Don’t forget to feed the birds!

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Now that winter is here, check bird feeders daily. We still have many feathered friends and more than ever they need our help at this time of year.  Experts recommend giving birds black oil sunflower seeds because of their high fat content in addition to their regular food. Put some in your feeder and don’t forget to put some on the ground so the ground feeding birds can get some too. We have a covey of Scale Quail that have visited us since summer and continue to do so this winter. They can’t get in the feeder so we’re sure to put some out on the ground and even on the snow for them. We were lucky enough to see them bringing their babies for food and water in the fall.

Bluebirds only visit us in the winter getting water every day, flying further north I guess in the summer. Woodpeckers, Flickers and even Magpies will come and visit you if you put out suet for them. Other birds include Robins, Thrashers and of course the Pinon Jays among many others. This is the time of year when birds need more of our help as food and water are more scarce.  Don’t forget fresh water and if it is frozen, put on a teakettle and put the hot water over the ice, melting it just enough for them. Don’t worry about burning the birds, the water cools immediately when it hits the ice water. It is actually harder for birds to find water they can drink in winter.

Veggie Tip-What to look at in seed catalogs

2011 Baker Heirloom Seeds Catalog

Why order from seed catalogs vs getting seeds or plants from the local nurseries? Variety. We have more choices to pick from. Now don’t get me wrong – I buy many of my vegetable plants from our local nurseries as well. I don’t start all mine from seeds but I like to grow some new varieties every year and many of those aren’t sold locally. Besides I really like going over the catalogs. What should we look at when ordering from our seed catalogs? Here is some information that catalogs give to help us make our decisions in choosing which variety to buy.

1. Quite often catalogs will list the particular needs of the variety-i.e. needs cool moist soil, tolerates heat, etc. This is important information to consider because of our cold springs, hot summers and what location we plant them at our houses.

2. They list whether it is a hybrid or heirloom variety. I like to grow mostly heirloom varieties so I look for this.

3. We get specific information on each variety-size, weight, color, flavor,  etc and often the history of where a particular seed came from. I especially find the history interesting. I like knowing where they originate from.

How many days to harvest-this tomato was 72 days

4. Probably the most important thing to consider with each variety is how many ‘days’. This means how many days to harvest. Here in Santa Fe, we have a short growing season. Our last frost is the average date we no longer experience freezing temperatures which is May 15th and the first average frost date is around Oct. 10. Last year was a really cold, windy spring with night time temperatures still at 27° on June 6th. We basically went from Winter to Summer. Every year offers new challenges for us weather wise and the weather has everything to do with how many days to harvest depending on when we can put the transplants or seeds in the soil.

 

So how many days to harvest? Some vegetables such as summer squash, cucumbers, lettuce, etc don’t take many days to harvest but some vegetables need a longer growing season such as winter squash, watermelon, and tomatoes so buy varieties that won’t go into October to ripen. Let’s take tomatoes for an example.  If we choose a tomato seed that says 72 days, we’ll probably get tomatoes but if we choose one that says 95 days to harvest, the odds are we won’t get any ripe ones before we get that first frost in fall. In Santa Fe, we should be looking to grow varieties that ripen in 60-80 days. Tomatoes come in early, mid and late season varieties so keep that in mind. Early season goes from 52-60 days, midseason goes from 60-75 days and late season goes from around 80-100 days. You certainly can try some late season varieties (I do) but pick more in the early-mid season range especially if you are only planting  a few. Also with tomatoes that ’80 days to harvest or 80 days’ means from transplanting plants outdoors not planting seeds outside. I’ve had people come up to me and complain they only have green tomatoes in October and when I ask what variety, it usually is one of the longer growing ones so pay attention to that day information in the catalogs because you can usually find some varieties with shorter days till harvest in every variety out there.

