GARDEN BEET · 2017. 6. 1. · any garden. Peas, fava beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash will reward you greatly for doing so. Many crops are more productive

GARDEN BEET GARDEN PROJECT

June 2017

TOOLS & TECHNIQUES:

Trellising

VEGGIE of the MONTH:

Tomato Growing Tips

Leeks

Pea Sprouts

KID’S CORNER:

Ra Ra Radishes

Balloon Greenhouses

TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

Reach Greater Heights by Kylie Lewis It's time to trellis! Trellising, a form of vertical gardening, is a great way to maximize space in

any garden. Peas, fava beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash will reward you

greatly for doing so. Many crops are more productive as vines than as bushes. Garden structures

help control and anchor fruiting plants that threaten to flop under their own weight, as well as help

those that are likely to sprawl into untidy tangles.

Trellising your plants allows for more air flow in your garden beds and exposes ripening fruit

to more sunlight. This is a big deal when one considers our many wet and cloudy days. It’s important

in our maritime climate to get plants that are slower to mature off the ground. Trellising helps fight

fungal diseases that go wild on wet leaves and reduces rot and insect damage. Trellising also makes

harvesting easier, in part because it keeps the produce clean. Trellising allows your plants to reach

greater heights and produce greater yields.

It’s easy to be thrifty when trellising. A trellis is simply a wooden or metal structure that is

used to hold up fruiting or climbing plants. You can train vines to grow up bamboo tee-pees, A-

frames or other garden structures with relative ease and minimal materials. Reuse and recycle

materials you have at home or visit the RE Store. Garden structures can be constructed out of a

variety of materials, including: bamboo poles, wood stakes, wire grids, rebar or re-purposed wire

fencing and a few zip ties or twine.

The key thing to think of when designing your trellis is that it needs to be able to hold up your

plants and their fruits at full maturity. Make sure to factor not only the weight of the plant but the

force of the wind. It’s also important to position the trellis before your plants need the support, this

prevents damage to mature plants and sets you up for a bountiful harvest. Trellises are best built on

the north side of garden beds so that they don’t shade the rest of the bed during peak sun hours.

However, you can intentionally create shade with a tall trellis to grow crops that prefer shade.

Imagine yourself harvesting when building your trellis and to offer a convenient picking

height. Get crafty, cleverly recycle and enjoy those spring peas and summer tomatoes.

VEGGIE of the MONTH

Variety: Don’t expect to have success with the seeds Uncle Marv sent you from New Jersey. Unlike some parts of

the country, we need to choose our varieties pretty carefully in order to make sure the harvest rolls in before the late blight does. While all the varieties we sell as plants are growable here, we always recommend the non-heirlooms for the main crop, and the heirloom varieties for a yummy supplement.

Timing & Protection: We strongly discourage planting before May 1st unless you’re planting into a

greenhouse. Depending on the year and the microclimate of the garden, tomatoes may even want some protection throughout May. June, July and August are generally very safe months for unprotected tomato plants, but by September, they will likely benefit from being kept relatively dry. The late blight strikes wet leaves, so keeping the leaves dry in the late summer and fall is a big benefit.

Pruning is without a doubt, the most overlooked, and underestimated

aspect of tomato growing. There is no one “right way” to prune, but we’ll provide some basic ideas. The big question is determinate or indeterminate. Take another look at the tag that came with your plant start to see what you’ve got. We’ll start with determinate, because they’re easy: leave them alone- no pruning necessary. For this reason we often recommend the determinates to busy or first time gardeners. Indeterminates on the other hand do need pruning to realize their harvest potential in this climate. It is important to get acquainted with the basic growth habit of the plant: central stem (or leader), leaves and fruit trusses coming off the stem and axil shoots or “suckers” emerging from each leaf axil. The basic idea is to remove many of these suckers from the main stem- leaving perhaps one to four of them to grow out into additional vines. We leave just one sucker to grow in addition to the central leader. In the drawing, the arrows point to suckers that we remove by pinching or cutting, and the “X” marks the one sucker that we have let grow into a second vine.

Know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em: The end of summer can come sneaking right up some

years. An important way to increase your yield is anticipating the change. Invariably, there are lots of green fruit on the vines as fall nears that won’t ripen up in time. Some of these can be harvested to ripen later or used green, but we find the most benefit to come from thinning the fruit load when the nights start to cool. Every year and neighborhood is different, but a good place to start might be the end of August, and then see what you learn. By clipping off all the blossoms and little fruit, and snipping the growing tips off of the vines, you can divert that energy where it matters more-fruit that actually have a chance of getting ripe.

TOMATO GROWING TIPS

by Sunseed Farm

Growing great tomatoes west of the Cascades comes down to a handful of

important details:

Visit www.sunseedfarm.com for more tips on tomatoes & so much more.

Leeks by Kylie Lewis

The elegant leek is one the most beautiful and

trouble-free vegetables you can grow this season.

Leeks have tasty bulbs and striking blue-green

leaves that fan your garden. Leeks are sturdy, mild

and tender. They are closely related to onions, garlic

and chives and can be enjoyed in many of the same

ways. Leeks sown in the early spring will yield in the

summer or fall. While seeds sown in June will bring

a harvest in the winter or next spring.

Planting

When seeding or transplanting leeks, remember

that they enjoy full sun. When direct seeding, place

your seed into a two inch hole, this can be easily

measured by the length of your index finger.

Proceed to cover the seed up with soil. It is

important to water after planting your leeks and to

keep the seed bed moist. Transplant leeks

approximately four to five inches apart. The soil

should come up to the base of the first green leaf.

