Delicious, Nutritious Turnips- Not Just a Root but Amazing Greens. When we think of growing turnips, we naturally think of the root crop. The reality is that turnips are probably one of the most nutritious vegetables you can possibly eat. Therefore, how to grow turnips …
Cabbages – are used as a detoxifying agent in many cultures. Cabbage has lots of fiber and can be eaten raw, cooked, or fermented into sauerkraut. It has very few calories and highly beneficial to the body. Cabbage belongs to the Brassica Family, along with …
My giant beets – Many times I’m asked, “How did you get those huge beets?” This is because my beets consistently weigh in around 2.5 lbs. to 3.3 lbs And… they are sweet, non woody and absolutely delicious!!!
So what are my secrets?
Soil and Fertilizer
When to Plant
Spacing
Timing or Plucking
Harvesting
Then I wait. As the beets develop I begin to harvest every other one when they get 3” thick.
This means that the space between the remaining beet plants gets wider… allowing the beets (each plant’s root) to continue to develop.
Then I leave them in the ground a few months. Around mid-July I begin to harvest the rest of the crop. Usually, I have quite a few very large beets… about 6 beets in each 3’ row.
For a great beet salad recipe http://latingrannyseasonings.com/http:/www.latingrannyseasonings.com/sauces/mayonnaise-or-tartar-sauce-salsa-de-mayonesa-o-salsatartara/
Organic gardening is popularly thought of as growing things without the use of synthetic fertilizers or chemicals such as pesticides. The USDA adds bioengineering and ionizing radiation to that definition. Actually, the concept of organic gardening is much greater than this. Organic gardening encompassing the …
Unless you live in a climate with enough of a growing season for many vegetables, growing and transplanting seedlings is a must. These seedlings take 6 to 7 weeks to be ready for transplanting outdoors. At this point of development they have 4 or 5 …
Growing radishes is fun and the easiest vegetable to grow. A great healthy vegetable eaten raw – radishes are in the same family as cabbages and mustard greens. They are high in vitamin C, used for detoxing, low in calories, and helps in digestion, among many other benefits. Radishes come in many colors: red, purple, white. The cool season varieties are the most popular. Additionally, there are summer and winter radishes, which produce larger roots. I’m addressing the more common cool weather radishes.
Radishes are a cool weather crop that won’t tolerate heat and likes a sunny location. Once it gets hot, they “bolt” and become bitter and non-edible. Bolting is the term used when the plants start to flower. Planting them in the spring or fall in the Northeast is the ideal time.
From a growing point of view they are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. The important factor is to have a loose growing medium. I use a nice raised bed with lots of compost to accomplish this goal. They need to be direct seeded.
See video about potential problem of growing radishes.
Radishes germinate quickly and have to be thinned out to 2” – 3” apart. They are ready to eat within 25 – 30 days depending on the variety. Harvest them when they get to 1.5” to 2” diameter, while they are young and before they get woody.
They make a great companion plant to carrots. Radishes are fast growers. Plant them where tomatoes or other summer crops will follow. Read the blog on companion planting.
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Purchase ‘Garden the Organic Way’ as an eBook http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way
Growing lettuce and other greens organically- greens are a cool weather crops but, with a few tricks and proper management, you can have lettuce all through the season in the northern climates. You can plant as soon as the ground can be worked. It is …
Growing spinach, a delicious and nutritious vegetable. Spinach is very flavorful and nutrient-rich leafy green vegetable. Spinach has high antioxidant content and anti-cancer properties that and promotes better health. In addition, it is an excellent source of protein, iron and other vitamins and minerals. Temperature …
How to grow potatoes and get a huge harvest! – originally from the Andes Mountains, potatoes have traveled the globe and are a huge hit everywhere. There are thousands of varieties. By growing your own, you have the opportunity to try some of the diverse varieties that are out there. Potatoes are tubers not roots. They grow from the stems. They should not receive light.
Don’t use the potatoes that you buy in the supermarket as they won’t germinate. Most potatoes are not organic and they receive a chemical, which inhibits sprouting in potatoes. This chemical lasts for months and, even after it wears off, you may still get poor germination. Therefore, buy certified organic seeds.
Take my course on sale now at a great price until February 7, 2024. Learn all about growing tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and eggplant! The course includes videos providing information on how to prune tomatoes, mound potatoes and the growing practices of this whole Solanaceous family. Great visuals along with many tips and techniques are covered complementing the book Garden the Organic Way. Course on potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
Cut and Seal
Cut the potatoes into 1.5” to 2” pieces or in quarters. Make sure you have at least one eye per piece. Allow to cure or dry for a day. A “seal” will form over the cut potato and it will no longer be moist. If you plant them right after you cut them, the potential for disease is great. So waiting that day or two for the wound to heal in the potato can save your seed.
I plant them on a trench and this way as I mound them the mound is mostly below ground. I leave the top 5”-6” of the plant exposed as I continually mound them until the plant gets quite large.
