulbs.

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Basil Downy Mildew: Symptoms and Solutions

May10

2018

Healthy basil.

Basil Downy Mildew In the U.S.

Basil downy mildew is a devastating disease caused by the pathogen Peronospora belbahrii. This disease has been active in the United States since 2007, and for several years before that in Europe. BDM is thought to have originated nearly 90 years ago in Africa.

This water mold targets a very specific host—basil. Just basil. There are related species that attack other members of the Lamiaceae family, such as coleus, but it’s basil I’ll concentrate on today.

I’m writing about it now because some of you might have given up growing basil. If you’ve struggled with it the last few years, I’m going to offer some tips so you can once again enjoy your home-grown basil. And then I’ll share my favorite Tomato-Basil Salad recipe, a summertime staple around here.

Symptoms Of Basil Downy Mildew

Yellowing between main veins.

Let me begin by describing the symptoms of BDM. The plants might start the season looking great, all green or purple and… oh, that fragrance!… You probably harvested several clippings, using them in salads, on pizza, in tomato sauce. What’s summer without fresh basil?!

And suddenly it went downhill from there. The leaves developed blotchy yellow or pale green sections between the main veins. The discoloration then spread over most of the leaf surface. The leaf reverse (the lower surface) was covered in a fuzzy gray film early the next morning, followed by little black dots.

Those tiny black specks are the fruiting structures (sporangia) of basil downy mildew. They puffed out microscopic spores that were carried on the breeze to infect other basils. The plants became spotty overall, and never regained their strength.

In only a few days, the affected leaves turned yellow. Some of the tips of the stems remained green, but, eventually, they, too, showed symptoms. And most of the leaves dropped off.

You fertilized, you spoke kind, encouraging words. And you commiserated with friends. Yet nothing helped. How disappointing!

: Center leaf beginning to grow pale.

: Black sporangia on reverse.

Spores and Relative Humidity

All is not lost. With some insight into how this disease works, you might be able to stop the progression of BDM and get more mileage out of your plants. Another option is to start with healthy new transplants and take precautions so it doesn’t happen again.

You might have noticed that basil downy mildew started showing up and spreading quickly during wet or humid weather. Good observation! In fact, spores require around 85% relative humidity for a few hours in order to germinate.

Even if the weather is quite dry or only slightly humid, the basil still can become infected. How? As the nighttime temperature drops, the relative humidity climbs. After a period of high humidity, the spores begin to germinate on susceptible varieties of basil.

Let’s say the daytime temperatures are in the 80’s F, with comfortably low humidity around 40%. With no rain in the forecast, you might think you’re in the clear. The problem is that the period of time just before dawn is when the relative humidity is at its highest reading of the day. It could easily reach 90%! The lower the temperature drops during the night, the higher the relative humidity rises.

So…limiting humidity around basil can keep the plant just outside the reach of the disease. If you live in an area that gets extremely hot and dry in the summer, your basil might survive unscathed. That’s happened only 2 or 3 times in my gardens since BDM started showing up in the mid-Atlantic and southern states.

Reducing Humidity

Potted sweet basil.

How do you limit the humidity? Simple! That’s why I’m writing this now, before everyone gets their basil plants into the garden. Here are some suggestions for you:

Basil grown in the garden should be situated in an area with excellent air circulation. Don’t plant it in the middle of a bed, with neighboring plants all around, or next to a fence.

Planting basil near a paved surface, or surrounded by paved surfaces, has the benefit of having less square footage that’s able to absorb moisture. The goal is to reduce as many sources of moisture as possible. And that includes overhead watering! If you’ve read the posts about tomatoes, you’ve learned the importance of keeping foliage dry.

BDM can show up in one neighborhood while entirely missing the next one. It might not appear at all if the summer is very hot and dry and if the nights don’t cool down very much. Or it might not show up until rain returns after a long, dry summer.

Certain weather conditions, such as frequent rainstorms and persistently high humidity, foster the widespread and enduring presence of basil downy mildew. Once the spores are in the air, growing basil is a lost cause… Or is it?

The Ultimate Solution: Potted Basil

This pot will come inside at night, after releasing the toad.

Basil grows well in containers. An airy exposure up on the deck could be a good spot for it. Or sitting on a brick patio, or under the umbrella when it’s especially hot. Check your plants every day for those tell-tale light-colored blotches, and remove those leaves immediately.

If it looks like a losing battle, move the pot indoors for the night. That’s right! Get used to it if you want to—no, must—have fresh basil.

As long as you’re not living in the middle of a bog, the humidity indoors will never reach the levels required to grow BDM. And then place the basil back outside the next morning. On rainy days, keep the potted basil indoors, in a bright spot. Yes, it’s work, but worth the effort.

A few varieties of basil don’t get the disease, and plant breeders are working feverishly to bring more to market. Naturally, all of my favorites, including ‘Genovese’, ‘Yevani’, ‘Mrs. Burns’ Lemon’, ‘Tuscany’, and ‘Siam Queen’ DO get basil downy mildew. And, yes, I DO bring in the potted plants at night once the disease has reached the area or before rainy weather comes near.

Those that, in my experience, seem to be resistant are ‘Cardinal’, ‘Kapoor tulsi’ (holy basil), and ‘African Blue’ basil, but they’re not my favorites in the kitchen. ‘Eleonora’ is another that has been advertised as having “intermediate” resistance, but I have seen advanced cases of BDM on this variety.

(***Update***: New cultivars developed by Rutgers University will be worth trying. Look for ‘Rutgers Devotion DMR’, ‘Rutgers Obsession DMR’, ‘Rutgers Passion DMR’, and ‘Rutgers Thunderstruck DMR’. I grew ‘Rutgers’ Obsession DMR’ outdoors all summer, in 2021, and still have a cutting growing in the kitchen window. This variety did not develop any symptoms of BDM. Success! 1/22/2022)

Always remember: when you think about basil, think about how relative humidity can affect its health.

Tomato-basil salad.

Tomato-Basil Salad

Here’s a recipe for Tomato-Basil Salad, like Caprese salad, but with extra bits:

Ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks, juice included
Yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
Cucumber, alternately-peeled (no need to peel the thin-skinned ‘Diva’), halved and sliced
Mozzarella cheese, medium chunks
Sweet basil, usually ‘Genovese’ for us
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar if you prefer
Fresh Italian oregano, chopped; dried will work
Salt and pepper to taste

Measurements aren’t that important. Tomatoes are the main ingredient, and you can use all reds or mix the colors. Not too much onion. Certainly enough basil, and don’t use so much oregano that it overpowers the rest. Mother likes hers more vinegary. Oh, and get a nice loaf of bread for dunking. Enjoy!

