All the Dirt on Gardening

Flowers of Dynosaur Kale  I've never met a Brassica I didn't like and that includes kale, chard, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccolini, kohlrabi, turnip, rutabaga, etc. If you look up Brassica food plots you may be surprised to know that people plant plots of it to attract deer they can shoot. Being mostly vegetarians, we are appalled. In fact, I think that Brassica is pretty enough to put into flower beds among perennial shrubs and other wonderful additions to the garden. One of our favorites, Dino Kale has been grown in Italy since the 1700s and was a favorite in Thomas Jefferson's garden. Since it is a heirloom plant, you never have to worry about GMOs, hybridization and seeds not coming true when you harvest your own seeds. Our winter was so mild that several kale plants remained productive. With this warm spell, I expect them to do some rapid spring growth and then I'll harvest the seeds and replant our tiny veg...

Sowing, thinning and growing beets can be challenging to grow in our area. Now that it's time to get those seeds into the ground - here are some success tips. The thinnings will give you great salad and sandwich greens, then the beets themselves are delicious raw in grated beet salad and cooked with butter and vinegar toppings. Each seed that comes out of the envelope is actually a capsule of seeds. Watch this helpful Burpee video on how to pre-soak, plant, thin, space, and harvest your crop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQXsssaYoV4 If you prefer to start your beet seeds in flats, here's a helpful how-to video from Gary Pilarchik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dU-NZ3ZyDs Most people suggest soaking the seeds overnight to get them to germinate faster. They are planted .5 inch deep and 4 to 6 inches apart, depending on whether you want to grow plenty of tops for salad. The planting row has to be kept moist, so top it with burlap, compost or another moisture retenti...

November in our vegetable garden has plantings that are the result of much earlier activity. If the weather is lovely like it is this year, we continue to have snacks from our little growing space. This week we are eating beans, peppers, arugula, radishes and broccoli raab. The snow peas are over a foot tall but do not have flowers yet. Snow peas in November Calendula   Bean flower Unlike those enviable, energetic souls who enjoy extending the gardening season into a 12-month cycle, we do not  put up plastic row covers or try to grow in greenhouses. By the time the hard freezes arrive, we are content to eat what we have preserved, shop in stores, and give ourselves a break. The calendula planted around and inside the vegetable garden to attract pollinators is working double time as most of our flying friends are finding shelter under leaf piles every night now that it's in the 30s after dark.  Fall beans The beets are about 3-inches tall, the Red Russ...

Author Carole Deppe added an extensive subtitle to her new book. The full title is "The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times" Including the Five Crops You Need To Survive and Thrive - Potatoes, Corn, Beans, Squash and Eggs. Gardening in USDA hardiness zone 8, since 1979, Deppe has considerable experience with growing vegetables. This book is a 300 page paperback packed full of useful information. Published by Chelsea Green. $20 at online book vendors. Deppe is also vegetable breeder and wrote a previous book on the topic, "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties" "Resilient" focuses on five crops with calorie, nutrient, and storage values: potatoes, corn, beans, squash, and, raising ducks for eggs. Deppe describes her personal life and experiences with a variety of crops in coastal Oregon, tips for success, and gluten free recipes. Now in her mid-60s, Deppe is concerned with being able to garden no matter what one'...