What to plant now for your early spring harvests

Egyptian walking onion in late winter

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Now is a great time to sow seeds in the garden for early spring greens.  Greens like mustard, lettuce, spinach, chard, and corn salad to name just  a few thrive in cool spring days. Look for varieties that say “cold hardy”, “early winter”, “overwintering”, “winter-hardy”, “cold tolerant”, “bred for winter production” on the seed packet.  

Starting in mid-January, our daylight hours go above 10 hours a day.  This is nature's signal for seeds to start sprouting.  All you are waiting on for outdoor sowing is the temps to warm up!  Well, that time is here.  Start sowing these cold hardy crop seeds for the earliest spring garden salads!

Indoor Seed Starting Calendar

To speed up germination, you can lay clear plastic on your garden bed to warm up the ground temperatures before you plant.

Here are some varieties that are good to sow right now in our Zone 7 garden.  There are many more than what I have listed.  It is a great time to be a gardener with all the new and revived varieties available today.

*Corn salad/Mache/Vit

*Claytonia

*Cultivated dandelion-Clio- and Catalogna-Italian varieties, Garnet Stem

*Peas  Time to plant peas!

*Spinach Add a super nutritious spring green to your garden-spinach

*Onions  Onions-everything you need to know to grow 'em

*Sprouting broccoli (will come back in the spring, too)  Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav

*Kale (may survive all winter into spring).  Starbor

*Lettuce (can germinate at temps as low as 40 degrees F).  Winter density, Rouge d’Hiver, No Name Red Leaf, Arctic King, Continuity, Salad Bowl, Mottistone.   Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Jerusalem artichoke tubers

*Mustard greens

*Mesclun mix

*Minutina

*Parsnips

*Winter greens mix

Austrian overwintering peas in late winter

For the earliest salads, plant overwintering varieties in late summer Time to plant for fall and winter harvests! and perennials anytime from spring through fall Perennial veggies in the Midwest garden

If this is your first time gardening, here are tips to get started  Easy kitchen garden

Happy spring gardening!

Grow one of the super greens this year-kale

Potted kale, petunias and Egyptian walking onions

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Kale is not only beautiful, it is good for you!  Kale is chock full of antioxidants, beta carotene, lutein, vitamins C and K, and calcium.  It also contains compounds that are potent against cancer, sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol.  Nutritional info

Kale was the first to be domesticated from the ancient cabbage family of plants.  The Celts were the first to cultivate these greens, causing the birth of kale, broccoli, cabbage, collards, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and kohlrabi.  

Collards are a uniquely American vegetable that has always been associated with the South and appeared in the late 1700’s.  Thomas Jefferson’s favorite kale was a variety similar to a Siberian kale.  He also grew a variety similar to today's Tuscan kale, also known as dinosaur or black kale; a very striking plant to have in the garden with its long, dark blue-green and bumpy leaves.

Most kale is a biennial, but there are still perennial varieties if you can find the seed.  Perennial varieties include tree collards, walking stick kale, western front kale, Dorbenton kale, and sea kale.  

Dwarf blue curled kale

If you want to save seed from the biennial, you have to allow the kale to go through one winter, allow to flower and dry on the plant.  Kales cross easily with other kales and collards so if you want true to type, grow only that kind in your garden.  Flowering kale have pretty yellow flowers and the bees love them!

There are many colors and textures of kales.  There are the “dinosaur” kales which have a blistered, black appearance, red kales, green kales, dwarf kales, green, red kales, and ornamental kales which are edible.  Some are more winter hardy than others.  Check seed packets for descriptors like "winter hardy" and "cold tolerant".  Those grown in the fall are sweetest if picked after a frost.  Fall garden planning and planting

Kale is generally a fall crop but can be cultivated in the spring.  They can be started indoors or direct seeded in May (soil temp of 55-75 degrees F).  They prefer rich soil and should be kept moist until sprouted.  Sow seeds 1/4” deep and 4-6” apart, thin to 12”.  If planting rows, allow at least 18”.  I have also had great success raising them in a pot. 

Several varieties of kale come available as bedding plants in March.  There are also a couple varieties of collards.  Both can be planted into beds and pots in our Zone 6 garden now.