Soil and Planting Tips
Potatoes grow along the stem when they are covered in loose soil. The looseness allows the tubers to form easily. I mix straw with soil in order to get a fluffy mixture. You can just put lots of hay on top and no soil, but I like to cover the hay with soil to make sure they don’t get any light.
Potatoes should not get light when grown, neither in the store nor in your home. The skin, or right under it, will turn green. The green is a toxic chemical that causes food poisoning. Potatoes belong to the Solanaceae or nightshade family, which produce a series of chemicals, when exposed to light.
When growing potatoes is has to be when the weather is cool. They are planted after the temperatures get to be around 50° F consistently in the spring. Once the weather gets hot they stop growing and begin to bloom. Once they bloom they take about three weeks to produce potatoes. You can harvest by digging a little and picking them or wait until the tops begin to dry out completely later in the summer. Once the tops dry out dig them all up and enjoy. The sizes may vary depending on the amount of watering and the variety. I harvest everything the small and large potatoes all the same. This way I prevent insects and diseases for the following seasons.
Get my paperback copy: ‘Garden the Organic Way’ and become an expert gardener. Garden the Organic Way is a comprehensive guide to organic gardening, designed for all skill levels. The book provides methods for growing delicious, pesticide-free vegetables using sustainable practices. https://gardentheorganicway.etsy.com
You can also purchase ‘Garden the Organic Way’ as an eBook http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way
Do We Just Throw Away Scraps of Vegetables in the Winter? Composting in the winter is a golden opportunity to make back gold. When it’s cold outside and whether you live in a small apartment or a large home with lots of land, sometimes we …
Fall Production is awesome! Cool weather Crops – most of us feel like, when it comes to gardening, everything ends when the summer ends. In reality, we must look at the coming fall as a spring but better. In the fall certain cool weather crops …
Fertilizing with Compost Tea is one of the best ways to get nutrients to your plants. It a safe way to feed your garden all year long. Apply compost tea every two to three weeks. When growing vegetables that are considered heavy feeders, apply it once a week. You can’t over fertilize with tea!
Compost tea is made by steeping compost, manure or other organic nutrients using non-chlorinated water. First, you place a shovelful of the compost or manure into a sack or cloth bag. Second, you hang it from the side of a container on the inside. Third, the container can be as small as a 5 gallon pail or a 55 gallon drum. Fourth, you fill the container with non- chlorinated water. If you have a well great! The water has to be filtered if it is chlorinated. Fifth, place at the bottom a small electric fish tank pump to aerate the water. Let it “cook” for 24 to 48 hours maximum. The tea is ready to be apply with a hand sprayer. You can dilute it down approximately to 10 times its content. Read the blog on how to make compost.
Oxygenated compost tea produces beneficial bacteria versus non-oxygenated produces unhealthy bacteria.
The old popular version was simply to just soak the compost or manure in water for a few days. This type of tea produces unhealthy bacteria that is toxic. Aeration is needed for good bacteria to grow. The good bacteria will be present only on the surface of the container, as this is where the oxygen is available.
Healthy bacteria once applied to the soil, feeds off the organic matter. The organic matter will then decompose releasing the nutrients into the soil. The nutrients are then absorbed by the roots of the plants.
Fertilizing with compost tea increases the microbe population of the soil and feeds the natural cycle of the multiple organism that inhabit the soil. See video on applying compost tea.
Get my paperback copy: ‘Garden the Organic Way’ and become an expert gardener. Garden the Organic Way is a comprehensive guide to organic gardening, designed for all skill levels. The book provides methods for growing delicious, pesticide-free vegetables using sustainable practices. https://gardentheorganicway.etsy.com
‘Garden the Organic Way’ is also available as an eBook http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way
Turning your compost pile every three or four weeks is very important. Because it adds oxygen to the process and assist the bacteria in breaking down the organic matter. Turning your compost will provide oxygen to the bacteria and allow it to reproduce. If the …
Description of those materials needed to make compost. Easy to follow list of materials that are need. Additional list of what materials should not be used. Proper video links and additional materials to learn the process
How to make compost or black gold! One of the easiest ways to restore your soil and fertilize your plants is by adding compost. Old time gardeners considered consider compost “black gold” because it is filled with the microorganisms and nutrients needed to grow a healthy garden. Microorganism instantly become available to plants once added to a garden bed. Black gold consist of decomposed organic matter and can easily be made at home.
To do a large pile outside you will need at least 10 gallons of organic matter and an environment that enables you to establish the right ambient temperatures. The ingredients of the compost should heat up within two or three days to 104° – 122° F or 40° – 50°C.
If you don’t have enough material don’t be discouraged. It will just take longer for the process to finish. Depending on the height and the heat created, compost can be ready within a month. Or longer if conditions are not ideal. Proper turning and watering will give you a final product of “black gold”. See video on Turning a compost pile.
You can add worms to provide an extra added benefit and speed the decomposition. Worms are good when the pile is not hot and it’s not too big. If it looks like it has cooled off, then this is the right time to put those local worms to work.
See video for detailed explanation What Happens When Turning a Compost Pile
Read additional blogs on using straw mulch.