Get in the Garden » vegetables

Tomatoes: Black And (Almost) White

Lisa Gustavson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:33:22 +0000

I love cherry tomatoes. I have since I was a little girl and my Uncle Walter grew them in his yard. Whenever we visited in summer he would lead me across his manicured lawn to the back of the house where his cherry tomato plants grew. I ate them like candy savoring every warm juicy bite. Uncle Walter never grew tomatoes like the heirlooms I’m harvesting in the garden now, but I bet he’d like them!

‘Black Cherry’ tomatoes are truly one of the most beautiful cherry tomatoes I’ve ever grown. The color is a deep brownish red with dark green (almost black) at the shoulders. Planted near the grape arbor in compost-rich soil and mulched with comfrey leaves and hay, the only water they received was rainfall. They didn’t seem to mind… the plants currently stand at 6′ and are loaded with fruit.

The flavor is characteristic of dark tomatoes, quite different from the usual cherry tomato varieties grown for their high sugar content. Not noticeably acidic, the tomato flavor is more smoky with a dash of salt. After the first taste I was smitten; black cherry tomatoes will definitely be a ‘regular’ in our garden from now on. I think they’d be really lovely planted with purple basil and daisies…

‘White Currant’ is a wild-type cherry tomato that’s super-small and extra-sweet. Its natural habit is to trail and the vines are l-o-n-g even for an indeterminate variety; ours measure about 8 1/2′ at the moment. I caged our four plants and they easily grew up, over and out of the cages and now resemble tomato fountains with sprays of small fruit ripening on the straw mulch. Next year I’m training them along a horizontal support!

The tiny pale yellow fruits (they aren’t truly white), are somewhere between that of a small grape and a currant in size and grow in clusters. The flavor is amazing, unbelievably sweet with just a hint of tangy, which is good because our plants are very productive even by cherry tomato standards! I’m sure a few have escaped into the straw mulch to emerge as volunteers next spring… that’s fine by me! I’m eager to pair them with the Black Cherry tomatoes, perhaps very lightly roasted with olive oil and tossed with fresh chard and pasta? Of course I’ll have to stop eating them all first… Happy gardening!

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Now Harvesting: Heirloom Beans

Lisa Gustavson — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:50:09 +0000

My green thumb came only as a result

of the mistakes I made while learning

to see things from the plant’s point of view.

~H. Fred Dale

As long as I’ve been growing vegetables in our backyard, I will never tire of harvesting beans. Beans, be they bush or pole, snap, shelly or dried are the dependable working grunts in my vegetable garden. I love them! The seeds are easy to sow, the plants relatively quick and easy to grow and the harvests are more than fifty-fold for each seed planted. Unlike many other vegetables in my zone 5/6 garden, I’m able to sow bean seeds once a week through mid-summer and have harvests until a frost kills them… even then the spent plants are nitrogen-rich additions to our garden beds! When friends ask which seeds are best to start with in a new vegetable garden I always suggest heirloom beans.

The popularity of heirloom seeds has brought a bevy of lovely old bean seeds back into seed catalogs and local shops… do try a few! Where the delicious and prolific Provider bean is my “staple” bean for canning and freezing, we’re enjoy “Dragon Tongue”, “Vermont Cranberry”, “Rattlesnake”, “Purple Queen” and more all summer for fresh eating and recipes. Pole bean varieties “Gold of Bacau”, “Trionfo Violetto” and “Borlotti” pick up where the bush beans leave off and one one pole bean “Christmas Lima” will be dried and used all winter along with other beans we’re drying. The tastes are unique, the colors are beautiful and most heirloom beans are delicious at the snap and shelly stage (when the seeds begin to bulge in the pods). It isn’t too late to sow a few beautiful heirloom bush beans for a fall harvest, but get them in the soil soon. Keep the soil moist and pick any pesky beetles that may appear to chomp the foliage. No room in the garden? Tuck a few heirloom bean seeds in among your flowers where they add a splash of color or sow a few in a container. Wherever you plant them you’ll be glad you did… say hello to beautiful heirloom beans! Happy gardening!

From top to bottom we’re picking today:

“Rattlesnake” bush bean

“Dragon Tongue” bush bean

“Purple Queen” bush bean

“Vermont Cranberry” bush bean

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July: Second Season Success

Lisa Gustavson — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:51:29 +0000

A problem

is a chance

for you to do your best.

