Kasvimaalla (Finland)

Q I know that onions and garlic are related, but aren’t they grown differently?

A Onions, garlic, leeks, shallots and chives are all alliums. While they’re not all grown exactly the same way, their cultural needs are similar. All are happiest in full sun, but they also tolerate partial shade and need similar soil conditions. The biggest difference is in the scheduling of each crop.

Here are the basics on these savory crops:
Chives. Allium schoenoprasum. Hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9, chives produce clumps of thin edible leaves and edible flowers as well. This easy-to-grow perennial is most commonly grown in herb and flower gardens.

Garlic. Allium sativum. Grown primarily for its edible bulbs, garlic also produces tasty leaves that can be chopped and used like chives. The best crops of garlic are planted in fall and harvested in midsummer the following year. Plants are hardy from USDA Zones 2 to 10. Although garlic crops are typically harvested each year, they also can be left in the garden and grown as perennials as well.

Leeks. Allium ampeloprasum, Porrum group. Another hardy onion-family plant, leeks can be grown in USDA Zones 2 to 10, although there are both hardy and nonhardy cultivars available. They’re planted in spring and harvested the same season. Leeks are biennials.

Onions. Allium cepa, Cepa group. Biennials that are grown as annuals, onions can be a bit confusing, since there are many different colors and kinds to choose from. They can be grown throughout North America, but planting times and cultivars vary depending on day length. They’re generally planted in spring, although in warm climates they’re grown as a winter crop. Harvest time varies depending on the size and type you are growing.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.

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Dear Kitchen Gardener,

Welcome to all of our new readers who signed our White House garden petition or joined our social network. Thank you and welcome!

American voters spoke earlier this month and so did KGI's global gardening electorate.  The results of our mini poll were even more of an Obama landslide than the "real" elections.

We asked: Which of the two major candidates do you feel would be more likely to replant a Victory Garden on the White House Lawn? 

You answered: Obama 1333 votes (87%) McCain 202 votes (13%).

So Americans now know who their next "Commander-in-Chief" will be, but it's unclear whether President-Elect Obama has understood that he's also the nation's "Eater-in-Chief."  I am going to ask you to join me in reinforcing this message by delivering it directly to the Obama-Biden transition office. Here's how you can do this:

1) Go to this comment form: http://change.gov/page/s/yourvision

2) Write your own grow your own message or use this one:

I'm asking President-elect Obama to replant a large organic food garden or Victory Garden on the White House lawn with part of produce going to the White House kitchen and the rest to local food pantries. The White House is "America's House" and should set a healthy example at a time of crisis. President-elect Obama would not be breaking with tradition, but returning to it (the White House has had fruit and vegetable gardens before) and showing how we can meet global challenges such as food security, climate change, and energy independence.

3) Attach a photo, if you like.  To do that, you can go here, rightclick on the photo you like, save it to your computer, and then upload the photo with your comment form.

You might be tempted to say "I'm only one person with one voice..." but your one voice, when joined by thousands of others, is a powerful tool for social change. 

For those of you who are new to KGI, the Eat the View! campaign is a focus of ours at the moment given the great opportunity a change of leadership offers, but it is not the only thing we do.  We also organize International Kitchen Garden Day each August, coordinate a growing and thriving online social network of garden learners and teachers, and are building a new partnership and grants program that is helping gardeners around the world. 

First and foremost, though, KGI is a community of people who love good food, so much so that we take what some people might call the "long, hard road" to it by growing and cooking it ourselves when easier options are available.  If we do this, it's because we see food not as a shrink-wrapped, bar-coded product but as a natural process.  We enjoy being part of the cycles of nature and accepting what each season has to offer (which in my case in chilly Maine at the moment is a mess of kale, cabbage and root vegetables). 

We believe that good food, grown and prepared at home is worth celebrating.  It strikes me now as I write this that we have another cause for celebration. This month marks KGI's 5th anniversary as registered nonprofit network.  I want to thank all who have helped make KGI into the welcoming, healthy, and growing community it is (10,000 people...woohoo!). If you want to share any birthday wishes and wishes for the future, you can do so here.

I'm looking forward to what the next five years will bring...a home, school, and community garden revolution...a garden on the White House lawn...real progress towards the UN's Millennium Goal of halving world hunger by 2015.   We can dream and must.  But, more importantly, we must start digging!

With gratitude,

Roger Doiron

Being a nonprofit means that we rely on people like you to keep us going and growing.  You can help by making a small donation through our White House Lawn sale page at EatTheView.org. There is also a possibility to do this as gift in someone else's name by making the donation and then filling out a do-it-yourself "certificate of ownership" which can offered as a thoughtful and eco-friendly holiday gift.  You can also make a tax-deductible donation to KGI with no connection to the Eat the View! campaign, or the White House lawn. This donation can be made online by credit card or by mailing in a check.  Thanks.

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Q What steps should I take to begin growing my vegetables organically?

A First, stop using chemical pesticides and fungicides. When you garden organically, you won’t ever use those products, and even approved “organic” pesticides will be your last resort. There are lots of effective pest-control methods that don’t involve spraying, but you can also try homemade sprays using such ingredients as baking soda and dishwashing liquid. These may solve all, or nearly all, your pest problems. More and more organic products are available at garden centers these days, so this switchover is a lot easier than it once was.