For fall, plant around Independence Day (July 4th).The kales I planted last fall are still alive.  I had several different kinds planted in pots.  Kale is very cold hardy. 

You can harvest the outer leaves when they are 8-10” long for cooking or juicing.  You can also harvest the leaves when smaller for salads.  Store at 32 degrees and high humidity in the frig for the longest life.

One of the fun ways to prepare kale is to salt and dry in a dehydrator or low temp in the oven.  They can be eaten as you do chips, but are much healthier.  You can also eat the new leaves in salads or sauté or steam the larger leaves.

For any that I don't eat fresh, I blanche and freeze to add to a steamed veggie side dish or to soups.  You do need to blanche kale and other greens to maintain the tasted.  Freezing the extras for winter

Your 2017 Edible Garden Plan

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Now is the time to decide what beauties to grow in the edible garden this year.  For warm season crops, it is best to either start from seed or buy as plants to get them producing quickly in the garden.  For cool season crops, you can sow seeds directly in the garden, start indoors, or buy as plants.

Herbs

We have many perennial herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, chives, tarragon, oregano come back every year.  Rosemary can be dicey.  I always buy the hardiest available like Arp or Barbeque, hardy to Zone 5 and 6, respectively.  I order from Territorial Seed as plants.  Our rosemary did survive last winter.  Won't be able to tell until April or so if it has survived another winter.

I always plant basil, chervil and cilantro every year, growing from seed indoors.  My favorite basil varieties are Vanilla for pot pourri and adding to homemade cleaning products, Cardinal for its beautiful maroon flowers, and sweet leafy type like Genovese or Lettuce Leaf.  I grow chervil to add to my body oil with lavender; these are great for the skin and smell wonderful.  I'll likely plant only Slo Bolt cilantro to give it the longest growing before bolting in warm weather.

Cool Season Crops

This year, I am going to skip any from the broccoli family as I have had pests problems over the last two years.  Giving it a rest for a year will take away this pest's food supply and next year we shouldn't have the same problem.

Peas can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked.  I'll plant snow peas in all my pots. The leaves, flowers and pods are all edible and taste like peas.  I have overwintering Austrian peas that are used throughout the winter and spring for salads.

Spinach, lettuce, chard, and perhaps kale will be in the garden this spring.  Kale is a close relation to broccoli so I may skip it until fall.  I'll plant the most heat hardy spinach type.  For the initial plantings of lettuce, I'll plant whatever takes my fancy.  For my April planting, I'll switch over to the most heat hardy varieties.  I always have Simpson Elite, Red Sails, Grand Rapids, Oakleaf, and Romaine in the garden.

Warm Season Crops

Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, and cucumbers are standbys.  

This year, the peppers will be Ancho or Poblano for chili powder, sweet peppers Tangerine Dream, Ancient Red, and a sweet habanero or jalapeño.  They are supposed to grow prolifically like their hot cousins, but be sweet.

I'll likely grow a Black Beauty, Bush, and Early Prolific Straight Neck zucchini.  I like doing one of each so that whatever the weather conditions, there will be at least one that does well.

For the eggplant, I'm going to grow at least the Turkish Orange or Casper varieties.

I saved seed from last year's beans.  So I'll be growing Romano II, Purple Blauhilde, and Runner beans.  

Most of the tomatoes will be the ones I saved seeds from last year-Cherokee Purple, Italian Paste, and Borghese Red and Orange storage types.  I'll also add some smaller chocolate types.

Cucumbers saved from seed-Jaune Dickfleishige.

Flowers

I add flowers to the garden every year, interplanted with the edibles.  The flowers I am planning to add this year-marigolds, Cocks Comb, Moonflower, Hummingbird Vine, Love Lies Bleeding, sunflowers, zinnias, and Hollyhocks.  Flowers are great for repelling bad bugs (marigolds) and attracting beneficial bugs like bees.

There are a few more to varieties I will add to the list.  I'll get all my seeds out and look through them one last time to finalize the garden plan.  One thing I have to do is to make a max that I will plant of each type.  The hardest thing for me to do is not over-plant!  There are just so many interesting kinds of veggies out there, it is tough to make a plan and stick with it!

