PlanterTomato Vegetable Gardening

How to Can Sweet Peppers

In this posting, I show you how to preserve sweet peppers.

I grow sweet peppers in my greenhouse and recently took the last harvest of the season.  With lots of peppers on hand, I decided to can them for future eating.  I will probably eat most of these as a kind of salad by just drizzling a little olive oil on top and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Canning peppers is similar to canning other vegetables but there is an important additional step required.  As with tomatoes, the outer skin of the pepper can become quite tough, so it is best to remove the outer skin prior to canning.

Blistering Peppers to Remove the Skin

• Wash and dry the peppers.
• Remove the stem and seeds and then cut the peppers in half.
• Place on a cookie sheet or baking dish and place under the broiler in your oven until the skins blacken.  This will take just a few minutes.
  
• Once cool, you find it very easy to remove the skins.

• You can cut the peppers into smaller pieces or can them as is.  I cut my peppers in half one more time so that each piece is a quarter of a pepper. 

Canning Peppers

1. Clean 1/2 pint canning jars and sanitize the jars, lids and bands in simmering water. (For general instructions on canning, see my prior posting that covers Basic Canning of Tomatoes)
2. Place the peppers into hot jars.
   
3. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar to each jar.
4. Top off the jars with boiling water so that they are filled, leaving 1 inch of head-space.
5. Process in a pressure canner for 35 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  (If you live in a location that is at an altitude of above 1,000 feet, increase processing times accordingly.  You can find a table detailing this in my posting on canning tomatoes. Click here to see table of adjustments)
6. When done, allow canner to return to zero pounds pressure and remove the peppers.
7. Allow them to cool.

You'll find these canned peppers have a wonderful roasted flavor.

Delicious Pasta Sauce: Secret Ingredients Revealed

A few weeks ago, I was cooking for the kids and needed to create a red sauce for the pasta.  I don't know what possessed me, but I decided to try creating my own recipe on the fly.  Everyone loved it, so I'm going to share the secret ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of home-canned or store-bought chunk tomatoes
• 1/2 stalk celery
• 2 cloves garlic
• A few tablespoons of finely chopped pancetta (you can substitute 2 strips of bacon)
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
  

Secret Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ok, the secret ingredients look more like the kind of things that belong in a pumpkin pie, but I swear these are an awesome addition to pasta sauce. 

The inspiration for this was a meal I had at a local Mediterranean restaurant.  The restaurant adds some nutmeg to their moussaka and I liked the dish so much that I decided to add both nutmeg and cinnamon to my red sauce to see what would happen.  I found that these two spices add a wonderfully warm flavor that people will love but they will be unable to identify the secret ingredients.

Here's how to prepare the sauce. Give it a try.  I think you'll like it.

Preparation:

1. Finely chop the pancetta/bacon, celery, and garlic.
2. Add the pancetta to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the bacon is cooked and some of the fat is left in the bottom of the pan.
3. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the celery.  Cook till the celery is soft and translucent.
4. Now add the garlic and cook for a minute, but be careful not to burn it.
5. Add the canned tomatoes (including the juice) and cook for about 20 minutes.  Home canned tomatoes contain lots of water, if you are using store-bought, you may need to add some water or a little white wine to keep the sauce from burning.
6. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Cook over a medium to low heat for 20 minutes to allow all the flavors to blend.
8. Serve over a pasta shape of your choice.

Getting Your Bee Hive Ready For Winter - A Checklist

In this posting, I provide a check list of things you need to do to prepare your hives for the cold months of Winter. 

Two weeks ago, I harvested the last of my honey supers and added another 22 pounds of honey to the pantry.  That brings my total haul for the year to 60 pounds.  At that time, I checked the hives and all looked in good order and the hive beetles that invaded one of my hives seems to be under control - I use a trap filled with apple cider vinegar to lure the invaders to their doom.

Now that we are into October, its time for me, and most other bee keepers, to get things in order so that our bees survive the Winter.

Here's the Winter check list:

1. If you haven't done so already, remove any remaining supers.  During the Winter months, the population of the colony will drop and they will cluster in the center of the hive to keep warm.  Removing the supers keeps the size of the hive small so that bees have an easier time keeping the temperature warm enough to ensure their survival.  If you harvest honey from these supers and plan to keep the comb for next year, the best way to clean it out of any excess honey prior to storage is to let the bees do the work.  Just set the hive boxes in your yard and let the bees "rob" any remaining honey; the bees will leave the comb completely clean and ready for storage. (See below)
2. Inspect the hive to make sure that the bees have enough stores for Winter.  In cold climates, a bee hive will need about 60 pounds of honey to make it through the Winter.  In warmer climates like Northern California where I live, 30-40 pounds will do the trick. You can estimate the amount of honey the colony has by visual inspection -- A deep hive box filled with capped honey will contain about 60 pounds of honey. A medium hive box holds 35 pounds and a shallow hive box holds 25 pounds.).
3. If the bees are short on honey for the Winter, feed them sugar syrup.  (To make this syrup, boil 2.5 quarts of water and then add 10 pounds of sugar.  Remove from the heat, and stir till all the sugar is dissolved.)  I don't medicate my bees, but if you do, wait till the syrup has cooled before adding any treatments.  Now place the syrup into a feeder and leave this on till the bees stop taking the syrup, or until the temperature drops and the bees form their Winter cluster.
4. During the Winter, water can condense on the hive cover and drip down onto the bees, lowering the temperature of the cluster and potentially killing the bees.  To prevent this, provide ventilation that will remove any excess moisture.  Some bee keepers place a few pop-sickle sticks under the four corners of the inner cover to provide a gap to let air into the hive.  I've modified my inner-cover with a notch that allows moisture to escape.  I've covered this with wire mesh to allows air in, but keeps mice and other critters out. (see below)
   
5. Add a mouse guard to the front entrance to prevent invasion.
6. If you are in a very cold climate, you can provide additional warmth to your hive by wrapping it in black tar paper.  The black paper absorbs sunlight and warms the hive.  (Because I live in a temperate climate, I've never done this and can't provide any guidance on how to best apply the paper)

If all goes well, your bees will begin emerging from the hive on a warm day in Spring.  Here in Northern California we do get a bloom of flowers in January.  If the temperature is warm enough, it's possible to see bees forage for this early supply of nectar, even in the dead of Winter.

 

Photo: During my most recent inspection, I found that both hives have more than enough honey to get through our temperate Northern California Winters.

Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe

Minnesota midget is a small, heirloom muskmelon that was developed for Northern gardeners (short growing seasons) at the University  of Minnesota in 1948.  It produces 4" diameter melons with sweet orange flesh in about 70 days.

I purchased two Minnesota Midget plants on impulse while visiting my local garden center earlier this year.  When I arrived home, I found I really didn't have a good place for them and so I just stuck them between a lemon tree and a cucumber trellis. There, with little sun-light, they took forever to grow and bloom.

Out-of-sight, meant out-of-mind and I totally forgot about the plants.  By the time I re-discovered them, the few melons I had on the vine were over-ripe and tasteless.  Purely by chance, I left the vines in the ground.  After harvesting the last of my cucumbers early this summer, I removed the trellis and this allowed more sunlight to shine on the melons and allowed a lone melon to mature very late in the season.

I harvested this small melon this weekend and got a real surprise.  It was juicy, sweet and firm fleshed.  What a pity, I hadn't grown these properly! 

I saved some of the seeds and will do it right next Spring. 

Growing Minnesota Midget Melons

For those interested, the right way to plant melons like this is to directly sow the seeds into the garden once the soil temperature is above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Plant melon seeds about 1/4 inch into the soil and two feet apart.  Melons are heavy feeders, so make sure they are planted in soil that has been well composted and gets lots of sunlight. 

Minnesota Midget grow on compact vines that are about 3 feet long and are good candidates for trellising.  Planted properly, you should get melons in about 70 days.

By the way, plant in full sun.

Growing Wheat In Your Home Garden

 In this posting, I tell you how to grow wheat in your home garden and provide information about an heirloom variety of that is reputed to be excellent for pasta and bread.

Regular readers of this web site know that I've been experimenting with growing grains in my backyard garden.  In the fall of 2009, I successfully overwintered hulless barley and this Fall, I harvested an heirloom variety of flint corn called "Longfellow." (see below photo)

Since I've been on a bit of roll with these grains, I decided to try my hand at growing wheat.  I choose a variety called Frassinetto for the experiment.  This type of wheat was developed near the town of Frassinetto, Italy in the 1920's and is reputed to be an excellent variety for making pasta or bread.  Frassinetto wheat has a protein content of 14%, a very respectable number, even when compared with modern hybrids.

Planting Wheat

When overwintering wheat, plant 8-12 weeks prior to when the ground freezes.  This allows the plants time to establish themselves before the Winter sets in but keeps the plants small enough so that they are less likely to be blown down by Winter wind and rain. (I cover this topic in greater detail below)

Commercial farmers use seeders to precisely plant seeds.  I planted my wheat by creating rows every 4 inches and dropping seeds about every 4 inches.  This was a reasonably precise, but very tedious approach.  An alternative approach, is to scatter the appropriate quantity of seeds over the area you intend to plant and then rake the seed into the ground. 

I've seen recommended planting rates of anywhere between 2.5 to 10 ounces of seed per 100 square foot plot.  I suspect that the large variation in recommended planting rates reflects differences in planting technique (using a seeder versus raking the seed into the ground) as well as different germination rates between various wheat varieties.  If you decide you want to try your hand at this, here's what I'd recommend...

• If you can plant fairly precisely, plan on using 4-6 ounces of seed per 100 square feet.
• If you plan to cast the seed and rake it into the ground, plan on using 6-10 ounces per 100 square feet.

Whatever approach you take, the seed should be planted at a depth of about 1 to 1.5 inches.

Maturity

When planted in the spring, wheat matures in 16 to 18 weeks.  However, when overwintered, it generally takes between 38 to 42 weeks.  Since I planted my wheat on the first day of Fall, I will probably be harvesting in mid June (somewhere between June 16-June 23).

Yields

Reported wheat yields vary dramatically based on type of wheat grown, location, and weather conditions.  For example, in a trial done in 2009 and 2010 by the University of California, measured wheat yields for various varieties were between 1,300 and 7,600 pounds per acre. (see table below)

Frassinetto was one of the wheat varieties included in the trial and came in at the very low end of the scale, with a yield of just 1,500 pounds per acre.  If I were to achieve the same yield , I would expect to harvest about 3.5 pounds of wheat on my 100 square foot plot.  Pretty meager!

However, the test also included some interesting information that may allow me to bump up my harvest if I intervene effectively. If I can prevent lodging, the yield might rise to something closer to 6 pounds.

The Impact of Lodging & What to Do to Prevent It

In the trial, Frassinetto wheat had a 40% lodging rate versus an average of 6% for all the varieties in the trail. "Lodging" is the term used to describe grain plants that have toppled over.  This can be caused by either the roots of the plant becoming displaced (generally if the soil is very wet) or by the bending and/or breaking of the stalk itself (caused by wind, rain etc.).  Lodging can severely impact grain yield and a shorter varieties of wheat have been developed to help combat the problem.  Not surprisingly, Frassinetto was the tallest wheat included in the trial, growing to 55 inches in height versus and average plant height of 38 inches.

To reduce the chance of lodging, I decided to give the wheat additional support.  To do this, I placed stakes in the ground every few feet and then connected them with yellow twine.  The twine will help keep the wheat stalks standing if they encounter strong winds over the Winter.   I ran the string at two heights -- 16 and 32 inches above the ground.  There's no magic to those particular numbers; I just placed support at about one-third and two-thirds of total estimated height of the plant.

Next summer I'll let you know if this latest experiment in grain growing worked and whether the extra support helped.

Frassinetto and other wheat varieties can be purchased from Sustainable Seed Company if you are interested. 

If you go with other varieties, the University of California data suggests that you could harvest as much as 17 pounds of grain from a 100 square foot plot. 

How to Make A Fantastic Halloween Pumpkin

In this posting, I provide some ideas to get you thinking about Halloween and information on how to carve a great jack-o-lantern.

OK, I'll admit it... Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year.  I really enjoy seeing the kids come by in their costumes, sticky hands and all. 

As part of our annual holiday tradition, I try to carve a new pumpkin design each year.  I haven't decided on this years design, but I'm thinking that it might be a year for zombies or vampires. 

Below are some past designs I've done that I hope will inspire your own carving.  Carving a pumpkin like this isn't hard to do, but it does take time and patience.

For detailed information on creating templates to create these designs, check out my prior posting, How to Carve Great Halloween Pumpkins.

Black Widow Spider: The hardest part of this design is the hour glass shape in the center.  You need to be careful not to cut through the four little "connectors" that hold this element to the rest of the pumpkin.  I would also recommend increasing the distance between the body and legs as these sections are very thin and hard to carve.

Graveyard: Use a Dremel tool to carve the letters and the cross and urn elements on the top of the gravestones.  To make the letters, cut deep enough into the pumpkin skin to allow light to pass through, but not all the way through to the center of the pumpkin.  Of the pumpkins shown in this posting, this is the easiest to carve because the shapes are fairly simple.
 

Grim Reaper:  This is also fairly easy to carve because the shapes are simple.  The hardest part is the coffin which is also held the body of the pumpkin by six small connecting "bridges"

Hangman:  This pumpkin has high "wow" factor but it took a very long time to make.  Carving the hanging man without breaking the rope was particularly difficult.  Only attempt this if you are willing to spend 3 hours carving a pumpkin.

Dragon:

Kids Names On Tombstones:

 

If you decide to carve an unusual pumpkin, send me a photo and I'll post it.  Have a great holiday.

Overwintering Onions & Garlic

Now is the time to get your onion and garlic sets.  Learn all about onions and garlic in this posting.

Garlic and onions can be planted in either the Spring or in the Fall.  I've done both and have settled on the Fall as my preferred time because there are fewer pest problems to deal with during the Winter months and over the winter the bulbs have an opportunity to create strong root systems.  Consequently, Fall plantings tend to produce larger bulbs.

For most gardeners, onions should be planted in September or October.  Garlic is generally planted a bit later -- October or November.  A good rule of thumb is to plant garlic sets after your first major frost of the year. 

Seeds or Bulbs?

Garlic is almost always grown from bulbs. Onions can be grown from either seeds or bulbs, but I plant bulbs because I find them so convenient. Onion and garlic bulbs (generally referred to as "sets") can be purchased from your local garden center, or from various mail order suppliers.  You'll find that onion and garlic sets sold at the garden center are less expensive, but you won't have much of a selection.  In fact, the onions sold at my local garden center are sold in bags that don't even list the variety, just "yellow onions" and "red onions." If you decide to order your sets from a mail order supplier, I recommend Territorial Seed company.  They have a particularly good selection of both onions and garlic.  Other potential suppliers include Dixondale Farms (sell onion sets) and Baker Creek (sell an interesting range of onions but as seeds only)

Culture

Plant onions and garlic in full sun and in loose, well drained soil. The drainage is particularly important since very wet soils will cause the bulbs to rot.

To plant garlic, first separate the bulb into individual cloves. Plant these six inches apart in all directions. Garlic should be planted two inches deep into the soil with the pointed end of the bulb facing the sky. 

Plant onions six inches apart in all directions.  The pointed part of the bulb should be facing upward towards the sky and the tip of the bulb should be just poking out of the soil. 

When selecting onion varieties, choose ones that are appropriate for your area.  Onions bulb in response to the number of hours of sunlight they receive.  In the North, the amount of daily sunshine varies dramatically during the course of the year, with many hours of sunshine in the Summer and relatively few during Winter.  In the deep South, day lengths are much more consistent during the course of the year and summer days are not as long as they are in the North.  So folks in the Southern U.S. should buy "short-day" varieties (bulbs start to form when there are 10-12 hours of sunshine) and folks in the Northern U.S. should buy "long-day" varieties (bulbs start to form when there are 14-16 hours of sunshine). Intermediate-day onions fall between these extremes (bulbs start to form at 12-14 hours of sunshine) .  See the below map of the U.S. to determine which type of onion is right for you or check out the  Gaisma web site which lists hours of sunshine by month for the U.S. and other countries.

