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Growing multiple varieties of vegetables is the tradition at Robbins Farm Garden. So it is with our Peas. This year, we grew three types: Snap (Sugar Snap), Snow (Mammoth Melting Sugar) and Shell (Alderman).

The Sugar Snap Peas performed well enough last year to justify a repeat performance, covering our 7-foot high bamboo trellis which also serves as the platform for the late season Pole Beans. Yet, the bush-type Snow and Shell Peas we grew last year were not the best use of vertical space.

The search for a tall Snow Pea was easy. Mammoth Melting Sugar is an heirloom variety, considered one of the largest and finest flat pod peas on the market. They grew, not unexpectedly, terrifically well in our garden. A tall variety of Shell Pea was more difficult to find. We decided upon Alderman, a variety marketed by Thompson & Morgan.

Alderman is a later pea (85 days to maturity vs. 70 for Sugar Snap & 68 for Mammoth Melting Sugar), but it did not disappoint. The plants grew as quickly — and as tall — as the other Peas, and the production was every bit as good. Fresh from the pod, they rival snap peas for flavor and sweetness. One warning: they require very little cooking, and they lose their flavor if over-cooked.

The Pea plants were pulled today and Pole Beans planted in their place. Overall, I would have to rate this year’s Pea crop as outstanding, with a solid month of harvest.

We’re implementing a new compost arrangement:  three bins instead of two.  In the past, we used two — a square wire frame, and a cylindrical black plastic.  However, with being able to keep the compost pile over-winter, as well as the huge amount of winter rye at the beginning of the year going into the compost this spring, we exceeded our capacity.

So I decided to have us use three cylindrical plastic ones, because they are deformable, and so can be squeezed into the space allocated for composting.  Three bins will facilitate turning.  With just two bins, we were forced to turn one into the other even while adding new matter, or else not turning to keep new matter separate from more decomposed matter.

With three bins, one bin will be emtpy, and we can alternate turning one of the other compost piles into the empty bin, or even turn both.  New matter will go into one of the piles, so that the older pile can more completely mature into good compost.  When the older pile is ready for compost extraction, the newer pile will then become the older pile, and we will start a newer pile.

 

We harvested Swiss chard Saturday, one of the garden’s most colorful vegetables.

Lots of what people believe about Swiss chard turns out to be wrong. Here’s just one example: It’s not Swiss. It’s Sicilian.

Overall, the chard family goes back thousands of years to Iraq. Some chards were grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The family’s most colorful member got its start in Sicily, a big island in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Italy.

Back in the mid-1800s, however, chard was not all that popular of a crop in Europe. So seed sellers decided to see whether they could spice it up a little bit, give it a bit more cachet. They decided to call it "Swiss." After all, this variety does look kind of knickknacky Swiss–colorful, shiny, kind of hard, like a souvenir you might bring home from the Alps.

The growers hit paydirt. Seed sales jumped through the roof. The rest was history. Chalk one up for Madison Avenue.

 

We have three varieties of potatoes:  russet, yukon gold, and red.  The russet potatoes are doing great.  The yukon gold looked like they were suffering:  the leaves were yellowish, and the plants weak.  Mike dug up a few potatoes to see if there was anything in the soil (like a nasty critter) responsible, but couldn’t find any culprits.  As a desperate experiment, I applied a fair amount of compost to the yukon gold plant on the end, to see if that would make any difference by next week.

Comment by Alan

Steven, you may be mistaking maturity for disease. Yukon Gold matures about 65 days after planting – the potatoes were planted April 7, so day 65 was June 11. I harvested one full-size Gold last night (7/3 – and it was delicious!).The russets on the other hand are 80-90 days, so maturity should arrive this week. It should be a nice staggered harvest – maybe half the fast spuds this week, half next week, then start into the russets in late July.

There is no sign of mildew in our Garden.  We try to have people water in the morning if possible, as there’s more water lost to heat and evaporation mid-day, and water in the evening can linger on the leaves overnight, which can result in mildew.

I checked the sunflower leaves, which last week were getting eaten badly.  They looked about the same to me, and new leaves had little munching upon.  So maybe applying potassium bicarbonate did give the leaves enough of a different taste to whatever was eating them.  Or maybe they just moved on for other reasons.  Or maybe the planted adapted by changing it’s own chemistry.  So many possibilities; it’s hard to know what works.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make arrangements with the person who has the sprayer, and he was on vacation today, so I didn’t apply any potassium bicarbonate today.

(This is a repost from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds….)

