Our fall shipment of Garlic has arrived, and with it comes a chance for you to grow your own and experience a world of flavor that you won’t find in most supermarkets!  Garlic varieties have many subtle differences and variations from mild to absolutely fiery, and everything in between.  Our varieties include German Porcelain, Early Italian Purple, Brown Tempest, Chesnok Red, Inchelium Red, Nootka Rose, Purple Glazer, Silver Rose, and Elephant Garlic (which is not really a garlic, but close enough).  Garlic needs to be fall planted for best success, so plant yours soon for the best harvest next year!

Our Garlic Information Sheet has been updated for the 2009 planting season, and has descriptions of all of the varieties that we carry and how to plant and care for them.  You can find it in our online reference center, or download it directly here.

Nothing is quite as tender and yummy as lettuce fresh from your garden.   It is full of nutrients and flavor.  I enjoy my home-grown lettuces even more if I remember to pick them in the morning, wash them, and allow them to crisp up before using them for dinner that evening.   The easiest way to do this:  pick your lettuce leaves straight into a colander, then run it under cold water to remove dirt and dust.  Place leaves in a salad spinner to remove excess water.  Store the leaves in the spinner in the refrigerator, or roll in paper towels or a cotton towel, put into a zippered plastic bag and store in fridge.  When you get home from work, the lettuces will be crisp and crunchy, perfect for a summer salad.

Remember that salad greens are a great item to plant successively in your garden – that is, to plant repeatedly throughout the summer to insure that you will have a continual supply of greens.  I find that a tray pack of lettuce starts is just the right amount for one planting.  Alternatively, scatter a bit of seed.  Repeating this every couple of weeks is so easy and will keep you in great greens!

It’s June, the Kiwis are blooming, and you should know that this is the best season to sort out your Kiwi Vine gender issues.  Kiwi Vines are “dioecious” (Greek for “two households”), which basically means that the male and female flowers are borne on different plants, but the female plants need to be in the general proximity of a male in order to set fruit.  The problem is that many people have no idea if their Kiwis are male or female, or as an extension of that, why their plants bloom heavily every year but never set fruit.  There is a quick way this time of year to find out if your Kiwi Vines are appropriately paired, and that is to take a quick look at the flowers as they are blooming and identify the gender of your plants to make sure that both sexes are present.  As usual, we have developed an info sheet that gives you an up close and personal look at the topic in question.  It can be found here.

Part of FG's straw bale garden

• Bales:  Wheat straw bales have the fewest seeds, and have no perennial seeds.  Set bales in place, with straws vertical, not horizontal.   Soak the bales thoroughly (they will get very heavy, so be sure they are where you want them).  They will heat up inside, but will cool down in about 5-7 days.  Then they are ready to plant.
• Preparation of bales:  Rough up the top surface with a hand fork.  Place a 3″ layer of compost along the top – this is the bed you will use for planting.   Try to work a little compost down inside.
• Planting:  According to Dr. N.L. Mansour, from Oregon State University, all of these will do well:  tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and greens.  Rose Marie has had success with: peas, salad greens, squash, and Swiss chard.  Root crops should probably be avoided, because there will not be adequate room inside the bale for large roots.   Small transplants or seeds will work best – use a trowel to pull back the compost, and create a small pocket inside the bale.  Add a bit more compost into the hole if you think it needs it.  Water well after planting.
• Watering:  Rose Marie recommends a drip system.  It will be important to maintain regular watering during the summer months.
• Fertilizing:  Here Rose Marie recommends supplementing with natural fertilizers for healthy plant development – liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, and/or compost tea.

Those are the basics.  Come out and visit our straw bale garden to see how its going here.  I must admit, it is a bit of an experiment, but that is one of the fun aspects of gardening, the trying of new things.  One problem:  I am finding that a bit of the compost is washing off the bale whenever we water;  in the picture you will see a sprinkling of compost on the ground below the bale.  I’m trying to problem-solve that; we need sides on the bale to hold the compost in place.

Today I harvested all the remaining Oregon sugar pod peas – about 1/2 pound – and pulled up the vines.  In their place I put down some fresh compost, and planted some black-seeded Simpson lettuces and some Spargo spinach starts.  Spargo is a new variety to me, but it is supposed to be a high-yielding, slow-bolting variety – sounds perfect for summer!  We have a few traypacks remaining on our tables, so give it a try.