Harvesting

Garlic and Onions planted in the Fall should be ready for harvest in June or July.  Timing really depends on variety and your location.  The best way to tell when to harvest is to observe for your plants for clues that it is time to harvest.

• Harvest onions when the leaves lose their color and fall over.  Once this occurs, leave the onions in the ground for another 10 days to allow the onions to reach full maturity.  If possible, harvest onions on a sunny day since the bulbs will contain less moisture and will store better.  After removing from the ground, cure in the sun for 1 day to kill the root system of the bulb.  This also improves the storage life of your onions.  Then store in a cool, dark and dry place. 
  
• Garlic is a little trickier.  Wait till most of the leaves die back and turn brown, but before all of the leaves have toppled over as with onions.  I recommend testing by harvesting a bulb or two and checking to see if they are mature.  The bulb should be the appropriate size for the variety you are growing and you should be able to feel the individual cloves under the outer skin of the bulb.  If so, harvest the garlic and then cure in a dry place for two to four weeks.  Longer for very large bulbs.  When storing garlic, I don't trim the leaves or the roots.  I believe this helps preserve them, but there are more opinions on the best way to cure garlic than there are stars in the sky.
  

Harvesting Garlic, from the Tacuinum Sanitatus, 1500's.

Onion and Garlic Varieties

There are many varieties of onions and garlic from which to choose.  The varieties differ in terms of their taste characteristics (strong/hot or mild), storage capabilities (short and long storage) and growth habit. (early, mid and late season for garlic or short-day and long-day for onions)

When choosing an onion for your garden, be careful to select one that will work in your location; onion plants create bulbs based on the number of hours of sunlight they receive and are sold as "long-day," "short-day," and "intermediate day" varieties.  Northern gardeners should purchase long-day onions and gardeners in the South should opt for short-day onions.   Onions also differ dramatically in terms of their size, from tiny "pearl" onions up to the huge Ailsa Craig that can tip the scales at up to 6 pounds.  Check out the varieties offered by mail order companies to find onions and garlic that meet your tastes and geographic requirements.  Here are some varieties you might consider:

• Purple Glazer Garlic - a mild tasting, easy to peel, mid-season variety.
• Music Garlic - a moderately hot, mid season variety with high yields.
• Chesnok Red Garlic - a strong, late season garlic that is good for cooking.
• Ontario Purple Trillium garlic - a very strong and very early maturing garlic.
• Borrettana Cipollini onion - a small (2 inch), flat, yellow, long-day onion that is a good storage.
• Red Wethersfield onion - a red, long-day onion thats shaped like a flattened globe.  It's an heirloom variety from Wethersfield, Connecticut.
• White Bermuda onion - a white short-day heirloom originally from Bermuda but now grow extensively in Texas.
• Candy - A large, intermediate-day hybrid onion.

To learn more about garlic, see my posting, Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Garlic

Calling All Chicken Owners - Please Take This Quick Survey

I'm writing a posting on who owns chickens and why.  I reached out to the USDA for information on this subject, but they haven't really collected any information on backyard chicken keepers.

If you own chickens, please let me know a little bit about how many you own and why by taking the Backyard Chicken Survey.  It will only take a few minutes and I'd really appreciate your help.  Thanks in advance!

Puntarelle & Italian Sausage Pasta

This is a quick gourmet pasta dish that is a nice change from traditional tomato or cream based pasta dishes.

Earlier this year, a gardening friend visited and brought me some Puntarelle plants for my garden.  Puntarelle is a type of dandelion and a member of the chicory family.  It's easy to grow, very cold tolerant (zone 4) and has an upright growth habit.

The name "Puntarelle" means "little tips" in Italian and Puntarelle in various forms are classic Roman dishes that are eaten from November through February.  While Puntarelle are often eaten as a cooked salad, we used ours to make a pasta dish with Italian sausage.  To make this recipe, you'll need two pots of water and a skillet going at the same time, but the good news is that by juggling between burners, you can prepare the whole dish in about 20 minutes.  That makes it great for evenings when you don't have lots of time to cook and don't want to eat out or do take-out food.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 pound of dry linguine, spaghetti, or shaped pasta of your choice.
  
• 4 Italian pork sausages (about 12 ounces) - I use packaged, fully cooked sausages and find they work well and speed cooking time.
  
• 8 ounces of puntarelle leaves
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese

Recipe

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook your pasta and a do the same for a second smaller pot ( 4 cups water) in which you will par boil the puntarelle.
2. While the water is coming to a boil, slice the italian sausage into pieces that are about 1/4 inch long and wash the puntarelle leaves.
3. When the puntarelle water has come to a boil, drop the leaves into the pot and par boil for 3 minutes.  This will both cook the puntarelle and also reduce some of the bitterness of the greens.
4. Remove the puntarelle and rinse under cold water.  Pat dry them with a paper towel or dry using a salad spinner.
5. Cut the puntarelle leaves into 1 inch pieces.
6. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and add the sausage links that you have already cut into 1/4 inch pieces.
7. Cook the sausage over medium heat until they are cooked through and have caramelized on the outside. 
8. Add the puntarelle to the pan of sausages and cook over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning.  Remove from burner and set aside.
   
9. By now, the pasta water should have come to a full, rolling boil. Add two tablespoons of salt and the pasta to the water and cook per the instructions on the package - generally about 10 minutes.
10. When the pasta is done, drain and transfer it to a large bowl.
11. Add the sausage and puntarelle and some additional olive oil and toss together.
12. Serve immediately.  If you like, add grated parmesan cheese or salt and pepper to taste.
    

Top Ten Vegetables for Fall & Winter Harvests

You can grow and harvest plenty of fresh veggies during the Fall and Winter. Even in coldest parts of the country (zone 4) its possible to grow lots during the "off season" if you provide additional protection such as a double insulated cold frame, tunnel or greenhouse.

Since growing rates are slower in the Winter, it's best to start seeds in the late Summer or early Fall.  However, you can even germinate seeds during the Winter as long as you can protect them and keep the soil temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Below are my top choices for Fall and Winter Vegetables.

1. Mache - This is a mild green that has been grown for years in Europe. While many winter greens can be very bitter tasting (Arugula, Chicory, radicchio etc.) mache and several other choices on my list are mild flavored.  This make them excellent choices for those that don't like bitter greens and families with kids.  Pronounced Mah-shh, this is one of my favorite winter greens.  At maturity, mache grows to about 2 inches high in a small, tight rosette.  If you check your seed catalogs you'll find that this vegetable also goes by the names Vit, Corn Salad, and Lambs Lettuce.  Direct sow 1 inch apart and thin to every 2 inches in row 18 inches apart.  Matures in 50 days.  Harvest the entire plant.  Hardy to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Mache likes full sun.
   
2. Miner's Lettuce - A native of the forests of the Pacific Northwest, this low growing green is mild tasting and full of vitamin C.  It was eaten by miners who travelled west during the gold rush but you don't need to prospect for gold to enjoy this mild tasting green.  This vegetable also goes by the name Claytonia.  Like Mache it is a low growing green that produces quantities of leaves that are shaped like a "spade" from a deck of cards.  Direct sow and thin to 5 inches apart in rows about 1 foot apart.  Matures in 40 days.  You can eat the stems and the leaves, but I prefer just the leaves.  I don't know hardiness information for this plant but it's range includes Alaska so it probably is very tolerant.  Miners lettuce likes partial shade.
   
3. Erba Stella - Also known as Minutina, and Buckshorn Plantain, it is an extra crunchy, mild tasting green that has become one of my favorites.  Direct sow and thin to every 8 inches.  Erba Stella produces long thin leaves that are shaped like a stag's horn. The plant matures in 50 days. Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.  Erba Stella likes full sun.
   
4. Kale - Kale is a nutritional powerhouse.  If you could grow only one veggie, kale would be the one I would recommend.  While kale is fairly mild in flavor, it is not really a salad veggie and should be cooked by either sauteing or by boiling in a soup.  My favorite varieties are Toscano (also called either Lacinato or Dinosaur kale) and Dwarf Blue Kale.  The latter variety is particularly winter hardy and is a good choice for gardeners in the far north of the U.S.  Direct sow every 6 inches and thin to 1 plant every 12 inches when the plants are 4 inches high.  Separate rows by 12 to 18 inches.  Unlike the prior mentioned veggies, kale will grow to tall so it should be in a tunnel or greenhouse, rather than a cold frame.  Kale matures in about 65 days. Hardy to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Kale likes full sun to partial shade.
   
5. Broccoli - Broccoli needs to be planted 12-14 weeks before your first frost in order to mature, so check the date for your town before sowing any seeds.  In mild climates it can be grown all year. Start seed in trays and transplant when the plants are 4-6 weeks old. Plant 8 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart.  Broccoli matures in 50-90 days depending on the variety.  Di Ciccio and Waltham 29 are heirloom varieties that are worth considering. Hardy to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Broccoli likes full sun to partial shade.
   
6. Swiss Chard - A cold tolerant vegetable for soups and other dishes.  Chard leaves are deep green, but the ribs and veins of different varieties come in a rainbow of colors including red, white, pink, and yellow. You can buy several varieties or buy "Bright Lights" from Burpee or other suppliers that mix several varieties in one seed pack.  Chard adds some really lovely color to your dinner table during the dark days of winter.  Direct sow every 4 inches and thin to every 10 inches when the plants are three inches high.  Swiss chard matures in about 60 days.  I like "Bright Lights" and Joy Larkom's Midnight varieties.  As with kale, swiss chard grows to 20 inches so its for greenhouses and tunnels. Hardy to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant in full sun to partial shade.
   
   
7. Spinach - Spinach comes in lots of varieties so choose one that works well for your area - ask friends or your local garden center. However, Winter Bloomsdale and Giant Winter are particularly cold tolerant and great choices for northern gardeners.  To plant spinach, direct sow and thin to every 6 inches in rows 18 to 24 inches apart.  Spinach matures in 50 days. Hardy to 8 degrees Fahrenheit.  Plant spinach in full sun. 
   
   
8. Carrots - carrots are used in so many dishes that it would be a shame not to have them in your winter garden. I like Chantenay and Purple Dragon varieties but there are many different shapes and sizes to choose from.  Danvers is a classic winter carrot choice that is particularly good in heavy, clay soils. Royal Chantenay and Atlas are small and good for either raised beds or containers.    Direct sow carrots and thin to 1 to 1 1/2 inches in rows 6 inches apart.  Carrots mature in 70-80 days and can be left in the ground till you want to harvest them. Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant in full sun.
   
9. Beets- Beets are a good choice for those living in mild climates where beets can be planted in the late Summer and early Fall (when the air temperature is 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit) In the Southern U.S., beets can be grown all Winter long. Direct sow seeds and thin to every 4 inches in rows 1 foot apart.  Some good choices include Chioggia, Cylindra and Detroit.  For a change of pace, try Crapaudine beets, a variety that dates back to the middle ages.  This variety produces small, gnarled roots that are shaped like carrots.  The flavor is very intense.  For those interested in knowing more about this variety check out my previous posting. Hardy to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Grow in full sun to partial shade.
   
10. Arugula - Also called Rocket, this is my wife's favorite green.  It has a sharp, peppery flavor that is an acquired taste for most.  Direct sow and thin to every 8 inches in rows 12-18 inches apart.  Arugula can be harvested young and it will re-grow.  Matures in 20 days for "baby" arugula and 40 days for full sized plants. Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Grow in full sun to partial shade.
    

While these didn't make my top 10 list, here are some other veggies that you may want to consider for your fall and winter garden:

• Brussels sprouts- My favorite is Roodnerf but there are many different varieties that have been developed to match the needs of specific locations.  Most of these are hybrids. Hardy to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Cabbage - Savoy cabbage is an excellent variety for cooking, but if you want to make sauerkraut, go with a variety like Krautman or Danish Ballhead. Hardy to 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Tatsoi - a mild tasting Asian green.
  
• Mizuna - an Asian mustard green.  Varieties vary but can be very strongly flavored and spicy. Hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Chicory - Don't let the primary variety name fool you, "Sugar Loaf" chicory is not sweet.  It's a bitter green.
  
• Radicchio - A lovely red bitter green that can be a nice addition to salad.  Hardy to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Salsify - This is a little known root vegetable that actually tastes like oysters.  I grew it last year and have a small amount in the garden again this year.  Salsify is planted in the Spring and harvested in the Fall and Winter.
  
• Endive - A very cold hardy bitter green. Hardy to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Escarole - Another cold hardy bitter that's a little less bitter than some of the other greens on the list. Hardy to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Radish - My favorites are Saxa and French Breakfast.  If you like radishes they are a nice addition to the garden because they grow so quickly.  Radishes mature in just 3-4 weeks.
  
• Scallions - a member of the onion family with small bulbs.  You can eat the bulb and the leaves.
  
• Sorrel - Sorrel's flavor is hard to explain.  It tastes somewhat lemony to me.  Sorrel can be used for soups and sauces.
  

Awesome Apples: Cox's Orange Pippin

In this posting, I report success growing Cox's Orange Pippin apples and provide some tips on how to protect your dwarf fruit trees from squirrels.

Two seasons ago, I did some cursory research on the internet to determine the best apples.  Based on some tantalizing descriptions, I purchased a number of heirloom apple trees and planted them in my garden.  Regular readers may remember a prior posting regarding two potential mistakes I made in selecting these trees and my fear that I would never harvest a single apple.  (Apples In Bloom: Tips for New Fruit Growers)

Fortunately, the fates were good to us, and we harvested our first Cox's Orange Pippin apples this week.  This variety of apple comes from England and it is considered one of the best desert apples on the planet. However, it is notoriously hard to grow, and can produce spotty results...like the "little girl who had a little curl," when Cox's Orange Pippins are good, they are very good and when they are bad, they are horrid.  Well, maybe not horrid, but certainly nothing to get too excited about.

Maybe it is our cool Pacific Northwest evenings, but the Cox's Orange Pippin tree in my garden produced fruit and the apples lived up to their reputation.  Cox's Orange Pippins are beautiful apples with blush color, thin skin, crisp flesh and a delightfully complex flavor.  Adam's Apples, a blog dedicated entirely to apples, describes the Cox's Orange Pippin as follows:

"This is a wonderfully well-balanced apple with a complex bouquet of tastes: cider, a hint of cinnamon and hazelnut, and strong orange and mango notes. The even sweet-tart balance is the perfect backdrop against which these flavors gracefully unfold."

I heartily concur with Adam's description.  These apples leave supermarket apples in the dust and are better than most varieties brought to farmers markets.  

Later this season, I hope to harvest additional heirloom varieties including Ashmead's Kernel, Foxwhelp, Kingston Black and Orleans Reinette.  I let you know more about these in the future.

Tips on Thwarting Squirrels

One thing that frustrates me, is when critter decide to eat up my garden. I wouldn't care if they took some here or there, but squirrels are just gluttons.  They don't just take a share, they take everything.

This Spring my young Blenheim apricot produced some really outstanding fruit.  We enjoyed the first few fruit that ripened, but just as the main crop reached maturity, squirrels swooped in and ate all the remaining fruit in one evening. The bushy tailed devils then stripped a young peach tree of all it's still unripe fruit, denying us even a single fruit from this tree this season.

Looking at the tiny apples that had just formed on my dwarf trees, I feared the worst and moved to protect them. I tried using plastic bird netting, but had difficulty making this work -- I found it nearly impossible to get the netting over the crown of the tree,  the netting tangled up in the wind, and had a tendency to rip up the leaves on the tree.  Internet research suggested that alternative squirrel proofing techniques such as spraying trees with nasty smelling liquids or using plastic models of owls (squirrel predator) were not effective.  

Since my trees are very young and didn't really have lots of fruit on them, I decided to try a different strategy.  Rather than covering the whole tree with bird netting, I opted to cover just the fruit. To do this, I purchased some small nylon mesh bags.  These bags measure 10 x 6 inches and are made of the same plastic material that is used to bag up onions and shallots for sale in the supermarket. (see below) To protect the young apples, I placed these bags over individual clusters of fruit and then tied them off with the little drawstrings at the top of the bag.  

