Link to StumbleUpon

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Volunteers in the Garden

Like most single-handed gardeners, I enjoy getting garden assistance whenever it arrives. An extra pair of hands makes heavy work lighter. An extra voice adds to the conversation I usually have by myself. An extra opinion can prevent unnecessary projects. But my favorite garden volunteers are not the human kind.

Volunteers is a term I've only started using recently, after both my friends Della and Diane referred to their own garden volunteers. I've blogged previously about how they shared many of their plants with me to help fill in my bare beds. In their beautiful gardens, the seedlings that pop up in paths and beds away from the mother plants are the volunteers. Others may call them weeds or scourge, but I like the friendlier term. In almost every case the errant plants have to go, either to the compost pile or to a fellow gardener.

I like volunteers in my garden. In a challenging gardening region like Colorado's Front Range, getting plants to establish can be difficult. One of my basic garden philosophies is to give support to the plants that persevere and establish themselves. I'll plant different plants of different varieties in a bed and wait to see what happens. Often they all do well because I've researched the specific plant requirements before planting, but occasionally one or two plants won't do as well while one or two do very well. When the successful plants propagate by seed or runner, or rhysome, I'll let many of the seedlings remain to help expand the bed. I'll pot up others to transplant or share with gardener friends. The volunteers quickly find a place in my garden or in someone else's garden.

A special surprise is when a volunteer pops up completely unexpectedly. When I planted some Russian sage from Diane, a little Virginia creeper began growing from the soil. The creeper is now residing under a large Ponderosa pine in my front drive. A shovelful of knautia graciously produced an abundance of lamb's ear, which I quickly pulled up so it wouldn't overpower the other young plants. My most welcome guest this year is a hollyhock that grew from the base of penstemons. I don't have any other hollyhocks and will save the seeds and try to grow a whole section of the towering plants next year.

My new hollyhocks

It's not always easy to identify what the volunteer is while it's young. Patience and time may be required in allowing growth and flowering to fully appreciate an unknown plant. One year I had a vining plant sprout in my vegetable garden near the cucumbers. It had leaves like a melon so I let it grow. It rewarded me with the most delicious cantaloupe I've ever eaten. I determined a wayward seed from my compost pile chose that garden spot to call home.

My front garden is almost exclusively populated with transplanted volunteers. I have numerous young Apache plume volunteers from my previous xeriscape garden. Some of Della's cotoneaster has a new home and will eventually provide new volunteers. Cornflower and Russian sage occupy a large area. Not only have I saved hundreds of dollars by planting shared seedlings from other gardens, but I've also ensured greater success by using plants I already know will do well.

Like human volunteers, these plants give themselves at no cost. Also like humans, you never really know what kind of garden assistance you'll get until it happens. The weather is changing and most of my perennials are beginning the first phase of dormancy. As the garden fades, I'm already looking forward to the spring and the new green growth and I'll be ready for anything the volunteers provide.
Like most single-handed gardeners, I enjoy getting garden assistance whenever it arrives. An extra pair of hands makes heavy work lighter. An extra voice adds to the conversation I usually have by myself. An extra opinion can prevent unnecessary projects. But my favorite garden volunteers are not the human kind.

Volunteers is a term I've only started using recently, after both my friends Della and Diane referred to their own garden volunteers. I've blogged previously about how they shared many of their plants with me to help fill in my bare beds. In their beautiful gardens, the seedlings that pop up in paths and beds away from the mother plants are the volunteers. Others may call them weeds or scourge, but I like the friendlier term. In almost every case the errant plants have to go, either to the compost pile or to a fellow gardener.

I like volunteers in my garden. In a challenging gardening region like Colorado's Front Range, getting plants to establish can be difficult. One of my basic garden philosophies is to give support to the plants that persevere and establish themselves. I'll plant different plants of different varieties in a bed and wait to see what happens. Often they all do well because I've researched the specific plant requirements before planting, but occasionally one or two plants won't do as well while one or two do very well. When the successful plants propagate by seed or runner, or rhysome, I'll let many of the seedlings remain to help expand the bed. I'll pot up others to transplant or share with gardener friends. The volunteers quickly find a place in my garden or in someone else's garden.

A special surprise is when a volunteer pops up completely unexpectedly. When I planted some Russian sage from Diane, a little Virginia creeper began growing from the soil. The creeper is now residing under a large Ponderosa pine in my front drive. A shovelful of knautia graciously produced an abundance of lamb's ear, which I quickly pulled up so it wouldn't overpower the other young plants. My most welcome guest this year is a hollyhock that grew from the base of penstemons. I don't have any other hollyhocks and will save the seeds and try to grow a whole section of the towering plants next year.

My new hollyhocks

It's not always easy to identify what the volunteer is while it's young. Patience and time may be required in allowing growth and flowering to fully appreciate an unknown plant. One year I had a vining plant sprout in my vegetable garden near the cucumbers. It had leaves like a melon so I let it grow. It rewarded me with the most delicious cantaloupe I've ever eaten. I determined a wayward seed from my compost pile chose that garden spot to call home.

My front garden is almost exclusively populated with transplanted volunteers. I have numerous young Apache plume volunteers from my previous xeriscape garden. Some of Della's cotoneaster has a new home and will eventually provide new volunteers. Cornflower and Russian sage occupy a large area. Not only have I saved hundreds of dollars by planting shared seedlings from other gardens, but I've also ensured greater success by using plants I already know will do well.

Like human volunteers, these plants give themselves at no cost. Also like humans, you never really know what kind of garden assistance you'll get until it happens. The weather is changing and most of my perennials are beginning the first phase of dormancy. As the garden fades, I'm already looking forward to the spring and the new green growth and I'll be ready for anything the volunteers provide.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

To Seed or Not to Seed

Gardening can be an expensive activity. After preparing my new garden beds this year I spent hundreds of dollars populating them with both perennials and annuals. It's easy to get into that pattern every year when the new plants appear in the spring. Spending money is not something I especially enjoy doing and, thankfully, gardening is a passion that is perfect for frugality.

I've blogged before about swapping seedlings and plants with gardener friends. I actually planted more gifts and contributions this year than the plants I paid for. As the growing season winds down and we look to next year, it's a great time to think about seeds. Seeds are a great gift to swap with friends and a great way to expand your garden with minimal cost and effort.

As you look at your plants and the fall garden cleanup, pause and think about the seeds you can harvest. Rather than toss everything into the compost pile, take a little time to pull off the dried flowers or pods that are still clinging to stems and stalks. This is especially important if you have a special plant that you'd like to propagate in the future.

Seeds are nature's way of continuing the species. In most cases, a plant produces seeds, they fall to the ground, and later begin growing a new plant to start the cycle all over again. All you need to do is intervene by collecting the seeds and placing them in the soil at a location of your choosing.

You do need to be aware of the problem with hybrids. A hybrid is a plant that was produced by selecting the male of one plant and the female of a different plant and cross-pollinating to produce an offspring with characteristics of both parents. That's how we get so much variety in flowers and fruits and vegetables. The problem is that the seed of the hybrid is unique and may not grow the same plant as the parent. If you plant the seed from a red, hybrid flower, you may end up with a white or yellow flower in the offspring; it doesn't produce true. For that reason, saving and planting seeds from hybrid plants is not recommended. You can usually tell if a plant is a hybrid by reading the label when you buy it.

However, non-hybrid plants, commonly known as "heirloom" varieties, will produce true, generation after generation. Red flowers produce red flowers, big tomatoes produce big tomatoes, and so on. These seeds will allow you to get the exact plant you want.

All of my green beans come from seeds that I collect at the end of each season. Every year I get the same six-inch long straight pods, perfect for pickling. I allow many of the pods to remain on the plant after my final harvest. They grow large and eventually begin to dry. When the weather gets cold and after the main plant has died, I pluck off the dry pods and place them in a paper bag marked with the year and type of plant.

I plant pumpkins from seeds I've saved. After the plant is fully mature, you open it up and scoop out the seeds. This usually coincides with Halloween. Place the seeds, with as much as the pulp removed as you can, on newspaper and let them dry. Put them in a marked paper bag and you'll be ready for planting next year.

Tomatoes are a little more difficult to process, but not hard, and many of the tomatoes we grow are hybrids. If you know you have an heirloom tomato, scoop out the seeds and pulp into a glass or plastic jar. Let it sit for a few days; the seeds will begin to ferment. Spray water into the container and the seeds will separate from the pulp and sink to the bottom. Scoop out the floating residue and place the wet seeds on a paper towel to dry. After they dry, put them in a clean, dry container, mark them and store in a cool place; the refrigerator or garage works well in the winter.

So why do I mention paper bags and such? It doesn't do any good to collect seeds and then not know what they are when it comes time to plant. Paper bags are easy to mark and easy to store. With big seeds like beans and pumpkins, a paper bag holds them well and helps them stay dry. Smaller seeds like tomato will get lost in the folds of the bag and should be placed in a smaller container. Paper bags work well for most flowers too. You can place the entire dried flower on a plant into the paper bag and then cut off the flower; it will fall into the bag and you'll save all of the seeds.

Regardless of the container, it needs to stay dry. A cool, dark location is ideal. You'll get the best results from seeds that are only one or maybe two years old. After that their viability won't be as good and they may not sprout when planted. By placing your seeds in separate containers, marked with the year, you'll always know which ones to plant.

I save many of my flower seeds like marigold, penstemon, hollyhock, poppy, and aster. As long as they're not hybrids, they'll produce more of the same plant. I let some of my vegetables go to seed and have had great success with radishes and rhubarb. Herbs are ideal for re-seeding; most of my cilantro and oregano comes from seeds from previous generations.

I'd recommend only saving seeds from plants that you like. If you don't want more of a particular flower, then it doesn't make much sense to collect the seeds unless you know someone who is looking for that specific seed. When you find a favorite plant, make every effort to collect the seed and propagate many more.

Also be aware that there are many copyrighted varieties of plants now. If the name of the plant you buy has a little copyright symbol (c), it is illegal for you to propagate it. True, the plant police will probably not march into your garden to destroy the plants, but some individual or company spent a lot of time and money developing that plant and they want to protect that investment. Besides, it's most likely a hybrid and won't produce true.

It may take a few seasons to discover which of your plants produce best from seed. After you've found your favorites, it will be easy to package them, give them as gifts, and share in your success. Yet again, you'll be spreading the joy of gardening.
Gardening can be an expensive activity. After preparing my new garden beds this year I spent hundreds of dollars populating them with both perennials and annuals. It's easy to get into that pattern every year when the new plants appear in the spring. Spending money is not something I especially enjoy doing and, thankfully, gardening is a passion that is perfect for frugality.

I've blogged before about swapping seedlings and plants with gardener friends. I actually planted more gifts and contributions this year than the plants I paid for. As the growing season winds down and we look to next year, it's a great time to think about seeds. Seeds are a great gift to swap with friends and a great way to expand your garden with minimal cost and effort.

As you look at your plants and the fall garden cleanup, pause and think about the seeds you can harvest. Rather than toss everything into the compost pile, take a little time to pull off the dried flowers or pods that are still clinging to stems and stalks. This is especially important if you have a special plant that you'd like to propagate in the future.

Seeds are nature's way of continuing the species. In most cases, a plant produces seeds, they fall to the ground, and later begin growing a new plant to start the cycle all over again. All you need to do is intervene by collecting the seeds and placing them in the soil at a location of your choosing.

You do need to be aware of the problem with hybrids. A hybrid is a plant that was produced by selecting the male of one plant and the female of a different plant and cross-pollinating to produce an offspring with characteristics of both parents. That's how we get so much variety in flowers and fruits and vegetables. The problem is that the seed of the hybrid is unique and may not grow the same plant as the parent. If you plant the seed from a red, hybrid flower, you may end up with a white or yellow flower in the offspring; it doesn't produce true. For that reason, saving and planting seeds from hybrid plants is not recommended. You can usually tell if a plant is a hybrid by reading the label when you buy it.

