Growing Wisdom Garden Blog

December 4th and Still Harvesting Many Veggies.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:28:00 +0000

Claytonia in Pots for Winter

The claytonia is just up and so many other things are going great this fall. This fall has been the warmest on record and while some may be missing the cold, this has been terrific for my leafy greens. I have many lettuces, kales and choys wintering over in both the cold frame and under plastic. There is no additional heat used to keep any of this going throughout the winter. I rely on using row cover and plastic and hoping that the limited sunshine keeps the tunnels just at freezing but does not let the ground freeze too deeply. In February, when the sun gets higher in the sky much of this will resume its growing phase and I will harvesting again in early March.

Kale In December

I find that the red lettuces do really well in pots in the cold frame. I leave the snow on the cold frame, once it comes, for added insulation.

Harvest From December 4th 2011

The carrots have been amazing this fall. I am not sure what I did to the soil, but they look like they are on steroids. I had no damage from the carrot fly to the carrots that were planted in August, unlike the carrots planted earlier in the season.

Johnny's Seeds Carrots Planted August, Harvested December

These pots are in the cold frame and I am harvesting the outer leaves from many of them for salads this month. Its great having such fresh veggies so late in the season.

Color For Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:35:00 +0000

I was already craving some vibrant color this month when I decided that the dried hydrangea needed a bit of spruicing up. So I went to the hardware store and bought a can of blue spray paint. Voila, instant color. Its really neat to watch cars drive by and the drivers have very perplexed looks on their faces as if to say, "how the heck did he find a plant that is still blooming now".

October Glory

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:24:00 +0000

If you are looking for something that flowers in October and even into November how about adding this beauty to the garden? Chrysanthemum koreanu
'sheffield' is one tough plant, with lots and lots of single salmon-pink, yellow-centered daisy flowers beginning to bloom in mid-October and lasting a month or more in some cases in fall. For me this is the very last of my garden perennials to come into bloom. This plant will grow larger and larger with each passing year spreading under the ground and creating a very large clump. You can give this away to you friends and they will thank you each fall for giving them something wonderful as another season of gardening comes to a close.

Starting Seeds In Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:04:00 +0000

No matter where you live you can start seedlings in the fall. You might think why start seeds just before winter right? However, you can grow many crops outside through a light frost and even freeze. Also, you can grow some of your greens indoors using artificial light or a sunny winter and enjoy microgreens all winter.

Plan Your Winter Harvest In July and August

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:36:00 +0000

This picture is from last December when I had a huge harvest of greens for dinner. I don't live in a warm climate, rather I am able to grow many of these cold hardy vegetables because they are grown under a low tunnel throughout the colder months. This enables you to extend the growing season well beyond the typical May-October cycle. I also started raising my low tunnels to make high tunnels. This enables me to actually get into the tunnels when there is now on the ground. Click here to watch my video on high tunnels. Whether you grow under high or low tunnels, the greenhouse plastic and row cover create an environment that is good for growing this cold tolerant plants.

You might be wondering what crops will do well in the cold. There are a couple of books by Eliot Coleman on this very subject.

Here is a rough list of what grows well in the cold.

Carrots-Mokum and Nelson varieties (shorter growing time)

Beets-Also use beet greens

Bok choy and many other choy.

Broccoli-Sante Fe can be started in summer for fall harvest

Cabbage-I like using the napa cabbage planted in August for October harvest

Collards-my spring collards continue until a hard freeze.

Endive-Can be dug up in the snow.

Green onions

Kale-My kale often makes it through till spring

Kohlrabi

Leeks – Often can make it through with no protection

Lettuce-I find the red sails and oakleaf variety does well

Mizuna-One of my favorite greens

Onions – only varieties meant to winter over in the ground

Peas-I do not have great luck

Radishes

Spinach-I have wintered this in a cold frame in a pot all winter

Swiss chard-Use bright lights for great color

Turnips-harvest greens if they do not grow well

The Lifespan Of A Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:47:00 +0000

Landscapes change over time. That statement is not so insightful is it? However, many of us fail to actually do anything about these changes to keep up with them. What do I mean by this? Well, when a home is built the builder often puts a bunch of plants in the front and along the sides of the foundation. These plants, often refereed to as foundation plantings, grow over time. While that is a good thing in general, it is a problem as well. The plants which looked cute 20 years ago are now blocking doors, windows and paths to the home. They overwhelm the home and detract from its aesthetic beauty.

