Giant Vegetables Coming SOON!

Me with a giant marrow growing in 2010

So someone asked me, ‘Hey Jannine, how come we haven’t heard about your giant vegetables yet?” Well, I’ve sort of been preoccupied with getting the tomatoes in the ground lately but all the giant vegetables are still in the house all cozy under my gro lights just waiting to go out. We still have some cold nights ahead in the next few nights so I want to wait a little more. Also all my peppers and eggplants are still inside as well as they HATE being cold more than tomatoes do. One cold night can stunt a pepper plant all season so I suggest you protect them with something the next few nights if yours are already out.

But back to the giants-I have 2 giant pumpkins, one giant ‘greenie’ squash, 2 giant marrows (think supersized zucchini), 1 giant pear gourd, 2 long gourds and 6 giant tomatoes. I’m shooting for next week to get them out. Don’t worry, I’ll be talking alot about giant vegetable how-to’s once they get going. Here is what I still have to do for the GIANTS:

I still have to do a final mixing of my soil and add some amendments in the giant vegetable patch I have.

I still have to get out my low tunnels for the giant pumpkins and greenie to go under to protect them from our intense sun and cold nights.

I still have to build a super tall arbor for the long gourds which can get as tall as 109+ inches. But I can still get them in the ground and build the arbor around them. If you build it, they will come!

I still have to create the drip system for a new giant tomato bed.

I still have to do a drip system for the GIANT VEGETABLE PATCH

I don’t know where the giant pear gourd is going yet! I think Bri’s GIANT VEGETABLE PATCH (named after my beautiful horse Bri who is no longer with us) is going to be really full this season!

Planting Summer Squash

Costata Romanesco

Summer squash is a warm season crop. A friend asked me yesterday when should she plant her summer squash seeds in the soil. Should she do it now that the magic date of May 15th has past. Well, we might be over freezing nights BUT the soil temperature is still pretty cool for these crops. Summer squash likes to be planted when the soil is a little warmer so I would wait at least a week. Here is some information about growing summer squash.

-The soil temperature should be between 65°F-75°F when planting the seeds. My soil temperature today was 62°F where I’m want to plant them so I’m going to wait till it is warmer because 70°F is actually optimum. If you plant too early, the seeds could rot or not germinate.

-Summer squash are heavy feeders so put lots of compost in your hole when planting and be sure to fertilize them at least 1 time a month during the growing season with fish emulsion and seaweed fertilizer.

I plant in a ‘hill’ which actually isn’t a hill at all but a circle where I put three seeds spaced out in each ‘hill’. That way if one of them gets a disease I can just cut it out and still have a couple left.

Two plants will feed 4-6 people so don’t go too wild unless you are feeding your neighborhood! I consider a ‘hill’ basically as one plant. Otherwise you will be looking for zucchini ‘victims’-people who will take some off your hands!

– Everyone tends to plant squash too close. Give them lots of room between plants. I like to give them about 4 feet between plants which seem like alot but they always seem to fill in the space. Overcrowding encourages powdery mildew later in the season.

-Plant some onions around your squash plant. This may help deter the dreaded squash bug from wanting to visit your plant. I planted some last year and I got a few but I think I got less of them.

-Summer squash starts producing fruit from about 52-65 days.

-Harvest when the zucchini type is about 8 inches long and the skin is easily pierce-able with your fingernail. Pick patty pan types when they are 2-3 inches in  diameter.

My favorite summer squash to grow

I like summer squash but won’t grow varieties that I can find in the stores or my farmers market. Why grow something I can already buy? So I’ve tried a number of different types of summer squash and definitely have my favorites. So here are my three favorite summer squashes.

Costata Romanesco-picture courtesy of uprisingorganics.com

ZUCCHINI TYPES:-#1-COSTATA ROMANESCO: This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE of ANY type of summer squash. Costata Romanesco is a ribbed zucchini from Rome, Italy and a famous Italian heirloom. Often considered to be the best tasting and best textured zucchini.  The flavor is sweet and nutty. The long fruit are fluted with medium, green-striped skin. The cut slices are scalloped. They are popular fried whole with the flower still on when still small. They are very flavorful and a perfect, gourmet variety. Pick this variety when it is 7-10 inches long.