However, non-hybrid plants, commonly known as "heirloom" varieties, will produce true, generation after generation. Red flowers produce red flowers, big tomatoes produce big tomatoes, and so on. These seeds will allow you to get the exact plant you want.

All of my green beans come from seeds that I collect at the end of each season. Every year I get the same six-inch long straight pods, perfect for pickling. I allow many of the pods to remain on the plant after my final harvest. They grow large and eventually begin to dry. When the weather gets cold and after the main plant has died, I pluck off the dry pods and place them in a paper bag marked with the year and type of plant.

I plant pumpkins from seeds I've saved. After the plant is fully mature, you open it up and scoop out the seeds. This usually coincides with Halloween. Place the seeds, with as much as the pulp removed as you can, on newspaper and let them dry. Put them in a marked paper bag and you'll be ready for planting next year.

Tomatoes are a little more difficult to process, but not hard, and many of the tomatoes we grow are hybrids. If you know you have an heirloom tomato, scoop out the seeds and pulp into a glass or plastic jar. Let it sit for a few days; the seeds will begin to ferment. Spray water into the container and the seeds will separate from the pulp and sink to the bottom. Scoop out the floating residue and place the wet seeds on a paper towel to dry. After they dry, put them in a clean, dry container, mark them and store in a cool place; the refrigerator or garage works well in the winter.

So why do I mention paper bags and such? It doesn't do any good to collect seeds and then not know what they are when it comes time to plant. Paper bags are easy to mark and easy to store. With big seeds like beans and pumpkins, a paper bag holds them well and helps them stay dry. Smaller seeds like tomato will get lost in the folds of the bag and should be placed in a smaller container. Paper bags work well for most flowers too. You can place the entire dried flower on a plant into the paper bag and then cut off the flower; it will fall into the bag and you'll save all of the seeds.

Regardless of the container, it needs to stay dry. A cool, dark location is ideal. You'll get the best results from seeds that are only one or maybe two years old. After that their viability won't be as good and they may not sprout when planted. By placing your seeds in separate containers, marked with the year, you'll always know which ones to plant.

I save many of my flower seeds like marigold, penstemon, hollyhock, poppy, and aster. As long as they're not hybrids, they'll produce more of the same plant. I let some of my vegetables go to seed and have had great success with radishes and rhubarb. Herbs are ideal for re-seeding; most of my cilantro and oregano comes from seeds from previous generations.

I'd recommend only saving seeds from plants that you like. If you don't want more of a particular flower, then it doesn't make much sense to collect the seeds unless you know someone who is looking for that specific seed. When you find a favorite plant, make every effort to collect the seed and propagate many more.

Also be aware that there are many copyrighted varieties of plants now. If the name of the plant you buy has a little copyright symbol (c), it is illegal for you to propagate it. True, the plant police will probably not march into your garden to destroy the plants, but some individual or company spent a lot of time and money developing that plant and they want to protect that investment. Besides, it's most likely a hybrid and won't produce true.

It may take a few seasons to discover which of your plants produce best from seed. After you've found your favorites, it will be easy to package them, give them as gifts, and share in your success. Yet again, you'll be spreading the joy of gardening.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Presto It's Pesto

Another gardening dream came true. For years I've grown basil, an herb that adds aroma to the garden and savory flavor to the palate. In my garden, it's never grown to abundance because I regularly pluck off leaves during the summer to pair with fresh tomatoes and mozarella cheese, a delectable salad when drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I've always wanted to make pesto, but never seemed to have enough basil to fulfill the requirements of standard recipes.

A portion of my herb garden

Today I harvested a large bowl of leaves and immediately made a classic pesto. Some pine nuts, some Turkish extra virgin olive oil that was a gift from my good friend Della, some parmigiano reggiano cheese, some garlic, and the fresh basil combined into a delicious concoction. I sliced off a small piece off crusty ciabatta bread, spread a thick layer of the pesto, took a bite, and promptly soared to heaven.

Gardening brings satisfaction and joy on many levels. Chief among the enjoyment is savoring the moments of harvest when you taste the results of your labor. The warm, ripe tomato fresh from the vine. The sweet, yellow ear of corn. The crunch and flavor of sweet peas. The exploding wetness of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. The slobbery mouthful of melon. And now I add the spicy freshness of basil in pesto.

I garden because I enjoy the process. I like planning and planting. I even enjoy fertilizing and weeding. But the process has an end result and that is the harvest. I've had years with only one or two tomatoes being produced. I've seen thousands of apricot blossoms frozen by a spring frost. I've had birds destroy nearly an entire season's supply of apples. I've had many green pumpkins and green tomatoes when the ground is white. Even with results that others might deem as failure, I've persevered and enjoyed doing it all over again.

Enjoying a fresh herb like I did today makes an entire year memorable. There have been many successes in my garden this summer and a few setbacks, but the good memories will remain. My first pesto only happens once. It took years to make it happen and it was well worth it.
Another gardening dream came true. For years I've grown basil, an herb that adds aroma to the garden and savory flavor to the palate. In my garden, it's never grown to abundance because I regularly pluck off leaves during the summer to pair with fresh tomatoes and mozarella cheese, a delectable salad when drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I've always wanted to make pesto, but never seemed to have enough basil to fulfill the requirements of standard recipes.

A portion of my herb garden

Today I harvested a large bowl of leaves and immediately made a classic pesto. Some pine nuts, some Turkish extra virgin olive oil that was a gift from my good friend Della, some parmigiano reggiano cheese, some garlic, and the fresh basil combined into a delicious concoction. I sliced off a small piece off crusty ciabatta bread, spread a thick layer of the pesto, took a bite, and promptly soared to heaven.

Gardening brings satisfaction and joy on many levels. Chief among the enjoyment is savoring the moments of harvest when you taste the results of your labor. The warm, ripe tomato fresh from the vine. The sweet, yellow ear of corn. The crunch and flavor of sweet peas. The exploding wetness of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. The slobbery mouthful of melon. And now I add the spicy freshness of basil in pesto.

I garden because I enjoy the process. I like planning and planting. I even enjoy fertilizing and weeding. But the process has an end result and that is the harvest. I've had years with only one or two tomatoes being produced. I've seen thousands of apricot blossoms frozen by a spring frost. I've had birds destroy nearly an entire season's supply of apples. I've had many green pumpkins and green tomatoes when the ground is white. Even with results that others might deem as failure, I've persevered and enjoyed doing it all over again.

Enjoying a fresh herb like I did today makes an entire year memorable. There have been many successes in my garden this summer and a few setbacks, but the good memories will remain. My first pesto only happens once. It took years to make it happen and it was well worth it.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Spring Time in September

Many of us have been working hard in our gardens for months now. In just a few weeks the leaves will be off the trees, the tomatoes and beans will be brown and dried, and frost will blanket the mornings. It's almost that time of year to clean the tools and put them away until the days are long and warm again. I suggest you not be too anxious to put your beds to bed.

Now is a great time to do some of the activities that many gardeners do in the spring. The days are still long enough to work outside, stores are offering bargains on tools and garden supplies, and the soil is warm and waiting. No doubt you have ideas of adding new beds, fences, or other architecture. Take the opportunity now to prepare your garden so all you have to do in the spring is take care of the plants that return and put in a few new ones.

Most soils will benefit from an addition of organic matter. Be it compost, peat moss, or manure, gardeners should take the time to amend their soil to benefit the billions of microorganisms and the plants that will spread their roots. Spring is traditionally the time of year people choose to start working in the soil. This may actually do some harm if the timing isn't right. If the soil is still partially frozen or if it's wet from spring rains, digging and tilling can break up the soil structure and make a marginal soil worse. Right now the soil is warm and dry; working in amendments will do no harm. By amending now, you're also giving soil organisms extra time to start decomposing the organic matter, improving overall soil fertility.

Raised beds add a component to gardening with many benefits. One is that they warm up faster than the ground in the spring, allowing for earlier planting. Rather than wait until next year to add raised beds, why not build them and place them now. Fill them with your choice of soil and they'll be ready as soon as the snow melts and the sun shines in spring.

If you want to add a border or fence to a bed or to your entire garden, waiting until spring forces you to play roulette with the weather. You may be ready to build, but the ground is still frozen. The ground warms up, but you decide to plant instead. Before you know it another year has gone by and you still don't have that fence. Do it now. Stake out the border, dig some post holes, make it happen.

The idea of working hard now just when you are ready for a break may be slightly painful. I fully understand that. To me it's a little like doing the dishes and washing the pans. Everything is ready to go as soon as it's time to cook dinner. That gourmet meal would take longer to make if you had to wash and dry everything before you could even turn the oven on.

If your garden is ready for you, if the soil is amended and the beds prepared, as soon as you're ready to prepare that exquisite scenery there is no wait. You can use the warming days of spring to not work too hard. Sure it's a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario, but after a long, cold winter I'm ready to get my fingers dirty and get some plants in the ground. If I have to wait to build a bed or work the soil, it seems that winter lasts just that much longer.

I don't know about you, but winter is not my favorite season. I like it, but not as much as spring. I love fall too. So any excuse to be outside now, while it's still warm, is welcome and if it helps me spend more time enjoying spring planting, it's a double win. That's a sure bet, not a gamble.
Many of us have been working hard in our gardens for months now. In just a few weeks the leaves will be off the trees, the tomatoes and beans will be brown and dried, and frost will blanket the mornings. It's almost that time of year to clean the tools and put them away until the days are long and warm again. I suggest you not be too anxious to put your beds to bed.

Now is a great time to do some of the activities that many gardeners do in the spring. The days are still long enough to work outside, stores are offering bargains on tools and garden supplies, and the soil is warm and waiting. No doubt you have ideas of adding new beds, fences, or other architecture. Take the opportunity now to prepare your garden so all you have to do in the spring is take care of the plants that return and put in a few new ones.

Most soils will benefit from an addition of organic matter. Be it compost, peat moss, or manure, gardeners should take the time to amend their soil to benefit the billions of microorganisms and the plants that will spread their roots. Spring is traditionally the time of year people choose to start working in the soil. This may actually do some harm if the timing isn't right. If the soil is still partially frozen or if it's wet from spring rains, digging and tilling can break up the soil structure and make a marginal soil worse. Right now the soil is warm and dry; working in amendments will do no harm. By amending now, you're also giving soil organisms extra time to start decomposing the organic matter, improving overall soil fertility.

Raised beds add a component to gardening with many benefits. One is that they warm up faster than the ground in the spring, allowing for earlier planting. Rather than wait until next year to add raised beds, why not build them and place them now. Fill them with your choice of soil and they'll be ready as soon as the snow melts and the sun shines in spring.

If you want to add a border or fence to a bed or to your entire garden, waiting until spring forces you to play roulette with the weather. You may be ready to build, but the ground is still frozen. The ground warms up, but you decide to plant instead. Before you know it another year has gone by and you still don't have that fence. Do it now. Stake out the border, dig some post holes, make it happen.

The idea of working hard now just when you are ready for a break may be slightly painful. I fully understand that. To me it's a little like doing the dishes and washing the pans. Everything is ready to go as soon as it's time to cook dinner. That gourmet meal would take longer to make if you had to wash and dry everything before you could even turn the oven on.

If your garden is ready for you, if the soil is amended and the beds prepared, as soon as you're ready to prepare that exquisite scenery there is no wait. You can use the warming days of spring to not work too hard. Sure it's a "pay me now or pay me later" scenario, but after a long, cold winter I'm ready to get my fingers dirty and get some plants in the ground. If I have to wait to build a bed or work the soil, it seems that winter lasts just that much longer.

