August 2019 Edible Garden Planner

August bounty

Sunday, July 28, 2019

August sees the full production of the summer garden harvests.  Late sweet corn (plant corn in succession and different varieties to lengthen the harvest), summer squashes (like zucchini and straightneck), peppers of all types (sweet to hot, hot), tomatoes, Mediterranean herbs, cucumbers, okra, apples, peaches, pears, grapes, beans, melons, figs, eggplant, honey, artichokes, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, onion, tomatillos, and fennel are all in season right now.  

A secret to maximizing your peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, tomatillos, and zucchinis is to harvest them continously.  A plant’s driving force is to reproduce so by continuing to harvest, it causes the plant to put on more fruits.  There are many options to preserve the extras: Freezing the extras for winter, drying Dehydrate or sun dry your extra veggies, canning Easy, low tox canning of summer's bounty, and pickling Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix.

Continue to fertilize with a natural, organic fertilizer every month for veggies in the ground and semiweekly for those in containers.  When fertilizing, scratch the fertilizer into the soil around the plant.  If you leave the fertilizer on top of the ground, you will need twice as much as the nitrogen will off gas into the atmosphere if not covered.  Summer garden tips

Keeping consistent moisture to your plants is key.  Irregular watering causes tomatoes to crack.  Make sure your garden is getting water weekly either from rain or watering, being sure to water deeply at the base of the plant and not on the leaves.  Many warm weather lovers like squash, tomatoes and cucumbers are susceptible to fungal diseases.

If you had any lettuce from early planting, they will have bolted by now.  Take the flower heads off and save the seed.  You can shake the seeds into your self watering pots to get your fall lettuce growing.  I have 3 different pots at 3 different stages of growth going right now to keep us in fresh salads. 

Never ending salad from one packet of seeds

Planting for fall and winter vegetables

I know it sounds crazy, but now is the time to start planting for fall and winter harvests.  You need to plant early enough for your veggies to be full size when frosts hit.  Add 14 days to the days to maturity listed on the seed packet and back it up from your last frost date.  Time to plant for fall and winter harvests!

Daylight hours determine the growth rate of plants.  Since the days are getting shorter, it will take longer for the plants to come to full maturity in the waning daylight hours of fall than the lengthening hours of spring.  By the first of November, all growth has come to a full standstill until the beginning of January.

If you can't pick up transplants like broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, kale, and herbs at big box stores or a local nursery, you can get transplants from on line nurseries if you want to go that route.  Farmers markets may also have them.  

I have started doing more just from seed.  I re-use 6 pack containers, put starting mix in them, water well, then add seeds, lightly covering per packet instructions.  I just leave them on our covered deck in a tray so that I can keep them moist.  Seeds sprout super fast this time of year.  The other advantage is that they are already acclimated to the summer temps so do well when transplanted if grown outdoors.  

Fall planting guide for cool season crops

August is the month for the rest of the greens (arugula, corn salad, lettuce, miner’s lettuce, spinach, mustard, endive), kohlrabi, onions, scallions, cabbage plants, radishes, peas, fava beans and turnips.  

In September, plant more greens, carrots, and radishes.  For our Zone 7a garden, the first 2 weeks of September are prime for planting lettuce.  Try different cold hardy varieties planted at the same time.  Different varieties mature at different times, giving you an on-going harvest.  

October is the month to plant garlic for next year’s harvest.  Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

For more details on varieties to plant, Cold season crops for your edible garden

Caring for your new seeds and transplants

Like in the spring, newly sown seeds need moisture to sprout.  Keep seeds and transplants moist until they get their first real set of leaves and are well established.  Then water as needed.

Many crops you can harvest into December and beyond, depending on how cold fall is.  Some get sweeter with some frost, like carrots, chard, and lettuce.  With cover, you can harvest all the way through winter!

I bought a new, larger portable greenhouse this past winter and used it this past spring.  It worked great!  It is super lightweight and accommodates many plants.  I can get 10 pots under its cover.  It could also be placed directly in the garden as well.  I'm going to use it to extend the fall and winter harvest for potted greens, broccoli and cabbage.   Prepare for hard freeze 

New, larger portable greenhouse

A quick reminder, save the seeds from your best performers to plant next year!  You can replant seeds from any heirlooms or open pollinated plants.  Not only does it save you money, but it also gives you the plants that do the best under your garden and zone conditions.