So what can you do? Some plantings can be pruned and shaped to look better. Don't be afraid to really cut things back either. A large rhododendron that is 8 feet tall and blocking your view out the window can stand to loose 4 feet of its growth and will often look thicker and fuller in a year.

Besides pruning you can also removed and redo plantings. I have many clients that have gone this route the past few years and been thrilled with the change. By removing your plantings from the foundation and starting over you gain years of a landscape which will have time to mature. The other advantage to removing plants is that many contractors and even some professional landscapers have placed plants along side homes which do not belong there. In other words, these plants would be better served to be in an open area where they can mature to their full size without being constrained by the walls or windows of a house.

During the past few decades plants have been breed to stay small. For example, there are now varieties of some evergreens that would have gotten to be 50 ft in the wild but have been developed to grow to within a fraction of that size.

Whatever you decide to do, have a plan of attack and be sure to read the label for any plant you buy. 5 years goes very fast and that 3 foot cute little tree you place next to the walkway today may just become a 50 foot nusence tomorrow.

Camp Gardening:Building The Kingswood Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Anyone over the age of about 16 realizes how fast life passes. I hear kids in the gym talking about being freshman and how they can't believe they are juniors or seniors. I want to run up to them and say, you have no idea how fast that train is about to go. Of course, those of us older, realize that a month lasts about a minute and a year is about 12 minutes long. This makes the fact that this summer marks 30 years since I set foot in Camp Kingswood in Maine seem very surreal and also feel like I arrived there just a few days ago. In 1981, I was in high school, Reagan was in the White House and well, everything was different. However, I was gardening already. I had, at that point in my life, put in about 7 or 8 seasons of gardening. That included one I remember trying to grow carrots in very poor soil. I just didn't understand why the carrots didn't push through the clay. It has been a learning experience ever since. Even this season, I continue to read, ask other experts and try to add to what I already know about gardening.

Yesterday I spent the day back at Camp, in Bridgton, ME, getting the garden ready for the kids this summer. A few years ago, I started a science program at Kingswood through the help of a grant. Last summer we created a gardening program to have the kids learn about the wonders of growing your own food. We ended up putting lots of stuff into the salad bar and it was fun to watch the produce from Camp always go first. This will be the second summer of the garden. I went up to Bridgton this weekend and cleaned up the dead stuff from last year, fertilized, added lime and planted tons of vegetables in the 5 raised beds Eric (runs the physical plant) created. I even made little buckets with potatoes in them for the kids. I am thinking by late July they should be able to flip the buckets and see how the potatoes have grown.

The big issue for the next few weeks will be water. I have to rely on mother nature and anyone up there that can water. If its a dry June, I am not sure what will survive. I know that some things will be ok, but some may die and of course no one wants to spend 8 hours doing something only to have it die. I am like a nervous parent waiting to see what happens! I am thinking we will have fresh green onions in the salad bar for the first day of camp. Here's hoping.

Upon Arrival. Some herbs survived harsh winter.

Eric with his headphones on. I think he likes to tune me out.

Start of David Herb and Flower Garden

Halfway done, ready to start planting.

Ready For Kids

Unique Containers

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 22 May 2011 12:59:00 +0000

This time of year I am putting containers in for clients. One of the challenges is to find plant material that is unique and of course cost effective. If you are designing your own containers think about three elements to the containers: thriller, a spiller, and a filler. The thriller is something big, bold and unique. You can have more than one in larger containers. I did a container recently that was 68" and I added three thrillers. The spillers are those things that fall over the edge of the containers to soften the edges. The fillers fill the gaps between your thriller and spiller. The fillers can be flowers or foliage with great color, unique textures and sometimes a bit of height.

Here are some pictures of containers I did this weekend. I hope the inspire you a bit.

The Amazing Single Tulip

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:01:00 +0000

Standing In The Driveway The Red Catches My Eye

Nature never ceases to amaze me. This is what I saw this week as I pulled out of my driveway heading to work. I quickly ran into the house and grabbed the camera. Somehow one load tulip had come up in the woods across the street. How it go there is a bit of a mystery, but it seeded in somehow or perhaps a squirrel carried it there and buried it last fall. At any rate its a reminder to me just how little we actually matter. I tend my garden, weed it, feed it, prune and primp all year, yet in the end, nature planted this tulip in the perfect spot, surrounded by nothing and let it shine for a week or so giving me a smile every time I pull out the driveway.