I don't know about you, but winter is not my favorite season. I like it, but not as much as spring. I love fall too. So any excuse to be outside now, while it's still warm, is welcome and if it helps me spend more time enjoying spring planting, it's a double win. That's a sure bet, not a gamble.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Now that fall is officially here and the trees are beginning to paint the landscape with a new palette, it's time to broaden your intellectual horizons. Questions like "why is the sky blue?" and "why are trees green?" and "why do leaves change color?" are typical childhood wonders. Rather than respond to the last one with, "because that's what they do in the fall", put a little science in your answer.

You already know about photosynthesis. That's when a plant takes sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and turns it into the sugars, called glucose, which it needs for growth. Another beneficial byproduct happens to be oxygen. The chemical in plants that makes it all happen is chlorophyll. As you may know, chlorophyll is green. And that's why trees, and grass, and millions of other plants are green.

During the cold days of winter, there isn't enough sunlight and water for photosynthesis so plants take a rest from making their own food supply and shut down the whole process. After the autumnal equinox the days begin getting shorter and trees recognize the changing conditions. It's their clue to start getting ready for winter. The chlorophyll fades away. With the chlorophyll gone, leaves return to their natural color.

Aspens this week in Colorado
The yellow and oranges were there all along, they were just overtaken by the abundance of green chlorophyll. You see this in aspens and other trees that are turning now that the weather gets colder and days get shorter. In some trees, some of the sugar remains in the leaves after the chlorophyll is gone; the changing fall weather turns the sugar red. Waste products from the photosynthesis process that still remain in the leaves cause them to turn brown.

The technical names of the color chemicals are "carotenoids" for yellows and oranges and browns, and "anthocyacins" for the reds and purples. They're the same chemicals that make corn yellow, carrots orange, apples red, or grapes purple.

The trees continue their seasonal preparation by completely shutting down the veins to the leaves so the nutritional sucrose remains in the body of the tree and roots. In some trees some of the sugar is trapped during this process, hence the formation of red-producing anthocyacins. After new cells complete a barrier at the base of the leaf, it's ready to depart from the tree. A strong breeze, steady rain, or steady snow will cause the leaves to fall.

Decreasing sunlight is the primary factor in triggering the change in trees. Moisture levels in the soil and specific periods of warm days and cool nights are also big factors in how much color change you'll see; this can be quite variable. That's why some years produce longer and more brilliant displays of color while some years produce unexciting blandness.

Some parts of the United States make an industry of predicting when the colors will be at their peak and millions of people travel hundreds of miles to see the natural spectacle. Here in Colorado, prime leaf-peeping is happening now in the high country. Take advantage of this yearly event, travel to a color area near you, and when a child asks, "Why do the leaves change color?", you'll be able to give the correct answer.
Now that fall is officially here and the trees are beginning to paint the landscape with a new palette, it's time to broaden your intellectual horizons. Questions like "why is the sky blue?" and "why are trees green?" and "why do leaves change color?" are typical childhood wonders. Rather than respond to the last one with, "because that's what they do in the fall", put a little science in your answer.

You already know about photosynthesis. That's when a plant takes sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide and turns it into the sugars, called glucose, which it needs for growth. Another beneficial byproduct happens to be oxygen. The chemical in plants that makes it all happen is chlorophyll. As you may know, chlorophyll is green. And that's why trees, and grass, and millions of other plants are green.

During the cold days of winter, there isn't enough sunlight and water for photosynthesis so plants take a rest from making their own food supply and shut down the whole process. After the
autumnal equinox the days begin getting shorter and trees recognize the changing conditions. It's their clue to start getting ready for winter. The chlorophyll fades away. With the chlorophyll gone, leaves return to their natural color.

Aspens this week in Colorado
The yellow and oranges were there all along, they were just overtaken by the abundance of green chlorophyll. You see this in aspens and other trees that are turning now that the weather gets colder and days get shorter. In some trees, some of the sugar remains in the leaves after the chlorophyll is gone; the changing fall weather turns the sugar red. Waste products from the photosynthesis process that still remain in the leaves cause them to turn brown.

The technical names of the color chemicals are "carotenoids" for yellows and oranges and browns, and "anthocyacins" for the reds and purples. They're the same chemicals that make corn yellow, carrots orange, apples red, or grapes purple.

The trees continue their seasonal preparation by completely shutting down the veins to the leaves so the nutritional sucrose remains in the body of the tree and roots. In some trees some of the sugar is trapped during this process, hence the formation of red-producing anthocyacins. After new cells complete a barrier at the base of the leaf, it's ready to depart from the tree. A strong breeze, steady rain, or steady snow will cause the leaves to fall.

Decreasing sunlight is the primary factor in triggering the change in trees. Moisture levels in the soil and specific periods of warm days and cool nights are also big factors in how much color change you'll see; this can be quite variable. That's why some years produce longer and more brilliant displays of color while some years produce unexciting blandness.

Some parts of the United States make an industry of predicting when the colors will be at their peak and millions of people travel hundreds of miles to see the natural spectacle. Here in Colorado, prime leaf-peeping is happening now in the high country. Take advantage of this yearly event, travel to a color area near you, and when a child asks, "Why do the leaves change color?", you'll be able to give the correct answer.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Zombie Tomatoes -- Back From the Dead

Gardening is a fun yet challenging activity. In an environment like Colorado's where a 24-hour temperature swing of 50 degrees is normal, we can set record high temperatures one week and record cold temperatures the next. Locally we haven't recorded our official first frost of the season, but I have had plants damaged due to unexpectedly cold nights. Though the blackened outer leaves of my tomatoes and green beans make them look dead from a distance, they're thriving on the interior.

After late planting, summer hail, and freak cold snaps, I finally have a semi-abundance of fruit. The tomatoes fought back against the odds and are producing wonderful red orbs of deliciousness.

The survivors, surrounded by frost damage.
I think gardening is a good activity for people who aren't "quitters". Too many people today take the easy way out of too many situations. They think school's too hard, so they drop out. They can't pay for the luxury items they couldn't afford in the first place, so they default on their loans. They get tired of their pets, so they dump them on the street. The list goes on and on. I've heard many people say gardening in Colorado is too hard, so they don't even try.

I say when the going gets tough... the gardeners get going. I could have given up on my unsightly garden, but that would have been too easy. It just took a little pruning of the damaged stalks and leaves, continued watering and weeding, and a careful watch of the weather to give the plants a chance to do what they naturally do. They gave me fruit.

It would have been easy to say autumn is beginning so there's no reason to add new plants. The trees and lavender I planted this week will be stronger next year than any of the plants others wait to plant in spring. I still have a lot of work to do in my garden and I'm not going to let a calendar or a thermometer make me stop. Sure, I may wear an extra layer or two of clothing, but new soil needs to be added and compost needs to be dug in. Mulching needs to start soon.

My tomatoes haven't stopped working and neither will I. Their days are numbered, but they're fighting to the end. I'll do what I can to aid that fight. Even after they're gone, the victory of ripe tomatoes will be remembered.

The underdog tomatoes helped remind me why I like to garden. It's because of the little victories. It's about adversity and being able to hold something in your hand that shows you overcame it. It's about doing something that might be a little hard. It's about having a story to tell. Isn't gardening grand?
Gardening is a fun yet challenging activity. In an environment like Colorado's where a 24-hour temperature swing of 50 degrees is normal, we can set record high temperatures one week and record cold temperatures the next. Locally we haven't recorded our official first frost of the season, but I have had plants damaged due to unexpectedly cold nights. Though the blackened outer leaves of my tomatoes and green beans make them look dead from a distance, they're thriving on the interior.

After late planting, summer hail, and freak cold snaps, I finally have a semi-abundance of fruit. The tomatoes fought back against the odds and are producing wonderful red orbs of deliciousness.

The survivors, surrounded by frost damage.
I think gardening is a good activity for people who aren't "quitters". Too many people today take the easy way out of too many situations. They think school's too hard, so they drop out. They can't pay for the luxury items they couldn't afford in the first place, so they default on their loans. They get tired of their pets, so they dump them on the street. The list goes on and on. I've heard many people say gardening in Colorado is too hard, so they don't even try.

I say when the going gets tough... the gardeners get going. I could have given up on my unsightly garden, but that would have been too easy. It just took a little pruning of the damaged stalks and leaves, continued watering and weeding, and a careful watch of the weather to give the plants a chance to do what they naturally do. They gave me fruit.

It would have been easy to say autumn is beginning so there's no reason to add new plants. The trees and lavender I planted this week will be stronger next year than any of the plants others wait to plant in spring. I still have a lot of work to do in my garden and I'm not going to let a calendar or a thermometer make me stop. Sure, I may wear an extra layer or two of clothing, but new soil needs to be added and compost needs to be dug in. Mulching needs to start soon.

My tomatoes haven't stopped working and neither will I. Their days are numbered, but they're fighting to the end. I'll do what I can to aid that fight. Even after they're gone, the victory of ripe tomatoes will be remembered.

The underdog tomatoes helped remind me why I like to garden. It's because of the little victories. It's about adversity and being able to hold something in your hand that shows you overcame it. It's about doing something that might be a little hard. It's about having a story to tell. Isn't gardening grand?

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Fall is a Good Time to Plant

The weather's changing and many gardeners have an eye toward cleaning up the garden beds and looking ahead to spring. Now is a great time to ramp up your gardening activities and actually start putting new plants in the ground. In the last couple weeks I've planted lilies, lavender, and three different trees. Fall planting is actually better than spring planting for many of your perennials and trees.

My new lavender
Plants tend to slow their root growth during the heat of the summer. As temperatures begin to cool, up to 80% of a plant's root growth happens in late summer and fall. Even after the foliage has faded, root growth will continue slowly until the ground freezes. You can take advantage of that normal cycle by planting now. If you live in an area with a mild winter or if your garden has a microclimate that provides more warmth, root growth may continue all winter.
As soon as the soil begins to thaw in the spring the root growth kicks in again. Plants put in the soil in the fall now have at least six months of growth advantage over plants put in in spring. The larger root system provides more vigorous growth of foliage and flowers.

When you plant in the spring, the soil may still be relatively cool. That will slow and may even stunt a plant's growth. When you plant in the fall, the soil is still warm from the summer and root growth happens faster.

When you plant in the spring, many pests are just waking up and looking for food as they attack your young, vulnerable plants. When you plant in the fall, many pests are dead, dormant, or at a different point in their life cycle and not as much of a threat.

When you plant in the spring, a sudden, unexpected weather change can devastate new plants. When you plant in the fall, weather changes aren't as critical because the plants have already handled a winter.

When you plant in the spring, you must maintain a steady regimen of water until the plant stabilizes and then maintain that watering through the summer because the soil dries out. When you plant in the fall, less water is required as the plant begins to go dormant and more water is available in the soil from winter storms.

When you plant in the spring, you pay the highest prices of the year at your local nursery or home improvement center. When you plant in the fall, you can often get plants at reduced prices or clearance prices. As a frugal gardener, this is one of my favorite reasons.

When you plant in the spring, you may be guessing at the best location for new plants in new garden beds. When you plant in the fall, you have a better understanding of which plants grow best in specific areas of your garden. If you had a plant do especially well, now is the time to add more. If something didn't work out, now's the time to replace it.

You should allow at least six weeks for the root growth to take hold, so plan your fall plantings for at least six weeks before your traditional hard frost. That doesn't mean a first frost. In areas like the Front Range of Colorado, we may get a light frost of 31 or 32 degrees F, followed by weeks of warm weather. That may kill some foliage but isn't deadly for most perennials and trees. A hard frost is when both the air and the soil are below freezing. That typically happens at 28 or 29 degrees F. That's the point that signals plants to start going dormant.

