Edible Herbs, Flowers & Other Edibles - Grow Your Own Dinner!

I am reducing my activity on the internet.

2021-05-19T11:48:00.001-07:00

Dear Folks,

Pictured my harvest this morning. I was out in the garden for a half hour enjoying the cool morning.

I will be reducing my presence on the Internet due to my ongoing health challenges.

Last year I was diagnosed with Cancer, and was symptom-free until the beginning of this year. The covid virus restrictions stole my year of expecting to enjoy all the normal things without restriction. I am not alone in this impact on my and my family's life.

I have enjoyed so very much sharing my gardening and cooking with you and I hope you chose to continue to find great resources out there. If there was a silver lining to the covid impact it is that many people realized they could get control of "their" food by growing some or more of it and feeling of impowerment was substantial.

I will be keeping the blog and my facebook page up as long as feasible. My website will be shutting down in a couple of months.

Meanwhile, as I can, I will be happy to answer questions on the facebook page ON any posts as they show up as an alert for me.

Apparently my blogger, blog page may be changing according to a google notice about how the 'feedburner' for your 'subscription' to my blog works and I have no control over that.

You can send me an email to my aol account which I hope to keep up running as long as possible.

herbstwoyou@aol.com

June 2020

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/05/june-planting-tips-and-around-garden.html

July 2020

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/06/july-planting-sowing-tips.html

August 2020

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/07/august-planting-and-sowing-tips-and.html

September 2020

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/08/september-plantingsowing-tips-non-soon.html

October 2020

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/09/october-planting-and-sowing-tips.html

November 2020

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/10/november-planting-tips-and-new-to-me.html

December 2020
http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/12/december-planting-tip.html

January 2019 (apparently I missed doing 2020 and 2021!

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2019/12/january-planting-tips-ready-set.html

February 2021

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2021/01/february-planting-tips.html

March 2021

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2021/02/march-planting-tips.html

April 2021

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2021/03/april-planting-tips.html

May 2021

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2021/04/may-planting-tips-around-garden-and-more.html

Additional Post you may find helpful

This was the top 10 posts you liked in 2019. You can look on my right sidebar to see what is 'trending' :)

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2020/01/top-ten-posts-for-2019-and-happy-new.html

Take care of you and your garden, be patient and kind to yourself and each other.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

May Planting Tips - around the garden and more

2021-04-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

May has several celebration dates for gardeners:

May 1st, is International Herb Day

May 2nd is International Permaculture Day

International Permaculture Day on the first Sunday in May (or thereabouts) is a day of celebration and action for permaculture around the world.
https://permacultureday.org/
Began in 2009 in Australia

May 3rd-Mother's Day May 9th Is National Herb Week.

Pictured is my harvest of greens and herbs for salads etc. Herbs include Variegated Lemon Thyme, and some you can't see: Cilantro, Dill, Chervil and Parsley.

A link to last year's May Planting Tips is below. In some ways, this year is the same with sickness, challenges, supply issues and more.

But if there was and is a bright spot it was the new and renewed interest in gardening, growing your own food.

Last spring, I do not have the date, I sowed seeds for a Royal Black Bell Pepper, About January 20th this year, I was pulling back lush growth on the plant and spotted DEEP black peppers!. Fast forward to the day before yesterday and I was again pulling back the growth and low-and-behold RED peppers. This is a pretty cool plant. The fruit starts out black, turns some green and then matures to red. 90 days or thereabouts to maturity. The fruit is thick walled.

No matter what else is going on, some things do not change. This baby Mocking Bird was begging for food and mom was going back and forth to our lawn picking up "groceries" :) That is Anna Belle one of our garden statutes - she is in our Saturn Peach which is THE place I thought a goat should be :)

One of my "I did it" garden successes is this stunning Red and White Amaryllis. This is from a SEED!!!!! While not edible I could not resist the mother plant at the Sun City Farmers Market back in 2015.

When the flowers faded, there was a seed pod - well why not try. I looked up propagation of Amaryllis, followed the information. The notes indicated it would take 5+ years. Well this is 6 years and it is visible as we step our our front door!!! Yippee!

I also have my beloved Amaryllis - a white and blush gorgeous flower. I have quite a few baby plants. My dad gave me the original bulb (I still have it) back in the 80s. We call is "Dad's Amaryllis".

Last is a recipe. Some "kismet" in a cool kind of way happened when I turned on my table while relaxing. I intended to scrolled through current whatevers. To my surprise the very top trend was "2 Ingredient Yogurt Biscuits" some said rolls. Well -- I already make a cream biscuit with heavy cream and either self-rising flour (I make the substitute) - that's it. I checked out some ideas did one batch and we really liked it. For the next batch I tweaked the amount of salt in the substitution and added a bit of sugar to offset the tang of the yogurt.

Unlike the heavy cream biscuit (we love them) this one has a high protein content from the yogurt, a plus.

Yogurt Cheddar/Dill Biscuits

I also made a Cheddar, Garlic, Parsley version - you know like the famous restaurant biscuit :)

Pre-heat oven 400F. Prepare a pan with either parchment paper or aluminum foil - I found I needed to add a light pan spray to the foil.

Ingredients:

Equal amounts of self rising flour (SRF) and Greek Yogurt. I use an organic low fat, but you can use whatever you like. ---- SRF Substitution - 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese (my preference, orange works too :)

1 tablespoon fresh or dried dill

Directions.

Place flour in bowl and add yogurt. Start by blending them together. Unless you use a mixer, you will eventually need to use your hands to get all the dried bits incorporate.

Flatten the dough and sprinkle the cheese and dill cross the top and start folding the ingredients in. Should not take more than 4-6 folds to get them in nicely.

I use a knife to cut into 6 equal (more or less) pieces and place on pan about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, turning the pan half-way through.

Use immediately or store in frig and use within 3-4 days or freeze. Because of the yogurt they will get "tangier' in the frig.

Although I have not tried it, you can make the dough a day or two ahead, store in plastic wrap and bake when you are ready.

HERE is the link for last year's May Tips.

Take care of yourselves and each other, work in the garden, share as you can and keep a positive mind. So many, many stores of folks helping each other. Keep that image in mind when it feels challenging to you.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

April Planting Tips

2021-03-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Our Florida Prince Peach Planted 10/12/1997

Dear Folks,

Maybe??!!! our up/down weather could be getting behind us. In which case you need to be observant and prepare for a traditional warm up into mid-to late spring.

See note below about this Peach tree picture.

That does mean you still need to be prepared to protect tender seedlings, not so much from frost but from the possibility of hail. As the soil warms up and if the air temperatures get cool, and you add in some moisture and wind - you get hail.

The other factor to be aware of, moving forward into really warm weather is getting tender seedlings transplanted after the best "safe" times. The soil surface can heat up fast and a transplant in the middle of bare ground is ripe for major stress -- trying to establish roots while dealing heat. I suggest my "flower mulching" technique

FLOWER "MULCHING: Soil canopy (shade) is necessary to protect young plants, BUT not shading the plants - they need the sun. Purchase 6 pack of flowers, surround transplanted herb or veggie with 3-5 flower plants - "think" 12 inch diameter circle. Why? This cools the soil surface and shades the sides of the primary transplant, without encouraging pests near tender stems.

Peach Tree. Our initial planting of fruit trees was done in 1997 and 1998. This Florida Prince Peach is one of the last of the original trees and the old gal just keeps, keeping on. If you look at the base, over the years one branch/trunk died back and Deane cut it off. The last several years we figured she was not going to make it, but here she is almost 24 years later with fruit on the tree, this trunk looks reasonable healthy. Deane will be thinning the fruit shortly to keep weight off and get bigger fruit. This is also the last of the peaches we really like.

Apple Trees. These two small apple trees, I started from seed. It is interesting to watch them grow. One is in the ground. My experiment to see if our soil would stress the tree. I purchased Wild Land Race Montana seed in April 2018. I sowed them in small pots and transplanted to a couple of different locations. One is in a pot on the southwest corner of my cinder block bed and the other in the east garden - in ground. Over the last 2 years the eastern one dutifully lost its leaves when it should, then put out new leaves in the last 2 weeks, or so. That tree is the top one, showing new leaves.

The cinder block tree still has leaves on it and may not lose them until April, then new leaves come on later.

One of our Apricot trees started to bloom a week or so ago. Just such pretty flowers and delicious fruit (May). We have two apricot trees and this one is the Gold Kiss and has the most wonderful flavor.

My dill came in so nicely. I harvested some to dry in the frig for use later. When I cut greens and herbs for my salads and soups, dill is one of the mix :)

And finally, we have a zig-zag fence in the garden that the doves just love to sit on. Here they are just waiting for us to put out seed. In the cold weather they will line up shoulder to shoulder even "staking" on top of each other like cord wood.

APRIL PLANTING:

Artichoke, Jerusalem
Bean, Snap
Beans, Soy
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Cucumbers
Garlic, Green
Jicama
Melons, Musk
Okra
Onion, Green
Peanuts
Peas, Sugar
Peas, Black Eyed
Peppers
Radishes

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Impatients Wallarana
Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Portulaca
Purslane
Roselle
Scented Geraniums
Sunflower
Sweet Alyssum
Zinnia

GARDEN TIPS for April
    Prune spring-flowering shrub fruit trees before flowering starts (April - May for shrubs like Pineapple Guava).
    If you planted your potatoes January 1st you can start checking the end of this month for usable size — just insert your fingers gently into soil. (See the file "Planting Potatoes")
    Get the children involved in gardening by helping them grow a Tee Pee or Sunflower House.
    Described in Linda Lovejoy’s fabulous book “Sunflower Houses,” either of these ‘hideaways’ will delight your budding gardener.
        a) Create Tee Pees using 8-foot garden bamboo poles bundled and tied tightly 1 foot from the top. Prepare the ground for the garden. Spread the legs of the Tee Pee — and anchor in the ground. Plant pea, cucumber, or other edible vines at the base of each pole, and allow them to grow and cover the teepee.
        b) Sunflower Houses are created using the growing sunflowers for the poles of the house. Prepare the planting area and decide how wide and long you want the house to be — ex. 4 x 6 — and draw the dimensions in the soil, leaving an opening for the ‘door.’ Mammoth sunflowers (those that grow over 6 feet) are best for this. Plant the sunflower seeds 2 or 3 to a hole, about 1 foot apart all along the ‘walls’ of the house. In between the sunflower seeds, sow edible vines like peas or cucumbers. Given the water requirements, creating a trench for the walls will allow flood watering for the growing plants. These houses can be as elaborate as you and your children wish. Plant flower or strawberry beds along the outside walls; herb and flower ground covers inside for a ‘carpet’ are limited only to the imagination. The vines grow up the sunflowers and if they are enthusiastic enough, will even grow over the top of a narrow room creating a ceiling.
        c) do teach the children about bees, leaving them alone and avoiding them when they are "working" the flowers.

I hope your garden is growing well.

Stay safe, be patient with your garden, yourself and each other.

Have a best day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Harvest: Options for Bounty

2021-03-03T06:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Folks,

I have had a real bounty of things from the garden this past month, and it is continuing.

While I do compost, and "chop and drop" extra foliage while working through the various areas, I really needed to capture the freshness of these great meal options.

Because it is just the 2 of us (although I do share), if I make something like the "sauce" or roasted veggies I freeze in small jars for later use in soups, stews, and pastas - Or Tortilla Pizza! See recipe here.

The picture above is my sweet peppers turned into a roasted sauce I can use later. The roasting made this even sweeter than the raw peppers. See the collage of process below.

I have a lot of greens and herbs that I harvest to add to anything from salad to soups to pizza or pasta. Look closely as the collage top left and you will see green, pink and white! celery. This was a fun surprise when I was harvesting. I added some pink celery seeds to this celery pot and while I was cutting for this harvest day, I discovered the white. WOW, fun garden find. This mass of greens (and some nasturtium petals) has herbs, kale and i'itoi onion tops. I also use the bulb, not not this time.

I decided to make some "salad in a jar" for having on hand. I add tomatoes later when I am ready to dress the salad. Tomatoes can lose their real flavor when refrigerated.

Typically, salad in a jar has a dressing on the bottom, sturdy chopped next and greens on top so they do not get soggy. I like to add dressing later when I actually am ready to use the salad, so all veggies stay fresh. I also put a small piece of paper towel on top before capping to control excess moisture.

On another harvest day, I brought in more celery and parsley because I decided I needed to have 'pesto' on hand (and in the freezer)

I did use some of this pesto when I made another tortilla pizza the other day with some of my homemade pasta source, some of those chopped veggies shown in salad-in-jar picture and a LOT of cheese :) I know you may say "pesto"? but really any combination of herbs, greens, oil, garlic (my limequat juice and garlic in the left of center picture), walnuts and some salt makes a great pesto. If you want to call it a paste or sauce, that works too.

I have been harvesting a lot of sugar peas and asparagus (we are now in what should be the final week of our asparagus bed harvest, I sometimes push that time frame :). Here I decided to roast some of each - I did not have a lot that day so I just used the same pan. I warm a little oil in a pot. Add chopped veggie, and swirl to coat. Lay out on a tray, add salt and pepper and roast . I use my toaster oven a lot, saving the big oven for bigger meal prep. I may add herbs, I did not this time. About 15 minutes at 425 usually works for a nice roast and slight char.

Back to my sweet pepper sauce. Here is the process I follow.

Seed and chop the peppers, roast, cook down a bit more, then puree in my bullet blender. I used the "left over" sauce in the blender swirled with some stock in a pasta dish later. Froze the sauce. All those peppers cooked down into two 4 oz jars :) Sounds like a lot of work, but I consider it worth it to have garden deliciousness later!

With the peppers and all of these continuing to produce, I still have fresh whenever I want to go out and pick.

I hope these give you some ideas for preserving your own bounty and using creatively.

Have a best day,

Be patient, be safe and be kind to yourself and each other.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

March Planting Tips

2021-02-16T05:43:00.001-08:00

Dear Folks,

This Wednesday, February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day.

We just celebrated Valentine's Day with our loves. Look around you, not only February 17th, but always, to see it someone or something could use a little kindness. The stress, boredom and confusion brought to our lives by the Pandemic as we try to navigate to a better place, can make the challenges of others less visible.

My Dwarf Black Mulberry is putting out leaves, has been for a couple of weeks now. The unusual warm January and February beginning has many of the plants growing sooner.

Looking forward on weather we are going to have a warmer spring, sooner. I would not be surprised if we beat one of our first 100 degree day statistics.

About every 4 or so days for the last 2-3 weeks I have been harvesting asparagus, alpine strawberries and sugar peas. Wonderful time of the year in the garden.