** A side note:  Rose Marie, co-author of The Bountiful Container, will be here August 2nd for a class on eating seasonally from the garden.  August is the perfect time to start transitioning to your fall garden, so that you can eat from your own garden through the winter.  Rose Marie will have lots of helpful ideas as well as plenty of recipe suggestions, I would imagine.  So save a bit of space in your garden where you can tuck in some fall crops!  And as you know, some of our classes fill up fast – so if you would like to hear Rose Marie speak, call to register for this class – 503-649-4568.

Now that we’ve got our tomatoes in the ground and summer is nearly upon us, we should give some attention to HOW we are growing these little beauties.  The right cultural practices will insure the best possible harvest.  None of this is hard, but attention to a few details can make all the difference.

• Our main objective is to encourage photosynthesis (the production of sugars from which it grows) and to discourage disease.  The single best way to accomplish both of these goals is to keep them off the ground by staking or caging.  It is best to do this shortly after planting, so that you don’t disturb an established root system.  Providing them upright support gets them up into the light and improves air circulation, which decreases the likelihood of disease.  After the plant get 18 inches tall or so, start trimming off the lowest branches.  As it grows taller, take a few more of the lower branches off, until eventually you have trimmed it about one foot up the stalk.  This pruning aids air circulation as well as prevents soil from splashing the lower leaves – another disease opportunity.  (Adding a little mulch under the tomato will also prevent backsplash as well as retaining soil moisture.)
• Pinch out suckers which grow in the crotch between a branch and the  main stem.  This can be hard to do, because you feel like you are robbing yourself of future fruit.  However, by cutting out these suckers which will inevitably be thinner and weaker, you are enabling your plant to produce large, healthy fruit. 
• Remember that tomatoes are vigorous vines and heavy feeders.  We recommend 2-4 tablespoons of organic fertilizer (like EB Stone Organics) every 30 days until fruit begins to set.  Simply sprinkle a little on the soil, scratch in with your fingers, and water well.
• The most common problem local growers have with tomatoes is blossom end rot.  This is when the bottom end of a tomato turns black and rather flat.   This is a physiological condition caused by growing conditions, and not a fungal disease or pest infestation, and therefore will not spread from plant to plant.  It is important to maintain a consistent level of moisture and calcium in the soil to prevent this.  Tomatoes planted early in cold soil are apt to have the first fruits scarred with blossom end rot; subsequent fruit can be fine.  If you didn’t plant initially with lime, sprinkle a small handful of lime under each tomato plant, and water in well.  This will add calcium to the soil.  And I’ve already mentioned mulching, which will help prevent this problem, by retaining moisture in the soil.
• In late summer, if you find you have plenty of large green fruit but too few ripe ones, I suggest you start thinning out some of the excess foliage.   This will open the fruit up to sunshine, and will slightly stress the plant, both of which should hasten ripening. 
• And finally, my most important tip for ripening tomatoes:  topping the vines.  Mid- to late-September it is important to curtail any further blooming on your indeterminate tomatoes.  I leave all the green fruit that has already set, but cut back each branch to where the fruit is attached.  This will cut off all the blooms and all future blooms, and will focus the plant’s energy into ripening the existing fruit before frost.  And it wouldn’t be a bad idea at the same time to do a little more thinning of foliage.

Follow these easy steps and you’ll be harvesting bushels of tomatoes this summer!

WOW.  I’ve never seen such a huge increase in inventory in such a short period of time.  We have easily over 100 varieties of tomatoes in stock today – who knows how long they will last, but shipments will continue to come in for several weeks.  Quantities are not high for some varieties – we only have one flat of some types - so come on out and shop while the selection is best.  We have some very unusual varieties that I don’t believe we’ve ever carried here before, and some of them sound worth trying.  Here’s a small sampling of those that caught my eye:

• Tumbling Tom Red – this indeterminate variety would be perfect in a hanging basket, cascading 20″ or more, with loads of 1-2″ fruits.
• Costoluto Fiorentino – this Italian heirloom is high is sugar and also high in acid, which gives it an outstanding flavor.
• Cour di Bue – another Italian variety, this one an ‘oxheart’ type – heart-shaped and meaty; vigorous plant
• Saint Pierre – this old traditional French variety is supposed to do well in cooler growing regions, and until frost
• Bloody Butcher – this is an early-maturing variety with excellent flavor and yields

I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that our weather is still a bit cool for tomatoes, so please provide them with some protection if you are planting them outside now.  One of our water-filled season extenders would do the trick, and help you get a jump-start on the harvests to come.

