July Edible Garden Planner 2016

July garden bounty

Sunday, June 26, 2016

The summer garden is in full swing.  July is the time of year for harvesting the heat lovers like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, sprouting broccoli, green beans, all types of peppers, garlic, basil with other Mediterranean herbs.

Peppers, zucchini, and eggplant are just ready to start harvesting, but will be in mid July.  My tomato plants have many baby tomatoes and are typically ready to start harvesting by the 4th of July.  I just re-planted my cucumber plants for the third time.  They love this heat and humidity so should be producing within the month.

Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Growing zucchini and summer squash

Peppers are for every taste and garden

Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

Cucumber info and tips for growing

By the end of the month, there will be more summer veggies than we can eat and will start preserving the extra.  Preservation garden

The spring greens have bolted, but there are summer greens that are robust during the hot days of summer.  My favorites are salad burnet, Swiss chard, collards, Malabar spinach, mustard greens, New Zealand spinach, orach, sorrel, sprouting broccoli and cultivated dandelions.  Growing summer salads

The spring lettuce has gone to seed.  When you see the white fuzzies, they are ready to save.  I just pull the seed heads, break apart, put in a ziplock freezer bag, label with type and date, and store in the refrigerator.  I also re-seeded our self watering pots with some of the seeds.  I had a few small volunteer lettuce plants elsewhere in the garden that I transplanted to the pots as well.  The lettuce seeds I planted last month have sprouted and are ready to transplant.  Never ending salad from one packet of seeds

There are even a select few varieties of lettuce that can stand up to summer heat:

Leaf lettuce-”New Red Fire”, “Simpson Elite”

Butterhead-”Optima”, “Winter Density:

Romaine-”Jericho”, ”Green Towers”

Batavian-”Magenta”, “Nevada”

If you haven't already, now is the time to plant these heat champions.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

Edible and decorative garden bed

The pole green beans are putting out beans consistently.  Harvest them to keep them producing.  I keep a quart bag in the freezer and add mature green beans as they are ready for picking.  The other legume, my snow peas, have finished producing for the season.  I love to eat them right off the vine.  Not many of these beauties made it to the kitchen!  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer

I have already harvested the garlic, including the elephant garlic.  I love elephant garlic as the cloves are as their name suggests, they are huge!  When pulled, I will harden both types in the shade outdoors for two weeks before storing indoors.  Hardening is critical for the garlic to not rot when stored.  Save the biggest cloves for replanting in the fall.  Garlic harvest time is near!

Our basil has been slow to get started but is now off to the races.  The trick to keeping the plants from getting woody is to make sure to harvest down to the first few sets of leaves before the plants go in to full flower.  It will regrow to give me at least one more good harvest before fall.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Oregano, mint, and catnip is in full bloom.  The bees love the small lavendar flowers!  It could be cut and dried now, but I love the flowers, too, and will wait until fall.  Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

I fertilized all the pots again as well as the basil to keep it growing.  Pots lose nutrients at a much higher rate than garden beds.  I am using a foliar spray on all the plants at least every other week and using a solid fertilizer monthly around each plant.  I like Espoma.  I use their tomato fertilizer for all fruit producing plants and their general purpose vegetable fertilizer for all other veggie and herb plants.  Decorative container gardening for edibles

I have started using a mineral supplement for my plants this year.  Right now I am using Azomite.  So many soils are low in minerals.  Your plants can't absorb what the soil does not have.  Adding minerals to the plants and soil will significantly increase the minerals in the plant itself, giving you minerals in the veggies you eat.  The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

A key to keeping the garden productive this time of year is to keep even moisture to all the beds and containers.  Water the beds weekly and deeply.  During hot, dry periods, your containers may need watering every other day.  Self-watering pots with reservoirs in the bottom are the trick to extending watering duties.  Summer garden tips

What we are harvesting in the late June garden

Garden at sunrise

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Right now, we are harvesting greens (lettuce, spinach, sorrel, peppers, sprouting broccoli, arugula, corn salad), peas, zucchini, strawberries, onions, garlic, herbs and potatoes.  This year we have gotten above average rain accompanied by way above average temperatures.  The rain was great for the lettuce and peas; not so great for any seed starting or summer veggies in the garden.  

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The lettuce and spinach is now bolting.  I am letting it go to seed so I can save the seed to resow.  The bees love the flowers, too.  I am still harvesting lower leaves for salads and smoothies on the Red Sails, Grand Rapids and Romaine.  Their leaves have remained sweet tasting.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces  Other varieties can become bitter and woody.  I throw in dandelion, burnet, and sorrel for added nutrition and taste.  Growing summer salads

Lettuce bolting

The cucumber seeds I direct sowed rotted.  I re-sowed in a pot on the covered deck.  They have sprouted.  I’ll wait until they have at least one set of true leaves before I transplant them.