~Duke Ellington

The vegetable garden in July is “payday” for all of our hard work. The temperatures are hot, the soil is warm and the plants are lush with abundant fruit. In my garden crops of carrots, potatoes, beans and beets have been producing for a bit and are beginning to wind down. Others like tomatoes and peppers are just starting to ripen. In between the harvests of those vegetables there are a few others that have not performed well for various reasons; weather, insects, disease and critters. If your garden (like mine) has suffered a few setbacks, July is a good time to adjust!

Of course you won’t start tomatoes in July and see a harvest if you live in my zone 5/6 area, but there are several seeds you can sow that will delight you with harvest in fall and perhaps make up for the disappointment of any crop failures. Why leave valuable growing space empty when you can harvest from it again in September?! Lettuce bolted? Summer squash mildewed? Beans through producing? Remove those spent crops and compost. (Never compost diseased plants.) Prepare the beds with new additions of compost and rake smooth. Seeds for beets, fennel, carrots, cauliflower (yes!), beans, kale, turnips, lettuces, summer squash, radishes and greens can all be direct-sowed into the garden this month with successful harvests in September and beyond. A few, like the summer squash may not produce as prolifically in the shorter daylight and cooler evening temperatures of late summer, but after the daily harvests of other crops in July and August slower is kind of nice.

Go ahead… pull up the veggies that are finished or failing and renew your growing space. Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean the season is ending! A few things to remember when sowing fall seeds:

Seeds need moisture to germinate. Sowing the seeds a bit deeper than normal keeps them from drying out in the hot topsoil layer.
A light mulch of grass over the entire seedbed allows the soil to remain cooler and moist for germination.
A row cover will prevent hungry birds and critters from snatching your seeds and seedlings as they forage in the garden.

Happy gardening!

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Vegetables: Good for You Inside and Out!

Lisa Gustavson — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:20:06 +0000

Why do potatoes make good detectives?

Because they keep their eyes peeled!

Who doesn’t love healthy, delicious vegetables and fruits fresh from the garden? They’re full of vitamins, antioxidants and other healing compounds our bodies need. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to know those same vitamins and compounds found in fresh vegetables and fruits are also work to promote health on the outside of our bodies. Keep these simple remedies in mind to try when the harvest begins in your garden or when you take a trip to your local market or CSA.

Carrots: Not only are they rich in antioxidants, they have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. try a soothing face mask after a long day in the hot sun.

Grate one carrot over a bowl. Squeeze out the liquid into a separate small bowl.
Add 1 Tbsp. honey, 1 egg yolk and enough flour to the carrot and stir to make a paste.
Gently apply to your face and relax for 15-20 minutes. Wipe clean with a dampened warm washcloth.
Leftover cooked carrots can be mashed and applied to cuts and scrapes to prevent infections.

Cucumbers: Widely known for their skin healing properties, they cool and cleanse skin.

Slices of cucumber placed over tired, puffy eyes will soothe them.
Pureed cucumber or cucumber juice is excellent used to cool sunburned skin.
For dry skin, puree one cucumber and mix with 1 Tbsp. sugar. Apply to your face and let sit 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Tomato: With so many delicious ways to eat tomatoes why on earth would you want to make a facial mask with them? Easy…it’s all natural and it works to treat break-outs! Tomatoes are high in vitamin C and contain acids that remove dead skin and unplug pores.

Put into a blender 1 fresh picked ripe tomato, 1tsp. lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. oatmeal. Blend until a smooth paste forms. Pat over your face and relax for 10 min. Remove with a damp washcloth.

Strawberries: High in natural fruit acids that act as an exfoliant when used as an ingredient in a sweet smelling hand and foot scrub. It’s quite effective for rough skin caused by *avid* gardening.

Crush a large handful or two (about 10) of strawberries and combine in a bowl with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. sea salt. Massage gently into hands or feet. Rinse well and pat dry.

Eating vegetables is already a part of your healthy diet, why not try them as natural health products too? Not only will they save you money, they’ll keep you as healthy on the outside as you are on the inside! Happy gardening!

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March Garden Chores

Lisa Gustavson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:52:14 +0000

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

~Theodore Roosevelt

With the “official” first day of spring merely eleven (!) days off, it’s a good time to plan monthly garden chores. It’s helpful to keep track of progress and record any notes in a journal throughout each month of the growing season. (As always, please keep in mind your USDA zone, your chores may be accomplished earlier or later than my zone 5b/6a garden.)

March

Indoors: Now is the time to sow seeds indoors for peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, artichokes, lettuces and Asian greens. Remember to use a sterile starter mix to promote healthy first roots. If you have seedlings started, remember to bottom water with diluted organic fertilizer when the first true leaves appear and thin out crowded plants by snipping extras off at the soil line with a small pair of scissors. Transplant any seedlings with roots extending outside the pot.

