Want to plant summer veggies now? How to give needed protection.

Undercover-pepper, cucumber, basil

Saturday, April 9, 2016 

When temperatures start hitting the 70's, the desire to rush out get tomatoes and plant them becomes almost irresistible!  It is too early to plant summer loving vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumbers and basil without giving them a "coat" of sorts to protect them against those sudden drops in temperatures we will inevitably get between now and mid-May. 

There can definitely be freezing temperatures that blow in this time of year.  So, warm season crops can melt overnight with one good frost.

What can you do to protect them?  

*Throw a sheet or plastic or other light weight cover over them when the cold snap comes in.  I remember my grandmother putting a sheet over hers.

*Buy “cloches” which are little plastic or glass bell shaped covers and place over each plant.  

*Put a portable greenhouse over them. 

*Use wall of water.  They really do work!

*Another option is to plant them in pots so you can bring them into the garage when temperatures get into the 30's and 40's.
*I am keeping some plants on the covered deck.  This will keep them protected from frost, but tender plants like basil won't make it through nights at or below freezing on a porch.

The watch-out for covering with plastic, cloches or greenhouses is that you can fry your little babies if you leave them closed up on during sunny, warmer days.  The cloches I have come with vents that I can leave open, but I have had casualties even with leaving the vent open.  My portable mini-greenhouse has a zipper opening that makes it easy to vent.  For plastic sheeting, you will either have to remove it when it warms up or have a way for the ends to be opened to allow cooler air to circulate and keep the plastic off the plants themselves.  

Since I leave for work right before the coldest part of the day (sunrise), I have to wait until I get home from work to remove the cloche.  This time of year we get some real wide swings in temps.

Surprisingly, I had some peppers under cover and others that were not, and the uncovered peppers did just fine, even when the temperature dropped to 28 degrees.

For more on extending the season, Extend the season with protection for plants

What's growing in the early April edible garden

Lettuce, chives in front, potato onions in background, tarragon on left

Sunday, April 3, 2016

It was a relatively mild winter with some cold snaps in the last month.  So, what is popping up in the garden?  Fall planted garlic, Elephant garlic, arugula, French sorrel, blood veined sorrel, kale, oregano, rosemary, cultivated dandelions, common chives, garlic chives, strawberries, onions, wild leeks, sage, dill, mint, rosemary, cultivated leeks, overwintered beets, overwintered carrots, newly planted peas, volunteer lettuce, catnip, lavender,  newly planted lettuce, overwintered chard, tarragon, salad burnet, overwintered mustard, horseradish and thyme.  I also put on our covered deck a few weeks ago, our kumquat, overwintered eggplant and pepper plants, newly bought basil and dill.  They are doing great, too.

The plants are growing well enough that we can pick leaves for salads now from both the garden herbs and chard and the potted lettuce, kale, salad burnet, and Italian dandelions.

The forsythias and Redbud trees are are in full bloom.  This is the sign that it is time to use an organic weed and feed to treat pre-emergent weeds, and green up the yard!  Redbud flowers are edible.  They taste similar to peas.  Pretty and tasty in salads!  Growing edible flowers

We are behind this year in fertilizing and mulching the garden bed.  I'll fertilize today and finish planting the spinach and lettuce bedding plants.  The pots are already full with planted lettuce, volunteer lettuce, cultivated dandelions, sorrel, corn salad, cilantro, peas, kale, beets, onions, carrots and salad burnet; all edible plants that enjoy spring's cool temperatures.

Overwintered kale in pots, small lettuce in garden bed

I love mixing herbs, different types of greens and lettuces in salads.  It took a bit to get the corn salad going, but now it is doing great!  The overwintered plants have already bolted and have pretty yellow flowers.  The baby corn salad plants are growing quickly.  Corn salad is very similar in taste to arugula.  The advantage of having both in the garden is that corn salad is harvestable through most of the cold months and when it goes to seed, arugula is in its prime.