Lungo Bianco

#2-LUNGO BIANCO: This variety is a light-green-cream heirloom zucchini and another popular squash from Italy. They are smooth skinned, mild and sweet. Pick this when it is 6-8 inches long

Bennings Green Tint-picture courtesy of sustainableseed.com

SCALLOP TYPE: BENNINGS GREEN TINT: My FAVORITE SCALLOP variety of summer squash is Bennings Green Tint which is a light green scallop squash. It stays tender longer and is extremely flavorable and not bitter.  Very nutty like flavor. I’ve tried golden Custard, yellow types, white types and striped types but ‘Bennings Green Tint’ tops them all for the scalloped variety. I like the colors of the other varieties but the flavor is missing. Pick this when it is 2-3 inches in diameter.

Epsom salts help tomatoes and peppers fruit production

Epsom salts

You may have noticed I add Epsom salts (1 tablespoon) at the bottom of my planting hole when planting tomatoes. Why in the world would I do that? Well, Epsom salts are NOT salt at all (as we think of salt) but rather magnesium sulfate. Epsom salt is a naturally occurring mineral that originally came from Epsom, England.

The main ingredient is magnesium which strengthens the plant cell walls, helping the plant to take in nutrients. It also helps with flower and fruit production of tomatoes and peppers. The other ingredient is sulfur which has to help our very alkaline soil a little (can’t hurt). I have read where some people mix Epsom salts with ashes back east but DON’T do that here. Ashes will make our soil more alkaline which we don’t want to do. I also mix up a tablespoon of Epsom salts to a gal of water and put it on that way for established tomato and pepper plants at flowering time if I missed out at planting time. It also helps your roses. They will  produce greener, lusher foliage and more flowers with Epsom salt.

It is considered a ‘home remedy’ but has been used by savvy vegetable gardeners for many years. All my tomato and pepper plants produce abundantly and I think this is do in part because of the extra boost of magnesium they get. So relax, buy Epsom salts at your local drug store, plant your tomatoes and peppers and take a nice bath with it afterwards!

My tomatoes are in!

55 tomatoes planted May 15th!

Each year I grow a lot of tomatoes, and I need a lot of tomatoes, what with being ‘The Tomato Lady’ at the Santa Fe Farmers Market later this summer. This year is no exception. Some friends of mine, Mernie and Lynne and Elodie and myself planted 55 tomatoes yesterday! And we did it in record time. I know some time was saved with the drip system in and the holes pre-dug but still it seemed to go faster this year. We acted like a smooth, oiled machine! Mernie and I went around and put all the amendments in the holes first, then I brought out the tomatoes and Mernie and I planted them while Elodie and Lynne followed behind putting up the wall of waters and then watered the plants with Seaweed and Thrive. Afterwards, I took them all to lunch as a GREAT BIG THANK YOU! I’m going to owe them a lot of tomatoes! I still have about a dozen more tomatoes to plant (front blank bed) but need to provide more drip line for them. What a relief-I almost feel like I’m back on track in the garden! Almost..

Strawberries

One of my fellow gardeners in the Las Vegas, NM area, Gene, asked me about strawberries and I thought what a good post it would make.

TYPES: Strawberries come in three types: June Bearing, Day Neutral and Everbearing.

June bearing strawberries: The most traditional berry that produces a single crop in early spring or June and are largest in size of the 3 types.  They produce for a 2-3 week period. It is the type I have. I got them from a friend who was thinning out her strawberry bed and I planted them 3 years ago so I’m not sure what variety but for sure they are June bearing type cause that’s when I harvest. Give them room cause they will take over areas. I’ve already let it spread out twice but I love strawberries so I don’t care. This winter I got hit hard with the extreme cold temperatures and lots about half but I’m sure they’ll come back.

Day Neutral strawberries: They produce continuously throughout the summer. They have smaller berries and fewer runners. These would be good for limited space.

Everbearing strawberries: Produce 2-3 crops per year-one in June, then late summer and again in fall. They also have smaller berries and fewer runners. These would also be good for limited space.

