January 2023 Edible Garden Planner

 

Sunday, December 31, 2023

As this year closes and a new year begins, gardeners dream of the possibilities for their spring and summer gardens.  Big box stores have seeds in stock and all the seed starting supplies you need to get a jump on the spring season in January.  My biggest issue is paring down all the plants and edibles that look fun and fabulous to grow to what can actually fit in my small space garden and pots and is easy to manage.

Grow what you love!

The easiest way to fall in love with gardening is growing what you love to eat and look at.  There is nothing like strolling out to the garden to see what's ripe and tasty for dinner and gathering blooms to bring inside for the table vase.  If you have ever wanted to plant a kitchen garden, but weren’t sure if you had the space or skills, you may be surprised.

We grow all we need for fresh eating and putting away for the winter in our flower beds and pots.  Just mix in greens, herbs and veggies with your flowers and bushes.  Add edibles to your decorative pots.  It looks great, flowers attract beneficial insects for more veggie production, and is so easy to run out and get what you want to eat that day right outside your door.

If you aren't sure you can grow veggies, start with herbs.  Herbs thrive on neglect so are a great choice for dipping your toe into the edible gardening arena.  This is how I transitioned from a purely ornamental garden to integrating edibles into my flower beds.  A bonus is many herbs are perennials so only have to be planted once and come back year after year.  

Start a kitchen herb garden!  

Herbs come in all different sizes as well.  I love growing creeping thyme between stepping stones and around the perimeter of the garden.  Oregano and tarragon are taller and have a tendency to fill out a space so better for the back of the garden.  And there are many in between.  Pick herbs that you use a lot in cooking and use those in your flower bed as a start.

You can grow a lot in a small space

It is common for Italians and French to have a small kitchen garden where they grow herbs, greens and vegetables year round.  It is amazing the amount of food you can grow in a very small space!  How to decide what to plant for small spaces?

If you have only a 6’ x 6’ space, a Mediterranean kitchen garden could include the following:

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

Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)  

Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

2 tomatoes-1 small fruiting and 1 slicer type 

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

2 sweet pepper plants  

Peppers are for every taste and garden

1 zucchini (look for “bush” types as they are more compact)  

Everything you need to know to grow squash

1 eggplant 

Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

8 red bunching onions 

Onions-everything you need to know to grow 'em

8 garlic plants 

Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sowed  

Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

For more details on a compact French garden:  Small space French kitchen garden

For an Italian garden:  Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden  To entice the little ones, an Italian garden can also be called a "Pizza or Spaghetti Garden"!  Pizza garden for the kids

Use your patio to grow edibles with flowers 

If you also have room for pots on the patio, you can grow zucchini, eggplant, peppers and cucumber in pots  (only 1 plant in each pot) and add 3 bush or 6 pole bean plants in the garden bed or pot with a trellis for them to grow up. Look at the descriptor on the seed package to see which type the bean plant is.  Personally, I stick with the pole beans you eat whole as shelled beans you do not get as much food per plant, and less food per space in a small garden.  Pole beans produce all summer and fall.

Decorative container gardening for edibles

If you have more room, you can add almonds (yes, they survive Midwest winters), beets, chard, fennel, chickpeas, figs (grows well in a pot too), asparagus, cardoon, chicories, radicchio, endives, broccoli, cauliflower, or artichokes.  

If you are just beginning a garden, do start small.  You want the garden to be fun and relaxing, not overwhelming.  Don't be afraid to begin.  The force of life is strong and really doesn't need much from us.  Buy a few plants in the early spring and just put them in the ground with a natural fertilizer and you will be amazed at how they just go to town all by themselves!

What crops give you the biggest bang for your time?

Vintage WW2 poster

For seed catalogues, the ones that have the best chance of thriving in your garden are the ones that do their trials in your area of the country.  The seeds and plants they carry are the ones that have performed the best for them in their trial gardens.  Baker Creek is fun because they specialize heirlooms and rare seeds from around the world and are here in the Midwest.  Territorial Seeds has a good summary in each section of growing tips and their seed farms are mainly in the Northwest.  I have had very good success with both.  I look for key words in the packet description that reflect our growing conditions here in the Midwest summers.