This week end we had mixed herb, greens and lettuce salads and dandelion alfredo sauce.  Dandelion greens are super nutritious and get sweeter when cooked.  Dandelion nutrition info  Use dandelion greens as you would spinach.

Corn salad in bloom

The cilantro does not last long; as soon as it warms up, it bolts.  You have to succession plant these to keep them in the garden.  Place them in a cool spot that gets some morning sun, but is in the shade the rest of the day.  Parsley does great for the entire season.  

I didn't have to start any chard this year as it came back from last year.   I have them in a mix of colors.  Chard is beautiful in orange, red, yellow, burgundy, fuchsia and white stemmed varieties.  I have them planted along the back of the garden bed as they grow to as tall as 4-5' tall.  

Yellow chard in foreground, Egyptian walking onions in background

Small chard leaves are great in salads.  Large leaves are great steamed.  The stalks of the large leaves can be used like celery, but very pretty celery!  Chard is also a tender perennial.  The white stemmed is the most cold hardy.  I have had a red one that came back for years.  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

I didn't need to plant carrots or beets as they overwintered in pots.  I am going to start chervil from seed.  I love the fragrance and benefits it adds to my skin oil I make.  Make your own fragrant herbal body oil

I like broccoli raab or sprouting broccoli because you get small broccoli heads throughout the entire growing season versus one large head at once.  The leaves are also edible and great to add to salads.  I am waiting to see if these survived the winter in the pots they were in last year.  Two plants gave us all the broccoli and broccoli leaves we needed for our salads.  They grow to be large plants.  If planting in a container, thin to one plant in a large pot.  Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav

Lettuce and arugula in an Earthbox

Now is also the time to plant spring garlic.  Fall is the best time, but you can get scapes and small cloves by planting in spring.  I also have garlic resprouting from the first crop I planted.  When you dig the garlic in the fall, there are tiny cloves that usually get left behind.  These will come back in the spring.  The tiny cloves may take 2 seasons to get up to full size cloves.  Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

Our potato onions and Egyptian walking onions are harvestable for cooking.  They both overwinter well.  I love Egyptian walking onions as you can harvest them year round and they are so easy to grow, either in the garden or a pot!  I use the bulb as you would a white onion and the tops as you would chives.  Egyptian walking onions

April Edible Garden Planner

April garden with greens, dill, chives, and lettuce

Saturday, April 2, 2016

April showers bring May flowers, fruits, herbs and vegetables.  Now is the perfect time to get serious on getting your spring garden planted!

Crops to plant in April

Early April is a perfect time to plant cold season crops like Brussels sprouts, fava beans, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard, onions, parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, shallots, spinach, strawberries, Swiss chard and turnips.

I am giving broccoli and cabbage a rest this year since I had such a large number of pests last year.  Without their favorite food to feast on, they should move on for next year's garden.  If the summer looks good, I may even plant them for fall harvests.

We still get frosts in April so you want to hold off on planting warm season crops outdoors like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and squash until May.

If this is your first year in gardening, here are some pointers on what to choose what to grow and get your garden going  Easy kitchen garden

Fertilize

When you plant, make sure to fertilize and add mycorrhizae in each planting hole. Mycorrhizae are beneficial microbes that help your plant roots absorb nutrients from the soil.  Once mycorrhizae is added in that spot, it will live on in the soil so it does not have to be reapplied next year in that spot.

If you didn't do a soil test (you can use a kit from a garden store or big box store), use a balanced organic fertilizer like Espoma at the rate recommended.  You can make your own all natural, organic fertilizer, too.  Here is the link:  Make your own fertilizer, it's all natural and inexpensive

If you want to have an in-depth soil analysis done to create a fertilizer specific to your soil, here is a blog on who to send your sample to and how to get a personal fertilizer recipe  The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

If you are re-using pots from last year, here is a link to get your potting soil ready to nourish your new plants:  Re-energize your potting soil!  It is important to get your potting soil ready to support this season's growth and veggie production.

