Category Archives: Edibles

Easy to Grow Heirloom Lettuce: Flashy Trout Back

Posted on May 12, 2015 | Leave a comment
Flashy Trout Back lettuce

Flashy Trout Back lettuce

I am growing Flashy Trout Back lettuce for the first time and I love the way the leaves are emerging with wine-colored speckles. Makes it easy to distinguish from spring weeds. Flashy Trout Back is an heirloom European lettuce dating back to the 1700s. Known as “Forellenschuss’ or trout speckles, the leaves are supposed to look like the back of trout fish. The wine-colored spots against the bright green leaves add color in my garden, where for now they receive full sun but cool spring temperatures. In the summer, I will grow lettuce in the backyard where the delicate leaves will receive dappled sun or shade from the tall summer vegetables. Lettuce likes rich soil, cool weather, a regular supply of moisture, and here in Northern Virginia, full sun in the spring and afternoon shade in the summer. We can sow seeds outdoors as early as mid to late March, and continue to sow every couple of weeks until the heat of the summer kicks in. Lettuce seed can germinate at temperatures as low as 40 but best at 75 and poorly at 80-85 degrees F.

Flashy Trout Back is a romaine (also known as cos) type of lettuce, considered the most nutritious of the different types of lettuce, followed by loose leaf, which is a non-heading type that comes in various shades of green or red. Third in nutrition is bibb or butterhead, a heading lettuce with looser and darker green leaves than iceburg, and fourth is crisphead, a tight heading type with light green leaves (e.g., iceburg). Romaine has a stiff, vertical shape that is great for wraps, fajitas, sandwiches, and, if cut up, salads.

red loose leaf lettuce

red loose leaf lettuce

In the lettuce world, the Holy Grail is a lettuce that tolerates the heat in the summer and resists bolting which is why you may find terms such as “heat-resistant” and/or “slow-bolting” in catalogs and on seed packets. Bolting is when the lettuce starts to flower. In other words, the plant stops putting energy in to leaves and starts to send up a flower stalk in order to flower, set seed, and die. This occurs with increased temperatures and day length. Resistance to bolting is highest with loose leaf lettuce, followed by romaine, bibb (butterhead), and crisphead. If you want to continue to grow lettuce in the summer, you need to look for heat resistant, slow-bolting types and provide continued moisture and shade.

mix of lettuce leaves in large bowl for dinner salad

mix of lettuce leaves in large bowl for dinner salad

Always harvest lettuce in the early morning, when the leaves are full of water and the glucose content is highest.  Also, the outer leaves of leaf lettuce contain higher levels of calcium so harvest the outer leaves first on the Romaine and the loose leaf types. Know that lettuce tends to get small bugs like aphids so after you cut the leaves, wash them and let them soak in a large bowl of cold water for about 20 minutes, and then use a salad spinner.

 

 

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Radish time, in salad or as a dip!

Posted on May 8, 2015 | Leave a comment
radish 'Splendor'

radish ‘Splendor’

Last night I harvested a few Burpee ‘Splendor’ radishes for a salad and realized it was May already, time to sow more seeds before it gets too hot. ‘Splendor’ is a typical small, red radish suitable for containers. In late March, I simply sprinkled seeds in a large, 12-inch wide/deep plastic container on the deck and lightly covered them so they were ½ inch deep. Later I thinned to allow 2 inches wide for the root to grow. I did not worry about cool evenings or frost, I knew they could take it. Spring radishes germinate fast, you can harvest in 3 to 4 weeks. Although this packet was old, it was dated 2012, the seeds germinated well. I pulled the ones with large red shoulders, cut the roots and leaves off, wash, and chop for a salad. I have heard that the green leaves can be cooked but I have not tried that yet. I can sow radish seeds again in May but when the temperatures stay in the mid sixties, it is time to stop as radishes do not appreciate the heat. In my family, we eat raw radishes in salads, but I also serve a great radish dip for company that tastes better than it sounds. Years ago, a friend served a dip with crackers that I assumed was a shrimp dip—it was so good!  At the end of the evening, I asked for the recipe and learned it was made with radishes, no shrimp at all! This is how she made it:  Mix together 8 ounces softened cream cheese; 8-12 radishes, minced by hand; and one or two minced garlic cloves. Add a bit of lemon juice–just enough to create the consistency you like for dip–and then add chopped dill or parsley to taste. Pair with crackers.

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You Can Grow That: Dill!