VARIETIES: You’ll have to do some research to learn more about these varieties listed here:

  • Early – Earlidawn, Catskill, Raritan
  • Midseason – Surecrop, Redcheif, Midway
  • Late – Guardian, Fletcher, Sparkle

PLANTING: With all strawberries, they like a soil with lots of compost so be sure to heavily amend your soil before planting the plants. Plant in full sun. Dig a hole that will accommodate the roots in the soil but be sure to keep the crown at or just above the ground level-otherwise it may rot. Plant about 18″ apart. Don’t worry if that seems like a lot of space, each plant will put out runners and baby plants from the runners and soon it will fill in.

Pick off any flowers the first year so the plant can put it’s energy into growing instead of making fruit.

Harvest the second and third year and then thin out, taking the original ‘mother plant’ leaving room for the babies. The babies will produce more fruit if you thin out as the original plants will slow down. So dig them out, start a new patch or give them to a friend. June bearing types put out a lot of runners and baby plants every year and must be thinned out for sure every 3 years.  Trim off the runners if they are running over your boundaries. I don’t know about the other types and how much they run.

PROTECTION: Now to keep the birds from eating them–I DON”T use that ‘bird’ netting as I got a small bird caught in one and it died and I felt awful so now I just cover the patch with row cover. I can water right through it and just pull it back to harvest. Much better. This is my third year so I will see how many I get what with the winter damage. Last year (second year) I got a ton and they were great!

For winter protection, some people put about 6 inches of straw over them after it freezes. I don’t bother, maybe I should have this past winter!

Pictures of Planting Tomatoes Outside

Well it’s time to plant tomatoes! Finally! This cold and windy weather is going to take us almost up to the average first frost free date and the tomatoes inside are chomping to get out in the world! I will still use ‘Wall of Waters’ on all of the tomatoes that are not too tall as the nights are still very cool for a tomato. Here are some pictures of how I  transplant tomato plants outside.

First I harden them off outside for about 4 days or longer if I can wait that long! I put them outside for an hour or two each day and increase their outside time each day. Start getting them use to our harsh conditions they will have to endure.

Next after I dig the hole, I add some yum-yum mix (a handful), a tablespoon of powder milk, a tablespoon of epsom salts, a shovelful or two of aged compost (or bagged compost) and a small handful of mushroom compost (not too much-its high in salts). Then I mix it up with some of the soil I dug out.

In addition, new for this year, I am adding a small handful of humate and a tablespoon of bone meal (for lots of flowers) and some worm castings. I will mix this in with the above amendments.

Next I take off any lower leaves, especially if the plant has become leggy and place it deep in the hole with the amendments and backfill with the  amended dirt. If it is really tall, plant it on it’s side. It will develop roots on the stem either way.

Notice how deep it was planted. Here I make a ‘well’ around each plant and place my drip line tightly around the new plant (not shown).

Fill the well several times–one time with Seaweed and ‘Thrive’ in a bucket. DO NOT use a regular fertilizer like Fish Emulsion at this time. Wait till the plant acclimates. Later as the plant grows, after I remove the wall of waters (when the tomato plant peeks out over the top of them), I will loosen the drip line inside the well to water more of the root zone as the plant grows.

To put my wall of water on the plant, I place a 5 gallon bucket inverted over the plant. Then put the wall of waters over it-do this part in the morning so the water has time to heat up the cells that will give off the heat at night back to the tomato. Fill up the ‘cells’ with water and remove the bucket. Be sure to pull the handle up on the bucket when you first put the wall of waters over it or you’ll have a hell of a time removing the bucket.

I place a few bamboo sticks inside to hold it up should a big gust of wind come up. I also tie another bamboo stick next to the tomato plant and loosely tie up the plant with a twistie tie so it doesn’t fall down. Remove the wall of waters when the plant outgrows it. Here is how the plant looks in the wall of waters. Ok now I get to multiply this times 64 plants…

Related post: Secrets to planting tomatoes

Rhubarb

Rhubarb-Victoria variety

Yesterday I picked up 2 rhubarb plants-Victoria variety (not the root types but the actual plant) at the nursery and will transplant them today. They were flowering and I read that if they start flowering, one should cut off the flowers so it puts it’s energy into growing leaves again. I hope it will do well with the asparagus (I read somewhere that it likes asparagus close by).  I wish my plants looked like the picture here but alas they do not. The plants look a little sad-root bound, only 2 leaves each and dry but I think I can revive them-they just need room to stretch out…

Getting ready to plant tomatoes

Still prepping the soil for the tomatoes today with Caleb. Got the last of the garden beds amended with the composted horse manure and all the holes dug where they will go in next week. Put the drip line back in place but haven’t tested it yet. The exact date of planting tomatoes is still unknown because next week is a mixed bag as far as the weather is concerned. Low temperatures will be from in the HIGH 30’s and the high temperatures will be in the 70’s degree range. Maybe we are over the freezing weather at night-I hope so.