10 tips for a sustainable garden & yard

Growing zucchini and summer squash

Baby zucchini

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Zucchini is a summer squash.  All summer squash love heat, fertile soil, and sustained moisture.  You can plant them as soon as all danger of frost is past and they will be producing in just a few short weeks.  You can even plant them now and they will be producing a few short weeks.  They go right through until fall if you keep them picked.  All plants are programmed to reproduce so if you keep the fruits picked, the plant will keep trying to replace it.

Squash originated in Mexico.  There are cave drawings from 8000 to 6500 BC depicting squash.  Squash was grown extensively by Native Americans as part of the “Three Sisters” of squash, corn and beans.

Squash love organic matter.  If you throw a few seeds in your compost pile, you will be rewarded with exuberant vines.

Zucchini is full of nutrition.  It contains antioxidants, carotenes, lutein, folates, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and B vitamins.  For more specific nutritional information, Summer squash nutrition info

Zucchini bush

Plant when nighttime temps are 55F or warmer.  Add a fertilizer rich in phosphorous a week after transplanting, when flowers first appear and again when fruits begin to form.  I use tomato fertilizer on all my fruiting plants like peppers, eggplant and squash.  They love water, too. Give zucchini a mid summer side dressing of fertilizer or compost if planted in the ground.   Summer garden tips

Zucchini can be easily grown in a container, too.  Look for compact bush types like Bush Baby, Yellow Crookneck, Eight Ball, Cue Ball, Golden Delight, Anton, Patio Star, Giambo, Astia, Raven, Cosmos Hybrid (look for bush types versus vining types).  If growing in a pot, keep well watered and don’t let dry out.  Fertilize every couple of weeks with a liquid fertilizer if in a pot.  

You can direct sow the seeds directly into the garden or in a pot.  If direct sowing, be sure to pull the mulch away from where the seed is planted to make it easier for the seedling to break through the soil.

Don’t panic when the first blooms fall off without producing any fruits.  There are male and female flowers.  If yours falls off, it was likely a poor guy that withered without the love of a gal.  There can also be some false starts with malformed fruits.  Don’t worry, the plant will put on more blooms and you will be on your way to zucchini overload before you know it!

If you allow the fruit to get too big, the skin gets tough and the seeds hard.  Optimum length is no longer than 6 inches for the juiciest fruit and the smallest seeds.  We just picked 2 that were more like a foot long and they were still delicious.  

Our favorite preparation is to slice and grill it.  We slice them lengthwise, brush on olive oil, dust with sea salt, and put them on the grill with whatever we are cooking as the main course.  Grilling or roasting brings out the sweetness in the fruit.  Olive oil does not reach smoke temperatures until 350-400F so is still a good choice when grilling below 325.

If they grow large, you can use them for zucchini bread or cut in half, scoop out the seeds, stuff with a sausage tomato sauce and bake until tender.  

For more ideas on what to do with an abundant zucchini harvest, check out  What to do with all that zucchini?!

There are a couple of pests that you have to worry about with zucchini-the cucumber beetle, the squash bug and squash vine borer.  Cucumber beetle can infect the vine/bush with bacterial wilt.  When you see them, pull them off and drop in soapy water.  If you start your plants after June 1, you will avoid the vine borer as they lay their eggs in May.  Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays

In late summer in areas with high humidity, you can get powdery mildew.  This can be treated by spraying with baking soda, copper or fresh whey.  I have found that planting a second plant around the first of July is the best approach.  This plant will be kicking in as the second starts slowing down.  Preventing and treating powdery mildew

If you bought a heirloom or open pollinated variety, you can easily save the seed to grow next year's plants.  From your best plant, let one get large, remove from the vine and leave it out in the garden bed.  the inner flesh will deteriorate leaving the seeds.  Just scoop out the seeds, let them dry, put in a plastic baggie, date and keep in the frig for next year.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Get the most from your space-plant intensively!

Interplanted lettuce, herbs, and flowers

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Before there was the square foot garden or biodynamic gardening, the French perfected intensive gardening for urban food supply.  Both rely on raised beds with hefty amounts of organic matter and fertilizer.  In the 1800’s, the French used horse manure as their fertilizer and heat source piled 2 feet high in raised beds.  The heat from the manure allowed them to garden year round to have fresh produce at market in the city. 

