Category Archives: Early Crops

New Plants To Lust After

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy
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Last summer I got to try out a new sauce tomato called ‘Saucy Lady’, a cuore di bue type that “melts” into robust sauces when cooked, skins and all. The flavor is just about perfect for a sauce tomato; full bodied and rich with just enough tartness to keep it tasting lively even when cooked and canned. A rather amazing tomato called ‘Get Stuffed!’ has no guts; the stippled red-and-tawny-gold skin covers a sturdy, cup-shaped container for your favorite stuffing mixtures. Slice the top off, fill ‘em up with what have you and bake them until bubbly, or stuff them with salad (pasta or chickpea) for a very pretty brunch dish. As an ardent gardener with very little space these days, I’m especially intrigued by a new category of tomato, the 3-4 foot dwarf indeterminates. Any of this new Super Dwarf series will thrive even in large containers and as we saw last year, they really do continue fruiting well into autumn. Continue reading →

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Working With Family Relationships

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy
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It’s also useful to know that some family cycles are particularly beneficial. For instance, both legumes and nightshades do particularly well when planted where sweet corn recently grew. Conversely, it’s less productive for squash family members to follow tomatoes and vice versa, probably because both need lots of calcium. (Our Northwestern soils tend to be calcium poor anyway, so both these crops will benefit when you spray the foliage with diluted skim milk. A 10% solution of 1 part skim milk powder mixed with water works well and won’t clog most sprayers.) Continue reading →

Posted in Early Crops, fall/winter crops, Garden Prep, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Fresh Food With A Local Twist

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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And who can blame me if I sneak in some stunning rattail radishes? These intriguing creatures are grown not for their smallish roots but for their elongated, curvaceous seedpods in glossy purple or deep green. (The actual name is Raphanus caudatus, also called Rat’s Tail Radish or Dragon’s Tail). As an often lazy gardener who likes to let root crops bloom for the bees, I discovered the spicy flavor and crunchy spunk of radish seed pods years ago. Ordinary radish seed pods are good, but these curly girls are fabulous on the plate and the palate alike. Continue reading →

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Saving All the Bees

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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Nectar is not the only attraction in a well stocked garden, so don’t get bugged by bugs. Having a haze of insects hovering over your beds will just about guarantee you a host of birds (even hummers need protein as well as sweet desserts) as well as butterflies. Housing helps too; many grasses (especially stipas) are butterfly friendly host plants, while roses offer building material to leaf cutter bees along with their pollen and nectar. That’s a large part of why I tidy now, in late winter and early spring instead of in autumn; putting off the work protect and supports native pollinators and when I finally get around to it, there’s a lot less to do, since so much as self-composted in place. Continue reading →

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