So far, the bags seem to be effective. I suspect that squirrels identify fruit by it's shape and the bags work because they camouflage the apples so they don't look like fruit. Whatever, the mechanism, it seems to be working.  Another nice benefit I've discovered is that any apples that fall off the tree, are caught by the bag so they never hit the ground.

Photo: Foxwhelp apples covered in mesh bags

Obviously, covering individual fruit clusters only makes sense for dwarf trees or relatively young semi-dwarf trees.  As my trees get bigger, I'll have to come up with some other solutions, but for the next season or two, this method should work reasonably well.  

How to Can Tomatoes

In this posting, I'll show you how to can tomatoes using both the hot water bath method and with a pressure canner.  By canning your tomatoes,  you'll be able to enjoy produce from your garden all Winter long.

Two Roads to the Same Destination

The hot water bath and pressure canning method of preserving tomatoes preserve food based on the same preservation principles.  Specifically, the tomatoes are preserved using a combination of heat and acid to kill any bacteria that might cause them to spoil.  The difference between the two methods is really one of equipment and timing.  

From an equipment perspective, the hot water bath method is probably the least fussy since it only requires a large pot and an inexpensive wire rack for the pot that keeps the canning jars from making direct contact with the bottom of the pot.  But canning using hot water bath method takes 40 minutes while using a pressure canner takes only 10.  If you have lots of tomatoes to can, you may want to make the investment in a pressure canner.  For more information about pressure canners, see my post "Preserving Your Harvest By Canning."

Regardless of which method you use, the basic preparation steps are the same.

How To Can Tomatoes (Basic Preparation)

1. Make sure your canning jars are clean and there are no cracks or uneven rims that would prevent them from sealing properly.
2. Wash and rinse the jars and lids in warm soapy water to make they are clean.
3. Place the jars into a stock pot and the lids into a saucepan of simmering water to sanitize them. (Don't boil.  Allow the lids and jars to remain in the simmering water until you are ready to use them)
4. Wash and stem all the tomatoes so they are ready to go.
5. Remove the skin from this batch of tomatoes by blanching --Cut a small "X" into the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife.  Then drop the tomatoes in boiling water for 1.5 minutes to loosen the skin. Remove the tomatoes from the hot water and cool them to stop the cooking process and make them easier to handle. (Traditionally, blanching is done by placing the tomatoes in an ice water bath but I find that putting them in a colander and running cool tap water over them works just as well.)  Remove the skin.
6. Using your hands, squeeze out some of the juice and seeds from each tomato so that you are left with large chunks.  (I do this over the sink to make clean-up easier)
7. Put the tomato chunks into pint canning jars and add either 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid (you can buy citric acid powder from a canning specialty store or on-line merchant)  The jar should be filled to within 1/2" of the top of the jar.
8. Wipe the lip of the jar with a paper towel so it is free of any tomato juice and cap with a clean lid.
9. Repeat the above procedure until all your tomatoes are in cans and ready to go into the pot or canner.

Using The Pressure Canner

1. Place the jars in your pressure caner and fill so that the water level is about an inch and one-half above the bottom of the canner. (Please note that the amount of water you use for pressure canning is different than that used for the hot water bath method. For pressure canning only a portion of the jar is covered by water)  
2. Place the lid on the canner and clamp down the lid by screwing down the wing nuts that surround the edges of the pot.
3. Turn up your stove to high.  When the water comes to a boil, you'll notice steam coming from the vent on the pressure canner.  Allow the stem to vent for 10 minutes before placing the weight on top of the canner.
4. Cook for 10 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  (Note: As the steam vents from the canner it will cause the weight to make a chattering noise.  If the stove is too hot, it will cause the weight to chatter constantly.  If it's too low, the weight won't chatter at all.  The proper stove temperature is one where the weight chatters briefly about once every minute. )
   
5. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. Now turn off the heat and let the canner to cool down.  You can speed the process along by removing the weight from the top of the canner.  However, the minute you do this, steam will shoot out of the vent.  To prevent burning yourself, let the canner cool for at least 5 minutes before attempting to remove the weight and then do so with a pair of kitchen tongs so that your hand is not near the vent opening.
7. Allow the canner to continue to cool.  You want the pressure gauge to return to zero before removing the lid.
8. Open the lid and remove the jars from the canner.  Allow them to continue cooling on a dry towel on your counter.
9. After the jars have cooled completely, test the seal by pressing down on the center of each lid.  If the center of the lid is pulled down and does not flex, the cans are properly sealed.

Using the Hot Water Bath Method

1.  Fill your canning pot with water and bring to a simmer.
2. As each jar is filled, place onto the elevated canning rack.
3. After all the jars are on the rack, lower them into the simmering water.  The water level should be about 1 to two inches above the top of the lids. (Please note that the amount of water you use for the hot water bath method is different than that used for pressure canning. For the hot water bath method the cans should be completely under water)  
4. Cover and bring the water to a rolling boil.  For pint sized jars cook for 40 minutes.  (Because boiling temperatures vary by altitude, you should adjust your processing time based on the below chart.  I've provided altitudes for some major U.S. cities but you can check the altitude of your town by doing a Google search.)
5.  Once your tomatoes are processed, turn off the heat and uncover your pot.  Let the cans sit in the water for 5 minutes before removing jars.
6. Remove the jars from your canning pot and allow them to continue cooling on a dry towel on your counter. After the jars have cooled completely, test the seal by pressing down on the center of each lid.  If the center of the lid is pulled down and does not flex, the cans are properly sealed.

 
Chart: Adjustment times for canning tomatoes using the hot water bath method.

Farming with Dynamite

So many uses of dynamite in farming that Dupont put out a brochure. Credit where credit is due... I saw this pamphlet posted on Rootsimple gardening blog and couldn't resist sharing a laugh with you.

This is a real brochure created by Dupont in 1910 describing the many uses of dynamite in farming. While the title and some of the suggested uses are funny enough, my biggest laughs came from reading comments made by others regarding this post.  My favorite was from "Practical Parsimony":

My friend ... told me tales of his childhood. He was born in 1933 and was old enough to remember the Great Depression and WWII. John told me he and the other boys in this town were too poor to afford firecrackers, so they used dynamite instead. Only wealthy children ever got firecrackers. 

I was laughing so hard and telling him it was absurd. And, how did he get dynamite? He said it was sold in various stores, just not grocery stores. Now, I have tears I am laughing so hard, assuring him no one would sell dynamite to a little boy. He assured me that anyone could buy it. Firecrackers were just too expensive! He said no one ever got hurt. But, his mother would not have approved. His father knew. He was only about 7-yrs-old, and he was using dynamite. 

I have to say, I've never really thought about using dynamite for farming, but it's practical applications around home and garden are really endless.  Oh, the wasted years! If I had only thought about dynamite sooner....

• Aphid Control - No messing with insecticidal soap or diatomaceous earth. With dynamite, one application lasts all season.  
• Vegetable Shredder -shred mounds of cabbage for delicious fresh cole slaw.  The only tears you'll cry will be ones of joy.
• Windshield De-Icer - Scrappers just doesn't get to the root of the problem like dynamite does.

If you have any other ideas for using dynamite around the house, please post them so we can all benefit :)

 Better living through chemistry.

 

How to Make The Best French Fries & The Right Potatoes To Do So

In this posting, I'll explain which types of potatoes make the best french fries and explain how to cook them.

The Potatoes

Half the battle in making delicious food is having the right ingredients and french fries (what Europeans call "chips") are no exception.  

Although they may look alike on the outside, not all potatoes are created equal.  Potatoes can differ in their starch and sugar content and this dramatically impacts their usefulness in a variety of dishes.

• Dry/floury potatoes - this group of potatoes has a starch content of 20-22%.  They have a mealy texture and crumble easily after cooking.  Dry/floury  potatoes make great baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, french fries and potato chips.  When fried, this type of potato tends to absorb less oil, so they are less greasy.  Dry/Floury potatoes varieties that are also low in sugar make the best potato chips because low sugar dry potatoes fry to a pale or golden brown color, versus potatoes with high sugar content tend to go dark brown during frying due to caramelization of sugars.  Here are some good potato choices:
  • Chips: Snowden
  • Fries: Bintje, Desiree, Russet Burbank
  • Baking: Russet, Russet Burbank

• Firm/waxy potatoes - these potatoes are relatively low in starch (16-18%) which makes them hold up well when boiled or roasted. Firm/waxy potatoes are ideal for potato salad. Some good choices include:
  • Charlotte, Red Pontiac, Austrian Crescent, Russian Banana, French Fingerling, Purple Peruvian, Yellow Finn, 
• All purpose potatoes: These potatoes are 18-20% starch and will work reasonably well in most dishes but will not be as good as dry/floury potatoes for baking and frying, nor will they be as good as waxy potatoes for boiling.  Some good all purpose potatoes include:
  • Maris Piper, Bison, Yukon Gold, Purple Viking, Kennebec, All Blue, German Butterball

How to Make Awesome French Fries

This year I grew a variety of potatoes including Maris Piper, a good all purpose potato that has high yields, creamy flesh and a taste that is similar to Yukon Gold.  This variety is not common in the United States, but is the potato of choice in England -- when you eat fish & chips in the U.K., this is the potato that is generally used.

Here's how to make really terrific french fries using the double-fry method:

1. Wash, dry and then cut the potato into thin strips of even size.  The easiest way to do this is to use a potato wedge cutter, a device that pushes the potato through a sharp grate (see below).  If you use this type of device, you'll get fries that are 1/4 inch thick. You can peel the potatoes if you like, but I actually like a little of the skin on my fries, so I don't bother.
   
   
2. Using a fryer, wok or pan, heat peanut oil to a temperature of 325 degrees Fahrenheit. (Temperature is important in frying so use a cooking thermometer if you have one.)

1. Add some potatoes to the fryer and let cook for about 3 minutes.  (I generally add about a cup of potatoes at a time but it really depends on the size and depth of your fryer.  You want to make sure that you don't add more potatoes than can be covered completely by oil.)
2. Remove the potatoes from the fryer and transfer to a colander to allow the excess oil to drain into a bowl or pan.  
3. If you want to do more than one batch of fries, add the next batch of raw potatoes and cook for 3 minutes, transfer to the colander etc. until all your potatoes are cooked.
4. For the second frying, increase the temperature of the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Transfer a portion of the cooked potatoes to the fryer and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they just begin to turn pale brown on the outside.
5. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.
6. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all the potatoes are cooked twice.
7. Serve immediately. (If you plan to do many batches, I recommend placing the fries on a cookie sheet in a warm oven to keep them hot.)

A Gourmet Twist on French Fries

An amazingly good variation on this recipe is to add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the fryer when you do the second frying of each batch of potatoes.    This imparts a lovely flavor to the fries.  You can even grate some fresh lemon zest onto the fries when they come out of the fryer to kick them up another notch.

What condiments do you put on your fries.? Take the poll on the right side of this web site to cast your vote. 

Putting Away Shelling Beans for Winter

This past weekend I harvested some shelling beans and put them away for the winter.  This first harvest of beans is a variety called "European Soldier", or more frequently, it is just referred to as "Soldier."  

Soldier beans are a pre-1800's heirloom bean that is creamy white with a distinctive red mark on the side. They can be used in any recipe that calls for dry or canned beans; however this traditional New England variety is often used to make baked beans.  

Growing & Harvesting Shelling Beans

• Plant in the spring about 3 weeks prior to your last frost date.
• Space seeds 3-4 inches apart at a depth of about 1 inch.
• Keep the soil moist but don't over-water.
• Soldier beans mature in about 95 days.  The pods will dry out and turn light brown in color.  You'll know they are properly dry when you can hear them rattle inside the pod when you shake the plant.
• After I remove them from the pod, I store the beans in pint sized canning jars to keep them fresh.

Warm Memories For Cold Winters

Perhaps you know of a children's story about a mouse named Frederick. Unlike the other mice, who work feverishly during the summer putting away stores of food for the winter, Frederick spends his days gathering memories of summer and later uses these memories during the winter to cheer his fellow mice when their food supply has dwindled.  As Frederick explains early in the story, "I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days."  

The moral of the story is that mice, and men, don't just live by bread alone.  However, with a good supply of soldier beans in your pantry, you really get the best of both worlds... food for your winter table and memories of the warmth of summer.  Memories that drive out the cold and bleak of winter when there's little activity in the garden.

How To Can Green Beans

In this posting, I describe how to can green beans using a pressure canner.

We had a bumper crop of green beans and with another crop on the way in a few weeks, I decided to put some away for the Winter. An easy way to preserve green beans is to blanche them in hot water and then freeze them in vacuum seal bags. (For more information about this process, see my posting on freezing and vacuum sealers)

An older method of preserving beans is to can them.  Canning green beans results in a product that tastes very different than freezing. Undoubtedly, the taste of canned green beans is less good than frozen, but they have a retro flavor that brings back memories of my grandmother serving green beans for dinner.  (Grandma didn't can her own, she let Delmonte do it for her)  So each year, I put away some canned beans.

How to Can Green Beans

1. Wash your jars and lids thoroughly and sanitize by simmering them in water till you are ready to use them.  Leave them in the hot water and remove one at a time when ready.
2. Wash and de-tip the beans.
3. Cut the beans into uniform size pieces.
4. Cook the beans in boiling water for five minutes. (Keep the water for step #7)
5. Remove the beans and place them into pint sized jars.
6. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to each pint.
7. Ladle hot water from the pot you used to cook your beans into each jar.  Leaving about 1 inch of head-space.
8. Use a clean spatula to remove any air bubbles in can by sliding the beans around in the jars.
9. Wipe the rim and place the sanitized lid on top, screwing till fingertip tight.
10. Place into a pressure canner that contains 2-3 inches of water.
11. Place the lid on the pressure canner and bring it to the boil.  You should let steam vent for 10 minutes before placing the weight on the vent (Use kitchen tongs so you don't get burned)
12. Process the pint sized jars for 20 minutes.
13. Turn off the heat and allow the canner to return to zero pressure.
14. Remove the jars and let cool before storing.

For more information about pressure canners, see my post Preserving Your Harvest by Canning.

Yoga for Gardeners Class (SF Bay Area)

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and have an interest in learning yoga, Common Ground in Palo Alto, is offering a class that you might want to consider.  The class is taught by Patricia Becker, a certified instructor  who also happens to be the store manager. Common Ground is a non-profit gardening store and educational center that has been teaching folks how to garden for thirty five years.

Yoga for Gardeners was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle. The next session will take place on September 3, 2011 and costs $31.  You can register for it online.

Camomile Ornamental & Edible At the Same Time

If you like chamomile tea, you'll like it better when its made with fresh chamomile flowers.

I focus most of my efforts on growing plants of the edible, rather than ornamental, variety.  That said, chamomile is one item that crosses both categories.  I planted chamomile for my 9 year old daughter as part of her "fairy garden" -- a garden that is designed to attracts fairies but also seems to do a very good job attracting humming birds, butterflies and bees.

Chamomile flowers are small and delicate with a bright yellow center surrounded by pure white petals.  They are quite pretty in the garden and have a wonderful floral aroma.  In traditional medicine, chamomile is used as a sleep aid and to soothe frayed nerves.

Chamomile tea is made from the the tiny, daisy-like flower heads of the plant. Well actually, "tisane" is made from the tiny flowers.  Tisane (pronunced Tiz-zane) is an herbal infusion.  Last year, I was properly schooled on the difference by my loving wife during a car trip back from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Somehow the topic came up, and I mistakenly called something a "tea" only to have my wife haughtily correct me on the matter.  For those that care, true tea is made from the leaves of 0nly one plant -- Cammelia Sinensis.  This is what we normal folks call "tea."  Green tea is made from the dried leaves of the plant.  With black tea, the leaves are first fermented and then dried.  All other infusions are technically tisanes. 