Be sure that each individual leek is standing tall. If you're having trouble separating your individual

seedlings you can drop them into a bowl of cool water and swish them around for a second or two.

Voila! They can now easily be separated and planted.

Leeks require even watering throughout the growing season. You can mulch to conserve moisture. As

leeks grow, you can keep piling dirt up at the base to produce nice, white stalks.

Harvesting

To harvest, simply pull the leek out of the soil and trim its leaves and roots before thoroughly rinsing. For

bigger leeks wait four to six months before harvesting. Mature leeks hold up well in the garden and can

be harvested in fall or winter. Leeks can also reliably be overwintered, meaning they can spend the

winter in the garden to be enjoyed the following spring. This takes no special care outside of mulching

before the first frost of the season. If you want to overwinter leeks be sure to plant seeds by the end of

June or transplant by the end of August to ensure they are winter-hardy when the first frost occurs.

VEGGIE of the MONTH

Eating

People commonly eat the cylindrical base but the leaves can be used to add flavor to stocks and soups.

Slice and sauté the cylindrical bulb to add a mild onion flavor to any and all of your favorite dishes. Frying

can give you a crunchy leek topping or leaving them raw can be great for spring salads. Leeks are an easy,

excellent and wholesome vegetable. Whether you’re enjoying last year's crop or planting leeks for the

first time you’ll love our Leeks In Vinaigrette recipe.

Leeks In Vinaigrette Recipe

Trim & clean 6 medium leeks.

Cook for 7-12 minutes or until tender in salted, boiling water. When the leeks are done, it will be easy

to pierce the root end with a knife. They will offer no resistance.

Carefully lift them out, drain them & set them aside to cool.

Make the vinaigrette by combining ingredients & whisking.

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard Pinch of salt & dash of pepper 1/4 cup olive oil

Cut the leeks lengthwise into halves.

Arrange the leeks on a plate & spoon the vinaigrette over.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley on top, if desired.

A fun summer variation of this recipe is to oil, season & grill the cooked leeks over medium coals on the

grill before dressing.

VEGGIE of the MONTH

Photo credit: Food Network

Pea Sprouts by Nate Burrous & Julia Elizabeth Raider

Want the fresh and sweet taste of peas without the wait? Pea sprouts are a great way to

harvest the wonderful flavor of peas in a hurry. Any type of pea seed will due: sugar snap, snow

or shelling pea. You can grow pea sprouts in spring, summer and fall. We love them so much, we

sow them every 3 or 4 weeks to have a constant supply.

Simply sow pea seeds one inch apart in a row for ease of cutting. If you sow two or more rows,

space the tows six inches apart. Plant them in an area with partial sun and keep the soil evenly

moist. Wait for the sprouts to reach four to six inches high. To harvest, pinch or snip above the

lowest set of leaves. The stem, leaves and tendrils are all edible and tender when young. The

remaining plant in the soil will re-grow another delicious sprout to eat in a couple of weeks. You

can harvest three to four times before the plant starts to get fibrous.

Treating the seeds with legume

inoculant for peas is recommended,

though not necessary. Inoculant, which

can be found at most garden stores, is

living bacteria that helps legume plants

to be healthy and to fix nitrogen from

the atmosphere into nodules on its

roots. These nitrogen nodules provide

nutrients to other plants in the garden if

you leave the roots in the soil (rather

than pulling them out when the crop is

done). Pea sprouts can feed you and

your garden soil. What could be better

than that?

Pea sprouts provide you with great

snacks, beautiful garnishes and salad

toppings. The lovely curly tendrils bring

flare to every plate. The hardest part is

not eating them before they make their

way into the kitchen.

VEGGIE of the MONTH

Ra Ra Radishes by Alasia Canares

Fun Facts About Radishes

Radishes are quick and easy to grow and fun to eat alone or to spice up a favorite meal.

Radishes are root vegetables, meaning that the part that we eat grows underground.

Radishes come in a rainbow of colors, but the most common color is red.

Radish leaves are also edible; you can enjoy them in a salad or cooked.

Radishes were first cultivated, or grown, in China.

Radishes are members of the Brassicaceae family. This root vegetable is related to cabbage, mustard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, wasabi and horseradish, among others.

Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radish) is celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico on Dec 23; they carve radishes as part of the celebration.

Balloon Greenhouse: A Fun Way to Explore

A greenhouse is used to protect the plants inside and make the best possible environment for plants to grow.

The greenhouse traps warm air inside and keeps the air around the plants moist and humid. In this activity,

you’ll get to see how greenhouses work and watch your radishes grow.

KID’S CORNER

Here’s what you do in 9 simple steps:

1. Gather your supplies: dirt, radish seeds, scissors, clear plastic bag, funnel, water and string.

2. Place the funnel into the neck of the clear plastic bag.

3. Slowly pour the dirt into the bag, making sure that none of the dirt falls outside of the funnel.

4. Slowly pour the water into the funnel to moisten the dirt in the bag.

5. Finally, drop a few radish seeds into the moist dirt.

6. Carefully remove the funnel and blow into the bag to inflate it. Don’t inflate it to its maximum size, because it may pop!

7. Knot the inflated bag and tie a piece of string around the knot.

8. Hang the balloon greenhouse near a window so the sun will help the seeds sprout.

9. Add water as needed to keep the soil moist like a sponge (not too wet).

Keep a journal to track how

the radish seed changes over

a couple of days. If you

enjoyed this activity you can

experiment more by trying

different types of seeds.

#1 #7

#5

#8 #3

Photo credit: Grateful Bounty