PlanterTomato Vegetable Gardening

Mizuna: Hardy Japanese Green

Here's a cold tolerant green that makes a nice change of pace in your salads.

Mizuna is a member of the brassica family (kale, broccoli, cabbage etc.) that is as cold tolerant as the other members of the same clan.  It is originally from Japan, where it is generally eaten in soups and other cooked dishes.

We like Mizuna as an ingredient in a mix of salad greens.   It tastes like mustard with a peppery note that is reminiscent of arugula.  There are a number of varieties on the market and they vary considerably in their spiciness.  Most varieties sold at Asian markets are fairly mild, but the variety in my garden has a very hot and sharp flavor that is similar to wasabi in flavor and in kick.

The mizuna in my garden was a late addition and a complete impulse purchase.  I saw it at my local garden center in seedling trays and purchased a small plastic flat that I then planted in an open space in my garden.  I had no real expectation of harvesting past the late Fall, but my mizuna has now survived many Winter frosts.

If you live in a colder area and want to add mizuna to your garden, you will need to provide protection such as growing it in a greenhouse, cold frame or tunnel.

Simple Recipe Idea: Crab Cakes on a Bed of Mizuna

This is so simple, it's an overstatement to say its a recipe.

• Make crab cakes using a favorite recipe.  Our favorite is Mark Bittman's Crabby Crab Cake recipe
• Then place the crab cakes on a bed of mizuna that you've drizzled with olive oil
• The sharp, mustardy flavor of the mizuna makes a good contrast with the sweet/salty flavor of the crab.

Getting Ready for Spring: Top Ten Gardening Tasks For Your To Do List

Do you want to be fully prepared to begin your spring vegetable and fruit garden?  Here's you check list for a successful start to the 2011 gardening season:

1. Learn from History - consider what was successful last year and what was not and adjust accordingly.  For example, if you just can't seem to get Moon & Stars watermelon to work, consider a variety with a shorter growing season or consider substituting a different type of melon or vegetable.  If you planted tomatoes in too shady and area, consider where in your garden they might do better etc.
   
2. Plan Your Garden - This is my favorite "task" on the list.  Each year I keep some varieties and trade-out others for new ones.  Look at the amount of space you have and the length of your growing season.  If you're clever you can plant several crops in the same space over time.  For example, radishes can be planted very early in the season and harvested in under 30 days.  You can then plant another crop in the same place.  The same is true of potatoes which can be followed by corn which is a warm weather crop.
3. Order Your Seeds - If you saved seeds from last year, you already have what you need on hand.  But if you are not a seed saver or want to try a new variety, make a list and then place your order.
   
4. Test Your Soil - you can do this yourself or send a soil sample to a professional testing service.  Either way, good soil is the key to success in the garden.
   
5. Plan/Build New Infrastructure - Consider what needs to be repaired and replaced.  Consider what you would like to add to your garden.  If you are thinking about adding a raised bed, you may want to lay black mulching fabric over the area where you will put your bed to kill turf and weeds.  You'll also need to buy lumber and hardware for the project.  If you would like to add bees or chickens to your "farm," you should do the research on what equipment is needed and when you need to add these to your garden.  If there are bee keeping or poultry raising classes in your area, consider enrolling in these.
   
6.  Buy or Build a Composter - Grass clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps all can be composted to enrich your soil.  You can buy a composter from a garden store or easily build your own.
7. Clean Terracotta Pots - If you didn't do this in the Fall, you should do this before planting in the spring.  Use a ten to one mixture of water to bleach to sterilize the pots, then wash thoroughly and let dry.
8. Prune Fruit Trees - fruit trees should be pruned while they are still dormant.
9. Tools - Clean and sharpen any tools that need TLC.
10. Order Magazines/Books/Videos - There are many books and magazines available to help you with your garden.  In some cases, they are very specialized and can be a great resource if you are trying to do something for the first time. 
    

Bee Keeping: Top Five Things You Need to Do to Prepare for Spring

In this post, I cover the steps you need to take to get ready for bee keeping season.

Here in Northern California, we are seeing daytime temperatures in the upper 50 to mid 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  Some flowers are beginning to bloom and the bees are beginning to emerge from the hive to gather nectar and pollen.  In short, it's the start of bee keeping season. 

Here are some things local bee keepers should do to get ready for the season.  Timing for those living in the South (except Florida and southern Texas) and in the coastal area in California,  Oregon and Washington have roughly similar weather to me and, therefore, should be on a fairly similar schedule.

