Harvest: Kohlrabi and Lettuce

I have been busy harvesting my strawberries and peas, and recently added lettuce and kohlrabi to my harvest.

Kohlrabi is new in my garden this year. In fact, I had never even heard of it before this spring. One of my neighbors told me that she plants if every year and it's one of her favorite vegetables so I had to try it.

My neighbor eats it raw but for our first time trying it, we steamed it. It was so good, I can't wait for the other three plants in the garden to mature. Next year I am going to try to find seeds for it so I can grow more of it and try winter sowing the seeds. Here's more information about kohlrabi...

• Kohlrabi is in the cabbage family and can be planted in the garden early since it is frost tolerant.
  
• The best time to harvest kohlrabi is when it's about the size of your fist. If it gets much bigger than that, it tends to be woody.
  
• It doesn't take up a ton of space in the garden and they can be planted close together.
• It can be eaten raw or cooked.

If you haven't tried this vegetable in your garden before, give it a try.

Usually at this time of year the lettuce starts to get a bitter taste to it. I started my lettuce really last this spring so I am just getting my first harvests out of it. I have been enjoying it tossed with peas and a light vinaigrette. I need to find a good recipe for a strawberry salad so I can use my fresh picked strawberries too.

So far this summer my harvests have been great and I am looking forward to many more. My tomato plants have tiny tomatoes on them and tons of flowers. I am so excited to harvest my first tomatoes! I plan to start a second crop of lettuce this year so I can enjoy salads with my tomatoes. Yum!! It won't be long before I can start harvesting my beans too!

What are you harvesting right now? Are you planning on starting second crops of any of your cold weather vegetables this year? Have you tried any new vegetables in your garden this year?

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Blooms of note mid-June

There are tons of things blooming in my gardens right now and I've been snapping pictures like crazy. Here are some of my favorite mid-June blooms...

Calla Lily (tropical bulb)

Asiatic lily

Astilbe 'Fanal'

Astilbe 'Peach Blossom'

Delphinium

Ice Plant 'Mesa Verde'

Gaillardia Goblin

Yellow Loosestrife

What's blooming in your gardens now? What are your favorites?

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Time to deadhead the chives

Now is the time of year when you'll want to deadhead your chives. The term deadheading refers to cutting off the flowers on a plant after they are spent (done blooming).

Chives in full bloom

For chives, you will want to do this so that the plant won't set seed, and to keep it looking tidy. Chives can be pretty aggressive reseeders and if you don't remove the flowers before they set seed, you will find tiny chive plants all around your gardens in the spring.

The picture above is of my chives in full bloom looking beautiful!

Here is a picture of the chives right before I deadheaded them. You can see that the flowers are spent, they have lost their color and look dead.

Chives after blooms have started to set seed

The easiest way to deadhead chives is to give the whole plant a haircut just below the flowers with a hedge trimmer. This won't hurt the plant and will keep it looking tidy for the rest of the summer.

Deadheading the chives

If you want the plant to set seed, then you'll want to leave the flowers on until the seed pods open; probably another couple of weeks. When this happens, you will easily see the seeds. They are black, about half the size of a peppercorn, and they will fall out onto the ground when the plant is disturbed. Collect the seeds by gently shaking the seed pods or cutting them over a container. Keep in mind that chive seeds are only viable for about one year. So if you want to start new plants or share the seeds with friends, the sooner you do it, the better.

Other tips about chives:

• Cut the foliage down to the ground in late fall or very early spring. I like to do it in late fall because chives are early spring growers.
• Chives are a perennial herb and are delicious in lots of different recipes. You can enjoy them for most of the year since they grow early in the spring and will stay green well into the fall.
• To harvest chives, cut the entire stalk down to the ground. You don't need to dig out the bulbs to enjoy the chives.
• When chive plants are mature and loaded with flowers, they can benefit from a hoop style support so the flowers don't droop to the ground. You can easily make your own temporary support out of stakes and string.
  

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Plant Galls

I have a total of seven trees in my yard. Five of those trees are only a few years old and the last two years I have noticed what looks like some sort of pest infestation on the leaves of these immature trees. This year I decided to bring a leaf to the tree experts at Bachman's and see if they could help me identify the pest. They knew the diagnosis right away...plant galls.

