Veg Garden Envy and Creative Ideas

Raised Bed - Vegetable Garden

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit a very avid home gardener in Austin, Texas. I have a serious case of garden envy going.  Even though I visited in the off season - it was easy to tell that there was a good deal of planning and learning that went into this garden design.

From the overview photo you can catch a glimpse of the numerous raised beds, use of arbors too. Off to the side are more raised beds in the shade, a field for native flowers, a spot where a cistern is going up this year, and fruit trees including an olive. The front yard also has a man-made creek running through it for wild-life. One of the features that helps make this a certified wildlife habitat.

Kitchen Scraps to Garden Treasure - Easy Plant Propagation

Starting plants from leftover scraps

Springtime and fellow gardeners are getting excited about planting seedlings. Seed starting is a key activity. This year I'm excited to be planting food scraps. Yes, there are a number of foods that you can grow from kitchen scraps. That's pretty great. The next best thing to buying local is not buying at all. Is this food recycling? It's nice to always have a home-grown supply of these items on my kitchen window sill or garden.  While it saves a little bit of money - it is also easy and fun! Kids that come over find it amazing.

To facilitate the process I use a plastic container from Costco apples. These little impressions are the perfect place to put the root end of celery, carrots, lettuce. Take a look at how this all works with examples of specific veggies. 

Here's my list herbs and veggies that I've (tried to) regrow from the scraps. Others listed at the bottom can be grown from seeds - but that's another story :)

Planning My Vegetable Garden

Home Grown Goodness! 

One of my favorite garden activities in the winter time is planning out the plantings for spring and summer. This year I'm getting more serious about the vegetable garden. That is because I'm eating lots more veggies this year :) and my neighbor cut down mature ash/elm trees which were along the property line and reducing the sun available to my garden.

Last year I broke my wrist in the spring so the vegetable garden never really got planted. It sat fallow all year. So this year it should be ready to burst forward with an abundance of produce!

There are many great resources for planning a vegetable garden. Advice for site selection, soil preparation, and more available. My task was selecting the plants and arranging them.

Urban Gardening / Farming - Tour of Rick Bayless Property, Chicago

In August I toured the Chicago urban farm and garden owned by Rick Bayless - chef and restaurateur. The garden features a mix of traditional beds, raised beds, containers and vertical garden space.  It hosts annuals (Tropical), herbs, vegetables, Citrus, fruit, succulents, and "farm" animals.

The garden was started over 15 years ago - as a hobby, but also as a demonstration of urban agriculture and to support organic greens and vegetables for his culinary needs. Since then it's grown to cover three city lots.  The vegetable growing space is over 1,000 square feet and includes indoor and "alternative growing spaces."  By alternative I'm referencing porch grow-box, vertical gardens, as well as indoor space utilizing grow lights.

Chicago Urban Garden (see the beehive)

At the start of the tour the guide and full-time gardener stated "don't try this at home" indicating that the garden has evolved overtime and is a business with nearly 6-8 part time

Urban Children's Garden Revisited - Harvest time

In spring I had the pleasure of touring an after-school programs urban garden - which was growing along the fence between two buildings. The photo at the right shows you the location of the garden along the fence.

The kids were so excited to be growing their own vegetables and herbs when I was here in the spring. I was skeptical that there would be produce at the end of the journey - I'm pleased to say they were so successful!

Take a look back at where they started in this blog in May 2014 - and see the results in August in the photos below. This is a wonderful example of maximizing small urban spaces as productive growing areas. I would have never thought that some of the vegetables would grow under these low light and small container conditions.

Urban Vegetable Gardening - Grow Your Own

What do you need to grow your own vegetables - space, soil, water, light. Sometimes that can be a challenge in the middle of a city. A few solutions are container gardening (see prior posts and links here) as then there are raised beds. If you have any trepidation about what may be in your soil or the composition of your soil - there are steps you can take to get in the right direction. These include "lasagna gardening", "raised bed gardening", and "vertical gardening."

Let's explore these last options - and I'll use photos taken June 2014 at the Garfield Park Conservatory and prior blogs to illustrate.  The outdoor Urban Demonstration Garden at the conservatory is a purposeful example of an Urban Vegetable Garden.

Panorama of Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory, Urban Demonstration Garden June 2014

Children's Urban Gardening - Making do with small spaces

Urban Children's Herb & Vegetable Garden

I had the opportunity to visit Creative Little Minds, a bilingual day care on Chicago's Northside. I was pleasantly surprised to see how the owner, Gloria, is incorporating gardening into the regular activities for everyone. This is with very little space in a city block. Here's the integration of Urban Gardening, Community Gardening, Children's Gardening and education all in one.   