Camomile Tisane

To make a chamomile tisane, just harvest some fresh flowers and pour boiling water over them.  Let them brew for a few minutes and then remove the flowers.  The result is beverage that is significantly better than what you get in bags at the grocery store.  You can add some sugar or honey if you like your tea sweet.  

Chamomile is easy to grow, pretty and makes a nice tea. Oh yea, tisane.  If you like chamomile tea, you'll really enjoy it made from fresh flowers.  By the way, you can also dry these and use them at later date.  Just store them in  air tight jar to keep them fresh.

Chamomile seeds can be purchased from many of the major seed companies.

 

Photo: German Chamomile 

A Bad Year For Tomatoes

In early July, I harvested my first tomato of the season.  While I've been harvesting continuously since that time, the crop this year is pretty meager.  This year, I've been hit by a triple whammy:

• Weather - This has got to be one of the coldest summers on record here in Northern California and tomatoes like heat.  Last week the high temperature one day was 69 degrees Fahrenheit and not a single day during the week crossed beyond 74.  In fact, high temperatures for most of the month have been in the low to mid 70's and at night the temperature has dipped into the 40's. 
• Aphids - These are typically a problem for me, but this year its been worse then ever.  I attempted to kill them with diatomaceous earth.  Frankly, I found this to be totally ineffective.  By the time I decided to switch back to insecticidal soap, the damage was done.  (In case your wondering, diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring rock that is ground into an abrasive powder. When dusted on plants, the sharp, abrassive edges of the particles are supposed to kill soft bodies insects.)
• Fusarium Wilt - caused by several types of fungi, this disease causes the leaves to wilt and eventually kills the plant.  I typically grow many of my tomatoes hydroponically, so once the fungi got into the system it effected every plant.  There's no cure and I'll have to try to sterilize my Autopots to get rid of the fungi. 
  

I expect to get enough fresh tomatoes for the season but there will not be much surplus to can.  This is sad since our family looks forward to using our canned tomatoes in recipes in the dead of Winter when we all need to be reminded of Summer.

Photo: Tomato Wilt

Well, there's always next year.

Flint Corn & Grain Mills Used To Grind Corn, Wheat & Other Grains

In this posting, I'll show some photos of my sweet corn and flint corn and let you know a little about your options to grind flint corn into corn meal.

In a posting last month, Not All Corn is Sweet Corn, I described the types of corn you can grow in your garden (sweet, dent, and flint) and provided basic growing information.  This is my first year growing Flint corn and I'm very pleased with it's progress. 

As the old saying goes, corn should be "knee high by the fourth of July" and mine was.  However, it is now over 9 feet high and I can see tassels forming on the immature ears.  If all goes according to plan, I'll harvest the flint corn at the end of August or early September.

Flint corn is a variety of low sugar corn that is used to make corn bread, polenta and tortillas.  It is left to dry in the field and then ground into meal.

Photo: Old fashioned grist mill located in Sweden

Options To Grind Corn Into Meal

I've been exploring my options for grinding corn and other grains such as wheat, oats and rye and want to let you know what I've learned about the subject.  Here are the main types of grain mills on the market:

Hand Grain Grinders - Hand grain grinders can be less expensive than those that run on electricity and they probably are more durable.  However, it can take 5 minutes to grind just two cups of grain and you'll get a workout in the process.  If you live off the power grid, a hand grinder is your only choice, but for the rest of us, electric is the way to go.  There are three types of grain mills on the market but hand grinders only come in stone and burr varieties. (see below) Manual power does not provide enough speed to drive impact mills.

Electric Grinders - There are several types of electric grinders on the market:

• Stone - This works just like old fashioned water driven grist mills. The grain is ground between two heavy stones.  The bottom stone has grooves in it that become shallower as they radiate from the center of the stone to the outer edge.  When grain is dropped into the mill, it falls into the channels and the rotating top stone progressively grinds the grain into smaller particles as it moves through the narrowing grooves towards the outer edge of the stone. 
  

 

Photo: stone grinding wheels

Stone grain mills are probably the best on the market.  If you plan on grinding lots of grain (from your garden or purchased whole from a health foods store) it's probably worth investing in a stone mill.  A brand that has a good reputation is the Hawo manufactured by Tribest.  There are several models and they cost $400-$600. 

• Burr - work like stone mills but use metal plates instead of stone to do the grinding.  They generally don't grind as finely as stone but they can be a bit little less expensive. 
  

A brand called the Family Grain Mill is made in Germany and has a good reputation.  It is sold as a hand operated device for about $140, but you can add a motorized base if you want to upgrade.  The electric base will set you back another $280.  The Family Grain Mill is probably a good option for those that don't want to invest too much before knowing whether they want to do much grinding.  Go with the manual version and then add the electric base later on. 

• Impact - With impact mills, the grain is pulverized by two metal wheels that have interleaved sets of raised metal plates. There is a small space between the plates and the grain is ground by passing it through these small spaces at very high speed. 
  

Photo: Impact grain mill "stones"

Impact grinders are noisy but they are the least expensive motorized grinders on the market.  They can be purchased for $170-$250 dollars. Nutrimill is a well known brand

Fo Kitchen Aid Mixer Owners

If you have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, you probably know the company sells a variety of attachments such as a pasta cutter, vegetable shredder and meat grinder.  In addition, Kitchen Aid sell a burr-style grain mill attachment that gets decent reviews and costs about $140.  If you already own a Kitchen Aid mixer and don't know if you are going to be grinding much grain, this is probably an excellent way to get started.  Note: Be sure to buy the right attachment for your model of Kitchen Aid mixer.

Since our family owns a stand mixer, this is what we plan to do.  If we find ourselves grinding more grain (homegrown or store bought) we always have the option to upgrade to one of the more expensive stone models and sell the used Kitchen Aid attachment on eBay.

An immature ear of Longfellow corn

Stupice: Early Seaon Tomato Review

Last week, we got our first tomato of the season.  A new variety for me this year, Stupice (pronounced stew-peach-ka) is an early season, heirloom, variety from Czechoslovakia.

Stupice grows relatively small (2-3 inch) red tomatoes on compact plants with potato leaf style foliage.  I'm growing my Stupice plants in containers in my greenhouse;  the extra protection and warmth of the greenhouse really was a benefit this year as cold and rainy weather have slowed growth of my other tomatoes planted outside.  The protection of the greenhouse allowed me to harvest the first Stupice tomato in just 60 days.

Stupice replaces another early season tomato that I grew last year called Oregon Spring.  The latter variety produced very good yields and also produced the first tomato in about 60 days.  However, I found the taste of Oregon Spring rather disappointing.  Truthfully, I didn't think it was much better than a tomato from the supermarket.  Stupice's flavor was better but, to be totally truthful, it was not an awesome tomato.

I'll provide an update later in the season when I have more information about the yield of this variety.  But based on the first tomato, Stupice is probably going to be on my list next year as an acceptable early season tomato.

Oatmeal from Groats

In April, I posted about my experience growing hulless oats.  I planted oats in a small area of my suburban garden to see if I could successfully overwinter them and also to get a feel for the process of growing grain in a backyard garden.  In this posting, I describe the process of harvesting, threshing and winnowing the grain.  I also share some a tip about how to cook it.

So What Are Groats

When oats are first harvested, they have hulls covering the inner seed.  With these hulls on, oats are called "whole oats."  Once the hulls have been removed, the oats look very similar to rice grains.  In this stage, they are called "groats."   Groats can be eaten as is, or further processed as follows:

• Steel-Cut oats - have been processed by slicing the groats into smaller chunks.    If you've ever had McCann's Irish Oatmeal, these are steel-cut oats. Quaker Oats also sells steel cut oats, but I've never seen these in my local grocery store.
• Rolled oats - This is what most people call oatmeal.  The groats are first steamed and then run through metal rollers to flatten them out.  Quaker Old Fashioned oatmeal is rolled oats.
• Oat Flour - Oats can also be made into flour by grinding the groats into a fine powder.

Harvesting Oats

When the oats have turned a golden color in the field, it's time to test to determine if they are ready for harvest.  You do this by hulling a few seed heads and then pinching the seed.  If it produces a milky white liquid, the oats are not ready to harvest.  If the oat is soft and doughy, then the you're ready to cut and harvest and dry your oats.

I harvested using a hand scythe.  For a small suburban plot, a hand scythe works just fine.  Alternatively, you can use an electric weed trimmer.  Whatever implement you use, once cut, bundle the oats together with some twine and store in a dry place for a few weeks.  This process drives additional moisture from the grain. 

Threshing and Winnowing

Threshing is the process of removing the grain from the seed head and the chaff (stalk).  There are many ways to do this.  Since I had a very small amount of grain to process, I just stripped the seed heads from the chaff by hand and then rubbed the grain together in a pillow case to remove the hull from the grain.  (I placed the seed heads in the pillow case and rubbed the outside until the hulls fell from the seed.)

For larger quantities, the traditional way of removing the hulls is to use a flail to beat the hull from the grain.  A flail is a three foot long piece of wood attached to a two foot long piece of wood by a metal chain or leather thong.  A plastic baseball bat can also be used.

Once the grain has been threshed, you need to separate the seeds from the hulls and stalks. This process is called winnowing.  The idea is to blow away the chaff and hulls from the grain.  I did this using an electric fan and a plastic serving tray. 

To do this, turn on the electric fan and drop some of the threshed grain in front of the blowing fan.  Since the chaff and hulls are light, they will blow away and the the heavier seeds will fall down into a tray beneath the fan (see below illustration from book Home Grown Whole Grains)  I winnowed further by shaking the tray in front of the fan in a process that resembles panning for gold.  At the end of the process, all that's left in the tray was groats.

Storing Oats

Once removed from the hull, oats will go bad in four or five days unless you do something to stabilize them (oil in the grain goes rancid).  Commercial grain sellers put the grain into a kiln, or hot oven, but the easiest storage technique for home growers is to put grain into a plastic bag and store it in the freezer.

Photo: Raw Groats

 Cooking Oats

As mentioned above, you can process oats further, but we decided to just cook the groats as is.  You can cook groats in a pot on the stove but we used an electric rice cooker to do the job.  Just place an equal amount of groats and water into the rice cooker and turn it on.  The rice cooker does all the work and in about an hour we had delicious cooked groats. 

Photo: Rice cooker

My daughter had the groats with Cinnamon and sugar.  My son had them with maple syrup and apples and my wife had them as a savory breakfast by topping with a little butter, salt and pepper.  Oats cooked this way were a total winner; everyone loved eating them versus traditional rolled oat oatmeal.  Groats have a much nuttier flavor and are far more tooth-sum - no mushy oatmeal texture.

If you have access to a health foods store, you can probably buy groats and try them before attempting to grow your own. 

Best wishes to all my readers on Independence Day.

Photo: cooked groats

Not All Corn Is Sweet Corn

Every year I grow sweet corn in my garden.  However, this year, I'm also growing a variety of corn that is not meant to be eaten fresh and is not sweet at all.  In this posting, I'll discuss different types of corn that can be grown in the home garden.

Let's face it, homegrown tomatoes and sweet corn are the reason most of us get started in vegetable gardening.   Each year, I grow a variety of sweet corn called Silver Queen.  It's a very popular regional variety that was grown extensively in the mid-Atlantic states.  I won't go into detail about this variety since it is well known.  However, I grow it both for its wonderful flavor and for sentimental reasons. 

My first taste of homegrown sweetcorn was as a teenager.  My father and I visited his friend and fishing buddy Tom Cofield, at his home in Maryland.  Tom and his wife prepared Silver Queen as part of the meal and I probably ate 4 ears that night, forcing the Cofields back into the kitchen to make another batch.  In addition to being a very nice guy, Tom was Outdoor Editor for the Baltimore News, an avid fisherman and hunter, and, with Lefty Krey, co-developer of the "Deceiver," a classic salt water fly lure.  Thanks Tom for introducing me to this wonderful variety.

Not All Corn Is Sweet Corn

While most gardeners grow sweet corn (Zea Saccharata) like Silver Queen, it's also possible to grow other types that are higher in starch and lower in sugar.  These varieties of corn have a sugar content of about 4% versus sweet corn that has a sugar content of about 10%.  Starchy corn varieties are used for making corn meal that goes into dishes such as tortillas, tamales, polenta, and hominy grits.  Actually, there are three types of high starch corn:

1. Flint Corn (Zea Mays Indurata) - has a very hard outer layer and very low moisture content.  It is sometimes referred to as calico corn or India corn and comes in a variety of colors including yellow, red, orange and blue/purple.  Flint corn dates back thousands of years and was the corn eaten by the first colonists at Plymouth Massachusetts.  These first settlers adapted corn to traditional english recipes, replacing oats with corn for porridge or wheat in pancakes.  Corn eaten in this fashion was probably part of the first Thanksgiving meal.
2. Dent Corn (Zea Mays Indentata) - is softer than flint corn and each kernel has a small indentation on the top of the kernel from which it gets its name. (see photo below) Dent corn is generally white or yellow but is used in the same way as flint corn - ground into flour for use in pancakes, bread, etc. 
   
3. Popcorn (Zea Mays Everta) - popcorn is an extreme form of flint corn with a soft starchy center and a very hard exterior.  When the kernel is heated, moisture inside builds up pressure until the kernel explodes.

Photo: Flint corn from Slow Food USA web site.

Photo: From Seeds of Change web site showing SOC Oaxacan Green corn clearly showing the "dent" on the top of the kernel.

Longfellow Flint Corn 

Flint and dent corn can be purchased from a variety of suppliers including Johnny's Selected Seeds, Seeds of Change, Sand Hill Preservation, and Victory Seed.  Varieties of dent corn include: Bloody Butcher, Silver King, Hickory King, and flint corn: Blue Hopi, Dakota White, and Apache.

I'm growing a variety of flint corn called Longfellow.  This variety has golden-orange kernels on a cob that is about 12 inches in length.  It is an heirloom variety from New England and grows to 8 feet in height in approximately 110 days.  Sadly, this venerable old flint corn variety is disappearing rapidly (It's on Slow Foods list of 1,000 unique American seeds, fruits, nuts, livestock and game that are threatened)  I purchased Longfellow seeds 2 years ago from Baker Creek but they no longer offer this variety.  Sand Hill Preservation will also occasionally have it for sale. 

 

Photo: From the Living Crop Museum web site, Wilmington College of Ohio

Growing & Harvesting:

Flint & dent corns are grown just like sweet corn:

•  Sow directly into the garden when the weather has warmed up and there is no danger of frost. (soil temperature over 60 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Plant in blocks to ensure good pollination.  Plant seeds about 1 inch deep and 15 inches apart or every 7 inches apart in rows spaced every 30 inches.
• Corn requires lots of nitrogen, so apply compost prior to sowing.
• Allow corn to dry in the field for several frosts prior to harvesting.  Then husk and leave in a covered area to complete drying.
• Once dried, the corn can be ground using a hand turned grain mill ($70 and up) or grain attachment for your Kitchen Aid mixer ($130).
  

Container Gardening: Container Size and Soil Quantity

In this posting, I provide a table which tells you the approximate amount of soil you need to fill a pot or container of a given number of inches in diameter.  I also provide the metric equivalents -- centimeters and liters.

If you grow your vegetables, fruit trees and herbs in pots you know it can sometimes be a challenge to figure out how much soil you need to fill a pot of a given size.  I pulled together a chart to provide the amount of soil required for pots of a given diameter as a resource for myself and my readers.  Please note that pots vary in shape and degree to which they taper, so the below table provides approximate amounts.

In my next posting, I'll provide information about the size of container required to plant a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Growing Sugarcane in the Backyard

 

In this post, I hatch another crazy gardening idea to grow sugarcane in my backyard.

As regular readers will know, crazy urban farming ideas are nothing new to PlanterTomato.  Some of the maddest include growing vegetables hydroponically on the roof of the house (Fiddler on the Roof), growing weeds to eat in salad (Eatin' Weeds), curing bacon at home (Bacon Proof of the Existence of God), and planting oats in the suburbs to overwinter (Oats on the Way).  Well here's one more to add to the list.... growing sugar cane in my backyard.