My favorite catalogs are the ones that the links are on the right.  I have ordered from them all and been happy with their selection and how well the plants did.

After you have the list, pare it down to your space 

If you are like me, your list will be much longer than what you can grow in your space.  The hardest part for me is crossing off what I will NOT grow this season.  Split out what you want to grow by when they are producing in your garden, your cool season crops from your heat lovers.  If you start in early spring, you will want to plant the crops that grow well in cool temperatures like lettuce and spinach.  Spring edible garden  When all chance of frost has passed is when you will plant the heat lovers.  A summer edible garden  If you are just starting, start small and only try 2-3 of your favorites so you can easily care for them and learn about gardening.   

Here's how my garden fared in 2023, what I learned and my garden plan for 2024  Reflections on the 2023 edible garden and plans for 2024

Still having trouble deciding?  Well, you have some time before the season starts.  Heck, you can procrastinate all the way to June..........  It is not too late to start a garden in June!  You can use this time to make your plan based on what you eat this winter.  Use this winter to figure out what to grow in the ...

For more on steps on putting in a garden: Easy ways to make a new vegetable garden bed  

Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds  Easy kitchen garden

Southern New Year's good luck meal

Black eyed peas and collard greens

Saturday, December 30, 2023

It is a Southern tradition to have black-eyed peas and collard greens to usher in the New Year. My grandmother was originally from the hills of Tennessee and moved to southeast Missouri as a young girl.  Everyone I know that grew up in southeast Missouri has 'em on New Year's Day.  

History of black-eyed peas and collards

Black-eyed peas were first domesticated in West Africa and widely grown in Asia.  The "good luck" traditions of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year go as far back as Babylonian times (2500 years ago).  The tradition then was to have bottle gourd, leeks, black-eyed peas, beets, spinach, and dates as they were all symbols of good luck. 

This Jewish tradition was brought to the southern US in the 1700’s.  Today, the good luck Southern meal includes peas for prosperity (coins), mustard greens for money (green backs), and pork for moving forward.  Cornbread is also part of the meal and represents gold.

George Washington Carver encouraged the planting of black-eyed peas because they fertilized the soil, are nutritious and very affordable.  Black-eyes peas are chock full of nutrition.  They contain protein, calcium, vitamin A, folate, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, manganese, and lots of fiber.  black eyed peas nutritional info

Recipe for your good luck peas

To cook black-eyed peas, I add some ham and diced onion and simmer in chicken broth.  I simmer until tender.  You can add vinegar or some hot peppers for a different taste.  If using your own homegrown beans, here are tips for using dried beans Use dry beans instead of canned

Growing your own "peas"

Black-eyed peas are a subspecies of the cowpea and is also known by the name of goat pea.  They are not actually a pea at all, but a bean.  Black-eyed peas are a warm season crop that is not susceptible to pests or disease.  Beans should be planted after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm.  They are very drought tolerant so little watering is needed.  I start my beans indoors in April and set out around Memorial Day.  They are easily grown directly in the garden.  Just plant seeds after the soil is warm.  Growing beans

If using just for fertilizing the garden soil, legumes (peas and beans) should be cut before they start producing pods as the production of the seed pods use up a lot of the nitrogen fixed in the roots.  Even if growing to eat, leave the roots when removing the vines at the end of the season.  Those nodules you see on the roots are stored nitrogen.  To increase the nitrogen in the roots, an inoculant of rhizobial bacteria should be coated on the seed at planting.  You can mix a little syrup (1-10) with water to dampen the seed before dusting with the inoculant.  This will greatly increase your harvest.