I cook the tops of the asparagus up for Deane who just loves them, wound up freezing a couple of jars for later. The bottoms which are just a little tougher, I just eat raw as a snack! If you have never eaten a raw asparagus fresh from the garden you do not know what you are missing!

MARCH PLANTING:

Artichoke, Jerusalem
Artichoke, Globe
Basil, Plant or seed
Bay, Greek aka Sweet
Bean, Lima
Beans, Snap
Beans, Soy (March 15th)
Bee Balm
Beets
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Catnip, Plant or Seed
Chives, Garlic, Plant or seed
Chives, Onion, Plant or seed
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
English Daisy
Epazote, Plant or seed
Hollyhock
Jicama
Lavender
Lemon Grass
Lemon Balm
Lemon Verbena
Marigolds including ,Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii), Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii)
Marjoram
Melons, Winter
Melons, Musk
Mints
Myrtle
Okra
Onions, Green
Oregano, Mexican
Oregano, Greek
Peppers
Perilla, Plant or Seed
Portulaca
Pumpkin
Radishes
Rosemary
Safflower
Sage
Savory
Scented Geraniums
Squash, Winter
Stevia
Summer Squash
Sunflower
Sweet Alyssum
Tarragon, Mexican
Tarragon, French
Thyme
Tomatillo
Tomatoes
Watermelon

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Bee Balm
English Daisy
Hollyhock
Marigolds including ,Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii), Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii)
Portulaca
Safflower
Scented Geraniums
Sunflower
Sweet Alyssum

GARDEN TIPS for March
    If you are just now thinking about planting, see Flower Mulching technique. And run, do not walk, to purchase a water meter from your favorite garden nursery. The gallop into high heat can occur this month with such rapidity that we can go 70 to 95 in 30 days. (In a rare occurrence, we hit a 100 one year on March 29th.)
    Get a jump on spring with weed cleanup. Some pests breed on the winter weeds and can launch an incredible attack (a type of gnat can assume locus swarm proportions), which may cover everything light or white in color, plants, flowers, buildings, even clothes drying on the line.
    Perennial herbs will be starting to flower by end of March / beginning of April. If you use thyme, marjoram, oregano or any of the trailing herbs as ground covers, enjoy the blooms, then give them a hair cut. Remember the flowers are edible!
    HAIL!!! Is a possibility in spring as the soil warms, and weather highs and lows bring alternating warm and cool air mass. If you add winds to the mix HAIL is a strong possibility. Keep your frost protection covers/poor man’s cloches handy.
    The pest bugs like our mild weather too with aphids a particular pest. SAFE Soap Spray for aphids: 1 tsp each vegetable oil and Dawn to 1 quart of water. Spray every 5 days at sunset at least 3 times. DO NOT MISS a follow up spraying - spraying once will not take care of the aphid problem. The 1st gets the active adults, the 2nd one picks up the just hatched and missed ones and 3rd one gets the stragglers.

FLOWER MULCHING TECHNIQUE
    Some years ago I tripped across this idea when I wanted to grow a lot of basil fast, and I was planting late into the heat (late spring, early summer).
    First, what is going on that a special technique needs to be used?
    As the spring and summer day time temperatures climb into the high 90s and 100s, the surface of ANYTHING heats up and stays hot -- remember burning your feet on the pool surrounds? By July and August the surface afternoon mean temperature of soil, the sides of pots, asphalt and concrete can be as high as 180 degrees F! That includes the top 3-4 inches of soil. Without a protective canopy or surround the soil heats up to root killing levels.
    So back to the basil. It was June and as I say I wanted a lot of basil fast, and so I planted about 8 young starter basil plants out of 3-4 inch containers, planting them about 6 inches apart. As I watched them over the course of a couple of weeks, the outer plants one by one died off. But the 1 or 2 plants in the center not only lasted, they thrived.
    So what was going on? The outer plantings shaded the sides of the center plants, but still allowed the very necessary direct sunlight from above to feed (photosynthesis) the center plants. The outer plants leaves, while canopying the soil around the center plants also keep the soil surface cooler and moister until the center plants grew big enough to be their own canopies.
    My "Flower Mulching" technique was born. Not wanting to sacrifice primary edibles, I turned to seasonal edible flowers to provide the initial protection.
    THE TECHNIQUE: Imagine a 12 inch diameter circle. Place your primary herb, vegetable or fruit plant in the middle and using 3-5 flowers from a six pack or 3-5 4 inch flowers plant very close to the primary plant staying within the imaginary 12 inches. You can also plant the flowers first and then the primary plant, or you can use existing plantings to perform the same service. Many of the flowers will survive to be used in salads etc. (which is why I choose seasonal edible flowers). If the flower plants were not grown organically or without chemicals, wait 90 days before harvesting the flowers for food use.

Have a best day in the garden.

Be patient, be kind to yourself and one another,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

What do you do with a 'mess' (bunch) of fresh herbs and greens?

2021-01-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Folks,

For all of my frustration with the under-performing gardens because of the up/down weather, I have been blessed with a lot of herbs and greens! So what to do. Pictured, I gathered, rinse and chopped a big pile of kale, lettuces, celery, parsley, and chervil. I froze half of this for later use and used half to make one of my 'Herb Soups'.

This is a picture of one I made last year. Topped with Parmesan cheese crisps.

My original recipe for Herb Soup in 2013 is here. I have made many versions over the years because it is just so good. You can imbellish/garnish with whatver you like.

I encourage you to use boiling water for your first try rather than a broth as the herbs etc. give it an amazing flavor.

Well, what else can one do with a whole 'mess' of greens and herbs?

In the past I have made pesto, green goddess dressing (unlike many recipes, I start with a base of a vinaigrette of oil and lemon, lime juice or vinegar) add any greens and herbs I have and whirl in the blender. A wonderful dressing for salad or pasta.

I decided to do a little research and found a wonderful article on Epicurious website for 10 Green Sauces.

I am sure many of you have heard of some of them in addition to pesto, there is chimichurii, and Salsa Verde. BTW if you make Salsa Verde I have used my fresh Epazote as part of the mix. Some of the recipes for Salsa Verde from Mexico stuff a fish with a mix of herbs, including Epazote. Not quite a green "sauce" but same flavor enhancer.

I hope you use your greens and herbs for some of these amazing sauces.

Have a best day,

Stay safe, be patient and be kind to yourself and one another,

My Original Herb Soup Recipe is from my book "101+ Recipes From The Herb Lady" where I highlight one or more herbs to create recipes focusing on them.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

My Sweet Peppers in the Garden in January

2021-01-25T06:05:00.002-08:00

Dear Folks,

For all of the crazy up/down weather, my sweet peppers are loving the cooler temps and ramping up production. So, I decided to use them to make some meals. I did not take a picture of the potato/egg/pepper salad I made with the Orange Hungarian Paradicsom Sweet Pepper. But is was great. This pepper is a thick-walled lobbed variety and very sweet. The plant is going on 5+ years old

The Purple Beauty (really black) Sweet pepper is truly a remarkable color. I was so excited to harvest them, I forgot they are actually in their "green" stage and would eventually be more purple. No matter, they were going into one of my "creamy soups." The plant is still putting out flowers.

I sowed the seeds for the Purple Beauty, mid-December-2019 and transplanted to its pot home mid February 2020.

Peppers struggle to produce well in the heat of our summer, but overall grow well. Then when the temps start to fall back down in fall they ramp up production again.

My "creamy" soups are a main vegetable, in this case the purple peppers, potato (for the 'creamy'), onion, avocado oil, salt, pepper and an herb or herbs. I choose rosemary for this one. I frequently stir in cheese to melt right after pureeing the soup. This time I decided not to use cheese.

I created a long collage of the photo steps. I always garnish the soup with things from the garden. Sometimes flowers or chopped sugar pea pods. I used a mix of greens, herbs and sprouts (I was gifted with seed sprout tray-which I love), sliced radishes and I had some leftover breakfast sausage, and finally I always squeeze some of our limequat juice over the soup just before service. It gives the soup and extra zip.

Basic "Creamy" Potato Vegetable Soup
This makes about 3+ cups of finished soup (can easily be doubled)
The "Creamy" is from the potato - cheese optional, so this can be vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-allergic friendly

These soups reheat beautifully the next day - if there are leftovers. Warm on the stove or micowave for 90 seconds. I have also frozen leftover.

THE KEY to the flavor and quality of this soup is:

1) roasting the focus vegetable(s)
2) using potato, don't rinse you need the starch and I strongly recommend leaving the peels on.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of avocado, olive or oil or fat of of choice
2 - 4 tablespoons of diced onion, leek, garlic, chive etc of your choice
1 medium size potato (small chunks equal to about 1 1/2 cups) - I do NOT peel my potatoes.
2 cups of vegetable of choice, diced
2 cups of water or broth
salt and cracked black pepper
limequat, lime or lemon
Optional: complimentary herbs/spices to the vegetable
Optional;: 4 ounces of shredded or grated cheese of choice which compliments the vegetables and herbs: White cheddar, parmesan etc. You could float a small cube of Brie on each bowl of soup as a garnish

Garnish of choice: minced vegetables, slivered greens, capers or minced olives, edible flowers - pretty much any topping you think goes with the vegetable you chose.

An immersion blender works great for this.

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 and prepare a pan with aluminum foil for roasting the focus vegetable.

The timing of preparation is to take advantage of cooking two different components at the same time, so the whole preparation takes about 20-30 minutes.

Prepare the vegetable.
Wash potato, remove any blemishes, do not peel, cut into chunks and add to water, set aside.
Prepare onion (garlic etc.) of choice
Prepare or have ready the complimentary herb or spice mix you are using
Have your choice of garnishes ready and set aside
Shred cheese if using, set aside

In the pot you will cook the soup in, warm 1 tablespoon of fat/oil of choice and toss the focus vegetable with the oil - in the pot. Spread the vegetable out on the prepared pan and season with salt and pepper. Do not wipe out the pot.

Add the last tablespoon of fat to the pot, and cook the onion of choice on low. Put the pan of vegetables into the oven and set the time for 5 minutes.

Stir the onion and do not let it burn.

When the timer goes off, add the potatoes and water (or broth) to the pot, bring to a boil, covered.

Stir the pan of vegetables and reset the timer for 5 minutes.

Lower the pot to a gentle low boil.

When the timer goes off, add the roasted vegetable to the pot, add any herbs or spices you are going to use, cover and boil on low for 7 minutes or until the potato is tender.

Remove from heat and using an immersion blender, puree the soup - I like to leave some chunks in for texture.

At this point if you are adding cheese, do so and stir to fully melt the cheese. Ladle into bowls, top with garnish of choice, squeeze some lime or lemon juice over and serve and enjoy!

I hope you try this type of soup with your favorite vegetable(s) from the garden.

Have a best day,

Be safe, be kind, be gentle with yourself and each other.

You can find my gardening calendars and books on my website.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

February Planting Tips

2021-01-17T09:14:00.001-08:00

Dear Folks,

Now that the holidays are behind us - and your potatoes are planted (you did get them in the ground, right?-- They should be planted now for optimal harvest in April -- I planted mine January 2nd). It is time to think about when you transplant either purchased or indoor started plants like Tomatoes, Basil, Eggplant, Sweet Peppers etc. The plants which can be perennial here, but need some frost protection.

They produce best is you can get them in ground by February 1st, or thereabouts. BUT you need to cover them during the nights until all frost danger is past. About mid-March in the Valley. The picture about is a cool and cheap option for covering your tender plants. Cheap umbrellas (like Dollar Tree) make adequate greenhouses.

I have used gallon jugs, boxes and sometimes cages (to hold covers). This is my tomato in a special cage we made from two pieces of hogwire. I believe in letting tomatoes here in the valley, sprawl so they are not UP in the hot dry air, but I needed something to put the sheet over and not crush the plant. This was a gift from our neighbor who bought too many plants. You can't see it but I put a smaller column of chicken wire around the base (when it was smaller) and filled with dry leaves to add some additional frost protection.

Speaking of frost - the weather is truly a pick-a-factor/possibility. After an protracted warmer fall and early winter, the plants have been as confused as I have ever seen them. So, while I am not sure we will actually get much frost/freeze time this year. "Arizona’s Weather Authority says La Niña typically means a drier than average winter for us. It will likely be a bit warmer, too." --AzFamily - September 2020.

With that said, we can actually get hail in March when the soil begins warming, the upper levels air remains cool and we get wind and rain. So have whatever frost protection handy.

With the non-performance of one of my usual greens and herb bed, I decided to grow more of them in pots and I have a nice selection.

Left to right: Parsley, Chervil, Celery, Cilantro.

Another plant I seeded into a pot in early October is this lovely Black Bell Pepper. The fruit has been small, but I expect them to get bigger with the cooler weather. Peppers do well here, but more so during not-hot times.

And one last picture. About 2 years ago I planted several apple trees from seed. Most of them are in pots, but I wanted to see how a seed-grown apple would do in the ground here. I used the box to show you the original main trunk has lost its leaves. The second trunk grew last year and only now are the leaves turning and I expect them to drop eventually. The tree is healthy. We shall see how it does.

GARDEN TIPS for February

February is the transition time for the garden from Winter to Spring sowing, transplanting and harvesting.

There is still time to get a last batch of carrots, sugarpeas, lettuces and similar in the ground. Choosing short maturity varieties, particularly of the root veggies, will give you more harvesting success as the weather jumps to heat in a couple of months.

February is also the time to start your warm season plants like tomatoes, basil and peppers, to name a few. But they may need some initial frost protection. Keep in mind that they may actually stop growing if there is a cold day or several, which chills the soil. Then they resume when the soil heats back up (an interesting phenomenon I finally caught on to several years ago).

The weird weather of the last couple of years in February/March with high temps followed by overnight chill/freeze (Global Weirding as Karis over at the Valley Permaculture Alliance put it so well), makes for some required diligence in the garden in February and March. It pays to remain more mindful of what the weather will be rather than just sow and try to grow.

February is the end of the primary perennial best planting time in the valley (October - February). What this means is that to ensure the best success for your perennials like rosemary, oregano and fruit trees, it is best to have them in the ground before the end of February and the beginning of our temperature increases.

New to-the-valley residents can be surprised by the common spring joke of "when is spring here?" and the answer is "do you remember that period in early March when it was about 78-83 or so degrees for about 2 weeks? - that was it!"

This of course is due to the sudden rise of temperatures from balmy mid 70s in late February / early March to the 90s by April 1st (or higher - we have had the rare 100+ degree days in late March or early April).

The plants just can't take the stress of dealing with putting down roots while the temperatures soar into the 90+ range in just a few short weeks.