Out my car window

One Shinning Star

Using Airspade To Move Mature Trees

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:30:00 +0000

Persian Ironwood Tree

One of the tricky aspects of moving a mature tree is that if you don't get all or most of the roots, the tree may at worst die or just not thrive in its new environment. Several years ago arborists started using air tools for all sorts of horticultural application. Today I got to see a mature Persian ironwood tree being moved. The process is actually quite simple. Blow the dirt away from the tree using the Air Spade, dig the hole for the tree in its new location and then move the tree, fill the hole and water it in. Now, this process while simple actually took several hours. Along the way some of the girdling roots were removed from around the tree and there was lots of care taken to ensure no roots got damaged.

Notice all the roots are saved.

Great shot of the fiberous roots.

	Trench for dirt that will be blow from roots.

Doug filming the tree as its lifted out.

Tree in new spot. (maple behind will come out)

Container Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:11:00 +0000

I have my dill going in a container in the foreground. I love going outside in the morning and using it in eggs. Behind my dill is a pot of spinach. It was started last fall and I have been harvesting the outer leaves for some additional greens in the salads. Its looking a bit tired right now. I think that although I can winter over many leafy greens, they still don't look as good to me as they do when started in late winter.

I have these old wooden planters I got on a job several years ago. They are now rotting so badly the bottom has fallen out. So I had my friend and expert carpenter make me new planters out of the same decking material you see above. These planters will last forever and match so well the rest of the yard.

We added false bottoms so that we don't have to fill them entirely with soil. I left about 14" of planting depth. I am going to line them with landscape fabric so that the soil doesn't leak out the bottom or sides, but I think these are going give me years of fun. Check back in a few weeks and I will post how I am planting them.

Planting Peas

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:15:00 +0000

I finally am planting my peas. I am three weeks later than last year due to being sick and just not having the time. I am planting under my tunnels so the peas should have a good chance to germinate quickly and grow rapidly, but I don't think I will be harvesting in June like I did in 2010. At any rate this year I am planting Caseload variety. This is medium size pea that is great for early season picking and tends to turn starchy slower.

I plant my peas in 3" wide bands and put about 24 seeds per foot. You don't have to stake this variety but I will probably give them some support anyway. I dusted the area with potash as peas like a higher amount of potash and I keep my soil at a higher pH using ground limestone. Whats interesting about growing peas under cover in early spring is that I have to keep them moist by watering. It seems strange to be watering when there is still enough moisture in the ground by the moisture in the tunnels dries out quite rapidly. I have also had to place some traps inside the tunnels. I did plant a few peas in early March but they all got eaten by voles. So now I have the traps in the tunnels and that should prevent this round from being eaten. Stay tuned.

Peas being planted. Mouse traps on lower left to catch voles.

You can see some of the seeds if you look closely. That wire thing is to keep the row cover off the plants if I need to use row cover in colder weather.

HIKING & SLOW FOOD IN ITALY

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Cheese, Fruit, Wine and Bread

I am often reluctant to blog about vacations. I don't want folks to see these as anything more than sharing my experience. I think there can always be a danger of flaunting a trip that I realize most folks don't experience in their own lives. In Italy, we went to two regions in the far south known as Basilicata and Pulia. Both regions are not that well known to travelers and not well traveled. The reason we chose to go there was that it is off the beaten path and things tend to move a bit slower. Our guide on this day was Michele Cappiello a native of the area and a great guide! He does these sorts of customized trips and we were lucky to have him as our leader. So on this day we walked around the hills of Matera. Matera is a great village. The one way you might know it is that parts of the move Passion of the Christ were filmed there. The landscape is somewhat stark as you can see, but there were all sorts of wild flowers coming into plume and since many of the trees, including the olive trees, are evergreen, it felt like spring. The weather was mild, but not warm and perfect for hiking. Since it was mid-March the sun is also not as strong as its going to be in 12 weeks at the height of the summer. The day was memorable for its beauty, relaxing lunch and lessons on the history of the region. Looking out at snow flurries today here in Boston, I would like to be back there right now. If you want to check out more about the region go here http://www.walkbasilicata.it/