A side benefit of growing black-eyed peas is that the flowers produce copious amounts of nectar for pollinators, like bees.  Be sure to not use any pesticides on your black-eyed peas as they will kill the bees, too.  Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays

For fresh peas, you harvest the beans when the peas have just begun to swell in the pod and are 2-3" long.  After harvesting, simply shell the peas into a freezer bag (don’t forget to label with type and date).  By harvesting the fresh peas, it will encourage more pods to be formed, giving you a larger harvest.

For dried beans, wait until the pods have dried completely on the plant.  Pick the pods and shell.  I use a quart jar to store my dried beans until needed.  When ready to use, rinse the beans then boil on low until tender with 4 cups of water to 1 cup of beans.  The time needed will depend on the age of the dried bean.  The older the bean, typically the longer it takes.  You can also soak over night to reduce cooking time.

Growing your own collards 

Collards are a southern favorite and also chock full of nutrients.  They come from the same family as kale and were likely cultivated 2000 years ago by the Greeks.

Greens like lots of nitrogen so they are great to interplant with your summer black eyed peas.  They are best planted in spring and fall as they prefer cooler temperatures.  Spring planted collards will produce all summer.  Fall planted collards will continue to produce into winter and will survive down to 0 F.  

Plant in rich soil 1/4" deep, 18-24" apart and keep moist until sprouted.  Use collards how you would kale, from adding to salads to steaming and sautéing.  

For more on growing beans, Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer.  For more on growing collards, Grow a southern favorite-collards.  For preserving, Freezing the extras for winter

Try some good luck food for your New Year's!

Quick tip 3 for green thumbs in winter-organize your seeds

Snippet of seed spreadsheet

Friday, December 29, 2023

Winter can be a downer time of year for those of us that love to garden, but it doesn't have to be!  There are many "gardener" things you can do during the cold months of the year.  I'm going to share an idea each week for the rest of the winter on gardening activities that help satisfy the itch and prepare us better for the upcoming spring season.  Here we go with Winter Quick Tip 3-organize and catalog your seeds. 

If you are anything like me, you have lots of seeds stored.  A productive and cost saving thing to do during these cold days is to get out all your seeds, organize them, catalog them and store them so that you extend their viability for as long as possible.

This will save you tons of time having to sort through packets when you start your seeds here in a couple of months as well as money in not buying seeds you already have.

I keep mine on an excel spreadsheet.  This way, I can easily keep them in alphabetically order.  Plus, I have columns with pertinent information like sunlight required and when you can start the seeds so I can sort by these fields if I want to.  After putting your "catalog" together, you only have to add any new purchases to keep it current.

While you have your seeds out, go ahead and organize them and store them for longevity.  I store mine in quart freezer bags in the refrigerator.  I have seeds that are over 10 years old and are still sprouting.  To start, put each crop type in a pile.  Then put each pile in groups for when you sow the seeds.  So you'd have spring, summer and winter seeds together.  I put the packets together in one quart bag that will fit and are similar.  For instance, I have all the root vegetables in one quart bag with the like ones grouped together in the bag to make them each to find.  I have enough bean seeds that they are in their own bag.  Same for tomatoes and herbs.  Pepper and eggplant seeds are in the same bag.  Flowers are in 2 bags.  Summer greens in a bag, spring and fall greens in a bag and winter hardy greens in their own bag.  

Then, when it is time to order seeds, I look back at my garden plan for the year, see what I need to order from my spreadsheet, then get the seeds I already have pulled.  As the new seeds come in, I add them to the spreadsheet.  I have a gallon freezer bag that I label as "Spring 2024" that I put all the seeds I am going to sow for spring in the bag and keep them in the refrigerator until I am ready to start sowing.  I'll do the same for "Summer 2024" and "Fall/Winter 2024" as the time comes to plan for the next season of gardening.

Reflections on the 2023 edible garden and plans for 2024 

Edibles I am growing indoors

Kumquat in sunroom

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Winter doesn't mean you can't eat fresh, homegrown edibles, even if you don't have a greenhouse.  There are many edibles that grow well indoors in a vase or pot.  I have a few edibles I am growing indoors this winter; some that are standbys and some that are new adventures.  

