Planted the rest of the garlic today: georgian crystal, georgian fire, polish red, and german red.
Harvest: 12 radishes.
Showing posts with label planting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planting. Show all posts
October 21, 2008
October 20, 2008
First Frost
Last night was predicted to be the first frost of the fall. Assessing the damage today....
And planting garlic...
Harvest: 1 purple beauty sweet pepper, 14 yellow pear tomatoes, and 2 lemon boy tomatoes.
And planting garlic...
Harvest: 1 purple beauty sweet pepper, 14 yellow pear tomatoes, and 2 lemon boy tomatoes.
September 20, 2008
Exotic Edible Berries
I'd like to plant some berry bushes next year...maybe I'll go with one of these instead of the usual blueberry (which grows well in Maryland).
Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum)
Every few years a plant rocks the edible plant world, and for the last few years it's been the goji berry. Goji berries are the latest health craze to sweep the nation. The easy-to-grow plants produce orange berries loaded with protein, vitamin C, iron, and beta-carotene. Plus, they taste good.
This deciduous, 10-to-12-foot-tall, rangy shrub is native to Tibet and the Himalayan mountains and bears raisin-sized berries from summer until fall. The berries are reported to contain 13 percent protein and are loaded with antioxidants. They also contain more iron than spinach, more vitamin C than oranges, and more beta-carotene than carrots. Goji berries are used in Tibet to treat a variety of ailments and to increase longevity.
Goji berries are hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and readily adapt to most soils. In spring, the attractive white and purple flowers form. By late summer, fresh, juicy, and sweet orange-red goji berries begin to ripen. Since the plant forms such as rangy shrub, goji berries don't fit well in a formal garden and are best grown on their own as a hedge or a mass planting.
Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea)
This honeysuckle relative produces sweet, 1- to 2-inch-long, blueberry-like fruits that can be eaten fresh or made into pies and sauces. The shrub grows 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, is generally disease- and insect-free, and is extremely cold hardy (USDA zones 3 to 8). Honeyberry grows best in moist, shady soils, making it a good choice in difficult landscapes. Plant at least two different varieties for good cross-pollination. Since the plants bloom and fruit early in the season (sometimes before strawberries), gardeners in cold areas should protect the shrubs from late spring frosts.
Jostaberry (Ribes nidigrolaria)
This shrub is a cross between black currant and gooseberry. Jostaberry looks like a gooseberry, but the plant has no thorns and the fruit is sweeter. It has the vigorous growth and disease resistance of a black currant, and the 1/2-inch-diameter black fruits are loaded with vitamin C. A mature, 6-foot-tall and wide deciduous shrub can produce up to 12 pounds of fruit. The berries have a flavor similar to grape, kiwi, and blueberry. Plants are hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8, and are widely adapted. The beautiful bushes make excellent foundation plants.
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
This small, evergreen shrub grows to a height of about 1 foot, making it a good ground cover. The bright red berries of this blueberry relative are popular in Scandinavia for making jams and juice. The plants flower twice a year and produce berries in mid summer and fall. They are self-fertile. Like blueberries, they grow best in an acidic soil and full sun. In hot areas they require dappled afternoon light. They can slowly spread by their roots and need an evenly moist soil. Plant them in the front of a low border or in a rock garden. Planting in groups produces the most attractive ornamental effect.
Seaberry (Hippophae rhamnoides)
This Russian native is a great conservation plant. It fixes nitrogen and grows on a wide variety of poor soils. It's hardy to USDA zones 3 to 7 and produces berries that birds and humans can enjoy. Seaberry fruits have seven times the vitamin C as lemons and have been used as an orange juice substitute in many countries. In Europe you'll find seaberry juice in grocery stores.
The rangy, deciduous shrub grows 6 to 18 feet tall at maturity. Some varieties, such as 'Amber Dawn', stay relatively small. There are male and female shrubs, so select least one of each. The plant is salt-and drought-tolerant and prefers full sun. The attractive, narrow, gray-green leaves make this shrub excellent for hedges. In fall, clusters of currant-sized, orange berries appear; the berries persist through winter, attracting wildlife. Mature plants can produce 50 pounds fruit.
Harvest: 1 bambino hybrid eggplant.
Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum)
Every few years a plant rocks the edible plant world, and for the last few years it's been the goji berry. Goji berries are the latest health craze to sweep the nation. The easy-to-grow plants produce orange berries loaded with protein, vitamin C, iron, and beta-carotene. Plus, they taste good.