Never heard of plant galls?....me either! Now that I look at them again, it looks like the leaves on my trees have warts.

I have done some research about plant galls and it turns out that they are a very common natural phenomenon and could be caused by several combinations of things. There are some conflicting opinions out there, but for the most part, they are believed to be caused by the feeding activity of certain insects or mites.

The galls on my trees are not eggs or mites themselves; but abnormal growths of the plant tissue in reaction to the bugs. In most cases, the galls aren't going to hurt the plant's health and you don't need to treat them. The affected leaves will usually just drop off naturally.


Plant galls are usually seen on newer growth of the plant and are most commonly seen in the late spring. Trees aren't the only plants that can be affected by galls, several types of plants can get galls. My trees have leaf galls, but plants can also get stem/twig galls or bud/flower galls.

I am glad to find out that this is something that is both harmless to my trees, and that I don't have to treat them. It is just unsightly and last year but mid-summer, I didn't even notice them anymore. This year, I have decided to trim off the most unsightly leaves to make the trees look nicer.

First harvests

So far this year I have harvested two things, my peas and my strawberries.

I am very happy with my peas this year, this is the best year for peas I have ever had. This may be because I have done a few things different this year.

First thing I did differently is I started a ton of pea seeds. Historically, I have been more conservative with my pea seeds (I don't know why), but this year, I decided to plant a bunch so I had several seedlings to plant in the garden.

Second, I planted my pea seedlings earlier this year than I have in any other year. I planted them in late April. I protected them by covering them on the few really cold nights we had this spring when it froze.

Third thing I did different this year is that I planted them in an area of my veggie garden where it gets the least amount of sun. They mostly get early morning sun and by about 3pm, they are in full shade. I think this has made a difference because peas are cold weather plants and they don't like the hot summer months.


The pea plants are still looking great and I bet I will get 2 or 3 more harvests out of those plants before they wilt in the hot summer sun. I plan to do a second batch for fall crops and I will start those seeds once these plants start to shrivel up.



As for my strawberries, this year has been kind of a pathetic year for them. Earlier this spring we put in a raised strawberry bed and I moved my strawberry plants when they were just starting to bloom. They didn't seem to mind too much but I think this has had an impact on their production this year.

Also, I was a bit lazy protecting them from the rabbits because of the raised bed so the rabbits have been beating me to the strawberries. I was finally able to get out there and put up chicken wire around them and now that they are protected, I think I will get a few more harvests from them before they are done for the year.


The lettuce is looking really good and should be ready soon. More to come...

Have you had your first harvest yet? If so, what have you harvested so far this year?

Early June blooms

Foxglove (my first foxglove blooms ever!!)

Dianthus

Snow in Summer

Weigela (Dwarf)

Sweet William

Clematis

Dianthus

Iris (only one left after my I lost all my irises last year)

Poppy (the second year it's bloomed!)

Peony

Ladybugs, nature's pesticide

On my last trip to Bachman's (my favorite local garden center), I was thrilled to discover that they had ladybugs for sale! Ladybugs are one of the best natural predators and are very beneficial to our gardens. They are one of the good bugs!!

Most people I know hate using pesticides, and I do too! The biggest problem with pesticides is that they kill the good bugs right along with the bad bugs. In fact, some of the bad bugs are resistant to pesticides, so essentially what we're doing by spraying pesticides is killing the good bugs and helping out the bad bugs. The best thing we can do is to let nature take it's course and introduce more of the good bugs to control the bad bug populations.

Sold! $11.99 plus tax bought me a bag of 1,500 ladybugs. I couldn't wait to get home and release them!!

Releasing the ladybugs around my yard was a bigger task than I expected. You can't just open the bag and let them all out in one spot.

They are territorial so you can only release a few in any one spot, otherwise they will just fly away and find their own spot.

The instructions didn't say how many you are supposed to release in one spot so I had no idea what I was doing. The instructions did say to water the yard first (because the ladybugs will be thirsty) and release them in low light conditions, preferably in the evening. Ok, sounds doable.

At first I was releasing them one at a time and making sure they got on a plant leaf. It was pretty amazing to watch them, as soon as they set foot on the leaf, they would head straight to a water drop and drink. 