 

Citrus won't survive our winters outdoors.  I like putting them outdoors as soon as a hard freeze risk is over in the spring and then bringing them back in in late fall for the winter.  Right now, I have a kumquat tree, a lemon tree, a hardy Morton Citrange (a hybrid between sweet oranges and trifoliate orange, hardy to 0F), and a Meyer lemon tree.  

My kumquat tree is loaded with fruits and stays fruiting almost year round.  The lemon tree I grew from seed and has only fruited once.  I likely need to fertilize it more during the winter.  I have had the Morton Citrange for about 4 years.  It can take 5-8 years to fruit and mine has not flowered yet.  This variety is said to taste like grapefruit.  I bought the Meyer lemon tree last year.  Meyer lemon trees stay dwarf (6-10') and are a of a lemon tree and a mandarin orange tree.  They typically start fruiting at 4 years old.  Mine has not flowered yet.  Meyer lemon trees can provide fruit year round.

The Morton Citrange and kumquat are in my "sunroom" which has windows on 3 sides.  I have the Meyer lemon tree in a south facing window.  The lemon tree is huge so it's in the basement with fluorescent grow lights and near the north facing windows.

I purchased the citrange as it is supposed to be hardy here in my zone.  When we finish putting in our flower beds, I want to plant it close to a south facing brick wall to give it extra warmth and best chance of survival.  It does have some huge thorns.  I will remove the thorns in late winter, early spring when they are dormant to cause the least amount of stress to the tree.  My kumquat is the only citrus I have without thorns.

I am growing 3 tomato plants indoors-one micro tomato called Orange Hat and two dwarf red Tumbling Tom tomato plants.  I started the Orange Hat from seed in summer.  I have been getting tiny gold tomatoes from it over the last couple of months.  I was gifted the Tumbling Tom plants about a month ago.  They have been flowering but no fruits yet.

I have 3 potted pepper plants indoors.  One Jigsaw pepper plant that is very decorative with its lavender, white and green foliage.  I started it from seed indoors this summer.  I have gotten a few purple, hot peppers from it and it still has purple and white flowers.  I have it in a south facing window in my sunroom.  The other two peppers are Chiltepin hot pepper plants.  They are an ancient wild pepper with tiny red fruits.  The oldest plant I have had for 8 years.  The youngest was a volunteer that started in my goji berry pot that I separated out this fall.  It seems to be doing well.  Both of these plants have peppers on them.  I have one in a south facing window in my sunroom and the older one in the basement near a north facing window with fluorescent daylight bulbs providing 12 hours of light.  This is where I overwintered it last year.

Before the first frost, I cut all the basil stems and made pesto.  I saved a few ends to try and start in water.  I have 5 that have grown roots, so about a 50% success rate.  They have some health roots going now so I probably should transplant them, but they seem to be doing fine in a vase in the kitchen window which faces north.  

My nunum basil produces volunteers all over the garden and they keep popping up each year.  I had a few that volunteered in my pots of moringa and citrange trees.  The basil is still growing indoors with the trees so I will have plenty of fresh basil for dishes this winter!

I have a Red Malabar spinach vine that is cohabiting in the same pot as my Lion's ear.  Looks like it has flower buds on it.  I hope it does flower as it is beautiful vine and a good spinach substitute.  I have lots and lots of volunteers all over the garden this last summer.  I don't think I will ever need to plant a new vine; just wait for the volunteers to come up and then plant them where I want them. 

I brought in a small potted rosemary that I got this fall.  It is still small but does have some new growth on it.  I haven't had the best luck in overwintering rosemary, but "hope springs eternal" and I am trying it again this winter.

I had a volunteer New Zealand spinach plant show up in the garden in late summer.  I dug it and potted it.  I have it indoors now.  It is a good spinach substitute.  I have overwintered one before and it did decent.