Purslane-The Edible Weed

Purslane weed

 

The other Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, is considered a common weed in most of the U.S but did you know it is also edible? Look how different it looks from the cultivated types I just posted about. I want to write about both aspects of it as a food source and also as a weed. Purslane thrives in New Mexico where the dry climate is conducive to its needs. The plant looks like a succulent with its thick reddish, flesh colored stems and milky leaves. It has a long taproot and produces a yellow flower with many seeds.

closeup of purslane weed-photo from gardenguides.com

This purslane is edible (like the cultivated types from Europe) when young and can be used in salads or cooked like greens. It is more and more being discovered as a food source and is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and antioxidants. In fact it has more Omega-3 fatty acids than many fish. For those of you who are strict vegetarians and don’t want to eat fish, this might be a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids for you. For more information on health benefits, go here or here. So next time you pull it,  you might try it in a salad or steamed.  The stems, leaves and flowers are edible so maybe next time  I see it flowering (before it seeds) I will pick them and put them in a salad. The plant just doesn’t look that appealing to me, but more and more people are eating it.

Now as a weed, it IS considered a nuisance here in NM. It does produce a deep taproot but I find if I just take my hoe and chop it off at the ground when it first germinates, or pull it before it seeds, I can control it. If you let it go to seed, it can be invasive. The older the plant, the harder it is to pull that taproot out and you will need a shovel to completely remove it. Make sure you pick up all stem pieces as it can reproduce itself from them as well. Don’t put in your compost because of this.

So is it a weed or a food source? Depends on who you talk to!

Winter Purslane (Miners Lettuce) and Mache (Corn Salad)

I was doing some research on Winter Purslane and Mache for including them in my cold frame for next fall/winter gardening and found a seed company in (of all places) New Mexico.  It is called www.gourmetseed.com and hails out of Tatum, NM and you can purchase these items and more from them.  Mache is pretty common but I haven’t heard about Purslane (except the wild kind that grows here). So let me talk a little about these two winter crops that have been grown in Europe for centuries.

Mache (French Corn Salad)-picture from gourmetseed.com

Mache-(Valerianella locusta)

This gourmet green is also known as corn salad and lamb’s lettuce. It has been cultivated from France since the 17th century. Mache was named because it’s leaf resembles the shape and size of a lamb’s tongue!  It is one of the few greens that can handle our winters (like spinach). It grows in a rosette if you plant individually but most just broadcast the seeds (like you would for mesclun) in an area to make a carpet of leaves as they are very small. Growing low to the ground, it is harder to harvest but it has a nutty, sweet flavor worth the effort. To harvest it, just take a knife and cut it off below the leaf level being careful not to injure the delicate leaves and wash well. You can eat it alone or put it in with other salad greens but use a light vinaigrette or even lemon juice and a little oil-it is too delicate for heavy dressings. They say you can steam it like spinach but it is too small for me to do that. I grew this many years ago under row cover in raised boxes and it did well but grew very slow in our winter but when Spring came it was ready and I went out one day only to find the chickens had escaped and raided the garden and they ate all but a few leaves of my Mache! The few leaves left tasted wonderful so I hope they enjoyed it! It like colder weather so I may try again this early spring as it takes 6-12 weeks till harvest but much longer if it goes into winter. Mache doesn’t like to be warm. Maybe I’ll try it when I plant more spinach in early March and again next fall.

Winter Purslane (Miner's Lettuce)--picture from gourmetseed.com

Winter-Purslane-(Montia perfoliata)

This is not to be confused with the purslane weed that grows wild in New Mexico and throughout the U.S. I will write the next post on that one (Portulaca oleracea) because it is interesting too but for now I want to focus on this variety. This winter green is also known as Miner’s Lettuce or Indian Lettuce and is rich in Vitamin C. It was eaten by early miners to avoid Scurvy. This wonderful wild green is used in Germany and other European countries for it’s tender young leaves. It is used as an addition to mesclun and other salads or steamed like spinach. You pick the leaves when they are young and tender. Most people plant this in fall because it handles the winter so well. I think I will try this in my cold frame next fall. I haven’t done a cold frame in years until this year, but am enjoying seeing the spinach, oakleaf lettuce and chard in it. It’s nice seeing something green in the dead of winter and hopefully if they survive this winter, I will get an early crop of some wonderful greens and now that I’m excited again about fall/winter gardening, I will definitely plant some Mache and Purslane next year. You might consider it too.