I found this fascinating; I've never seen ladybugs drink before. I was easily distracted by this process and before I knew it, I would look down and there would be 10 ladybugs crawling up my hand and arm. I tried not to be squeamish when I was release them, but when you look down and a bunch of them are crawling up your hand and arm at a rapid speed, it's really hard not to want to swat them off, drop the bag and run away screaming! I was able to contain myself.

After about an hour of doing this, I decided to just drop a few around the yard here and there to try to speed things up.

This was easier said than done since they were crawling on the mesh bag and wouldn't just fall off when I shook it.

So I was trying to carefully grab a few out of the bag and drop them around. By the time it got dark out, the bag didn't seem like it was much emptier than it was when I started, so I gave up for the night and put the rest into the fridge.

Apparently if you put them in the fridge, they fall asleep and you can store them in there for up to 2 weeks. Amazing! No need to store them that long around here... then next night I spent another hour releasing the ladybugs around the yard, it seemed like a never ending bag of ladybugs!

But the task is done and my yard is now home to at least 1,500 ladybugs... and of those 1,500 ladybugs that I spread out in my yard, I felt like at least 100 of them were crawling on me all night!

Now it's time to let nature take its course, I can't wait to see if it makes a difference! I sure hope that most of them will stay in my yard; there is definitely plenty for them to eat out there!!

Here are some other facts about ladybugs that were included with the instructions (Instructions printed by Beneficial Entomology company, St. Paul, MN):

• Ladybugs feed on aphids, whitefly, thrips, mites, cinch bugs, alfalfa weevils, scale insects and other soft-bodied insects.
• "Ladybugs do not feed on vegetation"
• "They have few enemies because of their hard shell and bitter taste... Poisonous spray is their number one hazard."
• "Upon hatching, a Ladybug larva will eat an average of 400 aphids."
• "As adults, Ladybugs may eat another 5,000 aphids."
• "Ladybugs' voracious appetites and quick reproduction allow them to rapidly clean out their prey."

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Peonies need your support

At this time of the year, one of my favorite flowers is giving us it's yearly show...and oh boy, what a great show it is!! I just love these big beautiful blooms every spring, and they smell so wonderful too!!

I think that the biggest mistake people make with their peonies is leaving them completely unsupported. If peony flowers are left unsupported, they will collapse to the ground almost as soon as the buds open. This happens because the flowers are too large for the stems to support their weight. They may be able to handle the weight for a few days while the buds are opening, but throw a rain shower or two in there and timber! If peony flowers are left on the ground, they will only last a few days and you won't get to see them in their full glory! I think it's so sad to see a peony bush completely collapsed just at the peak of their bloom time.

If you give them support, the blooms will last several days longer and more of the flower buds will be able to open on the bush. You can use one of those wire tomato cages for a small bush. Or you can use heavy-duty stakes and string to create your own circular support. You can even buy hoop supports that are specifically made to support a peony bush.

The best time to put these supports in is early spring before the stems grow too tall or late fall after you have cut down the stems. If you build your own out of stakes and string, you can install is easily now. Once the plant is done blooming, you can remove the support if you desire. I just leave my supports out year round. As the stems begin to grow each spring (and they grow fast!), help them by carefully guiding them to grow through the center of the support.


Here are a few other tips for beautiful peonies...

• Remove the spent flowers as the petals start to turn brown. This will encourage the small buds to open extending the bloom time.
• Since they are such early spring growers, it's best to cut the plant down to the ground in late fall after hard frost has killed the foliage. This also helps prevent pests and disease.
• Don't cut the foliage down to the ground too early or your peony won't have enough time to store up the energy it needs to bloom in the spring.

What is a weed?

If you're anything like me, every spring you see plants growing in your garden that you don't recognize and you wonder "...is that a weed or something I planted last year?". But how do you decide that something growing in your garden is a weed? Dictionary.com defines a weed as "any undesirable or troublesome plant, esp. one that grows profusely where it is not wanted". The problem with this definition is that every gardener won't have the same opinion when it comes to the plants they consider undesirable.

Some people like to have a garden where the plants take over and reseed themselves freely. I've heard this type of garden referred to as a "dynamic garden". I don't know if that's a technical term or not, but the concept is that this type of garden is exciting because you never know what your garden will look like from year to year.