Sugarcane is a perrenial grass that is a member of the Saccharum family.  It grows primarily in the tropics, with the highest commercial production occuring in places such as Brazil, India, and South East Asia.  It is also grown in the Southern U.S. in places like Florida and Louisiana.

Photo: Sugarcane in India

Commercially, sugarcane is grown to make sugar, molasses, rum, and nowadays, ethanol.  In Asia and in Mexico, sugar cane is simply cut and chewed or juiced to make a sweet drink.  My experience with sugarcane comes from ethnic markets where the cane is sold for juicing or for use in certain recipes. (Check out Bobby Flay's recipe for Shrimp on Sugarcane with Rum Glaze) 

Growing Sugarcane

Although sugarcane thrives in hot, wet climates, it apparently can also be grown in warm temperate zones.  Some varieties can survive down to Zone 6, but most require Zone 8 or higher.  Sugarcane is a complex hybrid, the seeds of which will not produce a plant that is not identical to it's parent.  As a result, sugarcane is propogated by planting a section of the stem -- new cane will grow from the buds that lie along the stem.

Sugarcane requires full sun and lots of water.  It will grow to a height of 6-12 feet and about 2 inches in diameter.  It generally takes 1 year to mature but may take up to two years depending on growing conditions.

Sugarcane is perennial which will sprout new canes ones those above the ground have been harvested.  As a result, sugarcane will produce for many years.  In the Southern U.S., sugarcane is planted between August and March.  I'm going to try to find some cane at a local Asian or Hispanic market over the course of the next few months and give it a try.  It may also be possible to buy sugarcane stems from a nursery that specialized in tropical plants.

By the way, sugarcane leaves are extremely sharp, so wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants when harvesting.

To be continued.....

Great Outdoor Gifts for Father's Day 2011

If you're looking for gift ideas for your backyard loving dad, you've come to the right place.  Here are my picks for 2011. 

 

The Best BBQ Grill In the World

Really! The Big Green Egg is a ceramic BBQ grill and smoker in one.  It's modelled off of a Japanese design called a komado, Japanese wood grill.  The ceramic acts like a kiln used to fire clay pots so the big green egg can generate temperatures in excess of 600 degrees Fahrenheit if you want cook steaks super fast.  It also is capable of cooking very evenly, so you can make amazing ribs by cooking them for a long period of time at a low temperature (200 degrees Fahrenheit).  The Big Green Egg uses wood based charcoal and you can add hickory, alder, cherry, pecan or whatever other wood chips to enhance the flavor.  I use my Big Green Egg to smoke bacon and have even smoked a turkey for Thanksgiving.  I love this grill!  To find a local distributor, go to the Big Green Egg web site.

BBQ Grill Tools

While your at it, why not pick up some snazzy looking tools so dad can cook in style.  Walmart has lots of nice sets like the one below at good prices.  The Mr Bar-B-Q set costs just $27.00.

A King Sized Hammock

After a day gardening Dad deserves a bit of a break. Here's a really nice way to relax.  All you need now is a big cold glass of iced tea.  This jumbo sized hammock measures 82" x 65" and is $199 from Sharper Image.

 A Power Washer

Sometimes a tool that saves you time and effort is a great gift.  This power washer is made by Briggs and Stratton is just such an item.  More pricey than those available at the local hardware store, it will last a lifetime.  An example of why buying quality items is less expensive in the long run.  $299 from Tractor Supply.

Horsehoe Set

Ok, this is on my personal wish list.  It's good for family fun or for when dad wants to get together with friends over a few beers.  A good grade horseshoe set like the one below is $40.  The one in the mahogany boxed set is $70 and is approved for professional and tournament play by the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association.  Wow, who knew there was a national association! You can get both sets at Walmart.com (They are not sold in stores).

 A Swiss Army Pocket Knife

This small knife can fit on a key chain and is very convenient.  Made in Switzerland, it is available from SwissOutpost for $35.

Have  a great Father's Day!

How to Harvest, Store And Pickle Garlic

In this posting, I'll describe when to harvest garlic and the easiest, and perhaps the best, way to store it. 

In the Fall of last year, I planted two varieties of garlic:  Inchelium Red a large, medium strength, soft-neck garlic than can store up to 6 months and Purple Glazer, a medium strength, hard-neck garlic that keeps up to 8 months.  This week, I harvested them and placed them into my garage to store.

Harvesting Garlic

Knowing when to harvest garlic is not easy.  It's generally recommended that garlic is ready to harvest when the leaves begin to die back.  This is a good first indicator, but you also want to make sure the bulbs are fully developed.  One way to tell is to scrape dirt away from one of the garlic plants and touch the bulb with your fingers to see if you can feel individual cloves.  If so, the garlic is ready to come out of the ground.

Storing Garlic

Garlic can be stored by chopping it up and freezing it in ice cube trays, drying the individual bulbs, or fresh pickling in vinegar for storage in the refrigerator.  Storing garlic in oil to preserve the bulbs or make infused oils is an attractive sounding idea.  Unfortunately, it is not a safe storage technique and can lead to botulism. 

The easiest method in my opinion is to just store the bulbs in a dry environment at room temperature.  Garlic preserved in this way can last many months, but it does vary considerably by variety.  I specifically choose garlic varieties with both long-storage capabilities and medium strength flavor profiles.

After removing from the ground, I just brush off the bulbs and place them in my garage at room temperature to cure. (Don't cut off the leaves or roots as garlic stores better this way)  During this period the leaves will turn brown and the bulbs begin to dry.  Curing generally takes about 3 weeks.   After that point you can braid the garlic if you like but I don't bother.  I use some string and tie together several heads by putting a knot around the dried stems.  Garlic stored in a cool dry spot can keep many months.

Another approach is to quick pickle garlic and store it in the refrigerator.  Unlike canning that uses heat to preserve food, quick pickling uses ingredients such as salt, sugar and especially vinegar to keep food fresh.  It's primarily the acid in the vinegar that does the trick, so follow the proportions of the recipe carefully;  you want to keep the ratio of vinegar to garlic at the right level to maintain safe preservation.  Once pickled in this way, garlic will last months in the refrigerator.  By the way, you don't want to use traditional canning techniques to pickle garlic, the heat involved severely degrades the taste.

If you would like to try pickling garlic, here's a simple recipe from AllRecipes.com. 

Some Good Garlic Varieties

Garlic can vary dramatically in flavor and storage capability.  Some garlic will have a mild flavor, others can be almost white hot.  Likewise, there are some varieties that are better for storage.  Perhaps the best approach is to choose one long-storage variety and one that has a flavor profile that you really like.  That way you get the best of both worlds.

Mild Flavored: Siberian, Purple Italian, Rogue River, Belarus.

Medium Flavored: Inchelium Red, Purple Glazer, Chesnok Red, Georgian Crystal.

Strong Flavored: Leningrad, Lorz Italian, Ajo Roja,Georgian Fire, Music, Kilarney Red, Polish Hardneck

Long Storage: Burgandy, Creole Red, Locati, Nootka Rose, Rose du Var.

Ultra-Breeze: A Better Bee Suit

In this posting, I review the Ultra-Breeze Bee suit.

I've been using a standard jacket and veil to protect myself during hive inspections.  In general, it has worked well for me, but the jacket can gap in the back, particularly if I bend down to place a hive box on the ground.  A few weeks ago, just such a gap occurred and a bee got under the suit and gave me nice sting.  At that point, I decided to move from a jacket to a full suit.

In candor, I probably could have gotten a standard bee suit from Brushy Mountain, Mann Lake or other supplier, but I decided to buy a better grade suit from Ultra-Breeze.  I had learned about the Ultra-Breeze some time ago from a posting on the Beemaster.com Forum, but was not able to purchase one because they were back ordered.  This time I was more fortunate and my new bee suit arrived last week.

Ultra-Breeze Construction

The Ultra Breeze suit is quite different than other suits on the market.  It offers greater protection from stings and also much better ventilation.  These advantages derive from the Ultra-Breeze's unique construction.  The suit is made from three layers of fabric.  The outer and inner layers are made of a fine fishnet material.  Sandwiched between these two layers is a single layer of spongy plastic mesh.  This inner layer serves to increases the overall thickness of the bee suit to about 1/4 inch.  The thickness of the suit keeps bees well above your skin so there's less chance of a successful sting. However, the suits is made of porous materials so it provides a high degree of ventilation (see detail photo below)

If you are particularly concerned about stings -- perhaps you have lots of hives or have to deal with Africanized bees -- or, if you live in a climate that gets very hot in the summer, the Ultra-Breeze is really worth considering.  However, buyers should consider placing their orders well in advance of the season.  The Ultra-Breeze appears to be hand-manufactured in Oklahoma by a small family business.  They make a limited number of suits and can get back-ordered. 

Photo: My son assisting me dressed in a full bee suit.  Sadly, the Ultra-Breeze does not come in kid sizes.

Purchasing

Full Ultra-Breeze suits cost $259 and jackets are $163.  You can purchase them directly from the Ultra-Breeze web site.

Phot0: Ultra-Breeze Bee Suit

Ducks or Chickens: Which Have Better Eggs

In this posting, I explain the differences between duck and chicken eggs and make recommendations for those considering adding both types of poultry to their backyard farms.

Last weekend my family visited a friend who also is doing urban farming here in Northern California.  We brought her a few pounds of our honey and exchanged it for fresh cheese she makes from the milk produced by several goats she keeps in her backyard.  We got a tour of her farm and during the tour I asked her about the two ducks she also is rearing.

My friend keeps "Indian Runner Ducks" a breed that walk more upright than standard duck varieties and can outproduce chickens when it comes to eggs.  I mentioned that I was thinking of adding ducks to our menagerie so she sent us home with a few duck eggs to try.  For those interested, here's how chicken and duck eggs compare to each other...

Size:

As you can see in the photo below, duck eggs are larger than even jumbo sized chicken eggs.  The duck egg on the left weighs over 3.0 ounces, the chicken eggs weigh 1.75 and 2.25 ounces respectively.

Yolks:

The difference is more dramatic when you crack the eggs.  Duck eggs have a much larger yolk and the ratio of yolk to white is also lower than in chicken eggs. (See below photo with duck egg on left and chicken egg on right)  This impacts the texture and flavor of the eggs in certain dishes as I will explain below.

Taste:

In my opinion, taste differences between chicken and duck eggs are slight.  I doubt most people would taste a difference if you didn't tell them they were eating duck eggs.  However, the larger yolk size may be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on how you like to eat your eggs.

Fried Eggs - I don't like eating runny egg yolks, so when I fry eggs, I cook them on both sides until the yolk is solid.  This is easy to do with chicken eggs, but the larger size of duck eggs makes cooking them this way difficult.  To get the center of the yolk firm takes longer and this means the white may move from crisp to burnt.  If you like to fry eggs so the yolk is hard, chicken eggs are better.  If you love runny eggs, duck eggs may be more to your taste.

Scrambled Eggs - The larger yolk in duck eggs leads to a richer tasting scrambled egg with a more soft mouth feel.  In a scrambled eggs, I prefer duck eggs.

Hard Boiled Eggs -  In my opinion, this is probably the preparation where the difference between duck eggs and chicken eggs is most pronounced.  Boiled egg whites have a very hard mouth feel.  In chicken eggs, the ratio of white to yolk is fairly high so the overall texture is harder.  In contrast, duck eggs feel softer in the mouth and the increased amount of yolk leads to a richer creamier flavor.  

Recommendations:

If you are thinking of keeping either chickens or ducks, don't let flavor of the eggs be a deciding factor.  Differences exist to be sure, but they are not game changers. 

If you eat primarily fried eggs, I think most people will prefer chicken to duck eggs, particularly if you're the type that likes fried eggs cooked hard.   If you are a hard boiled egg lover, then duck eggs are superior.  If you eat all styles of eggs, then go with chicken eggs for no other reason than the portion size is smaller.

One more thing... If you are on a cholesterol reduced diet, you probably can guess that chicken eggs are a better choice; one chicken egg has about 200 milligrams of cholesterol while a duck egg will have over 600 milligrams. Ouch!

Artichokes: How To Grow Them And Two Recipes

In this posting I'll give you information on how to grow artichokes and provide you with a recipe I learned in Rome.

Artichokes

Artichokes are a perennial plant that are a member of the thistle family.  These flowering plants are characterized by prickly leaves and, in some varieties, prickles on the stem as well.  Although thistles can be quite pretty, they are often considered weeds because of the nastiness of those sharp prickles.

On the other hand, artichokes are a thistle you can love.  Originally grown in North Africa, Artichokes spread throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times and made there way to America during the colonial period. Thomas Jefferson is known to have grown them on his estate in Virginia as early as 1767.  Today, almost all artichokes produced in the U.S. are grown in California in an area centered around Castroville in Monterey County, just 90 miles south of my home.

Growing Artichokes

Artichokes are hardy from zone 7 and higher so they can be grown as perennials in the south and along the coast of California.  If you live in a colder region you can grow them as an annual but you'll need to grow a variety that can mature in one year such as Imperial Star (95 days to maturity).  Other common varieties like Globe require 180 days so this is only for those gardeners in warmer climates.

I was able to purchase my artichokes as a potted plants at my local garden center.  I don't know how widely available this vegetable is as a plant.  However, Artichokes can be grown from seeds and are available from Burpee, Cooks Garden, and other seed providers.

Here are growing instructions from the Burpee web site:

Wrap artichoke seeds in a damp towel and store in the refrigerator for two weeks before sowing, then plant 1/4" deep in individual pots 6-8 weeks before last expected frost. Grow in a sunny spot or under plant lights. Keep moist. Set artichoke plants out in the garden after the danger of hard frost is past. Mulch deeply to keep the soil as cool as possible. In hot areas, afternoon shade is helpful. Artichoke and Cardoon both prefer deep, fertile, well-drained soil.

Artichokes grow four feet high and occupy a similar diameter.  I found them very easy to grow.  Planted last year, my Globe artichokes went from a small plant in a 6 inch pot to almost full size in one year.  I did not get a harvest of artichokes the first year, but they are producing this year and I harvested one this last week end.

Harvesting is easy, just cut the stem about two inches below the flower.

Steamed Artichokes

Normally, we steam artichokes and then dip the bottoms of the leaves in melted butter and lemon.  Preparing artichokes in this fashion is very easy. 

• Cut the stem and the top off the artichoke with a heavy chef's knife.
•  Trim off a few layers of the bottom leaves that are normally too tough to eat.
•  Place the artichokes into a pot bottom side up and fill the pot with with 1 quart of water.
• Simmer for about 30 minutes till a knife inserted into the heart of the choke passes through with no resistance.
• If you want to speed this process up, rather than steaming the artichokes, you can cook them in a covered bowl in your microwave for about 12 minutes.
• Then just serve with melted butter and lemon

Carciofi Alla Guidia (Fried Artichokes Roman/Jewish Style)

This is also a very simple recipe, but you need to harvest the artichokes when they are small.  The recipe dates back to the time of imperial Rome.  My wife and I ate these on our first trip to that city many years ago and so this dish brings back fond memories.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 small artichokes (Get ones with stems that are 2 inches or more)
  
• 2.5 cups cooking grade olive oil
• 3 lemons
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

• Trim the outer leaves of the artichokes with scissor so that you remove the top portion of the leaf that has the prickle.
• Using a peeler, remove the woody outer layer from the stem.
• After you peel the artichokes, place them in a bowl of cool acidulated water (water with juice of 2 lemon in it) This will keep the stems from turning brown.
• Let sit for 1 hour
• Remove and drain well.
• Flatten artichokes so that the leaves flatten out and look like a flower.
• Put artichokes into a pan of olive oil stem upwards and cook over a medium heat.
•  Turn the artichokes periodically so they cook evenly, including the stem. (check using a knife.  It should penetrate the heart without resistance)
  
• Cook for an additional 10 minutes pressing the flower side of the artichoke into the bottom of the pan with tongs or a spoon to flatten them out.
• Remove and drain.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Below a 1 pound 11 ounce artichoke from my garden.