Fertilize fruit trees now -- Use Valentine's day as the target -- (and again in late May (Memorial Day) and early September (Labor Day).
    Pecan trees need zinc sulfate, applied at the rate of 1 pound per trunk inch width.

ABOUT FROST
    The last frost date averages around February 15th, although we have had frost as late as March 1st or 2nd (usually the result of a late winter storm with hail).
    Frost in the Valley at the 1100 or lower elevations is usually limited to ‘soft frost’ where simple sheets or paper placed over sensitive plants (or moving potted plants beneath patios or trees) is sufficient to protect them. Hard/Killing frosts are rare particularly in February/March.
    For every 1000 feet over 1100 in elevation the last frost day is moved back 10 days and the possibility of hard (killing) frosts starts to occur. At 2000 feet or lower, this is still a rare occurrence.
    Getting your edible seedlings in the ground as early as possible provides longer-produce seasons - especially with plants like tomatoes.
    Use homemade 'cloche' covers to protect seedlings -- cut the bottom of gallon milk containers or 2 liter soda bottles - clean very well to avoid mold -- place over plants each night until frost danger is past, remove during the day, or if you need to be gone for several days remove the cap to allow excess heat and humidity to escape.
    How do you know if we are finished with frost? There are some examples in nature, but you still need to be prepared to cover sensitive plants through the 2nd week in March.
        a. Ant activity in the garden indicates the soil has warmed up sufficiently for them to start gathering food again.
        b. If the mesquite trees have started to bud out, it is unlikely to frost after that
        c. Be aware that a warm storm can contain some hail through March.

HAIL
    Here in the Valley we can have Hail on an expected basis in Spring, early Summer and Fall.
    The perfect conditions for Hail are warm OR WARMING soil, cool air mass coming in AND wind.

    February and March have the perfect combination of warming soil and a cool system moving in. If you add wind you will generally get hail.
    So, while actual frost may not happen keep your frost protection covers and jugs handy in the event of hail to safeguard your new seedlings and transplants.
February Planting

VEGETABLES, FRUITS & HERBS TO PLANT

Artichoke
Asparagus
Basil
Bay
Bean, Lima
Beets
Bok Choy
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Chard
Citrus Scented Marigold (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Collards
Corn
Cucumbers
Epazote
Fruit Trees
Jerusalem Artichoke
Lavender
Lettuce & Greens
Marigold
Marjoram
Melon, Musk Melon
Melon, Winter
Mint
Mustard
Onion, Sets
Onions, Green
Oregano
Peas
Peppers
Potatoes
Purslane
Radishes
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Squash, Summer
Strawberry
Thyme
Tomatoes
Turnips
Watermelon

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Bee Balm (Monarda Didyma)
English Daisy
Hollyhock
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Pansies
Primrose
Purslane
Safflower
Scented Geraniums
Snapdragons
Sunflower
Sweet Alyssum
Tangerine Scented Marigold (Tagetes Lemonii)

Take care of yourselves and each other,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

You can find my gardening calendars and books on my website.

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

12 Days of Celebrations

2020-12-24T06:00:00.003-08:00

Dear Folks,

With many, many people needing the hope, distractions, and celebration of Christmas and the rest of the holiday season, I am re-posting ideas for celebrations, history and food of the season, charity, and of course our gardens.

[Pictured: One of our navel orange ripening, which always makes me think of ornaments on a Christmas tree.]

In 2009 I created individual posts for the 12 days of Christmas. While the commercial treatment of the 12 days has been all about "before" Christmas, the original 12 days did NOT lead up to Christmas, it started with Christmas.

The celebrations such as Kwanzaa and New Years are discussed.

Some of the 'internal' links to the posts may no longer work, however I hope you enjoy reading through these for ideas, and interesting facts.

There are no photos in these. I had not yet figured out how to use the camera and take good pictures - so I hope that does not take away from enjoying the posts.

--Catherine

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-12-days-of-christmas-worth-re-posting.html

I wish for you peace, love and hope,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

December Planting Tip

2020-12-19T08:39:00.001-08:00

Dear Folks,

A little late with this tip post. So the important points are these:

Prune deciduous trees, cut asparagus back to ground, and get beds ready for potato planting New Year's Day. If your citrus needs some dead branch removal, get that done now. The fruit trees will be bursting into flower in January and February.

Keep in mind, as you read through the tips, this is 2020 - all "norms" are off, so hopefully your garden will "show" you what it needs.

Pictured is my celery in two different beds. Most of this celery has been growing for about 10 months!! Since I use a lot of celery I am delighted that, at least for this edible, some things worked out great.

My tip for having these plants last so long is to cut from the center. I did that initially when I wanted the most tender stalks and leaves, but discovered it stopped the plant from trying to go to flower - even in the heat of the summer. The older stalks served to feed the plant. So what I seem to have now is perennial celery. Great!!

I say that about my celery, because many of my seeded plants since the beginning of fall have struggled with the lingering heat, then cold then up/down. My sugar peas took FOREVER to sprout even with repeated sowing.

Initially my radish seeds sprouted so quickly it was almost overnight, then, stopped sprouting quickly and slowed to growing really, really slow. My first harvest of them was looking so good, then practically nothing as the weather went up/down on a roller coaster.

So far the citrus ripening seems to be actually ahead of schedule!!!

The Turmeric seems to be about where it should, starting to go down. When it finally dies back I can dig up and separate roots, save some for me and replant the rest.

Turmeric likes a partially shaded area with morning sun. This one has been growing in this spot for several years.

We have a lot of critter visitors mostly birds. One of the ones we particularly enjoy are the Peach Faced Love Birds who we call the Cheepy Guys for their joyful sounding chatter.

We do not normally see them near the ground, they like the sunflower and other high-up seed options - we were lucky enough to catch this one on our bird block (we also throw loose seed).

Finally, before we get to the planting tips, I wanted to share a recipe I have been making for several years around the holidays.

No, not from the garden, but with lots of good things for you (dark chocolate, walnuts, dried berries and cheerios). Called "good for you candy" the original recipe was created by Jean Carper and appeared in a Parade Sunday Magazine.

My Good For You Candy

2 1/2 cups Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips

1 1/2 cups cheerios or other whole-grain cereal

1 cup dried sweetened cranberries (original called for dried cherries)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, you can add more if you like.

Drop by spoon fulls on parchment or aluminum foil and put in frig for an hour or so to harden up.

I also will drop spoon fulls in small paper candy cups to make smaller portions.

I hope you try these. :-)

December PLANTING:

Anise
Asparagus
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chamomile
Chervil
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit, Bare Root
Fruit Trees
Greens
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lettuce
Marjoram
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Oregano, Greek
Ornamental Cabbage/Kale (Brassica Oleracea)
Parsley
Peppers (seed)
Primrose (Primula Vulgaris)
Radishes
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Strawberry
Thyme
Turnips
Watermelon (by seed December 15 and after)

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Carnation (Dianthus)
Chamomile
English Daisy
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums
Snapdragons
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Sweet Alyssum

GARDEN TIPS for December
   Holiday time can be stressful. Your edible garden can be an oasis from stress. With citrus fruit ripening like yellow and orange ornaments, pansies blooming, and dill waving in the breeze, winter is only a state of mind here in the Desert Southwest.
   November through January can be a ‘rainy’ season for the desert. 2020 had been VERY different. IF the rains comes, you can usually hold off on regular watering if you have received a half inch or more of rain within 2 days of normal watering days (except for trees unless you receive 1 inch or more). Make good use of your water meter to determine soil moisture.
   If rains are heavy this month, in addition to foregoing some water days, you may need to put down Ironite or Green Sand to compensate for mineral bonding (which makes iron unavailable to the plants) due to both the excess water and the cold soil. Ironite is not a fertilizer so it will not burn plants -- apply to the drip line (edge) of tree canopy.

Watering Guide:
As the temperatures rise or decrease, a guide (this is only a guide! make use of your moisture meter to check moisture content of soil) For mature gardens would be:
   70s water every 5-6 days for all but trees
   80s water every 4-5 days for all but trees
   90s water every 3-4 days for all but trees
   100s water every 2-3 days for all but trees

Garden Design tip - if you are considering laying out a new garden, use Ironite to 'draw' the garden layout on the soil, easy and safe.

FROST damage: Do not prune until danger of frost is over - the damaged plant protects the lower growth.

PRUNING:

Prune citrus and deciduous fruit trees in December, or no later than early January before flowering starts.

Occasionally our crazy peach trees drive Deane nuts because they still have leaves on them when they start to flower in late December or early January.

The idea with pruning deciduous trees is to get it done before the 'sap starts running' in the warming spring weather. Because we do not usually have extended cold spells some of the stone fruit trees may not actually go into full dormancy.

The commercial growers like Schnepf Farms have simply adopted the practice of prunning their peach etc. trees after December 15th. This ensures that flower buds will not be pruned off later on.

There is always the challenge of a cold spell coming in January or February while the stone fruit trees are coming into bloom, which in other areas of the country might mean the severe limiting of fruit production. Here we have not generally found that a short cold period has killed off the flower bloom/fruit production.

If you feel you are in a colder area, you can cover the blooming peaches, apricots, plums and apples with cloth covers if you can reach high enough to make it worth the effort.

FRUIT TREE PESTS

Peach tree borers are a problem here in the valley as the special hybrid stone fruit trees are more vulnerable to borers because the pests are not killed off as readily as in very cold areas of the country.

Winter 'dormancy' of the trees is the time to consider treating the trees to an oil spray to discourage the darn pests

Generally called "dormant oil" or "horticulture oil" this is a heavy oil based control which is designed to smother the pests, and therefore can't be applied to the active growing parts of any plants. It is sprayed on the trunks of stone fruit (not evergreen like citrus) from the soil-base line up. Make sure you read the instructions carefully.

If peach and other stone fruit trees are new to you and your garden, look for swelling on the buds/edges of each branch which indicates the tree is going into active growth and DO NOT use the spray on those areas.

In future notes I will discuss thinning fruit and a nice spring bouquet option of "forced" branches.

Have a safe and peaceful Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's

Be kind, be patient and thoughtful.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

November Planting Tips

2020-11-22T13:13:00.001-08:00

Dear Folks,

This is a bit later than usual because I am sure, like many of you, are trying to figure out 1) the weather going forward vis-a-vis the garden, and 2) how to "do" Thanksgiving without undue stress.

[Mums blooming and they took their time opening up because of the up/down. Start off red and wind up red and gold.]

A BIG challenge to something that should be a comforting routine.

The weather is 'perhaps' going into what would be normal temperature ranges for the next 2 weeks. With that said, pay attention to overnight temperature projects. If the forecast is 40 or so - get your frost protection covers ready to protect tender plants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Lettuces and the root vegetables do not "usually" need protection, however I have seen Kale bitten by frost after a particularly cold night.

"Spotted" a Spotted Towhee for the first time in the garden. We saw a 'streak' a few days earlier and could only see the black head and thought it was one of the grey striped black birds. Then s/he bounced around more. The movement before we got a good look at it was definitely Towhee, but the blackbird detail did not fit. Then we were able to get a good ID on it as it moved closer to the house.

There was a common Towhee in the garden that we watched with sadness. It was blind in one eye and the other eye was not good either. It seemed to find the seed okay, but we knew it would not fare will. Did not see it after that.

One more critter. I have propensity for spotting an insect when I am inches from it! This praying mantis was no different, like close enough to get bitten. No problem here so I went and got the camera. :)

There is a collage of this gorgeous Moulin Rouge Sunflower further down this post.

Okay. Now, to the Gardening for November.

Somewhat the same as October. Continue to successive sow root vegetables, loose leaf type greens and herbs like cilantro, dill, and chervil.

November PLANTING:

Anise
Asparagus
Bay, Greek (Sweet)
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cabbage, Ornamental
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chamomile
Chard
Chervil
Cilantro
Dill
Endive (and Chicory)
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit Trees
Garlic (only as green garlic)
Greens
Horseradish
Kale, Ornamental
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lemon Verbena
Lettuce
Marjoram
Mints
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Onions
Oregano, Greek
Oregano, Mexican
Parsley
Parsnip
Peas
Radishes
Rosemary
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Tarragon, Mexican
Tarragon, French
Thyme
Turnips

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Calendula
Carnation (Dianthus)
Chamomile
Cornflower (Bachelor Buttons)
English Daisy
Hollyhock
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Johnny-Jump Up
Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums
Shungiku Chrysanthemum
Snapdragons
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Violet

GARDEN TIPS for November
    First frost date average is around November 17th.
    Frost in the Valley at the 1100 or lower elevations is usually limited to ‘soft frost’ where simple cloth sheets or paper placed over sensitive plants (or moving potted plants beneath patios or trees) is sufficient to protect them. Never use plastic covers as the plastic transmits the cold to the plant tips.
    For every 1000 feet over 1100 in elevation the first frost day is moved forward 10 days. The possibility of hard (killing) frosts starts to occur, although at 2000 feet or lower this is still a rare occurrence.
    Frost pockets in the Valley can surprise gardeners. As a matter of practice, if the weather forecasters predict an overnight temperature of 40 F, I prepare for frost by protecting my sensitive plants with cloth or paper covers This is because heat retention by buildings and walls dissipates by early morning (4 or 4:30 a.m. to dawn the temperature can drop 8 degrees plus or minus).
    Frost danger continues until about mid-February.
    Cool weather annuals and biennials can be sown every 2-4 weeks (beginning in August) through the end of November for a continuous crop through next spring.
    November through January can be a ‘rainy’ season for the desert. You can usually hold off on regular watering if you have received a half inch or more of rain within 2 days of normal watering days. Make good use of your water meter to determine soil moisture.
    If rains are heavy this month, in addition to foregoing some water days, you may need to put down Ironite or green sand to compensate for mineral bonding (which makes iron unavailable to the plants) due to both the excess water and the cold soil.

FROST DAMAGE
The best way to think of frost damage on your edibles is the damaged plant material is now a partial protective cover to the underlying growth.

As mentioned in prior notes, frost damage in the lower desert gardens is usually limited to 'soft' frost which is controlled by simply putting cloth or paper covers over the plants at night, or if containers, moving them under evergreen trees or onto the patio.

IF, however we get hard or killing frosts, of extended periods or days, die-back will occur even on protected plants. The reason is the radiant heat retained by structures and even the soil dissipates completely, leaving the plants exposed to too-cold air.

Whether the frost damage is from soft or hard frosts if the plant is still alive DO-NOT-REMOVE-THE-DAMAGE. Doing so risks damaging the growth still alive under the top die-back. I don't remove even dead plants until spring. I have found basil seedlings coming up under a large dead basil plant killed off by a hard frost.

Obviously we like our gardens to look pretty most of the time, but selectively resisting the urge to pull something a little bedraggled gives you, the gardener, access to earlier production of the warm weather plants because of their larger root systems.