Watch this blog for further posts on tomatoes.  I will be sharing our tips for growing the best tomatoes, as well as which varieties have been the crowd favorites at our annual tomato festival.  Stay tuned…..

Thank you to all who attended our two sessions on Kitchen Gardening – they were both lively classes, and we enjoyed meeting you all, and hearing about the new gardens you are planning!    It is obvious there will be lots of good eating going on this season!

For those of you not able to be with us for either of these classes, I wanted you to have the highlights.  So here are my top ten tips for having a successful garden that you actual enjoy creating and maintaining ~

1. Location, location, location.  Choose the sunniest spot you’ve got, preferably 8-12 hours a day of direct sun.  We can’t overemphasize this one – it is the single most important factor to the success of most gardens.   If you are interested in growing any of the warm weather crops – tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash, cucumbers, eggplant – you must have lots of sunshine.  If your garden is somewhat shady, you still can garden, but should stick to the crops that will thrive in that environment:  lettuces, spinach, peas, onions.
2. It’s all about the soil.  Focus on feeding your soil and not your plants, and you will be well rewarded.  With luck, you should have lots of earthworms working away in your garden – this is one sign of healthy soil.  Compost is a very important addition to all types of soil: it helps loosen clay, allowing it to drain and have better aeration.  And paradoxically, it also allows soil to retain moisture during the heat of the summer, just when you need it.  Compost also creates the perfect climate in your soil to allow the nutrients present to be taken up by your plants.  All the nutrients in the world aren’t enough if they aren’t accessible.
3. Use raised beds where possible.  There are no downsides except the initial investment, and you will reap the rewards for years.  They offer so many advantages:  the soil warms up and dries out faster in the early spring, allowing you to plant earlier.  By not stepping in the beds, the soil will stay loose and uncompacted, allowing your plants to grow deeper root systems.  This in turn allows for a slightly closer spacing, because roots go down and not out.  Hence, better space utilization and more harvest!
4. Rotate crops.  Avoid planting the same crops in the same space every year, and you will lessen your chances for soil-borne diseases that can occur.  
5. Interplant and successively plant.  Try thinking of your garden as a diverse ecosystem instead of a farm with rows of monocrops.  By interspersing your plants into smaller clusters, you will reduce pest infestations and the spread of disease.   And plan for succession harvests – plant items like lettuces, spinach, beans, and peas every two or three weeks for a continual harvest throughout the season. 
6. Use smart watering techniques: if possible water from below with soaker hoses or drip systems.  This will keep the foliage from getting wet, possibly setting up your garden for fungal diseases.  If you must overhead water, do so in the morning, so that the plants’ foliage can dry out before nightfall.  Also, remember that young seedlings will require hand watering until their root systems get established.  Finally, aim for infrequent but deep watering — giving plants too little water will only encourage them to develop roots near the surface; this will put them in jeopardy of constantly drying out – and making you a slave to your garden. 
7. Harvest frequently and as soon as ripe.  This will ensure a continual harvest, because when ripened fruit stays on the vine, it signals the plant to stop producing.  This is especially important with beans.
8. Go vertical whenever possible.  By training up peas, beans, tomatoes, melons, squashes, and cucumbers, they will make a smaller footprint on the garden space, enabling you to underplant other things around them.    Use trellises, tomato cages, heavy bamboo or cedar staking to create upright structures for these.   Cradle the heavy fruit, like melons or large squashes, with a sling made from nylon stockings or plastic mesh from grocery store produce.
9. Plant what you love, and get your children involved!  Not only will they learn to love what they are growing, but they will begin to sense the beauty of the cycles of nature.  And you will be energized by the wonder they bring to your garden.
10.   Don’t expect perfection.  We all have successes and failures – gardening well is a lifelong pursuit.  Train yourself to be observant to what’s going on in your own space, and you will be better equipped to deal with issues as they arise.  I strongly recommend keeping some kind of garden journal, to record when you planted things, when you fertilize, when the harvesting begins.  Only by looking back on this record will you learn what works for you and what doesn’t, and you can tweak things next year. 

