Continual Sowing: Beets, Turnips & Radishes

Do you sow a little beet seed each week? How about your turnips and radishes? If you're not, you certainly should. Remember that you only get one root per seed planted. If you plant some seed every week, not only will you get more harvest, but it will be staggered through the season, instead of a glut of roots and then nothing.
One exception to this is if you intend to can your harvest. In that case one large harvest is preferred, though you can always stagger sow a lesser amount for fresh eating.
Let a few go to seed, so you can collect them for next year!

Prairie Hawk Farm: Seed Starting Old School Style - Carton Planters

Prairie Hawk Farm: Seed Starting Old School Style - Carton Planters: Do you remember those childhood projects using empty milk cartons to plant seeds in? Well, that practice is still in use at this homestead. ...

What to Plant - Late Winter/Early Spring

I have mesclun lettuce mix popping up in the garden!  I know that it's still a bit cold out, but since our soil doesn't usually freeze, there are many cool weather plants that you can get in the ground here in Texoma in late January and early February.  In fact many of these resent the hot temperatures that come with our spring and summer, and will wilt away once the really warm months arrive.  Here's a quick (and by no means complete) listing:

Baby meslun lettuce sprouting!

Lettuces
Swiss Chard
Onions (usually from "starts" bundles)
Pretty much anything in the cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels, kale, etc)
Peas & Beans
Potatoes (starts or cut up your own)
Carrots
Turnips
Beets
Radishes
Cilantro
Parsley





You may have to cover the young plants with a tarp or a plastic bottle (with the top cut off) if there's danger of a sudden frost, but, believe me, that's hassle that you can live with to have fresh vegetables on your table as early as possible.

Quick Tip - Don't Forget the Compost Pile

Don't neglect your compost pile in all this heat that we're having. They can dry out just as easily as your garden beds. While you're giving the beds a spray, be sure to include the compost heap!

Summer Gardening

Well it looks like summer is finally here and with it is the heat.  It’s what we expect here in this part of Texas, but that doesn’t mean our garden has to like it.   Don’t give up though – with a little bit of time and patience and a lot of water, you can still keep your plants growing!  Unless we get a nice storm, you can expect to water at least every other day.   It doesn’t have to be a drenching drink, but get out there early morning or in the evening and get them wet.   This time of the year, even sun loving plants would like some shade.  If you can grow vines up a trellis or plant something tall to help keep the west sun off of your garden, it can be a big help.  This technique is mentioned in several videos and on various websites.  It makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

So now that you know you can keep it going, did you get everything planted you wanted to?  I didn’t!  Well, I planted a lot of things this spring.  We have been harvesting produce for several months, but the cold weather plants are about done and I have some extra space in the garden now.  To tell you the truth, there isn’t too much you can plant now that will be happy in this heat.  Not too much, but some.  It’s getting late, but you can still plant cantaloupe for the next week or so.  After the end of June, you’re pushing the window, but you can still get them in.  You can also still plant watermelon, winter squash, sweet and Irish potatoes, okra and summer greens.  Believe it or not, you can start thinking about planting corn again for the fall crop.  I haven’t tried a fall crop of corn yet, but my spring/summer corn always struggles, so I may give it a try this year. 

Jennifer posted a great link to a planting guide, so go check it out and see what else you can still get in.  It’s no fun to fight the heat, but come harvest time, you’ll be glad you did!

Video - Curing Onions

Texoma is historically known for growing onions. Our black clay and unfussy onions get along beautifully, making onions high on my list of plants to start with for people new to gardening.
Onions can grow so successfully here that you can end up with quite a harvest. What to do to preserve all of your onions? Well, you have some options. Drying, of course, is one. You can also chop them and keep them frozen in bags, to use as needed. My personal favorite is to cure them and store them in a dark, dry place, where they'll often keep for months.
Curing onions is not at all hard. The key is to not be hasty. Leave them to cure for as long as they need to set properly before storing, and you'll minimize your losses to rot. Here's a video describing the process. Good luck!

Hail Protection

In our area spring tends to bring some of our most severe storms. Hail can come unexpectedly, wreaking havoc in our gardens. Large-leaf and non woody stemmed plants can take the most damage. Most of the time the damage isn't the end of the world, but you can lose harvest.
There are several options that you can choose from to protect your plants from hail damage, ranging from a sheet spread over the plants to hoophouses or other structures. The idea is to cover your plants with something that the will hail will bounce off of. Simple as that. Here's a link to another blogpost covering several hail protection methods used in an area that gets struck with more hail than we generally do.
If you already have some hail damage, then here are some suggestions on what you can do to help your plant recover.

Link: Epsom Salts in Your Garden

Here's a link to an article detailing the benefits of adding a small amount of Epsom salts to your garden bed. Good old Epsom salts are cheap, easy to find in your local stores, and can really give those plants a bloom boost!

http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/garden/

Seed starting trick/tip

I read a little seed starting tip that I thought was pretty good, so I thought I'd pass it along.  If you want to start some seeds but it's a little too cool in your house right now, moisten a paper towel, place the seeds on it and put it in a zip lock baggie.  Zip it up and place it on top of your refrigerator.  The extra little bit of heat will help the seeds germinate quicker.  I know I'm kind of stingy with the heat, so this is a trick that's right up my alley.  I know tomatoes seeds like it around 80° F and my house hasn't been that warm for a couple of months.  They're getting stuck up on the fridge and I'm going to try to get an early start this year.

Wish me luck!

The Crazy Homestead: Link - Toilet Paper Roll Planters

The Crazy Homestead: Link - Toilet Paper Roll Planters: Click here to see how You Grow Girl is re-purposing toilet paper rolls into biodegradable seed starting planters. What a great way to keep...

