As I mentioned in my article about growing zucchini, you can sometimes end up with too many vegetables for your own family.

Other times, you could be in the mood for some homegrown beets, which you didn’t plant this year.

Enter Veggie Trader, a new website where you can buy, sell or trade your homegrown bounty with others in your own community.

As their website explains, the idea came from a neighborhood lemon tree that never seemed to be harvested. Concerned with the waste of healthy food, the creators sought to find a solution. Veggie Trader was born as a way to connect people within a community to make sure all could enjoy fresh produce.

First, register for a free account on their site.  I’m AboutTreesShrubs on there.

Next, start searching for listings in your area. For example, I searched for produce within 50 miles of my home here in Utah. I found that someone has Bing Cherries to trade. In return, they would like blueberries or apples. There was another listing for various herbs, and the poster said they would accept anything in trade.

Once you’ve found a posting that you are interested in, you can reply using their online form. It’s a safe way of communicating, since your email information is only revealed if you put it in the contact form.

You can also post up your own listing if you have items to trade. Make sure you read through their rules and legal advisories when you first sign up.  For instance, you can’t offer up meat or dairy on the site - just produce.

Head on over to Veggie Trader today and help their community grow!

Anna:

“Hello, please could you tell me if there is a recommended height for raised beds , for wheel chair users , both children and adults?  Thank you.”

Hi Anna! In doing my research, one resource I found was for the Dowling Community Garden. They have built raised beds meant to be accessed by both seniors and those in wheelchairs. They suggest that a suitable height for wheelchair users is 24″ high. You may want to lower it a few inches if the raised bed is meant for children in wheelchairs.

More tips come from a wonderful article by an intern at Oklahoma State University. She suggests making the beds 4′ wide if they will be accessed from either side, or making them just 2′ wide if the gardener will only be able to access one side.

The bed should be 10-20′ long or less. If they are longer, it may get exhausting for the person who has to wheel themselves around the bed.

Another suggestion for easy wheelchair access is to make sure that the raised bed is surrounded by a cement walk on all sides.

There are several different shapes that you can build a raised bed as - circular, rectangular, square, or a T-shape. You could also build the bed into a T-shape where the top of the bed is one size, and it is narrower underneath. This could allow a bit more gardening room, but still allow the gardener to move themselves closer to the bed.

Good luck with your accessible raised beds!

If I could afford it, I would just go to school for the rest of my life.

Well…I’m not so keen on tests and grades, but I enjoy learning new facts and exploring.

Did you know there are free classes you can take online that can help you become a better gardener?

Many universities are now allowing the general public access to some of their courses for free via the Internet. Here are some examples:

Biology 1 and Biology 2

UMass Boston offers these general biology classes at a college level. It’s a good way to better understand how the biological world around us functions.

Agricultural Science & Policy 1 and Agricultural Science & Policy 2

Tufts will help you learn about resource conservation and aspects of plant care such as nutrients, breeding, pests and production. There are outlines of the lectures, along with suggested readings, exams and quizzes. Image galleries are included for some crop pests.

Plant Diseases and Chemicals

USU has put up some videos you can watch to learn about chemicals to use on your plants, along with diagnosing plant diseases.

Vegetable Gardening and Lawn Care

USU also offers videos about vegetable gardening and caring for your lawn. My Master Gardener course was taught by Larry Sagers, one of the instructors for this course.

Sprinkle & Trickle Irrigation

Although this class from USU is designed more for those interested in farming, you could have fun learning how farmers irrigate and perhaps even find a few tips for your own yard.

Beginning Latin: Grammar

You may be thinking “Wait a minute, why is she suggesting I learn Latin when we’re supposed to be learning about gardening?”

Besides the fact that I am in love with languages, many of the scientific names of plants are based on Latin. Since it’s a dead language (meaning no culture actively speaks it), it doesn’t change. When you learn what the words mean, it can help you see some of the characteristics about your plants. For example, grandiflora in a plant name means Big (grandi) Flower (flora).

Source

When I was little, I was fascinated by black-eyed peas.

I had never eaten them, but somehow decided that they were a plant I needed to grow.

Perhaps it was the fact that they looked like a little eye.

I bought packets of seeds yearly. I don’t think I ever harvested any, but I kept buying seeds.

Hopefully you’ll have better success with this Southern favorite - Vigna unguiculata, also known as Cowpeas. Did you know they come from Africa?

When you are choosing a variety, look to see whether it is a vining variety or not. You will want to build some sort of support, like a trellis, for the vining varieties.

Black-eyed peas are a warm season vegetable, so you will want to wait until your last frost date has passed. Test your soil to make sure that it is at least 65 degrees for best results. Choose a location that gets full sun and drains well. Add compost to enrich the soil.

Poke a hole that is 1″ deep and place the seed inside. Seeds should be about 4″ apart in a row, and rows should be 3′ apart. It will take 7-10 days for the black-eyed peas to germinate.