This deciduous, 10-to-12-foot-tall, rangy shrub is native to Tibet and the Himalayan mountains and bears raisin-sized berries from summer until fall. The berries are reported to contain 13 percent protein and are loaded with antioxidants. They also contain more iron than spinach, more vitamin C than oranges, and more beta-carotene than carrots. Goji berries are used in Tibet to treat a variety of ailments and to increase longevity.
Goji berries are hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and readily adapt to most soils. In spring, the attractive white and purple flowers form. By late summer, fresh, juicy, and sweet orange-red goji berries begin to ripen. Since the plant forms such as rangy shrub, goji berries don't fit well in a formal garden and are best grown on their own as a hedge or a mass planting.
Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea)
This honeysuckle relative produces sweet, 1- to 2-inch-long, blueberry-like fruits that can be eaten fresh or made into pies and sauces. The shrub grows 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, is generally disease- and insect-free, and is extremely cold hardy (USDA zones 3 to 8). Honeyberry grows best in moist, shady soils, making it a good choice in difficult landscapes. Plant at least two different varieties for good cross-pollination. Since the plants bloom and fruit early in the season (sometimes before strawberries), gardeners in cold areas should protect the shrubs from late spring frosts.
Jostaberry (Ribes nidigrolaria)
This shrub is a cross between black currant and gooseberry. Jostaberry looks like a gooseberry, but the plant has no thorns and the fruit is sweeter. It has the vigorous growth and disease resistance of a black currant, and the 1/2-inch-diameter black fruits are loaded with vitamin C. A mature, 6-foot-tall and wide deciduous shrub can produce up to 12 pounds of fruit. The berries have a flavor similar to grape, kiwi, and blueberry. Plants are hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8, and are widely adapted. The beautiful bushes make excellent foundation plants.
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
This small, evergreen shrub grows to a height of about 1 foot, making it a good ground cover. The bright red berries of this blueberry relative are popular in Scandinavia for making jams and juice. The plants flower twice a year and produce berries in mid summer and fall. They are self-fertile. Like blueberries, they grow best in an acidic soil and full sun. In hot areas they require dappled afternoon light. They can slowly spread by their roots and need an evenly moist soil. Plant them in the front of a low border or in a rock garden. Planting in groups produces the most attractive ornamental effect.
Seaberry (Hippophae rhamnoides)
This Russian native is a great conservation plant. It fixes nitrogen and grows on a wide variety of poor soils. It's hardy to USDA zones 3 to 7 and produces berries that birds and humans can enjoy. Seaberry fruits have seven times the vitamin C as lemons and have been used as an orange juice substitute in many countries. In Europe you'll find seaberry juice in grocery stores.
The rangy, deciduous shrub grows 6 to 18 feet tall at maturity. Some varieties, such as 'Amber Dawn', stay relatively small. There are male and female shrubs, so select least one of each. The plant is salt-and drought-tolerant and prefers full sun. The attractive, narrow, gray-green leaves make this shrub excellent for hedges. In fall, clusters of currant-sized, orange berries appear; the berries persist through winter, attracting wildlife. Mature plants can produce 50 pounds fruit.
Harvest: 1 bambino hybrid eggplant.
September 19, 2008
Asian vegetables & fruits
I was thinking of buying some seeds for more Asian vegetables & fruits (in addition to Chinese kale).
Got to do some research before I decide on anything:
Any advice? Any other Asian vegetables and fruits I should consider growing?
Harvest: 7 red grape tomatoes and 25 yellow pear tomatoes.
Got to do some research before I decide on anything:
- New Belt
- Green Lance chinese kale
- Happy Rich chinese kale
- Suiho chinese kale
- Summer Jean
- Chinese leeks
- Minuet bok choy
- Rubicon bok choy
- Hon Tsai Tai
- Suyo Long
- Astragalus (Milk Vetch)
- Self Heal
- Orient Express Eggplant
- Mangan japanese eggplant
- Chinese Cilantro
- Sun Jewel melon
Any advice? Any other Asian vegetables and fruits I should consider growing?
Harvest: 7 red grape tomatoes and 25 yellow pear tomatoes.
September 15, 2008
Growing potatoes in straw
Have you heard of growing potatoes in straw?
Supposedly, it's a method used in Northern Europe -- you grow potatoes above ground in straw or other mulching material mixed with a bit of rich soil or manure.