2011 Seed Catalogs

2011 Seed Catalogs

Now’s a great time to look at all those new seed catalogs we’ve been receiving. I’ve gotten a few new ones (for me) as well. I am now going over them and deciding which seeds I can’t live without! So many choices! I’m only adding a few new tomatoes as I par down the list from the past 2 years. That and I am not going to grow as many as last year because I need to rotate them to new areas. I’m planning on growing more flowers down in the main garden as well. For more information on all my favorite seed catalogs, go to my catalog page at the top of the blog (also on the right sidebar)

two new seed catalogs for me for 2011

I also got 2 new seed catalogs-One’s called ‘bbbseed’, which features heirloom vegetables and wildflower seeds. It’s veggie section is little but what interested me in the catalog is it comes out of the Denver area and seems to be a good resource for wildflowers for our areas.  You can order a catalog at www.bbbseed.com. The other catalog is John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds. It looks interesting with it’s larger veggie and flower section. You can order one from www.kichengardenseeds.

Veggies I will and won’t grow this year and why in 2011

Here is my veggie list from last year. I thought it important to go through it and tell you what I will and won’t grow again and why before I forget. Look at my SEED LIST PAGE next week (as it could always change) to see exactly what I am growing in 2011

TOMATO-HEIRLOOMS
San Marzano-red plum tomato-YES-I will try again even though ALL 4 died. I hear too many good things about this tomato

Striped German-bicolor tomato-YES-I WILL grow it again for my third straight year-One of my favorites even though it takes a little longer to develop

Black Cherry–YES– I will grow this for my third straight year-another favorite

Paul Robeson-black tomato-YES-A Farmers Market favorite although I prefer others.

Cherokee Purple-purple tomato-NO-I missed this one last year but it is wonderful. As good as Brandywine.

Cherokee Chocolate–YES-Just as good as Cherokee purple but a little brownish color. I will choose between one of the Cherokees due to space.

Prudens Purple-purple tomato-NO-not as good as the Cherokees nor as prolific but planted it because it was suppose to ripen sooner-not true for me last year.

Black Krim-black tomato-NO I didn’t do this one last year but had it in the lineup because it is only 69 days to ripen. Never had good luck in previous years.

Pantano Romanesco-red classic tomato-YES-wonderful tomato from Italy

Great White–NO– novelty-lost both plants

Costoluto Genovese-red tomato-YES fantastic looking-fluted and great taste

Goldsman Italian American-large red plum-YES even though I lost 3 out of 4, and it took forever to ripen, it makes the BEST tasting tomato sauce I’ve ever made

Aunt Ruby’s German Green–NO-Novelty-lost 2 plants

Gold Medal-bicolor tomato-MAYBE-took longer to ripen than Striped German but great taste

TOMATOES-HYBRID-I grow a few hybrids
Lemon Boy–MAYBE-didn’t get any in last year but it is a sweet terrific tomato

Park’s Beefy Boy-red tomato-70 days-YES-only 70 days and great taste

Sun Sugar-yellow cherry-NO-kinda like a lot of yellow cherry tomatoes but super sweet.Want to try something different.

Original Goliath-red tomato-NO– nice size, early ripener but can’t remember the flavor

TOMATO-COMPETITION (biggest)
Big Zac-red/80 days-YES-takes the longest to ripen but taste is great and chance to grow a huge one.

2010 VEGGIE LIST
BEANS-Rattlesnake-YES-great tasting pole bean over my arbor and Tavera-NO average tasting bush bean

PEPPER-Shishito-YES-I love these-not hot but full of flavor

SUMMER SQUASH-ZUCCHINI-Costata Romanesco –YES wonderful taste and Lungo Bianco-NO-it was good and more prolific than Romanesco but not as flavorful. Sticking to one kind this year.

SUMMER SQUASH-SCALLOPED-Yellow Custard and Bennings Green Tint-NO on both. I’m only growing Costata Romanesco

WINTER SQUASH-Marina di Chioggia–NO-powdery mildew problem and not many squashes and Galeux d’Eyesines–YES-prolific-great taste-3rd yr.