Cucumber info and tips for growing

I have baby tomatoes and eggplants.  One of my Tangerine sweet pepper plants has full size peppers on it.  The rest of my pepper plants have baby peppers.  Peppers are for every taste and garden  All the tomato plants are blooming.  The Violet Jasper I planted in a pot is huge and has several small tomatoes on it.  I need to get a cage on it quickly while I still can!  Last year, the tomato I grew in the pot only needed a stake.  This one is monster and needs more support.  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

The tomatoes and basil are not growing as quickly as typical.  I assume it is from all the cloudy days we have had this spring.  The zucchini has just taken off in the last couple of weeks.  Growing zucchini and summer squash

At our old house, we had our garden edged in daylilies and they would be in full, glorious bloom this time of year.  You couldn’t even see the veggies behind them when standing in the yard.

Kitchen garden with daylilies in front

In our lake house garden, I interplant flowers with my veggies.  The flowers attract pollinators like bees which increases the amount of fruits you get off your summer fruits and vegetables as well as being beautiful.

The sprouting broccoli has little heads on it.  The leaves and florets can be eaten in salads and frozen.  For freezing, you just blanche them (throw them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then dunk them in cold water), pat dry, and put them into freezer bags.  Freezing the extras for winter

I harvested the garlic this week end.  The onions are ready to be harvested.  There is a debate on whether to remove the flowers to get bigger heads.  I leave them.  The bees love them!  Remember to save the largest and tastiest cloves of garlic to plant in the fall.  Garlic harvest time is near!

When the onion or shallot leaves fall over, then they are ready to harvest.  Pull them and bring them in a hot, dry area to season before bringing them in for storage for 2-3 weeks.

It is not too late to start a garden now.
It is not too late to start a garden in June!

Garlic harvest time is near!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Garlic is rich in lore.  This allium has been around for thousands of years.  It originated in Asia, was cultivated in Egypt and has been a Mediterranean cooking staple for centuries. Over the ages, garlic has been reputed to repel vampires, clear the blood, cure baldness, aid digestion.  

Today’s studies have shown garlic has antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral properties. And, it tastes great!  For a breakdown of specific vitamins and minerals, garlic nutritional value

It is easy to grow and has little pest issues.  All you do is put them in the ground in the fall and by early to mid summer, they are ready to harvest.

The clove puts out roots in the fall.  Depending on how warm the winter is, there can be green shoots showing through the cold months.  Garlic will be some of the first greenery to start growing in early spring.  The stems resemble onion greens.  The hard neck garlic flower, or scape, has a cute little curl in it.  They are great in salads.  Harvesting them also gives you bigger bulbs.

For more on fall planting and growing garlic, Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

Soft neck and hard neck garlic are slightly different in telling you when to harvest.  Soft neck garlic is ready to harvest then the tops fall over and die off.  They are ready to harvest about a week later.  Typically this is mid-summer, but ours is ready now.  Hard neck garlic is ready to harvest when about half of their lower leaves have turned brown.  Try digging one up and see if the bulb is large and firm.

                                               Garlic ready to harvest           Freshly harvested garlic

Be careful when you go to harvest.  It is best to dig your garlic when the ground is dry.  When you go to dig up your garlic, proceed carefully.  If you cut the bulb, it will not keep and needs to eaten soon.  The garlic should be left in dry shade for 2-3 weeks or brought inside and stored in a cool, dry location with good air circulation.  They can be hung or placed in a perforated bin or paper bag to dry and store.  

Don't be surprised if you have "volunteers" show up where you planted.  The tiny cloves that get separated when pulling the bulbs will sprout in fall.  These little guys may need a couple seasons to get big enough to harvest.

My favorite way to store garlic is to pickle it!  I simply separate the cloves, remove the "skin" and put in a jar of apple cider vinegar with a few hot peppers.  I just pull out cloves when I need garlic for a recipe.  

If your garlic dries up over the winter, I grind it into garlic powder.  If you have great tasting garlic that doesn’t store well or you have a bountiful crop, another preservation option is pickled garlic.  Just peel (Quick tip-”peeling” garlic) and cover your fresh garlic cloves in organic apple cider vinegar.  You can add a couple of hot peppers if you want to add some extra zing!

