January in the Garden

January is traditionally the time of day dreaming and planning for gardeners young and old.  Garden catalogs begin trickling in, tantalizing us with rediscovered heirlooms as well as new and improved flowers and foods.  Slowly we work through each catalog revising the list of everything we want, until we can be satisfied with what we really need and what we really have time and space for.  But many a cold, rainy day is cheered with all the possibilities.  

If you aren’t already inundated with gardening catalogs check out this blog post from ‘The Garden Glove’ on the Top 12 Garden Seed Catalogs:   <http://www.thegardenglove.com/top-garden-seed-catalogs/ >.  It contains most of my favorites, many of which are free on request.  When you click on a catalog name you are sent to their web site.  Most seed companies feature a link to a page where you can request a free copy of their catalog right on their home page.  If you don’t have Internet service, stop by one of our local libraries. Most libraries (including ours) have public access computers available, and someone is usually available to give you a hand or help you sign up for a class or a tutor.

Planing for Peppers

Believe it or not, now is the time to plan for peppers.  Peppers do an outstanding job when our summers are hot.  However, our cool spring weather can get them off to a dismal start. They tend to be very slow growing when young; the cooler it is, the slower they grow.  A little planning ahead will help you grow the best pepper crop ever.  Peppers of all kinds can be started inside (in late January or early February) if you can provide a warm location and bright light. Peppers germinate best with soil temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees. You can get a good guestimate of indoor soil temperature by laying a room thermometer down on the surface where you will place your seeded six packs. It may take some experimenting to find the right location. You need the seeded six packs to stay warm at night, but not get over heated during the day when they are under lights. Many people resort to special heating mats made for starting seeds; others skip the seed starting step and purchase young plants ready to harden off and slip into the ground.  If you want to grow your own peppers from seed, it is a good idea to find your spot or shop for a heating mat now. Most nurseries and garden catalogs keep them in stock, especially this time of year. Shop around; prices for exactly the same set up can vary greatly.

In January our minds are on catalogs, even when thinking of peppers. If you are interested in growing organic heirloom peppers, The Seed Savers Exchange has a great catalog.  Seed Savers offers seedlings of eight different heirlooms, three of which are hot, with the rest being mild or sweet.  You can mix and match or order a sampler pack.  And they have an amazing variety, nearly 50 different kinds of peppers, available as seed. (563) 382-5900 / <www.SeedSavers.org>.  If the latest hybrids are what you want; Burpee has in a dazzling variety, many available as seedlings or seeds.  (800) 487-5530 / <www.Burpee.com>.  If you are hoping for peppers even if next summer is cool, then you should visit Territorial Seeds. They have an awesome selection of both seeds and plants that have been proven to do well in the Pacific North West. 800-626-0866 / <http://www.territorialseed.com/>. You can request a catalog on-line or by from any of these companies.

Once you get your seeds growing or your plants delivered, you will want to keep them in containers until all threat of frost has past.  They will enjoy spending warm days outside, at first in the shade.  Each day they should be exposed to more and more sun, until they are ready to stick their feet in the soil and thrive.  Don’t forget to bring them in at night if it might get down close to freezing.  Save your peppers a sunny spot in the garden and they will reward you with a bountiful harvest.

 

Fresh Produce From the Garden

Winter’s crisp cold nights have an uncanny effect on many root vegetables, turning them sweeter than if they were grown in the summer. If you planted parsnips last spring; carrots, rutabagas, or turnips this fall—you can look forward to a special treat. Get out your shovel next time we get a break from the rain and use it to carefully loosen the soil around these delectable roots.  Dig only as many as you will need for a few days; they will stay sweeter and fresher in the ground than they will in the fridge.  You can use them in most any dish that comes to mind, such as home-made soups, casseroles, stir fries, or grated into salads.  For a real treat try roasting up a batch of mixed veggies. Roasting brings out the flavors of fresh dug winter roots like nothing else can, whether you throw them in next to a pot roast or a nice fat hen; or if you just roast them up on their own. 

Here is a veggie roasting technique that doesn’t require using parchment or any other fancy supplies. You can use a metal cookie sheet or a baking pan--whatever you happen to have on hand (and is safe for use under the broiler). Scrub up your veggies and cut them into pieces about two inches long by an inch wide and a half inch thick. Brush your pan and the veggies with a thin coat of olive oil. (If you don’t have olive oil, use whatever you have on hand.)  You can sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper or other seasoning if you like. Place your veggies in a single layer on your pan, and set your oven rack so the surface of the veggies will be about five inches from the heat.  Turn the oven on to broil, and keep a close eye on the veggies.  After about five minutes, as they begin to brown, you want to move them around on the pan so they don’t stick.  Continue checking them every three to five minutes. As they develop a nice warm color, pull the pan from the oven, brush their tops with oil and flip them over.  They won’t all be ready to flip, nor will they all be ready to remove from the oven at the same time.  But every time you turn or remove some, the rest can be shifted just a bit to keep them from sticking.  If you don’t devour these delectable morsels as soon as they cool, you can serve them as a side dish; arrange them on lettuce or other greens, toss them with pasta, tuck them into a sandwich, or offer them as a finger food with a little dip.  