1. Order Woodenware & Foundation - If you are planning on adding an additional hive, now is the time to place an order for woodenware and foundation.  This year, I plan to add one additional hive.  To keep things easier to manage, I've decided to use medium hive bodies for the lower two boxes and for any supers I place on them.
2. Order Bee Packages - Bee packages for our area are normally delivered in early April and suppliers can sell out.  Place your order now.
3. Clean Entrance - Clean off the entrance area of the hive of any dead bees and debris.
4. Repairs - Replace any damaged frames and reinstall foundation if required in supers you stored over the winter. 
5. First Inspection - Get ready for your first inspection of the season.  I'll probably do mine the first or second week of February.  If everything is looking good, I'll add a queen excluder and  honey super.

Best Mac & Cheese Recipe

Traditional macaroni & cheese is a wonderful comfort food, but there's a way to make it more of a gourmet meal for those times when you want something a bit more special. 

Here's a recipe created by my wife that substitutes goat cheese for cheddar and uses fresh herbs that can come right from your winter garden.

This gourmet mac & cheese takes about 15 minutes to make and is simple to prepare.  The only catch is that you need to have some goat cheese on hand.  Everything else is pretty simple stuff.  I used parsley and green onion from my winter garden and a dried serrano pepper that I harvested and preserved in the Fall of last year.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of chevre (soft goat cheese)
• 1-2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped green onion or garlic chives
• 1 dried serrano pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 12-16 ounces of dried pasta (whatever shape you prefer)
  

Recipe:

• Bring a pot of salted water to boil.
  
• Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package.
• As the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese sauce.
• Put the goat cheese into a large serving bowl and thoroughly mix the olive oil and cheese together using a wooden spoon.
• Add the rest of the fresh ingredients and the dried serrano which you have crumbled into small flakes.
• When the pasta is done, drain and immediately add the hot pasta to the bowl of cheese sauce.
• Thoroughly mix together.
• Add salt & pepper to taste.

Bon Appetit!

Review of John Jeavons' Grow Biointensive Video

At last, a great complement to Jeavons' book, How To Grow More Vegetables.

John Jeavons is a researcher, lecturer and author of several books on sustainable agricultural practices.  In March of 2010, I had the pleasure of meeting him and he was kind enough to discuss his methods with me.  That interview is posted to this web site for those interested in learning more about Biointensive farming. 

I subsequently purchased John's book, "How to Grow More Vegetables" and it is now my gardening bible.  John's methods are well documented therein and the book contains a detailed set of tables on various vegetable, cereal, fruit and nut crops that I highly recommend.  The tables alone are worth the cost of the book.  However, "How To Grow" contains relatively few illustrations and no photos whatsoever; in my opinion, this makes it  less effective as a how-to resource. 

Fortunately, Jeavons recently released a Grow Biointensive DVD that does a great job filling-in these gaps.  The video runs for about an hour and 20 minutes and covers the following topics:

• Garden Bed & Soil
• Starting Seedlings
• Transplanting
• Composting
• Harvesting
• Saving Seeds
• Choosing Crops
• Maintaining Your Garden

Although this video is positioned as a "beginners guide," I think even seasoned gardeners will pick up a few tricks.  I particularly liked the section on seed starting using wooded flats, and the portion of the video that illustrates a method of preparing the soil known as double digging.  Since most suburban gardeners probably don't have any experience growing grains, I think they will be pleasantly surprised by the section of the video on that subject.

Below is one chapter of the video that will give you a sense for the depth and pacing of the overall DVD.

 

I give the "Grow Biointensive" DVD a big, green thumbs up.   You can buy it and the How To Grow More Vegetables book at John's web site.  The DVD is $20 and you can buy the bundled DVD and book for $30.

How To Compost

In this posting, I describe how to create a compost pile from kitchen and yard waste.

Last year, I described how to build a simple and inexpensive compost bin.  In this posting, I'll describe how to actually do the composting.

Composting is actually very easy.  The key to creating good compost, is to create layers of "green" and "brown" materials which you build-up like a layer cake.  Green materials include grass clippings, vegetable and fruit scraps from your kitchen, and green leaves.  Animal manure is also considered a "green" for the purpose of composting.  Brown materials include items such as brown/dried leaves, straw, and the dried stalks from cereal grain crops like corn, barley, rye, wheat, and oats. 