Quick Tips: Mulch That Soil

Mulched bed. The bed in the back was next!

Naked soil is unhappy soil.  Even if your garden beds aren't in use (like now for most of us), keep them mulched.    Good soil is alive with microorganisms, worms, and a myriad of other critters that keep it healthy.  Protect its balance with a healthy bed of mulch, preferably the kind that will compost down over time.

Quick Tips: Find a Seed Buying Buddy

Quick Tip:  You can save on the shipping costs from online seed orders by joining up with a friend.  Place your order together, and split the cost.  Group orders can also make buying seed in bulk an affordable option.

Quick Tips: Watering & Fertilizing Houseplants

 Use a pencil or a finger to check if your houseplants need watering.  The soil at the surface can be pretty dry, while the soil a couple of inches under is holding moisture.  Many people see the dryness at the top, and assume that the plant needs water.  Not so!  Check the soil 1-2 inches under the surface, and water when that feels dry.

Used coffee grinds make a great fertilizer.  As with water, houseplants don't need fertilizing as much or as often as outdoor gardens.  Used coffee grinds are a gentle and effective way to enrich your houseplants' soil.  Just sprinkle some on the surface when you think of it.  Many houseplants can actually grow IN used coffee grinds, so you have much less worry over burning your plants with this than a chemical store bought fertilizer.

Link - Making Your Own Cosmetics

Here's another good reason to grow beets:  You can use them to make homemade, toxin free cosmetics!  Click here for a recipe that uses beets to make a natural lip stain.  Don't skip the comments!  There are some great suggestions on color alternatives.

http://blog.ecoetsy.com/2011/07/eco-tutorial-blush-flush-natural-cheek-lip-stain/html

More on Growing Herbs Indoors - Quick Tips

If you've been meaning to plant some herb pots to keep indoors, then choose larger, deep pots if space permits.  12" deep pots with a nice wide diameter are my favorite.  Avoid pots with a narrow diameter, as these will dry out quicker.  The increased amount of soil in deep pots allow for better moisture retention and give the roots more space to spread out in, so they're more forgiving of you forgetting to water them (I say when, not if).
If you only have a small space for plant pots, then remember that you can combine several herbs into one.  I've seen parsley, thyme, and basil sharing space happily in the same container.
Parsley, basil, and chia are pretty tough customers.  They make good starter plants for people who are new to growing herbs.  Yes, I said chia.  They're not just good for a laugh.  Chia is an easy-growing, super nutritious food source.  Use them just as you would sprouts:  as an additive to salads, sprinkled over burgers, baked potatoes, and anything else that you would top with sprouts.
Most of all, don't give up.  Even if you've killed lots of cute little herb pots in the past, don't believe that you can't do it.  Each failure brings us lessons that eventually lead to success.  Remember that you can always bring your questions here!

Determinate vs Indeterminate Plants

Here's a link that I found to some good information on what a determinate plant is vs an indeterminate one.  You see this designation most often with tomatoes.  In a nutshell a determinate plant will bear its yield all at once, and then it's pretty much done.  An indeterminate plant will grow and fruit right up until a frost kills it.  Because an indeterminate plant tends to continue growing, it usually needs more support, like cages or trellises, than a determinate one.
I tend to be an indeterminate lover, since I plant in large beds, and value a long, drawn out yield. We have a long growing season here in Texas, and indeterminate varieties allow us to harvest fruits for a very long time before frost comes our way.  In my New England days I planted tomatoes in large containers, and found determinate varieties to be more manageable for that scenario, both for the less rangy growth and the heavy yield in an area with a shorter growing season.  Determinates may also be preferred if you're a canner, since you'll want a large amount of yield to work with at one time.  There's also no reason why you can't choose both.  You'll end up with a large harvest of one kind all at once, while the indeterminates continue to perform for you until you or icy weather choose to end the long run.
Click through to the link for further details, and don't ever be shy to send us your questions!

Happy Gardening!

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/vegetablesherbs/f/tomatotypefaq.htm

Cats vs Houseplants

Do you have cats digging in your houseplants (and using them for a litterbox)? Try spreading a layer of rocks over the soil to stop them from doing this.  You can even add in a few of the flattened glass beads from the craft store to give it a splash of color!
The kind of rock doesn't necessarily matter.  Most any kind that takes your fancy should do the trick.  If your cat is stubborn, however, and continues to dig through the rocks, then switch to lava rock, which you can usually find at your local home improvement store.  Cats don't enjoy the abrasive feel of the rock on their paws.
And that's usually all it takes.  Happy gardening (even in the winter)!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Found a great tutorial on how to make your own laundry detergent.  Wow, it's easy, and the cost savings are unbelievable!

Click here to check out the tutorial.

Seed Viability Chart

Did you know that seeds vary highly with how long they'll keep before becoming unreliable to plant?  Some seeds, like cucumbers and melons, can keep for up to 5 years, while others, such as onions and chives, will only keep for one year.  How you store them also plays a role in their ability to sprout over time.  Cool and dark is the rule of thumb.  Here's a link to a handy chart listing storage viability for different seeds.

Morning Glory Update

Goodbye morning glories.  The cold finally did them in.  They'll have to be pulled down today, as they're an eyesore now, but I'll be grabbing up some of the seeds that will fall copiously from them.  I'll probably even have enough to share.  If you're pulling your glories, down, take a moment to collect seed as well.  They make nice gifts if you tie them up in a pretty bag and add them to a gardening basket.  Click here for a previous post of mine on these prolific beauties.