I’m going flyfishing at the San Juan River over the weekend. My housesitter, who is also my garden apprentice, will watch all the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants inside while I’m gone. After I return, I will put the tomatoes in the ground- weather permitting. Looks like I’m almost going to May 15th. Last year I couldn’t wait to start planting and many of my tomatoes really struggled in early May when I first planted them. If they didn’t freeze then they were wind burned and they got set back because of my impatience! This year I’m trying to be patient!

10 things to do in May in the Garden

May is here and what a big month for vegetable gardeners. Here’s 10 things to do in the garden during this busy month.

1. Now is the time to HARVEST your spring greens before they flower in the heat and become bitter. Did I say harvest? Yes, but don’t worry if you haven’t planted any greens, there is still time. Chard, summer varieties of lettuce and New Zealand Spinach are still available to us to plant NOW and will do well in the summer. Got a shady place to garden? That’s perfect for greens in the summer or supply your own shade to help extend your harvest time in the heat of the summer.

2. AMEND your whole vegetable bed with compost or aged manure if you haven’t already done so before you plant.

3. Still plant carrots, onions, beets, shallots in the first part of the May.

4. Plant seeds of cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, corn, and most other vegetables DIRECTLY IN THE GROUND AFTER MAY 15. I put row cover on all seeds planted to keep the birds from eating the seedlings when they pop up. Works great. Then once they are about 3-4 inches tall, I take it off-the birds aren’t interested anymore.

5. Also after  May 15th you should plant your tomato starters in the ground. If you pick them out of a nursery, look at the tag to see how many DAYS TILL YOU CAN HARVEST that big juicy tomato. If you pick one that is 100 days, chances are you’re going to have to pick it green and finish ripening it inside because of our short growing season. I usually get EARLY AND MIDRANGE tomatoes. Early tomatoes can be ready to harvest between 52-65 days and midrange tomatoes between 70-80 days.

6. PLANT TOMATOES IN WALL OF WATERS which act like cloches and give them extra protection and heat while they adjust to the soil. You can get wall of waters at some of our nurseries or online. They are an invaluable tool for me for my tomatoes against the occasional cold snap in May. PLANT AS DEEP AS POSSIBLE-roots will grow on the planted stem.

7. After May 15th you should put your eggplant and pepper starts in the ground also. Peppers, eggplants and tomatoes don’t like it cold so if we get a cold night you’ll have to protect them. PROTECT THEM WITH ROW COVER if they are not in wall of waters.

8. When planting vegetable starts, I like to heavily amend each hole I will put the plant in. I will add things like yum-yum mix, compost, mushroom compost, or aged manure and mix it up in the bottom of the hole before putting the plant in. Then I water with seaweed and Thrive for a couple of days until they adjust. After a week or so, I will fertilize with fish emulsion, not earlier-I don’t want the starts to burn or go into shock with too much nitrogen.

9. For all veggies, I make a well for the water to collect so it doesn’t run off. Be sure to make a big enough well so as the plant gets bigger it can hold more. I use a drip system so I put my drip line tightly around the plants and spread it out as the plants grows. AFTER THE SOIL WARMS UP IN JUNE, I will put straw on top of the drip line and in the well and water it down so it doesn’t blow away the first time the wind hits it. Use straw-NOT hay which has lots of seeds in it. Straw has a few seeds but not many which are easily picked out as they germinate. This mulch also acts as a barrier against soil-borne diseases that splash up on tomatoes and peppers. It will help keep the soil evenly moist when we get into the heat of summer.

10. Be sure you stake and tie up any vegetables (especially tomatoes) as they grow so our heavy spring wind doesn’t break them in May. Also if you use wall of waters and live in a windy area, I put some small bamboo stakes on the inside to help support them against the wind blowing them over.