Posted on May 5, 2015 | 1 comment

dill flowerDill is easy to grow from seed; I just throw a few seed in a large plastic container on my deck in late March. I don’t worry about frost or cold nights but I do make sure the top of the soil is moist until I see the leaves come through the soil and then I water a little less often. Here in Northern Virginia, we seem to have plenty of rain or snow in March so the seeds do not dry out. Now, when the garden soil is warmer, I will gently lift the seedlings out with a trowel and plant in the garden bed in full sun.

Dill is an annual, but it may re-seed in the garden. Dill foliage, also called dill weed, can be used fresh or dried. Although dill weed’s claim to fame is pickles, we tend to use fresh leaves in the summer for egg dishes, fish, tomato salads, cucumber salads, cooked carrots, fresh veggie dishes and even dill butter. In the winter, we use the dried dill for canned veggies, egg dishes, and tuna salad.  It is easy to dry the foliage, just wash and let dry flat on paper towels for a few weeks, then store in a glass jar.dill

Dill tends to flower quickly in the summer so it is best to sow seed several times to ensure a continuous supply of dill weed. By summer, I simply sow seed directly into the garden bed, making sure the seeds do not dry out.  The flowers are actually beneficial to the garden, they attract the good bugs. However, once the plants flower, they set seed and the plant itself starts to put energy into the seed and not the foliage. It is easy to save the seed because they are all in one structure called an umbel. When the seeds are brown, simply cut the stalk to the umbel into a large paper bag. Let dry for a few weeks, then put the umbel on a plate or in a large bowl and rub the seeds off. Store seeds in a glass jar and either use them in the kitchen or plant them next year. Seeds can be used in baking, breads, or crackers, but I have not tried this personally yet (that will be this winter’s project).

dill (2)

So much has been written about this old herb, one can easily search for information on the internet or in herb books. My favorite dill booklet is Dilly Bits, published by the Herb Society of America, copyright by the HSA, see the link below. It is a compilation of HSA members’ experiences with dill across the country. http://www.herbsociety.org/herbs/documents/DillyBits5-Final.pdf

You Can Grow That! is a collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage others to grow something. To read more posts, visit http://www.youcangrowthat.com/blogs/. Youcangrowthat

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Discovering the Chocolate Bean at the U.S. Botanic Garden

Posted on April 28, 2015 | Leave a comment

cacao (5)I was downtown last week for a meeting and took time to wander around the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG). I took many photos of which I will share later but wanted to mention one of the many important reasons why people should support their public gardens and conservatories. I was in the building, resting on a bench opposite the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) — yes, the chocolate tree. The cacao tree is a small tropical tree with large, ovoid, orange/yellow fruit, similar to papayas.

cacaoI was admiring the tree as any chocolate lover would when Dr. Susan Pell, Science and Public Program Manager at USBG, began a short talk about the tree to visitors in the area. Using her pruners, she sliced open one of the fruit, called a pod, stating that “each pod has about 20 to 60 seeds.” However, the opened pod revealed a white pulpy mass – no seed in sight. She then put a segment of the pulp in her mouth to chew and remove the pulp so she could show us the enclosed seed in her hand. I asked if one could eat the seed but she said it would be too bitter. cacao (3)The seed, also called a bean, is high in fat, also known as cocoa butter. To decrease the bitterness, the seeds are fermented, causing the seed color to change from purple to brown (hence bean). In factories, the beans are toasted and ground until they become liquid (from the high fat content). From then, the liquid is used to make various forms of chocolate in a more solid state. In all my years of eating chocolate, this was the first time I saw the inside of a cacao pod and a bean so it was a fascinating, serendipitous experience that could have only happened at a public conservatory. In fact, the only way I could have seen the pods is by staff working at the conservatory because the small flowers, which bloom directly on the trunk, are pollinated by a type of fly that does not exist within the glass. Staff have to hand pollinate the cacao tree to ensure fruit. Not only was I fascinated but all the other people around Dr. Pell were equally interested and we learned more about the origins of chocolate that day. Support your local public gardens and conservatories! cacao (6)

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Start Seed, but Don’t Forget to Dig and Divide Perennials!

Posted on April 9, 2015 | 2 comments
volunteer butterfly bush

volunteer butterfly bush

Early spring is the time to start your cool season vegetable and herb seeds but it also a good time to make more plants from the perennials in your garden, both edible and ornamental. This week, I literally hacked a chunk out of my sweet marjoram in my garden bed and put the chunks in the plastic containers that strawberry growers use (the plastic containers you buy in the grocery store, with the lid cut off).  I added soil from the compost bin, labeled and watered the plant, and placed it on the deck to root and recuperate. I also pulled oregano and thyme and put them in similar containers. All of these plants are about 5 years old and have grown so big they would not notice if I removed parts plus they are more likely to root in early spring with cool moist temperatures.