For best results, water frequently, but be careful not to get the leaves wet (attracts fungal diseases). Fertilize with a 1-2-1 or 1-2-2 fertilizer formula monthly.

You may want to put netting around your black-eyed peas, since deer and rabbits like to nibble. They are also prone to insect damage, wilts and bacterial diseases.

You can eat young leaves and pods. For the black-eyed peas, leave on the plant until the pod has dried.

Have you grown black-eyed peas?

Source/More Info

If you’re a fan of salsa, you’re probably very familiar with cilantro.

If you also like to cook, you’re probably familiar with coriander.

Did you know, however, that these come from the same plant?

When you’re using the leaves of Coriandrum sativum, it’s called cilantro. If you let it flower and produce seeds, those are called coriander.

Cilantro prefers cooler weather. If you’re wanting to use the plant for cilantro, then plant outside in early spring or keep inside in the kitchen. When it’s warm, the plant will become bitter and go into seed production, so you could plant for coriander then.

Start the plants where you want them (full sun, well-draining), as the long taproot makes it difficult to transplant. Poke a hole that is 1/2″ deep and place the seed inside. Keep it moist for the next 7-10 days while germination is occurring.

Once they have appeared, you will want to thin the plants. Make sure the remaining plants are about 4″ apart.

Many people like to plant seeds every 3 weeks or so to have cilantro available throughout the season. Make sure to keep them well watered.

You can harvest some cilantro any time you want to use it. Don’t use more than about 1/3 of the plant at a time - it needs leaves so that it can continue to photosynthesize.

Planet Natural says : “As with most culinary herbs, cilantro is best picked early in the morning just as the dew evaporates. Do not wash the leaves or aromatic oils will be lost. Leaves store poorly unless preserved in something like salsa, but even then its flavor can fade.”

If you are collecting coriander, place the entire plant upside-down after blooming in a place that is dry and dark for a few weeks. Once the seeds have turned brown, use a paper bag around the flowers to collect the seeds as you shake the bag. Sort out the seed from any leftover bits of the flower.

Have your grown your own cilantro/coriander?

Source Source

“Why I’m a Victory Grower” - Kids Video Contest

As part of Food Independence Day (July 4th - created by Roger Doiron of Kitchen Gardeners International and White House Victory Garden fame), a video contest for kids entitled “Why I’m a Victory Grower” is being held.

Once the child is signed up with TEL•A•VISION, they will receive a free one year membership to the Seed Savers Exchange, along with a packet of seeds.

The TEL•A•VISION site will provide them with the tools that they need to make their victory garden video.

As the site advises, the child should, “Tell us why you’re a Victory Grower and how that affects who you want to be and what you want to do in the future. Maybe you really just like playing in the dirt, but deep down, gardening, farming or otherwise raising good food supports the American economy, preserves natural resources and can help stamp out hunger.”

If you’d like to see samples of videos that other children have made, you can visit One True Media.

The Food and Society Fellows from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy will show their top 5 picks for the victory garden videos at their Washington DC Conference on September 9-11.

Children have until Noon Eastern time on September 1st, 2009 to make their videos. More detailed instructions can be found on the Food Independence Day site.

While you’re there, don’t forget to sign the petition, add yourself to the map, and consider emailing you state’s First Family.

Will your children be entering the contest?

I often get requests to identify some plant that the person found in their yard.

Sometimes they are kind enough to send me pictures, but many times I just get a definition.

It isn’t always easy - Botanic Gardens Conservation International notes that there are an estimated 400,000 different species of plants in the world.

One way to identify your plants is to use an identification key. Another name you may see is a dichotomous key. The name dichotomous means “two parts” With these keys, you will be asked a question that will have two choices (it’s like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books!). Your choice will lead you to another question, and continue on until you reach your individual plant.

You’ll want to have a plant glossary open also. Sometimes the questions may refer to plant characteristics with unfamiliar words. For example, do you know what it means if a leaf is glabrous (smooth),pubescent (hairy), or sessile (attached directly to the stem)? Can you identify where the petals, sepals and stamens are in a flower? A glossary will help you decipher these terms so you can properly answer the questions.

Some good keys available online:

• Tools For Plant Identification (includes a glossary)
• Weeds
• Tree, Shrub & Vine Key
• Plant Family Key
• Houseplants

These keys should get you started in identifying your plants. If you get stuck, feel free to drop us a line so we can try to help you out.

Have you used an identification key for plants in your yard?

If you’ve ever stopped to look at the fertilizer product shelf at the garden center, you may have wondered what the numbers on the front mean.

Never fear - it isn’t as complex as it seems.

First, the main number you want to look for is usually plastered across the front. You’ll see a series of three numbers separated by dashes, like 5-10-10.

These three numbers stand for the amount of Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium and are abbreviated as N-P-K. The numbers are the percentages of the elements that are contained in that bag.