My bay tree is in the basement.  It is around 8' tall now.  It has sprouts coming up around the trunk.  I should dig them out and pot them.  My mature tree would likely enjoy a bigger pot, too!  It is doing quite well with new growth on it.  Bay trees have been completely problem free to grow for me.  Great to have it nearby and just run down and pick leaves any time it's needed.

The last edible I have inside is my dwarf moringa tree.  The leaves are packed with protein so make a great addition to salads.  It has lost all of its leaves, but I think it is just dormant.  The trunk seems firm and of normal color.  It did the same thing last year.  It is normal for them to drop their leaves when the temperatures get below 70F.  We keep it below 70F indoors in winter so I may not be harvesting any leaves until spring.

I am not currently growing sprouts, but they are a powerhouse of nutrition and a great way to get fresh produce in any abode even if you don't have windows with great light or grow lights.

Indoor winter gardening-grow sprouts, microgreens or wheat grass!

What we're harvesting in the December garden

Winter hardy greens

Saturday, December 23, 2023

The harvest in December is varied.  Many cold crops are doing well with no cover.  Peppers are hanging on in the walk in greenhouse.

It is surprising what survives out in the garden bed with no protection.  Right now, lettuce, carrots, cultivated dandelion greens, shallots, onions, broccoli, kale and perennial herbs are doing just fine.  Annual dill and celery are happy as well.

I'm not growing them this winter, but spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, beets, turnips and Brussels sprouts all do well this time of year in the garden.

All the cold crops are sweeter, too, when the temperatures dip below freezing.  The cold causes the plants to concentrate their sugars like antifreeze in cars to protect them from dying from freezing.  A neat trick for the plants and tasty for the gardener!

I also have greens under cover.  The chard, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, tat so and cultivated dandelions are a good size.  I started my lettuce seedlings late so they are growing slowly under cover.  It will likely be a few more weeks before I'll start harvesting from them.

In the pop up, walk-in greenhouse, the potted eggplants have pretty much given up.  The potted peppers are still hanging in there.  

I also have a few hot pepper plants that I brought indoors and put in a sunny window. "Jigsaw" pepper has white, green and lavender variegated leaves with purple fruits.  I planted it indoors this summer.  It has produced a few fruits.  The other pepper plants are "Chiltepin" wild pepper.  It an ancient variety and produces very hot, small red peppers.  I have been bringing the large plant in for the last several years for overwintering.  Both the large and small plants have peppers on them.

Of course, I also brought in the 5 citrus trees I have.  The kumquat is just covered in fruits.  Kumquats produce almost year round and do well indoors and outdoors.  Keep them in a sunny window for optimum health and production. 

I have 2 different kinds of dwarf tomatoes I am trying indoors, too.  I started "Orange Hat" over the summer and was given Tumbling Tom from a neighbor over Thanksgiving week.  Orange Hat has been producing tiny orange tomatoes for a couple of months now.  Tumbling Tom has flowers, but no fruits yet.

If you don't want to garden outdoors or bring plants indoors, you can grow sprouts to keep yourself in fresh produce during the winter months.

Quick tip 2 for green thumbs in winter-decorate with nature

My mother's handmade winter wreath

Monday, December 18, 2023

Winter can be a downer time of year for those of us that love to garden, but it doesn't have to be!  There are many "gardener" things you can do during the cold months of the year.  I'm going to share an idea each week for the rest of the winter on gardening activities that help satisfy the itch and prepare us better for the upcoming spring season.  Here we go with Winter Quick Tip 2. 

I love a refreshing walk on crisp winter days.  Sure the shades of green have narrowed to just the evergreens, but there is beauty in the textures of waves of brown grasses, seed heads of faded flowers, and the glisten of snow and ice after a winter storm.  It's good for the body and the soul to get outside and experience winter nature.

As you walk, hike and explore, look for ways to bring nature home with you to decorate inside.  You can collect branches, grasses, seed pods to make striking arrangements.  Or look for pine, cedar, fir, holly, magnolia and other evergreens to make wreaths and other Christmas decorations.  Accent with pine cones, seed pods, dried apples or oranges, feathers and grasses for an all natural approach or add ornaments and ribbons for a splash of color to coordinate with your tree.