Herb Soup
From the book : “101+ Recipes From The Herb Lady” - by Catherine Crowley

    A wonderful blend of herbs, lettuces, croutons and cheese. The beauty of this soup, besides its fabulous flavor, is the ability to vary the herbs, lettuces, croutons and cheeses for different flavors. I developed this recipe from Provencal soups.

1    shallot, finely chopped
2    tablespoons butter, unsalted
4    cups mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used Thai basil, cilantro, parsley, see note below*)
1    package spring lettuce mix (or your own grown greens)
1    teaspoon coarse salt
1/8    teaspoon black pepper
6    cups boiling water (can use broth - but try the water the first time)
6    cups croutons (any stale bread diced will work too - some day-old nice artisinal breads would be great for this)
3/4    cups Parmesan cheese

    Set aside 1/2 cup each of herbs and lettuces for garnish. Divide croutons and cheese into 6 soup bowls.
    Saute shallot in butter for 1 minute. Add herbs, salt, and lettuces all at once and cook—stirring for 5 minutes. Add boiling water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes—stirring occasionally. Ladle greens and broth into soup bowls. Add garnish of herbs and lettuces to each bowl. Serve and enjoy. Serves 6.
    *Traditional recipes call for sorrel and chervil or any combination you like - the Thai Basil has a tarragon aspect to it which mimic the chervil with a kick and cilantro's citrus back-note mimic the sorrel.

Here is the collage of my Moulin Rouge Sunflower. The seeds are not always easy to come by and as this is a hybrid the seeds from these flowers would likely not give the stunning color.

The left image is before the sun gets on it and the right is when the sun is starting to back-light the flower. The pictures were taken 5 days apart and you can see the flower opened more and the tips just starting to get a bit of a gold caste to them. That is continuing through today (November 22nd) with more of the flowers on the planting starting to open.

I hope you have a wonderful, safe and comforting Thanksgiving.

Be kind, be patient, take care of yourself and each other.

Catherine

If you need some gifts for gardening friends in Arizona or USDA 9b my books are available through the links on my website.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Blue and Red from the Garden, a bit of white.

2020-11-05T07:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Folks,

I posted on FB a day or 2 ago. "I don't know if I am alone in my perception of what is going to go for the next 48 hours, but I decided a ping-pong facts fest is not what would bring me any satisfaction."

SO, I decided to occupy myself with garden and cooking. (I made a squash, apple, onion, saute last night. Oh was that good!)

The blue and white Blue Butterfly Flower harvest the other day was one of the biggest I've had, now drying in the frig. The plant is frost sensitive so I think it knows we may be dropping temps in the next couple of days. When we had the cool nights a week or so ago, it produced almost no flowers. Here is the link to the November planting where I also wrote about this amazing antioxidant flower.

On to the red. Time to harvest my Roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa). This high antioxidant "fruit" is the swollen calyx of the flower. I got my seeds in late, but the hot summer (it LOVES the heat as long as it has enough water) pushed maturity to the normal times.

Harvesting has to be done by hand (in my opinion) because of the very tiny, tiny fly with burrows really tiny holes in the "petals" and can damage the interior. The other problem is potential for mold. So the whole fruit must be opened and inspected. I am showing the juice on the scissors from cutting the fruit off. I use them so I don't damage the other buds near by.

If you look at the picture at the top of this collage, you can see the dimple of where the insect bored in. The next picture shows the mold I need to watch out for. Sometimes the whole fruit is damaged, sometimes just a few petals. The whole "seed head" has to be removed. Later on I will let many of these completely dry on the plant and havest the seed for re-sowing next late spring.

The last picture shows all the discard, bad petals and the immature seed heads. It amount to about 40-45% of the harvested fruit.

Finally the real harvest.

The petals are rinsed and ready set out to dry in the sun. It will take several days as our temps are going down. I bring the trays in every night to keep the petals from re-absorbing moisture.

The whole harvest from cut to on the trays took about an hour. Time well spent. Once completely dried I will store them for teas and baking. I love using this tangy cranberry flavored fruit for making sweet nut and fruit quick breads (aka cake). Later on if I have room in the freezer, I will harvest more fresh and freeze them. I lay foods like this on a tray in the freezer to individually freeze, so I can put it in ziplock or container and just pour out what I want to use without them freezing together.

BTW the petals will stain you hands red, but the red rinses off with soap and water.

Both the Blue Butterfly Flower and the Roselle impart gorgeous color to beverages and food (yes they can be used to color food), BUT the Blue Butterfly Flower color is impacted by acid. So one of the fun things that people do when they make the beautiful blue tea is to squeeze a bit of lemon or lime into it and watch it change to pink or purple!!!!!

One of the things I am going to try, when I have some of both dried, is to combine them and see if I get a different color. :) Since they are so good for you with all the antioxidants it will be a fun experiment and won't be wasted whatever color it becomes.

Be kind, be patient and be nice to yourselves and each other,

- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

November Planting Tips and a new-to-me flower I am over the top on.

2020-10-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

Not of lot of exciting or good stuff to discuss, except for this flower -- Blue Butterfly. See at the bottom, after this month's sowing/planting tips. This are so blue it is tempting to dismiss them as artificial.

November PLANTING:

Do yourselves a favor and harvest tender herbs --before first frost -- typically November 17th, but who knows this year!! Along with other greens to make the "Herb Soup" recipe at the end of the planting tips. You will love it!

Anise
Asparagus
Bay, Greek (Sweet)
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cabbage, Ornamental
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chamomile
Chard
Chervil
Cilantro
Dill
Endive (and Chicory)
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit Trees
Garlic (only as green garlic)
Greens
Horseradish
Kale, Ornamental
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lemon Verbena
Lettuce
Marjoram
Mints
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Onions
Oregano, Greek
Oregano, Mexican
Parsley
Parsnip
Peas
Radishes
Rosemary
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Tarragon, Mexican
Tarragon, French
Thyme
Turnips

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Calendula
Carnation (Dianthus)
Chamomile
Cornflower (Bachelor Buttons)
English Daisy
Hollyhock
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Johnny-Jump Up
Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums
Shungiku Chrysanthemum
Snapdragons
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Violet

GARDEN TIPS for November
    First frost date average is around November 17th.
    Frost in the Valley at the 1100 or lower elevations is usually limited to ‘soft frost’ where simple cloth sheets or paper placed over sensitive plants (or moving potted plants beneath patios or trees) is sufficient to protect them. Never use plastic covers as the plastic transmits the cold to the plant tips.
    For every 1000 feet over 1100 in elevation the first frost day is moved forward 10 days. The possibility of hard (killing) frosts starts to occur, although at 2000 feet or lower this is still a rare occurrence.
    Frost pockets in the Valley can surprise gardeners. As a matter of practice, if the weather forecasters predict an overnight temperature of 40 F, I prepare for frost by protecting my sensitive plants with cloth or paper covers This is because heat retention by buildings and walls dissipates by early morning (4 or 4:30 a.m. to dawn the temperature can drop 8 degrees plus or minus).
    Frost danger continues until about mid-February.
    Cool weather annuals and biennials can be sown every 2-4 weeks (beginning in August) through the end of November for a continuous crop through next spring.
    November through January can be a ‘rainy’ season for the desert. You can usually hold off on regular watering if you have received a half inch or more of rain within 2 days of normal watering days. Make good use of your water meter to determine soil moisture.
    If rains are heavy this month, in addition to foregoing some water days, you may need to put down Ironite or green sand to compensate for mineral bonding (which makes iron unavailable to the plants) due to both the excess water and the cold soil.

FROST DAMAGE
The best way to think of frost damage on your edibles is the damaged plant material is now a partial protective cover to the underlying growth.

As mentioned in prior notes, frost damage in the lower desert gardens is usually limited to 'soft' frost which is controlled by simply putting cloth or paper covers over the plants at night, or if containers, moving them under evergreen trees or onto the patio.

IF, however we get hard or killing frosts, of extended periods or days, die-back will occur even on protected plants. The reason is the radiant heat retained by structures and even the soil dissipates completely, leaving the plants exposed to too-cold air.

Whether the frost damage is from soft or hard frosts if the plant is still alive DO-NOT-REMOVE-THE-DAMAGE. Doing so risks damaging the growth still alive under the top die-back. I don't remove even dead plants until spring. I have found basil seedlings coming up under a large dead basil plant killed off by a hard frost.

Obviously we like our gardens to look pretty most of the time, but selectively resisting the urge to pull something a little bedraggled gives you, the gardener, access to earlier production of the warm weather plants because of their larger root systems.

Herb Soup
From the book : “101+ Recipes From The Herb Lady” - by Catherine Crowley

    A wonderful blend of herbs, lettuces, croutons and cheese. The beauty of this soup, besides its fabulous flavor, is the ability to vary the herbs, lettuces, croutons and cheeses for different flavors. I developed this recipe from Provencal soups.

1    shallot, finely chopped
2    tablespoons butter, unsalted
4    cups mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used Thai basil, cilantro, parsley, see note below*)
1    package spring lettuce mix
1    teaspoon coarse salt
1/8    teaspoon black pepper
6    cups boiling water (can use broth - but try the water the first time)
6    cups croutons (any stale bread diced will work too - some day-old nice artisinal breads would be great for this)
3/4    cups Parmesan cheese

    Set aside 1/2 cup each of herbs and lettuces for garnish. Divide croutons and cheese into 6 soup bowls.
    Saute shallot in butter for 1 minute. Add herbs, salt, and lettuces all at once and cook—stirring for 5 minutes. Add boiling water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes—stirring occasionally. Ladle greens and broth into soup bowls. Add garnish of herbs and lettuces to each bowl. Serve and enjoy. Serves 6.
    *Traditional recipes call for sorrel and chervil or any combination you like - the Thai Basil has a tarragon aspect to it which mimic the chervil with a kick and cilantro's citrus back-note mimic the sorrel.

Blue Butterfly flower/vine

Amazing blue color!

The flowers, leaves, young shoots and tender pods are all edible and commonly consumed, and the leaves can also be used as a green colorant. "It also contains Delphinidin an anthocyanidin, a primary plant pigment, and also an antioxidant. Delphinidin gives blue hues to flowers in the genera Viola and Delphinium. It also gives the blue-red color of the grape that produces Cabernet Sauvignon, and can be found in cranberries and Concord grapes as well as pomegranates, and bilberries." -- wikipedia

It is a member of the legume, Fabaceae family, with the unusual name of Clitoria ternatea.

It is subtropical, so wait until last frost to sow. I would recommend direct sowing in the ground rather than pots first. Direct sown seeds do not germinate with the high percentage of pot-sown, but the ones that do are usually quite a bit stronger and healthier.

I direct sowed the seeds March 21, 2020 and it started to sprout on March 31st. I started harvesting the flowers on September 23rd and the plant is still pushing out flowers each morning. I realized too, I need to leave some flowers on to produce seeds! :) The vine is in a mix shade and sun location, with dappled sun and afternoon sun.. I have a friend who is growing in the sun.

This plant is native to

equatorial Asia, including locations in South Asia and Southeast Asia but has also been introduced to Africa, Australia and the Americas.

Butterfly Pea Vine Seeds Names: Rich Royal Blue, Clitoria ternatea, Bunga telang -- Uses: Edible/Tea and Decorative, Butterfly Garden/Host Plant

Fun Fact: "The flowers have more recently been used in a color-changing gin Blue in the bottle, it turns pink when mixed with a carbonated mixer such as tonic water due to the change in pH. As organic colours are not permanent, this type of gin is recommended to be stored in a dark place to maintain the effect." - wikipedia

Go to Youtube and search for blue butterfly flower and up comes a host of drink, tea and even cocktail ideas. Anything like lemon or lime will turn the blue color pink or purple. I am providing some steep liquid for a family member to make blue ice cubes for folks to add to lemonade. I suggested she slip a cube into someones ligh beer in a glass :)

1 to 1.5 teaspoons per cup to make tea. Steep at least 5 minutes or longer for a darker color.

In the collage, I started the steep, took a picture at 5 minutes and again at 10 minutes. The color was not deeper. I used 5 fresh flowers as a baseline to see what kind of color I could get. I will be using dried flowers for the ice cube event.

If you are looking for a fun, beautiful and unique flower to grow, give this a try.

Be nice to yourselves and each other, be kind and patient (sometimes hard to do with everything going on), share what you have, and don't forget to garden!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Celery, in the desert garden. Yes please! And Nature Helps.

2020-09-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

This summer. In some ways there are no words to fully describe all of the things that were different, troubling, and in one case a surprise, a good one.

Two of my wild apple trees grown from seed (germinated December 2018) appear to have succumbed to the intense and prolonged heat. Other plants as well. I will write up some of that in another post.The picture is of my celery bed (aka greens bed - more on that below) taken September 10th. I little crinkly around the edges on some of them.

However, by harvesting from the center area, I can get these lovely additions to salad etc., while the outer stalks and leaves of the plants shelter the interior growing area.

AND, that is the key to why my celery has been growing lushly since mid-winter (sown and re-seed volunteers last fall).

Here is the greens, herbs and celery bed in March. I outlined (forgive my awful drawing skills) the celery in some ,so you can easily see them among the various lettuces and herbs. I treat this bed as a cut and come again, harvesting what I need as I need it. Sometimes I just go out with my scissors and cut 2 inches or so off the top straight across the bed. Sometimes I just go out and cut what stalks and leaves of celery I need.

By June most of the lettuce type greens had blasted or died back. The celery then took over the bed (top picture).

I have long written about density of planting/sowing for the warm/hot weather. The density shields the soil surface from direct sun, minimizes evaporation, keeping the root area cooler. The density also creates a shield to the "sides" of the interior plants.

Because the celery began to take over the greens bed in earnest in late spring/early summer, I let it. The reward was an amazing bed of celery that was about 4 feet wide and 2.5 feed deep.

I have been growing celery for a number of years, letting it self-sow and adding some seeds here and there. Up until this year I usually only had harvestable celery until about late May.

I intentionally sow celery and other greens Sept/Oct. Usually the self-sown plants are showing up about this time (late September).

Now it was time to do some clearing out so I can sow the new greens bed.

I removed all of the celery plants except for a row towards the front of the bed. I composted or cut and dropped in another bed nearby. I do dry some of my celery, but this is too much.

I placed the pruners so you could see the size of the plants and the roots. I do need to do some experimenting with using celery root in recipes.

This was September 12. I leveled the bed readying for the seeds.

Normally I scatter the seeds, but this sowing time I decided I wanted a more colorful array of the greens so I decided

to sow in rows. As the season(s) go forward I may add more in between. This picture was taken September 15.