Seeds outdoors: Seeds for spinach, escarole, peas, fava beans, turnips, dill, fennel, parsley, chervil, mache and swiss chard and sets of potatoes, onions, leeks and shallots can be planted in prepared garden beds from mid-month on.
Plants outdoors: Prune berry brambles and fruit bushes as well as grapevines and ornamentals. Cut back flower stalks and rake out dry debris from beds. Remove thick, matted wet leaves from beds by hand. Fertilize spring bulbs lightly with bone meal worked into the beds.
Tools: Inspect all garden tools. Clean, sharpen and repair/replace any that require it. You’ll want to have a reliable hoe, rake, spade, pruners and hand trowel for working in the garden. There are many other wonderful tools and gadgets available, these are the necessities.
Soil: Spring is the time to enrich the garden with compost and manure if it wasn’t done the fall before. Four inches of well-rotted manure spread on top of the garden and turned under will benefit your plants throughout the growing season.

A note about compost: Herbicide residues have been detected in commercial composts and manures. When spread into a garden bed the plants grown remain stunted and may even die. The herbicide can persist in the soil for several years, thus affecting crops for many seasons. There is an article available from Mother Earth News here with more information. It’s always important to know the source of anything you add to your soil. Local farms are often a reliable option for composted manures instead of buying commercially. Check your local Craigslist and Freecycle listings.

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Heirloom Vegetables: Art in the Garden

Lisa Gustavson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:14:58 +0000

While I sift through seed packets and sketch out garden plans for the summer garden I am reminded again just how valuable heirloom seeds are. The history and heritage of each is a fascinating look back at gardening in countries all over the world. Seeds were lovingly collected and saved, safely tucked away for the long voyage to this country and started anew. Amazing!

As I look to my list and arrange plants in their proper places on paper, I’m also struck by the beautiful “pictures” I can create in the garden with heirloom vegetables. A stroke of purple from eggplant Listada and a hint of Caspian Pink tomato blended with Golden Sweet peas paints a Monet-worthy picture. For eye-popping color, the vividly colored Bright Lights chard, Tequila Sunrise peppers and Mascara lettuce yields a Warhol effect. Renaissance still-life paintings come to life in the textures and lines of Costoluto tomato, Marina di Chiogga squash and Prescott Fond Blanc melon. Heirloom art that grows!

I play with my food… I like to mix the plants up, mingling the vegetables and the flowers, planting my own “works of art”. Each year as I plant my appreciation of the beauty and details of each blossom and fruit grows. Heirloom seeds are true treasures, they’re art in the garden!

Brode Galeux d'Eyesine heirloom squash.

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The fruits of my (indoor garden) labor…

Lisa Gustavson — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:20:12 +0000

It seems all at once everything has changed in the indoor garden. A week’s distraction has revealed:

Eggplant leaves that measure 8 inches in length!

The first delicate, white blossoms of peppers.

More okra… I wasn’t even sure it would grow. I’m glad I tried!

Though a bit smaller grown indoors, silverbeet tender and delicious.

Pretty pink blossoms as sweetly scented as the white.

Wong Bok’s central heads forming. I’m gladly making room for the ever-spreading rosettes.

Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes…a lot of them.

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Vegetable gardening 101: (Final)

Lisa Gustavson — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:08:11 +0000

A last reminder about the heirloom seed give-away. I’ll be drawing names on December 22 to win free heirloom seeds just for visiting my site. To enter, simply leave a comment or send along an e-mail to getinthegarden@gmail.com and mention heirloom seeds in the subject line. It’s my way of saying “Thanks” for stopping by and encouraging you to “grow your own”!

This is the final post in the “vegetable gardening” series. The last crops to be planted in late spring are the real heat lovers in the summer garden: cucumbers and melons. Both require full sun, steady warmth, very fertile soil and ample water throughout the growing season. They do well grown under row covers until blossoming to help retain heat and stop insect damage. (Remove the covers when blossoms appear.)

Cucumbers: (Cucumis sativus) Members of the Cucurbitaceae (gourd) family which includes melons, summer and winter squash. The vines need room to ramble or will require trellising. Harvest in 50-80 days.