However you serve them, the results are elegant. And it is so easy to prepare.  It is best to stay in the kitchen while they cook, because you don’t want to let your poor roots get scorched.  You can use the time to toss a salad or set the table.  It’s fun and it’s yum!

~~~

Published by the Willapa Harbor Herald, December 4th, 2017.  Posted here with permission.

A previous version was previously published by the Hoopa People News, in 2007.

Copyright 2017,  Harvest McCampbell.  Please feel free to use the buttons below to share.  All other rights reserved.  

Grandma Dana’s Red Chard

Chard selections can vary from thick succulent leaves to very delicate thin leaved specimens.  They can boast bold leaves up to 18 inches long, much smaller leaves reminiscent of dwarf spinach, and their flavor can range for a stout, bold chard tang to a delicate and refined flavor to please the most discriminating of palates.   Hand selecting seeds in your own garden is a great way to get the red chard your heart desires.

Grandma Dana’s Red Chard has much to recommend it.  When young, it is a compact plant that minds its manners in the garden.  It would be ideal for small spaces or containers.  The leaves reach to about 8 inches, and are right in the middle of thickness and flavor for the range of what chard can offer.  Not too strong, not too wimpy, just about perfect!  In addition it is tolerant of frost, and of recurrent ground freezing and thawing.  Here in my yard it proved hardy down to 10F and produced through the winter on about 4 hours of direct sun.  And it proved to be fairly drought tolerant through a dryish winter and spring.  

In late spring, it outdid itself with flowering and later with seed production.  While the flowers were no showier than other chards, the stalk shot up about four feet—with side branches reaching 18 inches in every direction.  And the fragrance?  On My!  Beets and chard are very closely related, and there are beet varieties that grown purely for the fragrance of their pollen, which is used in perfumery.  This chard smells so sweet, so complex, so wholesome -- am thinking I will plant it beneath every window, just for the fragrance alone!  To top it all off, it is just as colorful as any other red chard selection, and that winter shot of red in the garden is a joy to behold.  

I have saved a pint of seeds so far, with another pint tossed around the yard at random, and there is probably another pint of immature seeds on the plant.  In my little germination test, the seeds all sprouted in seven days,  with each “seed” producing between two and six seedlings.  (Chard “seeds” are actually multi-seeded fruits.)

 

Grandma Dana's Red Chard two weeks after planting.

This fabulous germination was under very adverse soil temperature conditions.  Over night the soil sometimes got down to 40F degrees and during the day it was occasionally as high as 100F.  They are very adapted to a broad temperature difference between night and day!  The copious seed production and the quick uniform germination makes Grandma Dana’s Red Chard ideal for micro green and baby leaf production, in addition to the vegetative stage being well adapted for small gardens and containers.

I can offer full tablespoons of Grandma Dana’s Red Chard through either Listia or eBay, to anyone who would like to try it in their own garden or small farm, for chard breeding purposes, or for those who would like to grow it out for small scale commercial seed production.   

This offer is likely only good until this year’s seeds run out.  I actually have a different strain of red chard that I personally hand selected, which I am planning on growing out this year.  If it survives to flower, (my seeds are old) I will keep it isolated from Grandma Dana’s chard for the first season, so I can offer untainted seeds of my own strain, but after that I intend to let them cross.  So, if you want seeds of this strain, be sure to contact me via comments or Listia.  If I don’t already have an auction set up (and if I still have seeds available) I will set up an auction at your request.

Once you have your seeds (no matter what seeds you are working with) plant them between ¼ and ½ inch deep in rich potting soil, keep them evenly moist and in bright light.  If your winter time temperatures go much below ten degrees, save some of your seed to start a second crop for early spring. If you want single seedlings for cell packs—start them in a sandy mix, and prick individual seedlings apart once the clusters have germinated, and then replant in good a rich potting mix.  Seedlings will need direct sun in the morning and in the late afternoon, at the very least, to keep from getting leggy.  When your seedlings are big enough to safely plant out in the garden, choose a spot where they will get at least 4 hours of direct sun a day.  

Young chard leaves and micro greens are good in salads, older leaves can be chopped and briefly steamed, sautéed, or braised for a colorful, tasty, and healthy side dish.  They can be added to soups and casseroles, omelets and soufflés, and included in any recipe that calls for greens of any kind. Bumper crops of chard can be dried, frozen, canned, or made into the most amazing sauerkraut you ever had.  Consult Joy of Cooking or any other good down-home cook book for recipes and instructions.

If you want to share tips or recipes, or if you have questions; either about obtaining seeds or about growing or using chard—please feel free to leave a comment!

Here are the same seedlings from above at five weeks from planting, with no fertilizer!  If I were growing micro-greens they would be ready to harvest!

 

Photos and text Copyright 2012, Harvest McCampbell all rights reserved.  Please feel free to share using the buttons below or to post links.  Please contact me before reposting or publishing.  

Arugula!