Here's are the steps required to build a good compost pile:

1. For an open compost bin like the one I use, the first step is to prepare the ground on which the compost pile is built.  To do this, use a pitch fork to loosen the soil.  You will water your compost pile frequently, so loosening the ground provides good drainage and also improves air circulation to the pile.
2. Plant materials are converted to compost by microscopic organisms.  To encourage their development, you need to create good circulation of air within the compost pile.  Creating some spaces at the bottom of the pile where air can enter and circulate to the center of the compost is very simple.  To create these spaces, place a layer of small (1/4" to 1/2" diameter) tree branches on the floor of the compost bin and cover these with a layer of even smaller brushy materials.
3. Now begin laying down green and brown materials in alternating layers.  You can do this all at once or over a period of weeks.  In my case, I tend to lay down materials once per week.  Generally, I wait till the weekend and then begin with the greens.  I mow the lawn and throw grass clipping into the compost pile.  I then add any weeds I've pulled from the garden, plant materials removed from the garden (For example, bush bean plants that from which I have harvested all the bean pods) and any vegetable and fruit scraps from the kitchen.  After laying down this layer of green material, use a hose to thoroughly soak them.
4. I then add a layer of  "brown" materials on top of the greens.  You want each layer to be evenly distributed in the compost bin and the layers of greens and browns to be of the same thickness.  During the summer months finding browns may be a challenge, so you may want to save brown leaves from the previous fall in a pile use these as needed.  You can also use any stalks from harvested cereal crops that you might have on hand or in storage.  Since I raise chickens, I buy bales of hay that get used as bedding material in the coop and on the floor of the chicken pen.  Every two weeks, I clean out the pen of the soiled hay and use this as the main brown my compost pile.  In actuality, this material is both a brown and a green since the "brown" hay is mixed with "green"chicken droppings.  Water again to thoroughly soak the browns
5. Now add a thin layer of soil from your garden to cover the top of the browns.  This layer of soil introduces microbes from your garden into the compost pile.  Water one last time.
6. Each week, add more layers in the same order: greens, browns, soil, and water between each layer. 
7. You'll know when the microbes begin to take over because the temperature of the compost will begin to rise.  I use a compost thermometer to get an accurate read on the temperature.  A compost thermometer looks like a kitchen meat thermometer but with a very long probe.  Just stick the thermometer into the center of the pile and you'll see the temperature gauge begin to move.  A "Hot" compost pile will be 130 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, a "Warm" pile is between 100-130 degrees Fahrenheit and a "Low" pile is between 80 and 100 degrees.  The temperature will vary over time as you add materials but when the temperature falls below 80 degrees it either means that the compost is done or the compost pile got stuck. 
8. It's generally recommended that you water your compost pile every day.  Since my compost pile is in a shaded area, I get by with less frequent watering.  You just need to watch and try to keep your compost pile moist -- just like your garden.
9. After a period of weeks or months, your compost will be ready.  The time really depends on lots of factors.  One key indicator, is a drop in the temperature of the pile. To check using visual inspection, use a pitch fork to remove some of the materials on the top of the pile.  If all has gone well, you'll be surprised to find a rich mix of soil under the top layer.
10. At this point, you can stop watering your compost and let it dry out.  You can now sift your compost to remove any uncomposted fragments and then either use the compost immediately or store in a bin or under a tarp.
    
    

2011 Full Garden List

In my last posting, I described the varieties that I plan to add to my garden in 2011.  In this posting, I provide the full 2011 list, includes those varieties that will be in my fall/winter 2011 greenhouse.

[Note: new items are shown in green]

Tomatoes:

Brandywine Liam's, Risentraube, Japanese Trifele, Snowberry, Black Krim, Paul Robeson, Green Zebra, Orange Icicle, Bonnie's Best, Wapsipinicons Peach, Cotoluto Fiorentino, Arkansas Traveler, Stupice, Defiant.

Root Vegetables:

French Breakfast Radish, Saxa Radish, Watermelon Radish, Chioggia Beet, Crapaudine Beet, Flats of Eqypt Beet, Chantenay Carrot, Kral Russian Parsnip, Hollow Crown Parsnip

Cucumbers:

Solly Beiler, Fin De Meaune, Beit Alpha

Peas/Beans:

Super Sugar Snap Pea, Burpee's Tenderpod, Etna Bush Bean

Grains:

Hulless Oats, Hulless Barley, Longfellow Flint Corn, Silverchoice Sweet Corn

Potatoes:

German Butterball, Maris Piper, Yellow Finn, All Blue

Squash:

Boston Marrow, Cornell's Bush Delicata, Galeux D'Eysines, Metro PMR,  Zucchino Rampicante