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Tomatoes: Stake, Water, and Prune

May8

2018

How Are the Tomatoes Doing?

A staked ‘Rutgers’ tomato.

The recent stretch of warm, sunny weather has helped the tomatoes and peppers double in height. It’s time to secure them to stakes or to cage them if you haven’t already done so. Once the last of the broccoli side shoots have been harvested from our garden, a zucchini will go there. And cucumber ‘Diva’ will be planted after the cauliflower has been picked, but that’s a while off.

Check with your local Master Gardeners office to see what else is safe to plant now, or look online for a handy planting schedule available from your local agricultural extension office. Keep in mind, though, that these are only guidelines. Weather trends and microclimates will dictate what’s safe to plant.

And Peppers?

Healthy pepper plant with red and green fruits

Sweet bell pepper.

Since the varieties of peppers that I planted don’t grow taller than 3′, the tomato cages will be used to support them. The metal cages are only about 3′ tall, once the prongs are anchored into the ground. These short cages are useless for tall tomatoes.

Peppers and tomatoes are in the same family (Solanaceae), by the way, so they need many of the same growing conditions.

As the plants grow, steer the young side shoots through the openings. A sweet bell pepper loaded with 5″ fruits will appreciate the extra support for the limbs. A high wind or a pelting rainstorm can cause heavy branches to split from the main stem. Small-fruited pepper plants can be staked, caged, or allowed to grow without support.

Keep an eye on the weather, though. A forecast calling for windy conditions might prompt you to put something in place before the storm arrives.

Determinate Or Indeterminate Tomatoes

Tomato varieties are categorized as either determinate or indeterminate. This pertains to their habit of growth and when they set fruit.

Determinate tomatoes generally stay short and set fruit within a concentrated period of time. Varieties such as ‘Roma’, ‘Celebrity’, and ‘Patio’ permit the grower to harvest most of the fruits at once—good for canning or making sauce. Although determinates tend to be short, some varieties will grow quite vigorously and might require staking.

Indeterminate tomatoes, such as ‘Big Beef’, ‘Sun Gold’, ‘Nepal’, and ‘Cherokee Purple’, continue growing throughout the season, and often produce right up to frost.

Even though both the cherry tomato ‘Sun Gold’ and the heirloom ‘Cherokee Purple’ are indeterminate tomatoes, the latter may grow to only 5′, whereas ‘Sun Gold’ can grow twice as tall. Learning about the different varieties you want to grow will indicate what kind of staking or caging you’ll have to do. You can always add a taller stake later, if needed.

Staking

Because we grow indeterminate tomatoes, we use 7′ or 8′ tall vinyl-covered metal stakes. Oak or bamboo stakes are available, as are collapsible wire cages. A decorative trellis is both attractive and functional. Anchor the supports far enough into the ground to prevent them from falling over.

Shoe laces make perfect ties for tomato plants. They’re soft and they can be retied as the stems grow in girth. You can also use twine, twist-ems, clothesline, or anything else that won’t cut into the stem. Some gardeners use ties in a figure-8 fashion, around the stake and around the stem. Or simply loop it once or twice around the stem and stake.

Check frequently through the summer to make sure the stem isn’t being constricted by the ties. Don’t tie so tightly that there is no room for movement or growth. Some bending and swaying in the breeze strengthens the plants.

Staking elevates foliage off the moist soil, decreasing the likelihood of disease.

‘Sun Gold’ cherry tomatoes.

Young Plants

Consider the balance between the amount of foliage and the number of fruits. A young tomato plant with only a few leaves will not be able to support ripening fruits. It could show early symptoms of nutrient deficiency.

Examine the newest growth at the top of the plant. The tip growth of a very young plant might show signs of withering, or turn tan in color, or simply refuse to grow if it is also trying to supply nutrients to ripening fruit. Boron, a micronutrient needed in tiny amounts, is critical for new growth. The growth tip will sacrifice itself and future growth in order to do what a plant wants to do, which is to set seed in its fruits.

It’s best to remove all fruits on a very young plant. A sparsely-leaved plant struggles to get enough carbohydrates (the products of photosynthesis) into the fruits. This contributes to slow growth and mediocre flavor.

Suckers

As the tomato plants grow, add more ties, every foot or so, to prevent the tops from flopping over. At the same time, take a look at the stems, and decide which suckers will have to be pruned. Don’t confuse the suckers with the flower stalks that arise from the stems. The flowers are yellow and quite conspicuous.

: Tomato sucker removed.

: Tomato flowers.

Some more basic terminology: A sucker is the common name for the new shoot emerging from the angle between the top of a leafstalk (the petiole) and the stem (photo, above left). The side branch starts out as an axillary bud and grows rapidly. There are axillary buds above most leaves, and the branches, too, will sprout even more suckers. So, you see why it’s important to inspect your tomato vines frequently.

A tomato’s compound leaf.

Suckers that are not removed will soon become main stems. The main reason I sucker tomatoes is for increased air circulation. This helps prevent many kinds of diseases from infecting the plants in this humid area. Many gardeners have commented that limiting the number of stems results in fewer, but larger, fruits.

Also, tomatoes will develop better color and flavor, and contain more antioxidants, if they’re exposed to gentle rays of the sun. This is especially true for the “black” tomatoes, such as ‘Black Krim’, ‘Kakao’, and ‘Cherokee Purple’.

A few more terms for you: The tomato leaf is a compound leaf, composed of the petiole and several leaflets, attached by petiolules. And the main rib of the leaf is called a rachis.

How Many Main Stems?

Index finger points to a sucker.

Tomatoes are weedy plants and will grow lots of side branches. For most of the growing season, I keep only 3 or 4 main stems growing on each plant. Near the end of the season, I’m less particular about controlling growth. By then, I’m thrilled to harvest anything off the vines.

Since each of those side branches will try to grow, any suckers that I don’t want to grow into main stems will be removed.

Limiting the growth of foliage encourages better air circulation, helping prevent diseases from ruining your crop. Some growers permit only 1 or 2 stems to grow, but I don’t believe enough products of photosynthesis get to the ripening tomatoes. Just a hunch.