Cows Enjoy A Morning Walk

The Caves of Matera

Winter Gardening by Neeru Bhangu Designer (Guest Blogger)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Winter may be ending, but now is a great time to think about adding plants this year for next winter. Many gardeners neglect the winter season because their perception of the colder season garden is lifeless and should only be worked on during the warmer months.
Your garden landscape can be transformed in to a breathtaking winter wonderland using architectural plants and ornamental grasses. Landscape design will give your garden structure, texture and colour. Ornamental grasses landscape your garden wonderfully; they grow in poor soil better then other plants and require little effort to maintain. They make a fantastic sweeping background to your other winter plants and flowers.

Evergreens holding on to the snow will bring life to your garden; this plant stays green and will remain standing all winter. They outline any garden wonderfully, framing your space with a bright spot of green.

If you are looking to add more colour to your garden landscape, most bright colours come from berries, such as hollies and other fruiting plants. The bright splash of red and orange will stand out beautifully against the refreshing ornamental grasses and evergreen.

No garden is complete with out the warming colour of tubular flowers. Vine plants are eye catching and a fantastic way to get height. Giving them something to grow on can really transform your garden. Adding fountains and trees gives your garden a centre point of interest that you can enjoy all year round.

With so many possibilities it’s simple to see that landscaping a winter garden comes with added bonuses. Most gardeners are ready for a break during the winter season but we think this is a good time add style and depth to your garden landscape design.

You garden sleeps during the winter season giving you a fantastic opportunity to enjoy its beauty. Make the most of winter colours and define your winter garden space with a breathtaking view.

Filming New Videos For March

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 18:21:00 +0000

This week we are filming several videos that take place indoors. Vinnie is hard at work filming the plants in the sun room. When we film, I try to have 3 videos to shoot for our time together. On this day we shot 4 videos. Camellia, Over watering, Echeveria, and Shade plants. One of the things that happened with the last two video was that they were actually filmed last summer at a greenhouse. However, the videographer has some settings on the sound that were not correct, so we had to redo the audio and try to keep the older footage. Its always a challenge to get good footage, great audio and then edit it all down to a 2 minute video so you can understand what we are trying to do. Sometimes I get comments about how the videos are just too basic. So I try to balance the information I am giving to make it useful, without being overly complicated or presenting something that is totally obvious to most people. Having filmed over 450 of these now, it still a lot of fun and I am amazed that there continues to be new material to work.

Winter fades...slowly.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:21:00 +0000

With temperatures in the 50s for two days some of our massive snow cover is now gone. We have lost nearly 16" from the peak of 36" on the ground in early February. Snow disappears through two processes. The one most familiar is of course melting. The snow melts as the sun melts the ice crystals or rain does the same thing. There is another important process that helps to make the snow disappear as well. This second process is called sublimation. This means the snow, which is a solid goes right to gas form. In other words, it vaporizes. You might notice this happening to ice cubes left in the tray in your freezer for months at a time. The cubes grow smaller even though the temperature of your freezer stays near zero. Other things sublimate as well. Freezer burn is the sublimation of your hamburger and that new car smell is the sublimation of a bit of the leather or other material that makes up the car. Whatever the case, melting or sublimating, I am anxious for spring.

Blooming Camellia In February

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 18:58:00 +0000

Winter, like the other seasons,only lasts three full months. Sure you might have snow and cold late in fall and early in spring but true winter lasts about 12 weeks in many parts of the world. One of the things that I like about winter is the predictability and consistency of certain plants. For me, here in Massachusetts, the camellia is one of those plants. This camellia here blooms reliably each February and March in my sun room. The room is heated but temperatures rarely exceed 55 throughout the 12 weeks of winter. Even so, this plant thrives in the cool bright room and rewards me each February with the first of what will be many days of bright red flowers.

The camellia I grow likes to have the soil slightly dry between watering's. I prune it back lightly in April removing any spindly growth and them give it some slow release fertilizer. The plant is placed outside all summer and well into the fall in a location that gives it some sunshine, but never full sun. I actually had this plant outside year round for three winters but it would die back so much it never bloomed. Since moving it inside for the colder months it has not disappointed me. My February blooming camellia is just one of those seasonal treats that is part of gardening. Next up, the hamamelis which will bloom outside in a few weeks.

