Grow Better Bell Peppers (Capsicum annuum)

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Jay White

Have you seen the picture on Pinterest and Facebook that says bell peppers with three lobes are “male” peppers and those with four lobes are “female”? Well, it is very popular right now and very, very false. This is one of those times where you can’t believe everything you read. All peppers (and all of their family members-tomatoes, potatoes and egg plants) come from plants that produce flowers that have both male and female parts. These flowers are called “perfect” flowers in the botanical world. Because of this, there is absolutely no need for “male” or “female” fruits. Each little flower has all it needs to produce a fruit full of seeds that will in turn grow into plants that produce more “perfect” flowers. While there are plants out there that do produce only male or only female plants, bell peppers are not one of them.

I don’t know who originally posted this, but it is 100% incorrect.

This is just one of many false “horticultural facts” that I see on the internet. I could literally do an entire post on them. However, I am going to move away from this and tell you some real, verifiable facts about bell peppers. First, bell peppers are the most commonly grown pepper in the United States. According to the National Nursery survey, 46% of gardeners grow them every year. Second, according to the same survey, bell peppers are the third most popular vegetable grown in American gardens. Third, the bell pepper is the most consumed pepper in America. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Americans eat 9.8 pounds of them per year. And finally, bell peppers are the only peppers in the genus that do not produce capsaicin. Capsaicin is the compound that makes most members of the genus Capsicum hot. In my opinion, it is this missing capsaicin that makes these peppers appeal to so many Americans.

Bell Peppers are relatively easy to grow and they are relatively pest free. They have the longest growing season of any of the annual vegetables that you will plant. Transplant them as soon as the threat of freeze has passed and you will be able to harvest fruit until the first killing frost.

Big Bertha did great in last year’s garden!

In my opinion, the hardest part of growing bell peppers is finding the right variety for your area. Through the years I have grown many different varieties. Some have been much more successful than others. Some of the better ones for my Zone 9 garden have been “Big Bertha”, “Blushing Beauty” and “California Wonder”.

This year, I am growing a variety called the Better Belle Hybrid. I ordered my seeds from Tomato Growers Supply (http://www.tomatogrowers.com/) in January and grew my own transplants. I ordered “Better Belle Hybrid” because (according to their website) it is a thicker walled and earlier producer than the original Better Belle. It is a vigorous, long season producer of green fruit that will turn red on the vine. Basically, I ordered it because it claims to have everything going for it that I look for in a bell pepper.

Bell pepper foliage can be brittle. Because of this I never “pull” the peppers off of the vine.

Growing – Bell peppers require full sun so place them in the sunniest part of your garden. They also need at least an inch of water per week. When it gets really hot, I up that to about an inch every four days. Bell peppers love rich, loose, well-draining soil that has been thoroughly worked with compost. If you want to ensure the biggest, firmest and most thick walled bell peppers consider adding dolomite (rock dust that is high in calcium and magnesium) to the soil before planting. If the soil, sun and water are right, you can expect to start harvesting your first peppers 45 to 60 days after transplant. Bell peppers are always the first pepper to produce in my garden. Peppers will produce well until temperatures go above 90F, then their production will fall. However, if you add more organic material at this time and continue to water, your peppers will continue producing right up to the first freeze. In fact, my plants generally produce more in the fall than they did in the spring.

Last year I planted my bell peppers on April 13. These three bells were my first harvest on June 2. That is just 50 days from transplanting to harvest.

Harvesting-Bell peppers can be harvested anytime they look like a bell pepper. However, they are immature at this point. That is no problem unless you want red, yellow or orange peppers (depending on variety). To get these beautifully colored peppers you will have leave them on the bush until they change colors. Just be aware that the longer you leave the pepper on the bush, the more pests it will attract.

A ripe bell pepper will snap right off into your hand when it is ready to be picked. However, the limbs of pepper plants are brittle. If you try and pull a pepper before it is ready you can get a lot of foliage along with your pepper. For this reason I always use a sharp pair of shears or scissors to harvest my peppers.

Hornworms ca n decimate peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and egg plants

Pests-Aphids, cutworms and hornworms can all be a problem for peppers. Aphids can be controlled by regularly applying a good shot of water to the underside of the leaves. Cutworms can be controlled by “wrapping” the stems of the young plants in cardboard. Simply cut a toilet paper or paper towel roll into three inch sections. Split these up the sides. Loosely wrap this around the base of your plants after transplant. Stick an inch or so of the tube into the ground and leave an inch or so above ground. Hornworms are always a double problem for me. I know they can wipe out my tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. However, they are the immature form of the hummingbird moths that I love to watch feed on my datura. Regardless of my fondness for hummingbird moths, I pull all hornworms that I find and quickly squish them. If you have a bad infestation you can apply BT but is only effective if applied when the caterpillars are small.