The plant has one thing on its mind, and that is to procreate! In order to do that—well, yes, after pollination—the fruits have to be adequately nourished until the seeds mature. And since all nourishment comes from photosynthesis, the plant needs to have enough leaf surface, and enough direct sunlight, to carry out this vital function.

Can I Root Those Suckers?

If, in early summer, you wish you had planted more tomatoes, you can root healthy 4″ to 5″ long suckers. They root quickly in 3″ or 4″ pots of moist soil, kept humid and in light shade. Simply bury the whole stem in each pot, keeping only a couple of leaves above the soil surface. You can also root them directly into the garden, kept moist and shaded until roots become established.

If it wilts all the time, remove a leaf or two from the bottom of the stem, or cut large leaves in half. A big, leafy cutting won’t be able to root or absorb water fast enough to keep the leaves turgid. Make sure the cutting has good contact with moist soil. Perhaps rooting cuttings in a glass of water will work better for you.

When the cuttings start growing, gradually introduce them to more sun before they’re finally planted out. Tomato suckers root fast, so if you don’t see results within 10 days, start new ones.

The sucker is genetically identical to the parent plant, so the fruits will be the same. This applies to both heirlooms and hybrids.

Limb It Up

Since the first suckers will appear near the bottom of the plant, you might be inclined to let them develop as Main Stem #2 and Main Stem #3. Always keep disease prevention in mind when dealing with tomatoes. I prefer to snip out those bottom suckers and, instead, let the plant start branching 10″ or 12″ above ground level.

As the stem grows taller, remove the bottom leaves, too. That’s right; this permits free air flow underneath the plant. And the soil surface will dry faster, further decreasing the incidence of disease.

Headings

Page 1: How Are the Tomatoes Doing?, And Peppers?, Determinate Or Indeterminate Tomatoes, Staking, Young Plants, Suckers (How Many Main Stems?, Can I Root Those Suckers?), and Limb It Up

Page 2: Sun Scald, Blossom End Rot: Tomatoes and Peppers, Watering Tomatoes, Deer, and They’re Weeds, After All!

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Pages: 1 2

Tips For Growing a Tomato Plant

Apr29

A Tomato Plant For Your Garden

Anyone who has grown a tomato plant and experienced sublime sun-ripened perfection understands the joy that awaits those new to this endeavor. But it takes a little skill. Starting with light, I’ll explain the basics here. And be sure to read related posts to get the full picture.

How Much Sun For a Tomato Plant?

‘Cherokee Purple’ tomato.

A tomato plant requires at least 7 hours of direct sun. Sure, many sources of information recommend 6 hours, and you’ll certainly have some success. But, for best performance, give it 7 or 8 hours or more.

Tomatoes produce more flowers in a sunnier location. And their leaves will make more “food” (carbohydrates resulting from photosynthesis) that keeps plants growing and producing. More hours of sun maintains drier foliage for a longer period of time. And drier foliage means fewer problems with disease.

Now if you don’t have a spot that gets 7 hours of sun, but it gets 5, you might be able to get fruits from a cherry tomato plant. Instead of being disappointed with the lower-yielding but yummy heirlooms or the big beefsteaks, try ‘Sun Gold’ or the other cherry tomatoes. ‘San Marzano’ and ‘Juliet’ also are worth considering for five or six hours of sun. Because they are high-yielding, you’ll probably harvest something.

But, in full sun, cherry tomatoes produce so many fruits that you’ll be giving them away by the bowlful. Really…they’ll have produced hundreds of fruits on a tall vine by the end of summer.

A “hand” of cherry tomatoes.

Options

If you have the space, some experimentation might yield promising results. Try growing tomatoes in large pots on the sunny patio, and plant greens where there isn’t enough sun for tomatoes. Or perhaps a corner of the sunny rose garden can be given over to edibles that need full sun, if the soil hasn’t been treated with chemicals.

I don’t often recommend cutting down trees. Removing a silver maple that seeded near the vegetable garden, however, will make the garden more productive, and, if permitted, that’s the way to go. When selecting trees for an average size property, choose small-growing trees and locate them far from gardens requiring full sun. Consider their mature size and where the shade will fall from one season to the next.

More Light For a Tomato Plant

Here are some tricks to coax more production out of your edible plants if the sun exposure is less than ideal:

Plant in as sunny a spot as you have, perhaps near a white or light-colored wall, which will reflect more light toward the tomatoes. Or, using a little resourcefulness, create a reflective wall with tall stakes and white fabric.
Lay repurposed light-colored empty mulch or potting soil bags on the soil, on the sunny side of the plants. Anchor them with stones or bricks. Punch lots of holes in the plastic so the plants will get enough water from rain or irrigation. Don’t allow water to collect for more than a few days or you’ll have trouble with mosquitoes.
Porous synthetic or woven mulches are available from garden supply companies. White mulch helps reflect the light and also keeps soil cooler. Additionally, a source of light from below the plant confuses insect pests and might cause them to take up residence elsewhere.
Use a few stakes instead of one, or a wide trellis, for a tomato plant, tying main stems farther out from the core of the plant. This will get more light onto leaves that otherwise would have been heavily shaded.

Crop Rotation

Zucchini.

If space allows, locate your tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplants (all members of the nightshade family) where none of them have been grown for the last 3 or 4 years. This crop rotation lessens the likelihood of heavy insect and disease outbreaks from one year to the next. It prevents disease spores and insect larvae from building up in the soil and infecting new foliage.

Tomatoes and other members of the nightshade family (Solanaceae) are affected by certain insects and diseases that generally do not bother other families of vegetables. Cucurbits (zucchini, cucumber, squash) and brassicas (broccoli, kale, cauliflower) have their own problems, as do the other plant families.

Disease Resistance

You’ll notice on seed packets, labels, and in catalog descriptions, a series of capital letters after the cultivar’s name. Those letters are initials for the diseases to which that cultivar is resistant. For example, ‘Big Beef’ tomato has the letters AS, F2, L, N, TMV, and V after its name. They represent the diseases Alternaria stem canker, Fusarium wilt (races 1 and 2), Grey leaf spot, Nematodes (not a disease but a tiny worm), Tobacco mosaic virus, and Verticillium wilt, respectively.