If a hard frost is predicted, followed by forecasts of warmer weather, you can protect plants with a blanket or plastic tarp. Lay the protection over the plants before the sun goes down. The warmth of the earth and soil will create a pocket of warm air under the cover and will help keep the ground from freezing. This may buy you a few extra days or even a few extra weeks of root growth. Remove the cover after the sun comes up the next day.

Take a look at your calendar and see if you have the remaining time. In our area, continual hard frosts usually start at the end of October. That still gives time to add to the garden. You might have more days than that and more options. Take advantage of it and get planting.
The weather's changing and many gardeners have an eye toward cleaning up the garden beds and looking ahead to spring. Now is a great time to ramp up your gardening activities and actually start putting new plants in the ground. In the last couple weeks I've planted lilies, lavender, and three different trees. Fall planting is actually better than spring planting for many of your perennials and trees.

My new lavender
Plants tend to slow their root growth during the heat of the summer. As temperatures begin to cool, up to 80% of a plant's root growth happens in late summer and fall. Even after the foliage has faded, root growth will continue slowly until the ground freezes. You can take advantage of that normal cycle by planting now. If you live in an area with a mild winter or if your garden has a microclimate that provides more warmth, root growth may continue all winter.
As soon as the soil begins to thaw in the spring the root growth kicks in again. Plants put in the soil in the fall now have at least six months of growth advantage over plants put in in spring. The larger root system provides more vigorous growth of foliage and flowers.

When you plant in the spring, the soil may still be relatively cool. That will slow and may even stunt a plant's growth. When you plant in the fall, the soil is still warm from the summer and root growth happens faster.

When you plant in the spring, many pests are just waking up and looking for food as they attack your young, vulnerable plants. When you plant in the fall, many pests are dead, dormant, or at a different point in their life cycle and not as much of a threat.

When you plant in the spring, a sudden, unexpected weather change can devastate new plants. When you plant in the fall, weather changes aren't as critical because the plants have already handled a winter.

When you plant in the spring, you must maintain a steady regimen of water until the plant stabilizes and then maintain that watering through the summer because the soil dries out. When you plant in the fall, less water is required as the plant begins to go dormant and more water is available in the soil from winter storms.

When you plant in the spring, you pay the highest prices of the year at your local nursery or home improvement center. When you plant in the fall, you can often get plants at reduced prices or clearance prices. As a frugal gardener, this is one of my favorite reasons.

When you plant in the spring, you may be guessing at the best location for new plants in new garden beds. When you plant in the fall, you have a better understanding of which plants grow best in specific areas of your garden. If you had a plant do especially well, now is the time to add more. If something didn't work out, now's the time to replace it.

You should allow at least six weeks for the root growth to take hold, so plan your fall plantings for at least six weeks before your traditional hard frost. That doesn't mean a first frost. In areas like the Front Range of Colorado, we may get a light frost of 31 or 32 degrees F, followed by weeks of warm weather. That may kill some foliage but isn't deadly for most perennials and trees. A hard frost is when both the air and the soil are below freezing. That typically happens at 28 or 29 degrees F. That's the point that signals plants to start going dormant.

If a hard frost is predicted, followed by forecasts of warmer weather, you can protect plants with a blanket or plastic tarp. Lay the protection over the plants before the sun goes down. The warmth of the earth and soil will create a pocket of warm air under the cover and will help keep the ground from freezing. This may buy you a few extra days or even a few extra weeks of root growth. Remove the cover after the sun comes up the next day.

Take a look at your calendar and see if you have the remaining time. In our area, continual hard frosts usually start at the end of October. That still gives time to add to the garden. You might have more days than that and more options. Take advantage of it and get planting.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Should I Call You Mother, Daughter, or Sister?

Strawberries are a great plant for most gardeners. As long as you put them in well-drained soil in a sunny location, you'll have delicious red fruit for many years. Choose the right variety and they're hardy; they'll tolerate drought and they'll survive a harsh winter. One of the few issues they create is when they decide to propagate.


Runners seeking a new spot


A single strawberry plant becomes a mother as it sends out runners in all directions. Each runner can root and produce a daughter plant. Some runners have multiple nodes that can root and may produce two or three daughters. These offspring can quickly fill in a large garden bed. If you like order and symmetry, the tangle of runners and resulting daughters can wreak havoc with your world. If you like many new plants that don't cost a nickel, you'll be in heaven.

Don't feel like you're at the mercy of nature and disorder when the runners start spreading. Like most good daughters, you can train them to behave. Move them in the direction of a bare piece of soil and you can target where they'll root. You might need to use a garden staple to get them to stay put, but you be the boss. If a plant starts sending out more runners than you have space for, prune off the ones you don't want. If a runner has multiple baby plants on it, you can cut the runner just past the first one so the mother's energy will be directed to that one; it will root a little faster and become stronger than if you leave multiple daughters on the same runner.

To avoid overcrowding, you don't want more than five or six plants per square foot. That's about one plant every six inches. With control and attention you can create a patchwork of plants that will fill in a nice grid in your planting bed. Trained daughters can create new rows on either side of the mothers.

A mother plant will produce fruit up to four years, though the quantity and size of fruit will diminish during the last couple years. I like to propagate my strawberries using a three-year cycle. During the first year I pinch off most of the new flowers so it develops into a strong plant; berries will deplete food reserves and delay new runner production later in the season. Strong plants will produce more strawberries than ones that are allowed to fruit early. During the second year I let the mothers provide an abundance of fruit and trim off most of the runners. During the third year I harvest more fruit, let some daughters root, and at the end of the season I remove the mother plants. Daughters from other plants are trained into the now-vacant row.

Using a three-year cycle ensures you always have a third of your bed developing into strong plants while two-thirds are producing many, large strawberries. Fail to follow this or a similar process and you'll have an overgrown bed of old plants that won't produce very much. If you have the space, you can use this method to have three beds of strawberries, of three different ages. Transplant rooted daughters into the empty bed after you remove the oldest plants. It can be a lot of effort, but it maximizes the fruit production.

I used to live near strawberry farms in California and it seemed they followed a similar process but in an accelerated timeframe. The cultivars they used produced multiple harvests. After the second or third harvest, in the same year, they would remove many of the plants and root new ones. The concept is that strawberry plants produce smaller fruit with each subsequent harvest. It works the same in your garden.

It's the time of year when our vegetable and fruit gardens decline and we look to our next season. If you don't have strawberries in your garden think about adding them next year. Right now you can pick out the location and visualize it being filled with big, plump berries in the years ahead. One 4' by 8' bed is all you need for substantial yields. Twenty-five to fifty plants will provide enough berries for a family of four to enjoy. If you start with as few as 10 plants, you can easily triple that number by the end of the year. That's a better return than you can find in any stock market. I call that a great investment.
Strawberries are a great plant for most gardeners. As long as you put them in well-drained soil in a sunny location, you'll have delicious red fruit for many years. Choose the right variety and they're hardy; they'll tolerate drought and they'll survive a harsh winter. One of the few issues they create is when they decide to propagate.


Runners seeking a new spot


A single strawberry plant becomes a mother as it sends out runners in all directions. Each runner can root and produce a daughter plant. Some runners have multiple nodes that can root and may produce two or three daughters. These offspring can quickly fill in a large garden bed. If you like order and symmetry, the tangle of runners and resulting daughters can wreak havoc with your world. If you like many new plants that don't cost a nickel, you'll be in heaven.

Don't feel like you're at the mercy of nature and disorder when the runners start spreading. Like most good daughters, you can train them to behave. Move them in the direction of a bare piece of soil and you can target where they'll root. You might need to use a garden staple to get them to stay put, but you be the boss. If a plant starts sending out more runners than you have space for, prune off the ones you don't want. If a runner has multiple baby plants on it, you can cut the runner just past the first one so the mother's energy will be directed to that one; it will root a little faster and become stronger than if you leave multiple daughters on the same runner.

To avoid overcrowding, you don't want more than five or six plants per square foot. That's about one plant every six inches. With control and attention you can create a patchwork of plants that will fill in a nice grid in your planting bed. Trained daughters can create new rows on either side of the mothers.

A mother plant will produce fruit up to four years, though the quantity and size of fruit will diminish during the last couple years. I like to propagate my strawberries using a three-year cycle. During the first year I pinch off most of the new flowers so it develops into a strong plant; berries will deplete food reserves and delay new runner production later in the season. Strong plants will produce more strawberries than ones that are allowed to fruit early. During the second year I let the mothers provide an abundance of fruit and trim off most of the runners. During the third year I harvest more fruit, let some daughters root, and at the end of the season I remove the mother plants. Daughters from other plants are trained into the now-vacant row.

Using a three-year cycle ensures you always have a third of your bed developing into strong plants while two-thirds are producing many, large strawberries. Fail to follow this or a similar process and you'll have an overgrown bed of old plants that won't produce very much. If you have the space, you can use this method to have three beds of strawberries, of three different ages. Transplant rooted daughters into the empty bed after you remove the oldest plants. It can be a lot of effort, but it maximizes the fruit production.

I used to live near strawberry farms in California and it seemed they followed a similar process but in an accelerated timeframe. The cultivars they used produced multiple harvests. After the second or third harvest, in the same year, they would remove many of the plants and root new ones. The concept is that strawberry plants produce smaller fruit with each subsequent harvest. It works the same in your garden.

It's the time of year when our vegetable and fruit gardens decline and we look to our next season. If you don't have strawberries in your garden think about adding them next year. Right now you can pick out the location and visualize it being filled with big, plump berries in the years ahead. One 4' by 8' bed is all you need for substantial yields. Twenty-five to fifty plants will provide enough berries for a family of four to enjoy. If you start with as few as 10 plants, you can easily triple that number by the end of the year. That's a better return than you can find in any stock market. I call that a great investment.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It's All Peachy

It's that time of year. Colorado's Palisade peaches are arriving in stores and often on sale. Many of us wait for the opportunity to enjoy local produce, especially when it's a delicious peach. My daughter called last night and announced she's the recipient of 40 pounds of peaches. So what do you do when you have more fruit than you could possibly eat in one sitting? There are many answers to that question.

Canning, jellying, jamming, freezing, and drying are all options to try. My daughter is planning on canning and freezing most of her peaches (and hopefully sharing some with me). This week I juiced about 10 pounds of peaches to make jelly. Then I took the leftover pulp and made fruit leather in the dehydrator. How hard was that? Not at all. The juicing was a piece of cake. I have a steam juicer that converts pounds of cut fruit into cups of crystal-clear juice. You can also simmer fruit and water together for an hour or so and strain the slurry through a jelly bag to achieve the same result. The leftover slurry is spread on a dehydrator tray and dried for about six hours. Cut it into bite-size pieces and it's a great snack.

One pound of peaches provides about one cup of juice to make jelly. Three pounds of peaches makes about three cups of juice. Add that and pectin to five cups of sugar and you'll make five half-pint jars of jelly.

When canning, it takes about one pound of peaches to fill one pint jar. That same basic relationship between weight and volume is pretty constant for most fruit. Forty pounds of fruit will give you 20 quart jars to enjoy throughout the year. When it comes to peaches, that's a lot of golden deliciousness.

If you've never canned or made jam or jelly and are worried about starting now, just freeze your produce. You can cut peaches into slices or halves and freeze them in a bag or plastic container filled with water. You'll want to add one teaspoon of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to each quart of water to keep the fruit from darkening. Better yet, freeze them in a syrup solution of 30%-40% sugar. Later you can thaw them and pop right on top of your favorite vanilla ice cream or mix them in with your morning oatmeal.

If you're ready to take the plunge and want to can or jelly, there are many resources at your fingertips. I recommend getting a copy of the "Ball Blue Book". It's a book about home preserving that's published by the Ball company; the same one that sells canning jars and lids. It's sold at many stores and all over the internet and should become part of your library. Easy to follow directions will guide you through every step of the process.