Chives and lettuce in  mid-April garden

Frost date importance

The last frost date in our area is around April 15th.  This is important to know if you are planting seeds.  The packet tells you when to plant in relation to your last frost date.  You will get the best results following the packet instructions.  Planting early is not always a good strategy as different seeds need different soil temperatures before they will germinate.  Plant too early and they can rot before they have a chance to sprout.  When to plant your veggies

Pots will warm up quicker, but will also chill down faster.  You can put them in a sheltered spot to get a jump on spring.  I love planting greens in large self watering pots that I keep on the patio, making it handy for picking a fresh salad for dinner.

When growing veggies in containers, they will require more watering and more liquid fertilizer than if they were in the ground.  In the summer, you may have to water some water lovers every day.  For more on growing in pots  Potted veggies and herbs

Lettuce, greens, and herbs do fabulous this month.  It is the time to indulge in daily salads.  Cool temperatures and lots of moisture produce the sweetest greens of the season.

What we planted this March week end

Baby spinach in an Earthbox in front, perennial sorrel in back

Sunday, March 20, 2016

It is officially the spring!  We are having a little bit of a cold snap this week end, but it is forecasted to warm back up during the week.  Now is a good time to plant cold weather loving crops and seeds and harvest perennial greens for salads. 

In our salad today, I added fresh from the garden the nutritious spring greens of kale, salad burnet (has a Granny Smith apple taste), chickweed, corn salad (tastes similar to arugula), and the tops of Egyptian walking onions used as chives.  Could have also used the perennial cultivated dandelion greens, mustard greens, French sorrel, blood veined sorrel, garden chives, herbs, parsley, and overwintered carrots fresh from the garden.

This is what we planted in the last couple of weeks:

Red Onion starts-plant so tops are even with the ground

Asian snow peas-1/2” deep in pots

Lettuce seeds in pots (a variety of seeds saved from last year’s garden)

Buttercunch bibb lettuce plants

Red Leaf lettuce plants (looks similar to Red Sails)

Paris Island Cos romaine lettuce plants

Red Romaine lettuce plants

Coastal Star romaine lettuce plants

Iceberg lettuce plants

Cilantro plants

Bonnie spinach plants

Depending on the temperatures, you can to start harvesting from the lettuce plants a week or two.  I harvest the leaves on the outside of the plant.  The inside will continue to produce more leaves.  You can harvest from the same plant for months this way!

All leafy greens can be companion planted with cabbage, beets, carrots, chives, garlic, and onions.  Do not plant near broccoli.  Since they are shallow rooted, they grow well with root crops.  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Leafy greens like nitrogen.  Root crops like potassium.  You can get nitrogen from compost, alfalfa, soybean meal or fish emulsion.  Potassium can be gotten from green sand via its potash content.  Fish emulsion actually gives not only nitrogen, but also potassium and phosphorous, making it a great all around fertilizer.

I add a plant starter with mycorrhizae on the roots of each plant and a handful of worm castings.  After planting, I water in the pots with fish emulsion.  Germination of seeds should take anywhere from 4-15 days.  I am sure I will be out there looking for little green shoots daily.

All about turnips

Purple top turnips

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Turnips are rich in folic acid, iron, vitamin C, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, and magnesium.  Antioxidants like those in turnips protect against heart disease and cancer.    Nutritional info

The greens themselves are also edible and are an excellent addition to spring and fall salads.  We also like our turnips steamed or grilled.  This brings out the starches of the root, greatly reducing any bitterness.

Turnips are the most ancient of roots, haling from the Far East (Afghanistan/Mediterranean basin area).  They were first domesticated in 15th century BC in India.  Turnips were used as livestock feed, growing to 30-40 pounds in the 1500’s in Canada.  By the 1700‘s, turnips were the most important root crop for both people and cattle.  The purple top turnips we are familiar with today also arose in the 1700’s.