Of course, you can also add garlic to the tomato sauce (Preserving the tomato harvest), pickles (Easy, homemade pickles) or peppers you are going to can.  You can flavor vinegars or oils by popping crushed garlic into them (Quick tip-make your own flavored oils).  Many options for utilizing your garlic harvest!  

Everyone knows of garlic in sauces and on cheese bread.  A couple of years ago, we tried roasted garlic.  It dramatically mellows the flavor.  I just put a few heads in a small baking dish, add chicken stock to just about level to the cut heads, and let bake covered at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until soft.  It is a great spread on french bread!

If you are using fresh garlic for cheese bread, a quick way to prepare the garlic is to put into a small food processor with olive oil and just let it grind it to the size you want on your bread!

Garlic can be mild or hot.  Elephant garlic is very mild and not really true garlic at all.  It is a type of leek.  It has a great garlic flavor and produces huge bulbs.  The ones I am growing this year are from the previous year’s harvest.  I like growing them because you get so much for the garden space.  For me, they have stored very well.

Elephant garlic                                       

Leek flower

Garlic scape

You can tell the difference in the two by looking at the flowers.  Leeks have a onion type flower while hard scape garlic has a curly scape flower.

There is soft and hard necked garlic.  For the longest storage, soft neck garlic is the ticket.  It is also the strongest flavored.  Hard necked is milder and easier to peel.

I grow all three!  Elephant garlic as it gives the most for the space.  Hard neck garlic because I love to add scares to salads and how easy the cloves are to peel.  And soft neck for the variety of flavor.  It is always so hard to choose!  A great way to decide is to go to your local farmers market and talk to the farmers for the ones that grow the best in your area.  Take a few different kinds home with you and try them out.  Save the biggest cloves from your favorites to plant this fall.

All about beautiful beets

Freshly pulled beet from pot in early summer

Saturday, June 11, 2016

The beet ancestor is chard and is native to the Mediterranean region.  Chard itself has been around for thousands of years.  It is thought that a mutation of spinach resulted thick ribs which were cultivated into what became chard.  Then some chard  grew with thick roots.  These were cultivated to become the beet.  Beets are a biennial and sometimes a perennial.

The beet was grown mainly for its greens until French chefs made the root popular in the 1800's.  Beets came to America with the settlers of the colonies.  Thomas Jefferson even grew them in his garden.

Beets are a natural source of tryptophan, boron, folate, manganese and also contains betaines which may help reduce homocysteine.  Beet nutritional info  There has been research that shows beetroot juice can reduce blood pressure.  Beet juice reduces blood pressure  Beet juice is also used as a red food coloring and sweetener.  Be careful handling red beets as the juice can stain!

Beets can be sown from early spring when the daffodils bloom into June.  Then again in mid-July for a fall harvest.  The beet seed is actually a fruit containing a cluster of seeds.  When you plant, expect to have to thin to 2-4” apart.  You can use the beet thinning in salads or separate and replant elsewhere.  There are 'monogerm" seeds available that have only one seed in the pod.

I like growing beets in pots.  Potting soil is loose which beets really like.  If planting in the ground, loosen the soil prior to planting.  If you want a dedicated plot to beets and carrots, adding sand to the soil provides the perfect growing spot.  A soil rich in organic matter also provides a good growing medium.

I'll ring a potted pepper plant with beet seeds.  The beets will be ready to pull well before the pepper plant starts producing.  Sowing in pots, you can expect to get true leaves within two weeks.  

The secret to great beets is consistency in water and fertilizer.  If growing in a pot, apply a balanced fertilizer weekly.  Letting the soil get too dry will result in a woody beet.

The root and the leaves are both edible.  Beet thinnings and new leaves are tasty in salads.  You can take up to one third of the beet greens without harming the beet.  As the beet ages, the greens get stronger.  If too strong for taste raw, they can be steamed like spinach or chard.

Check the seed packet for days to harvest.  Beets are ready anywhere between 50-80 days depending on the type.  Beets should be pulled when they are 1.5” in diameter up to 3” in diameter.  Before storing, cut the greens from the root, leaving only an inch or two of stalk.  The leaves will wilt well before the beet shrivels.  Beets keep in the frig 2-3 weeks.  Beets can be roasted, grilled or steamed.  

I wasn't too sure if I liked beets or not until I grilled them.  Grilling concentrates the sugars and totally changes the taste.  They are fabulous grilled!  With all my grilled veggies, I just slice, coat with olive oil and grill at about 340 degrees F to stay below the smoke point of olive oil.  Sometimes I leave them plain, other times I add my season salt or dried herb mix.  Make your own "Herbes de Provence"  You can also roast in the oven and get a similar flavor.  