Good luck with your gardens – we look forward to helping you in the journey, and want to hear of your successes and your challenges.  Here’s to a bountiful harvest!

Boy oh boy – vegetables don’t sit around here for very long this time of year – which means you are taking home the freshest possible plants.  We have a great assortment of these in stock today:  tomatoes, peppers, summer squashes, winter squashes, beans, cilantro, eggplant, onion starts, lettuces, spinach, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, and more  perennial herbs.  From now through the next couple of months, we will have frequent deliveries of great vegetables, so either check here often, or call us if you are looking for something specific!

We’ve been having some pretty chilly nights still – and to top it off, I’ve heard that our spring will be unseasonably cooler than normal till June.  That is going to make growing any of the warm-season crops especially challenging this year.  Darn.  I’m talking about tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, squashes, and eggplant.  Fortunately, all of these are good candidates for using our Gardeneer Season Starters.  These early season plant protectors are pyramid-shaped and water-filled — they surround the plant, absorbing heat from the sun during the day, and giving it off during the night.  Think of it as a blanket for your favorite veggies!  You are able to plant up to six weeks earlier with this protection, which also means you HARVEST weeks earlier too.   Take good care of them and they will last several seasons.  We have one on display here – come in and feel how much warmer it is inside!

WOW!  Due to the high interest in our Kitchen Gardening 101 Class (specifically designed for beginners interested in planting their first garden), we are adding another date for the same class.  This one will be Tuesday, April 21 at 10 AM.  If you’ve ever wanted to grow your own tasty vegetables, but didn’t know where to begin, then this class is for you.  We will cover all the basics of backyard edible gardening, from the benefits of raised beds, to soil preparations, to choosing a great selection of culinary plants.  We’ll wander out to our demonstration vegetable garden so you can see what’s going on there, and how we manage to grow so much in such a small space. 

According to a recent survey by the National Gardening Association, nearly 20% more people are planning to have an edible garden this year than in the past.  The reasons they give might surprise you – it is not just about the weak economy.  More and more people know they will get better tasting food from their own garden; they will save money on their food bills; they will have better quality food (nothing is fresher and more nutrious when it is picked right before eating); and they will have the assurance of their food’s safety.  The salmonella scares with tomatoes and spinach over the past couple of years are making us all a little skittish.  It is reasuring to know where our food comes from and how it is grown and handled.  Besides all those good reasons, growing your own is just a fun thing to do!  I find I am a much more creative cook when I have good seasonal things to pick every day, right in my own backyard. 

Now is the time to get your plans in place for your first garden, and we want to help!   If you are already registered for the other class on Saturday, but would prefer this Tuesday class, just give us a call and we will be happy to move you over.   Class is free, please call to register:  503-649-4568.

I thought it might be fun to start posting a weekly recipe — a seasonal suggestion from the garden to your table.  To kick things off though, we are starting with an issue I have been asked here several times about – what kind of  wood to use for raised beds.  We know not to use railroad ties (because of arsenic), or wood treated with the highly toxic preservative pentachlorophenol.  So what are we to use that is safe and non-toxic for our edible gardens?  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests you preserve untreated wood for raised beds with this recipe; it has been shown to be as effective as the toxic treatments, and will last for up to 20 years.

Nontoxic Preservative for Untreated Wood

•  1 ounce paraffin wax
• 3 cups exterior varnish or 1.5 cups boiled l inseed oil
• Enough solvent (mineral spirits, paint thinner, or turpentine at room temp) to make a total volume of 1 full gallon

In a double boiler, melt paraffin.  (Never heat paraffin over a direct flame!)  Away from the heat, vigorously stir the solvent, then slowly pour in the melted paraffin.  Add the varnish or linseed oil and continue to stir thoroughly.  Apply by dipping the untreated lumber into the mixture for 3 minutes, or by applying a heavy coat.  The wood can be painted when thoroughly dry, if you wish.