How To Build Tomato Cages

If you have a few tomato plants in the ground already, you should probably start thinking about how to support all the lovely tomatoes you are expecting to harvest in a few months.  Sadly, good quality tomato cages purchased from a garden center tend to be pricey - as much as $30 per unit.  However, you can build an excellent tomato cage for about $10 and it's not hard to do. 

To learn how to build a great tomato cage, check out my prior post - How To Build Tomato Cages:  Big, Sturdy & Cheap.

Or you can listen to the Podcast version of  the same posting: How To Build Tomato Cages Podcast.

Happy Mother's Day 2011

PlanterTomato wishes all moms a happy Mother's Day!

Apples In Bloom: Tips for New Fruit Tree Growers

Over the last few weeks, the apple trees I purchased in January, 2010 began blooming.  I'm a newbie when it comes fruit trees and made a number of mistakes.  In this posting, I'll let you know the mistakes to avoid, guidelines on growing apples and tips on how to select apple and other fruit trees for your garden.

How To Mess Up Your Apple Orchard

In late 2009, I decided to add apples and other fruit to my garden.  So I cruised the internet searching for advice on the best apples using Google and search terms such as "Best heirloom apples," "Best tasting apples," "Top apple varieties" etc.  The search yielded plenty of exotic apple varieties of which I had never heard.  The descriptions were incredibly tantalizing; for example here's a description of the Spitzenburg apple taken from the Trees of Antiquity web site:

Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple. Un-excelled in flavor or quality, the fruit is great off the tree, but flavor radically improves in storage. Medium apple with crisp, yellow skin covered with inconspicuous red stripes and russet freckles. Flesh is tinged yellow, firm, aromatic, and complex in flavor; a perfect balance between sharp and sweet.

The internet research opened up a whole world of apples of which I was completely ignorant and I went on an apple buying binge, ordering a variety of sweet dessert apples and and ones that are either sharp or bitter-sharp tasting that are used for making cider.

As it turns out, most of the apples I purchased are heirloom varieties with English or French origins.  The varieties I wanted were grafted onto root stock that would make them semi-dwarf trees.  I reasoned that placing them in pots would further stunt their growth, making them easier to maintain in a home garden and they would probably yield more fruit than the patio sized trees you typically see pictured in pots.

When the fruit trees arrived in January of 2010,  I planted them in 25 gallon smart pots. These are fabric pots that drain well, keep roots cooler than traditional clay pots, and allow more oxygen to circulate into the soil.  Smart pots can be purchased in a variety of sizes.  I started my bare root trees in 25 gallon pots and moved them up to 35 gallon pots this spring before they went into bloom.

So Where's the Problem?

Only after my initial burst of enthusiasm and tree ordering binge did I do more detailed research on creating a home apple orchard.  And there was a nasty surprise waiting for me....There's an old saying among carpenters - Measure twice and cut once.  Well I should have done a little more "measuring" before I ordered my trees.  Here are the issues:   

Chill Hours:  Apple tree varieties have specific "chill hour" requirements -- the number of hours each year when the temperature is below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Trees that don't get the proper number of chill hours don't have enough of a dormant period to produce fruit. Some apple varieties such as "Anna" have minimal (200 hours) chill hour requirements, while others such as "Northern Spy" require more than 1,000 chill hours.  Most of the trees that I purchased (Ashmead's Kernel, Cox's Orange Pippin, Orlean Reinette, etc.) have high chill hour requirements. (+800 hours)

Problem #1: I barely have the proper chill hours to grow the high chill hour apple trees that I purchased.   I would have been better off selecting apples with far fewer chill hours - 200-600. 

Root Stock:  Fruit trees are sold on a variety of root stocks that effect their growth habit.  You can buy standard sized trees, dwarf, semi-dwarf and ultra dwarf varieties.  Ultra dwarf trees grow to about 6 feet high and can produce 30-40 apples, Dwarf and semi-dwarf trees grow between 8 and 18 feet in height respectively and produce about 3-4 bushels of fruit.  Standard sized trees grow to 25 feet and can produce 20 bushels.  The terminology is not really standardized and made more complex by the fact that there are many different root stock and scion (fruit bearing part of the graft) combinations that yield different sized trees.  I've even seen some some trees referred to as "semi standard," where the writer described a tree size category that fits between dwarf and standard.  The bottom line is that you need to be careful about what you purchasing.  When I placed my apple tree order I was under the impression that I was buying trees that would grow to about 8 feet in height.  The reality is that semi-dwarf treed under normal conditions should grow to 12 feet or higher.

Problem #2:  The trees I purchased are grown on a semi-dwarf root stock called M111.  In the ground, apple trees on this rootstock normally will grow 12-15 feet in height.  I really should have purchased trees on a dwarf root stock or ultra dwarf root stock.  It's difficult to asses what the height and yield of my trees, but I fear a double whammy - trees too big yielding paltry amounts of fruit.

The bottom line -- it is really difficult to predict whether the trees I planted  in pots will be decent producers of fruit.  There are just too many variables -- varieties with too little chill hours, offset by a maritime climate in Northern California that has very cool nights, semi-dwarf trees that are technically too large to be put in pots, offset against the use of unusual pots that are supposed to provide better oxygenation of the soil and drainage. 

Results So Far

After a rainy cool winter the weather has finally turned.  My apple trees did bloom this year and I can tell that some have set fruit.  The variety that bloomed first and most profusely for me is Cox's Orange Pippin (see photo of immature fruit set on my tree).  Cox's Orange Pippin is reputed to produce one of the best desert apples available.  It is also known to be very difficult to grow, even for experienced orchardists.  Yet this is my best tree so far. Go figure.  Over the next few years, the trees will come into maturity and I'll know whether my first foray into fruit trees will truly be a success or a bust.

Recommendations for Newbie Fruit Growers

• Planning:  Buy a book or do internet research on fruit trees before you purchase.  Learn which root stock are used to make dwarf varieties.  If you are growing other types of fruit you should also determine whether these trees need pollinators and the timing of their bloom.  For example, most cherry trees need to be pollinated by another cherry variety.  That means you'll need to purchase two trees that bloom at the same time in order to get a crop of cherries. (For example, Bing cherries are often pollinated by a variety called Ranier)
•  Chill Hours:  Chill hour requirements exist for apples and many other types of fruit; just do your home work before you buy.  Do a Google search for the name of your community plus "chill hours."  Alternatively, seek guidance from your local garden center or a master gardener, or agricultural extension agent in your area.  Incidentally, there is some disagreement among experts as to how to best measure chill hours, the tolerance of various fruit trees to warmer conditions, and whether published data on chill hours is out dated due to the influence of global warming. Because of all this uncertainty, I would recommend that you select varieties that have chill hour requirements that are are at least 200 hours less than the published chill hour statistic for your local community.
• Tree Height:  In my opinion, the terms used to describe tree height in nursery and gardening catalogs are confusing and not terribly helpful.  In some catalogs a "dwarf" tree is an ultra dwarf patio plant while in others it could mean 25-35% of the height of a standard tree.  The ultimate size of the tree depends both on the root stock and the variety that is grafted to it.  In my opinion, it would be better for suppliers to specify the height range for each tree in their catalog.  Since they don't, check out this tree height calculator at OrangePippin.com.  Just enter the root stock (this is usually mentioned in nursery catalogs), variety vigor (available at OrangePippin.com) and your soil quality (take a guess or play around with various combinations to see how it impacts the size of your tree). The calculator will estimate the height of your mature tree.  Even if you have lots of space, you may want to limit your purchases to dwarf or ultra dwarf trees.  Their smaller size makes harvesting fruity much easier.

I welcome comments from experience fruit tree growers. 

Photo of Cox's Orange Pippin

Oats on the Way: An Experiment Growing Grain In Suburbia

In the fall of last year, I planted a small amount of oats as an experiment to see if I could overwinter them.  As the days have gotten longer, the oats are now shooting up.  In this posting, I'll let you know a little bit about timing a grain harvest.

I've never grown grain other than corn until this past year, so I've been watching the progress of my first crop with great enthusiasm.  Because I want to process the grain with a minimum amount of effort, I'm growing a variety of oat called Avena Nuda, which goes by the common name "hulless oats."   Actually, the oat does have a hull but it is much more delicate than traditional oats and can be removed by simply rubbing the oats between your fingers.    This weekend, I checked the oats and determined that they are not yet ready for harvest. Here's how you tell...

 As grain matures, it moves from a "milk" stage to a "dough" stage and then finally to a stage when the grain is hard called "dead ripe."  The milk stage is immature; when you press on the grain, a milky fluid will emerge from the kernel.  At the dough stage, the kernel is soft and can be dented with a fingernail, but there is no milk present.  Finally, at the dead ripe stage, the kernel is hard. 

Oats are harvested when the kernel is at the dough stage.  This is usually when the oats are 2"-5 feet high and the leaves of the plant have begun to turn brown.  Once harvested, the grain is cut, tied in bundles and allowed to cure where it will not be rained upon for several days to several weeks depending on the temperature and humidity.  When the grain reaches the "dead ripe" stage, it is ready for threshing.

Below is a close up photo of one of the kernels.  I could tell from the color it was not ready yet, but for the purpose of illustration, I pressed down on the grain and it did in fact prove to be at the milk stage.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of this first grain harvest and let you know how to thresh and grind grain.  Hopefully, this will inspire you to add grain to your garden as well.

 

Safer Brand $500 Giveaway

Safer Brands, a company that offers organic pest control solutions for gardeners, is running a promotion.  You can win a season's worth ($500) of organic lawn and garden pest control by entering.  The link to the promotion is below:

Safer Brand Promotion

Native Plants For Pollinators By Zip Code

My wife came across the Pollinator Partnership web site and I'd like to pass it forward to PlanterTomato readers.  The Partnership's mission is to promote conservation and to promote the health of pollinators that are critical to food and ecosystems.  The partnership has an on-line tool that uses your zip code to generate a list of native plants are good for pollinators (bees, bats, beetles and other critters)

The tool is very simple to use.  Just enter your zip code in the box.

And then the tool tells you your ecosystem.  In my case, it is "California Coastal Chapparral Forest & Shrub." 

Then download the PDF for your ecosystem and your given a wealth of information including a table which explains which native plants will do well in your ecosystem.

You can access the tool at the Pollinator Partnership web site.

Great Gardening Gifts For Mother's Day 2011

This year, Mother's Day falls on Sunday May 8th.  With the holiday just around the corner, I thought I'd provide a list of gift ideas for your special gardener.  Here are my top ten Mother's Day Gift ideas.  They range in price from $10-$200.

 
Salt & Pepper Shakers -These salt & pepper shakers in the shape of watering cans are a nice table addition for the dedicated cook and gardener.  There are $31.95 from Cooks Garden.

A Garden Hod - I have one of these garden hods and love it.  It's a wood and wire basket used to transport tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, lettuce and other veggies from the garden to the kitchen.  The wire mesh of the basket is a nice feature because any soil clinging to harvested carrots and beets that gets deposited in the hod can removed by simply washing the basket with your garden hose.  It's $41.95 also from Cooks Garden.

Garden Scoot - This garden tractor lets you work in the garden while sitting close to soil level.  In other words, it takes the load off your back when planting, harvesting and weeding.  The tractor also includes two baskets so it makes it easy to transport tools, seed packets and other gardening supplies to the area where you are working.  The scoot costs $99 from Gardener's Supply.

Tea Rose Perfume - Tea Rose is an oldie but goodie.  If you are a rose gardener, you'll love this perfume.  The fragrance is that of a bouquet of roses accented by notes of chamomile, spices and exotic wood.  And as fragrances go, it's really quite inexpensive.  Just $10-$28 from Perfume.com.

Mango Body Gel & Scrub - Rose scented perfume is a bit of a stretch as a gardening gift but with this one I'd admit I'm out on a limb.  Mango smelling body gel and wash is still a very nice mother's day gift.  The set includes shower gel, scrub, soap and other nice stuff.  Just $35 from The Body Shop. 

King Sized Hammock -  After a day gardening Mom deserves a bit of a break. Here's a really nice way to relax.  All you need now is a big cold glass of iced tea.  This jumbo sized hammock measures 82" x 65" and is $199 from Sharper Image.

 
Felco Prunners -  These pruners are the gold standard.  They are made in Switzerland and are of extremely high quality.  You can take them apart to clean them and the blades are replaceable if they are too old or worn to be sharpened.  Buy them once and own them for life.  Felco Pruners are $54.95 from Gardener's Supply

Self-Watering Tomato Planters - I'm really a big fan of these self-watering planters.  They are great for new gardeners and those without much space.  However, they are also a nice for seasoned gardeners who want to squeeze in a few more tomatoes into the garden plan and don't have any space remaining in a traditional or raised bed.  These planters can be placed on a sunny patio or deck.  This Tomato Success Kit comes from Gardener's Supply and is $64.95

Chef's Knife - This 10" knife from Fibrox is made in Switzerland by Victorinox, the same folks who manufacture swiss army knives.  Fibrox gets rave reviews form cooks for their sharp, stainless steel blades and comfortable handles.  Below is a video of a Chef using a Fibrox to cut an onion.  As they used to say in the TV infomercial, "The only tears you'll cry will be ones of joy."  Well, you get the idea. $34.99 from Swiss Outpost.

   

 

 

Pen Knife - This is a nice item for Mom's key chain.  It the classic pen knife made by Swiss Army in Switzerland.  Just $14 from Swiss Outpost.

Happy Mother's Day to All from PlanterTomato.

Ten Steps To Installing Bees In Your Beehive

In my last posting, I described what you get when you purchase a "package" of bees.  In this posting, I'll tell you had to get your new hive up and running.

Prior to receiving your bees, you should have your hive equipment prepared and ready to go.  For more information on this subject, check out my posting on Equipment You Need To Keep Bees.  When your package arrives, the queen will be in a queen cage located within the larger cage or package.  The exit hole from which you will extract the worker bees  from this larger package will be on the top.  It will be blocked by the can of sugar syrup which is used to feed the bees during transit and also a barrier so that the bees can't escape.  The queen will be located within the package in a separate queen cage.  Generally, the queen cage will be hanging from the top of the package with a wire or plastic tab. Now the fun begins.

Installing Bees In Your Hive

1. The bees will be clinging to the top of the package near the can of sugar water.  If you remove the can, the bees will immediately begin to fly out.  To slow them down, bump the package firmly on the ground.  The bees will fall to the bottom of the package.
2. Remove the sugar syrup can which is blocking the exit door to the package.
3. Remove the queen cage from the inside of the package and cover the package exit hole with whatever is handy to keep the rest of the bees inside.  I use a ceramic tile.
4. Now remove the cork that covers the candy plug on the queen cage.  In some cases, your queen cage may arrive with a cork plug but no candy.  If this is the case, remove the cork and plug the hole with a marshmallow.  Be careful not to let the queen escape.
5. Suspend the cage between two frames in the center of the hive with the candy end facing upward.  If you have a screen and wood cage, the screen should be oriented so that it is not facing the comb surface.  This allows worker bees to attend to the queen through the screen until she is released.
6. Bump the package down again to knock the bees to the bottom of the cage.  Now remove the cover and spill the bees into the hive.  You should also spill some onto the queen cage.  (To make this process easier, remove a few frames from the hive and then replace these once the bees are in the hive.)
   
7. Cover the hive.  In my case, I use a top hive feeder.  This is a device that feeds the bees sugar syrup for the first few weeks while they build up their own food supply.  I then put the outer cover to the hive on top of the feeder.
8. Since some bees will still be clinging to the inside of the package, leave it near the entrance to the hive.  Overnight, the remaining bees should find their way into the hive.
   
9. After a week, check the hive to make sure the queen has been released.
   
10. Leave the bees undisturbed for the next 2 weeks, with the exception of adding additional sugar syrup.

Below is a video on how to install a bee package created by Penn State University.  They use a different style of feeder than I do, but the basic procedure for installing the bees is the same.