Variety of baby beets

There are different types and colors of beets.  There are round beets and beets that resemble carrots.  The oldest round variety that is a deep red will bleed on anything it is cooked with.  Then there are yellow beets, white beets, pink beets.  The round Chioggia beet is an Italian heirloom from Venice.  It is a striking  pink and red with intermittent rings of color and white.  They are quite cool looking when sliced and don't bleed.  The cylindrical beet like Cylindra gives about 4 times the harvest in a pot since it grows up.  The cylindrical types actually grow up out of the soil.  Making it easy to tell when they are ready to be pulled.

Try some this season!

Growing and using edible flowers

Edible daylilies in bloom edging the vegetable garden

Sunday, June 5, 2016

If you want to add a beautiful touch and taste to a salad, dinner plate or drink, add a flower!  Many common flowers are edible.

Herb flowers are edible-like basil, thyme, oregano, calendula/pot marigold, sage, lavender, nasturtium, chamomile, borage, bee balm, garden chives, garlic chives and rosemary.  They add great color and flavor to salads and dishes.  Their flavor is a lighter version of the herb.  Let's not forget saffron; a pricey spice from the stigmas of the saffron crocus.

Edible garlic chives in bloom

Vegetable flowers are edible-like broccoli, cabbage, kale, bean, pea, onion, chives, garlic, zucchini, chicory.    Fried squash blooms are delish!  

Some plants we consider weeds are edible-like chickweed and dandelions flowers as well as their greens and clover flowers.

Edible lavender flowers in bloom

Then there are the ornamentals that are edible like daylilies, orchids, violets, chrysanthemums, honeysuckle, lilac, roses, dianthus, passion flower, pansies, Johnny Jump Ups, daisies, scented geraniums, snapdragons, tulips and sunflowers.  Citrus blooms are, too.

Self sowing edible flowers:

Borage
Calendula

Chamomile

Marigolds

Nasturtiums

Sunflowers
Plant these, allow to go to seed, and they will continue to re-establish themselves year after year.  These are referred to as "volunteers" in the garden.  You can also save their seeds and sow in the spring where you want them to grow.  They do great in garden beds and containers.
Self sustaining gardening appealing? Try the self-seeders!

You can also make beautiful flower sugars to spoon into teas, over berries and desserts.  Or add herbal flowers to sea salt for seasoning dishes.  Using herbs, flowers and fruit for flavored sugars and salts  You can  make flavored vinegars  Make your own flavored vinegars  The flower color will tint the vinegar as well as flavor it.  After straining, add a whole flower for its beauty. You can even make candied flowers!  Or add them to homemade drinks as a garnish  Use herbs for signature desserts and grown up beverages   or main ingredient Homegrown flavored waters and sodas

Homemade herbal sugars and salts

You can quickly look on line to verify that your ornamental is indeed edible which is recommended just to be on the safe side.

June Edible Garden Planner 2016

Lettuce in foreground, herbs in background

Saturday, June 4, 2016

June is a productive time in the garden.  Cool season crops are peaking while summer crops are just starting to produce with herbs in full swing.  Everything is a lush green at the beginning of the month.  As June gets in full swing, it will be time to begin regular watering.  As your fruit producing veggies flower, they will need a boost of fertilizer.  As the rain slows down, consistent ground moisture is key.

What’s growing in the garden right now

Most of the lettuce I planted in March is starting to bolt.  The seeds started in April are ready to transplant and.  Kale is of a good size.  The resown lettuce from 3 weeks ago are about 3" tall.  I am replanting these into larger pots and into the garden bed.  Overwintered sprouting broccoli has their small florets for use in salads.  Don’t worry about insect damage to the leaves on cabbage and broccoli as long as the heads are forming nicely.  A little insect damage will not affect the quality of the head produced.

When I get an infestation of caterpillars, I like to use diatomaceous earth (de).  It is made of tiny aquatic fossils from fresh water.  Their hard edges cause scratches on caterpillars and insects resulting in dehydration.  So no chemicals involved.  I use them only on plants that don't flower as de will kill pollinators, too.

Arugula, sorrels, chard and cultivated dandelions are all harvestable and flowering.  As it gets hotter, these greens become stronger.  Since they are perennials, they are the first up in the spring for fresh salads.  Harvest the new leaves in summer for the mildest taste.  You can cut them back, too, to get fresh new leaves.  It doesn't hurt them at all.  