I also chopped up the lemon balm to create new pups, dug up baby plants from my black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), tore out extra blanket flowers while they were still small (Gaillardia), and took a few stems from the ice plant (Delosperma), a succulent groundcover. I still need to pot up chunks of the chrysanthemum while the leaves are small and near the ground, as well as the bluets (Centaurea), hardy geraniums, Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida), speedwell (Veronica surcolosa), yarrow (Achillea), aster, and creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). These perennials have been in my garden for years and tend to either spread outward or become congested inward so I have plenty to share.

marjoram slices in plastic containers

marjoram slices in plastic containers

I overturned my plastic containers of chocolate peppermint, peppermint, and spearmint that overwintered on the deck, broke up the plants into chunks, and re-potted into more containers. Mints are also easy to root in water but they are invasive and should always be grown in containers.

Usually I find a volunteer—a seedling in an unexpected place.  This year I found a butterfly bush seedling (Buddleia) in January in a patch of dirt on the concrete steps. Last week I dug it up and put it in a small container. When it is bigger and older, I will either plant in an appropriate spot or give it away to a friend. I have started new butterfly bushes, wand flowers (Gaura), and flowering tobacco plants (Nicotiana) this way. Look around your garden for volunteers and plants that can be shared with friends!

 

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You Can Grow That: Walking Onions

Posted on April 4, 2015 | Leave a comment
bulbil on walking onion pulling stem down

bulbil on walking onion pulling stem down

You can grow walking onions, also called Egyptian walking onions, tree onions, winter onions, and perennial onions.  Unlike an ordinary onion plant, Allium proliferum will produce little bulbs at the top of the plant in the summer. The weight of these marble-sized bulbils will pull the stem down, enabling the bulbils to root and produce a new plant. Although walking onions seem to walk by producing new plants a few inches away, they are not invasive.

Walking onions are very hardy, perennial plants in our Virginia area. They are also “passalongs,” easy to give away to friends. I received mine from a fellow member of the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America. I was interviewing her at her Falls Church home for the Potomac Unit newsletter because she had been a member for over 25 years and had quite a lot of herbal experience. After we talked in her living room, we walked around her herb garden and she snapped off a few bulbils from an enormous tub of walking onion plants. She said when her kids were young, they used to grow them along the fence and weave the stems in and out of the holes. The tub of plants came from her original set about 30 years ago! That was five years ago and so far, my plants have thrived enough that I can now pass along plants to friends as well.

walking onion stems in March

walking onion stems in March

Walking onions prefer full sun, organic matter, and well-drained soil. They grow to 2 to 3 feet tall with hollow green stems. All parts are edible. If you cut the stems for cooking or salads, cut only a few stems at a time and don’t cut the ones that have bulbils. Stems can be eaten fresh in salad or cooked. You can cut the bulbils when they form in the summer and use them for cooking or pickling. In the fall, the entire plant can be dug up to harvest the underground bulbs. Simply divide and used some of the bulbs like you would with regular onions in the kitchen and re-plant the rest.

You Can Grow That! is a collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage others to grow something. Gardeners usually post articles on their blog on the fourth day of the month (fourth day, four words: #1: You; #2: Can; #3: Grow; #4: That).

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Saying Hi to Old Friends, a Mid-March Walk Around the Garden

Posted on March 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

I love to walk around the garden in March to see what is coming back but at the same time, I love to start new plants from seeds indoors. This week, mid March, the bright green foliage of parsley has emerged. A biennial, I harvested leaves from this parsley last year; I tend to use parsley quite a bit for meals. This year, the same plant has come back to flower and set seed. I hope to start a parsley patch that will self sow, creating more than enough for the kitchen.

parsley

parsley

The new growth on the tansy is pretty but the old growth is messy, which I will need to trim when it gets a little warmer. Last year, I used the tansy for flower arrangements. This year, I will see if there are more uses for tansy. I always try new herbs each year and a few weeks ago I started two types of fennel by seed in the house. They germinated so fast I had to pot them up and bring them outside for more light. You can’t really tell the difference now but the leafy fennel is on the left and the bulbing fennel is on the right. I have several more pots, I may have to give some away!

tansy

tansy

shallots

shallots

The slender shallots braved the snow; they were this size this last fall when I transplanted the seedlings to this bed. As the weather warms up the shallots will continue to grow and make little bulbs for cooking. Their cousin, the chesnok red hardneck garlic, was planted last fall to be harvested this summer. Their perennial cousin, the walking onion or Egyptian onion, has been thriving in the garden for years now and feel quite at home among a tulip and a hyacinth.

leaf fennel on left and bulb fennel on right

leaf fennel on left and bulb fennel on right

 

 

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Chives: Easy to Fit in the Garden as a Landscape Edible

Posted on March 20, 2015 | Leave a comment
chives coming back in early March

chives coming back in early March

Chives are a great addition to the garden, any garden, does not matter what is growing already, add chives. These perennial herbs are great landscape edibles; they come back year after year. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are narrow plants, about a foot tall, so they can be tucked in between ornamental shrubs and flowers as long as they receive full sun. In my Virginia garden, my plants are already poking through the soil in early March and I can’t wait to cut the leaves for scrambled eggs, chive butter, and mashed potatoes.