The start of biodynamic, permaculture, intensive gardening in the US today got their start at the University of California, Santa Cruz, by Alan Chadwick, a British horticulturist, in his university demonstration garden in 1966.  It was analyzed and then popularized by John Jeavons in his book “How to Grow More Vegetables” in 1974.  Biodynamic gardening  

In this technique, plants are planted in offset rows to maximize the vegetables for the space.  Compost and manure are worked down to a depth of 2 feet in 4-10” raised beds 3-5 feet wide.  Only all organic, natural fertilizers are used.  Plants are positioned with those that support their growth called companion planting.  For more on companion planting, here is a link:  Companion planting

The square foot gardening pilgrim Mel Bartholomew published his first book “Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work”.  Square foot gardening uses 6 inch raised beds filled with compost, peat moss, and vermiculite.  Square foot gardening

If using manure, apply manure in the fall after you are done harvesting for the season to allow decomposition and elimination of harmful bacteria.  Compost or fully composted manure can be added at any time.  Composting is possible in small spaces or even indoors

Add flowers to attract pollinators as well as a pretty addition to raised beds.  You can even add edible flowers which are fun to use in salads or plate decorations.  Flowers that are edible

Intensively planted spring garden

Spacing of veggies

Basil-12”

Bush beans-4”

Pole beans-6”

Beets-3”

Broccoli-12”

Brussels sprouts-16”

Cabbage-12”

Carrots-2”

Cauliflower-12”

Swiss Chard-12”

Chives-6”

Cilantro-8”

Corn-12”

Cucumber, vine-8”

Eggplant-15”

Kale-15”

Heading lettuce-10”

Leaf lettuce-8”

Melon, vine-15”

Mustard greens-4”

Okra-12”

Onions-3”

Oregano-15”

Parsley-6”

Bush peas-6”

Pole peas-4”

Peppers-12”

Radishes-3”

Rhubarb-24”

Rutabaga-6”

Spinach-4”

Bush squash-36”

Vine squash-24”

Staked tomatoes-18”

Turnips-4”

Square foot gardening has a rule of thumb for intensive planting per square foot of garden space:

Extra Large – one per square for 12 inch spacing

Large – 4 per square for 6 inch spacing

Medium – 9 per square for 4 inch spacing

Small – 16 per square for 3 inch spacing.

Basically, you space them so that their neighbor’s leaves are just barely touching.  With intensive planting, you will have to water more often.   Another consideration to the planting is sun position and plant height.  You want to be sure that sun lovers are not shaded by a taller plant.  You can also plant those that appreciate some shade in the hotter months behind taller plants to extend the harvest.  For veggies susceptible to fungal diseases like tomatoes and zucchini, just be sure they are getting good airflow.  Plant them where they can be exposed to direct breezes like around the edge of the garden bed.  Here is a link to average plant heights and root depths at maturity:  Veggie plant height and root depth 

A key tenant of intensive gardening is succession planting.  Never having an empty space in the garden.  Planning is key here.  Having transplants lined up to replace the crop you just harvested.  As soon as the spring crops are done, getting the summer growers in their spot.  If using seeds, you would plant your summer vegetable in between your spring vegetable as soon as weather allows.  As your spring crop is being harvested, your summer crop will be close behind.  Want continuous harvests? Succession planting!

Lastly, crop rotation is considered key by many.  Here is an easy way to think about crop rotation:  Crop rotation made easy for small gardens

I started my vegetable garden in my mulched flower beds.  It has the same concept and has the advantage of already having lots of organic matter from mulching each year.  Mulch also keeps in moisture, moderates the ground temperature and keeps weeding to a minimum.  For more on weed free, till free gardening  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds

It is simply amazing how much you can grow in a small space with good organic practices and planning.  Start your own French intensive garden!  Small space French kitchen garden

10 Easy Ways to a Sustainable Yard

Sunday, July 14, 2019

If you are wanting to be more sustainable in your home, don’t forget the yard and garden.  The typical American yard uses billions of gallons of water and hundreds of millions of pounds of fertilizer each year.  Why not leverage your lawn space more sustainably?  

Here are 10 tips for a more sustainable garden and yard:

1. Go organic.  Eliminate chemicals from your yard and garden.  Basics of organic gardening  Organic fertilizers last a lot longer and won’t cause lawn, flower or veggie burn like a chemical fertilizer will.  Make your own all natural, complete fertilizer   Many chemicals to get rid of bugs these days are “systemic” and stay in the plant for months and even years and kill the bees and other beneficial insects.  What do the terms GMO, natural, heirloom, organic, hybrid really mean?
2. Use mulch in your garden.  Mulch is a home run.  It keeps weeds from sprouting, it keeps moisture in the ground so you don’t have to water as often, it adds organic matter to your garden, and it looks nice.  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds
3. Plant natives.  Those trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses that are native to your area are well acclimated to your climate and pests.  You can plant and they will take care of themselves.
4. Save seeds.  Growing from seed saves you money, allows you to grown interesting varieties, and raise crops that are uniquely adapted to your garden conditions.  You can get seeds by saving your own, your neighbors, favorites from the farmers market, and even from the produce and fruits you buy at the grocer.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver
5. Lose your lawn.  Lawns in America are a big drain on the pocketbook and time while not providing food for your family or critters.  They are also a contributor to fertilizer run off.  Add decorative flower beds with natives.  Start using at least a part of your lawn for growing herbs, fruits and vegetables for you and your family.  Nothing is better tasting and better for you than fresh out of the garden and onto the table.  Permaculture in a Midwest garden and yard
6. Water less.  Purchase natives and look for drought tolerant in the descriptions of plants and seeds you are buying.  Set up a rain barrel to use for the flower beds.  Use drip hoses instead of sprayers these can save up to 70% on water.  Use mulch in not only your flower beds but also your garden beds.   Go organic on lawn care.  Organic, all natural lawns are more tolerant of the summer conditions and need less water to survive.  Organic, all natural lawn 
7. Grow your own food.  You can easily add fruits and veggies to your existing flower gardens.  You can easily expand your garden beds to accommodate herbs and veggies.  Get the most from your space-plant intensively!  If you don’t have room for a flower and veggie garden bed, you can grown anything in a self watering pot.  There has been a bonanza of new container varieties developed over the last few years.  Decorative container gardening for edibles   It is easy to grow and eat from the garden spring, summer and fall.  Planning for a four season garden  
8. Plant perennials.  Annuals take a great deal of inputs to grow from seed each year.  With perennials, you get the benefit of the inputs for years and years versus just one.  Don’t forget about perennial edibles, too!  Perennial veggies in the Midwest garden   Herbs are a great beginners choice.  Start a kitchen herb garden!
9. Compost.  Don’t throw those table scraps in the trash to just go sit in a landfill someplace.  Re-use their nutritional value in your garden by composting them.  There are basically 3 types of composters: a bin that you layer browns/greens and it takes a year to break down, a tumbler type that you throw the browns/greens together and crank daily to mix up giving you compost in a couple of weeks, and an electric type that can be used indoors or outdoors that gives you compost in a couple of days.  Why throw out all those food nutrients when you can reuse them in your own garden for free?  Composting is possible in small spaces or even indoors
10. New methods for the lawn itself.  For your lawn, mow high.  The higher grass shades the ground, causing the soil to not dry out as quickly and helping keep some weeds from growing.  Use an electric or manual lawn mower.  Try a self propelled electric mower.  Don’t buy the typical seed mix.  Purchase  low growing grasses so you only need to mow monthly instead of weekly.  Here is a site to purchase low growers for your area:  www.nicholsgardennursery.com

What's happening in the early July edible garden

Baby peppers on potted pepper plant

Sunday, July 7, 2019

We are harvesting eggplants, peppers, herbs, onions, cucumbers, carrots, Asian greens, and kale.   We are getting steady amounts of rainfall on most weeks so only the pots are needing water consistently.  Have not had to water the beds yet this summer.  The flowers are very happy, too! 

We have gotten more rain and heat than usual this year.  Our grass is still green in late July!  The plants greenery are full and tall.  We started getting eggplants and peppers since the first of July.  The cucumbers and winter squash have babies on them.  The bumblebees love them!  The vines are alive with buzzing with lots of bees every morning.   

Both the hot and sweet pepper plants have peppers on them.  Am getting ripe peppers consistently.  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Tomatoes are way behind this year.  I had issues after transplanting and had to replant.  I have many flowers and some baby tomatoes but will be another couple of weeks before there are ripe tomatoes.  Neighbors tomatoes are just starting to turn red.  

Oregano in bloom

I harvested our garlic a couple of weeks ago and is getting hardening in the shade on our outdoor, covered deck.  Garlic harvest time is near!