Something that I consider a weed, you may consider a beautiful addition to your garden; or vice versa. You should decide what you consider a weed and what you would like to leave growing in your gardens. (Although, your neighbors might look at you funny if you have a garden full of dandelions!)

I once had what I thought was a cool plant growing in my garden most of the summer, only to discover it growing everywhere in a nearby ditch. I liked it so I decided to let it grow and see what it would do. Once it started to flower, it wasn't that great anymore so I decided I better pull it before it reseeded itself. Heck, I've seen plants for sale at the farmer's market or nurseries that I consider weeds in my garden. Not everything that's growing in the ditch is a weed to every gardener, and not everything that is for sale at the garden center is a desirable plant to all gardeners.

Personally, I prefer plants that stay in the general area where I planted them and don't take over the space, so I am not a fan of the dynamic garden. I tend to agree with the Dictionary.com definition and would add to it "something that is not very significant to look at". In the play Romeo and Juliet, (Shakespeare) Juliet says... "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." To me, a weed by any other name would be just as invasive!

So next time you look at a plant in your garden and wonder if it's a weed...well, you decide.

Tender bulbs unpacked

Last fall I wrote a post about digging and packing up tender bulbs for winter storage. Now that spring has arrived and I have taken my bulbs out of storage and unpacked them, I wanted to post a followup on my experience. 

Last fall, I decided to do some experimenting with storage techniques. In previous years, I wrapped my bulbs in newspaper and stored them in cardboard boxes. Rather than wrapping the bulbs in newspaper this time, I stored them in dry peat moss.

When I used to store my bulbs in newspaper, the smaller bulbs would always dry up over the winter. I wanted to try peat moss this time because it holds moisture better than newspaper and I figured the small bulbs wouldn't dry out. 

On the flip side, I was nervous that the peat moss would hold in too much moisture and the larger bulbs would rot or mold. I also decided to try experimenting with the containers I used for storage. I had a large plastic storage bin that wasn't being used for anything so I wanted to see how well that would work. In addition to this covered plastic storage bin; I stored some bulbs in a pot and some in a crate, neither of these had a cover. All bulbs were packed with dry peat moss in the same manor, and I didn't water any of them all winter.

My findings...

• Large plastic bin - I have several different types and sizes of tropical bulbs that I packed in the large bin and some did better than others. To no surprise the plastic bin held too much moisture for some of the different types of bulbs, especially the ones at the bottom of the bin. I used small pots and landscaping fabric to help keep the different types of bulbs separated, I think this helped keep air pockets around the bulbs. Some of the larger bulbs were too moist and a few of them were rotted. The elephant ear bulbs seemed to take the biggest hit as far as rotting. I think elephant ear bulbs must hold more moisture than other bulbs and I must not have let them cure long enough. Most of the bulbs had started to sprout new leaf or root growth when I unpacked the bin.
  

• Crate and Pot - In these containers, I packed canna lily bulbs only, and both of the containers had about the same results. The peat moss did the trick to hold the moisture in and I only had a couple of the small bulbs on top dry out on me. It was nice to use these containers rather than cardboard boxes because I pulled them out a few weeks earlier than the large bin and started to water them. The bulbs started to grow in the containers so they got a jump start.
  

• What I learned - Next year I will let the larger bulbs cure longer, especially the elephant ear bulbs. For all bulb types, I will pack the smaller ones at the bottom of the container and the larger bulbs closer to the top. This will work great because the larger bulbs need more time cure, so I can pack up the smaller ones and allow the larger bulbs to cure longer. I am going to pack the elephant ear bulbs in either the crate or pot and not in the plastic bin. I think that I will use the plastic bin again, but I might punch some holes in the bottom and sides to help with air circulation. I also plan to pull the containers out earlier in the spring and see if I can get even more of a jump start on the growing season for them.
  

I am very happy with the results of my experiment. I did lose a few bulbs that I didn't have duplicates of but I'm not too disappointed, I knew what the risk of experimentation was and I have lots of different tropical bulbs so I could afford to lose a few.


As you can see, the gladiolas didn't seem to mind being stored in the large plastic bin. They were already growing like crazy when I opened the bin...