Red Sails Lettuce Started from Seed

One problem I see over and over with many clients is misunderstanding how to properly move edible plants from cellpacks into the garden. Many of my clients are just learning about gardening so starting everything from seed is a bit more than they’re ready to handle. Instead, they selectively purchase cellpack, organic vegetable starts to put into their seasonal edible gardens. And, one of the hardest lessons for them to remember is that each cellpack contains multiple starts that must be divided before they go in the ground.

It may seem strange to write this article as we go into fall, but I find this is actually a good time to learn from our mistakes and start remedying them with our fall edible crops. As I help clients clear out their spent corn and squash plants, I point out the stunted growth and poor rooting and stress infections that some of their plants have. And, usually I’m able to point to the stronger plants that I had installed to illustrate how to properly divide the starts and put them in the ground.

Because they were in a rush or because they forgot their lesson before they got a chance to finish planting, many of their starts are still multiple plants crowded together at the base with roots tangled in a 2″ mass that never grew out of its original cellpack shape (or didn’t make it far beyond those 2″). On the other hand, the plants that I had split apart and planted nearby are generally doing much better. (In the case of some corn I saw today my example plants were looking better but the pollenation had been weak all around.)

When seeds are popped into cellpack starter containers generally a few seeds go into the tiny amount of soil. This ensures that of 2-4 seeds at least one should sprout and the vendor will be able to sell an abundant pack of starts. What many new gardeners don’t realize is that each of those starts should be carefully seperated from its mates and planted on its own. Breaking roots is fine and actually encourages stronger plant growth — so long as the roots aren’t completely detatched from the rest of the plant.

Properly Divided & Planted Cauliflower

If the starts aren’t seperated then the plants compete for resources and all of the starts generally becomes stressed and stunted. Production is weakened and pests and pathogens have a field day in the garden.

If you’ve made this mistake with your fall crops like kale, chard, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce or peas, rush right out there and pop them out of the soil. Divide and replant them. (This assumes you live somewhere that has a relatively mild climate. If you’re snowed in already and aren’t growing in a greenhouse, forget it.)

And, next spring, when you evaluate starts to go in the garden. Remember, one 6-pack may contain 3-4 times the 6 cells you see. And, yes, if you plant from seed into starter packs, you may find yourself dividing these as well. Thinning, whether plants sown directly in the garden or start packs going into the garden, is critical to a thriving edible garden.

Over the weekend, the NY Times published an open letter to the Presidential candidates by Michael Pollan on the issue of feeding the nation. In it, he illustrates that food is a national security, health care, energy and climate change issue.  He tells us that food production is the #2 consumer of petroleum in the U.S. — second only to our automobiles. He discusses how this topic hasn’t been an issue for presidents in several decades but how it is going to become an issue we can no longer ignore very soon. I encourage you to read the article, if not Pollan’s books on the subject of food:

• The Omnivore’s Dilemma
• In Defense of Food

Regular readers of this blog know I advocate for growing your own food and supporting local agriculture. Michael Pollan’s writings, discussions with local farmers and ranchers, as well as growing up farming have all been big influences in my perspective. I’m not 100% local. I do give into a potato chip, a cocktail with imported vodka, equal-traded-sustainably-grown coffee, and other not-so-sustainable food (and foodish) items occassionally. But, I strive to educate clients about food — from our international food system to local buying opportunities to simply growing a radish in their own soil.

Should feeding the world be a  campaign issue? I think it is, whether we talk about it explicitly or not. Hey, we’ve all got to eat.

'The Blues' Schizachyrium with Lambs Ear

Autumn is probably my favorite time of year to really enjoy ornamental grasses. And, by grasses I don’t mean lawn. I do mean ornamental grasses and grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes. Plants like blood grass are brilliant red and showy at this time. Seed heads on Miscanthus are shining and flowing in the breeze (and frost). Little tufts on bunny grasses hop along at the edges of borders. And, hairy carex shimmers, promising interest into the winter ahead.

Well, it promises interest if cared for properly. Too often, all ornamental grasses are treated the same by unknowning humans with scissoring tools in hand. This can cause permanent damage. So to help you wade your way through your grasses, here are some general guidelines. Of course, in each genus there may be exceptions to the rule, but these tips should help you avoid the big mistakes.