EGGPLANT-Little Fairy-YES-prolific tender skin and great taste, third year in a row. Thai Yellow Egg–NO-took all season to develop and then froze at first frost. What a disappointment.

CUCUMBERS-Parisian, Boothsby Blonde, Poona Kera, and Parade–YES TO ALL-Third straight season

CORN-not sure if I’m growing. Might just pick it up at Farmers Market

LETTUCES-from COOK’S GARDEN-Provencal Mix, Mesclun Mix, Buttercrunch, Yugoslavian Red, Santoro Lettuce, and Little Gem-YES

SPINACH-from COOK’S GARDEN-Indian Summer and Double Choice-NO-will look for bigger leaf variety.Too puny.

CARROTS-from COOK’S GARDEN-Kaleidoscope (mix of red, purple, orange and yellow)-NO want only orange and purple ones this year.

BROCCOLI-Brocolli Romanesco-NO–takes too long to develop.

ARUGULA-Apollo–YES

BOK CHOY-Extra Dwarf Pak Choy-YES

CHARD-5 Color Silverbeet–YES TO ANY CHARD

PEAS-DWARF SUGAR, OREGON SPRING II–YES

2010 GIANT PUMPKINS
895 Grande (1016 Daletas x 1385 Jutras)-YES-grew the 2010 NM State Record Pumpkin-421 lbs + 3 other new ones

GIANT MARROW (like a giant Zucchini)
206.5 Wursten 09–YES–didn’t grow last year but will this year

75.4 Wursten 09–YES–grew the 2010 NM State Record-43 lbs

GIANT TOMATOES
7.18 N. Harp 09 (5.58 Timm x open) YES–grew a 2 lb 11 oz tomato in 2010

5.416 N. Harp 09 (5.58 Harp x open–YES

Big Zac (from Totally Tomato)-YES

GIANT SUNFLOWERS
Titans–YES

Christmas Cactus blooming!

Closeup of a Christmas Cactus Flower-Jan 2011

I have a Christmas cactus which isn’t exactly a vegetable (what’s it doing here) and isn’t exactly a cactus. It is a Zygo-cactus that looks more like a succulent. With care it can bloom around this time of year. I noticed my flower buds in early December and it was blooming by Christmas. I got to admit, I’ve never had much luck in getting them to bloom so I did some research this year (after it bloomed)  It is amazing it bloomed at all this year considering I did almost everything wrong.

Christmas Cactus plant-Jan 2011

There is actually 3 hybrids of this cacti-Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Cactus so maybe you don’t have the Christmas type if you didn’t get it to bloom around that time. It is native from Central and South America and is a member in the Zygo-cactus family (that’s not Zydeco-it won’t dance). They are tropical cacti and have different care requirements than the standard cacti. So here is what you should do and what I did..

1. Your suppose to keep them in a cool room starting around Sept-Oct, in indirect light and where the temperature is around 50°. I had it in my main great room, in indirect light but in a part of the room where it was right by the floor heater. I have to admit temperatures were certainly much higher as I’m not going to be in that cold of a room! Around Thanksgiving I noticed the leaves burning from the heaters so I moved it further away.

2. They also say to keep it in total darkness at night. That didn’t happen either as their are big windows that let the moonlight in and there are many sleepless nights where I go out into the great room (meaning lights on).

3. We’re suppose to water less when you want them to bloom which I always do anyways. Less meaning I really let it dried out between waterings but not to the point of wilting.

4. Christmas cactus require 50-60 % humidity. Good luck on that one in high desert. I coulda put a pan of water by it but like I said put it by the heater instead. Opps..

5. It likes to be pot bound-no problem there.

Fertilome Geranium, Hanging Basket & Pansy fertilizer

6. The best fertilizer is 0-10-10 but they say no higher than 10 on the nitrogen which would be a 10-10-10 fertilizer. I blew it there too. I started giving it a 20-20-20 around the beginning of November  which I have never done before. Suppose to fertilize around 3 times (that sounds about right)  But the plant  By December 15th or so it started getting little flower buds! It seem to really liked it. The fertilizer was  ‘Fertilome Geranium, Hanging Basket & Pansy’, all purpose fertilizer -20-20-20 (non organic-only in house)

So here’s what I got right (and evidently it was enough): the indirect light, didn’t overwater, let it be pot bound, and did give it some fertilizer (although the wrong ratio). It is still flowering beautifully. Evidently it’s not as picky as they say. Good thing plants are so forgiving at times..