Jazz up the Christmas feast with herbs from the garden

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Here is just one potential Christmas feast maximizing flavor from the herbs still providing in the garden at Christmas: 

Fig preserves with rosemary cheese for appetizer
Quick herb almond bread

Rosemary inspired rack of lamb

Garlic and herb roasted vegetables 

Fresh greens with hot bacon dressing 

Topped off with cranberry mint sorbet

Fig preserves and rosemary cheese 

To make the rosemary cheese, combine 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 3  ounces softened goat cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, and 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper.  Blend until smooth.  You can serve in a beautiful crystal dish or go for a mold.  For a molded cheese, put the mixture in the mold, chill for 2 hours, unmold onto serving plate (you can run warm water over the top of the mold to get it to release easier).  You are now ready to cover with fig preserves and serve with your favorite crackers. 

Figs are super easy to grow in pots.  I bought a Chicago hardy fig that survives in our Zone 6/7 garden.  I do bring it indoors each winter as a pot lowers the effective zone by 2.  If given a large pot, they will produce many fruits over the summer and fall season.  
Growing “exotic” figs

If you want to make your own preserves, simply cook in a medium sauce pan 1 pound of fresh, ripe figs (washed and stem removed) with 1 cup of sugar for 30 minutes, uncovered.  If keeping in the refrigerator, you can pour directly into a sterilized quart jar or 2 pint jars, leaving a 1/8 inch head space.  If you want to store in the pantry, you will need to “process” your preserves.  This is really easy.  Just put in a large stock pan, covered with water.  Heat until boiling and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove using tongs, allow to cool, and store in a dark, cool place.

I put my hot jars on a kitchen towel so they are not “shocked” by the cold counter top.  I also use Weck canning jars since they are all glass, including the lid.  
Lowest toxic options for canning  
If you have a large pot, you can can!

Low carb, quick herb bread

I found the perfect low carb, microwave almond bread recipe that I jazz up with my dried herbs.  Simply mix together in a small glass container 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter, 3 tablespoons of almond flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of herbs.  Pop the container in the microwave for 90 seconds and you have hot, low carb bread for dipping, preserves, cheese, meats and more!

Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

Rosemary inspired rack of lamb

Stop by your local meat market and get a French cut rack of lamb. Remove the fat and gristle, coat the outside with olive oil then cover with a 1/2 cup crushed rosemary and 1/4 cup sea salt mix.  Roast fat side out at 425F for 35-40 minutes in the oven or on the grill until the interior temperature reaches 150F.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing so that the juices won’t be lost during cutting.  If you prefer garlic, here is another rub option-2 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons parsley, 2 teaspoons chives, 2 teaspoons thyme, 2 teaspoons rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt,  and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.  Mix together and coat the rack of lamb and cook as above.

Garlic and herb roasted vegetables

This recipe works with any really firm vegetables you like.  Here is one variation.  Cut 4 sweet potatoes, 3 medium turnips into 1.5 inch cubes, and 2 large onions into 1.5 inch wedges.  In a gallon plastic bag, place 12 cloves crushed, peeled garlic, 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or marjoram, 2 teaspoons salt, 6 tablespoons olive oil.  Mix thoroughly.  Add your cut veggies and squish them around until they are coated on all sides with the herb mixture.  Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer.  Roast in a 450F, preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until soft.  
Quick tip-”peeling” garlic  
Quick tip-make dried garlic into garlic powder  
Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

Potatoes, turnips, carrots and onions are all veggies that can be stored over winter if kept in the proper conditions.  Be sure to keep potatoes covered or in a dark place as when they turn green, they are toxic.  Sweet potatoes will keep for a month if kept in cool dry conditions and bagged with an apple to keep from sprouting.  
21 no tech storage crops

Mixed greens with hot bacon dressing  

An old Southern favorite is hot bacon dressing.  Cook 4 slices bacon until crisp, reserving 2 tablespoons of the drippings (grease).  Crumble the bacon and set aside.  In a small sauce pan, combine 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon grated onion, 1/8 teaspoon dried mustard, bring just to boil and add bacon.  Remove from heat and whisk before serving.