Greens:

Red Russian Kale, Siberian Kale, Bloomsdale Spinach, Mache, Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, Joy Larkum's Chard, Bright Lights Chard, Little Gem Lettuce, Forellenschluss Lettuce, Brune D'hiver lettuce, Mignonette Bronze Lettuce, Jericho Lettuce, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Miner's Lettuce, Watercress, Chicory, Upland Cress, Kyoto Mizuno

Other Fruits & Veggies:

Sorrento Raab, Roodnerf Brussels Sprouts, Savoy Cabbage, Serrano Chili pepper, Shishito Pepper, Costa Rican Sweet Pepper, Japanese Pickling Eggplant, Liege Giant Leek, Mommoth Island Salsify, Charentais Melon, Chandler Blueberry, Tulameen Raspberry, Alpine Strawberry

Garlic:

Purple Glazer, Inchellium Red

To order tomato and other seeds, try these suppliers: Baker Creek, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Territorial Seed, Burpee, Tomato Growers Supply, Seeds of Change.

 

2011 Garden Plan: What's "Out" & What's "In"

Happy New Year to all.

Each year, the seed catalogs begin rolling into the mailbox in December.  I use the holiday period to begin planning my garden and generally start ordering in January.  In this posting, I'll let you know what changes I'm making to my garden plan for 2011.

A Mix Shift:

In the past, I've concentrated most of my gardening efforts on vegetables.  These efforts have resulted in an annual surplus that I've canned or frozen.  Since I have the luxury of gardening in a greenhouse in the winter, I have the opportunity to reduce my summer vegetable production and shift the space to something else.

In 2011, I'm going to do just that;  as an experiment, I'm going to try some small-scale grain farming and also devote more space to growing potatoes.  Here's what new in the mix shift:

 More Grains and Potatoes:

• Overwintered Hulless Oats - I planted a small amount of hulless oats in the Fall.  These should provide a harvest in June. 

• Hulless Barley - Barley is a very fast maturing grain.  I love it in soups and will plant a small amount in mid-March with the hope of a harvest at the end of May.
• Flint Corn - Everyone loves sweet corn and I'll be planting plenty of that in 2011. But for the first time, I will also try growing a flint corn variety called Longfellow.  This is an heirloom variety that goes back to colonial times.  Planted at the end of May, I hope to have a small harvest of corn which can be ground to make fresh tortillas in September.
• Potatoes - I had good luck with Irish potatoes in 2010, but my first attempt to grow sweet potatoes was a disaster.  Last year was unusually cold and my sweet potatoes also got hammered by a cold snap that resulted in a small and sad harvest.  While we may not have quite the same cold summer in 2011, I think our cool Northern California nights will never be ideal for sweet potatoes.  I may try these again in the future, but for 2011, I'm going to turn over the space to several varieties of Irish potatoes including:
  
  • Maris Piper - the traditional potato for fish and chips but also makes great mashed or baked potatoes.
  • Yellow Finn - a buttery flavored main season potato.
  • All Blue -  a deep blue colored potato.  I think the kids will love them!
  
  
  
  • German Butterball - a storage potato that is a Rodale Gardening favorite

Fewer Squash:

Last year, I tried many new varieties.  All were good but they produced more squash than the family could really use.  In 2011, I'll grow both fewer varieties and less plants.

• Whats Out:
  • Black Futsu - This is a good squash with a meatier texture than others.  I found it to be only a moderate producer.
  • Blue Hubbard - a total loss for me in 2010 due to the weather and powdery mildew.
  • Scallop Sunny Delight - I like this variety that normally produces large quantities of yellow patty pan squash, but I find it to be very subject to powdery mildew and I would rather substitute Zucchino Rampicante as my summer squash variety.
  • Waltham Butternut - produces delicious, sweet squash but I'm going to try a hybrid variety called Metro PMR as a replacement due to powdery mildew problems.
•   The keepers......
  • Boston Marrow - a lovely squash for roasting or for "pumpkin" pie.  Sadly an easy casualty to powdery mildew.  I'll grow just one of these in 2011.  If it survives, one will be more than enough; last year I harvested a 28 pound monster squash from one plant.
  • Glaeuax D'eysines - a delicate squash with an almost cantaloupe-like perfume.  Not a high producer, but worth having in the garden.  Also susceptible to powdery mildew
  • Zuchinno Rampicante - My favorite new vegetable of 2010.  This squash produces in abundance and can be used as both a summer and winter squash. If I could only grow one variety, it would be this one.
  • Metro PMR - This is a hybrid butternut variety that is resistant to powdery mildew. Powdery mildew was a major problem for me in 2010 and so I'm going to give this hybrid a shot in 2011 to increase my yield.  This is my back up in case the above more sensitive varieties take a hit.
  • Cornell's Bush Delicata - a nice small sized squash that's also resistant to powdery mildew.