Time to get busy in the veggie garden!

SECRETS TO PLANTING TOMATOES

Tomatoes in wall of waters that are ready to take off-2010

Hopefully we can plant tomatoes in the garden in the month of May. The last average frost date is May 15th.  I like to try to get them in early every spring if possible. I don’t think it will happen this year with these cold late spring nights. Here are some of my secrets to growing great tomatoes.

-If growing from seedlings or nursery starts, harden plants off for a couple of days before transplanting them outside in the ground so they don’t go into shock.

-Before planting, amend the soil in each hole before planting. Add lots of compost, yum-yum mix, a small handful of mushroom compost, 1 tablespoon Epsom salt-the bath type (adds magnesium) and 1 tablespoon dry milk (adds calcium and wards off some fungal diseases). Mix up with soil in bottom of hole.

Pinch off lower leaves on the tomatoes and plant tomatoes as deep as possible. Don’t worry about if it leggy, it will grow roots along buried stem and become stronger.

-Don’t rush to plant if still cold at night outside. Tomatoes don’t like to be cold. If you do plant early, put a ‘wall of water’ around the plant IN THE MORNING so it has time to heat up the water and tomatoes by evening. Wall of waters protect down to 28°F. Place a 5-gallon bucket upside down over top of tomato plant and put the wall of water over the bucket. That way is can hold up the wall of waters while you fill each cell with water. Then take off bucket and the wall of water will hold itself up. I use bamboo stakes inside the edge of the wall of water so the walls lean on them to help keep them open as they can blow over when winds are high.

-If leaves turn purple underneath, it means the ground is too cold and the plant can’t take up the available phosphorus in the soil. Sprinkle rock phosphate around base of plant and water in to help them turn green again.

-Make a large well around each tomato so water stays close to root zone. If you have a drip line, put it in well now around base of plant.

-Add water and THRIVE AND SEAWEED FERTILIZER in a bucket and water well when you FIRST plant outside but NOT fertilizer.

Tomato in cage, branches trimmed off the ground, in concrete reinforcement cage with straw in well and supported by green ‘t-post’ that cage is tied up to

-In June AFTER THE SOIL HAS WARMED, add straw around well to keep moisture level even. This will help keep the water from evaporating and will keep the water from splashing soil on them. Splashing soil on tomatoes can allow soil borne viruses to get into plant.

-Use bamboo stakes and tie up plant. Change out to bigger stakes as plants grow. Cage plants as they grow or tie to tall stake. I use 5’ green t-posts for stakes or make cages out of concrete reinforcement wire.

-After plants have been transplanted for about 2 weeks, FERTILIZE with FISH EMULSION and SEAWEED. This should be in early June. Fertilize again in July (2-3 times during the season). Too much fertilizer makes lots of leaves but will not produce as many tomatoes.

-Train tomato plant to one or two stems. Allowing multiple stems promotes more green growth but takes away from fruit production.

-Pinch off suckers. They grow between the main vine and side branches. They take energy away from the fruit. Do not pinch off blossoms.

-Cut off or tie up any branches that touch ground. Tomatoes can get soil borne diseases from touching ground.

-If using one of my wire cages, I use a small 3’ t-post to tie my cage up to it, as plant gets bigger. This really helps to prevent the plants from blowing over when they get top heavy.

-Water consistently throughout season. The main reason tomatoes get cracks is uneven watering. The most efficient method of watering is by a drip system.

-Use ‘Serenade’ as a foliar spray for some soil borne diseases like Early Blight. It is best used as a preventative. Spray every two weeks or at first sign of disease. It is a made from a soil microbe and is organic. Aqua Fria Nursery carries it.

-Use ‘Companion’ as a drench around base of plant to help keep fungal diseases away. It is made from another soil microbe and is organic. You can Google it, as you must buy it online.

-If you do get some diseased branches, cut off branches with clean scissors. Disinfect scissors between plants with alcohol or a 10 % bleach solution. Take out severely diseased plants and throw in trash, not compost pile.

Note: If you are a smoker, wash hands before handling tomatoes-you can pass a virus called tobacco mosaic.

International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day this Sunday-May 1, 2011!