There are many videos and recipes online too, but I caution you against many of them if you're just starting out. Preserving food is a serious topic. It's easy and fun, but if you don't do it right you can introduce deadly bacteria and toxins to you and your family. Only use recipes and procedures that are approved by the USDA. State Extension offices offer great assistance in this area too. You can find online fact sheets from Colorado State University here.

I hope this has you thinking about the benefits of home preservation. I love making dozens of jars of pickles, jams, and jellies and giving them out to friends and family at Christmas. Even if you only do it for yourself, you'll love cracking open a jar of delicious peach jelly in January and spreading it on a piece of toast as you look out over your frozen garden. It helps keep the spirit of gardening in your heart.

Enjoy.
It's that time of year. Colorado's Palisade peaches are arriving in stores and often on sale. Many of us wait for the opportunity to enjoy local produce, especially when it's a delicious peach. My daughter called last night and announced she's the recipient of 40 pounds of peaches. So what do you do when you have more fruit than you could possibly eat in one sitting? There are many answers to that question.

Canning, jellying, jamming, freezing, and drying are all options to try. My daughter is planning on canning and freezing most of her peaches (and hopefully sharing some with me). This week I juiced about 10 pounds of peaches to make jelly. Then I took the leftover pulp and made fruit leather in the dehydrator. How hard was that? Not at all. The juicing was a piece of cake. I have a steam juicer that converts pounds of cut fruit into cups of crystal-clear juice. You can also simmer fruit and water together for an hour or so and strain the slurry through a jelly bag to achieve the same result. The leftover slurry is spread on a dehydrator tray and dried for about six hours. Cut it into bite-size pieces and it's a great snack.

One pound of peaches provides about one cup of juice to make jelly. Three pounds of peaches makes about three cups of juice. Add that and pectin to five cups of sugar and you'll make five half-pint jars of jelly.

When canning, it takes about one pound of peaches to fill one pint jar. That same basic relationship between weight and volume is pretty constant for most fruit. Forty pounds of fruit will give you 20 quart jars to enjoy throughout the year. When it comes to peaches, that's a lot of golden deliciousness.

If you've never canned or made jam or jelly and are worried about starting now, just freeze your produce. You can cut peaches into slices or halves and freeze them in a bag or plastic container filled with water. You'll want to add one teaspoon of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to each quart of water to keep the fruit from darkening. Better yet, freeze them in a syrup solution of 30%-40% sugar. Later you can thaw them and pop right on top of your favorite vanilla ice cream or mix them in with your morning oatmeal.

If you're ready to take the plunge and want to can or jelly, there are many resources at your fingertips. I recommend getting a copy of the "Ball Blue Book". It's a book about home preserving that's published by the Ball company; the same one that sells canning jars and lids. It's sold at many stores and all over the internet and should become part of your library. Easy to follow directions will guide you through every step of the process.

There are many videos and recipes online too, but I caution you against many of them if you're just starting out. Preserving food is a serious topic. It's easy and fun, but if you don't do it right you can introduce deadly bacteria and toxins to you and your family. Only use recipes and procedures that are approved by the
USDA. State Extension offices offer great assistance in this area too. You can find online fact sheets from Colorado State University here.

I hope this has you thinking about the benefits of home preservation. I love making dozens of jars of pickles, jams, and jellies and giving them out to friends and family at Christmas. Even if you only do it for yourself, you'll love cracking open a jar of delicious peach jelly in January and spreading it on a piece of toast as you look out over your frozen garden. It helps keep the spirit of gardening in your heart.

Enjoy.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

It's Not Easy Eating Green

Tomatoes are red,
Blueberries are blue.
That's what we look for.
Isn't that true?

Reader "infodr" posted an interesting query in response to an earlier blog about doomed tomatoes. Recently my blog focus has been on suggesting ways to protect tomatoes, and other crops, so they'll have the maximum time to reach maturity. I've yet to discuss what you can do with the fruit that doesn't make it to a fully ripe point.

Infodr wants to know if I have a good recipe for fried green tomatoes. It's a great question because many of us are left with dozens of green fruit on the vine when the first frost hits.

Fried green tomatoes entered Americana as a classic Southern food after release of the wonderful 1991 movie of the same name. Surprisingly it seems that they may have their origins in the Northeast or Midwest. I found a nice blog article by Robert F. Moss that helps explain the mysterious roots of this famous food. Regardless of the region that can correctly claim it, none of my family eat or ate green tomatoes and it's a dish that I have no experience making or eating. I do have a number of friends who salivate at the mention of it.

The basic recipe calls for dipping tomato slices in flour or cornmeal and then frying in oil. Many other recipes add egg and breadcrumbs. Why use green and not red tomatoes? They are more solid than fully ripe ones and will hold up during the cooking, staying firmer for dipping in a sauce.

Inspired by infodr, I've done a little research and come up with some recipes. I haven't tried any of them yet because I'm still holding out hope that some of my remaining tomatoes will turn red. Click on the names for each recipe to go directly to the ingredients and directions. They all received high ratings at their websites.

A recipe for "Classic Fried Green Tomatoes" from southernfood.about.com is about as simple as it gets: salt and pepper, cornmeal, and bacon fat. My guess is that these will taste closest to the results that the first cook got upon throwing green tomatoes in a pan.

Another comes from simplyrecipes.com and is simply "Fried Green Tomatoes". It looks like it is a more modern, healthier option by using a small amount of olive oil for frying.

Tyler Florence from FoodNetwork.com offers an alternative with more ingredients and potential for much more flavor. His "Fried Green Tomatoes" adds garlic and cayenne before a dip in buttermilk. Yum, yum.

There is something about the red-ripe flavor of a fresh garden tomato that exemplifies the entire gardening experience in a single bite. That's what I strive for by growing them in my garden. Thanks infodr, because I'm intrigued about the possibilities of green tomatoes. But until the frost hits and winter has taken hold, I'll aim for ripeness.
Tomatoes are red,
Blueberries are blue.
That's what we look for.
Isn't that true?

Reader "infodr" posted an interesting query in response to an earlier blog about doomed tomatoes. Recently my blog focus has been on suggesting ways to protect tomatoes, and other crops, so they'll have the maximum time to reach maturity. I've yet to discuss what you can do with the fruit that doesn't make it to a fully ripe point.

Infodr wants to know if I have a good recipe for fried green tomatoes. It's a great question because many of us are left with dozens of green fruit on the vine when the first frost hits.

Fried green tomatoes entered Americana as a classic Southern food after release of the wonderful 1991 movie of the same name. Surprisingly it seems that they may have their origins in the Northeast or Midwest. I found a nice blog article by Robert F. Moss that helps explain the mysterious roots of this famous food. Regardless of the region that can correctly claim it, none of my family eat or ate green tomatoes and it's a dish that I have no experience making or eating. I do have a number of friends who salivate at the mention of it.

The basic recipe calls for dipping tomato slices in flour or cornmeal and then frying in oil. Many other recipes add egg and breadcrumbs. Why use green and not red tomatoes? They are more solid than fully ripe ones and will hold up during the cooking, staying firmer for dipping in a sauce.

Inspired by infodr, I've done a little research and come up with some recipes. I haven't tried any of them yet because I'm still holding out hope that some of my remaining tomatoes will turn red. Click on the names for each recipe to go directly to the ingredients and directions. They all received high ratings at their websites.

A recipe for "Classic Fried Green Tomatoes" from southernfood.about.com is about as simple as it gets: salt and pepper, cornmeal, and bacon fat. My guess is that these will taste closest to the results that the first cook got upon throwing green tomatoes in a pan.

Another comes from simplyrecipes.com and is simply "Fried Green Tomatoes". It looks like it is a more modern, healthier option by using a small amount of olive oil for frying.

Tyler Florence from FoodNetwork.com offers an alternative with more ingredients and potential for much more flavor. His "Fried Green Tomatoes" adds garlic and cayenne before a dip in buttermilk. Yum, yum.

There is something about the red-ripe flavor of a fresh garden tomato that exemplifies the entire gardening experience in a single bite. That's what I strive for by growing them in my garden. Thanks infodr, because I'm intrigued about the possibilities of green tomatoes. But until the frost hits and winter has taken hold, I'll aim for ripeness.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Your Garden in a Pickle

There's a great way to keep your vegetable garden at your fingertips even after the last plant has withered into the snow. Preserve your garden's bounty through canning, dehydrating, and pickling. It's easy, it's fun, and it allows you to enjoy your produce months after the harvest. I'll discuss canning and dehydrating in future blogs; today it's all about pickles.

This weekend my wife harvested about six pounds of green beans and we set to the task of making my world famous pickled green beans. One pound of vegetables typically makes one quart of pickles. In the past I've used pint jars for my green beans, but this year we opted for the big quart jars. My wife loves them so much that one pint doesn't last long. Now that they're packed into larger jars they may last more than a day when opened.

This week's harvest
You can pickle just about anything. Most of us see vegetables made into pickles, primarily cucumbers, but fruit offers a great option. Pickled apples and pickled peaches are surprisingly tasty. Pickled watermelon rind offers a new perspective on summer harvests. Pears and cantaloupe are also interesting options.



The process and recipes for pickling are very simple. You heat vinegar, an equal measure of water, plus salt and spices, and pour the hot liquid over the vegetables or fruit that is packed into jars. Put on a lid and band and heat it to boiling in a water-filled pot for 5-20 minutes, depending on your altitude. You remove the jars from the hot water, let them cool, store them in a cool place, and enjoy them for months to come. From beginning to end, the task won't take more than a couple hours.

As long as you keep the basic recipe constant -- the vinegar, water, and salt ratios -- you can have fun modifying the other flavors. I take the basic recipe for pickled green beans that is published in a Heinz company pamphlet and add spicy red peppers. The pickled green beans then have a hot bite to them. It's a hit and a favorite of my wife and daughter.

Add sugar to the vinegar and you end up with a sweet pickle. Dill is prevalent in pickled cucumbers, but you can add other savory spices to get extravagant flavors. Add garlic or peppers and you have a spicier taste. Fresh ginger is unique and creates a slightly exotic taste. I like to eat the pickled garlic and pickled ginger after the rest of the jar's contents is consumed.

You don't have to follow the heating process to make pickles. Refrigerator pickles are very easy and often give the pickles a toothier bite... think Vlasic. Take a plastic container or jar, cut up your veggies, pour in vinegar and water with salt and your choice of herbs and spices, put it in the refrigerator overnight, and enjoy delicious pickles the next day. The only downside is that if you don't eat all of the pickles (which rarely happens because they're so tasty), they'll only last about a week or two in the refrigerator. Pickles processed in the heated canning method will last months on the shelf before being opened.

There are many recipes available on the internet and in books. I recommend using a recipe approved by the USDA, or a state extension office. They know what they're doing and the resulting product will be safe to eat.

I became a certified Master Food Safety Advisor through Colorado State University's Extension office a few years ago and have taught many pickling classes. Check with your local county Extension and see what they offer. Canning and pickling classes are happening this time of year and don't cost much to attend. Once you try it you'll likely do it every year.

You can purchase fruit and vegetables from a farmer's market or grocery store to pickle. I like using my own garden's production because it seems to taste a little better knowing I've put my own labor into the result. My favorites are pickling my green beans and asparagus. My cucumbers usually become refrigerator pickles because they're so easy and so delicious and can be made day after day when the cucumbers are being picked.

Now is a great time to act. Check out some recipes, take some of your produce, and make a pickle. Believe me, you'll be hooked.
There's a great way to keep your vegetable garden at your fingertips even after the last plant has withered into the snow. Preserve your garden's bounty through canning, dehydrating, and pickling. It's easy, it's fun, and it allows you to enjoy your produce months after the harvest. I'll discuss canning and dehydrating in future blogs; today it's all about pickles.