Maybe these are some best practices:
1) Select clear garden spot with easy access for kids.  There is no threat to other garden plants or outdoor furniture or breakable objects. I think the use of the fence and walkway on the side of the house (pictured right) is a great idea. Although I wondered if there was enough sun for mature plants. 

2) Plants, pots, and tools are all placed within easy reach and at their level. I can imagine that it is easy for kids to inspect their plant growth every day.  The planters on the fence are at multiple heights - based on each child's abilities.

Harvesting Herbs for perfect flavor

Do you want to know when to harvest herbs from you garden? Here are tips I've garnered over the years. 

First off - is the herb something that you grow for the leaves, flowers, or seeds. That matters. For example, when harvesting (the evil) mint, pick the leaves you need. For thyme or rosemary you may take a whole sprig for putting with a roast. In other cases, like garlic, wait until the plant practically dies away and dig up the bulb. 

Tips for harvesting leafy herbs:

• When: Harvest as soon as the plant is established and frequently to encourage plants to produce new leaf growth. (Chicago would say early and often!). I like to cut herbs in mid-to late morning when they are no longer moist from dew and after I've figured out dinner plans in early evening ;)   In the heat of the day, if it's really hot, plants may droop a bit and harvesting at that time may harm the plant.  Especially with the hot summer's we've had lately.  

Maximizing Your Herb Garden - Maintenance

Formal Herb Garden (Photo from St Louis Mag, by JJ Lane)

If you've put in an Herb garden or started them up in containers - a little maintenance can really improve your harvest.  While I envy a large formal herb garden like the one shown on the right - I need to maximize a much smaller place. That means some work year round. Good news is that herb plants, general have low maintenance requirements. All one needs to do during the growing season is remove weeds, provide water, perhaps mulch or fertilize, and prune/harvest.  Below see more details on these steps and other considerations.

Container Gardens - Growing Herbs

Grow Your Own Fresh Herbs - Container Gardening

More recently as I teach Container Garden classes I'm asked specifically about growing herbs.  In particular small urban patio gardens and families with small children seem to enjoy this activity. I am an avid consumer of fresh, home grown herbs! Photo of harvest of mint, dill, parsley! Herb container gardening is a great way for new gardeners to dig in. There is a great satisfaction in serving delights from your garden. Plus the fragrance from herbs is wonderful. There are many herbs that I always grow in container (aka mint!) This year I'm putting more herbs and veggies in containers to make it easier to access from my kitchen! Planning container gardens is one of the many tasks on my Spring to-do list for my cold climate garden. 

Spring To-Do List for a Cold Climate Garden

I cannot wait to get back into the yard and garden this year. Especially given the amount of snow and cold we've had this winter in Chiberia. So many activities to get accomplished to both prepare my garden for a wonderful spring and start plants off strong!  I thought I would share the items on my list. Oh and please check out my Fall Cold-Climate Garden Checklist too.

Here's my spring to-do list for my Zone 5 /5b cold climate garden.  Check your frost/freeze dates by zip code on this website.

Spring Garden preparedness List:

• Check the fence for repairs or digging (dogs :)  )
• Check tools - repair, sharpen or replace
• Check Garden machines for repair and maintenance (Lawn mower, rototiller, leaf blower, chainsaw)
• Make sure I've got enough insecticidal soap, deer spray, dormant oil, fertilizer
• Check repair or replace hoses (sprinklers, spray heads) and put out into yard. Order a truckload of wood chips (free from landscaping companies.)
• Check that all drains are open and clear
• Get free manure from local equestrian center
• Find garden gloves and repair as needed
• Check garden spray bottles used to apply chemicals

Fall to-Do list for my cold climate garden

I am ever so busy in the garden this time of year. So many tasks to get accomplished to both put my garden to sleep (metaphorically) for the year and to prepare for a wonderful spring!  I thought I would share the items on my list.

Fall Flower Garden To-Do List:

Add Mums for Fall Color

• Divide day lilies (trade with friends :) )
• Divide peonies
• Plant hardy mums (from friends or rescued from commercial sites)
• Remove annuals as they are spent
• Select any annuals for overwintering. (get tips on this blog entry)
• Collect fall flower seeds
• Prepare for winter sowing (cone flower, shasta daisy, gaillardia, salvia)
• Move perennials which were in containers into the garden
• Scour garden centers for plant sales 
• Clean out dead plants and leaves (to mulch) 
• Dig out hardy decorative grasses as needed to manage spread 
• Pick aster flowers for drying

Fall Garden To-Do List for Bulbs:

Fall - dividing time for iris

• Divide daffodils (note marked with yellow and white golf tees. Note, I mark the placement of bulbs in my garden with golf tees. Yellow for daffodils and red for tulips. When I think a clump is ready to be divided, I place a white golf tee there too. Then in the fall I know where to dig and not dig)
• Plant daffodils, tulips (mark with yellow and red golf tees respectively)
• Plant garlic
• Start drying down canna for storage
• Dig up begonia tubers for winter storage

Fall To-Do list for Shrubs and Trees:

• Prune off diseased, damaged or broken stems.
• Plant new shrubs
• Trim back long branches that may be broken by snow
• Stake down limbs of Japanese Maple for bark-over the winter (move into the spot you want the branch to be in when it is limber. As it barks over in the winter it should stay in that spot next year when you remove the line.)
• Fertilize those trees/shrubs not done in springtime
• Mulch in trees
• Cut down and remove invasives (buckthorn, honeysuckle, privet)

Fall To-Do list for Vines, Ground Cover & Ornamental Grasses:

• Propagate by layering the euonymus vines (make shallow cut in vine and bury it.)
• Cut back vines from house and shrubs
• Pull tender grasses for over-wintering indoors. See this blog for how-to
• Pull out invasives (buckthorn, poison ivy)

I love fall weather! So crisp and just a great time to be outside! Which is great because I know what I'm doing today, tomorrow, and the next day!

Today I'm singing and feeling Forever Autumn by the Moody Blues!

Enjoy

Teresa Marie
 

Butternut Squash - skin irritant or natural beauty product?

It wasn't until a few months ago that I ever had fresh from the garden summer squash.  There was an upside and a downside. The upside was I started to dig in to learn a bit more about this plant and it's history plus I had discovered a plant that I enjoyed eating (I "hated" it as a child.)  On the downside I discovered some ill side-effects from handling the butternut squash - which also made me dig in and learn more. All of which I've summarized below. 

The summer squash, is native to Mexico and Central America. It was cultivated in the United States by Native Americans. Columbus and other early explorers introduced the squash back to Europe, where it became popular.  Most likely in part because of how long after harvest it would stay edible!  There are several hybrids and heirloom seeds out there. They seem to be pretty easy to grow (if you have the space.)

Butternut Squash that did me wrong :(

Butternut squash was the lucky squash that introduced me to how delicious and dangerous this plant can be. It's a summer squash of the "straight neck squash."  I didn't know that Butternut and Acorn squash can cause an allergic reaction when the squash skin is cut and exposed to the hands.  The first time I cut and peeled the squash within a few minutes I felt a tightness in the skin on my hands. I thought it was just the juice (or sap) from the squash drying on my hands. Then I realized that the flesh was staying moist after I cut it - it wasn't drying there, so probably not drying on my hands. Next I noticed that my hands were actually peeling from handling the squash. Revealing sensitive pink skin underneath.  Over the next few hours I scrubbed, rubbed, and picked at my hands until there were no more dry spots. It took a day or so for my hands to feel normal. 

Some articles say this is an allergic reaction (contact dermatitis - first noted in 1994 medical research), other articles say it is the sap drying on your hands. Too many online options - my experience, n=5, says something in the squash "juice" is a strong exfoliant, which may contribute to skin peeling.  The reaction to butternut or acorn squash, for me, was cracked skin, a sensation of "tightness" and "roughness." After the peeling completed my hands felt "sensitive" or "raw."  Applying lotion did not help me and even was a tad painful at that time.  Some people have developed blisters. I could definitely see this if peeling squash was your job! This reaction was immediate - within minutes of starting to handle the squash. By the next day, it was gone, creams and lotions felt great. Plus the skin on my hands was very soft :)

Please note - I also have contact allergies to cats, pine trees.... if that matters I don't know, just FYI.

I could not find any research that specifically identified the compound in the squash that triggers the reaction. There were studies that indicate it might be a reaction to a sugar or protein  Others that indicate that as the squash ages the potential for reaction declines (aging for weeks or months). This would make sense as the composition of the squash (in terms of sugars and proteins) would be changing as the fruit matures. Researchers conclude that the allergic contact dermatitis to the squash species Cucurbita moschata, including butternut squash, Kentucky field pumpkin, and calabaza pumpkin - can vary highly. The outer skin of the squash is not a trigger reaction so it's only cutting and handling the internal moist portions that are the problem. So it can be avoided. 

The best way to avoid squash sensitivity is to 

1. Let the squash age a bit before you cut/prepare it
2. Wear rubber or latex gloves while cutting the squash. 

It may seem strange - but I went for the gloves tonight as I prepared butternut squash. And there was no problems at all, no skin reaction. Just clumsy knife skills. Look at how stained the gloves were? Wow that would have been all over my hands.