 

How To Install Bees In A Beehive Part I

Once the almond crop is pollinated in Northern California, commercial bee suppliers break up the hives and sell bees in "packages" to anyone interested in starting a new colony.  This generally happens in early to mid-April.  Last week, I picked up two bee packages and created two new hives.  In this first in a series of two postings, I'll explain what you get when you order a package of bees.

Components of the Bee Package

When you buy bees from a commercial supplier, they arrive in a small crate made of wood and wire mesh.  The package contains 3 pounds of bees (10,000-12,000 bees), a queen held in a separate queen cage, and a can of sugar syrup that has been punctured with a finishing nail and hung upside down inside the crate.  The sugar syrup supplies the bees with food and water during their journey to your home.  It escapes through the holes and clings to the lid of the can due to surface tension; the bees then lap up the sugar syrup as needed. 

  Photo Below Shows Can & Queen Cage In Place

As mentioned earlier, bee packages are created by breaking up a large colony of bees into many small packages which are then sold to bee keepers.  Large bee colonies can contain 60,000 bees, so hives can be broken up into many such packages.  However, bee keepers need both worker bees and a queen to establish a new hive and hives only have 1 queen.  So to get the additional queens necessary to create packages, commercial bee suppliers breed queens separately and then add one queen to each package. 

When your package of bees arrive, the queen is isolated in a smaller cage that is within the larger cage containing the rest of the bees.  Queens are kept in this separate cage because it takes time for the worker bees to get accustomed to the new queen.  During the transition period, which generally is about 1 week, the workers get used to the smell of the new queen (her pheremones) and learn to accept her. If the queen were introduced into the colony without this transition period, the workers would view her as an invader of the colony and kill her. 

There are several different styles of queen cages but all about 3 inches x 1 inch in size.  Some are made of wood and wire, others are made of plastic mesh.  Whatever the material, these queen cages have a whole in the top that will eventually allow the queen to escape.  The entrance is plugged with either a piece of hard candy or a marshmallow.  The bees eat through the candy over the course of several days.  By then, they have gotten accustomed to the queen and she joins the rest of the colony and begins to lay eggs.

In my next posting, I'll describe how to install a bee package into a hive.

New Grafted Tomatoes Promise Increased Harvests

Last weekend I attended the San Francisco Garden Show and saw a vendor selling grafted tomatoes.  In this posting, I'll describe this new type of tomato and its proposed benefits.

Grafting is the process by which two different plant varieties are fused together.  One variety is chosen for the "root stock" and the other for its fruit, flowers or leaves.  By combining two varieties in this way, it's possible to garner the desired benefits of both varieties in one plant; more specifically, the benefits of a strong root stock (disease and pest resistance, hardiness, growth habit etc.) with the benefits of offered by the second variety (usually type of fruit). 

Grafting is used extensively by fruit growers.  Most dwarf varieties of apples, plums and other fruit are created by grafting the fruiting variety on to a root stock that encourages compact growth.  If you've seen "fruit salad" trees that grow several types of fruit on one tree, these are also created by grafting. 

Below is an illustration of a grafting technique called cleft grafting.  This type of graft is accomplished by cutting off the top of the root stock plant and then creating a vertical slit in the stem. (steps 1-2)  Then the grafted top is cut from the fruiting variety and trimmed so that it is shaped like a wedge.  The wedge is inserted into the vertical slit in the root stock and the two plants are held together with a clip until they have fused together. (Steps 3-4)

Grafted Tomatoes

While at the San Francisco Garden show a few weeks ago, I found a vendor selling the Mighty 'Mato, a grafted tomato.  The root stock is a variety used by commercial growers of hydroponic varieties and is reputed to offer increased vigor, higher yields and resistance to early and late blight and blossom end rot.  Onto this root stock is grafted an indeterminate tomato variety.  Mighty 'Mato grafts include: Green Zebra, Costoluto Genovese, Jetsetter, Sunsugar, Yellow Mortgage Lifter, Momotaro, Big Beef, Brandywine and Pineapple.  Mighty 'Mato can also be double grafted so that two varieties exist on the same root stock. Mighty 'Mato plants can be purchased from Garden Life.com.

Another source for grafted tomatoes is Territorial Seed Company.  They offer grafted Brandywine, Big Beef, San Marzano, Japanese Trifele, and double grafted Sungold/Sweet Million, Koralik/Legend, San Marzano/Viva Italia, and Brandywine Super Marzano.

Neither of these suppliers specifically states which root stocks are being used for their plants.  However, there are a number of common root stocks that are being used commercially for hydroponic tomatoes and it is likely that the root stocks for home gardeners are the same.  Below is a table of common root stocks and their disease resistance properties.

I grow tomatoes in containers and hydroponically.  I will do a non-scientific test of these grafts to determine if they produce better results than non-grafted plants.

If you have grown grafted tomatoes, please leave a comment so we can all learn from your experience.

How To Grow Tomatoes If You Have No Space, No Time, and A Black Thumb

The most frequent questions I get about tomatoes, are from people interested in growing them but who have very limited space.  In addition, the same folks often express concern about their own gardening skills.  In this posting, I'll show you an almost fail-proof way to grow delicious tomatoes, even if you have almost no space and lack a green thumb. 

The Best Container for Tomatoes

If all you have is a balcony or a small patio, the best approach is to grow tomatoes in containers.   I've been testing a type of self watering plastic container called an Earth Box for two seasons and believe it to be the best system for gardeners who have limited space and who don't want any of the hassles associated with traditional gardening.

The Earth Box has many advantages over other container systems and is particularly well suited for new gardeners and those who tend to over-water their plants.  Here are some of the advantages of the Earth Box:

• Self-Watering - The Earth Box is a "self watering" container.   You "water" your plants by filling a reservoir that sits at the bottom of the container.  When the reservoir is filled, excess water spills out from a drain on the side of the container.  When you see water coming from this drain, it's time to stop watering.  Once filled, the reservoir provides a steady source of water for your plants.  The water is drawn upward towards the roots by capillary action.  All you need to do is keep the reservoir filled.  At the beginning of the season, this means once per week, but during the heat of summer, you will need to fill the reservoir more frequently, perhaps even once per day.  That said, it's very easy to do and no bother.
  
• No Worries About Soil Preparation -The Earth Box kit contains all the fertilizer you need for a single season.  Just fill the container with potting soil you purchase at the garden store and the fertilizer that comes with the Earth Box kit.  That's all there is to it.  You can buy additional packs of fertilizer each year to replenish the nutrients in the soil.  Earth Box even sells organic fertilizer re-fills for those interested in organic gardening.
  
• No Weeding - After filling the Earth Box with soil, you cover it with a black plastic cover that comes with the kit.  The cover has elastic around the edges so it easily fits right over the top of the Earth Box.  You then slit two holes in the plastic and plant your tomato seedlings in these two holes.  The plastic keeps weeds from growing in the Earth Box and it also helps retain moisture.
• Easy To Move - The Earth Box is built with four wheels on its base.  This makes it easy to move if you need to do so.
  
• Tomato Cages - While not part of the standard kit, you can buy an accessory cage that fits right over the Earth Box.  I recommend this since it keeps your tomato plants properly trellised.
  
• For more detailed information about how the Earth Box compares to other container systems, check out my prior posting on Vegetable Containers Compared. The Earth Box costs about $45 and can be purchased from your local garden store or via Amazon.com.  If you have Amazon Prime (free shipping) it won't even cost you anyting to have them deliver the Earth Box to your door.  A very similar product, The Tomato Success Kit, can also be ordered for $65 including the trellis from Gardener's Supply.
  

Tomato Seeds and Plants

Tomatoes plants can be either determinate or indeterminate in their growth habit.  For container gardening you should select a determinate tomato variety because this type of tomato only grows 3-4 feet high. By contrast, an indeterminate variety will grow over 7 feet tall, making it impractical for container gardening. 

Fortunately, there are many good varieties of determinate tomato available on the market today.  If you are willing to start tomatoes from seeds, there is a very wide selection available from companies like Baker Creek, Tomato Fest, Parks Seed, and others.  When you shop on line search for "Determinate" and you should get a list of determinate varieties from which to choose.  Tomato varieties such as Burbank Slicing, Carnival, Grushovka, Bison, and Manitoba are all reputed to be good, but there are so many varieties in various shapes, colors, sizes, and for various climate conditions that I'm hesitant to make a specific recommendation.

If you really want to make it really easy for yourself, go to your local garden store and buy tomato seedlings instead of seeds.  Seedlings are several weeks old by this point, so you don't need to fuss with germinating seeds in trays or run the risk that the delicate young seedlings will die.

Buying seedlings at the store also gives you a jump on the growing season because by the time you buy them at the garden store, the seedlings are already several weeks old.  If your garden store doesn't offer determinate tomatoes that appeal to you, some catalog merchants sell plants as well as seeds.  Check out Burpee and Territorial Seed Company.  Both sell live plants through the mail.

Seedlings at the garden store are generally labeled with information about the variety and and a picture.  The description should say whether the variety is determinate or not.  If you are not sure, just ask the garden store staff for help.

Extending Your Growing Season

When growing determinate tomatoes, you may want to stagger the timing of your plantings since determinate varieties produces all the fruits at once.  If you have one Earth Box, buy and plant one seedling early in the season, and then purchase and plant a second tomato seedling a few weeks later.  If you have multiple Earth Boxes, you can stagger both the timing and include more varieties of determinate tomatoes in the mix of things you grow.

Sunlight Is the Only Requirement

If you use the Earth Box and a determinate variety, I'm very sure you will be successful.  However, sunlight is a requirement for success. Tomatoes can't be grown in the shade.  During the summer months, tomatoes need a minimum of 8 hours direct sunlight to bear fruit and will do even better if they get 12 hours sunlight.  As long as you have a location that gets sunlight, it really won't matter if the space you have is a balcony, small patio, fire escape, parking lot or roof top.

If you have questions about growing tomatoes, just leave a comment.

Heirloom vs. Hybrid Vegetables: The Debate Over Which Are Better

As we move into gardening season, many will be buying seeds to start at home or plants from the garden center.  Gardeners have many options including a choice of "heirloom" and hybrid varieties.  There has been a vigorous debate over the merits of each raging for a number of years.  In this posting, I outline the basic arguments of the debate and provide my opinion on this matter.

Heirlooms

The definition of what constitutes an "heirloom" vegetable is a bit vague, but heirloom varieties are always open pollinated and have been in existence for 30 years or more.  The classic definition is that they are open pollinated seeds that are over 50 years old.  Open pollinated means that seeds taken from one generation will produce a plant and fruit that is essentially the same in future generations. 

Gardeners who advocate for heirloom plants claim they taste better, foster genetic diversity, and are more economical because seeds from open pollinated plants can be replanted in subsequent seasons.

Hybrids

In contrast, a "hybrid" is a cross between two different varieties.  Hybrids seeds can produce plants that bring positive attributes from both parents, but the seeds from these plants will not yield the exact same type of plant when grown in subsequent seasons.  To reliably grow a hybrid, a gardener needs to purchase seeds produced by the cross of both parents each year. 

Advocates for hybrid plants argue that new varieties bring improvements over older ones in the same way that a new computer is better than one available 10 years ago.  They also point out that all heirloom varieties were first creatied by hybridizing two parents and then genetically stabilizing the cross over time.  In fact, farmers have been hybridizing for thousands of years and all improvements in agriculture have been achieved through hybridization.

My Opinion on the Matter

I do think that modern hybrids offer advantages to home gardeners and that we should be open to using them.  Having said that, I have to admit that almost everything I grow is an heirloom.  I like the diversity and quirkiness of heirloom varieties and I also like growing things with a link to the past. But I am not so stiff-necked as to exclude all hybrid varieties from my garden.  For example, I have serious problems growing squash due to a disease that afflicts this plant called powdery mildew.  In 2011, I will be growing hybrid squash varieties because they offer resistence to this disease.

My biggest concern with hybrids is really about their use in commercial agriculture and commercial agriculture in general.  Large scale agricultural enterprises require vegetable varieties that have long shelf lives, can be shipped without damage, and produce high yields.  In optimizing for these traits, plant breeders have created hybrids that meet the demands of commercial agriculture, but trade off attributes like taste and texture.  That's one of the reasons why produce purchased at the supermarket is less tasty than that grown at home from plants that were bred for attributes such as sweetness, acidity or texture. 

Furthermore, commercial growers tend to plant a very limited number of varieties because it's easier to sell one or two varieties than dozens.  Again, thinking of the grocery store experience;  you can only purchase a few varieties of tomatoes at the market, but there are thousands of known varieties in existence.  Thus, commercial agriculture has resulted in a dramatic decline in varieties in production.   The hybridized varieties produced by commercial agriculture may be more vulnerable changes in temperature, moisture, or even specific diseases than their heirloom cousins.  Reliance on just a few, hybrid varieties potentially puts the worlds food supply at risk, particularly as the climate changes.

One of the reasons I grow heirlooms is because I feel it helps maintain genetic diversity by acting as a counterbalance to commercial practice.  I grow as many varieties as I can, even if this is just one plant of each variety.  For example, in 2011, I'll have 15 types of tomatoes in my garden.

New York Times Article

For additional information on this subject, here is a link to a recent New York Times article, Heirloom Seeds or Flinty Hybrids.

Welcome To Spring & Some Books To Inspire You

Today March 20, marks the beginning of Spring.  On this rainy cold day in Northern California, I took some photos showing the resurgence of my garden that I hope will inspire you.  I'm also providing a list of  books that I think would be helpful to those interested in creating their own "urban farm."

Sugar Snap Peas - A family favorite.  These peas have crunchy, sweet edible pods that my kids love.  I've planted snap peas as early as January 1 in my green house.  This year, I planted them in a raised bed.

Blenheim Apricots Forming - Blenheim apricots are considered the best but they are hard to get outside of California because they are so perishable.  To enjoy them, you need to grow your own.

Cherries in Bloom - I have relatively young trees.  Seeing them flower is nice, but not as dramatic as when the trees are larger and in full bloom.  A mature flowering cherry is an amazing sight and one that has inspired nature lovers for centuries;  the Japanese celebrate Spring by pick-nicking under cherry trees in full bloom.  This practice, known as "Hanami," or flower viewing, dates back to the Nara Period. (710-794 AD)  Thankfully, you don't need to be the Emperor to enjoy cherry blossoms.

All Blue & Maris Piper Potatoes - You would think that home grown potatoes can't taste much different than those purchased at the grocery store.  Well, think again.  Not only can you grow better varieties, even standard ones are better because they are so much fresher.  It make one wonder how long they sit in storage before they hit the produce aisle.  See my posting to learn how to grow potatoes in containers.  The grow bags shown in my garden can be ordered for Amazon.com for just $7.

Ripening Blood Oranges & Lemons - wonderful fresh citrus.  The oranges can be eaten or juiced.  The lemons are great for lemonade or for salt preserving.  Check out my wife's recipe for preserved lemons.

 
Oats - This is an experiment for me.  I planted these in the late Fall and overwintered them.  I won't get much actual grain this year but I just wanted to see if Oats could survive the Winter here in Northern California.  They did, so I'll probably plant a larger amount in Fall 2011.

Beets - So easy to grow.  The best way to cook them is to just wrap them in foil and bake in the oven.  When cool, you can easily remove the skin.   No need to peel prior to cooking.

Carrots -  Danville (shown here) are a good variety for the Winter because they are less likely to get woody.  For planting in the Spring, consider Chantenay, an heirloom French variety.

Peach - Last year this poor tree got peach curl and didn't do all that well.  It's a variety called Baby Crawford.  I'll give it another year and if things don't look better, I'll have to find another variety.

Garlic - I grow both hardneck and softneck garlic.  If you want to know more about garlic, have a look at my posting Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Garlic.

Bees Foraging for Nectar and Pollen - I'll probably have 4 hives this year which means plenty of honey for friends and family.  I may even make some mead, honey wine that tastes like sherry.

Books To Consider:

If you are looking for some good books to help kick-start your backyard gardening, the following can all be purchased at Amazon.com.  Just click to follow the link.