Turnips are biennials that have to overwinter to flower and produce seeds.  The seed stalks are quite tall, reaching 3 feet in height.  If you want to allow your turnips to flower and save seed, staking is needed.

Turnips can be sown in spring or fall.  The sweetest and largest roots will be from fall sown.  Sow when the daffodils are in full bloom in spring and when goldenrod blooms in fall.

Turnips are easy to grow and prefer sandy, loose soil.  The flavor is best when grown in poor soil.  Maintain evenly moist soil; dry soil will produce woody cores.  Plant 1/2” deep and thin to 4” apart.  Space 18” from next row of crops.

Harvest leaves when they are 4-6” high.  Only pick a third of the leaves if you are planning on also eating the root.  Roots should be pulled when 3” in diameter; they are the sweetest after a frost.  When pulled, you can also add the greens to your salad.

For any extras that I don't eat fresh from the garden, I like to blanch and freeze the rest.  I add turnips to a mix of other frozen garden veggies for steamed veggies.  A great way to preserve your garden bounty and get a super nutritious side dish.  For more on blanching, Freezing the extras for winter

Add a super nutritious spring green to your garden-spinach

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Spinach is touted as one of the super foods and there are good reasons why.  Spinach is rich in antioxidants, folic acid, betaine, protein, omega-3, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, minerals manganese, iron, calcium, potassium, copper, phosphorous, zinc, and selenium.  Spinach nutritional facts

Spinach can be eaten raw, steamed, or sautéed.  A French favorite is creamed spinach.  Spinach contains oxalic acid which is eliminated when cooked.  Alternating between fresh and cooked is optimal.

It has been reported that spinach helps prevent osteoporosis, anemia, heart disease and cancers of the colon and prostate.Natural News

Spinach was originally an Asian green and was first cultivated in Persia (modern day Iran) in the 3rd century and brought back to Europe via Spain by the Crusaders in the 11th century.

It was a favorite of Catherine de Medici from Florence, Italy.  She insisted every dish be served on a bed of lettuce.  Hence the term, “a’ la Florentine” for this style.

The smooth seeded spinach we grow today was known in the 1600’s.  Bot the smooth and prickly seeded varieties were grown in the American colonies by the 1700’s.  The prickly seeded varieties are more prone to early bolting than the smooth seeded varieties.

Spinach loves well composted, moist soil and cool weather (below 70 degrees F).  Spinach will often over winter even in the northern states.  In southern states it is typically fall sown for spring harvests.

Seeds should be sown 1/2” deep, 3-6” apart.  Spinach is also happy to grow in pots.  Growing in pots also allow you to move the pot to a cooler area as temperatures rise, extending the harvest.

For spring harvests, plant in full sun to light shade in early spring (4-6 weeks before the last frost).  Seeds germinate in soil temperatures of 45-70 degrees F.  Spinach also transplants easily so can be started indoors.  Frost date calendar

Plant every 2 weeks or plant a variety with different maturity times (days to harvest) to have spinach into summer.    Fertilize when the seedlings emerge.  Spinach is ready to harvest 35-50 days.  Spinach enjoys even moisture.

If you harvest the outer leaves, the inner leaves will continue to grow, allowing you multiple harvests from each plant.

If you let them go to seed, allow the seed to dry on the plant before saving.  Refrigerate in air tight containers.  I use plastic freezer bags to save space in the frig.

Plant more heat resistant varieties later in the season like America, Teton, Bloomsdale Longstanding, Space Olympia, or Tyee.

For summer after spinach has bolted, you can plant New Zealand Spinach or Red Malabar Spinach for spinach taste from plants that can take the heat.

March Edible Garden Planner

Picture of garden in late March

Ah, spring is coming soon!  Now is the time to test your soil, get your garden beds ready for planting, and plan your spring garden.  