One of our favorite bell pepper uses. Slice thick, saute, and drop in egg. Top with cheese and more sauteed peppers

Tomato Tips and Tricks by Patty Leander

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Jay White

Nothing beats home grown Texas tomatoes. Photo by Bruce Leander

There are tomato lovers and tomato haters. Tomato haters are the ones who pick chunks of tomatoes out of their pasta or leave a neat pile of tomatoes on the side of their salad plate (you know who you are, BWL). Tomato lovers tend to reside in one of two groups: those who love tomatoes so much that they don’t care if they get their fix from a can, a bottle of ketchup or a supermarket tomato, and the other camp who eschews bland winter tomatoes and commercial tomato products and opts to eat the juicy fruit in season, fresh from the garden and whenever possible while standing IN the garden! Like most vegetable gardeners I prefer my tomatoes in season and hyper-local – direct from my garden to my table. My penchant for home-grown tomatoes means that I gobble up my last fresh tomato sometime in December and I don’t have a new crop until mid-May, and that’s if I’m lucky, so when spring planting season rolls around I am giddy with anticipation.

‘Tomatoberry’ and ‘Jaune Flamme’ are some of Patty’s favorite varieties for the Austin area. Photo by Bruce Leander

March brings the promise of mild days and warm weather but seasoned Texas gardeners have no delusions about our ideal tomato-growing conditions. We have but a small window of opportunity between our average last frost (mid-March here in Central Texas) and that first string of 90 degree days (June if not earlier) when plants slowly succumb to the heat and pests of a typical Texas summer. We want to plant as early as we can yet we must be prepared to protect our charges if unpredictable spring weather brings a late cold snap. Be sure to have a supply of floating row cover, boxes, milk jugs, buckets or other means of protection on hand to cover tender transplants if frost threatens. Even without the threat of cold weather I like to wrap the outside of my tomato cages with row cover or plastic to protect plants from strong winds.

A tomato laid on its side will quickly turn up and grow towards the sun. Picture by Bruce Leander

Row cover can sometimes be found at local garden centers or it can be ordered from a variety of online sources, including Texas Gardener (www.texasgardener.com), Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (www.southernexposure.com) and Johnny’s Seed (www.johnnyseeds.com).

Before planting transplants in the ground it’s important to harden them off by gradually acclimating them to the outdoors. Start by setting them out in a protected spot on a patio or under a tree for an hour or two, gradually increasing their exposure to sun and outdoor temperatures. For best growth and production space plants 3-4 feet apart in the garden. Resist the urge to plant your tomatoes deep. Instead, remove the lower leaves and plant your transplants sideways in a shallow trench. This will keep the roots in the uppermost layer of soil where it is warmer and new feeder roots will sprout all along the stem, adding to the plant’s vigor. The stem will turn towards the sun and straighten out within a day or two. Water new transplants with a half-strength fertilizer solution and as they grow gently direct their stems to keep them corralled inside their cage – this is much easier to do when they are young. Spray every 2-3 weeks with a liquid fertilizer and sidedress each plant with 1-2 tablespoons of granular garden fertilizer when the first fruit starts to form. Provide 1-1½ inches of water per week, and if possible use drip irrigation or soaker hoses to keep soil from splashing up on the leaves as this is sometimes how soil borne diseases get their start.

Nothing beats the complex taste of hierlooms like “Black Cherry”. Photo by Bruce Leander

Most of the heirlooms that we love to eat take 80-90 days before that first juicy tomato is ripe for picking. The intense heat of summer is not far behind so be sure to include some quick-maturing hybrid varieties that start producing in 65-75 days as insurance for a successful tomato crop. ‘New Girl’ (62 days from transplanting), ‘Early Girl’ (57 days) and ‘Juliet’ (62 days) are all good bets. Most heirlooms don’t produce as reliably or prolifically as the hybrid varieties, but their beautiful colors, juiciness and complex flavors are hard to resist. ‘Cherokee Purple’ (74 days), ‘Green Zebra’ (75 days) and ‘Black Krim’ (80 days) are popular varieties, and some years are better than others. Cherries are always a favorite – ‘Black Cherry’ (65 days), ‘Black Plum’ (82 days), ‘Sun Gold’ (57 days) and ‘Tomatoberry’ (60 days) bring interesting color, flavor and shape to the tomato harvest. If you have the space try experimenting with different varieties. You just never know when you are going to find that perfect plant that fulfills all of your tomato expectations. When you do I hope you’ll share it with us here at the Masters of Horticulture!