This weekend my wife harvested about six pounds of green beans and we set to the task of making my world famous pickled green beans. One pound of vegetables typically makes one quart of pickles. In the past I've used pint jars for my green beans, but this year we opted for the big quart jars. My wife loves them so much that one pint doesn't last long. Now that they're packed into larger jars they may last more than a day when opened.

This week's harvest
You can pickle just about anything. Most of us see vegetables made into pickles, primarily cucumbers, but fruit offers a great option. Pickled apples and pickled peaches are surprisingly tasty. Pickled watermelon rind offers a new perspective on summer harvests. Pears and cantaloupe are also interesting options.



The process and recipes for pickling are very simple. You heat vinegar, an equal measure of water, plus salt and spices, and pour the hot liquid over the vegetables or fruit that is packed into jars. Put on a lid and band and heat it to boiling in a water-filled pot for 5-20 minutes, depending on your altitude. You remove the jars from the hot water, let them cool, store them in a cool place, and enjoy them for months to come. From beginning to end, the task won't take more than a couple hours.

As long as you keep the basic recipe constant -- the vinegar, water, and salt ratios -- you can have fun modifying the other flavors. I take the basic recipe for pickled green beans that is published in a Heinz company pamphlet and add spicy red peppers. The pickled green beans then have a hot bite to them. It's a hit and a favorite of my wife and daughter.

Add sugar to the vinegar and you end up with a sweet pickle. Dill is prevalent in pickled cucumbers, but you can add other savory spices to get extravagant flavors. Add garlic or peppers and you have a spicier taste. Fresh ginger is unique and creates a slightly exotic taste. I like to eat the pickled garlic and pickled ginger after the rest of the jar's contents is consumed.

You don't have to follow the heating process to make pickles. Refrigerator pickles are very easy and often give the pickles a toothier bite... think Vlasic. Take a plastic container or jar, cut up your veggies, pour in vinegar and water with salt and your choice of herbs and spices, put it in the refrigerator overnight, and enjoy delicious pickles the next day. The only downside is that if you don't eat all of the pickles (which rarely happens because they're so tasty), they'll only last about a week or two in the refrigerator. Pickles processed in the heated canning method will last months on the shelf before being opened.

There are many recipes available on the internet and in books. I recommend using a recipe approved by the USDA, or a state extension office. They know what they're doing and the resulting product will be safe to eat.

I became a certified Master Food Safety Advisor through Colorado State University's Extension office a few years ago and have taught many pickling classes. Check with your local county Extension and see what they offer. Canning and pickling classes are happening this time of year and don't cost much to attend. Once you try it you'll likely do it every year.

You can purchase fruit and vegetables from a farmer's market or grocery store to pickle. I like using my own garden's production because it seems to taste a little better knowing I've put my own labor into the result. My favorites are pickling my green beans and asparagus. My cucumbers usually become refrigerator pickles because they're so easy and so delicious and can be made day after day when the cucumbers are being picked.

Now is a great time to act. Check out some recipes, take some of your produce, and make a pickle. Believe me, you'll be hooked.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

A Cold Wind Blows

My growing season is over... for the most part. With no apparent warning, a killing frost blew across the garden yesterday morning and killed the peppers and cucumbers, severely damaged the tomatoes, and ravaged the green beans. The forecast was for a low near 40 degrees F, but the plant damage was indicative of freezing or near-freezing conditions. My plan to protect the plants when cold weather came was yet to be enacted.

Tomato with frost damage and healthy leaves on the inside
This helps show that every garden is unique and has its own microclimates. I noted from the evening newscast that the San Luis valley was under a freeze warning, but it is located over 120 miles away and I didn't see reason to be concerned. Obviously my garden at 7500 feet elevation is susceptible to the same concerns of a weather system over 100 miles away. This is my first year growing at this location and it has given me many lessons learned.

Apparently it was a short-lived event. Only portions of the green beans and tomatoes were affected. Plants in both beds had grown very large and it looks like the outer leaves were frozen but helped to insulate the inner ones from the cold breeze. The herbs near the house were protected; there was no damage on the basil, a plant that doesn't handle cold well. The cucumbers and peppers that had no structure or large plants to protect them were completely damaged. I think an extra-cold wind blew, cooled by the system miles away, and left as quickly as it arrived.

Hardier plants like the onions and rhubarb don't seem to be harmed at all. The flowers and trees are fine, though the aspens are in the first stage of color change. But the plants that respond to cold temperatures are obviously changed; like canaries in a coal mine, they gave their lives to show that hazardous conditions existed.

The pepper that's now toast
There is nothing I can do for the damaged plants. I'm ready to put plastic sheets over the remaining plants at the mention of possible cold weather. Like closing the barn door after the horse escaped, I'm acting now. It's a tough lesson to learn.

I'm holding out hope that some of the remaining tomatoes will still ripen. It's unlikely yet possible. All of the plant's remaining energy will be directed to the fruit. All of the flowers that I hadn't plucked off are now gone, as are the branches they were attached to. We'll see if there is enough foliage to keep the plants alive and prospering for the short time they have left.

Gardening is a fun pastime that occasionally requires a lot of work in a short time. When you see your freeze coming you must act quickly and cover your crops. A simple sheet of plastic will make the difference if a cold wind blows. Of course this only helps if you see it coming. If you haven't already, make note of your garden and weather effects. What is the temperature at your house compared to what the forecaster reports as the daily highs and lows? Knowing what you can expect based on local forecasts can give you advance warning. For me, I now have to pay attention to what's happening  a hundred miles away... and look forward to next year's garden.
My growing season is over... for the most part. With no apparent warning, a killing frost blew across the garden yesterday morning and killed the peppers and cucumbers, severely damaged the tomatoes, and ravaged the green beans. The forecast was for a low near 40 degrees F, but the plant damage was indicative of freezing or near-freezing conditions. My plan to protect the plants when cold weather came was yet to be enacted.

Tomato with frost damage and healthy leaves on the inside
This helps show that every garden is unique and has its own microclimates. I noted from the evening newscast that the San Luis valley was under a freeze warning, but it is located over 120 miles away and I didn't see reason to be concerned. Obviously my garden at 7500 feet elevation is susceptible to the same concerns of a weather system over 100 miles away. This is my first year growing at this location and it has given me many lessons learned.

Apparently it was a short-lived event. Only portions of the green beans and tomatoes were affected. Plants in both beds had grown very large and it looks like the outer leaves were frozen but helped to insulate the inner ones from the cold breeze. The herbs near the house were protected; there was no damage on the basil, a plant that doesn't handle cold well. The cucumbers and peppers that had no structure or large plants to protect them were completely damaged. I think an extra-cold wind blew, cooled by the system miles away, and left as quickly as it arrived.

Hardier plants like the onions and rhubarb don't seem to be harmed at all. The flowers and trees are fine, though the aspens are in the first stage of color change. But the plants that respond to cold temperatures are obviously changed; like canaries in a coal mine, they gave their lives to show that hazardous conditions existed.

The pepper that's now toast
There is nothing I can do for the damaged plants. I'm ready to put plastic sheets over the remaining plants at the mention of possible cold weather. Like closing the barn door after the horse escaped, I'm acting now. It's a tough lesson to learn.

I'm holding out hope that some of the remaining tomatoes will still ripen. It's unlikely yet possible. All of the plant's remaining energy will be directed to the fruit. All of the flowers that I hadn't plucked off are now gone, as are the branches they were attached to. We'll see if there is enough foliage to keep the plants alive and prospering for the short time they have left.

Gardening is a fun pastime that occasionally requires a lot of work in a short time. When you see your freeze coming you must act quickly and cover your crops. A simple sheet of plastic will make the difference if a cold wind blows. Of course this only helps if you see it coming. If you haven't already, make note of your garden and weather effects. What is the temperature at your house compared to what the forecaster reports as the daily highs and lows? Knowing what you can expect based on local forecasts can give you advance warning. For me, I now have to pay attention to what's happening  a hundred miles away... and look forward to next year's garden.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Saying Goodbye Is Tough

I received two questions today from gardeners wanting to get rid of plants that started as ornamentals. Ornamentals are plants that are grown for a specific display, usually for flowers but also for color or shape of stems or foliage. One question involved removing yucca, a sturdy plant often planted in desert and semi-arid gardens. The other concerned eliminating wildflowers after one became invasive, probably a plant like yarrow. 

We're often confronted with a plant that just doesn't fit where it grows. It might be something someone else planted years before or a plant we cultivated but of which we've grown weary. Regardless of its origin, a misplaced plant presents a dilemma. Is it worthwhile, but just in the wrong place? Is it so troublesome we just want to get rid of it? The two plants in question today fall into the latter scenario.

In the challenging Colorado environment, I usually try to find a place for a plant that is tenacious enough to survive. If it is prospering in a place I don't want it, I'll try to transplant it to an area I do. I've moved an apple tree with great success and a buddleia (butterfly bush) with little success. Penstemons, lilies, irises, daylilies, daisies, and vinca (periwinkle) are all plants that began in one section of my gardens yet found a permanent home in another location.

Then there are times we have plants that we don't want in their present location or any other. When we move into a new house, it's unlikely we will agree with all of the previous owner's landscape choices. Some people love yucca, others not so much. I don't have yucca in my garden and I can understand why someone would want it removed. I do have yarrow in my garden, but understand that's its invasive nature can be annoying.

Making the decision to get rid of a plant may be easy when compared with the work that is often necessary to eradicate it. Successful plants are designed to survive and spend their lives trying to populate their living space with as many offspring as possible. Just because a plant is removed, it doesn't mean the seeds or roots will magically disappear. The process of eliminating an invasive plant can take a long time.

You can remove plants using organic methods. That usually involves lots of labor as you dig up the main plant, then continually dig up new plants that sprout later from root remnants or seeds still in the soil. Many plants will die when dowsed in full strength vinegar. You can use goats to eat plants to the ground; this works in large pasture areas to eradicate plants that might be harmful to horses. You can use a blowtorch to burn young and old plants alike, but have to be very careful about starting a wildfire (I don't recommend this method). You can cover a smaller area with black plastic for months; lack of air, sun, and water will kill everything covered. Corn gluten meal can keep new weeds from sprouting.

You can also remove plants using chemical methods. The most common is using an herbicide that contains glyphosate (Roundup is the most prevalent). Glyphosate will kill almost anything, but many succulents or plants that have tough, waxy skin are resistant to it. The best method is to spray plants with glyphosate, give it a few days to be absorbed into the roots, then dig up the plant. As soon as new seedlings sprout, spray them with the herbicide. Eventually you will kill enough of the plant and its progeny that it's no longer a problem. NEVER, EVER use gasoline or oil to kill plants!

Always read the label for directions and warnings when using an herbicide. It will tell you what plants will be affected and which won't. It's also important to find out what time of year an herbicide is most effective. Some plants are easier to kill at certain times of the year; killing dandelions in your lawn is most effective using an herbicide like 2,4-D in late spring or early fall when plants are young.

 Deciding to get rid of plants is hard, but actually making it happen can be harder. The best time to act once you've made the decision is today. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. Late summer and early fall can be a perfect time. Remove the main plant before it goes to seed and you eliminate potential problems in the future. If you weaken a plant, but don't kill it, the winter may be harsh enough to finish it off. Removing plants now makes it easy to see the seedlings that emerge in the spring.

There is no easy solution to most plant eradications. It takes time and effort. The bright side is in the final result when you plant something you want in the space you clear. Take advantage of the time spent eliminating these weeds to do a little research and select the perfect plant for that perfect location.
I received two questions today from gardeners wanting to get rid of plants that started as ornamentals. Ornamentals are plants that are grown for a specific display, usually for flowers but also for color or shape of stems or foliage. One question involved removing yucca, a sturdy plant often planted in desert and semi-arid gardens. The other concerned eliminating wildflowers after one became invasive, probably a plant like yarrow. 