There are greens still growing in the garden that are a perfect pair for the sweet hot bacon dressing-chard, sorrel, spinach, mustard greens, cultivated dandelions and even some winter hardy lettuce.  
Fall and winter greens  
Homegrown, organic salads in a Midwest winter
Homemade salad dressing recipes with garden herbs

Cranberry mint sorbet

I am not a huge fan of the gelatin cranberry sauce.  This is a great way to include the traditional cranberry in a totally new and refreshing way.  

Combine in a medium sauce pan 3 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar, bring to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, add 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, 2 tablespoons fresh mint and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.  Allow to cool and strain.

  

Combine another 3/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup cranberries in a small sauce pan and bring to boil.  Cover, simmer for 8 minutes or until skins pop.  Cool completely.  Use food processor, process until smooth.  Strain out solids.

Combine orange and cranberry mixture and pour into 9x12” pan, cover and freeze.  Reprocess in food processor, half at a time and refreeze until ready to serve.

With this warm winter, straight from the garden herbs are an easy way to have dishes bursting with fresh flavor.  

I love giving my own herb mix as presents.  An herb garden is so easy and such a great value!  Most herbs are perennials so you only have to buy and plant one time and they come back year after year.  
Start a kitchen herb garden!

Quick tip 1 for green thumbs during winter-learn

 

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Winter can be a downer time of year for those of us that love to garden, but it doesn't have to be!  There are many "gardener" things you can do during the cold months of the year.  I'm going to share an idea each week for the rest of the winter on gardening activities that help satisfy the itch and prepare us better for the upcoming spring season.  Here we go with Winter Quick Tip 1. 

A top priority for me every winter is to research what I want to learn more about in gardening and including my newfound knowledge in my next year's garden plan.

There are lots of ways to learn.  You can subscribe to gardening magazines like Mother Earth News, Farmer's Almanac, Fine Gardening, and many others.  You can buy books on a subject you are interested in learning more.  You can browse books and magazines at your neighborhood library, too.  You can get free videos through your state's agricultural extension office.  Here is a link to ours in Kentucky https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/season-one/.  It started during Covid so there are currently 4 years of videos.  And there are thousands of videos on YouTube.

I have a little book I got years ago that covers the four seasons of kitchen gardening "In the French Garden: The Joys of Cultivating a Potager" by Georgeann Brennan.  I start re-reading this book every spring.  It isn't a thick book so it's nice to have a refresher that has easy recipes for what's in season. 

There are some really great information in seed catalogs too.  Territorial Seed as one that I learned so much from when I first started gardening.  They have general growing information for just about every type of common vegetable.  I still get their catalog and reference their growing information each growing season.  A few years ago, I discovered Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.  Their huge seed catalog that ships in January has in-depth history and growing information on a variety of highlighted vegetables.

If you are going someplace warm, you can go search for display or historical edible gardens to visit.  If you are interested in growing in greenhouses or under cover, you can see if there are any display gardens in your area or ask one of the year round CSA's in your area if you can come by for a visit.  Or check with your local agricultural extension office to see if there are opportunities they know about.  Many extension offices give gardening classes, too.

Of course, you can just google what you are interested in knowing more about and scan the million results that are brought up!

I jot notes to myself in my garden notebook on what I want to learn more about over the winter so I have a list that I can work off over the winter to have a more productive garden come spring.  Keeping a journal is a very helpful tool.

Planting schedule for edibles in an unheated portable greenhouse

Unheated, portable greenhouse
Sunday, December 10, 2023

My new edible gardening tool is a walk-in greenhouse.  I have had portable greenhouses since 2008.  I have grown salad fixings in them over the winter to keep having fresh salads and they have worked incredibly well at this.  With a walk-in greenhouse, I am looking to expand the growing season for other edibles.  This is what I have researched so far.