“Black Plun” is another great heirloom for the Austin area. Photo by Bruce Leander

EarthBox Makes Gardening Accessible by Mark Hartley

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Jay White

EarthBox, Inc., the manufacturer of gardening boxes, touted its community outreach efforts last week, providing examples of how schools and senior citizen groups are discovering the joys of gardening in unlikely locations such as roofs, parking lots, and playgrounds.

Students at a Pennsylvania elementary school grow enough in their Eartbox gardens to feed the entire school on World Food Day each year.

Molly Philbin, the education director for EarthBox, explained the company’s strategy in a press statement: “Gardening can teach everything from science to nutrition while being fun and rewarding at the same time. And since our EarthBox® container gardening system provides ideal growing conditions without the need to dig or weed, groups find that they can enjoy great yields with very little effort.”

EarthBox produces large yields of high quality vegetables with much less work

The rectangular, tub-like containers produced by EarthBox, Inc. features a self-watering reservoir at the bottom of its boxes to enhance “maintenance-free” aspects of gardening.

While purists desire hands-on maintenance of gardens, EarthBox is appealing to groups who lack the time to devote to every aspect of gardening, as well as limited physical skills.

EarthBox is not just for vegetables. These self contained gardens grow beautiful flowers as well

For example, an EarthBox garden was designed for senior residents in Florida who are confined to wheelchairs. The engineer behind the design said the garden “offers them a place where they can grow fresh vegetables, socialize, and relax.”

EarthBox also presented the example of young children ages three to five participating in a nutrition club hosted by a Tampa, Fla., community college. The EarthBox garden focuses on herbs, and the kids tend to the garden, pick the herbs, and learn about the various qualities of the herbs. The club has a weekly “smelling party,” and its president said the young gardeners have a “blast with this weekly activity.”

EarthBox allows you to grow big, beautiful tomatoes right outside your door

EarthBox also cited the examples of scouting organizations for both boys and girls using the convenient gardens to earn badges.

Again, the basins produced by EarthBox are not yielding the type of crop output that most gardeners are trying to achieve. But the self-container market continues to reach its demographic niche, and EarthBox has demonstrated that its products successfully kindle interest in gardening among school-based groups, as well as rekindle interest among our seniors.

The company, which was started in 1994, develops “sustainable” container garden systems for all secondary grade levels in schools. With the national interest in combating obesity among schoolchildren, this type of gardening helps foster to concept of a healthier lifestyle as a result of what’s planted in the garden.

Group several containers together to create a beautiful back porch landscape.

Harry Cabluck’s Tips for Growing Healthy Tomato Transplants

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Jay White

If you want to grow and harvest the best tomatoes possible, you need to grow your own plants from seed and then get those little plants in the ground as soon as possible.. Growing your own plants at home ensures that the varieties you want are available and that they are at the optimal size for transplanting on your optimal planting date.

Some of Harry Cabluck’s home grown tomatoes are almost ready for transplanting. Photo by Harry Cabluck

I have a long time reader (and long-time tomato grower) from Austin named Harry Cabluck. Many of my Austin readers know Harry as an award winning photographer that snapped some of the most iconic sports and political images of our generation. What you may not know about him is that when he was not covering politics at the state capitol he was home working very hard to grow a perfect tomato. The main thing he has learned is that early harvests of tomatoes come from plants that were planted as early as possible. To do this Harry grows from seed in a home-made grow center in his garage. Harry was kind enough to share some of the secrets he has learned about growing tomatoes from seed.

Media – Harry starts his seeds in expandable coir pellets. These pellets provide a loose media that is perfect for germinating plants. Early on, the expandable pellets fit nicely into a specially designed rack. After the plants form their true leave, Harry transfers the entire pellet to 3-ounce bathroom cups that come from the supermarket. These cups are just the right size to hold smaller peat-pellets and they fit perfectly into the pellet rack. A red-hot nail head is applied to burn a hole in the bottom of each cup and felt-tip pen makes it easy to label the plantings.

Coir pellets fit nicely in a 3 ounce cup. In addition, the cups are easy to label. Photo by Harry Cabluck

Warmth – Even though we live and grow in a mild climate, it is not mild enough to grow tomato seeds without some protection from the cold. As Harry said “The recent cold front that blew through Austin has prompted the need for heat again for our tomato seedlings.” To speed up the seeds germination and early growth, he places his coir pellet racks on heated grow mats. Tomatoes grow best in temperatures above 50 degrees. These warming mats ensure the soil that holds his seeds stays a toasty “70ish” degrees even in his garage.