Four Season Harvest

Four-season Harvest by Eliot Coleman

I am currently reading Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman and am really enjoying it. It is about growing organically vegetables all year long. Great reading!  It has good information from season extensions to winter vegetable gardening and of course summer gardening. I highly recommend it. You can also go their site, fourseasonfarm for more information on all their gardening books and their farm.

Winter gardening

Main garden Jan. 8, 2011

Bri's Pumpkin Patch Jan. 8, 2011

It really looks like old man winter has arrived. Here are pictures of  the main garden and pumpkin patch down by the barn that I took this morning. We’ve had some precipitation (finally) on Dec 31-Jan.1 and some absolutely frigid temperatures last week which is why it is still on the ground.  Another Arctic blast is due here next week. Oh boy, can’t wait..

I went to get some carrots in my small patch protected only by 12 inches of straw up by the house for dinner last night and the carrots (yellow carrots) were looking good but the ground was frozen. All those nights in the single digits made the ground rock hard. Guess I’ll have to wait till spring when it thaws to harvest some.

Cold Frame Jan 8, 2011

When I checked the cold frame, the soil is still soft and the plants are doing great!

Winter lettuce damage

A little damage on some of the lettuce leaves from the -4° we had one night but not bad considering I don’t pay any attention to it except for an occasional watering. In the picture notice I have large bubble wrap on my cover to add insulation and you can see the row cover to the left that I have to cover the crop with to also add protection. Guess this is working pretty well. The transplanted chard is holding it’s own and the spinach leaves ARE ACTUALLY GROWING-slowly but growing!  So I watered the cold frame winter veggies before the next big weather front.  I use gallon jugs to water-easier than the frozen hose…

Closeup of cold frame veggies

Bear 2000-2011

Bear, Handsome Bear, as I always called him, was my big male Swiss Alpine wether. Today I  had to have the vet put him down after a battle with severe Arthritis. He’s had it for a long time but had been really struggling for about a month now. He was always very protective of his twin sister, Butch who is still with us. He loved attention and having his pictures taken. If I brought a camera down, he would always ham it up. Here are some pictures of my beloved Bear. He was a great goatie thing.

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Welcome to a new gardening year

Happy gardening in 2011

Welcome to a new gardening year! Just wanted to give thanks and gratitude to a great gardening year and to all of you who visited this past year. There were approximately 5700 of you from all over the world who visited at one time or another and that isn’t in a full year since I started Jan. 12, 2010. WOW! I’m not alone in my gardening venture! I plan to share more of my information and new gardening adventures this season.

My major gardening goals for 2011 are:
(I call them goals instead of resolutions that way I can’t break them)

1. Grow a 525+ lb giant pumpkin
2. Grow a 75+ lb giant marrow
3. Grow a giant green squash (think green pumpkin-like squash)
4. Grow a 4+ lb giant tomato
5. Build a hoophouse by Spring

The goals are now out to the universe. I’m a firm believer that one must put them out there to make them happen. I better get busy for this huge list!

So I got a lot on my plate this coming year and I hope you follow along, glean some useful info from the posts, AND share any info you may have as well. The more we learn from each other the better gardeners we’ll be. Have a great year!

PUMPKIN PUZZLE CONTEST-WIN A GIANT PUMPKIN SEED!!!!

My Front Steps puzzle on TheJigsawPuzzles.com

CLICK ON ME!!

PUMPKIN PUZZLE CONTEST-WIN A GIANT PUMPKIN SEED!!!!

The other puzzle was a warm up. Now it’s a CONTEST!! Do this 100 piece pumpkin puzzle above and give me your best time (there is a time clock on puzzle) in the LEAVE A REPLY section at bottom of this post. The best time wins a giant pumpkin seed if you want one. Honor system applies. And if you don’t want a pumpkin seed you can get another one of my ‘best’ seeds from any other vegetable seeds I have.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! STUCK INSIDE? DO THIS PUMPKIN PUZZLE!!