Most hybrids have been bred to withstand some disease pressure. Heirlooms are more susceptible to disease, but the flavor of their fruits is superior to that of many varieties commonly found at garden centers. If you have the space, try growing one or two heirlooms in addition to disease resistant varieties.

(***Update***: In 2019, I grew 2 heirloom tomato plants in large pots, and both succumbed to disease well before the end of the summer. We had an especially wet and humid season, but I knew the odds when I’d bought them. Still, each one produced several dozen fruits before removal.)

Susceptibility to disease varies from one area of the country to another, so you might never see some of the diseases that pop up elsewhere.

Weather plays an important role, too, and there’s nothing we can do about that. Choosing at least one disease resistant tomato plant is wise.

To a certain degree, we can manage the environment and our gardening practices in ways that discourage insects and diseases. I almost always include an heirloom tomato plant in my garden, knowing that it is more vulnerable to disease, but it’s worth the effort.

Disease Prevention For a Tomato Plant

For gardeners with limited garden space, crop rotation is not an option. In that case, consider mulching your plants with coarse, chunky material, such as pine bark mulch. Having a dry surface under the plants, as opposed to a moist surface that can harbor disease organisms, is another line of defense. Those large chunks will dry faster than the surface of clay soil or shredded hardwood mulch. Several inches of seed-free straw or dry oak leaves also work.

Porous landscape fabric is another barrier you can use. This product is available in both biodegradable and synthetic materials.

Using pine mulch or fabric will help keep dormant spores of soil-borne diseases, deposited from previous crops, from splashing up onto the low-growing foliage, infecting new plants. Always remove diseased foliage to the trash. Spores can, of course, be blown in from elsewhere, but it’s always best to exercise that ounce of prevention when we can.

Yes, problems can crop up. But usually there is enough fresh produce harvested from your own back yard to consider the garden a worthwhile project.

Air Circulation and Suckers

Tomato sucker removed.

Air circulation around each plant is another factor in disease prevention. I plant tomatoes 4 feet apart in the garden and permit only 3 or 4 main stems to develop on each one. Some growers limit the number of stems to just 2 and space the plants closer together.

A tomato plant is a weedy thing, and, left to its own devices, will create a tangled twining mess of stems and leaves. That doesn’t mean it won’t produce fruit. However, controlling the growth improves air circulation, which keeps the foliage healthier.

As tomato plants grow, suckers grow from axillary buds in the angle between the leaf and the stem. Those suckers will grow into more main stems if not limited. Simply snip out the suckers that have been selected for removal.

Tie stems to tall, sturdy stakes to lift tall plants off the ground. Removing suckers and staking a tomato plant increases the air circulation around and through the foliage, prolonging the plant’s life.

When the plants have been established for a few weeks, and they’re growing vigorously, remove the bottom leaves to get more air circulating underneath the plants. I keep about 12″ of the stem leaf-free. Keep the foliage as dry as possible and avoid handling wet plants.

When Disease Strikes

‘Rutgers’ tomato infected with disease (Septoria?).

Diseased plants will start losing foliage, generally from the bottom up. Leaves become yellow, spotted, puckered, or crispy brown. Widespread disease requires removal of the plants.

If a disease has just been noticed, though, remove to the trash all spotty, blighted leaves with clippers that have been dipped in a 10% bleach solution before going to the next plant. Disease can spread from plant to plant on infected tools and hands.

Spraying the plants with an appropriate remedy might save the plants. Several copper-, bicarbonate-, and microbe-based fungicides are available for organic growers.

Prevent the deadly tobacco mosaic virus from infecting tomatoes and peppers by never smoking near the vegetable garden, and by washing hands thoroughly before working there. Tobacco is related to tomatoes and peppers, and disease spores might be present in the product.

Occasionally we see tomato plants with leaves at the top all twisted and contorted. Sometimes they’re discolored as well. This can result from the application of herbicides, if not on your property, then from a few houses away. The chemical is carried on the breeze, and it takes minute quantities to affect tomatoes. Either cut the plants back to healthy foliage or replace with new transplants. Check also for leafhoppers and aphids inside curled leaves.

Sun Scald

Sun scald on sweet peppers.

On Peppers

Strong sun hitting the fruits on very hot afternoons can cause sun scald. Keeping enough leaf cover will protect the fruits. Patches of sun scald are the parts of the fruit that were perpendicular to the hottest rays of the sun.

Don’t thin pepper plants; they’re especially vulnerable to sun scald. These fruits (photo, above) from a young and sparsely-leaved ‘Lemon Dream’ pepper were not adequately shaded. But the good parts don’t have to go to waste. Simply remove the affected parts.

Tomatoes Exposed To Sun

‘Cherokee Purple’ tomatoes and basil.

I prefer 3 or 4 stems on a tomato plant instead of 2; there are more leaves to lessen the sun’s intensity without entirely shading the fruits.

The flavor is more intense in some varieties (such as ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Black Krim’, and other “black” tomatoes) if the fruits are exposed to some direct sunlight. Morning sun is more gentle than hot afternoon sun. But on hot days, exposed tomatoes can get sun scald. Pick those tomatoes, remove the mushy parts affected by sun scald, and eat them right away, before they start rotting.

Sunlight gives fruits a richer color, increasing levels of anthocyanins. What are they? Anthocyanins, the blue and red pigments in fruits and vegetables, are powerful antioxidants, which help fight inflammation and play an important part in cancer prevention.

When you consider how much effort is required to support large amounts of ripening fruit on a mature tomato plant, it seems rational that 3 or 4 leafy stems will be able to produce a lot more “food” (carbohydrates from photosynthesis) for the developing fruits. This will help the fruits achieve full size and, more importantly, full flavor.

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Headings

Page 1: It’s Time To Plant Tomatoes!, How Much Sun For a Tomato Plant? (Options), More Light For a Tomato Plant, Crop Rotation, Disease Resistance, Disease Prevention For a Tomato Plant (Air Circulation and Suckers, When Disease Strikes), and Sun Scald (On Peppers, Tomatoes Exposed To Sun)

Page 2: Time to Plant!, Plant Tomatoes Deeper, Trichomes, Stake or Cage a Tomato Plant?, And Water, and Deer

Pages: 1 2

Soil Prep 101 For Your Vegetable Garden

Apr25

Cool season vegetables and greens.