 

The impetus for getting a walk-in greenhouse was to be able to keep my tropicals outside for as long as possible, to overwinter the natives I dug, separated and put in quart pots, and to extend the season in the fall and spring for the summer lovers like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

 

For the tropicals, I was able to keep them outdoors for an additional month, bringing them inside yesterday.  I believe they would have been fine for another couple of weeks, but they were forecasting a low of 24 tomorrow night.  They already survived down to 22, but that was earlier in the fall when the ground was warmer.  I have left the potted peppers and eggplants in the walk-in greenhouse.  If they survive the hard freeze, then I’ll know the tropicals would have survived.

 

The potted peppers and eggplant did get damaged from the 22F freeze, but I had not velro’ed the windows of the greenhouse shut.  I had rolled the windows down, but should have used the Velcro closure to seal out more of the freezing air.  It will be interesting to see how long the summer lovers will survive in the walk-in greenhouse this winter.

 

For me, gardening requires research and experimentation.  I read up on what I want to learn more about and then go try it in the garden to see what works or what adjustments I need to make for my garden conditions.

 

One thing I do know about summer lovers is to be sure that you are keeping their stems and leaves off of the plastic.  Any part touching the plastic will get killed when there is a hard freeze.  You can also add mass inside or outside of a greenhouse to help moderate the temperature inside the greenhouse.  Mass absorbs the heat during the day and then releases it back at night.  The best exchange is when the mass is inside the greenhouse.  If you don’t have room, putting it outside the greenhouse up against the walls will help.

 

I was going to put a layer of straw bales around the outside of the walk-in greenhouse, but didn’t get around to buying the bales.  For the portable greenhouse, I have room to put gallon jugs around 3 of the 4 sides.  I spray paint the jugs black to protect them from the sun’s harmful rays.  Sun will break down the plastic, causing the jugs to become brittle and crack.  If you leave them in place with holes in them, they still work but come summer, you have created a mosquito breeding farm!

 

For the walk-in greenhouse, I left the potted eggplants and peppers around the walls and replaced the tropicals with the quart pots of transplanted natives in the center.  I left enough room to be able to walk into the very center of the greenhouse so I can water as needed easily.  My smaller greenhouses only need to be watered a couple of times during the winter after being closed up.  This winter, I will learn if that is the case with the walk-in greenhouse.  For the smaller greenhouses, the moisture from the pots evaporates, rises to the plastic and then condensates back onto the plants; kind of like a terrarium.  Hopefully, the walk-in greenhouse will be at least as close in water efficiency.

 

As it warms up in the spring, I plan on adding shelves around the perimeter of the greenhouse to be sable to start seedlings sooner in the spring.  I have been looking back in Eliot Coleman books on gardening year round utilizing unheated greenhouses.  I have 2 of his books “The Winter Harvest Handbook” and “Four Season Harvest”.  Since he lives in Maine, I am going to adjust his spring dates by 6 weeks and his fall planting dates by 5 weeks since this is the difference between the frost dates in his area versus the frost dates in my garden.  It may not be that simple since I’m using a tiny greenhouse and he uses huge greenhouses, but it gives me a place to start.  My last frost in the spring is April 2 and my first frost is November 3.  You can adjust your planting dates by taking the difference between my dates and those in your garden.

 

For spring, here are my adjusted dates for starting the seedlings in the greenhouse:

Mid-February-beets, greens, carrots

Mid-March-zucchini, peppers and beans

Early April-tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, watermelon and eggplant

 

Fall is different in that you are starting your fall and winter crops at the end of summer with the goal of getting them to full size by the time daylight hours drop to 10 hours.  For me, this is November.  Growth slows during the fall as daylight reduces and temperatures drop.  My initial plan is to move the seedlings I start in late summer to the walk-in greenhouse when the temperatures dip.  By moving the seedlings into the walk-in greenhouse, it will hopefully help them grow quicker in the warmth.