We're often confronted with a plant that just doesn't fit where it grows. It might be something someone else planted years before or a plant we cultivated but of which we've grown weary. Regardless of its origin, a misplaced plant presents a dilemma. Is it worthwhile, but just in the wrong place? Is it so troublesome we just want to get rid of it? The two plants in question today fall into the latter scenario.

In the challenging Colorado environment, I usually try to find a place for a plant that is tenacious enough to survive. If it is prospering in a place I don't want it, I'll try to transplant it to an area I do. I've moved an apple tree with great success and a buddleia (butterfly bush) with little success. Penstemons, lilies, irises, daylilies, daisies, and vinca (periwinkle) are all plants that began in one section of my gardens yet found a permanent home in another location.

Then there are times we have plants that we don't want in their present location or any other. When we move into a new house, it's unlikely we will agree with all of the previous owner's landscape choices. Some people love yucca, others not so much. I don't have yucca in my garden and I can understand why someone would want it removed. I do have yarrow in my garden, but understand that's its invasive nature can be annoying.

Making the decision to get rid of a plant may be easy when compared with the work that is often necessary to eradicate it. Successful plants are designed to survive and spend their lives trying to populate their living space with as many offspring as possible. Just because a plant is removed, it doesn't mean the seeds or roots will magically disappear. The process of eliminating an invasive plant can take a long time.

You can remove plants using organic methods. That usually involves lots of labor as you dig up the main plant, then continually dig up new plants that sprout later from root remnants or seeds still in the soil. Many plants will die when dowsed in full strength vinegar. You can use goats to eat plants to the ground; this works in large pasture areas to eradicate plants that might be harmful to horses. You can use a blowtorch to burn young and old plants alike, but have to be very careful about starting a wildfire (I don't recommend this method). You can cover a smaller area with black plastic for months; lack of air, sun, and water will kill everything covered. Corn gluten meal can keep new weeds from sprouting.

You can also remove plants using chemical methods. The most common is using an herbicide that contains glyphosate (Roundup is the most prevalent). Glyphosate will kill almost anything, but many succulents or plants that have tough, waxy skin are resistant to it. The best method is to spray plants with glyphosate, give it a few days to be absorbed into the roots, then dig up the plant. As soon as new seedlings sprout, spray them with the herbicide. Eventually you will kill enough of the plant and its progeny that it's no longer a problem. NEVER, EVER use gasoline or oil to kill plants!

Always read the label for directions and warnings when using an herbicide. It will tell you what plants will be affected and which won't. It's also important to find out what time of year an herbicide is most effective. Some plants are easier to kill at certain times of the year; killing dandelions in your lawn is most effective using an herbicide like 2,4-D in late spring or early fall when plants are young.

 Deciding to get rid of plants is hard, but actually making it happen can be harder. The best time to act once you've made the decision is today. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. Late summer and early fall can be a perfect time. Remove the main plant before it goes to seed and you eliminate potential problems in the future. If you weaken a plant, but don't kill it, the winter may be harsh enough to finish it off. Removing plants now makes it easy to see the seedlings that emerge in the spring.

There is no easy solution to most plant eradications. It takes time and effort. The bright side is in the final result when you plant something you want in the space you clear. Take advantage of the time spent eliminating these weeds to do a little research and select the perfect plant for that perfect location.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Sacrifice the Many for the Few

It's hard to disfigure a plant. That's how I feel some times when I have to cut off a flower or fruit from a stem or vine that I've spent the season cultivating. After all, the plant worked long and hard to produce it and then I come along and pluck it off. Don't you wonder if the plant is screaming inside, or at least moaning a little? This time of year, as painful as it is to plants and gardeners alike, careful pruning of the garden is necessary if you want the most from your harvest.

A plant has a finite amount of energy to give in flower development, fruit growth, and seed production. My tomato plants are very healthy and are still doing a great job pumping out new flowers; the bees are also doing a great job fertilizing them. As the nights get colder and the days get shorter, those new flowers have no chance to develop into ripe, red tomatoes. If I let all of those flowers and infant tomatoes remain on the vines, the larger fruit that actually has a chance of ripening will suffer.

The tomato plant is devoting a lot of its energy to get those new fruits to a ripe stage. If those flowers and little tomatoes are removed, the plant will re-direct energy to the larger fruit and hasten its ripening. Now is the time to pluck off as many flowers as you can find. It's even time to cut off small tomatoes that won't be able to grow big enough to turn color in the few weeks we have until the first frost. Select the fruit you want to prosper and focus your attention and the plant's attention there. If you have one large tomato, a couple small tomatoes, and some flowers on the same cluster, you can put all of the plant's energy in that part of the vine into the big one by removing all of the flowers and the little fruit.


This process is important throughout the garden. If you want one large pumpkin, remove the blossoms and any other small fruit along the vine. The plant devotes all of its energy to that single pumpkin and it will grow bigger and ripen sooner.

Just about any plant with clusters of flowers and fruit will benefit from strategic pruning. Cucumbers, squash, and peppers react the same way. Rather than be left with five or six small bell peppers when the freeze comes, cut the smallest ones off now and harvest one or two big ripe ones sooner.

You can grow watermelon and cantaloupe by focusing the plant's energy on one or two fruit per vine. It would be great to have each of the flowers produce a nice big melon, but if your season is short or the frost is looming near you have to sacrifice some of the smaller fruit so that the larger ones survive.

Many herbs will produce better when using a similar process. Pinch off the tips of oregano or basil and you'll produce a bushier plant. Definitely pinch off the flowers of herb plants before they go to seed to keep producing delicious leaves.


You don't have to prune all of your garden plants. Peas and beans grow fast enough and handle the cold well enough that you can let all of the flowers develop into nice pods. You may lose some of the harvest when it gets too cold, but probably not enough to worry about. Individual plants like garlic and onions don't produce multiple fruits and don't benefit from strategic pruning, unless they're growing too close together and you need to give a plant more room to grow.

Wishful thinking can be good at the beginning of the season when you first plant your vegetable garden, but at the end of the season you must face reality. That time is now. So start plucking and cutting and cater to the survivors. That way they'll be big, juicy, ripe, and ready... when you eat them.
It's hard to disfigure a plant. That's how I feel some times when I have to cut off a flower or fruit from a stem or vine that I've spent the season cultivating. After all, the plant worked long and hard to produce it and then I come along and pluck it off. Don't you wonder if the plant is screaming inside, or at least moaning a little? This time of year, as painful as it is to plants and gardeners alike, careful pruning of the garden is necessary if you want the most from your harvest.

A plant has a finite amount of energy to give in flower development, fruit growth, and seed production. My tomato plants are very healthy and are still doing a great job pumping out new flowers; the bees are also doing a great job fertilizing them. As the nights get colder and the days get shorter, those new flowers have no chance to develop into ripe, red tomatoes. If I let all of those flowers and infant tomatoes remain on the vines, the larger fruit that actually has a chance of ripening will suffer.

The tomato plant is devoting a lot of its energy to get those new fruits to a ripe stage. If those flowers and little tomatoes are removed, the plant will re-direct energy to the larger fruit and hasten its ripening. Now is the time to pluck off as many flowers as you can find. It's even time to cut off small tomatoes that won't be able to grow big enough to turn color in the few weeks we have until the first frost. Select the fruit you want to prosper and focus your attention and the plant's attention there. If you have one large tomato, a couple small tomatoes, and some flowers on the same cluster, you can put all of the plant's energy in that part of the vine into the big one by removing all of the flowers and the little fruit.


This process is important throughout the garden. If you want one large pumpkin, remove the blossoms and any other small fruit along the vine. The plant devotes all of its energy to that single pumpkin and it will grow bigger and ripen sooner.

Just about any plant with clusters of flowers and fruit will benefit from strategic pruning. Cucumbers, squash, and peppers react the same way. Rather than be left with five or six small bell peppers when the freeze comes, cut the smallest ones off now and harvest one or two big ripe ones sooner.

You can grow watermelon and cantaloupe by focusing the plant's energy on one or two fruit per vine. It would be great to have each of the flowers produce a nice big melon, but if your season is short or the frost is looming near you have to sacrifice some of the smaller fruit so that the larger ones survive.

Many herbs will produce better when using a similar process. Pinch off the tips of oregano or basil and you'll produce a bushier plant. Definitely pinch off the flowers of herb plants before they go to seed to keep producing delicious leaves.


You don't have to prune all of your garden plants. Peas and beans grow fast enough and handle the cold well enough that you can let all of the flowers develop into nice pods. You may lose some of the harvest when it gets too cold, but probably not enough to worry about. Individual plants like garlic and onions don't produce multiple fruits and don't benefit from strategic pruning, unless they're growing too close together and you need to give a plant more room to grow.

Wishful thinking can be good at the beginning of the season when you first plant your vegetable garden, but at the end of the season you must face reality. That time is now. So start plucking and cutting and cater to the survivors. That way they'll be big, juicy, ripe, and ready... when you eat them.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Coffee in the Garden

Enjoy your morning cup of coffee and let your garden enjoy it too. On warm summer mornings my wife likes to take her early cup of brew and sit outside with the dogs, listening to the birds and basking in the glow of her sunflowers. It's a nice way to welcome the day. On most of those mornings I arise to find the coffee filter and coffee grounds in the kitchen trash. My enjoyment of the coffee is different as I remove the filter and add it to my compost bucket.

Just about everything you use to start your day can become compost if you begin by throwing it all in a kitchen bucket. The filter and grounds are just the first daily addition. If you have eggs in the morning, add the shells. Didn't eat all of your oatmeal? Don't throw it down the drain; add it to the compost pile. If you have fresh fruit in the morning, add the skins, peelings, seeds, and stems to your bucket. Even the morning newspaper and egg carton can be added. Almost anything organic is ripe (pun intended) for composting.

A typical day for my compost pile

Stay away from bones, meat, fat and raw eggs because those might cause animals to forage in your pile. They'll also add a stink factor that isn't present in compost that is primarily plant and vegetable material.

When your kitchen bucket fills, walk it out to your compost pile and toss it on. At some point you'll want to turn over or fluff up your pile and all the new material will be incorporated to the inside. In time it will all decompose and become beautiful, dark compost that you can work into your soil. Your daily breakfasts will help feed your tomatoes and beans and cucumbers too.

I know you're questioning the suggestion about eggshells. It will take awhile, but they'll break down too. The calcium they'll add to the soil will help prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes. The jagged edges of the broken shells will help keep slugs from destroying new seedlings. The white specks can even be useful in seeing how evenly you spread the compost on the soil.

Of course don't stop with breakfast. Add the remnants of your lunch and dinner too. A small bucket under the sink or on the counter can hold moldy bread, salad fixings, watermelon rind, tea bags, and any other organic material you might otherwise throw away. On your compost pile it will all be recycled and will amend your soil, making it much better.

This is something you can do year round. As the season changes to winter, you'll have less and less plant material to compost. The cold will eventually cause your pile to go dormant and maybe even freeze. Keep dumping your kitchen waste, even on the snow-covered pile. The compost will be jumpstarted and already fed with organic material when spring comes and warms everything up.

It's all very easy to do and will help your kitchen trash can from filling up too soon. Fewer full trash cans means fewer plastic trash bags, which means less waste in your city landfill. Sounds like a win-win situation to me. And it all starts with a little coffee for your garden.
Enjoy your morning cup of coffee and let your garden enjoy it too. On warm summer mornings my wife likes to take her early cup of brew and sit outside with the dogs, listening to the birds and basking in the glow of her sunflowers. It's a nice way to welcome the day. On most of those mornings I arise to find the coffee filter and coffee grounds in the kitchen trash. My enjoyment of the coffee is different as I remove the filter and add it to my compost bucket.