Finding the Perfect Spot for Your Vegetable Garden

For the purpose of this post, I’ll assume that your vegetable garden will be flush with the surrounding lawn, rather than in a raised bed. However, sound horticultural principles apply to either method. Locate the garden where it gets lots of direct sunlight, and avoid low areas that collect water after heavy rain. Place it close to a source of water.

Now that you’ve found the perfect spot for your vegetable garden, you’re ready for Soil Prep 101. The types of crops you plant in any season are weather-dependent, so make sure weather patterns in your location suit the peppers, basil, kale, or cauliflower.

Although this article concentrates on preparing beds for vegetable gardens, the principles apply to other plants as well, including new shrub borders and flower gardens for pollinators. Page 2 of this article has tips for improving the soil’s tilth, or workability, for most garden projects.

Prerequisites for this class: “How to Prepare the Soil: An Introduction” and “Yes, But Is It Sunny In the Winter?”

Swiss chard in a raised vegetable garden

Swiss chard in a raised bed.

Depending on your level of affinity for precise measurement, you can use either a measuring tape or simple paces to mark the dimensions of your garden. Gardeners who want to indulge in culinary experimentation by growing a wide variety of crops might regret not having made the vegetable garden large enough from the outset. Consider the possibility of expansion in the future.

How Much Sun Does the Vegetable Garden Need?

There is no substitute for sunlight. Without at least 6 hours of direct sun, the results will be disappointing. Anything less than that will reduce and delay the harvest.

Indirect, dappled, and filtered light don’t really count. In fact, during most of the growing season, fruiting plants perform so much better with 7 or 8 hours of sun, minimum! There are other types of crops that can be grown in less than full sun, including leafy greens (lettuce, arugula) and a few herbs (cilantro, parsley).

Layout

Tomato.

Someone out there is asking, “Do I run the rows (the long axes) east-to-west or south-to-north?” Good question! If your plans include growing several tomato plants and maybe some pole beans on a trellis, and you prefer one long plot that is accessible from both sides, I recommend east-to-west.

Long-term plants (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) will continue to get good sunlight all season. Spaced properly, they won’t cast as much shade on each other, especially as fall approaches and the sun sinks lower in the sky. But, if your garden receives sun all day, it won’t make much difference to main season crops.

Cool season crops, grown from fall through early spring, however, will get more sun when planted east-to-west. They’ll face the sun all day even though the days are short.

Taller plants should be planted on the north side of any plot (northern hemisphere), so they don’t shade smaller plants nearby. Some varieties of staked indeterminate tomatoes can grow 8′ tall!

lettuce basket, a portable vegetable garden

Lettuce growing in a basket.

On properties where spatial considerations are limited, do what you can to provide enough direct sun to those crops you can’t live without. Your crops might not be lined up in neat rows, but rather planted individually in a sunny corner over here and another by the back gate. Doesn’t matter. Do what works for you!

Container-grown crops, such as this lettuce basket (photo, above), can be moved around as conditions change.

Multiple Vegetable Garden Beds

With ample space, a series of garden beds can be laid out in a grid. When deciding where the plants will go, always keep in mind that you want to prevent tall plants from shading short plants, with few exceptions. Using straight pathways makes maneuvering the wheelbarrow and equipment easier.

Crops that prefer cooler, part-shade conditions as the weather warms can be planted between the taller plants or in the partial shade they cast. Those include late spring lettuces, arugula, cilantro, and spinach.

Savoy cabbage.

Having several plots allows for crop rotation, planting one family of plants in Plot A this year, in Plot B next year, and so on. This helps prevent the soil from being severely depleted of certain micronutrients and from allowing populations of insects and diseases to build up.

The nightshade family (Solanaceae: tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato), the cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae: cucumber, summer squash, zucchini, melon, pumpkin), and the brassicas (Brassicaceae: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts) are groups of plants that benefit from being rotated every 4 or more years.

To clarify, one member of a family (tomato, for example) should not be planted where any member of that family (tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato) has grown in the past few years.

This is a good reason to keep a record describing where you plant each crop every year, as well as documenting successes and losses. Knowing the family names that crops belong to also helps with crop rotation.

Seed Or Transplant?

Don’t go overboard if this is your first attempt. You’re not obligated to germinate every pack of seeds you bought. There’s always next season. Most seeds will remain viable for a few years if kept dry and cool.

Starting out with young tomato, pepper, or slow-growing parsley transplants might be more practical than growing them from seed, even though it is more expensive. You’ll find them at garden centers, farmers’ markets, and local hardware stores, and the growers often have good suggestions for cultivation.

If you’re late getting the vegetable garden going, transplants will save you several weeks of growing time. You can always supplement with fast sprouting varieties of seeds, such as those mentioned in the next section.

Starting plants from seed is a welcome challenge to many and is a source of fascination for children—and for adults, too. Don’t laugh, but, for me, it’s a thrill when the catalogs start showing up in the mailbox. I would never discourage you from exploring this facet of gardening. And, of course, there are so many excellent varieties available from seed that never show up in retail stores as transplants.

Seedlings For Vegetable Gardens Need Sun

Seedlings of fruiting crops need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight for strong growth. Use clean pots, pasteurized seed starting mix, and a waterproof tray. Provide the proper temperature for germination.

If you don’t have very sunny windows or a greenhouse, consider starting seeds under shop lights with daylight tubes. I use 4′ long fixtures that hold 2 tubes each. Seedlings growing very close to the tubes—only a few inches away—grow strong stems and roots.

Lettuces, arugula, and other leafy greens tolerate fewer hours of sun, although they appreciate full sun during the cooler months.

Avoid starting seeds too early in the season. This could result in leggy, weak plants that might not perform up to par in the garden.

Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ and Arugula ‘Astro’ seeded into cell packs (late winter, 2022).

Seeding Directly Into the Garden

Some crops grow easily from seed sown directly into the vegetable garden. Peas and beans, for example, and radishes, beets, and carrots are just a few species that can be planted right into prepared ground. Dinosaur kale, mustard spinach, mesclun, leaf lettuce mixes, zucchini, spinach, and cucumbers are more crops that can be directly seeded.

Read all the information on the packet, paying special attention to when to start and how deeply to sow the seeds. Although these crops germinate readily, gardeners must still watch out for pests, both above and below ground, and turns in the weather.

Spacing the Plants

It’s important to calculate how much square footage each of your plants requires, or at least to get a rough idea. On graph paper, map the proposed garden to scale. Use the plants’ spacing recommendations found on the label or the seed packet for the amount of space needed.