On September 23rd the bed looked like this. You can see parts of the row of celery in the front there (bottom of the picture).

So, some helpful information. I actually have a couple of areas where the celery flourishes. This one is north of a couple of trees, which keeps the plants early growing time more in the shade with some morning sun and a bit of filtered western sun.

Once the sun moves to summer south, there is more direct sun. As this bed is the largest, the density was the most helpful. Go back up and look at the opening picture. You can see the crispy leaves are on the outside for the most part and that is point about density. Think of it as the plant being its own "nurse" plant protecting the inter growth from the heat intensity.

By keeping the plants generally pruned back, not letting the flowers and seed heads form, they continue to push out new growth.

I hope you give celery a place in your garden, so you too, can enjoy an almost constant access to this flavorful addition to many, many dishes.

Have a best day.

Be patient, be kind to yourself and each other, and share,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

October Planting and Sowing Tips - September 22nd First "Official" day of Fall

2020-09-22T14:11:00.009-07:00

Dear Folks,

I love finding critters in my garden. I always seem to come on them quickly - almost on my nose! I was inspecting my Avocado Tree and noticed an off formation. Bingo, nice Praying Mantis.

I cleared out much of my celery bed. I am going to share a celery specific post next, so watch for it. If you love celery and live here in the valley this should be a must read for you.

Anyway, while getting ready to clear the bed, I notice a volunteer Red Romaine seedling. Some of the celery story will be about volunteer seedlings from prior seasons. Because I keep this "greens" bed dense and well seeded, the plants throw a lot of seed at the end.

We have a lot of birds and I still have a bunch of sunflowers attracting many birds. The Lessor Goldfinch is a frequent visitor and was lucky enough to get a picture of one of the males eating a seed. They also "harvest" tiny bugs which live in the sunflower heads.

First Day Of FALL!

I am sure, like me, most of you will be happy to see the heat go AWAY! In normal years I enjoy the summer and it takes all summer long to look forward to fall. This year with the "quagmire" of life created by covid 19, some health issues in my family and the "ennui" that seems to have settled on me, I am hoping the cooler temps, and less wildfires and smoke, will bring a literal breath of fresh air.

We should have been seeing more 90s days in the last week or so but the Smoke is keeping the heat in longer.

I have started seeding in things like root vegetables and the greens bed I mentioned above. Sowing a seed or seeds always brings me such hope and satisfaction.

October brings major sowing and perennial planting options. Get your cool weather herbs and root vegetables started now along with the greens and plan on re-sowing repeatedly every 2-4 weeks depending on how much you like your choices.

Fruit trees are planted best in October to maximize root development during the cool months.

Plant your Garlic in October - I try for about Oct 1st but if you get the cloves planted by Oct 31 you will have enough cold soil to give the plants enough time to form good heads in spring.

Jump into your garden and feel revitalized and renewed!

October 1st is World Vegetarian Day. You don't need to be a vegan or vegetarian to appreciate all the wonderful options from your gardens. Plant something new and find new recipes for old favorites.

October PLANTING:

Spring!!! in the Desert - Heavy planting possibilities:

Anise
Bay, Greek (Sweet)
Beans, Fava
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cabbage, Ornamental
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chervil
Chrysanthemum, Shungiku
Cilantro
Dill
Endive (and Chicory)
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit Trees
Garlic
Greens
Kale, Ornamental
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lemon Grass
Lemon Verbena
Lettuce (arugula, leaf lettuce etc.)
Marjoram
Mints
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Onions
Oregano, Greek
Oregano, Mexican
Parsley
Parsnip
Peas, English and Sugar/Snap
Potato seeds (not seed potatoes - use seeds) ("seed potatoes" or cut pieces of potato should be planted Nov 1-Jan 1)
Radishes
Rosemary
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Tarragon, Mexican
Tarragon, French
Thyme
Turnips

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Calendula
Carnation (Dianthus)
Cornflower (Bachelor Buttons)
English Daisy
Evening Primrose (Oenothera Berlandieri)
Hollyhock
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Johnny-Jump Up
Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums
Shungiku Chrysanthemum
Snapdragons
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Sweet Alyssum
Violet


GARDEN TIPS for October
"Spring in the Desert" - we call fall our spring because this is when we do most of 'heavy' garden work, trees, shrubs and cool weather edibles all go in now.
    The beginning of primary perennial planting season is now through February.
    Cool weather annuals and biennials can be sown every 2-4 weeks (beginning in August) through end of February for a continuous crop through next spring.
    Garlic: Plant garlic cloves no later than October 31st to ensure full maturity of garlic heads in the spring. Plant extra if you want ‘green garlic’ (used like scallions) through the cool months. The ‘green garlic’ can be harvested when the clove below the soil swells slightly.
    This is the beginning of bare-root planting season. Asparagus, raspberry, blackberry, grape, and strawberries may start showing up in your favorite garden nursery.
    If you have ever-bearing berry vines, cut them down to the ground after the fruit is finished. (This is easier than trying to keep track of which are the oldest canes — commercial growers use this practice.)

Aphids are a major problem with cabbage family - forestall infestations. Add a fingertip of Dawn to 1 quart of water. Shake, pour 1/4 cup down center of each plant once a week

Make and use a safe soap spray on aphids on other plants (the aphids like our cool nights too!). 1 teaspoon each of dawn and vegetable oil to 1 quart of water. Spray every 5 days for a minimum of 3 repeats to keep them under control. Neem spray is a good alternative.

Find links to my books and calendars on the side bar.

Enjoy your garden, be kind, be patient with one another, and share. Keep all first line and first responders in your hearts.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

National More Herbs, Less Salt Day - August 29th

2020-08-28T07:47:00.002-07:00

Dear Folks,

If you are not starting with herbs and spices to season your food BEFORE reaching for the salt shaker, let me give you something to 'chew' on!

Celery!

That is an inside joke and just a point about how our bodies and taste buds respond to food.

Celery like other edible plants (carrots, beets, spinach, chard) contain some sodium. Which means adding celery to foods kicks up the taste of the food.

But many herbs so enhance the flavor of food that many people won't miss the salt.

One of my favorite "sub-the-salt-with-herbs" example is a baked potato. Who does not appreciate a good baked or boiled potato with butter and salt.

But if you want a change and a surprise in how good something tastes without salt, you will need rosemary (dried or fresh minced), fresh lemon or lime juice, and potatoes. That's it.

Bake, boil or grill the potatoes. When done, break or cut open squeeze a bit of lemon juice on them, and sprinkle with the rosemary. Dive in and enjoy.

Many times when I cook meat, I rub with rosemary, thyme, or syrian oregano, or a combination, cracked black pepper, and that is it. Most of the time even my guy does not reach for the salt shaker.

I hope this gives you some ideas on ways to season food with herbs before reaching for the salt.

Enjoy experimenting with herbs first!!

Have a best day, stay safe, be kind and patient. Many people are more stressed than ever.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

September Planting/Sowing Tips - Non-Soon Challenges

2020-08-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

Well we have had / are having another Non-Soon and the added super plant (and people) stressing record highs in 110s etc.

No other way to describe it as just hot and dry and withering.

My poor limequat pictured above is just stressed, with folded leaves. My hope for it there is new growth, but not a lot. So fingers crosses.

When you get to the list of what to plant/sow in September, keep in mind the temps. Sow initially, you can do that starting now as long as you keep the sown area moistened each night until you see growth.

Hold off on transplant until the temps fall into the low 90s and be sure to harden off transplant before setting them out.

Some better news is I spotted a juvenile Assassin Bug on my Pigeon Pea and got a reasonably good portrait.

We still have the wild sunflowers growing and the bees enjoying them.

I caught this one with the sun just starting to get to it.

Speaking of sunflowers, I added the petals to this mix of summer greens and herbs (celery, Sweet and Dark opal basil, sweet potato and Egyptian spinach leaves) for a salad.

See below planting for more food ideas.

Time to start getting your fall garden in shape.

However, this has been another Non-Soon, with record breaking highs, and only a tiny bit of summer rain. Normally we can see mid-to-low 90s by mid-September, but I fear we won't be out of this heat that soon.

DON'T touch the tomato plants which are still doing well even if not producing. You can give them a bit of a hair cut over several days starting the end of August/early September to remove sun damage and you will get a fall crop of fruit. The plants will start setting fruit as soon as our night time temps fall below 80 -- usually around the end of August -- but this year those cooler nights may be delayed Typically our 90+ days run from May 29 to September 29th. We can have the occasional 100 degree day even into October, so monitor the moisture needs of your gardens using the moisture meter.

September PLANTING:

Anise
Beans (bush and pole beans in first week in September at latest)
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cabbage, Ornamental
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chervil
Cilantro
Cucumbers
Dill
Endive (and Chicory)
Fennel, Leaf
Onions, Green
Greens
Kale, Ornamental Cabbage
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce (leaf lettuce, arugula, mustard greens etc.)
Mustard
Parsley
Peas
Radishes
Spinach
Turnips

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Calendula
Cornflower (Bachelor Buttons)
Marigold, Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Marigold, Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii)
Nasturtium
Scented Geraniums
Snapdragons
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet William (Dianthus)

We have a food access problem which is and was highlighted because of the Corvid 19 impact. Finding ways to grow and raise more of your own food - enough to use and share - it more important than ever.

'Grow it if we can': Aquaponics pioneer reimagines food in victory gardens, 'edible landscapes'

If you have not read or seen Dr. George Brooks work on Aquaponics in the valley, please read the article. It will bring a whole other level of food options to you and your gardens. Before you think we do not have the water (considering our drought), aquaponics reuses water in one of the most intense ways.

Click here.

GARDEN TIPS for September
Prepare soil for perennial planting -- edibles need superior draining soil, work in compost or well-rotted manure -- NEVER use fresh manure unless the garden will sit for 6-12 months before planting. If your soil is already healthy, you can add a light dressing of compost or well-rotted manure.
Cool weather annuals and biennials can be sown every 2-4 weeks (beginning in August) through end of December or January for a continuous crop through next spring.
Make good use of your water meter during this temperature transitional month.
Fertilize fruit trees now -- use Labor Day as the Target date -- (early September and again at Valentines Day and Memorial Day).
For tomato plants which made it through the summer, over several days (do not do it all at once) give them a 1/3 - 1/2 hair cut and receive a fall crop of tomatoes through first frost.
BERRY VINES - OCTOBER 1st: cut all canes, old and new, to ground after fruiting - commercial growers use this method.

Order your garlic and potato "starts" (heads and seed potatoes) for planting later on. They can be stored in cool dry conditions until planting time. October 1st for planting garlic - December 1-January 1st for potatoes.

Meal Ideas:

I got a really nice - just one (I got the seeds in late) - spaghetti squash and could not wait to cook it. I cut in half, seeded it and reserved the seeds for drying (for sowing next time). I also collected some celery, basil and I'itoli onions to make a celery pesto (recipe idea sent to me by my sis-n-law) with pistachios. Tossed some of the squash with the pesto. I also froze about a cup of the squash for later use - I got about 4 cups total.

The other food idea is a "Cream Biscuit". This is a Southern favorite and I got to use some of my mixed herbs to see how an herbed biscuit would turn out - the answer is great. What you see in the picture is One of the herbed ones left on the pan and the other 4 plain. These are so delicious.

These are the first biscuits I could actually make well - I am not a great baker. Initially, I actually did not work the dough enough, fearing the old 'don't overwork the dough' adage.

My Cream Biscuit
1 1/2 cups of well-chilled heavy cream (hold out 1/4 cup)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
3 (yes 3) teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt.

Optional: Dried or chopped fresh herbs

Preheat oven to 475 and position the oven rack in the middle. Spray your pan.

Sift all the dried ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt) then stir in herbs and cream. Work quickly but do not overwork the dough. I found I NEED the additional 1/4 cup of cream to make the dough hold together better. Gently pat dough into 6 rounds slightly flattened. Bake for 12 minutes but watch - may need 1 minute or so more, you are looking for the tops to just color and the bottoms to lightly brown.

Remove and cool on a rack.

These are awesome for strawberry shortcake!!

I hope you are enjoying your gardens and creating from the bounty.

Be safe, be kind and be patient.

You can my books and calendars for sale on the sidebar here - at Amazon, or direct from my publisher, or go to my website: herbs2u.net

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

August Planting and Sowing Tips and Around the Garden.

2020-07-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

If you are new to gardening here in the desert southwest, gardening in August must feel like "what?" are you thinking.

[Pictured: Spaghetti Squash fruit has doubled in size from July 6th when I first spotted it.]

Bear with me here as I explain how seeds react to our temperatures. From approximately May 29th to September 29th, the day time temperatures are in the high 90s to 110+ range and they do not fall back to below 90 for continuous days until the end of September. Sure we can get a 100 degree day in October, but the "cooling" trend starts near the end of August when the typical monsoonal rains start to ebb and with it the higher consistent temperatures. What all of that means, is near the end of August the soil is cooling.

We have two main growing seasons for starting seed: End of Summer/Fall and end of Winter/Spring. We can of course grow things year round here, but the starting of the individual varieties is most successful if you pay attention to what I call, the plant feet (roots) liking cool or cooling soil, or warm or warming soil.

So, for the fall/winter garden we look at plants like root crops, lettuces and other greens, herbs like dill, cilantro, chervil and parsley.

I will be sort of repeating some of the above in the tips below the sowing guide, I just want to help you have the most success in your garden.

I have had great success in literally sowing seeds of cilantro, etc. at the beginning of August, ensured the seed area stayed moist (at least sprinkling each evening), and the plants emerged on or about September 1st. Why bother, you think? Because, direct sown seeds are generally stronger. The germination rate will not be as great compared to starting in jiffy pellets or similar (I do that for starting tomatoes etc. in December for transplanting out February 1st), but the resulting plants are overall stronger, and we always have volunteer aka self-sown tomatoes pop up in different areas of the garden, thank you!

If you have noticed plants in your garden which self-seeded, they will usually be stronger and healthier - presuming they are in the right spot for their sun needs.

[Pictured: My celery patch - is over 4+ wide. This self-seeded LAST fall and took off, and I let it. I have been harvesting celery since late Oct/Nov. I use a lot of celery and no I won't be able to use all of this, so a lot of it will be cut-and-drop mulch for beds. The point is I took this picture as I write this blog - July 16, 2020.   Most of the plants are about 14 inches+ tall. When I want celery I come out and get the best!]

AUGUST PLANTING:

Large selection of seed-only (sowing) planting.