This what I've been told:
I haven't grown potatoes yet but hope to next season. This method sounds easier and cleaner than traditional growing methods (planting them in the ground and digging them out). And while I've got a bit of land here in Maryland (just a quarter-acre), it also sounds like a good way for folks who lack space (like people who live in cities) to grow potatoes.
Supposedly, it's a method used in Northern Europe -- you grow potatoes above ground in straw or other mulching material mixed with a bit of rich soil or manure.
This what I've been told:
Place the seed potatoes—always make sure that you use certified seed potatoes—directly on the ground and cover them with a 50/50 blend of straw with old manure 12'' deep, then soak with water. The tubers will form in this mixture and flourish. As the potatoes grow, keep adding, a little at a time, the straw with old manure mix mounded up around the base of the plants. Keep the mix watered regularly. Mounding up is important, since if the tubers are exposed to sunlight, they will turn green, making them toxic.
When potatoes are planted in straw, there are very few weeds. The few that appear are easily removable. The straw holds the moisture, so less water is needed. The beauty of growing potatoes under a straw mat is that the guesswork is taken out of the growing, and harvesting becomes considerably easier.
The corner of the straw can be lifted carefully and one can see how the potatoes are developing. New potatoes can be harvested easily even before the potato vines mature completely. When the potatoes are ready to harvest, one can simply pull back the straw and remove by hand as many potatoes as needed, then replace the straw properly in order to keep the light off any remaining potatoes. You may harvest this way a number of times. The plant will produce more and more potatoes until the vine dies.
I haven't grown potatoes yet but hope to next season. This method sounds easier and cleaner than traditional growing methods (planting them in the ground and digging them out). And while I've got a bit of land here in Maryland (just a quarter-acre), it also sounds like a good way for folks who lack space (like people who live in cities) to grow potatoes.
September 14, 2008
Kale & Winter Squash
The winter squash plants (Burgess Buttercup, Uchiki Kuri, and Delicata) are growing rapidly. They started to choke out the onions. I had to trim each of the plants back this morning.
As for the kale, I finally trimmed back the leaves that pretty much had no greens left (bugs), leaving several plants with just one or two leaves.
On the plants that had many healthy leaves, I harvested several.
Also planted more bok choy.
Harvest: 1oz red russian kale.
As for the kale, I finally trimmed back the leaves that pretty much had no greens left (bugs), leaving several plants with just one or two leaves.
On the plants that had many healthy leaves, I harvested several.
Also planted more bok choy.
Harvest: 1oz red russian kale.
September 10, 2008
Spinach
This weekend is time to plant spinach in Maryland.
Should complement my arugula, deer tongue lettuce, and tom thumb lettuce nicely.
Of the greens so far, I think my favorite is the deer tongue lettuce.
Harvest: 1 lemon boy tomato.
Should complement my arugula, deer tongue lettuce, and tom thumb lettuce nicely.
Of the greens so far, I think my favorite is the deer tongue lettuce.
Harvest: 1 lemon boy tomato.
September 02, 2008
Cooking from the Garden
Need to learn some recipes to consume the plentiful kale.
Radishes look ready to harvest and eat. Don't know any radish recipes either -- I just eat them in salads.
Peas planted two weeks ago are ready to be trained up the tomato cages. Must check on them daily.
Onions planted three weeks ago have delicate shoots and purple flowers.
Harvest: 13 red grape tomatoes and 8 yellow pear tomatoes.
Radishes look ready to harvest and eat. Don't know any radish recipes either -- I just eat them in salads.
Peas planted two weeks ago are ready to be trained up the tomato cages. Must check on them daily.
Onions planted three weeks ago have delicate shoots and purple flowers.
Harvest: 13 red grape tomatoes and 8 yellow pear tomatoes.
September 01, 2008
Seed to Plant
Winter squash planted from seed just three weeks ago has leaves that are 4 inches across.
Nature's magic of creating life from such small seeds will never cease to amaze me.
Gorgeous 1 inch eggplants ready to roast.
With today's harvest, the summer garden has paid for itself (value of produce compared to cost of seedlings, soil, trellises, cages, and other materials; assumption that labor is free).
Harvest: 1 cucumber (about 7 inches long), 3 bambino hybrid eggplants
Nature's magic of creating life from such small seeds will never cease to amaze me.
Gorgeous 1 inch eggplants ready to roast.
With today's harvest, the summer garden has paid for itself (value of produce compared to cost of seedlings, soil, trellises, cages, and other materials; assumption that labor is free).
Harvest: 1 cucumber (about 7 inches long), 3 bambino hybrid eggplants
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