GIANT TITAN SUNFLOWER

This Sunday, May 1 is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day where people all around the world will go out and plant some sunflower seeds in a public or private place that needs beautifying this summer. Look for places that have bare ground and maybe a drip system where you can plant the seeds next to a drip emitter so the seeds have a chance. Also try not to plant them where they may be cut down by a someone who might think they are weeds. Guerrilla gardening is done to beautify otherwise neglected areas. You may be brazen or secretive about your planting. Let’s make this an annual event!

For anyone interested, I will supply FREE sunflower seeds on this Sunday, May 1 for you plant. Come gather at  Liquid Light Glass located at 926 Baca Street #3 here in Santa Fe, NM. Show up at 12:30 to get your seeds and everyone leaves at 1pm to go plant. Oh, and don’t forget your trowel!

Afterward if you want, add your experience and where you planted on the ‘Comments’ section of this post for all to read. Later this summer when they flower, take a picture and send it to me and I will print it in a post with others! Hope to see you Sunday! May the force be with you!

Here are some ideas of where to plant (feel free to add your own):

RED SUNFLOWER

1. On medians that the city takes care of

2. In the parks

3. In empty dirt lots

4. On the Plaza (you’ll have to be sneaky)

5. On dirt streets or street corners

6. In church lots

7. At state building grounds

8. By the courthouses

9. At the museums

10. on school grounds

11. At restaurant grounds

12. At big box stores parking lots

13. You think of somewhere-be creative and let me know!

Good day to plant seeds inside-Cold!

Good day to be inside today. Caleb, my apprentice, came out and we planted many things inside as the wind was blowing outside and  it snowed until midday. Very cold! So he planted his tomatoes up to the next size pots, and we planted seeds of 13 collards and 14 dino kale. Then we planted 27 flowers in 2 inch pots and 2 mystery gourds as we don’t know what type it is. I’ve never planted flower seeds INSIDE before. I usually plant them directly in the ground OUTSIDE, so this is new for me. Now I need another big plant heat mat for them. For now they are on the floor by a south facing window. I may see if they germinate there as I don’t know how warm they need to be-not like tomato plants that want it warm…

Don’t Plant Tomatoes Outside Yet-Cold Weather Forecasted AGAIN

Weather forecast April 27-May 1

Here we go-Cold weather AT NIGHT again. Today the weather is cold high 56°F and low 25°F, already snowing a little bit. It’s ok , we desperately need the moisture. Unfortunately we are also going to get high winds-up to 70 mph! Above is the forecast for the next 5 days.

All 60 tomatoes and giant pumpkins, giant squash and marrows are inside and waiting to go out but I’m hanging tight and will wait till the nights are a little warmer and above freezing. I will still plant them in wall of waters for extra protection when they go out but why throw them out when I know what’s coming…I try to sneak them out early every year but I just have to wait and see. Our first frost freeze date is May 15th and it looks like we might go to then..

Grow Sunflowers and Other Flowers this Year for Bees!

Queen of the Sun movie poster

Fact: Of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees. Without them, we would soon starve. We need to be educated and take care to not poison bees with pesticides and herbicides.  We need to protect the bees.

Just saw ‘Queen of the Sun’, a movie about bees and their plight and our plight in the world-Excellent movie. The movie won 8 awards at film festivals. Since I now have a bee hive on the property, I want to take care of them and their beekeeper, Caleb is going to teach me through the year. In return I hope they pollinate everything! Bees and gardening go hand in hand.

Along the same lines, believe it or not, I just saw an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ called ‘The Burns and the Bees’ that was addressing the bees problems and it was great! It was done in 2008. The bees are getting some press-even in a cartoon. Hope as humankind gets educated, the bees make a comeback!

In the meantime, grow some flowers and especially grow some sunflowers this year for any bees that may visit your garden. Sunflowers are not only beautiful to look at but the bees like them as well.  Also grow a succession of flowering plants through the whole growing season such as Russian Sage, Lavender, Asters, Black-Eyed Susan, Penstemon, Zinnias and Agastaches. These are a few of many flowering plants they love. You want lots of vegetables this year? Well, then help the bees find your vegetables by planting some flowers in your garden that they like. Also look at what pesticides and herbicides affect bee populations and avoid them.