Anise
Beans, Snap (bush and pole)
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chervil
Cilantro
Corn
Cucumbers
Dill
Fennel
Greens, all
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mustard
Onions, Green
Parsley
Pumpkin
Purslane
Squash, Winter

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Nasturtium
Portulaca (Moss Rose)
Stock
Sweet Alyssum

GARDEN TIPS for August
    The new-to-desert gardener may be asking how can anyone plant in August, with 105+ temps. Well consider: If you want pumpkins for Halloween, you have to count back 90-120 days for seeding in. These seeds will germinate in the 'cooling' soil.
    Cool weather annuals and biennials can be sown every 2-4 weeks (beginning in August) through end of January for a continuous crop through next spring.
    With food plants such as pumpkin and corn and their long growing season requirements, a one-time planting is sufficient. AND, give the pumpkins room!
    With corn, plant in 'blocks' not 'rows' space the individual seeds approximately 6 inches apart imagining a 12 inch square, then the next square etc. you will have rows in a sense, but not the typical farmers rows. The reason for this is pollination - the anthers of the corn knock together better with the closer planting and therefore you get more corn.
    PLANT ONLY one variety of corn a season - otherwise they may cross. Save one or two cobs, allowed to dry on the stalks at the end of the season for, replanting next corn season
    Heavy pre-fall seed planting begins now (corn, pumpkin, etc.).
    Higher humidity can reduce moisture loss to plants, reducing watering frequency, but check with water meter regularly.
    Hold off on any major TRANSPLANTING until the fall when the temperatures drop back to prime planting weather. Typically we do not see below 90 temps between May 29th and September 29th (other than a storm but the temp drop is short-lived).
    Chlorosis may appear particularly in the fruit trees. This yellowing of the leaves, leaving the leaf vein showing through bright green is the result of the iron in the soil being made unavailable to the plant due to excess water in the soil which causes the iron to bind to other minerals.
    Easily treated with an application of ironite or green sand before watering. These elements do not burn the plants and can be used as needed throught the season. The yellowing of the leaves usually resolves within 1 to 2 weeks of the application. Use only ironite or green sand and not a fertilizer containing it as you could overfertilize and THEN burn the plants.
    Although this is a result of a lot of water in the soil it does not necessarily mean you are overwatering, only that the additional water required due to the high heat of the season is causing the situation. It sometimes also occurs in the winter time when the cold soil causes the same thing to happen.

HOWEVER - you CAN over water during the Summer Monsoons. Use your moisture meter to check soil moisture after heavy rains. You may be able to skip the next watering cycle if it is within 2 days of the rain.

SUNBURN damage: Like frost damage - do not prune until danger of sunburn is over - the damaged plant protects the lower growth.

TOMATO "RESTART" TIP
    Tomato plants that have continued through the summer will start setting fruit again as soon as the night time temperatures drop below 80 again. Towards the end of August to September prepare for new flowering times by pruning back about 1/3 to ½ of plant, do this gradually over several days, to give the protected lower growth time to adjust to the higher light levels.

TIME to watch for aphids and other pests that start to flock back as the night time temps dip down at the end of August.
    They like the cooling weather as we do! The squash family (pumpkin) is particularly vulnerable so keep your safe soap spray handy (1 quart of water, 1 teaspoon each of vegetable oil and dawn dish detergent) Shake spray, shake spray undersides and tops of leaves every 5 days as needed. Do this in the evening so the spray does not sunburn the plants.
    With the cabbage family another food plant favored by the bugs, pour a quarter cup of light soapy solution right down the center stalk once a week (1 quart of water and a finger tip of dawn dish detergent) Grandma would dump the used dish pan water down the plants to do the same thing.

National Farmers Market Week is August 2nd - 8th. You can find wonderful local produce and more. And some of them will have an option for YOU to sell extra from your gardens. Check with market managers about that.

Some fun things in the garden now:

I noticed the banana flower just starting June 24th. This is what it looks like 2 days ago. This is a LONG flower stalk, beginning on the right of the picture and you can just barely see more "hands" of fruit beginning on the left. If the bees keep up with it that could be a huge (please!!) set of hands of banana fruit. This is the only variety I grow, Ice Cream Banana, aka Blue Java. I am really lucky this time as the plant put out the flower at the perfect time. In the last couple of years the flower and fruit emerged to late and were mostly killed back by frost, as it takes about 4 months from flower emerging to ripe fruit. So I am looking forward to fruit in October. Did I mention the fruit is amazing!! Small but so creamy with a hint of vanilla flavor. Eaten fresh - wonderful and I make the most amazing real banana pudding. :-)

I have several critter sculptures in the garden. This one is the most recent. "Sunny" the sunflower with a visiting silk butterfly.

I put 'her' where we can see her - when not covered by nasturtiums in the winter - from our kitchen table.

My Turmeric is getting huge. This picture was taken about a week ago and it is already at least twice the size and I need to trim back the grapefruit branch that is in the way :-) As big as these leaves are this year, I am hoping for good size rhizomes in late fall. I harvest after the leaves decline.

I hope you are finding your garden a source of comfort and peace at this really stressful time.

Take care of yourselves and each other, be kind, be patience and be generous.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

You can my books and calendars for sale on the sidebar here - at Amazon, or direct from my publisher, or go to my website: herbs2u.net

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

July Planting (Sowing) Tips

2020-06-18T10:15:00.001-07:00

Dear Folks,

Pictured - ratatouille for dinner tomorrow. I took these pictures this morning. I was delighted to find the Black Cherry Plum tomato volunteer the other day.

With the up/down heat/cool the tomatoes had not fared well. The listarda eggplant, paradicsom sweet pepper and garlic will make a great meal - no squash at this time.

Another wonderful edible which loves the garden is the I'itoli onion, grown by the Tohono Oʼodham people near by for 400+ years. This bunching onion has the taste of a shallot with a mix of onion and garlic and is prolific. This time of year the greens start to go down and it is time to harvest separate and replant. During the growing time, I harvest the green tops mostly and the occasional bulb. I love this onion so much I do not grow any others except garlic chives which seems to want to stay!

Accepting Diversity is as natural as growing food and "can" be both challenging and rewarding. Read my perspective at the end of this blog.

New to gardening folks always comment or ask - how can you grow anything in 100+ degrees. The short answer is that it has been done for hundreds of years.

The beginning of July is the beginning of our summer Monsoon (rain) season and certain native plants were and are suitable for starting in early summer to coincide with the rains.

Corn, beans (native Tepary) and squash were and still are grown together as the "Three Sisters" with a 4th sister of sunflowers along the outside of the sisters, to attract the pollinators.

Grown together they formed a natural companion planting technique. The corn grows tall, the beans grow up the corn and the squash grows along the ground, controlling the weeds and keeping the soil surface cool and moist. Native Americans sowed in a manner that allowed them to create a small well containing all the seeds to allow for ease of watering since they had to carry the water to the plants and direct water or filled ollas. Ollas are UNglazed terracotta pots with small openings - less evaporation - partially buried in the ground in between plantings - installed before sowing. The filled pot wicks moisture into the soil around it on a constant level. Click here to read up on ollas and how to make your own. While traditional clay is most used, you can create a similar watering device with a CLEAN plastic gallon jug, pierced all the way around with tiny punctures.

July PLANTING:

Armenian Cucumbers pictured are actually a type of melon with a cool cucumber taste and actually do well in our heat.

Most of the planting in July and August is by seed for fall production/harvest. Consider this: If you want pumpkins for Halloween, you have to count back 90-120 days for seeding in. If you do not have a bed prepared or in mind for planting now, get your bed(s) ready.

Beginning July 15th
Seeds Only Planting:

Amaranth
Anise
Beans, Tepary
Cantaloupe
Caraway
Chervil
Cilantro
Corn
Dill
Fennel
Luffa Gourds
Musk Melons
Parsley
Peppers
Roselle
Pumpkins
Squash, Winter
Sunflower

GARDEN TIPS for July
    Sown areas need to be kept consistently moist and the seeds will germinate based on soil temperatures. [Cool weather seeds can be sown now and will give you a jump start when the soil begins cool later on.] Lightly cover with loose soil and loose mulch to keep the area moist.

    Sprinkle sown beds EVERY evening until you see them break the soil surface. Then you can start watering more but less frequently to encourage the roots to go down.
    Higher humidity can reduce moisture loss to plants, reducing watering frequency, but check with water meter regularly. It is possible to over-water - then followed by under-watering - causing plant stress.
    Tomato plants are unable to set fruit when the Night temperatures stay in the 80s. Maintain the plants through the summer and you will get a fall crop of fruit before frost.
    Sun damages plants in the summer time, as frost damages them in the winter time. As in frost damage, try to leave the sun damage at the top of the plant alone, if you can, as it protects the lower portions of the plant. Pruning for fall can start at the end of August through the beginning of September when the monsoon ends and night time temperatures fall below 80.

Accepting Diversity is as natural as growing food and "can" be both challenging and rewarding.

The virus has shaken my world (more on the below). However with the murder of a Black Man by a police officer calmly killing him shook me to my core.

I grew up in a First Responder family - Firefighter Uncles and a cousin. My sweetheart partner is a retired Fireman/EMT.

I have a cousin who is a police officer. I HAD another one who was murdered on the job several years ago.

The push back has been almost as horrible as the murder. The whatabout'ers are side tracking the point. Hundreds of years of being a target because of their skin color.

BUT I did not grow up a "target" because of my skin color or ethnicity.

As a white woman, growing up back east, I remember wincing as family and friends made ugly ethnic and racial comments, but I never challenged them. Privately the same people would say it was nothing and they were friends with ...

This quiet "oh well" then-reality has now come back to haunt us.

BUT I did not grow up a "target" because of my skin color or ethnicity.

I did not grow up in a well-to-do family - we did not have a lot, but did not want for food, although sometimes the variety and nutrition were lacking. I lived with hand-me-down clothes until I got my first job.

One of my family was so smart he was able to qualify for scholarships to the best colleges.

BUT I did not grow up a "target" because of my skin color or ethnicity.

I have to, and want to, do more to support everyone. People are afraid for a variety of reasons - including the virus which is impacting so much of what used to be normal.

I want to have conversations with people about how to ease their fears. All people need to be heard regardless of opinion - without violence. If someone who disagrees with me can tell me why they feel afraid and fear the future I want to hear them.

I was recently diagnosed with a new health challenge. I am limited for my safety to how much I can interact with the public because of the virus.

But I am here via email and facebook messaging to have conversations with whoever wants to calmly and politely discuss their point of view and fears.

Take care of yourselves and each other,
Be kind, patient and supportive of all who need our help and support.

{{hugs}},

Catherine

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

June Planting Tips and Around the Garden

2020-05-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

I hope you are enjoying the cool down before we leap back into the 100+ temperatures.

I like to talk about our summers being like winter in North Dakota - you hunker down and make do. BUT that is not the whole of it. Many of our vegetables and herbs LOVE and need the heat and all of that sun. Tomatoes and Basil for example.

The real issue is not the air temperature but the soil temperature, which is why I and others talk mulch, mulch, and more mulch. It cools the soil and roots, minimizes evaporation which maximizes your water usage and creates the optimal environment of direct sun for the tops of the plants and cool soil for their 'feet'.

June, July and August are a lot about going and coming. The picture at the top is of my Turmeric - just last week I was looking to see if it had sprouted - nothing. Then yesterday "boom" there it was about 14 inches tall already! FYI the yellow you see in the center of the leaf is the sun peaking through branches of the citrus tree right beside the area.

Then there is my celery which had happily reseeded not only in the designated greens area but here, there and everywhere. It is all going to seed or will be going to seed, so I wanted to get some to freeze. I dry a lo of my herbs, but I thought since I mostly use his much celery in cooking I figured flash freeze and bag up for later use. I still have some in the garden (some is a euphemism for way too much) which I can still harvest until they flower.

My greens and herbs bed this winter has given me so much joy, I plan on continuing this each year. I stuff them into sandwiches, soups, stews, under and in salads, including tuna and egg and I also use a ton of them in cold grain salads like a mix of barley and quinoa.

About gardening in the Summer. You could call summer our transition planting/sowing time. There is active growth and production (such as the tomatoes and basil mentioned), along with sweet potato leaves to use as greens, and melons.

June and July is about sowing foods which will produce in the fall and some of them will produce in the summer.

Fall production like winter squash needs to be planned for by sowing in May-July to have them for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Plan ahead on things you would like to sow in July and August. July is the Monsoon sowing time for things like winter squash, corn and beans (Three Sisters). Then the middle to late August we start sowing - fall herbs and veggies. Root crops may require a very cool long growing season.

Head varieties of foods like broccoli and brussel sprouts also need a long cool weather growing time.

Like wise all the greens and herbs like dill, cilantro, chervil and parsley like the cool weather, so - sow early and often on the greens and herbs to continue to harvest all winter into spring.

June Gardening

Cantaloupe
Corn
Cucumber, Armenian
Eggplant
Gourds
Luffa Gourd
Melons, Musk
Okra
Peas, Black Eyed
Peppers, Chiles
Potato, Sweet
Purslane

USING existing plants you can under- seed with: Basil, Chives, Shiso, and Epazote

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Portulaca
Roselle, Jamaica Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) (not too late to direct sow seeds)
Sunflower
Zinnia

GARDEN TIPS for June
    June through August in the Desert Southwest is the equivalent of winter in North Dakota — you maintain what you have planted, taking special care of young or sensitive plants. With the exception of August when the heavy pre-fall seed “sowing” begins, it is a good idea to hold off on any major transplanting until the fall when the temperatures drop back to prime planting weather (below 90 daytime).
    Our Flower Mulching technique can be used to protect young plants by canopying the soil around them, placing the flowering plants very close to the base of the young plants.
    Heavy watering requirements may result in yellowing of leaves due to iron deficiency, especially of fruit trees (Chlorosis). Apply Ironite or Green Sand before next watering to correct.
    Sowing corn for fall harvest, plant ONLY one variety at a time, so you can save some dried corn after harvest for re-sowing. You can sow corn twice a year.

Use your moisture meter to determine if you need to change the frequency of watering adjusting to the higher temperatures. Did you know you can actually over water when the humidity starts ramping up in July? Again use that meter.

Begin looking into what you will be sowing mid to late July and Early August for fall growth. If you want winter squash or pumpkin you need to count backwards from Halloween or Thanksgiving 90-120 days for sowing. Also you can seed in winter herbs such as Cilantro, Chervil, Dill and Parsley in August and the seeds will germinate when the soil begins cooling. You need to make sure the sown area stays moist. Light Leaf cover helps.

Around the Garden - More

My Caper is starting to put out flowers. While the caper most know to folks is the "unopened" flower bud - I wait for the fruit which follows to harvest to brine and store. This is such a gorgeous flower and it only lasts about 1 day then fades.

Black Tail Watermelon is one of my favorites for size (small to medium) and taste - delicious!