• True Grasses:
  

  Miscanthus Seed Head Adorned with First Snow

  True grasses have “elbows” or “joints” where the leaves run down the stems to the ground. They may be clumpers or spreaders, and they do well when cut down at the end of the season. What you define as “the end of the season” is your call. If you enjoy looking at seed heads swaying in the autumn sunlight, then you might wait until after a frost or until mid-winter to cut the plants down. If you are concerned about the plants spreading in the garden after forming and spreading their seed all winter, then you might cut them down earlier.  Grasses like blood grass are easy to snip at individually to remove. Clumps of bunny grass are tight and with a sheet underneath are easy to shear and then pluck out brown old growth. Tall grasses like Miscanthus are best bundled tightly with string and then cut a few inches above the ground but below the tie. This way the bundle comes away in one bunch. Take care, these plants may have sharp edges.

• Sedges: Sedges have edges and no elbows. They are often mop-like and spreading. Generally, their seed heads aren’t showy.
  

  Carex testacea intermingling with Euphorbia

  They do not take kindly to being cut hard. Some will die back for winter. Most ornamental Carex, however, is an evergreen plant that should be combed and very lightly trimmed once or twice a year. I tend to comb mine out in mid-summer and again in fall or winter. After I comb out all the dead and stringy growth and remove any dead clumps, I then bundle the plant in my hands and trim off the dead ends, which should be around 2″ or so of the very tips. Its like giving the plant a little bob haircut. If the plant has been neglected for a long time, the center may be dieing out. In these cases, I dig out the plant to divide it and reinvigorate growth.

• Rushes: Honestly, I don’t do much with rushes. If they have dead growth, I remove those shoots to the ground. That’s about it.

Carex flagellifera with Lambs Ear

This is basic primer barely skims the surface of ornamental grass care. There are many, many more grasses to choose from and care for. Some are weedier than others. Some are sharper and harder to care for than others. And, many are just plain wonderful and not to be missed for their fantastic, unique forms, textures and colors they add to to the garden.  If you aren’t sure which kind of grass plant you have or if you have one that isn’t specifically mentioned here, get in touch for a coaching session for hands on plant care training and identification sessions. Or consider picking up a copy of one of my favorite grass books such as Grasses:Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design or The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses.

Fall is definitely here. My neighbor’s northfacing rooftop is covered with a light frost this morning, and there’s a moist chill in the air despite the crisp sunshine brightening the abundant autumn golds and reds. The race is now on to get the last of the summer veggies out of the garden and into storage (or my tummy).

Last Corn Harvest of 2008

Yesterday I harvested the last of our summer corn. I was about a week or two late to get the sweetest of the sweet, but the kernels weren’t all turned to starch and the earwigs hadn’t quite made permanent homes in the ears. Earlier in September I harvested many of the still-super-sweet ears and froze them after blanching as corn-on-the-cob winter treats. Yesterday’s harvest was still lovely, but the taste wasn’t as great, so I removed the kernels, blanched them and froze them in bags to use in soups and chili where their slight-starchiness won’t be as apparent.

Although I grew up working on my family farm, growing, harvesting and preserving foods, I continue to be amazed at how much work goes into producing your own food. And, I’m still a little taken back by how much the harvest volume seems to shrink when you get down to the actual food contained within each plant. The huge chairful of corn cob ears, covered in silks and husks on the right quickly diminished into a small basketfull of ears, some only with partially formed kernels.

Last Cobs of Summer

Some with only partially formed ears. (Remember, this is the late harvest and many of these ears were the secondary ears on plants from which we had already harvested huge cobs earlier in the season.) And then, as the kernels were removed from the cobs the food became even smaller, filling only half a large collander or about 3 pints of frozen kernels. On the other hand, the husks, cobs and silks filled about half a yardwaste bag!

After I finished up the corn, I cut back my lemon verbena, which I’ve discussed growing in the past,  for the last time this season. Soon it will begin to color and whither to die back for winter, so I did the cutting and preserving to ensure I’ll enjoy its tangy flavor all through the winter. Later I’ll share how to learn more about preserving this fantastic herb along with a wonderful recipe for a lemony cocktail you won’t want to miss!

A few weeks ago I ordered seed garlic. I haven’t grown garlic in years, so I asked my friend Willi at DigginFood where she gets hers. She suggested I contact garlic guru, Dan. I did as she suggested and was overwhelmed with the seed garlic to choose from, so I ordered some of each. Actually, I ordered a ton of each…well, fish tales aside I really ordered a pound each of the following varieties:

• Metechi
• German Extra Hardy
• German White
• Chesnok Red
• Ukraine Red
• Musik

Fortunately, these can be planted as well as eaten now. And, a few clients are interested in trying their hand at garlic this fall, so the bountry will be shared. (If you’re a client interested in getting seed garlic going this fall, let me know soon. This overabundance is likely to dwindle rapidly.)