To keep up with my family’s demand for fresh chives, I have several plants so after I cut the leaves back on one, I leave that plant alone until it rejuvenates and then harvest the leaves of another plant. Usually we are harvesting the leaves so often we do not see the pink, clover-like flowers but the flowers themselves are edible and pretty in a wildflower-country-garden-way.

In the spring, I divide my current clumps to create more plants, both for the garden as well as for friends. Chive can be grown from seed but it may take a while for the plants to mature to harvest so it is best to buy a few small containers in the spring and tuck them in different places in the garden (near the door so you can pop out with scissors before dinner). I always wash the foliage of course before eating but I have never seen pests.

To make chive butter, simply let the butter come to room temperature, stir in chopped chives to taste, then refrigerate in a container. This can be done with soft cheeses as well. Chives can be preserved in the freezer, dried, or in ice cubes. Chives also can be used in herbal vinegars. Fresh minced chives add green to potatoes, soups, and rice dishes. Really, chives are so versatile in the kitchen and so easy to grow in the garden, there is no reason not to have them in your garden.

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Salad Burnet: Pretty Landscape Edible

Posted on March 17, 2015 | 4 comments
baby salad burnet plant

baby salad burnet plant

The photo that has been on the top of my website for the past year is salad burnet, which has thrived in my Virginia garden for 5 years. The toothed foliage is pretty, almost fern like, and from spring to fall I would cut the young leaves for green salads, egg salads, herbal vinegars, cheese spreads, and iced drinks. This week, when I was pushing away autumn’s leaves, I noticed that the mother plant had disappeared but left a few young seedlings. I remember that last summer the mother plant was flowering quite a bit for the first time, maybe it knew its end was near. I saved the seed: just cut the dried seed heads and put them in a paper bag. Today, I pulled the stems out of the bag and rubbed the seeds off so I could plant more salad burnet in the garden. I actually was pleasantly surprised at the amount of seed I have, I am anxious to grow more this year to replenish my supply. Salad burnet is a perennial culinary herb, hardy to zone 4. It is easy to grow; it only needs full sun and well-drained soil. The plant is about 6 inches tall and maybe a foot wide. The inch-long flowers bloom on wiry stems but they are so pale and small, they blend into the background. A landscape edible, salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is a pretty addition to the garden. Either buy as a plant at the nursery or grow from seed.salad burnet

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You Can Grow That! Sugar Snap Peas

Posted on March 5, 2015 | Leave a comment
plump sugar snap peas

plump sugar snap peas

March is the time to grow peas here in Northern Virginia. In our family we prefer the sugar snap peas where you eat pea and pod together but shelling peas and snow peas are also started during March’s cool weather. Last year we grew Amish Snap from Seed Savers Exchange which was excellent; this year we will try Renee’s Garden’s Sugar Snap Peas just to compare. We have already tied the nylon netting to the banister that leads to the front door and, in the back, to the deck railing, wherever I could ensure that the peas would receive full sun. Pea plants are light in weight and their small tendrils need to wrap around thin nylon or string. In the beginning, you may have to “train” them to wrap around the nylon or unwrap them if they find a nearby plant but eventually they learn to wrap up and create a pretty green screen. St. Patrick’s Day is my cue to soak the seeds in water overnight, insert in cone shaped coffee filters (could have used paper towels too), and place in zipped plastic bags. I left them on a shelf, I did not put them under grow lights. Within two days, the seeds germinated and after a few days, when it was necessary for the shoots to receive sunlight, I planted them outside about 4 inches apart. Planting them when they have germinated as opposed to planting seeds makes them able to withstand the cold soil temperatures. Last year, in April and May, we picked them almost every day when the peas had expanded enough to make the pods plump – hence – snap when you bit them or bent them. They were so sweet, we ate them raw as the vegetable portion of dinner. Peas are easy to grow, nutritious and delicious, and are a great kid gardening project.

You Can Grow That is a collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage others to grow something. Usually articles on posted on the fourth of the month. Visit http://www.youcangrowthat.com/blogs/ to read more posts.Youcangrowthat

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