I sowed seeds back on February 18th and the seedlings were coming along nicely, but I was concerned because they had managed to get outside the cardboard tube I use to keep the pests from getting to the tender stems. They were going along nicely until about 10 days ago when I came out and they had been cut at the soil level. Grrrrr. So, I went on to soak more seeds for a couple of days and put them in - making sure they wound up inside the tube - on Thursday. I was absolutely amazed they sprouted on Monday - 4 days later! This is a picture this morning. I put a bit of leaf debris to provide that mulch effect I talk about. There are multiple seedlings so I will watch and choose which is the strongest. The chicken wire collar is a bird deterrent :)

I hope you have a great Memorial Day Weekend - remember our fallen heroes while enjoying your BBQ, AND be safe, be kind, and be patient.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Fruit: When is it ripe, can you pick green, is it over-ripe?

2020-05-14T11:17:00.002-07:00

Dear Folks,

I have been harvesting different fruits and even potatoes from the garden this past couple of weeks and I thought about how I/we know when to pick.

Long time gardeners learn over time. I thought some tips for those new-to-growing may help avoid disappointment, except for the birds they are always going to add to disappointment.

And they can be one of the deciding factors on when to pick fruit. More on that below.

First up is my Barbados (Acerola) Cherry tree. This is not a true cherry like many are familiar with. First, it grows here in the Valley were many of the sweet types will not. It produces cherries about 3 times a year with the heaviest production right now.

The beauty of the Barbados, because the birds love them, is they can be picked as soon as they have some red color and will continue to ripen at room temperature*. They ripen fully to a deep, deep red. They have an apple, sweet / tart taste and I really enjoy them while my sweet was disappointed they were not the sweet cherry type. They do have 3 large seeds in the middle so I either pop the whole think in my mouth and chew gently to dislodge the seeds, or eat around the center holding like an apple.

*ROOM Temperature ripening - I discovered some years that the old put on the counter or put in paper bags produced limited results. It may be our desert conditions or something else. But, I accidentally discovered THE perfect ripening method for undamaged fruit (damage will cause them to rot, not just ripen). I had rinsed some peaches that were "sort of ripe" and put them on my dishrack and just left them there for a couple of days because I was doing other things. When I picked them up the wonderful aroma told me they were ripe and boy were they delicious.

So, ripen on a rack (not metal) which produces air circulation around the fruit - place so they do not touch each other. (see my apricot picture below). I actually have a special glassware flat rack I use for ripening fruit.

Apricots will ripen if you pick early BUT - they have to have color on them. If you pick green they will stay green and hard.

Apricots grow much like peaches singly or in clusters (depends on whether you thinned but that is another story). We know when the apricot are getting perfectly ripe when I come out and there are 1 or more on the ground under the tree. We have a lot of duff under our trees intentionally so that softens the fall, but we find some had already been pecked. I pick up ones that are undamaged then go around the tree and, holding my hand under them tap them. If they are perfectly ripe they fall right into my hand as 2 in the picture did - the other 2 were already on the ground. Apricots have a very short and fast season so we never want to let them go to waste.

Birds are a serious challenge when you are growing fruit. They want it too and as my sweetie notes, they will go to one peach or apricot peck a hole and move on to another un-touched one.

In the Peach collage if you look at the upper right corner of the top picture you will see the bird damage. My sweetie grew up on a peach and walnut farm and not waiting until they are perfectly ripe to pick, just feels so wrong to him. However with the birds ever diligent on damaging the fruit, and the fact that they will ripen if picked early - he decided to pick all the remaining fruit. We picked the best near ripe and put on the rack and we sliced, sugared and froze the remaining ones in portions for later use. Still so much nicer than store bought.

So many of the peaches brought into the supermarkets are picked not quite ripe, that should not be an issued, BUT we have found them 'pithy' when my guy could not resist buying them when Our season is over and is constantly disappointed. I believe they have chilled the peaches for transport at too low a temperature.

I will mention tomatoes as another fruit which will continue to ripen if picked a little unripe. I do not have any to show you - just a few of the very tiny cherry tomatoes - the rest are not near ripe yet. Tomatoes were the other fruit I discovered ripened nicely on the rack around the time of my peach-ripening discovery.

Mulberries and Strawberries are a fruit which does NOT continue ripening after you pick them. They are fully ripe when they pull easily - don't tug - from the plant. I have been harvesting Mulberries for over a month now, but it is comping to an end. The strawberries are in the middle of their major production right now. I get about 3 fruiting times a year from this variety. Because I had to focus on peaches and other harvesting, I've had to harvest strawberries as I had some time and I dearly want to make strawberry jam with our wonderful White and Red Alpine variety, so I am collecting in small batches as I have time and freezing them. When I have enough later on it is JAM TIME! :)

One last fruit I want to mention is Eggplant. My preferred variety is Listada De Gandia and like the White Casper I have also grown, is tender and tasty and does not need the traditional salting like the big purple variety and you can eat the skin, if you choose. I like to let them get to about 5-6 inches or so in length before picking, while they still have the glossy surface.

You have to watch your eggplant - when they start to turn yellowish they are getting over-ripe. Some can still be edible but the more yellow they get the more bitter they get until they are inedible. I took the picture on the 8th of May and harvested it today at about 4+ inches because it was just barely starting to show yellow. It will be fine. Bottom line always pick eggplant which is glossy and not turning color.

Not a fruit but a root - I did harvest my Potatoes too. Here in the Valley we harvest potatoes late April to early June after the plants start to decline. While "some potatoes" will grow during the summer, they do not do well (Except for sweet potatoes but that is another species) in our heat. I save the smallest potatoes in a cardboard box in the crisper (away other types of moist veggies) for replanting next January 1st. Future potato salad and more :)

Next I have to cut garlic scapes to ready the garlic for final forming of the heads we all love and use.

I hope you are enjoying your garden.

Stay safe, look our for yourself and each other, be patient and be kind.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Flowers In The Garden

2020-05-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

Dear Folks,

I thought I would show you some of the flowers in the garden this past week and month. My hope is you can relax for a few minutes and enjoy this tour of my blooming garden

Nothing says spring like flowers, and in some cases the promise of fruit. With the exception of the Amaryllis flowers, these are either edible or fruit producing.

This first picture is my Barbados Cherry aka Acerola (Malpighia emarginata). She has been in the ground for several years and gives me cherries about 3 times a year. This winter she took a really frost / freeze hit and I thought we were going to have to do major pruning. The tree is/was healthy, then when the warm weather came on she put out new growth all over including the frosted branches. We may still do a bit of pruning, but as you can see we have flowers and fruit.

This Amaryllis is a pup from a bulb my Dad gave me back in the 80s. I still have the original bulb plus this and several other ones planted around the gardens. I love the beautiful blush and look forward to it every year.

Nothing says spring like sunflowers. This wild one was so lovely in the morning sun. These wild sunflowers are here there and everywhere and each year we try to remove after flower before they spread their seed but last year we missed - a lot the opportunity :)

My non-wild ones - that I intentionally planted have not opened up yet, but looking forward to them.

This Carrot flower is just so stunning.

I still have carrots in the garden to harvest - this one I am going to let go to seed and catch - at least I hope to catch them this year. Last year for a variety of reasons I was not as diligent in the garden (like with the wild sunflowers) and the result was a ton of carrots came up and in surprising places - like under our dump trailer on the other side of the property! The variety is Chantenay and is the only I grow now, as the flavor is awesome no matter the size.

This Carrot Flower Bud just opening up with a visitor may wind up being one of my all time favorites and was a happenstance one morning. The ladybug is a very welcome visitor to the gardens.

The opening flower bud is only about 1 1/2 - 2 inches across. I was so lucky to spot one morning while meandering through the garden.

The appearance of this and other Garlic Scapes means I can get ready to cut them back and look to lifting and drying my garlic in a few weeks.

Scapes are a short-season delicacy for many gardeners. They are stir-fried, roasted or sauteed and added to foods.

If left to open, the scape produces a typical allium flower head, sometimes seeds.

On the other side of the flavor spectrum these strawberry flowers and fruit are one of our favorite additions to our garden where they grow as a companion next to (and sometimes throughout) our asparagus bed. These are Alpine Strawberries - small but with an amazing flavor. We have both red and white growing.

Speaking of flavor the Pineapple Guava (not a true Guava) Feijoa sellowiana, has the prettiest and most amazing flower. Those white petals taste like a piece of candy so sweet!

The fruit is actually the lesser tasting although still nice in its own way. Like an astringent Kiwi, you have to let the fruit fall to the ground in November to know it is really ripe. We rely on the thick duff under the tree to cushion the fruit after falling.

My Arizona Wild Rose is till producing these sweet and lightly scented roses and it just a joy to see them. This wild rose does not have the spectacular budding and flowering of some of the 'domestic' heirlooms (which I love too) - the open faced bloom is just so nice to admire for its simplicity.

I dry the petals along with other edible flowers to use as garnish for meals.

Stock (Matthiola incana) flowers are not only pretty fragrant and tasty. They are related to broccoli and are another petal I dry. These dark purple reseeded heavily in the gardens last year and are always a welcome addition.

It wouldn't be a garden without an old fashioned Hollyhock. I have attempted to keep colors true over the years - I have had maroon, white, pink etc. but hollyhocks have a genetic mind of their own and freely cross so I just gave in and let some plants come up in an appropriate place, i.e., where they won't shade other plants with their height and I can still enjoy them. They too will freely re-seed ALL over. :)

When I mention re-seeding, I can't forget my Nasturtiums! They have populated the gardens for years and I let them as they are known to help with some pest control, plus those gorgeous leaves and flowers are edible and I use them a lot in salads through the winter. Even making "Dolma" from the bigger leaves. I have a nice mix of colors in the garden from pal yellow with splashes of color up to a dark red.

Cilantro is all going to flower now and the pretty little flowers will eventually produce the spice "Coriander" one of the most interesting herb to spice plants, because the seed tastes nothing like the fresh leaf.

Borage (Borago officinalis) flowers are the most interesting, sometimes called "Star Flower" and you can see why. The flowers and leaves are edible with a light cucumber flavor. The flowers make a stunning garnish.

Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus), another old fashioned garden favorite is just going and going!

(Those are some of my Johnny Jump-Ups around the Buttons.)

I am going to try and catch the seeds. It has been a long time since I last grew them and since they are "so" happy in their current spot I want to make sure I have them next year to enjoy.

My last flower, Feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium L, is primarily a medicinal plant, the flowers and leaves can be eaten. I grow it (and it was another one that re-seeded a lot in the garden last year) for the fragrant leaves when you brush against them AND the bitter leaf when chewed will usually stop a headache for me.Those flowers are another one that says spring!

I wish you an enjoyable day. Please stay safe, be patient, take care of yourself, and each other.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Recipes Inspired by The Garden Bounty, and Around the Garden

2020-05-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

I had been having so much fun with my greens/herbs bed this winter, I missed it when they faded with the heat. So...I picked up some organic baby kale and arugula and added some of what I can still harvest from the garden to make a batch of mixed greens.

[Pictured: Alpine white and red strawberries, I'itoi Onions, parsley and red celery.]

I love this option for salads, soups, stews, pizza etc.

First some fun things from the garden.

One of my fabulous Amaryllis blooms - just so awesome I look for it every year. One the other end are the Barbados (Malpighia emarginata) Cherry Blossoms.

But the center image is the one I hope you can see, in fact - I will share it near the end of the blog post by itself. I was doing one of my morning meandering through the garden to an area which still has a bunch of carrots and some are going to flower. I looked over and there in a partially opened carrot flower (about 1 1/2 inches wide) was a ladybug!!!

Another fun happening in the garden was my squash seedlings. I sowed 2 areas with some Summer Yellow Crookneck and one area with Spaghetti Squash. The Spaghetti Squash is in the center. Here is the fun thing. They came up in 7 days!!! I had soaked them for 2 days and that always hastens germination, but this might be a record.

Recipes

Using the greens:

To my I'itoi onions, red celery and parsley I added the baby kale and arugula. In the bowl I have fresh spearmint from the garden.

I chopped everything but the mint (center picture), then divided the mixed greens up - right picture: left pile is mint and some of the mixed greens - for Tabouli ; the jar in the center contains a portion of the mixed greens (no Mint) I am freezing for use in soups and stews later on, and the right pile is for a Tortilla Pizza.

Tabouli - one of my versions

A refreshing salad of grain - usually couscous or cracked wheat, and a lot of parsley and spearmint (not peppermint), lemon juice, olive oil, chopped tomatoes and S&P to taste. In my version I cooked up some Barley. Ingredients are flexible as to how much but you want a really nice mix of the greens to the grain.

I can eat bowls of Tabouli it is so refreshing and tasty.

Ingredients:
Barley, cooked and cooled
Mixed Greens
Chopped Spearmint
Tomatoes
Lime Juice (my limequat tree)
Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
S&P
Tomatoes, chopped.

Make a tangy version of vinaigrette - instead of 1 juice to 3 oil - make it about 1 juice to 1.5 - 2 oil so you have the citrus forward. Add S&P. Shake well.

I used the pot I cooked the barley to mix everything (after draining any excess water off the Barley), then added some of the dressing, gently toss (don't mash the grain), add more dressing if needed (it should not be soupy). Taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve and enjoy.

Tortilla Pizza

I started played around with tortilla pizzas in the toaster oven some years ago.

The thing I love about toaster oven pizza is that it is satisfying. Using pre-cooked foods makes it fast, and it is perfect for a lunch for two or snacks. Preparing the ingredients takes longer than cooking!

I finally realized I needed to use two with shredded cheese sprinkled between them to make a crust that did not fall apart.

Ingredients:
For this version 2 whole wheat 8" tortillas.
I used a bunch of the chopped greens
My Tomato Sauce (my version of Marcella Hazan's "Crazy Sauce" (see below)
some pepperoni slices
chopped cooked bacon,
Both White Cheddar (I did not have any Mozzerella on hand and Parmesan (for topping) cheeses, shredded

Directions:

I use a Pyrex pie plate, sometimes the cheese melts past the edges of the tortillas - saves a mess.

Set your toaster oven on "toast" and the highest temperature setting.

Put about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese between the tortillas, place in the pie plate,
Ladle tomato sauce on, add shredded greens, scatter pepperoni and bacon on top.
Add shredded cheddar and Parmesan.

Turn on to toast and set timer for about 7 minutes, check and go 1-2 minutes more if needed, but you can usually smell it when it is done. I can usually get it done to my satisfaction at about 7 minutes.

Remove, cut, serve and enjoy.

My Tomato Sauce Version of Marcella Hazan's Crazy Sauce.