For example, if there was a 100 pound bag of this 5-10-10 mix, it would have 5 pounds Nitrogen, 10 pounds of Phosphorus and 10 pounds of Potassium. The rest of the bag is additional nutrients and fillers that make it easier for you to spread the fertilizer.

Nitrogen is important as a main contributor to good stem and leaf growth. Lawns are especially fond of nitrogen. One sign that your plants may need some nitrogen is if they start turning yellow.

Phosphorus is an element that helps in the production of flowers and fruits, so it is especially important for your vegetable and fruit plants.It also helps the plant strengthen its roots and resist diseases. If your plants need phosphorous, the leaves may start turning blue-green or purple.

Potassium works on developing disease and cold resistance into your plants, as well as aiding in stem development. When a plant isn’t getting enough potassium, the veins on the leaves may start turning yellow, while the leaf tips turn brown and start curling.

For your vegetables, a good general recommendation is to pick a fertilizer that has a ratio of 1-2-1 or 1-2-2. You figure this out by dividing the numbers on your fertilizer to the lowest possibility. Our 5-10-10 fertilizer would fit this, since you divide each number by 5, resulting in a ratio of 1-2-2.

One suggestion is that you should test your soil before adding any nutrients. It’s not as common, but too much of these nutrients could potentially harm your plants.

What other questions do you have about choosing a fertilizer?

A treat as a child was okra breaded with cornmeal and fried. Yum!

It’s also an integral part of one of my favorite soups - gumbo.

I don’t think it’s grown enough in home gardens.

It’s true that sometimes okra can be a bit…slimy. However, as I found out from this article, evidently all you need to do is add a small bit of vinegar while cooking to make that go away. Who knew?

I was surprised to learn in my research that warm-season okra (Hibiscus esculentus or Abelmoschus esculentus) is related to hollyhocks, hibiscus and cotton.

Although this vegetable is most commonly grown in the Southern United States, it’s certainly not limited to that area. They need a lot of warmth, so cooler zones will benefit from starting their seeds inside.

When looking through seed you may want to look for the word “spineless” for this African native. These varieties aren’t quite spine-free, but they are close). You’ll still want to wear some gloves when harvesting this to avoid irritation from the leaves or stems.

Some varieties include:

• ‘Annie Oakley’
• ‘Burgundy’
• ‘Clemson Spineless’
• ‘Jade’

Choose a location that drains well, as okra doesn’t like having soggy roots. Add organic matter to the soil to supply nutrients, and consider applying a fertilizer like manure as a side dressing as the plants grow.

Wait until it’s warm (definitely after the last frost date) or start inside. Start your seeds by soaking them in water overnight to help them germinate faster. Plant them about 1″ deep. Make your rows 3′ apart and thin the seedlings when 6″ tall so that plants are 2′ apart within the rows.

Water them at least weekly once their roots are established. They can tolerate some short periods of drought if necessary.

You shouldn’t have to worry about many insects at all. Sometimes stink bugs or aphids may attack your okra plants.

In about 50-60 days, you should be able to harvest your okra. Don your gloves to avoid touching any spines. Use a knife or pruners to remove them instead of pulling them off. Pick your okra when it is about 2-4″ long. Watch your okra carefully - it takes less than a week after flowering, usually, to grow to this size.

Have you ever grown okra?

As I proudly proclaimed to everyone, I’m a garden geek.

There are so many cool facts you can learn about the plant world that are quite surprising.

I think it makes gardening itself much more fun.

One of my favorite facts:

What do broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale and kohlrabi have in common?

They are all the same species.

How can that be possible, you ask? All of these plants are too similar, as far as genetics go, to be sorted out into their own species.

Botanists sort out all the different plants according to how closely they are related. It starts with the Kingdom (which includes all plants) and gets more specific, down to the individual plant level of the Species. The levels of classification for these vegetables are all:

• Kingdom (Plantae)
• Phylum (Magnoliophyta)
• Class (Magnoliopsida)
• Order (Capparales)
• Family (Brassicaceae)
• Genus (Brassica)
• Species (oleracea)

• Broccoli: Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
• Brussel Sprouts: Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera
• Cabbage: Brassica oleracea var. capitata
• Cauliflower: Brassica oleracea var.botrytis
• Collards: Brassica oleracea var. acephala
• Kale: Brassica oleracea var. acephala
• Kohlrabi: Brassica oleracea var.gongylodes

Why do they look so different then? It’s just like people - we are the same species, but can look quite different. Over time, natural mutations of the original wild cabbage occurred. Humans noticed them and started growing the different varieties.

As a note, these varieties are not the same as cultivated varieties, abbreviated “cultivar”. Cultivated varieties are those that were bred and created by man.

Even within the varieties, there are more than one plant that share the same name because they are so similar. Broccoli and cauliflower are the same variety, as well as collards and kale.

Have fun and boggle your friends’ minds by telling them about Brassica oleracea.

What’s your favorite bit of garden trivia?