Pumpkins puzzle on TheJigsawPuzzles.com

CLICK ON ME!!

Bored in this freezing weather? Stuck inside? Here is a puzzle for you to figure out to help pass the winter away. One of my Master Gardener friends, Peggy Rudberg, found this on line and shared it with me. A pumpkin puzzle-how appropriate! Thanks Peggy! The 50 piece puzzle only took me less than 15 minutes. There are also other puzzles at this site.

Let me know how long it takes you!

What Gardeners Do In January

So what do Gardeners do in January? 20 things to do this month…

1. Unplug your outdoor holiday lights and your ready for next year. (Notice I didn’t say put them away)

2. Drink Martinis (nice warm drink) by the fireplace.

3. Put away holiday stuff. Keep out your gardening gifts all over the house.

4. Read gardening books and catalogs by the fireplace. Leave them out too. Your significant other will love you for this..

5. Watch weather (say isn’t that a cloud-oooh I think it looks like a pumpkin up there-do you see it?)

6. Make snow vegetables instead of a snowman. See if your neighbors can tell what they are..

7. Ogle seed catalogs (by the fireplace). Put stickies all over them.

8. Take dog for a drag (they don’t like to walk in snow).

9. Order more seeds (by the fireplace). As if we don’t have enough.

10. Guess how high your utility bill will be this month. Sit by the fireplace more and turn the thermostat down.

11. Get lots of firewood inside before that next storm. Buy green firewood-lasts longer..

12. Find your growing light boxes (or make them if you haven’t). Use full spectrum fluorescent lights instead of grow lights. Same difference and much cheaper. Drag them inside this month to set up and freak out your significant other.

13. Shovel snow outside (getting in shape for spading next Spring-notice I said getting).

14. Get heating mats for your grow boxes-a must have if you start seeds indoors. Nice to sit on too.

15. Layout next year’s garden on your computer (by the fireplace). I use GrowVeg.com. Really fun. Free for the first 30 days and then you can pay if you like it (not much-small price to pay for so much fun)

16. Insulate your grow boxes so they don’t loose so much heat at night inside. I buy a roll of metallic bubble wrap and wrap it around all 4 sides (one side removable in front so I can get to the plants) and a section for the top that I completely remove in the day and lay back on at night. Wrap your dog or cat in the leftover metallic wrap-you’ll enjoy it-they won’t.

17. Schedule when each veggie can go out (by the fireplace). I use a garden planner from a wonderful blog-Skippy’s Vegetable garden. How’s that for obsessive? Hey you gotta do something inside all those months!

18. Thank your significant other for putting up with your obsession. They might be ok with next growing season (hey at least try)

19. Toss that plant you didn’t plant outside and didn’t have the heart to get rid of last fall that is now full of aphids. (where do they come from anyways?)

20. Make your significant other read your blog. (As if they don’t put up with enough gardening stuff)

BONUS: Look up more gardening/pumpkin info on line. I call it gardening/pumpkin porn. (hey you gotta research this stuff, right?)

Happy New Year to all my obsessive gardening friends!!!

Wind chill on December 31, 2010

Temperature-14° on December 31, 2010 at 12pm noon

Here it is, the last day of the year and the outside temperature is 14° F (-10°C) at 12 NOON! We are having a bitter cold snap here in Santa Fe and that doesn’t include the wind chill factor. What is wind chill? It is a measure of how cold the atmosphere feels, taking not just actual temperature into account, but also wind, which can make the air considerably colder. So I was curious (as I always am) and found a wind chill calculator on line to see what the wind chill temperature was. Image my surprise when it said -3.2° F! (That’s -19.6° C)  Now I can figure out the real temperature when I go feed the barn animals and dread it more for them and me!  You can figure out how cold it is wherever you live too. I always get a little antsy about this time of year to get planting and then I go outside for a reality check. I think it’s a good day to stay home and go through the seed catalogs coming in and dream of what will be…