This is the most luscious, velvety and tasty sauce you will ever have - truly not low calorie but who can resist such an amazing sauce once in a while.

Original recipe: Uses Canned Tomatoes, Butter, onion, salt. That is it!!

I did make the recipe my first time as called for in the original except I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and I could not bring myself to toss the onion at the end, so I minced to add to the sauce. It was wonderful.

As I usually have herbs like Greek Oregano, Bay and Basil growing in the garden, I could not pass up using them, and I always use fresh tomatoes so the cooking time is usually about 2 to 2.5 hours.

My Ingredients:

I had a happy opportunity to buy a bag of about 4-5 pounds of fresh tomatoes for $1 - yes one dollar. It was on the discount produce rack and they were in great condition. I chopped up. I do not peel or seed tomatoes for my sauce but I do cut out a hard core if necessary.

Sprigs of Greek Oregano
4-5 of my bay leaves
1 stick of salted butter
half of a red onion, minced
about 2 tablespoons of EVOO
NO Salt
Glug of white wine

Everything into the pot bring to a high simmer, lower to low simmer, cover and cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. Stir occasionally.

About half way through I used a potato masher to mash about half of them - I still leave a lot for texture. Taste at the end to see if it needs anything - never does except what to put it with :)

I got 7 cups out of this, some I shared, some I used and the rest I froze for later.

I hope some of these recipes encourage you to try them AND to consider growing some of the ingredients.

I will leave you with the hope you stay safe, enjoy and expand your garden, be patient and share what you can.

My Ladybug in A Carrot Flower.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

Around The Garden, Bugs good and bad, and more.

2020-04-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

Dear Folks,

If you are like me, a bit of cabin fever (maybe more than a bit) is setting in, and I am cruising the garden looking for more things to do (I have a list and I need to get back to it - but not "exciting" stuff :) or just looking for something interesting or even a bit exciting, anything to take my mind off the things I can't do now.

Last week I spotted a ladybug larvae on one of my plants and just kind of said oh that's nice, went on my way and then thought - duh - camera! But of course by the time I got back to the area that day it was gone - hopefully munching aphids.

Ladybug larvae always make me think of a black and red cross between an alligator (many people think they look like that) and a dragon. The picture above is from the Entomology Department of University of Kentucky.

What I did get a picture of yesterday, was the pupa stage of Ladybug life cycle. The larvae enter pupa stage then emerge as the adult Ladybug we all know and love.

It is kind of hard to tell but the black "things" are aphids, not quite as clear because I needed to zoom in on the pupa.

By the way the plant they are on is Chervil, sometimes called Chinese Parsley. It has a lovely, delicate anise/licorice flavor herb.

So those are the GOOD bugs.

I also managed to pass over (I will look at that later) yellowing of a volunteer tomato plant in the back part of the garden. That was oh, about 7+ days ago. Then, I wanted to get a look at that plant because the fruit on it may have ripened. When I checked the day before yesterday I saw it overwhelmed with Red Spider Mites. You can see the webs in the picture. I immediately made up the Safe Soap Spray (recipe below) and used it - even though it was morning and the sun was going to hit it. This spray is good on the soft-bodied insects like aphids and spider mites, but because of the oil, it is best to use at dusk to keep the fresh oil from creating a magnifying glass effect on the leaves, BUT I needed to hit it right away. The good news, when I went to spray the plant again yesterday evening the healthy foliage, the mites had not gotten to, looked good.

You can read up on Spider Mites and control including beneficial insects here at the U of California site.

You will note in that link they mention hosing the mites off first - I could not do that at first, but I am planning on it tonight, then will check how things are going to tomorrow evening.

Safe Soap Spray
1 teaspoon each Dawn Dish Detergent
and vegetable oil
1 quart of water.

Put in spray bottle shake (you need to keep shaking to keep the formula mixed) and spray the plants ALL over, get the nooks and undersides of leaves. With Spider Mites you should spray 3 evenings in a row then observe.

NOTE: if using the spray with aphids which are also prevalent now, you need to spray 3 times minimum 5 days apart to kill adults, new hatchlings and the next wave of hatchlings, then monitor.

Fun Things From The Garden

I dry many herbs and also edible flowers to use in cooking or as a garnish.

The herbs I had drying in the refrigerator* were ready to jar up and put in the pantry, and make room for more to dry.

Left to right are: -bay-rosemary-oregano-thyme-sage - the sage I actually bought from the store (organic) everything else came from my gardens.

I picked my pink wild Rose, purple Stock, Johnny Jump-Ups, and Nasturtiums. One of the things on my meal agenda is to make "salad" sandwiches like Tuna or Egg, cut the sandwiches in quarters and dip the fresh edges into the dried flowers. When I get around to that I will post a picture :) I also have in mind to a cheese ball and roll in dried herbs and petals.

*I have a shelf over the drawer in the frig which is perfect for drying things because it is 1) out of the way and 2) my "baking" wire racks fit perfectly up there. I spread the flowers or herbs on paper towels on the racks and leave them until perfectly dry (REALLY important because any moisture could result in mold in the capped jars). Modern refrigerators with their constant moisture removal produces a "freeze-drying" - meaning cold drying and keeps more of the color and flavor of dry herbs and flowers.

I have been harvesting our Mulberries and Strawberries (Alpine white and red). The Mulberries are almost done, but it has been a treat this year. The last couple of years, once the tree started producing, I was often busy doing other things.

I am trying mightily to look at the stay-home-orders as a bit of a silver lining. I have harvested a bowl of mulberries every day for over a week. I am freezing some in batches to use later.

Ditto on foods like carrots and beets from the garden, roasting them up and freezing some portions to use later. My freezer is getting almost too full!

In my next post I will share flower pictures from the garden and also 1 or more recipes.

Meanwhile May has several food appropriate National Days and a Week.

May 2nd is National Herb Day a day to celebrate herbs in all their wonderful usefulness. It is the first Saturday in May, followed by a National Herb Week.

May 3rd is International and National Permaculture Day. Permaculture is the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient. Many of us already practice much of this ecosystem, buy saving and re-sowing seeds, using our own plant generated mulch and compost, and choosing plants which enhance each other.

May 4th - 10th (Mother's Day) is National Herb Week. The is the first week in May which ends on Mother's Day. I think that is so appropriate as many of us remember our Grandmothers and our Mothers who used herbs to help us growing up.

Why don't you challenge yourselves to find a new-to-you herb - culinary not medicinal - and learn how to grow it here in the Valley or wherever you live and what foods go well with it.

Two final things.

We took a picture near the beginning of the month when we had the last storm. Just as the sun was setting - the clouds and sun combined to light up our neighbor's tree in a spectacular way. You would never know that tree is a dusty looking dull green.

Timing was right on, as it only lasted a few minutes.

And finally our good friend Jim Pipkin decided to do a solo backyard campfire concert playing some of my favorite tunes he wrote. Jim is a song writer, singer, musician and story teller. Kick back with a favorite beverage and put your feet up - about 25 minutes.

I hope you are able to garden, to enjoy the nurturing, harvesting and using.

Be Kind, Be Patient and Be Safe,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.

May Planting & Sowing Tips -- "To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow" -- Audrey Hepburn

2020-04-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Folks,

[Pictured Borage Flower buds and flower.]

This cucumber flavored herb with stunning flowers is one of the mix of edible flowers I sowed months ago and is a joy to behold.

Flower buds are a promise of beauty to come to the garden.

Right now it may seem like viewing tomorrow is difficult for many. Your garden can be many things to you - solace, recharging your enthusiasm, therapy (pulling those darn spring-charged rains is a nice venting activity --- BUT many of them are edible ones you can add to soups, salads and stews :-) and of course FOOD. Do not let that fact go by too quickly. Our gardens and learning how to preserve the bounty has never been more important.

There are conversations surrounding the old fashioned idea of a Victory Garden now during the crisis. Embrace the concept by doing it and learning more skills (like preserving) as you go. This excellent article on why the virus crisis has caused so much shopping frenzy is a lesson on what happened when we too-much, and too-quickly embraced "someone else" doing all the food system work.

The article makes a great point: "When you look at what is flying off the shelves right now, it's flour for baking, it's pasta and tomato sauces and things in bottles and cans . . .People recognize that when things get serious, you want shelf-stable food that doesn't need refrigeration."

This crisis will pass - keep on gardening and you will be rewarded with harvest, soon -- and also after the crisis passes.

Greg Peterson at Urban Farm interviewed me as a returning guest on his podcast program. I have to say if you have never attended one of my lectures in person this is a great option to learn what I "learned" from years of gardening in the desert and how it will help you garden more successfully.

MAY PLANTING:
Artichoke, Jerusalem
Beans, Soy
Cantaloupe
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Fig Trees
Fruit Trees (With Care)
Melons, Musk
Okra
Peppers, Sweet
Peppers, Chilies
Potato, Sweet
Squash, Summer
Squash, Winter
Tomatillo
SEED IN: Basil, Chive (Garlic or Onion), Epazote, Egyptian Spinach (Corchorus olitorius), Perilla, or Catnip-- making use of the canopy of flowering or vegetable plants.

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Impatients Wallarana
Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Portulaca
Purslane
Roselle (sow)
Scented Geraniums
Sunflower
Zinnia

I have several garden art critter statutes. One of them is AnnaBelle the goat. Goats like to climb trees :-), so I placed AnnaBelle in our Saturn Peach tree. I received some decorate butterflies from my little niece's birthday party and we decided to place the butterflies around the garden - one went on AnnaBelle's nose and the other one on Daisy Mae's nose.

This gorgeous Male Cardinal as been around but mostly I just hear his chirp. Then he landed on AnnaBelle and was pecking at the butterfly!! We missed the "peck" but got this cool photo of him checking it all out. [Taken through a window so a little blurred.]

GARDEN TIPS for May
    By the end of the month harvest the rest of your potatoes, keeping the smallest ones as “seed” potatoes for next January — store in cardboard egg cartons in your crisper -- don't store near other vegetables or fruits.

Planting sweet potato, and sowing Roselle and Egyptian Spinach will give you a wonderful selection of “lettuce” leaves options all through the summer.

Bee-Aware!
    As more and more flowers open and fill the air with their perfume, all the pollinators enjoy the garden as much as you, including bees.
    Swarming is where a new queen goes looking for new digs, taking with her some of the workers (as many as 50,000). Swarming bees are a challenge to deal with because of the Africanization of the honey bee population.
    But intelligent handling of any contact will not result in a problem for you. First, the bees are not interested in you. They are usually filled with honey for the new trip and interested in finding a new house before the supply runs out.
    Wear white or light colored clothing while gardening.
    Do not do stupid things to bees! That should be self-evident, but some of the reports of bee encounters makes me wonder how we have survived as a species.
    If you are near a swarm or they get near you:
    a. Move slowly and do not make aggressive moves.
    b. Walk slowly to a house or car and get inside until the swarm moves off. Keep all pets, children and other people from the area.
    c. Do not go into the pool! If the bees have been aggravated, they--will--wait--for--you!
    d. Usually the swarm will move off within a short time.
    e. If they do not move off, then you have to call a professional service or the fire department. They will kill the bees. They do not have a choice because of the danger — and you do not have a choice as a homeowner — they either have to kill the swarm or you have a hive full of dangerous 'neighbors.'

Transplanting and Sowing

This time of year we are in one of those transition times, where going from mild to hot can occur in one felled swoop of heat.

Transplanting vs sowing can be a challenge as transplanting can stress the plants.

1) Harden the plants off by placing in the sun 1 hour then moving to shade, next day in sun 2 hours, move to shade - repeat until the plants have been in the sun for 4 hours and you can transplant then with a whole less stress and shock to the plant. If the temps are already in the 90+ range double the days for each hardening, e.g., 2 days for 1 hour, then shade, 2 days for 2 hours then shade. Your plants will thank you by being less likely to die as soon as they are put in the gorund!

2) Use my "flower mulching" technique for transplant in warm/hot weather. Get a six pack of flowers at the nursery and either plant your target plant (basil for example) and surround the basil with the flowers (about 5 inches apart), OR plant all at the same time -- imagine a 12 inch circle and plant the basil in the center and 4-6 flower plants around. Flower mulching canopies the soil and shades the sides of the basil, while allowing the basil to get all the sun it needs.

Use edible flower plants like impatiens wallerana and portulaca to provide 'mulch' around the new transplants. You can also use Sweet Allysum another edible flower but it can be a bully if it is really happy. The portulaca does the gardener the supreme favor of dying off completely when the cool weather comes in the fall, although it may reseed next late spring.

3) Sow seeds under existing plants, just under the edge of the plant/flower canopy.

Both the "flower mulching" and the "edge sowing" are variations of the "nurse plant" concept seen in the desert where the cactus seed settles at the base of a Mesquite tree. Shielded from birds and other critters, the seed, is held in place, watered with the rain and grows up with the mesquite protecting it.

Consider SWEET POTATOES to be planted in late May through early July. They need 90-120 days of warm weather to grow properly. I've planted in huge containers and in-ground using leaf cover as I do with the Irish potatoes. In fact I sometimes use the same bed, planting the sweets after I harvest the Irish.

In case you don't know sweet potatoes, unrelated to the Irish (Solano) family, are completely edible, tuber, leaf and vine.

The sweets can produce an amazing amount of leaf and vine cover so be prepared. Some varieties are more bushy than others.

Seed Saving

Catching the seed from winter crops like sugar peas, lettuces, celery, parsley, radishes etc. is a way to save money AND get stronger plants the next year. “Regional adaptation” grows plants more and more suited to your backyard and the area you live. Remember to perfectly dry them. I store in paper envelopes labeled with harvest date, in a cool, dry, dark place until next planting time.

Looking at head to June and July, there is little suggested planting options for June, but by mid-July be ready to start seeding (not transplanting) for the fall garden.

If that sounds counter-intuitive, think about wanting pumpkins for Halloween or Thanksgiving and count backwards 90 - 120 days.

Mid-July you can under-seed tomatoes (choose short-maturity varieties) and basil for a fall crop, if you do not have tomatoes or want more. Tomatoes give us two crops a year (spring and fall) if planted in February. They stop setting flowers in the middle of the summer because the nights (not the days) are too hot for the pollen to activate.

Save Wood Herb Stems

Harvesting or pruning herbs? Save woody parts to throw on the grill coals the last 15 minutes to add herb smoke flavor to the food - or better yet do it from the inside out, use woody, soaked branches of herbs to make kabob skewers.

Be safe, be kind, be patient - and keep on gardening,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

My perpetual planting calendar and gardening book give you month by month planting information right at your fingertips. See my website.

You can find me on Facebook and send messages with your questions.

If you enjoyed this post, please share and subscribe below by entering your email, to get all my posts!

Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.