I’m going to try growing a lot of this in containers and some in the parking strip, which gets a lot of sun. Many of my winter vegie beds are already full, and others are taking the season off to rejuvenate in a fava bean spa. So, my personal growing areas are limited. I do have a huge bed to rework that’s driving me crazy. Its in my dog’s zone, and just can’t put vegies in her poop zone — darn!

Now that the rains are back in force, its time to get the last potatoes harvested. Some will say that leaving potatoes in the ground for winter keeps them protected and fresh. In my experience it leads to a potato patch that gets out of control and a bunch of diseased, sloppy rotten potatoes in otherwise great vegie beds. In my own garden, as I’ve mentioned before, I keep my potatoes growing in containers. Usually this works well though I’ll admit I had less than ideal crops this year, and I think I know why. I didn’t use certified, disease-free organic seed potato. That’s going to change next time. My regular farmer’s market veggie supplier turned me onto a seed potato supplier that I’m going to try out for 2009, and I’ll share the results here of course.

So, what about the potatoes in the garden right now? Well, since the rains are back its time to get the last potatoes out of the pots and stored for winter or they’re going to rot in the pots.

If you have a root cellar or a cool basement, this is a great place to store your potatoes for the duration. I have mine in breathable cardboard covered with a beach towel that won’t see use again until summer. This keeps out the light and allows air circulation.

I have heard of others putting potatoes in brown paper bags and storing them in the fridge. I always find refrigerated potatoes taste odd, and frankly I don’t have room to keep a winter’s worth of potatoes in my fridge anyway, especially if they’re dirty!

I’ve got some washed potatoes and some I left dirty. I haven’t stored dirty potatoes in the past, but word has it that they’ll keep longer this way, which makes sense. When a freshly harvested potato is washed the skin takes a beating, so maybe this will help. I’ll definitely let you know how it goes.

So, if you’re choosing which fall clean up project is next in the garden, I’m encouraging my garden coaching clients to focus on clearing out the summer veggies. In Western Washington, there’s still time to get fall/winter starts in the ground to keep your greens flowing in all winter. Its just a matter of dodging rain showers these days!

Nope, it’s sure not the money. If that were the reason I’m a garden coach then I’d be doing the wrong thing. Yes, I can make a living doing this work while charging what I believe is a very fair rate for providing hands-on learning in each homeowner’s garden, but the money isn’t the bonus.

Today, driving back from my morning garden mentoring session, I smelled fresh soil after a rainstorm and was bathed in fragrant rosemary after working in enormous shrubs part of the morning. Well drained after last night’s rains and wind, the soil was pliable under my fork as I illustrated lifting and dividing daylilies and crocosmia. The soil adhered to my shoes and my rain pants, filling the rosemary air with the scent of fresh earth.

The bonus of being out in the planet and carrying a bit home, still inhaling the fantastic rosemary aromas as I type this sentence, that’s a big plus that keeps me going out, doing this day after day, season after season…in rain, sleet, wind, hail and breezy summer days. I feel connected and as I bring knowledge to my clients empowering them to take another brave step into the experimental and experiential world of gardening, I am rewarded — with the gifts of the earth and with each client’s smile as s/he learns one more key to unlocking the garden’s secrets.

Recognizing and appreciating the little things sometimes helps me remember just how big these little things really are and what grace they bring to my life.

Last month I was asked to submit to a horticultural trade magazine some photos of a favorite fall container planting. Sure, this is a tough choice. There are so many combinations to choose from and build going into the fall. I ended up submitting a container filled with edible plants that add interest and food to the fall and winter garden.

Decorative and 100% Edible!

Shown on the right is the large, freeze-proof, wide-mouth container. Planted in it is a combination of edible flowers, leafy greens and evergreen herbs that will keep interest going even into the coldest Seattle months. As various food items are harvested and removed, others will continue to grow and fill out the container through the winter season. Come spring, many of the herbs will be harvested and moved into larger garden beds. New peas will be added as will spring and summer vegie starts.

Truly, this is a kitchen garden that highlights what’s available during the cool season. It works very well in a sunny location, ideally near the kitchen door, on a condo patio or at the entry to a restaurant or better grocery.