The cilantro, rosemary, sage, chives, savory, oregano, basil, lavender, dill, tarragon, parsley and thyme are filling out nicely and flowering. The chives have already bloomed with their beautiful lavender flowers.  The flowers are edible, too.  They are fun to use in salads or as a substitute for onions in cooking.  Very pretty to add in baked potatoes and grill.  We slice our potatoes, add some diced onion or chive flowers, butter, seasoning, wrap in foil and throw on the grill.  Yum.

Flowering chives

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, and squash are all flowering.  Keep an eye out for cucumber beetles and caterpillars.  Just pluck them off and throw into a can of soapy water.  

How to control bugs naturally, organically

Overwintered carrots and beets, onions, garlic, and leeks are all flowering, including the Egyptian walking onion.  I am harvesting the walking onion any time I need onions for cooking.  The green stalk is great as a fresh chive, too, for salads or potatoes.

Strawberries are ripe for the picking.

Ripe Alpine strawberries

Now is the time to provide shade for your lettuce and sow bolt resistant varieties like Summer Crisp Magenta, Green Towers and Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite leaf.  The Grand Rapids is doing quite well in the heat.  You can move your lettuces if in pots to a shadier part of your patio or porch.  Shade cloths can be used for those in the garden.  You can also plant taller veggies on the south and west side of your lettuces so as they grow, they provide shade to the lettuces.  I move most of my greens around to the northeast, shady side of the house this time of the year to keep them sweet as long as possible.  

Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

For a spinach substitute, you can grow New Zealand spinach.  It has spinach taste and loves the heat.
Growing summer salads

Best time to harvest

The best time to harvest almost any vegetable is mornings or right after a rain; this is when they are the crunchiest, fullest and sweetest.  Harvest greens in the morning before you go to work and store in the frig for the day.  Just don’t store tomatoes in the frig; this ruins the flavor.

The best time to harvest aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano is in the afternoon when the oils are most concentrated.  Harvest herbs like parsley, cilantro and dill in the cooler part of the day.

Watering & fertilizing tips

With the heat coming, it is time to start watering.  Keep consistent moisture to your lettuces to keep taste sweet and your lettuce from bolting as long as possible.  When your lettuce does bolt, let it go to flower and seed.  The bees and beneficial insects enjoy the flowers and the seeds can easily be saved for fall and next spring planting.  

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Fertilize all your fruit bearing veggies when the first flowers appear (right now we have flowers on our cucumber, zucchini, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes).  Provide only compost tea or kelp the rest of the season.  Too much nitrogen will cause your plants to grow lush foliage with no fruits.  Nitrogen stimulates green growth.

Can I still plant a garden in June-Yes!

There are many vegetables and herbs that you can still plant right now.   Any of the summer vegetables love these temperatures and sun.  As a matter of fact, this is the best time to plant cucumbers and zucchini to avoid the vine borer.  Even if you have planted zucchini and tomatoes already, late June is a good time to plant a second crop.  The cucumber seeds I planted a couple of weeks ago rotted so I am re-planting.  Many gardeners have had this happen to them with all the rain we are getting this spring.  

It is not too late to start a garden in June!

A complete list of all veggies that can be planted in June:

Arugula

Bush beans

Beets

Broccoli

Broccoli raab

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Chard

Collards

Corn

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Bulbing fennel

Kale

Leeks

Mediterranean herbs (basil, thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, chives)

Okra

Parsnips

Salsify

Summer squash

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes

Turnips

Watermelons

Savory, thyme, lettuce, onions with day lilies in the background

Here are a couple of garden ideas

If you have a picky eater, try the kid’s pizza/spaghetti garden.  If they grow it, they want to eat it!

Tomatoes-any you can’t eat, you can easily freeze for winter pizzas, salsa, or sauce

Basil, oregano, chives, garlic for seasoning

Onions-you can grow Egyptian walking onions in a pot or ground and they are perennials to boot

Kale, arugula, broccoli and peas for spring and fall pizza toppings (also easy to freeze for later)

Green peppers, eggplant, zucchini for summer pizzas (maybe some hot peppers for the adults)

For those that are real adventuresome, you can get mushroom kits to grow mushrooms.

Pizza garden for the kids

Or if you want a culinary garden, here is an Italian/Sicilian garden that you can grow in as little as a 6’ x 6’ space:

Herbs (1 each)-thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and flat leaf parsley

3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)

2 tomatoes-1 Roma type for sauces and 1 slicer type for salads

2 sweet pepper plants

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

8 red onions (you can substitute Egyptian walking onions)

8 garlic plants

Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown

Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden

Different lettuces in a decorative patio container

It is great fun, a time saver, and nutritious to grow your own food in your yard or patio!