With a 1/4″ grid, each square can represent 6″ or 12″ of garden space. The diagram is optional, but it can help in future years when considering crop rotation.

It’s better to have more than enough room rather than not enough; plants don’t respond well to crowding. The seemingly large gaps between the major crops can be interplanted with “ephemerals”—those plants that grow quickly and are harvested before the majors achieve full size. Examples include radishes and lettuce between tomato plants, or green onions and beets between autumn-grown Brussels sprouts.

If It Looks Like This…

Clay soil shrinks as it dries, creating surface cracking.

Soil that dries as hard as a brick is impossible to work with. You can thoroughly water the area the day before or start digging a day or two after a good rain. Avoid digging or walking in the garden when the soil is wet. This compresses the soil, squeezing out tiny channels of air space that are critical for healthy root growth.

Sandy soil that drains too fast should be amended with copious amounts of organic matter. Bagged topsoil is also available, but quality varies widely. The tiny clay particles in clay loam help hold water and nutrients in the soil.

In a large vegetable garden, plan for pathways every 4′ or 5′, and restrict foot traffic to those areas. Use pavers, flagstones, pine bark, or even that old pile of bricks for the pathways. You can get very creative with stonework, and your garden can be the neighborhood show-stopper, but don’t lay out the stones until the end of the soil prep process.

Let’s begin! Please turn the page…

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Headings

Page 1: Finding the Perfect Spot for Your Vegetable Garden, How Much Sun Does the Vegetable Garden Need?, Layout, Multiple Vegetable Garden Beds, Seed Or Transplant? (Seedlings For Vegetable Gardens Need Sun, Seeding Directly Into the Garden), Spacing the Plants, and If It Looks Like This…

Page 2: Remove Sod, Tilth, Soil Prep (The First Dig: Loosen the Clay, The Second Dig: Add Drainage Materials, Organic Matter vs. “Organic”, The Third Dig: Add Organic Matter), Fertilizers, Rake Smooth and Pave, Agricultural Extension and Soil Tests (To Lime Or Not to Lime, and What is pH?)

Pages: 1 2

Yes, But Is It Sunny In the Winter?

Apr23

Before you start digging, you must first decide where the garden will be located. Many factors should be considered, and the most important one is exposure to the sun. Just outside the back door seems like the logical choice. It’s always sunny next to the patio for summer barbecues. And it’s close to the kitchen and to the water faucet.

Yes, But Is It Sunny In the Winter?

That spot is fine, if you’re interested in growing main-season vegetables. But later this year, you’d like to venture into the world of Asian greens and other cool-season vegetables. First you will need to know if it will be sunny in the winter. The garden patch gets full sun in June, but it might be entirely shaded by the house in December!

The Sun’s Path

The sun’s path across the sky, in southern NC.

The sun’s path and the shadows cast by buildings and trees vary greatly from season to season and from one latitude to another. On the shortest day of the year (the first day of winter) where I live in North Carolina, the sun rises only 31 degrees above the southern horizon. At that time, it rises and sets south of the true east-west axis. On the longest day of the year (the first day of summer), the sun is 77 degrees above the horizon, and rises and sets north of the east-west axis.

A north-facing back yard might be shaded by the house in winter due to low, slanting rays of January sun. In this case, move the proposed garden site farther away from the house. You will be able to enjoy both summer and cool-season crops. Your efforts can be divided among a few plots around the property. Plant each one with the crops that are best suited there at a particular time of the year.

Deciduous trees, such as maple, oak, and cherry, drop their leaves in autumn. Most cool-season greens will receive enough light as it filters through the stems and branches of trees. In our garden (photo, below), you can see shadows cast by twigs and branches from trees growing on the berm to the south. But, by the time the trees leaf out in spring, the sun is almost directly overhead. Tomatoes and peppers planted then will get enough sun, but as the tree canopy expands, the garden will be less sunny in the winter. Time for a bigger garden…elsewhere!

Is Your Garden Sunny In the Winter?

cool season vegetables, sunny in the winter

Cool season vegetables and greens. Plastic covers garden on very cold nights, and netting protects plants from deer.

In regions of the country with moderate winter temperatures, greens can be harvested through the season if the garden gets at least 5 hours of direct sun per day. Leafy greens (spinach, kale, mustard, tatsoi, Swiss chard, lettuce, and many others) will grow fairly well with slightly less sun than that required by head-forming vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.

But exposure to the sun for a longer period of time in winter is always best. The plants grow faster and stronger, and the soil absorbs more heat from the sun during the daytime. More heat prevents the soil from freezing deeply.

Using protective cold frames over the garden moderates severely cold temperatures by trapping the sun’s heat. Warmth is stored in the soil, and released to the plants during the night. Some crops, such as kale, collards, broccoli, parsley, arugula, and cilantro, tolerate cold weather. They often survive without any protection, in the southern half of the country, until they go to flower (or into the stockpot) in spring!

I’ll talk more about cold frames and other protective devices in future posts, and you might have guessed that I’m a fan. On sunny days, of course, cold frames have to be vented in order to release hot air and to get fresh air (with carbon dioxide) in.

Locate the Garden

So, once you decide which crops you want to grow—whether they’re warm-season or cool-season, or both—you can start by observing the path of the sun. Get your young math genius out there, with sticks and string, a level, a compass, and a protractor. Find how the sun and shadows track across the sky at different times of the year. Vegetable gardening could become a great family pastime!

Something else that could influence the location of the garden is the existence of underground conduit, utilities, and cables. Call your local officials (8-1-1) to have the utilities marked before digging anywhere. Tree roots also are a hassle. Guess which one wins if there are maple tree roots infiltrating the vegetable garden.

Free-Photos / Pixabay. Stone circles built thousands of years ago were ceremonial and helped indicate when crops could be planted.

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How to Prepare the Soil: An Introduction

Apr23

Along with the early daffodils comes really beautiful weather. It’s been sunny, the birds are singing…not too hot, not too cold. It’s time to prepare the soil. But first, we need to understand it.

Prepare the Soil

Herbs, vegetables, and flowers are going to be living—hopefully, thriving—in your garden for several months. For trees and shrubs, providing a good home will see them through the next decade, or the next century! It pays to give them the best conditions you can provide, and it all starts below the surface of the ground.