Our basil has been off to the races.  I took my first harvest last week end, cutting down to the first few sets of leaves.  It will regrow to give me at least one more good harvest before fall.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Oregano and marjoram is in full bloom.  The bees love the purple flowers!  I harvested most of the stems, but I love the flowers and left some for the bees.  Harvest and preserve your herbs

Lettuce gone to seed

I fertilized all the pots again as well as the veggies in the garden.  It is good to fertilize pots biweekly and garden plants monthly during the growing season to give them the nutrition they need to produce well. Summer garden tips

  

The 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 Earth boxes with some of the seeds.  It will be a couple of weeks for them to be of baby lettuce size to harvest.  Never ending salad from one packet of seeds  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

In the greens department, summer is a hard time for most greens.  Sprouting broccoli, different types of sorrel, arugula, dandelion greens, chard, corn salad and herbs are all available.  The heat increases the sharpness of greens.  Succession planting of lettuce and planting types that are resistant to bolting can keep your lettuce crop going.  Plant them in the coolest part of the yard where they are not in full sun all day and get shade in the afternoon.  Pots are a good option to be able to move them to the cooler part of the yard.  Growing summer salads  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

I added a couple of varieties of greens that have a similar taste to spinach a month ago.  I've added Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, and strawberry spinach to my summer greens garden this year.  They are not true spinach but have the flavor of spinach and are heat tolerant.  I am harvesting them, chard and kale for steamed greens.  I blanch and freeze the extras for winter eating.  Freezing the extras for winter

Our zucchini plants have not kicked in yet.  Once they do, you have to be creative to keep up with all the fruits they pump out.  I just love grilled zucchini!  I also found that using it as a substitute for pasta or lasagna is a great way to use them.  You can also dry them to use in soups or roasts over the winter.  What to do with all that zucchini?!

The annual flowers are really rocking in the garden right now.  The daylilies, marigolds and zinnias are doing extremely well this summer.  They attract all kinds of beautiful butterflies and moths as well as bees.  I love watching all the bees and butterflies that are visiting the garden.  

Summer garden is in full swing!

What to plant in July's edible garden

July edible garden

Saturday, July 6, 2019

It may seem crazy to be sowing seeds in July for your fall and winter garden, but it is the time to do so.  Everything you can grow for spring, you can grow for fall.  For winter harvests, just look for cold hardy varieties.  

September until your first frost is high time in the garden.  Your summer veggies will still be producing at the same time your cool season crops can be harvested.

The trick to harvesting all fall and winter is to have your veggies to full size by mid-October.  With the shorter days of late fall and winter, your plants will not grow much after mid-October through mid-February.

The change I make from spring to fall plantings is for spring, I plant those varieties that are heat tolerant.  In the fall, I plant those varieties that are cold tolerant to extend the harvest as long as possible into winter.  Depending on the severity of the winter, many cold tolerant varieties revive in the spring and provide a really early, nice harvest surprise.

Because daylight hours are getting shorter in the fall, you will need to add about 2 weeks to the “Days to Harvest” your seed packet gives as the seed packet dates are based on spring planting.  Plants grow slower in fall because the days are getting shorter instead of longer.  Frost date look up

Just like in spring, seeds have to be kept moist to sprout.  You can also plant the seeds in peat pots or you can reuse the plastic annual trays you got in the spring.  You can put the plastic trays in a water catch pan, find a shady spot convenient to watering, fill with seed starting mix, sow your seeds and keep moist.  When the seedlings get their true leaves on them (second set), they are ready to transplant into the garden or a larger pot.

There are some veggies that the temps are too high to germinate in our Zone 6, like lettuce.  These you will have to start inside or on the cool side of the house in the shade.  

Indoor seed starting tips

Ideal soil temperatures for seed starting

You can also plant a second crop of summer veggies and herbs to keep the harvests strong through October.  Look for varieties that have short "days to harvest" or purchase transplants.  Summer lovers include basil, beans, corn, tomatoes, and zucchini.

July-Seeds or Transplants

Basil  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Beets All about beautiful beets

Bush beans  Growing beans

Carrots All you need to know about growing carrots

Asian greens (pak choi, tat-soi) Fall and winter greens

Celery  Give celery a try, an easy to grow garden staple

Cilantro  Growing cilantro (coriander)

Collard greens Grow a southern favorite-collards 

Corn  

Endive

Escarole 

Frisee

Fennel 

Kale  Grow one of the super greens this year-kale

Kohlrabi  Another spring veggie-kohlrabi

Leeks

Mustard

Onions  Everything to know about growing onions

Parsnips

Rutabagas

Salsify

Scallions

Swiss chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Spinach  Grow spinach-a super nutritious, easy green

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

Turnips  All about turnips

Zucchini  Growing zucchini and summer squash

July-Transplants

Broccoli  Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips

Brussel sprouts

Cabbage Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Cauliflower

Chinese cabbage

If you don’t want to start seeds, some big box stores and local nurseries have begun to have fall planting veggies.   If none in your area do, there are many mail order seed companies that carry fall bedding plants.