Just about everything you use to start your day can become compost if you begin by throwing it all in a kitchen bucket. The filter and grounds are just the first daily addition. If you have eggs in the morning, add the shells. Didn't eat all of your oatmeal? Don't throw it down the drain; add it to the compost pile. If you have fresh fruit in the morning, add the skins, peelings, seeds, and stems to your bucket. Even the morning newspaper and egg carton can be added. Almost anything organic is ripe (pun intended) for composting.

A typical day for my compost pile

Stay away from bones, meat, fat and raw eggs because those might cause animals to forage in your pile. They'll also add a stink factor that isn't present in compost that is primarily plant and vegetable material.

When your kitchen bucket fills, walk it out to your compost pile and toss it on. At some point you'll want to turn over or fluff up your pile and all the new material will be incorporated to the inside. In time it will all decompose and become beautiful, dark compost that you can work into your soil. Your daily breakfasts will help feed your tomatoes and beans and cucumbers too.

I know you're questioning the suggestion about eggshells. It will take awhile, but they'll break down too. The calcium they'll add to the soil will help prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes. The jagged edges of the broken shells will help keep slugs from destroying new seedlings. The white specks can even be useful in seeing how evenly you spread the compost on the soil.

Of course don't stop with breakfast. Add the remnants of your lunch and dinner too. A small bucket under the sink or on the counter can hold moldy bread, salad fixings, watermelon rind, tea bags, and any other organic material you might otherwise throw away. On your compost pile it will all be recycled and will amend your soil, making it much better.

This is something you can do year round. As the season changes to winter, you'll have less and less plant material to compost. The cold will eventually cause your pile to go dormant and maybe even freeze. Keep dumping your kitchen waste, even on the snow-covered pile. The compost will be jumpstarted and already fed with organic material when spring comes and warms everything up.

It's all very easy to do and will help your kitchen trash can from filling up too soon. Fewer full trash cans means fewer plastic trash bags, which means less waste in your city landfill. Sounds like a win-win situation to me. And it all starts with a little coffee for your garden.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Your Tomatoes Are Doomed!

Autumn is near. This morning the blankets didn't keep my toes as warm as I'd like and I had to put on a light jacket to water the garden. Our nights have been dipping into the 40s (F). A few of the aspen leaves look like they may be turning and I have dozens of tomatoes that are still green.

That last one is a major indicator that summer is drawing to a close. The shorter growing season in our high altitude gardens means that we'll still have tomatoes ready to harvest at the first frost. I'm ready this year and will do all I can to lengthen the season and gain a few extra days; I'll chat about that in an upcoming blog. For those of us who check daily on the reddening process of tomatoes it's much akin to the watchpot boiling. It seems to take forever for the dozens of green fruits to turn color. Coincidentally, the changing season plays a role in that.

Tomatoes are more reactive to temperature changes than many other plants in our gardens. Ideally they would love for the temperature to stay between 65 and 85 degrees F. Believe it or not, a tomato is a perennial plant, but in our typical household gardens it becomes an annual because temperatures get too cold; they can't handle any frost. You may be aware that if the daytime temperature gets too hot, above 90 degrees F, flowers will start to drop off and fruit won't set. The same thing happens when the night temperatures are above 70 or begin dropping below 55 degrees F. Normal color development also falters as the temperature cools below 50 F (10 degrees C).

So just about this time of year when you have a bumper crop of green tomatoes you'll be standing in the hot sun inspecting all the greenness and anticipating the redness. And you'll be standing there the next day waiting again. The heat is a good thing and can give you a false sense of security, but it's the cool at night that is the culprit.

When the nights start dropping below the magic number 50, you can throw a blanket or plastic sheet over your plants each night; that will gain you a few degrees of heat and may help the color set. If you have your tomatoes in pots you can bring them inside to stay warm; just be sure to put them out again to get at least six hours of full sun. Or you can be very patient and wait for the ripening to happen eventually.

Make sure your tomato plants have good air circulation. You'll want the warming morning air to reach the fruit as early as possible. Warm soil will help keep the plants warm as the sun goes down so avoid watering in the evening; that can cool the soil and add to the problem of color change.

Whatever you try or whatever you don't, your tomato plants will succumb to the forces of climate at some point. Hopefully you will have enjoyed some fresh salads or pasta sauce along the way. For now, keep watching, keep waiting, and pray it warms up just a little more.
Autumn is near. This morning the blankets didn't keep my toes as warm as I'd like and I had to put on a light jacket to water the garden. Our nights have been dipping into the 40s (F). A few of the aspen leaves look like they may be turning and I have dozens of tomatoes that are still green.

That last one is a major indicator that summer is drawing to a close. The shorter growing season in our high altitude gardens means that we'll still have tomatoes ready to harvest at the first frost. I'm ready this year and will do all I can to lengthen the season and gain a few extra days; I'll chat about that in an upcoming blog. For those of us who check daily on the reddening process of tomatoes it's much akin to the watchpot boiling. It seems to take forever for the dozens of green fruits to turn color. Coincidentally, the changing season plays a role in that.

Tomatoes are more reactive to temperature changes than many other plants in our gardens. Ideally they would love for the temperature to stay between 65 and 85 degrees F. Believe it or not, a tomato is a perennial plant, but in our typical household gardens it becomes an annual because temperatures get too cold; they can't handle any frost. You may be aware that if the daytime temperature gets too hot, above 90 degrees F, flowers will start to drop off and fruit won't set. The same thing happens when the night temperatures are above 70 or begin dropping below 55 degrees F. Normal color development also falters as the temperature cools below 50 F (10 degrees C).

So just about this time of year when you have a bumper crop of green tomatoes you'll be standing in the hot sun inspecting all the greenness and anticipating the redness. And you'll be standing there the next day waiting again. The heat is a good thing and can give you a false sense of security, but it's the cool at night that is the culprit.

When the nights start dropping below the magic number 50, you can throw a blanket or plastic sheet over your plants each night; that will gain you a few degrees of heat and may help the color set. If you have your tomatoes in pots you can bring them inside to stay warm; just be sure to put them out again to get at least six hours of full sun. Or you can be very patient and wait for the ripening to happen eventually.

Make sure your tomato plants have good air circulation. You'll want the warming morning air to reach the fruit as early as possible. Warm soil will help keep the plants warm as the sun goes down so avoid watering in the evening; that can cool the soil and add to the problem of color change.

Whatever you try or whatever you don't, your tomato plants will succumb to the forces of climate at some point. Hopefully you will have enjoyed some fresh salads or pasta sauce along the way. For now, keep watching, keep waiting, and pray it warms up just a little more.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Gardening... The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Do you view your gardening hobby as something that takes a little too much? It takes your time and it takes your money. Every spring you spend more than you budgeted to buy annuals or maybe you overspend on bulbs in the fall. Along the way you buy an overpriced bush or tree or statue that you really don't need. There are always nicer tools and more exotic flowers and new gardening methods to try.

Many of us spend our time and hard-earned money adding more and more things to the garden that we think will make it better. I suggest you take a look at the things you can take from the garden that will improve it more than you can imagine. Along with the blossoms and fruits, our gardens can provide us an endless supply of charity and friendship.

I'm blessed with a small group of very dear gardening friends. Yesterday I had the privilege of helping my good friend Della "clean up" her garden. Della has one of those yards that makes a neighborhood safer. How so? Because speeding cars slow down as they pass her house, as they admire the grasses and bushes and flowers and bask in the beauty of her landscape. She certainly didn't need my help because her burly, manservant (husband) Roger is always willing to work along side his love and add his magic in the gardens too.

Della allowed me to help her so that I might take some of her sage, creeper, daylilies, artemisia, penstemons, and veronica for transplanting in my garden. The impact of losing those plants in her manicured, well-established garden is barely noticeable, but the impact in my new, first-year beds will be huge. Della's charity adds a piece of her garden and, more importantly, a piece of her heart into my garden and my life.

One of my two-month-old garden beds
Another good friend, Diane, also allowed me to help her "clean up" her garden a few months ago. After adding hundreds of dollars of new bulbs, flowers, and bushes, to my expanse of newly-prepared garden beds, it still looked relatively bare and lifeless. Diane noticed and surreptitiously offered her castoffs of thyme, yarrow, knautia, Russian sage, brass buttons, and much more. They didn’t put a dent in her lavish gardens, but her gracious gifts gave my new garden substance and soul. And now a piece of her lives in my garden too.

In both cases, good friends helped another friend. They took a part of themselves and freely gave it away. We just happen to be gardeners and the vehicle for their caring was a variety of plantings, but for me it is much more. It's a sign of friendship and charity and a legacy of giving that can trace its path back to the earliest gardeners. In years to come when I share parts of my garden to old and new friends alike as I "clean up the garden", I'll know that I'm not only sharing a part of me but also a small part of Della and Diane and all the other gardeners who helped make me who I am.

As you clean up your garden and take plants from it, think about what you can give away. Everything you grow has some of your energy in it and when you share the plant you share that energy. As sharing and giving continues through the gardening community, your energy spreads. In a small way gardening gives us the possibility of immortality.

Those of us who love gardening and love to share our experiences and plants with our gardener friends are also sharing a gift of our love. Adding to your garden may help it look better, but taking the gift of love from your garden will help all of us feel better.
Do you view your gardening hobby as something that takes a little too much? It takes your time and it takes your money. Every spring you spend more than you budgeted to buy annuals or maybe you overspend on bulbs in the fall. Along the way you buy an overpriced bush or tree or statue that you really don't need. There are always nicer tools and more exotic flowers and new gardening methods to try.

Many of us spend our time and hard-earned money adding more and more things to the garden that we think will make it better. I suggest you take a look at the things you can take from the garden that will improve it more than you can imagine. Along with the blossoms and fruits, our gardens can provide us an endless supply of charity and friendship.

I'm blessed with a small group of very dear gardening friends. Yesterday I had the privilege of helping my good friend Della "clean up" her garden. Della has one of those yards that makes a neighborhood safer. How so? Because speeding cars slow down as they pass her house, as they admire the grasses and bushes and flowers and bask in the beauty of her landscape. She certainly didn't need my help because her burly, manservant (husband) Roger is always willing to work along side his love and add his magic in the gardens too.

Della allowed me to help her so that I might take some of her sage, creeper, daylilies, artemisia, penstemons, and veronica for transplanting in my garden. The impact of losing those plants in her manicured, well-established garden is barely noticeable, but the impact in my new, first-year beds will be huge. Della's charity adds a piece of her garden and, more importantly, a piece of her heart into my garden and my life.

One of my two-month-old garden beds
Another good friend, Diane, also allowed me to help her "clean up" her garden a few months ago. After adding hundreds of dollars of new bulbs, flowers, and bushes, to my expanse of newly-prepared garden beds, it still looked relatively bare and lifeless. Diane noticed and surreptitiously offered her castoffs of thyme, yarrow, knautia, Russian sage, brass buttons, and much more. They didn’t put a dent in her lavish gardens, but her gracious gifts gave my new garden substance and soul. And now a piece of her lives in my garden too.

In both cases, good friends helped another friend. They took a part of themselves and freely gave it away. We just happen to be gardeners and the vehicle for their caring was a variety of plantings, but for me it is much more. It's a sign of friendship and charity and a legacy of giving that can trace its path back to the earliest gardeners. In years to come when I share parts of my garden to old and new friends alike as I "clean up the garden", I'll know that I'm not only sharing a part of me but also a small part of Della and Diane and all the other gardeners who helped make me who I am.

As you clean up your garden and take plants from it, think about what you can give away. Everything you grow has some of your energy in it and when you share the plant you share that energy. As sharing and giving continues through the gardening community, your energy spreads. In a small way gardening gives us the possibility of immortality.

Those of us who love gardening and love to share our experiences and plants with our gardener friends are also sharing a gift of our love. Adding to your garden may help it look better, but taking the gift of love from your garden will help all of us feel better.