Proper Butternut Squash Handling technique - Latex

Squash residue on gloves - great protection barrier

BTW - don't you just love the mushroom tiles in my kitchen (NOT!)

All the best - happy growing and cooking.

Today I can't get the sound of jingle bells out of my mind.

Teresa Marie

Vegetable Container Gardens - Growing Sweet Corn

I have often had the pleasure of teaching Container Garden classes across the Chicago area. Frequently I'm asked specifically about growing vegetables.  I too am a fan of fresh home-grown produce!  I just received my first seed catalog and I've already started planning for next year...I'm planing corn but not in rows. :) Planning what to grow and where is a key activity in a gardener's spring garden to-do list. BTW, here's my running spring garden check-list. 

Sweet Corn fresh from the garden

Families with children can use this as a great teaching moment. Kids get excited about growing edible plants. When my kids were younger they liked planting seeds, seeing them sprout, and watching plants and fruits/vegetables grow. It's even more fun when they recognize the seed as well as the edible result. 

Corn is one of the oldest and most hybridized edible plants. Corn as we know it today is the result of generations of careful cultivation.  For gardeners that means many choices - maybe too many. I look for something sweet or decorative/color and is a dwarf variety which will grow easier in a small space.

VARIETY:  Most seed companies offer dwarf corn varieties for container growing. I like to look for early varieties, and those under 6 ft tall. Yield is highly variable - bee sure to pick a variety that yields more than one ear per plant. This also helps with self pollination. Best results will come with more than 6-8 plants, planted densely. A larger grouping ensures complete pollination.  A few to consider, space saving varieties, Golden Bantam, Kandy Korn, Precocious, Strawberry popcorn, Early Sunglow, Trinity, Casino, Sugar Pearl, Tom Thumb Popcorn, On-The-Deck Sweet Corn 

CONTAINER: Corn roots typically have an effective depth of 12 inches, although in the field some roots can reach 2 feet deep. So in container gardens corn doesn't need a particularly large pot - a 24" container should be sufficient.  I like to use the half a wine barrel or tub as well! Gives a bigger harvest and has needed weight. A key consideration is the resulting height of the plants - a 4 - 7 Ft dwarf corn plant will be 5 - 9 Ft. high in the container.  It's a great accent piece and very architectural!  Yet think about container placement as well as wind protection!

CULTIVATION:   For corn, use standard potting soil and make sure to add lots of slow release fertilizer. Plant corn seeds about 4 inches apart, covering them with 1 inch of soil. When the sprouts are ~6 inches tall, thin to about eight inches apart.  Then on, make sure the corn has a good supply of food and water. Never let it completely dry out. Provide fertilizer once a week or bi-weekly. When the plants tassel, help them pollinate by gently shaking the stalks or hand pollinate if you have multiple varieties and then detassle the corn to prevent cross pollination.

WIND PROTECTION:  I've heard of three options for protecting corn, tall flowers and bulbs from bending over in high winds.  I've tried mounding and rebar options with good success.  If your corn does get knocked down, and if the stalks are sound - just prop it back up, pack the soil around it, and it should keep growing.

You don't need a field to enjoy sweet corn fresh!

1. WEIGHT:  Add stones and other weight to the container to keep the container itself from blowing over (this will not stop the plant from blowing over however)
2. MOUNDING: Just bank up some dirt around the bottom of the corn when it gets about 8 inches tall. Cover it about half way up the stalk. This will help keep the corn stable, grow a stronger root system and will "feed" the plant more nutrients. It can be challenging in a container, you may try pulling a fabric over the container (similar to the nylon mentioned in rebar) to keep the soil mounded.
3. REBAR - This works best for raised beds, but could be modified for container groupings. Get 1/2" rebar that is about 4 ft long (longer for taller varieties). Pound rebar in each corner of your garden area (or edges of the container, works well with wine barrels) Plant the corn.  After it sprouts but before it gains real height, take nylon netting (Home Depot or Lowes) and stretch it tightly across the rebar. Position the nylon at 1.5'ft.and at  3' level (1/3 and 2/3 your corn height). The corn will grow through the netting. The rebar and netting provide support to prevent wind damage.

I'm now thinking about sweet corn with butter, corn bread, corn salad - and can't wait to get some fresh.  My grand father used to walk through the field and pull corn off the stalk and taste it raw! 

Save some seeds for the next year! Oh an if you are interested check out this blog post on growing herbs in containers.

Teresa Marie