Soil Preparation

You can take a soil sample to our local county co-op extension office to have it tested or buy a do it yourself kit at any big box store or local nursery.  You can do a more extensive soil test by sending your soil sample off.  Here is a link to my blog on soil nutrition:  The next step in garden production and your nutrit...  There is a great analysis web site that will provide a specialized fertilizer designed just for your garden deficiencies that you can make yourself.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of testing, a sure way to enrich your soil is to use a balanced organic fertilizer and compost.  I add organic material every spring with compost and mulching the garden beds, building the soil’s fertility and its ability to hold water.

A local CSA and organic gardener told me a few years ago that it is important to not let your fertilizer just lay on top of the ground as many of the nutrients will be lost.  This spring, we will put down an organic fertilizer Re-Vita Pro 5-4-4, a layer of homemade compost with any additional mushroom compost needed and top with mulch.  You can make your own balanced fertilizer, too, of Re-Vita isn't available in your area  Make your own all natural, complete fertilizer

If this is your first time gardening, here is a how to get started Easy kitchen garden

What I am planting this March:

Green Oakleaf Lettuce-ready to harvest in 45 days

Wild Garden Kales-ready to harvest in 30 days

Mesclun Valentine Lettuce mix (red tinted lettuce and greens)-ready to harvest in 30-55 days

Marvel of Four Seasons Butterhead Lettuce (I love the sweet taste of butterheads)-ready to harvest in 55 days
Red Sails Lettuce (a ruffled red and green, stays sweet even after bolting)-ready to harvest in 45 days

Space Hybrid Spinach-ready to harvest in 38 days

Gourmet Blend Lettuce (Prizeleaf, Royal Oak Leaf, Salad Bowl, Ashley)-ready to harvest in 45 days

Sugar snap peas-ready to harvest in 70 days

All kinds of broccoli-ready to harvest in 50-80 days (leaves are great in salads)

Cabbage-ready to harvest in 68 days.

These can be companion planted with beets, chives, garlic, and onions.  Since they are shallow rooted, they grow well with root crops.

When I plant in pots, I plant with a handful of worm compost and water in with fish emulsion.  Germination should take anywhere from 4-15 days., depending on how warm the soil is.  I am sure I will be out there looking for little green shoots daily.

Important tip-if planting seeds in a mulched bed, be sure to cover the seed with only soil; seedlings are too weak to push through mulch.

Picture of garden in late March

Zone 6 Spring Garden Roadmap

Planting your seedlings outdoors:

Now (or as soon as the soil can be worked)-fruit trees and vines, nut trees, asparagus, garlic, peas

End March-cabbage, leeks, lettuce, okra, onions, mustards, spinach

Beginning of April-lettuce, lemon balm, parsley

Mid-April-broccoli, cauliflower, thyme

End April-sage

First of May-basil, chives, cucumbers, tomatoes

Mid-May-cantaloupe, eggplant, marigolds, pepper

Starting your seeds outdoors:

Now (or as soon as the soil can be worked): peas, spinach, lettuce

Mid-March: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, carrot, collards, leeks, lettuce, mache, onion. rhubarb, cultivated dandelions, spinach

End March:  fava beans, beets, broccoli, carrot, Chinese cabbage, cress, kale, kohlrabi, leek, mizuna, parsley, parsnip, early potatoes, turnip

One watch out is planting seeds too soon.  Seeds have to have a certain soil temperature to sprout.  Plant too soon and the seed will rot and not sprout.  Here are some soil temp guidelines.  http://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html

Starting your seeds indoors for summer planting:

Now-chives, leeks, lemon balm, onions, parsley, sage, thyme, lettuce, cress, mustard, chard, spinach

Mid-March-basil, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, okra, marigolds, eggplant

End of March-cantaloupe, cucumber, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes

These dates are just guidelines.  You can start your seedlings later and plant your transplants later as well.  Be sure to read the seed packet for what you are starting.  They make all kinds of varieties that are cold hardy and can be planted sooner than what I outlined above.

The big box stores and local nurseries are good sources of plants as well.  If you are just getting started, purchasing from a local nursery or farmers market will get you started with varieties that do well in your area.

Happy gardening!