Growing Bok Choy In January

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Bok Choy

Those of you who like to grow vegetables might not realize that even in cold climates you can keep some leafy greens growing all winter long. This is the inside of my high tunnel. It has no heat and the only protection is from the greenhouse plastic and row cover. This picture was taken on January 29th and temperatures have been as cold as 10 below zero F. I have had problems with voles in the tunnels and these critters ate the kale and swiss chard, but they did not eat the bok choy, I am not sure why they left this alone. I had some smaller bok choy plants that they did eat, so its not the variety, I suspect its the size of the plants.

Keep Rosemary Alive

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:24:00 +0000

I just pulled this rosemary plant out of the cold frame Christmas morning. Its been outside since April and in the cold frame since October. I have watched this bloom in the cold the past several years. It seems that the cold weather helps it to bloom. Now that its inside, I will keep it by the door for light and give it only a small amount of water. This variety of rosemary does not like a lot of water and seems to winter inside quite well.

Winter Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:28:00 +0000

December 22nd, just a few days before Christmas and I am harvesting Bok Choy. If you live in milder areas of the world, this might not be a big deal. However, here in Zone 6 just west of Boston we have already been 9 above zero Fahrenheit and there is 4 inches of snow on the ground.

So how can I do this? Simply by making a low tunnel, raising it up, putting on a zipper to get in and voila, cold weather crops are happy.
Check out my latest video and see what you think.

Swiss Chard Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:44:00 +0000

Swiss Chard

This time of year I have a ton of swiss chard in the garden. I like to grow various colors of chard. You can find the seeds at Johnny Selected Seeds. The stems are yellow, red, green and white. They make a very colorful dish.

First, take your chard and remove the stems. Shred the leaves to 2-3" piece and cut the stems in small 1/4 inch pieces. We will cook the leaves in a light Asian sauce. The sauce I make is a two TBS of balsamic vinegar, soy and 1 TBS of brown sugar. I set this aside to be used in the end.

I use the chard by cooking some pine nuts in sesame oil for a few minutes. After removing the nuts and setting them aside, I cook the stems which have been cut in 1/4" pieces in the oil. I throw in some garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Now put in your leaves and cook for about 30 seconds. Finally, add the sauce and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add back those pine nuts (save a few for garnishing) and voila you have a great dish. If you want a richer taste, add a TBS of butter at the end of the cooking.

The stems take a bit longer to cook which is the main reason to cook them seperately.

Pine nuts are pretty expensive so use them sparingly but don't switch them out for something else as they are yummy.

Growing Tomatoes Vertically

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:53:00 +0000

I like to get my tomatoes growing vertically as much as possible. Keeping your tomatoes nice and tall gives them more exposure to sunlight and lets the air circulate around them better for less disease susceptibility. In this video I used gas line conduit that was treaded to make a frame. I then drilled holes in the cross bar and put a piece of 12 gauge wire hanging from it to give the tomatoes support. I also use clips I bought from Johnny Selected Seeds to clip the tomatoes to the wire. The weather has certainly been ideal this year for tomatoes, but this is by far my best crop in 35 years of growing. I think the supports had something to do with that fact. Enjoy the video.

Canning Tomatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:40:00 +0000

I spent the evening canning about 10 lbs of tomatoes. I made 5.5 quarts and its cooling. This is a very easy process to do and will offer me a taste of summer this winter. You can can things like tomatoes which have high acid in a water bath. The directions are simple and are on on the back of the jars.

The processed tomatoes sit in the hot water for 10 min and then I let them cool. Eventually I will label them.

Waiting to be put on the shelf for winter

Harvesting Tomatoes and Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:10:00 +0000

This has been a banner year for tomatoes and as you can see I am flush with them. We planted 13 plants and now we have harvest 20 lbs. The amazing thing is how early this is for such a large harvest.

I am also harvest potatoes. We did the purple ones in a bag of soil and I was quite surprised at how many we got from one bag. The bag was 18" wide and 30" deep. The fingerling potatoes are from the ground.

What Plant Zone Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Epstein) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:48:00 +0000

When Planting one of the most important pieces of information to know is your plant zone. The zone you are in is based on how cold it gets on an average winter. It helps to know this information because when you plant you do not want to put in shrubs, trees or perennials that will die.