To plant: Seeds should be started indoors 4 weeks before planting out. (Seed starting on right.) Cucumber seeds require steady temperatures of at least 80 degrees to germinate. Prepare the cucumber bed by digging holes 15″ wide, 12″ deep and 24″ apart (or dig one long trench). Shovel several inches of well-rotted manure and compost plus a handful of bone meal into each hole. Replace soil and mix well to combine. Tamp down firmly and sculpt the soil to create a shallow bowl where each hole was. (For a trench build up the sides of the bed to 4″ and leave the center area lower.) Plant one seedling in each hole, taking care not to disturb the roots. Mulch well between plants to suppress weeds. To direct sow seeds outdoors wait until temperatures are above 70 degrees. Follow the same soil preparation, planting 3 seeds per hole and thinning (by snipping, don’t pull) to strongest plant when second set of true leaves appear.
Pests: Cucumber beetles/larvae eat through leaves, roots and spread bacterial wilt throughout the vegetable garden. Row covers/netting prevent beetles from laying eggs in the soil. Rotenone is effective in severe cases. Cutworms chew through seedling stems at ground level and kill plants. Use “collars” made from toilet paper tubes slipped over plants and pushed 1/4″ into the ground to prevent damage. Frequent cultivation exposes cutworms at the soil surface for birds to eat.
Tips: Cucumbers are very sensitive to cold, use water warmed by the sun and pour carefully around the base of the plants. Mulch well between plants to suppress weeds. Onion skins and marigolds in the cuke bed discourages insects. Pick frequently to encourage fruiting.
Seed saving: Do not save hybrid cucumber seed. Separate varieties (pickling, slicing) by 200′ in the garden to avoid cross-pollination. Allow the cucumber to stay on the vine until very plump and yellow, the longer the better. Cut in half and remove seeds with pulp. Place in a glass jar with a bit of water and cover for 48 hrs. Pour off fermented pulp and floating seeds. Rinse the seeds that have sunk to the bottom in water and dry for one week before storing.

Melon: (Cucumis Melo) Cantaloupe and (Citrullus vulgaris) watermelon can be grown in the home garden, but it’s necessary to select a variety that will ripen in your zone. Smaller varieties are best for Northern gardens. Harvest in 80-90 days.

To plant: Melons resent transplanting and the roots are very sensitive to transplant shock. If starting seeds indoors use a bio-degradeable pot with a bottom that will easily decompose. Newspaper plugs (projects on right) are ideal. Do not set plants out until the soil temperature is at least 70 degrees. Soil preparation is the same for sowing seeds outdoors and planting seedlings. Melons have four soil requirements: light texture, well-drained, very fertile and very warm (70-80 deg.). Prepare the soil by digging in 2″ each of well-rotted manure and compost, plus several handfuls of bone meal and greensand. For heavy soils create a raised bed by mounding soil 4″ above garden level. Seedlings should be planted 2′ apart in rows 4′-6′ apart at the same depth they were growing in their pots. Plant seeds 2″ deep every 2′ in rows 4′-6′ apart and thin to the strongest plant when the true leaves appear.
Pests: Cucumber beetles cause wilt. Use row covers/netting to prevent soil access. Rotenone can be used for severe infestations. Rodents nip off the blossoms. Use a foliar spray to deter them (concoctions on right) or use row covers and remove during blossoming. Melons are prone to wilts, viruses and fungus. Plant resistant varieties and follow organic garden practices for healthy soil.
Tips: Cucumber beetles can be deterred by interplanting onions, nasturtiums or radishes along the rows of melons. Sow the seeds for the flowers and radishes 2 weeks before planting seedlings out.When watering, use sun-warmed water and pour carefully around the base of the melon plants avoiding leaves. Do not water late in the day. Feed with liquid kelp or fish emulsion once a week.
Seed Saving: Melon varieties must be separated by at least 250′ in the garden. Save seeds with the pulp on them from a ripe melon you have eaten and place into a glass jar with a bit of water; cover. After 48 hrs. pour off the pulp and floating seeds. Wash the seeds that have sunk and let dry several days before storing. (Seeds are dry when they snap in half when bent.)

That’s it! There are, of course, many more wonderful varieties of vegetables, fruits and grains (not to mention herbs and flowers!) to grow in a home garden. The best way to try them is to grow them! It’s easy and enjoyable and one taste will have you hooked. I’d love to hear what you’ll be growing in the garden next season and I look forward to sharing my garden with all of you in 2010. Happy seed selecting!

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Seeds for Thought

Lisa Gustavson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:29:19 +0000

“Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.”

E.B. White

With 2010 seed selections becoming available it’s not too soon to begin planning the summer garden. If you’re considering planting a garden for the first time (or know someone who is and need gift ideas), this list of easy-to grow vegetables will get you started. While not completely “fail-proof” they are quite forgiving and produce well throughout the season.