Axiom of the day: soil preparation is 90% of your effort.

If that sounds like work to you, you are correct! But you’re reading this presumably because past results have fallen short of expectations, and you want to improve your gardening skills. I’ve played in the “dirt” professionally for 50 years and can honestly assert: successful gardening depends on the health of the soil.

And here’s the good news. Thorough soil preparation will have benefits for many years to come. You won’t have to prepare the soil to this extent again.

The Soil Is Alive

Microbes

Seedlings in prepared soil.

Soil is more complex than meets the eye. There is a dynamic interplay among minerals, organic matter, air, and moisture. Earthworms, insects, nematodes, and tiny microbes also contribute. Healthy soil is teeming with life! These organisms play an important role in how soil functions. Without them, organic matter would not break down into those vital nutrients needed by all plants.

Vast mycelial mats of beneficial fungi, or mycorrhizae, live in close association with roots. Millions—or perhaps a billion—species of these beneficial microbes inhabit soils around the globe, many of which live within or around a particular species’ roots. Researchers estimate that there could be a trillion species of microbes living in air, soil, water, and living organisms.

Soil-borne mycorrhizae have enzymes that can unlock, or chelate, micronutrients tightly bound to soil particles, making them available to plants. These organisms can gather water and provide it to plants even though the plants’ roots don’t have direct access to moisture. And these microbes act as barriers to certain soil pathogens.

Bacillus, Streptomyces, and Pseudomonas are common bacterial microbes. Fungal mycorrhizae, such as Trichoderma, Hebeloma, and Glomus help roots absorb water and phosphorus. Other microbes, such as viruses and archaea, also inhabit the rhizosphere, the area surrounding the roots. Gardeners are familiar with the nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Rhizobium) that increase yields in legumes.

Scientists have only recently begun deciphering the enormous number of microbes and what they do for or to plants. Only a few plant families, including Brassicaeae, do not have associations with fungal mycorrhizae. Blueberries and other plants in the Ericaceae family (azalea, rhododendron) have very limited associations with mycorrhizae.

Microbes benefit from the symbiotic relationship with roots by getting carbohydrates in return. The numbers of microbes inhabiting just a tablespoonful of soil are staggering. Believe it or not, that’s greater than the number of people living on the planet! Of course, not all of these microbes are beneficial; many cause diseases in plants and animals.

Tilth

Nutrient-rich earthworm castings.

Consider yourself lucky if your soil has good tilth, or friability, to begin with. Perhaps all you’ll need to do to prepare it is to add compost, aged manure, or some fertilizer periodically.

Soil stays more biologically active over a long period of time if it is not disturbed by frequent tilling. Beneficial fungi and nematodes are especially sensitive to major disturbances. Simply scratching products into the soil surface and watering them in preserves existing microbial populations in the soil.

There are several soil types distributed throughout the United States. They’re determined primarily by the kind of bedrock beneath the surface, the kinds of vegetation growing there, climate, and management practices employed through the centuries. Minerals from rock, eroded by water and wind, will be deposited downstream or downwind.

Soil Composition

Soil is composed of:

mineral matter (rocks, sand, silt, clay)
organic matter (carbon-containing [once-living] compounds such as compost, aged manure, dead roots, dead organisms). Never use fresh manure; the ammonia content can harm plants, and it might harbor pathogens.
living organisms (such as earthworms, nematodes, microbes, insects)
air
water

Tilth and fertility are determined by relative proportions of these materials. All kinds of soils benefit from the addition of compost and other organic materials. I confess to going a little overboard on these amendments when I prepare the soil. But the plants look great!

You might be fortunate to start with soil that has good tilth. It already has physical characteristics which promote plant growth. Or experience indicates that the roots will need some encouragement to grow beyond the original root ball.

Soil that is a rocky clay, for example, dries to the consistency of brick, and will need lots of amendments to improve drainage and to encourage roots to grow vigorously. On the other hand, sandy soils need materials that will improve water and nutrient retention. Instead of repeatedly failing with plants that can’t adapt to your soil, try starting out with those that can. Working the garden over the years will condition the soil sufficiently so you’ll be able to grow more species.

Biennial foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).

Simply digging a hole in the ground, adding a cupful of compost, and plopping the plant in place won’t do the trick in heavy clay or rocky soils. Depth of topsoil, drainage patterns, ratio of clay to organic matter, air pore space (the space between particles), and, of course, fertility and pH, all enter into the equation.

The rich, black ground in our West Virginia garden needed no amendments at all; the foxgloves grew 7 feet tall! Still, I added organic matter every time new plants went into the ground.

From Awful to Awesome

First, the Awful Bit

Our first house in Maryland sat on the crest of a hill. Sunrises and sunsets were spectacular, but the soil was just awful. It was all clay and shale. Any organic matter that did exist blew away or washed down the slope. That “dirt” refused to yield even to the most enthusiastic shovel.

I created a vegetable garden farther down the slope, next to the greenhouse, that gave us fabulous crops of tomatoes and peppers. Digging in autumn leaves, vegetable scraps from the kitchen, and discarded material from my horticultural business greatly improved the soil. It didn’t take long for decomposition to begin and for the earthworms to show up.

Almost Awesome

A few years later, we moved farther south to a community that had been carved out of an old oak and hickory forest. Although the soil quality was better here than at the previous property, I continued to prepare the soil with every new project for the next 3 decades.

Before planting rhododendrons (like the one in the photo, below) in the afternoon shade, I added peat moss and pine fines to the soil. These materials were not merely thrown on top of the ground. Instead, generous quantities of amendments were incorporated (not layered) into the top 12″ to 18″ of existing soil. Then, I mixed nutrient-rich LeafGro (locally sourced compost) into the top 8″ of loosened soil.

This effort created a well-balanced mixture, composed of existing clay and loam, and the added peat moss, composted pine bark, and compost. After that, the soil remained undisturbed except for top dressings of fertilizer, compost, or mulch.

Rhododendron catawbiense.

I left the ditch behind the shrub border undisturbed, allowing rainwater to travel down the slope. Water that did not drain away would have meant death for the shallowly rooted rhododendrons.

Blueberries must have very acidic conditions, in a range from about 4.3 to 5.3 pH. Rhododendrons, azaleas, and hollies like their pH a bit higher than that, but still on the acidic side. Peat moss and pine fines incorporated into the soil helped provide the acidity and aeration.

