Q: I know I can grow radishes in spring. Can I plant any other root crops then?

A: Beets, radishes, parsnips, rutabagas, and turnips share a love for cool weather, and growing them when temperatures are cool is the secret to sweet, crisp roots. Start sowing spring radish seeds as soon as the soil can be worked, and plants will be ready for harvest in as little as 3 weeks. Fast, even growth is the secret to a good crop. Sow new crops every week or 10 days until daytime temperatures remain above about 65°F/18.3°C. After that, the roots will be bitter and tough, not spicy and crisp.

Beets and turnips also can be grown in spring, but they take slightly longer than radishes—from seed, beets take 1 to 2 months, turnips 1 to 2 months. Beets germinate in 45°F/7.2°C soil, but you’ll probably get better results if you wait a bit and sow both beets and turnips once the soil is at least 50°F/10°C. If you harvest turnips when they’re still small, you can sow successive crops every 10 days until warm temperatures (daytime highs in the low 70s/21-23°C) arrive to spread out the harvest.

Some long-season or winter radishes also can be sown at the same time as beets and turnips in spring. Look for bolt-resistant cultivars that mature in 40 or 50 days, and sow as soon as the soil can be worked. Parsnips are the slowpokes of this group. Sow them in early to mid-spring for fall harvest.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.
Creative Commons photo credit: Chantal Foster

Posted by at 3:26 PM | Permalink

By Barbara Damrosch, published Thursday, May 15, 2008 in The Washington Post

Ron is frantic. His urban cat has a perfectly good litter box but prefers to use the pots and planters on the sunny windowsill where Ron is trying to grow herbs. It's natural that his pet prefers natural earth to the bagged imitation. Cats' instinct is to bury their droppings in soil by digging and scratching, and the job is much easier in soil that is loose and fluffy. The kind gardeners create.

Solving Ron's problem is easy. Covering the soil surface of indoor pots with attractive stones, or a lid of chicken wire cut to accommodate the plant's stem, will send Kitty back to her box. Even cats that nibble on or play with foliage can be foiled by a hanging planter (unless they're trying out for a feline Cirque du Soleil). But for outdoor gardeners, the problem is a more serious one. Cat and dog excrement contains pathogens that are transmissible to humans, and it's especially important to keep them out of food gardens.

Soil barriers work outdoors as well as in, especially in a small garden. Strips of wire mesh that are placed between plant rows and are removable for cultivating and weeding are effective, as are flagstones, bird netting, pieces of carpet, black plastic, or any agricultural fabric such as Reemay or shade cloth. When mature, crops such as kale and squash will block access with their large leaves. Cats avoid a garden strewn with rose or raspberry briers, though you might, too, unless you wear leather gloves. Some people swear by repellents applied to the soil. I'd avoid any commercial product with a warning label on it, but a five-alarm dressing of hot pepper, curry powder, mustard, garlic, chopped citrus peels or eucalyptus oil might help. You'll need to whip up a fresh batch whenever it rains. Plants touted as cat repellers, such as rue, are unlikely to have much effect.

With any repellent, you might have to provide another place for the cat to go. After all, even a restroom that reeks of cheap potpourri (or worse) will be used if there is no nicer one nearby. Some people set aside a cat area with loose soil or peat moss and maintain it as a litter box. As a lure, they plant a cat grass to nibble, such as oats, or a stand of catnip (a cat narcotic). But I'm dubious. Most creatures prefer not to do their business where they eat or do drugs.

Your best trump card is the fact that cats hate water. A squirt gun is a handy item for the tool basket, a hose even better. (For times you're not there, you can use a motion-sensing pest and animal squirter.) According to Shannon Hayes, author of "The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook," who is wise in the ways of the four-footed, the hose trick is foolproof.

Article copyright of Barbara Damrosch. Reprinted with permission.
Creative Commons photo credit: A. Shoots

Posted by at 2:34 PM | Permalink

As we all know from past embarrassing moments, there's no red deeper than beet red. And there's no red soup redder than borscht. While borscht is traditionally a cool weather soup, served when the beets and cabbages are at their plumpest, it can also be enjoyed during the warm months or in warm climates served either at room temperature or chilled.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 small leeks, thinly sliced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds fresh beets, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups vegetable broth (you may also use chicken or beef, if preferred)
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill more to add at the end
4 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Prep all the vegetables. To prepare the leeks, rinse them well under cold running water, making sure to pull apart each layer with your fingers to remove any sand or soil lodged in between. Cut off and toss the root end, and thinly slice the white part.
2. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large heavy stock pot until it melts and foams. Add the onions, leeks, celery, carrot, garlic, beets, and the salt & pepper and stir. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, 15-20 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable broth and bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
4. Stir in the vinegar, dill and more salt & pepper to taste. Puree using an immersion stick blender (optional).
5. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with sour cream and a sprinkling of dill or shaved carrot for added color.

Serves 4-6

Creative Commons photo credit: Vidiot

Posted by at 6:29 AM | Permalink

Q: I don’t want to bother with seeds this year, so how do I make sure I buy healthy transplants?

A: First, you’re better off buying transplants from a garden center than from a grocery store or big-box store, where they may or may not get adequate watering or other care. Look for bushy, compact plants that have healthy green leaves. Check the roots, too, by gently dumping a plant out of its pot while holding the top of the rootball between your fingers.

If you decide to buy larger plants, pick off any fruits that have already started forming. This redirects the plants’ energy into producing roots, which it will need for the long haul. If the nursery or garden center you usually shop at only offers seedlings in market packs, and you don’t want to grow six plants of a single cultivar, try one of these options:

-Shop at a local farmers’ market in spring. Local growers often offer vegetable seedlings for sale.
-Shop for seedlings online. There are Internet companies that sell single transplants.
-Buy market packs of all the cultivars you want to grow, and share excess seedlings with friends and neighbors. Or see if a local community gardening group, garden club, or food pantry would be able to use the extras.
-Ask if the nursery will let you “switch out” cultivars in a market pack.
-Buy all the cultivars you want to grow, and toss the extra plants on the compost pile.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.
Creative Commons photo credit: Lord Bute

Posted by at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This little furry fella has got it all figured out. Pass it on.

Posted by at 2:47 PM | Permalink