The list (with sample heirloom varieties) includes:

Radishes: “Early Scarlett”, ‘French Breakfast”, “White Icicle”
Peas: “Little Marvel” (dwarf shelling pea), “Dwarf Gray Sugar” (snow pea),”Super Sugar Snap” (snap pea)
Lettuce, mesclun mix, spinach: “Black Seeded Simpson”, “Lolla Rossa”, “Merlot”, “Brune d’Hiver”
Beans: “Bountiful” (green bush bean), “Brittle Wax” (yellow wax bean), “Royal Burgundy” (purple bush bean)
Summer squash: “Ronde de Nice”, “Cocozelle” (zucchini), “Early Summer Crookneck” (yellow squash)
Winter Squash: “Delicata” (short vines) “Table Queen” (acorn), “Waltham Butternut”
Carrots: “Chantenay”, “Danvers Half Long”
Tomatoes: “Amish Paste”, “Brandywine”, “Earliana”, “Beefsteak”
Peppers: “Hungarian Yellow (wax pepper), “Giant Marconi” (sweet bell), “Joe’s Long Cayenne” (hot)

No garden is complete without flowers to attract bees and other beneficial pollinators. These annuals are easily grown from seed and provide food for bees and butterflies:

Sunflower
Zinnia
Marigold
Bachelor Button
Cosmo
Calendula
Morning Glory ( climbing vine)
Sweet Pea ( climbing vine)
Nasturtium (trailing vine)

Finally, herbs are easy to grow from seed and it’s much more economical than buying single plants. Most do well grown in pots as well as the garden:

Basil
Sage
Cilantro
Dill
Parsley
Thyme
Chives
Oregano
Anise

Not on a mailing list? Shop online (seed sources) where many sites offer web-only specials. You’ll get the choice of 1000’s of organic heirloom seeds and stop paper waste. Check back here every Tuesday and Thursday in December, too, I’ll highlight different vegetables each day and offer tips for successful growing.

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My Garden Favorites: Heirloom Vegetables

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:39:42 +0000

How timely that the first of the 2010 garden catalogs appeared in the mailbox today. I’ve been busy choosing my favorite heirloom vegetable performers of the year and making final selections of varieties to grow next season. I hope to include a few heirloom flowers and ornamentals as well.

With July’s non-stop rain and August’s cooler than normal temperatures, these plants amazed me with their vigor. Late blight devastated tomato crops along the Northeast early this year, but the heirlooms in the garden remained untouched and the yields were tremendous. ( I thank God for that.) The peppers and beans were prolific in production and warm fall temperatures allowed a second harvest. Heirloom French winter squashes were the star performers of the garden this year… abundant and truly beautiful as well as delicious. They’ve earned a perennial spot in the line-up.

2009 Best Performers:

Trionfo Violetto pole bean
Chiogga beets
Dragon Tongue bean
Forellenschluss, Merlot, Lolla Rossa lettuces
Rhubarb Chard
Sunburst pattypan, Patissons Panache scalloped squash
Rosa Bianca eggplant
Rouge Vif d’Etampes pumpkin
Galeux D’Eysine winter squash
Corno di Toro pepper
Mammoth Red Rock cabbage
Cherokee Purple tomato
Brandywine Pink tomato
Amana Orange tomato
Golden Ball turnips
China Rose radishes
Jenny Lind melon
Amish Paste tomato
Hungarian pepper
Sweet Banana pepper
San Marzano paste tomato
Pepperoncini
Blue Podded Pea
Yellow Snow Pea

2010 vegetable garden:

Musquee de Provence squash
Jarrahadale Blue squash
Telegraph Improved cucumber
Prescott Fond Blanc melon
De Bourbonne cornichon (gherkin) cucumber
Navet Des Vertus Marteau turnip
Boothby’s Blonde cucumber
Moon and Stars watermelon
Ancho Gigantea pepper
Mini chocolate, yellow, red bell peppers
Feher Ozan paprika pepper
Tequila Sunrise pepper
Chervena Chushka sweet pepper
Beaver Dam pepper
Waspsipinicon Peach tomato
Great White tomato
Vintage Wine Striped tomato
Black from Tula tomato
Silvery Fir Tree tomato (indoor growing now)
Manyel tomato
Black Cherry and White Currant cherry tomatoes
Rattlesnake pole beans
True Red Cranberry pole beans
Christmas Lima pole bean
Hutterite Soup bean
Black Valentine bush bean
Broad Windsor fava bean
Red Garnet amaranth

That’s it! I’m looking forward to having more beans in the garden as well as trying new pepper varieties. Naturally, grinding fresh paprika and red pepper is appealing and right at home in the herb garden. For now, though, back to the indoor garden where it’s time to pot up the eggplant and peppers.

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