More Tomato Varieties But Fewer Plants of Each:

Many of my neighbors last year got relatively few tomatoes due to an unseasonably cool summer.  I fared better because of my greenhouse but had trouble with blossom end rot and cracking - both of which are caused by temperature stress to the tomato plants.  I'm keeping most of the varieties I planted last year so I can better evaluate which ones I want to keep on my list for the long-term. 

Here's what's "out" in 2011:

• Oregon Spring is a tomato variety that was bred to handle cooler temperatures and produced tomatoes in a short amount of time.  This variety did as promised, but I was really not impressed by the flavor.  In my opinion, they are not much better than what can be purchased at the super market.
• Cherokee Purple - This is a good variety that I would grow again, but my tomato choices in 2010 were so skewed to "black" tomatoes like Japanese Trifele and Paul Robeson that I'm dropping one black tomato variety and adding some other colors for variety.  I'm also going to grow fewer of each plant in favor of adding more varieties.
• Black Cherry - gone for the reason mentioned above, but a good producer that I would recommend if you want a cherry style tomato.

 The repeats for 2011 include:

• Brandywine - I'm going to try the Liam's strain of this variety since it is said to be a heavier producer.
• Tomato Riesentraube - tons of delicious cherry tomatoes.
• Japanese Trifele - a huge producer of delicious black tomatoes.
• Snowberry - one of my favorites of last year, this variety produces yellow/white cherry tomatoes with a nice balance of sweet and acid.
• Paul Robeson -  great flavor and good production make this one to keep.  I did find it was very susceptible to cracking.
• Black Krim - a delicious black tomato. 

New tomatoes for 2011:

• Stupice - an early heirloom variety that is my replacement for Oregon Spring.
• Green Zebra - these take 100-110 days to mature but are well regarded by many gardeners and so I'm going to give them a try.

• Arkansas Traveler- A red heirloom that's over 100 years old.  Known to be good in hot weather.
  
• Wapsipinicons Peach - A yellow heirloom from Iowa.
  
• Cosoluto Fiorentino- A Tuscan heirloom tomato that is less well ribbed than Cosoluto Genovese and is reputed to have both high acid and high sugar content.
  
• Bonnie's Best - a canning type tomato.
• Defiant - a very hardy and resistant hybrid from Johnny's Selected Seed that I'm planting as an insurance policy against another year of bad weather.  I'm sure this will not be a stellar tomato, I'm hoping for "good enough."
• Orange Icicle - an heirloom variety from Russia that is new this year from Baker Creek.

Cucumbers:

Last year, I grew three varieties of cucumbers - Beit Alpha, an all purpose cuke, Delikatesse a large pickling variety and Hmong Red, a huge orange specialty cucumber that I grew for fun.   Only Beit Alpha will be a repeat for me in 2011. I found this thin skinned, middle eastern cucumber to be a total pleasure; Beit Alpha produces large quantities of sweet cucumbers that have so thin a skin that they don't need to be peeled. 

Out:

• Hmong Red - this is a very unusual variety that produces a very large, sour tasting, orange/red cucumbers.  Last year, I posted about a lovely summer cooler that I made with this variety.  But it is not a slicing or a pickling cucumber that will work well in more traditional recipes.  This is something that I might add back into the mix in the future, but it's not going to be a staple in my garden.  Out for 2011.
• Delikatesse - This German heirloom did well for me in 2010 but I want try some other varieties.

New Cucumbers for 2011:

• Solly Beiler - a cucumber variety from the 1930, this little cuke was developed by Amish preacher Solly Beiler.  These are generally harvested small and made into pickles.
• Fin De Meaux- an heirloom French cucumber that is used to make cornichon, those adorable little pickles that get served with pate.  

 Other Casualties in 2011:

• Watermelon - The cool summer made growing watermelon a challenge but I did get a few pretty mediocre melons.  No one liked these melons and they ended up in the compost bin.  Given the space requirements, I'd rather turn the real estate over to my grain trials.
• White Icicle Radish - OK but I like Saxa and French Breakfast better.
• Purslane - Not interesting enough in my opinion.

In a future posting, I'll provide a full list of the varieties in my 2011 garden.