How to Grow More Vegetables & Fruits Than You Ever Thought Possible - There's a wealth of information here.  The tables at the back of the book are worth the price alone.  Highly recommended.

The Home Orchard - A great beginners guide to growing fruit trees at home.

Four Season Harvest - This book by John Coleman inspired me to grow year-round.  I now harvest beets, carrots, kale, mache and other veggies from my garden, even in the dead of winter.

Beekeeping for Dummies - This is actually better than the name implies.  If you are new to bee keeping, start with this book and then add The Beekeepers Handbook.

Raising Chickens For Dummies - OK, full disclosure time.  I haven't read this book, but I was so happy with the Beekeeping book in the same "Dummies" series that I feel comfortable suggesting this as something to consider if you are thinking about adding chickens to your backyard.  The book gets very strong reviews on Amazon.

And to close this posting, a photo of lemons on a rainy day.

Spring Soil Preperation

 As we move into Spring, it's time to think about getting your garden soil in top condition.  In this posting I suggest two ways to increase the fertility of your soil.

Professional Soil Testing

I had my soil tested professionally for first time last season and think this service is invaluable.  Having your soil tested by a professional service provides more accurate results than can be achieved with kits from the garden store. Additionally, a soil testing service tells you exactly what quantities of specific amendments (compost, alfalfa, bone meal, sulfur, etc.) need to be added to the soil to bring up its fertility.

Generally, it takes several years to get soil to peak fertility, so it's a good idea to do testing each spring for several years.  To learn more about soil testing and review an actual test report, see my prior posting on this subject:

The Dirt on Dirt:  What You Get with Professional Soil Testing

 Start Composting

One soil amendment that you can count on adding each year is compost.  Compost is just decomposed plant matter that is added to soil as a natural fertilizer for your plants. 

You can buy compost from your local garden store, but its very easy to create your own using lawn clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps like coffee grounds, beet tops, carrot peals etc.  Composting is achieved by adding consecutive layers of green matter, brown matter, and soil.  It's not hard to do but there are a few tricks that will increase your chances for success. Below are two posting that explain how compost and how to create a composting bin.

How to Build A Composter

How To Compost

How To Combine Two Bee Hives

In this posting, I cover how and why to combine two bee hives.

This week end, I opened my bee hives to check on them.  One hive was doing fine.  I could find plenty of capped brood cells, indicating that the queen was alive and laying eggs.  Sadly, there was no evidence of this in my second hive and it was clear that the colony was limping to its death.

To replace this second hive, I've ordered a new "package of bees" from a local supplier.  The package contains a new queen and 3,000 bees to attend to her.  When installed in the hive, the bees will forage for nectar and pollen to feed themselves and the queen.  With any luck, the colony will grow rapidly in the Spring. 

If left on it's own, the current queenless hive would just fade away as the bees age and die with no younger bees to replace them.  In every sense, this would be a waste, so I decided to combine the bees from my weak hive with those in my strong hive.  The idea is to boost the population of the strong hive with an influx of several thousand new bees.

In the wild, colonies don't mix and a sudden influx of bees from one colony to another would create a war between the two.  In order to combine two colonies successfully, one needs to accustom the bees to each other and to the scent of the queen in the strong hive. 

Amazingly, this is fairly easy to do and can be accomplished in just a few days.  Essentially, you place the weak colony on top of the strong colony and separate them with a barrier that they will chew through in a few days.  Those few days are sufficient to allow the bees to become accustomed to each other. 

To accomplish this, open the strong hive and place a sheet of newspaper over the top hive box.  Then make a few slits in the newspaper to allow air to flow through it and provide a site for the bees to easily chew through. Now place the brood box from the weak colony on top of this newspaper and cover with an inner and outer cover. 

A few days later, I opened the hive and removed the remaining newspaper. Voila! The hives were combined.

Best Bee Hive Smoker

 In this posting, I review the Bee-Z-Smoker, a smoker that makes working in your bee hives easier.

A smoker is an essential part of any bee keepers kit.  A traditional smoker is really nothing more than a metal can with a bellows attached.  You place some kind of combustible inside the can, light it, and use the bellows to keep the fire going and drive smoke through a spout in the top of the can.

Smoking bees keeps them calm and makes it easier for the bee keeper to work inside the hive.  Actually, the presence of smoke causes the bees to go into defensive mode.  The presence of smoke leads the bees to believe that that a forest fire is occurring; they enter the hive and begin gorging themselves on honey in advance of an evacuation.  The bee keeper has an opportunity to work in the hive because the bees are preoccupied.  Additionally, once the bees have stuffed themselves on honey, they have a more difficult time bending their abdomens to inflict a sting.  So the bee keeper is also less likely to take a hit.

Lighting a smoker is fairly easy in concept.  Just load the can with pine needles, twine, leaves, wood chips, cardboard or any other combustible and then light it with a match.  In practice, it's actually a lot more difficult to do, so many bee keepers use a propane torch to light their smokers. 

One might think it's easy to light a smoker with a propane torch, but I've found this to also be fairly challenging. Whenever, I place the tip of the torch into the can it either causes a huge flair-up or the torch extinguishes itself.  So I decided to investigate alternatives on the Internet and found the Bee-Z-Smoker from Stinger Innovations, Inc.

The Bee-Z smoker uses an electronic system to ignite wood shavings that you insert into the can.  It works on the same principle that used in your toaster.  Electricity is run through a set of bare wires inside the smoker and these heat to cause the wood shavings to catch on fire.  An electric fan inside the Bee-Z handle replaces the traditional bellows and is used to drives smoke through the snout of the can.  The unit is powered by a series of batteries stored in the handle.  The batteries are charged with an adapter that plugs into any electric outlet.

I found using the Bee-Z-Smoker to be quite easy.  It made lighting the smoker much easier than using a match or propane torch.  The only drawback to the Bee-Z is that it's fairly pricey;  a normal smoker costs about $35.  A Bee-Z will lighten your wallet by $149.  Still, I think it's worth it. 

 

One small quibble I have is that the smoker uses a switch to light the wood chips and another to blow the fan.  Two switches is not a problem, but the placement of these controls is counter intuitive in my opinion.  Ignition is accomplished via a trigger switch that you operate with your forefinger.  The blower switch is located on the top of the unit and is driven with your thumb.  In my opinion, it would have made more sense to reverse the functions of these two switches because you will be driving smoke through the unit more frequently than lighting the unit and the trigger switch is easier and more accessible to use.

Updated 1/26/2012:

After reading this posting, the manufacturer contacted me about the aforementioned position of the fan and ignition switches.  Upon reflection, I agree that this is much safer approach.  Below is the explanation....

"We have the switches positioned in their configuration for safety concerns.  When the BEE-Z-SMOKER is dropped, only the fan button will ever engage by accident.  If the heating element switch were on the outside of the handle it could be ‘wedged’ against something when/if it is dropped thereby creating a LARGE fire hazard.  This potential hazard is simply too large to ignore."

Below is a photo of a traditional smoker and the Bee-Z.

 

Hive Boxes: One Size Doesn't Fit All

In this posting, I describe your options for configuring a hive, focusing on the configuration and weight of Langstroth hive boxes.

There are a variety of bee hive options on the market today including the National (popular in the UK), Top Bar (popular in Africa), and Langstroth (the worldwide standard).   Prior to becoming a bee keeper, I researched each of these options and came to the conclusion that the Langstroth is the best option for hobby beekeepers.  (It is a time-tested design, the equipment is widely available and the drawn-out comb can be reused after honey has been extracted, making life a little easier on your bees.) After using, the Langstroth hive for over two seasons, I can say that I remain enthusiastic about this design, but I've changed my opinion on the best way to configure it.

Basic Hive Configuration

A Langstroth hive is created by stacking hive boxes of the same length and width upon each other.  The bottom hive box is used by the bees for rearing brood.  The second hive box sits on top of the first and is given over to the bees for honey storage.  The third and subsequent tiers of hive boxes are used by the bees for additional honey storage.  These boxes function like attic of the house - the bees have enough honey to last the winter stored in the second box, but will store any additional reserves of honey in these upper boxes.   When bee keepers harvest honey, they are taking the additional reserves of honey that are stored away in the attic.

All of the above mentioned boxes have the same length and width so they can be stacked one upon the other.  But the height of these boxes vary.  Traditionally, the Lanstroth hive is configured with two "Deep" hive boxes on the bottom.  These deep boxes are 9 5/8 inches high.  Then there are two options for the boxes that form the "attic."  "Medium" boxes measure 6 5/8 inches deep and "Shallow" boxes measure 5 11/16 inches deep. 

Hive Box Weights

Medium and Shallow hive boxes were created to make bee keeping easier.  These boxes are smaller, and therefore, weigh less than "Deep" boxes when filled with honey.  This makes them easier to pick up and move when doing routine hive inspections or when harvesting honey.  Here is the typical weight of these various hive bodies when filled with honey:

• Deep - 101 pounds (11 pounds wooden box & frames + 90 pounds of honey)
• Medium - 48 pounds ( 8 pounds wooden box & frames + 40 pounds of honey)
• Shallow - 36 pounds (6 pounds wooden box & frames + 30 pounds of honey)

Recommendations

When I purchased my first set of hives, I purchased two Deep boxes to form the core of the hive and two Medium boxes to form the "attic."  At the time, I reasoned that I would not be moving the Deep boxes that frequently, so the weight would not be a problem, particularly since I'm in good health and reasonably strong.  After working with this configuration for two seasons, I've formed a different opinion.  Specifically, a 100 pound box is just too heavy for one adult to manage comfortably.  And if you want to involve kids in bee keeping, the weight is out of the question.

If you are considering adding a hive to your garden for the first time this year, I would recommend using only Medium and Shallow hive boxes.  To provide adequate space for brood and honey storage for your bees, you'll need to use three Medium boxes in place of the two Deep boxes that are normally used in a traditional Langstroth configuration.  You then have the option to use either Medium or Shallow boxes to form the "attic." 

The advantage of using all Medium boxes is that you'll have only one size of frame and foundation throughout the hive, making all the parts interchangeable.  The advantage of using Shallows for the attic is simply that of lower weight.

Since I already own some Deep hive boxes, I plan to keep using these as brood boxes (bottom most tier) since these aren't moved during inspections or harvesting.  I'll then replace the second Deep with two Mediums and use mediums for all subsequent layers.

  

Flats of Egypt Beets

Last Fall, I planted beets with the intention of harvesting them during the Winter months.  The idea is to make your garden into a kind of root cellar to store the beets that you harvest directly from the garden as needed.  This process is called overwintering and can be used for beets, carrots, brussels sprouts and other cold hardy vegetables.

One of my favorite beets is a variety called Chioggia. This beet is both delicious and beautiful -- When you cut into a fresh Chioggia you see concentric circles of red and white.  As much as I like them, Chioggia beets  can get a little woody when over wintered and so I tried other varieties this year to see what works best in my garden.

One variety I tried is called Flats of Egypt and I'm happy to report that I find them to be a great overwintering variety. Flats of Egypt produce sweet flattened roots that are about 3 inches in diameter.  These beets mature in about 50 days so plant them in the fall or late summer depending on your climate.

The best way to cook beets is to wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 1 hour.  When the beets are done, let them cool; the skins should just slide off.

Flats of Egypt produce beautiful foliage that's a combination of green, maroon and red.  We keep the beet root for ourselves and pass along the tops to our flock of chickens.  They greedily devour the leaves and the resulting eggs yolks take on a deep orange-yellow color from the beets.

You can buy Flats of Eqypt beet seeds from Baker Creek Seeds, Park Seed Company, and Territorial Seed Company.

Honey: A Golden Treasure

The BBC produces some excellent science programming.  In a recent Podcast from BBC Discovery, biologist Adam Hart explores the history of bee keeping from ancient times to the present.  The Podcast presented here covers topcis ranging from single source honey to the use of honey in treating wounds.  If you love honey or have an interest in bees, this is well worth a 30 minute listen.

 

PlanterTomato_2_27_2011 Honey

If you liked this Podcast, you might want to subscribe to the BBC Discovery series. 

 

Winter: Time to Tend To Your Fruit Trees

Last Winter, I purchased a variety of bare root fruit trees. In this posting, I'll cover what needs to be done to prepare your fruit trees for Spring.

Transplanting Into Larger Pots

I'm growing a variety of dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit trees.  I planted these in 15 gallon Smart Pots; these are fabric pots that keep the soil cooler and provide better drainage than traditional clay pots.  They also make it easier to do root pruning which is believed to extend the life of the tree when potted. 

My first task was to transplant all the trees into larger pots.  So each plant got a new 25 gallon smart pot.  Removing the tree from the old pot was easy;  I just rolled the fabric down to expose the roots and soil until it became easy to just lift the tree out of the old fabric pot.  It's a process that's very similar to creating cuffs on the legs of your pants.  This process also "prunes" the roots since any roots that have grown into the fabric of the pot are cut during the process of transplanting the tree.  Next year, or the year after that, I'll transplant them again into a 45 gallon Smart Pot.  This will be their final home.

Pruning

Fruit trees should be pruned to keep them healthy, pleasingly shaped, and productive.  I'm new to growing fruit trees, so I took a 3 hour course on the subject at our local garden store, Common Ground of Palo Alto.  Kevin Raferty, an Arborist shown below, taught the basics of pruning and he took us into the garden to demonstrate how to prune various fruit trees such as apples and peaches.  If you too are new to fruit trees, I really recommend taking a course like this.  It's well worth the $30 I spent.

Here are some tips on pruning trees:

• Under certain conditions, it's fine to prune trees in other seasons, but for beginners, it's best to prune in the Winter when the plant is dormant and insect activity is low.
• There are two basic kinds of pruning cuts.  Thinning cuts are done to shape the tree and are done at branch points.  The object is to create an overall structure and shape by reducing the number of new shoots and directing their growth.  For example you might thin a new branch that is growing too close to another, or one that is growing towards the center of the tree etc.  Heading cuts on the other hand, are done to remove a part of the shoot or branch.  This is done just above a bud and not at a branch point as is the case in thinning cuts.  Heading is done to stimulate growth by forcing the tree to form new shoots.  Heading makes the tree more compact, and, for trees that grow fruit on "new wood," heading creates sites for fruit production.
• To effectively prune your trees, you should have a pruning shears and a pruning saw.  Two really excellent brands are Felco (Swiss) and ARS (Japanese).  I have a pair of the Felco shears and love them.  You can remove the blade to sharpen a Felco. You also have the option to buy a new blade and thereby extend the life of the tool.  Good tools are 2 to 3 times the cost of cheaper ones on the market but they are worth the money.  You buy a good pruning shears once and then have it forever.
• It's important to know where to prune so you don't eliminate the sites on which your trees will bear fruit.  Unfortunately, pruning varies by tree specie.  Below is a list of commonly grown fruits and their fruiting habit:
  • Current season's shoots - most citrus, persimmons, grapes and raspberries produce fruit only on new growth. (see photo A)
  • Long lived spurs - spurs look like shall branches with pointed ends.  Apples, apricots, cherries, pears and plums all bear on spurs.  These sites produce fruit year after year. (see photo B)
  • Previous seasons shoots - avocados, figs, filberts, nectarines, olives and peaches all bear fruit on last years growth.  These trees need to be managed so that they are constantly forced to create new growth from which you will harvest. (see photo C)

The above photo comes from the book, The Home Orchard published by the University of California.  The book is designed for home gardeners and covers is a very good resource for beginners.  If you would like to buy a copy of the book from Amazon.com for $25.

Dealing with Pests

After pruning  your trees, you have an opportunity to use a dormant tree oil to protect them from pests such as aphids, mites, white fly and other nasties.  Bonide makes a dormant oil that environmentally friendly.  Its essentially an oil and wax mixture that suffocates bugs and their eggs.  This needs to be applied before the tree leafs out.

If you are an experienced fruit grower, please feel free to to comment to this post.

Above is a photo of granny smith apples still on the tree in Winter.  Granny Smith apples are frequently sold under-ripe in the grocery store.  Ripe they are yellow, not green.