Plants include, but are not limited to the following. When the container is potted up, plants at different stages of growth are added. This ensures a continual harvest:

• Lettuce
• Rainbow Chard
• Purple Cabbage
• Winter Savory
• Rosemary
• Variegated Thyme
• Winter peas
• Edible pansies

Freshly Picked Rainbow Chard and Delicata Squash

The container was potted up in mid-September. By early October it was time to start the thinning by removing this large bundle of rainbow chard. As well, the peas were beginning to take off and needed a bit of gentle training on the recycled bamboo prunings on which they are growing. Parsley is in abundance as is the winter savory. I harvested a bundle of the herbs and included those in a pot of Oxtail soup over the weekend. Tonight, something with sauted chard awaits — probably something including late harvest tomatoes and some of the baked delicata squash shown here.

Interested in starting your own edible garden in a pot and need help? Get in touch for a focused garden mentoring session here.

Here in western Washington, the season has definitely taken a turn to autumn. Trees are showing brilliant colors. Wind storms are kicking up (and kicking trees over). Fog is settling in. Rain is falling and so are temperatures. As this happens, summer heat-loving food crops begin to wane.

Heat-lovers like tomatoes are about at their end. Rains are causing fruit to crack. Slugs are coming out to celebrate the cool, wet weather and invading ripe (and not-quite-ripe) fruit. Fungus is growing and stems are dying. So, its time to get out there and pull out plants. Pick through the remaining fruit. Anything that isn’t full of slugs or nibbled on by rodents may still be salvagable. Pick these fruit. Place them near other tomatoes that are ripe on your counter to encourage the stragglers to ripen up. Or, place a banana nearby to encourage ripening.

Another option is to make fried green tomatoes by dredging green slices in egg and cornmeal and frying them up. Or check your favorite recipe books for chutney that uses green tomatoes; there are a lot of them out there.

Dispose of the remaining plant waste in your yard waste bin. I prefer not to put these plants in my compost pile for fear of spreading any potential disease they may be harboring this late in the season.

And, what to do in place of these? Well, cover crops like Favas are a nice option. Or, leafy greens like chard and kale. Or, a trellis with snap peas. Or maybe some broccoli or cabbage. Keep an eye out for the slugs though. And, you may wish to get any peas or favas started indoors — just in case germination won’t take in the cool wetness of our early autumn.

I plugged in the food dehydrator later in the day, and it started up again. Thank goodness! Now all the tomatoes are done drying, and I am contemplating buying another batch to dry today. A good 15 lbs of tomatoes dried down to about a paper lunch sack full. It seems like such a waste, but what it really shows is how high in water all living things really are!

For dinner I made a fantastic quiche using a fistfull of dried tomatoes.

Crust:

• 1.5 cups unbleached, organic all purpose flour
• .5 cup flax seed meal
• 1/2 cup chilled butter
• pinch salt
• 2-4 Tablespoons water

Sift flour, flax seed meal and salt. Cut butter into Tablespoon sized chunks and then blend into flour mixture with your hands until pea-sized and smaller butter is well mixed through the dough. One Tablespoon at a time, stir water into dough. Add only enough water so that the dough forms a ball when gently pressed together.

On a floured board, roll out the dough to 1/4″ or less thickness. Place in pie plate and crimp edges. Set aside.

Filling:

• 3 fresh eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup milk (or forget the 1/2 and 1/2 and use 2 cups milk…you’ll just get a runnier quiche)
• salt
• pepper
• fist full of dried tomatoes
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese (or grated parmesan)
• 1 bulb roasted garlic (yes, the whole bulb, not just one clove)
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal — yay! Highly nutritious!

Preheat oven to 475F. Squeeze pulp from roasted garlic and rub on uncooked pie crust. Fill unbaked shell with cheddar cheese, sprinkle with flax seed meal and arrange dried tomatoes decoratively over cheese.

Scald milk. As it is heating, whisk eggs together. Remove scalded milk from heat and whisk in eggs. Whisk in pinch of salt. Pour over tomatoes and cheese in pie plate. Sprinkle grated greyure over top. Grate a bit of fresh pepper over top.

Place in preheated oven and bake at 475F for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F. Bake for another 30-45 minutes or until quiche is set. Watch for burning and bubbling over. A cookie sheet or foil on a lower oven rack will help with bubble overs. Foil lightly placed over a browned quiche will control burning as baking is finished.

Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!