In all my years of garden writing, I am very surprised to discover that I have never written about arugula, which is one of my favorite greens.  This very tasty cool season vegetable has a unique spicy flavor all its own, which can vary greatly from strain to strain.  My hand selected arugula is my favorite, of course.  That is one of the pleasures of saving seeds—you only save the ones that perform to your personal standards!

My arugula has a flavor that is reminiscent of a combination of mild mustard and radish greens, with a tad of cilantro, sesame seed, and black pepper thrown in.  Arugula is a member of the mustard family.  It has a bold robust flavor that makes a lovely accompaniment to sandwiches, salads, and any dish to which you would add cooked greens.  While I am singing the praises of my own hand selected strain, you might want to know that arugula is actually an ancient plant.  It has been grown in the Mediterranean region since Roman times, when it was considered an aphrodisiac!

I don’t know about that, but all parts are edible!  Arugula finds its way to the plate as sprouts, micro greens, baby leaves, full sized leaves, tender young bolts, flower buds, flowers, and immature seed pods.  The fully mature seeds taste very similar to the leaves, just more so.  They can be ground or used whole, just as you would pepper or mustard, for a taste sensation all their own.

Arugula is as easy to grow as common radishes!  It is not very particular about the temperature of the soil at planting time, and you can start them in containers or directly in the garden--if it’s safe from seed eating birds and seedling eating pests.  If starting seeds directly in your garden is not possible, don’t feel alone. I am in the same boat!  To see my latest experiment on producing healthy seedlings see:  ‘Starting Seed, If At First You Don’t Succeed.’ 

Arugula seedlings can be started now for fall and winter production, and they can help you fill out your year around gardening plan. They not only can take a frost, they will survive occasional snow fall and ground freezing.  If your yard grows weeds in winter, you can grow arugula!  the farther north you go the more important full sun becomes, but here in Central California they do just fine with half a day of sun or even bright filtered shade.  If your soil stays frozen or covered in snow for most of the winter, you can still squeeze in a fall and early spring crop, and you might try over wintering a pot on a sunny enclosed porch or balcony.

The seeds should be planted about ¼ inch deep, kept in bright sunlight and as evenly moist as possible until the plants are well established.  The seeds will generally start germinating in 6 – 12 days.   If you work away from home, keeping the seedlings evenly moist while providing bright light can be challenging.  Check at your local nursery or in your favorite catalog for self watering systems that use wicks or moisture mats.  You can also skip germinating your own and look for six packs of arugula starts are your local farmers’ market!   However, there is nothing quite so satisfying as starting your own seed.

Here is what they look like when they first come up:

If, instead of looking like the babies in the photo above, they look like these in the photo below, you know they are not getting enough light:

Once your seedlings are about 6 weeks old, you can start pinching leaves for sandwiches and salads:

 By the end of winter, through spring, and possibly into the early summer--your plants will produce attractive tasty flowers that make a wonderful addition to green salads.  The flowers have the added benefit of attracting beneficial insects and providing food for our all important pollinators:

 

Arugula seeds are available from most well stocked seed counters and seed catalogs that carry specialty vegetables.  If you would like to try a few seeds saved from my plants, I can offer them through Listia auctions.  Listia is an on-line bartering platform.  It's free, it works on points (called credits) and you can earn these credits a number of ways (by listing your own auctions or by taking surveys--for instance).  But if eBay works better for you, just let me know.  If you have any question, please feel free to leave them in comments section below.

Here is a link to join Listia that fixes you up with some free credits:  https://www.listia.com/signup/.   Once you are a member you can check out my auctions here: http://www.listia.com/profile/1729366.  If I do not currently have an auction for arugula seeds listed, please feel free to contact me about your interest and I would be happy to put an auction up for you if I still have seeds available. (And again, I can put one up on eBay if that works better for you.)

For more on starting seeds see:

Seed Secrets 

A Few Thoughts on Starting Seeds 

Starting Seeds, If At First You Don’t Succeed

For more cool season crops see:

Broccoli:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/09/bodacious-broccoli.html
Carrots:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/10/colorful-carrots.html
Fennel:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/01/florence-fennel-real-food.html

Greens:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/11/fall-greens.html

Kale:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/02/kindly-kale.html
Kohlrabi:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/09/knobby-kohlrabi.html
Parsnips:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/04/plentiful-parsnips.html

Red Japanese Mustard:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/03/giant-red-japanese-mustard.html
Rutabagas:
http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/10/rutabagas.html

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Please remember that all text and photos are my copyrighted intellectual property.  Please feel free to share with the buttons below or to post links, but please do not repost or publish without contacting me first.  The best way to contact me is to leave a comment below, my e-mail accounts are so bogged down that I never manage to open all my mail.