See:  http://www.mailermailer.com/x?function=view&c=96324356q-48da02ef*921496h-76c3ebf8

Late to the Garden Party: Vegetables You Can Plant in July

For most gardeners in the northern tier of the U.S., the customary time to plant vegetables is May and only May. How this tradition began is anyone’s guess, but we say “phooey.” Planting vegetables in mid-summer is brilliant. When September rolls around, you’ll be picking tender heads of Lettuce, baby Beans, Carrots, Peas, Beets and little Summer Squash. In October, you’ll dine on flawless Asian Greens, crunchy Kohlrabi, frilly Frisee and Radishes. And in November, you’ll be eating garden-fresh Scallions, spicy Arugula, Broccoli, Mâche, Peas, Spinach, Broccoli raab, Kale, Salad Greens, Turnips and Swiss Chard.

There’s something really wonderful about tending a fall garden. The panic of spring is gone and the heat and bugs of summer are history. Fall brings cool days in the garden and cool evenings in the kitchen, with the time and energy to satisfy those autumn cravings for deep green vegetables and sweet root crops. So how can you get in on the fun?

Pull Some, Plant Some. As soon as you’ve picked the last of the Peas, and the early Lettuce and Spinach are past their prime, pull them out and send them to the compost pile. Fork over the soil, add a little finished compost and replant. We like to fill a little box with seed packets that are ideal for second plantings, and keep it right in the tool shed so we can sprinkle a few seeds whenever a bare spot opens up. For mid-summer planting, our box always contains Bush Beans and short-vine Peas, Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Kale, Scallions and some heat-resistant Lettuce varieties such as Tintin Baby Romaine, Rouge Grenoblois Batavian and Danyelle Red Oakleaf. By the end of August we’re planting seeds for cold-tolerant crops that will mature in 60 days or fewer: Radishes, Spinach, Lettuce, Asian Greens, Turnips and Carrots.

Screen the Sun. The trickiest thing about planting in mid-summer is keeping the soil surface consistently moist. If the soil dries out during this initial 2 to 3 week period, the seeds either won’t germinate, or the newly sprouted seedlings may die and you will need to start over. Sowing the seeds just a little deeper than usual can be helpful. The best strategy is to just water the areas daily until the new plants get established. Note that many cool-weather crops, including Lettuce, will not germinate in soil temperatures above 80 degrees F. To create cool, relatively moist growing conditions, cover the area with a piece of shade netting or take advantage of the natural shade from a trellis or tall plant. Another option is to start your second crops indoors under grow lights.

Don’t Delay. Summer-planted crops typically mature more slowly than spring-planted crops (as the days shorten, plant growth slows). Using the days-to-maturity figure on the seed packet, add an extra 14-days as a "low-light factor". Find your first frost date on the NOAA website: Use this date and then count backwards to get the latest planting date for frost-sensitive crops like Beans and Summer Squash. Frost-tolerant crops such as Broccoli, Kale and Lettuce, will grow more and more slowly as the days get shorter. It’s important to get these crops to a good size before mid-September. After that, most can be harvested as late as Thanksgiving, but they won’t be putting on much new growth.

Hang Onto the Warmth. When cold weather arrives, you can protect your fall garden from frost and cold by covering the plants with garden fabric or a cold frame. It’s fine to lay the fabric right on the plants; the closer the fabric is to the ground, the warmer it will keep the plants. If/when temperatures drop into the teens, add another layer so your crops are covered with a double thickness of fabric~or add a layer of fabric right on top of the plants inside your cold frame.

Healthier Bodies, More Delicious Meals.  We all know that at least half of the food we eat every day should be fruits and vegetables. How much easier and more enjoyable this is, when much of that food comes directly from our own garden. What will you make with these fresh vegetables that you’re still harvesting in September, October and November? Oh my! Well how about Chard Stems with Golden Onions and Fresh Bread Crumbs? Or Radicchio Salad with Parmesan-Balsamico Vinaigrette and Broccoli Raab Penne Pasta? An autumn favorite we never tire of is Beet Salad with Apples and Walnut Oil Vinaigrette. It almost makes us long for fall. But not yet~there are weeks of glorious summer days still ahead.

We share our best-of-the-best recipes so you can feed your family and friends well without feeling frenzied, and practical, hands-on horticultural tips to demystify gardening with seeds (it need not be tricky or difficult. Truth be told, it is a bit more like easy magic.) If you need help with anything, our office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can email us at customerservice@kitchengardenseeds.com or call us at (860) 567-6086. Lance Frazon, our seed specialist, is happy to help you in any way possible. He loves to talk seeds.

Call us at (860) 567-6086: we will help you in any way we can!

John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds

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