This calibrachoa has chlorosis from high pH.

Petunia, calibrachoa, pansy, and viola also benefit from a lower (acidic) pH. Plants growing in soil with closer to neutral pH will have sickly yellowish leaves with green veins (photo, above).

A Shady Oasis

Gradually, most of the back yard grew into a private woodland. Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonica), paperbark maple (Acer griseum), Pieris, Abelia, Viburnum, Kolkwitzia, and a group of monarch birches (Betula maximowicziana) were the main players. And the rhododendrons and existing vegetation, of course.

Mulched pathways meandered under the cool canopy, and all sorts of shrubs and perennials luxuriated in that rich soil. There was a small pond, a greenhouse, and no grass to mow in the back yard. Awesome. (***Update***: As it often happens, subsequent owners of the house altered the property to suit their needs and removed almost all of those plants.)

Monitor Soil Health Over Time

Preparing the soil for vegetables is not difficult, and the results will last for years. Most varieties prosper in improved soil 10 to 14 inches deep. Lettuce and radishes need only 5 or 6 inches.

Using the space efficiently and intensively calls for carefully managing the soil. Vegetables grow quickly, fruit heavily, and, therefore, require frequent additions of nutrients.

Thoroughly preparing the existing soil will pay dividends, spelling the difference between getting a few vegetables from the garden (“Why bother?”) and having a truly abundant harvest (“Take some veggies, please!”). And, if you properly prepare the soil at the start, you’ll never have to repeat the effort to that degree.

Keep in mind, though, that, as organic matter breaks down and is absorbed by plants and other living things, you’ll need to add more compost. For top performance, plants need balanced fertilizers that are appropriate for specific uses, such as for vegetables, flowers, spring flowering bulbs, or the shrub border. That’s in addition to the compost or aged manure you originally used to prepare the soil. Lack of nutrients and compacted soils are among the top reasons for low crop yields.

Soil Testing

Contact your local Master Gardeners program, or the agricultural extension office, for information on soil testing. The results will indicate which amendments to add, and whether the pH is appropriate for the plants you want to grow. The report also includes a breakdown of the soil components: clay, silt, sand, and organic matter. Normally, I add more organic matter than soil tests recommended.

Soil pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity. Neutral is 7.0, with acidic values below that and alkaline values above 7.0. A simple soil test will indicate pH and nutrient levels. Soil pH affects the availability of nutrients to plant roots, with most vegetables preferring pH levels between 6.0 and 7.3.

Years ago, a landscape client wanted to prepare the soil for a vegetable garden on the property she and her young family had just bought. She expressed concern for “bad things” in the ground, so I suggested that she ask for a lead test in addition to the basic tests. The cost of the basic test is very reasonable, but extra requests will raise the fee. No matter; it’s worth the cost.

The report showed a surprisingly high lead content in the soil, unusual for a newer home. So, you don’t want vegetables growing there! She submitted tests from different areas, and felt confident that the original spot was unique. Something probably had been dumped there before the house was built. Later, the family was going to have the contaminated soil professionally removed.

Lead Paint

In 1977, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use of lead paint in residential properties. If you live near an industrial region, a busy highway, or where lead paint might be a concern, I strongly advise testing for lead before you prepare the soil. Local zoning authorities should have records on past property use. For more information, contact the National Lead Information Center at 800 424-5323.

Lead poses a serious health risk, especially to young children. There is no level of lead that is considered “safe enough”. And most of us grow our own vegetables for the health benefits, after all.

For now, gather your tools and your help, and pace yourselves. This is not something to be accomplished in the hour before your daughter’s softball game. So, you might as well turn it into a party—arrange for pizza delivery at the end of the day! You certainly will have deserved it.

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Potted Peppers for Growing—in the Winter?

Autumn Has Arrived!

Why would we grow potted peppers in winter?

Early Fruits Next Summer

Tip #1: Start with Healthy Transplants

Tip #2: Transplanting Potted Peppers

The Pots

The Potting Soil

The Process

The First Watering

Varieties of Potted Peppers I’m Growing This Year

Headings

The Tip of the Spear

Preparing the Asparagus Bed

Soil Testing

Clearing the Surface

Excavating the Asparagus Bed

Continuing To Fill the Trench

Planting the Asparagus Crowns

Laying Out the Bed

The First Year

The Second Year of the Asparagus Bed

Moving the Asparagus

Male Or Female Plants for Better Asparagus?

White and Purple Asparagus?

Asparagus Nutrients

A Healthy Gut

Yearly Maintenance of the Asparagus Bed

Concluding

Sowing Seeds For The First Crops: Too Early?

Summer Broccoli?

“How do I use these greens?”

Preparing To Sow Seeds

Temperature For Sowing Seeds

Miniature Incandescent Christmas Lights

Preparing Pots For Sowing Seeds

Light For Germinating Seeds

In My Basement

Natural Sunlight And Temperature

How Low Can They Go?

One Step At A Time

Headings:

The Last of the ‘Cherokee Purple’

Attributes of the ‘Cherokee Purple’ Tomato

“Mmmm… BLT”

Can we grow new potatoes from old potatoes?

When can we grow potatoes outside?

Seed Potatoes

Crop Rotation

How To Grow Potatoes In the Garden

Step 1: The First Cut

Step 2: Prepare the Soil If You Want To Grow Potatoes

Soil PH

Step 3: Place the Seed Potatoes

“Greening”?

Step 4: Maintenance

Water

Hollow Heart and Brown Center

Hilling Up

Fertilizer

Insect Pests

Slugs and Deer

Headings

Enclosing the Porch for Growing Plants In Winter

Average Temperatures

Priority: Plants

The Best Option

Preliminary Plans

***Updates***:

Enclosing the Porch: First, the Support System

Brace Yourselves

Next Up: The Vertical Posts

On the South Face

Headings

Starting Seedlings For Your Garden

12 Tips For Starting Seeds

1. Start with clean materials for seedlings.

Pasteurizing Potting Soil

2. Grow disease resistant varieties…

…Especially Tomato Seedlings

**Potted Peppers for Growing—in the Winter?**

Updates:

**The Brassicaceae Family**

**The Amaranthaceae Family**

**The Amaryllidaceae Family**

**The Apiaceae Family**

**The Asteraceae Family**

**The Lamiaceae Family**

**The Polygonaceae Family**