Keep in mind, though, that there also are homemade remedies that will eliminate problems, and there are effective preventive steps to take long before you bring out a sprayer. The following tips and techniques are a key part of avoiding pest and disease problems in an organic garden:

-Build healthy soil by applying compost, mulch, and natural fertilizers.

-Ask experts as well as friends and neighbors who garden which pests and diseases pose the biggest problems in your area. Find out how they control these problems organically.

-Walk through your garden daily - or every other day at minimum - to check for pests as well as signs of diseases or other problems. Catching problems early allows you to step in and correct a problem before it becomes severe.

-Keep plants well watered and fertilize regularly if you suspect your soil is not yet up to par. Plants that are healthy and growing vigorously are far less subject to problems than ones that are struggling.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.

Creative Commons photo credit: Toban Back

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By Jean English, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Look to leaves! Leaves that drop in the fall can supply all the nutrients needed in a vegetable garden. They'll even supply a wider range of essential nutrients than a bag of 10-10-10 synthetic fertilizer, because tree roots draw over a dozen plant nutrients up from the soil and deposit them in leaves. Bags of synthetic fertilizer, on the other hand, often contain just three essential plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

So, instead of thinking of leaves as waste that needs to go "away," think of your yard as a source of nutrients, a green manure crop, for your garden.

The University of Florida found that "good yields of such crops as cucumbers, tomato and greens can be expected after 2 to 3 years of applications of at least 20 tons [of oak leaves] per acre annually." That's a little under 1 pound per square foot.

Some people worry that adding leaves to the garden will tie up nitrogen that crop plants need. This won't be a problem if you add leaves as a mulch in the fall (especially if you've shredded the leaves by running over them with a lawnmower), so that soil organisms and weather move them into the soil slowly. Also, including grass clippings with leaves adds nitrogen to the mix, further reducing the chance of nitrogen deficiency, as does mulching the garden with additional grass clippings throughout the summer.

If you don't have a garden to receive leaves, or you don't have a lawn mower that catches clippings and leaves, just leave the leaves on the lawn, mowing them a few times during the fall to shred them. Denise Ellsworth of Ohio State University Extension writes, "Research has shown that lawns can absorb many pounds of shredded leaves with no detrimental effects." She says that Purdue researchers mowed 2 tons of leaves per acre into turf grass annually for five years. They saw no increase in disease or weed problems and no pH or nutrient-availability issues. Microbial activity did increase-a sign of improved soil quality. ("Leaves benefit gardens as compost and mulch," Akron Beacon Journal, Nov. 10, 2007).

Decomposing leaves improve soil structure so that it absorbs more moisture during rains and holds that moisture better during dry spells. Your lawn will stay greener longer in the summer.

If you don't want to mow and shred leaves, you can rake them into compost piles and make leaf mold-a good substitute for peat moss in the garden and in potting mixes.

Article copyright of Jean English, 2006.This article is provided by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. MOFGA is the oldest and largest organic farming association in the United States and is recognized as a national leader in the promotion of local and organic agriculture.

Creative Commons photo credit: Harold Lloyd

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By Barbara Damrosch, published Thursday, October 30, 2008 in The Washington Post

Some fruits flaunt their lusciousness. Red apples have a come-bite-me appeal. Purple grapes beckon from the vine, honey-dripping figs from the tree. But other equally fine edibles keep their charm a secret. The beautiful orange flesh of butternut squash is clothed in basic beige, the khaki trench coat of food.

It would appear that this plant's strategy is to keep itself unnoticed until spring. That plain, firm skin guards the fruit from predation and rot until time for its ripened seeds to sprout, nourished by the garden of its own decomposition. This makes it a stalwart friend to the gardener-cook.

Easy to grow in a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil, the harvested squash last all winter long without the need for a root cellar. I recently picked mine in anticipation of frost, and they sit curing in the warm air atop a cabinet. Curing helps their skins to harden and the flesh to sweeten. In a few weeks I'll move them to a cool, dry spot, where they'll give me months of great eating.

If I were to grow only one squash it would be butternut. The fine, smooth, non-stringy texture of the flesh makes it ideal for soups and purees, for the filling in ravioli or for stirring into risotto. Whatever the recipe, I'm most apt to roast it, cut into oiled chunks or cut in half lengthwise and set cut side down on an oiled baking sheet. This yields an intense, concentrated flavor.

Butternut's size and shape are kitchen-friendly. I usually grow the classic variety Waltham, bred for a long straight neck. It ends in a rounded bottom, enclosing a seed cavity that is quite small relative to that of other winter squash. Individual fruits vary within a planting, some straight and clublike, others more curvaceous, with a narrow neck and a bulb-shaped bottom. I choose a straight one when I make one of my favorite dishes: rounds of neck cut into perfect half-inch-thick disks and fried in butter.
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The skin of a butternut can be removed without difficulty, with a vegetable peeler or knife, but I usually keep it on during cooking. It can then be easily peeled off or the flesh scooped out with a spoon.

This summer I grew a new mini-butternut variety called Honey Nut, bred by George Moriarty, a research support specialist in Cornell University's Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics. He crossed a butternut with a buttercup, a dark green type similar to acorn squash, with very bright, sweet, beta-carotene-rich flesh. Seeds for next season will be available from High Mowing Seeds in mid-November. The fruit has deep orange, flavorful, non-stringy flesh, and most weigh a bit more than a pound (as opposed to the usual four or five). I was thus able to train them vertically on the trellis fence surrounding my garden, where they dangled, looking very decorative, despite being beige.

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

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