For different garden ideas, here are some to choose from:  

Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden
Small space French kitchen garden
Start a kitchen herb garden!  
Children's edible garden
Grow your own smoothie and juice garden
Decorative container gardening for edibles
Easy kitchen garden
Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds

February 2017 Edible Garden Planner

February kitchen garden

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Green things start popping up in the garden in February.  The first up are the perennial edibles like cultivated dandelions, sorrel, arugula, and chives.  Overwintering carrots, onions, kale, and corn salad are early greenery in the garden.  February is the month to get the garden ready for the spring planting frenzy.

You can get a jump on the garden by starting seeds indoors.  It is easy and a budget friendly option that allows you to grow many varieties not available at your neighborhood nursery or big box store.  Besides, it is nice to have green things growing again!

10-12 weeks prior (end Jan/beginning of Feb in our Zone 6 garden)

Artichokes

Broccoli

Cabbage

Celery

Endive 

Escarole

Kale

Mache

8-10 weeks prior (mid-February in our Zone 6 garden)

Chamomile

Chives

Eggplant

Lavender

Leeks

Lovage

Parsley

Peppers

Rosemary

Tomatoes

Thyme

For a full seed starting calendar, Indoor Seed Starting Calendar

Aerogarden for seed starting

What are the tricks to successful seed starting?  The most surefire I have found with a gadget is the Aerogarden with the seed starting tray.  I have almost 100% germination rate with it.

The key is using sterile seed starting mix, pots and containers.  You can make your own seed starting mix with peat moss or coir (renewable), compost, and vermiculite.  Just be sure to heat the compost to at least 150 degrees to kill any pathogens before using to start seeds.

Place the seeds in the starter mix in the pots and wet thoroughly from the bottom (watering from the top can dislodge seeds).  After fully saturated, they are ready to put in a catch pan.  Make sure any catch pan that you use has been thoroughly washed in a bleach solution so all pathogens are killed.  The one I just bought has a water reservoir in the bottom of it that wicks the moisture up under the seedlings.

I put my seed starts in a plastic tray with a clear plastic lid in a sunny window that I have had for years that you can buy at any big box store.  Keep moist, but not wet, and with the clear cover on until seedling emerges.  Once seedling emerges, remove the clear lid.

Make sure you label your seedlings as soon as you plant them; you may think you will remember 2 months from now what was where, but likely not.  Now is also a great time to start keeping a journal.  Start tracking what you planted when so you can review next year what worked well to repeat and what didn’t work so well to tweak.

Your seedling’s first leaves are not “true” leaves; think of them as baby teeth.  The second sets of leaves are their true leaves.  They are ready to be hardened off when they have their first set of true leaves.  Seedlings must be hardened and not just thrown outside.  You take them out a little at a time, gradually increasing their exposure to sun and cold, only during the daytime.  I try and plant when there is a warm spell forecasted to minimize the shock.

There are great selections of herbs and veggies at nurseries and big box stores nowadays so you have great options just waiting until spring is officially here and picking up what looks good at your nearby store in a couple of months.  This is also a great back up if your first seed starting adventure goes a little awry...........

Before you start planting, it is a good idea to do a soil test to see what nutrients your garden needs.  The next step in garden production and your nutrit...  If you are putting in new garden beds, here are some tips  Put in a new garden bed the easy way-really  If you don't want to go to the trouble of a soil test, add a well balanced, organic fertilizer and cover with compost.  I like gardening in our flower beds.  I fertilize, add a layer of compost before mulching.  This keeps the nutrition where the plants can get to it easier.  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds

Asparagus, fruit trees and bushes, garlic, grapes, shallots, spinach and peas seeds can be planted in the garden as soon as the soil can be worked.  Outdoor seed sowing seed starting times  If gardening in mulched flower beds, I put a small slit in the mulch and then sow the seeds.  The seedlings are not quite strong enough to break through the mulch.

I am still trying to decide what to plant in the garden this year.  I did capture at the end of the gardening season what I wanted to plant.  I've gotten some new seeds so will modify the plan.  Here is what I definitely have in my garden every year:  herbs, chives, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, green beans, and snap peas.

For different garden ideas, here are some to choose from:  Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden, Small space French kitchen garden, Start a kitchen herb garden!  Children's edible garden

Garden planning