Heat mats ensure quick germination and rapid growth. Phot by Harry Cabluck

Light – All plants need light. If you are going to grow your plants in the absence of natural sunlight, you are going to have to simulate that light for them. Harry uses T5 fluorescent tubes to provide light to his young plants. While florescent are not an exact match for sunlight, you can get pretty close by buying bulbs that emit light in the warm and the cool spectrum. This is usually listed on the packaging. Harry keeps four tubes above his seedlings. He also recommends keeping them very close to the plants to avoid making the plants produce weak, spindly growth.

Strength- One of the true secrets of growing healthy tomato transplants at home is “keeping them moving”. If tomato plants are grown in an enclosed area with no air movement, they can look very pretty but be very brittle. To avoid this, you need to either run your hands gently through your plants on a regular basis or create some way to have a slight breeze blowing over them at all times. Harry’s home-made grow center incorporates a whisper-fan that he salvaged from an old desktop computer. According to him, this small fan provides the air circulation needed to strengthen stems and it also helps cools plants on warm days.

A salvaged fan from an old computer provides the movement needed to ensure Harry’s transplants are strong when moved outside. Photo by Harry Cabluck

If you live in Austin it is a little late to start your tomato seeds at home. However, if you live a bit further north, you may still have plenty of time. By following Harry’s tips you can ensure that you never have to search for your favorite variety again. If you follow Harry’s advice and start your seeds at home a couple of months before their recommended planting time, you will have strong healthy plants that will provide you with the earliest and best tomatoes anywhere.

This post has been shared on the HomeAcre Hop. Be sure to stop by and check out some of the best gardening and homesteading information available on the web.

Gumbo Onions

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Jay White

There are two things that really get my gardening juices flowing–pass along plants and discovering a new, exceptionally good variety of something. This year I received a true gift – a pass along onion that has turned out to be the best green onion I have ever grown. The “Gumbo Onion” is everything you look for in a green onion. The white bulbs are firm and spicy and the green leaves taste great and are firm enough to be easily chopped.

These “gumbo onions” have been grown in the same family for over 100 years

I got my “Gumbo Onions” from fellow Texas Gardener writer Patty Leander. Patty got her starts from Chris Corby who is the editor of Texas Gardener. Chris got these amazing onions in the mail from L. E. Andrews of Houston. L. E. sent Chris several of these amazing onion bulbs. L.E. told Chris that the onions came from a family of Cajuns from south Louisiana who migrated to Texas. They have been growing these onions in the same family for well over 100 years.

Shallots are grown just like regular onions. Only they have no day length limitations.

Mr. Andrews’ “gumbo onions” are technically shallots. Shallots (A. cepa var. aggregatum) are a variety of the onion family (Allium cepa) that reproduces primarily by division. Plant a single shallot bulb and that bulb will create several “off sets” from the main bulb. Because of this growth habit some people call them “garlic onions”

Each shallot bulb will reproduce by creating several “offsets” around the main bulb.

Shallots are not grown in large numbers in the U.S. I am beginning to see them in a few feed stores and nurseries in my area. However, most of the varieties that I am aware of are still passed from gardener to gardener. Shallots are grown just like regular onions (except you don’t have to worry about any day length issues). Plant them in the fall for an early spring harvest or in the early spring for a summer harvest. Do not plant them in soil that has been recently manured. Shallots should be planted with the root scar down and the pointy end up. Stick them in the ground deep enough to just cover the top of the offset. Now all you have to do is water and weed.

L.E. Andrews’ “gumbo onions” are the best green onions I have ever grown.

I am thankful for people like L.E. Andrews. He, and others like him, are preserving our horticultural past by growing these old timey varieties that have slowly fallen out of favor with the nursery trade. I am so glad that he decided to share his heirloom onions and their story with those of us that will appreciate them and hopefully keep them growing for another 100 years.

BTW, if you live north of I10, it is time to get your onions and shallots in the ground!

Resolve to Grow More Veggies in 2014 by Patty Leander

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Jay White

In a nod to the ubiquitous cell phone and the trend of sharing one’s life in pictures, The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2013 was ‘selfie’. But there’s another word that has crept into our vocabulary that may have more relevance to gardeners: Blandscaping. What image does that one word bring to mind? A cookie cutter landscape? A rectangle of grass? Uniformly trimmed hedges lined up in a single row? I bet it doesn’t make you think of a vegetable garden! A vegetable garden is vibrant, dynamic and engaging. It is full of sights, sounds and creatures and best of all an edible harvest.

This resourceful garden was built using materials available on site – native rock and unused concrete blocks with discarded fencing laid down in the paths to deter weeds. Photo by Bruce Leander.

If your landscaping has become a little too bland try incorporating a few edibles or a small vegetable garden this year. Be sure to include crops that grow well in your region and start with vegetables your family likes to eat. Mid-January through February is the perfect time for planting broccoli, sugar snap peas, radishes, turnips, beets, Swiss chard, lettuce and spinach here in Central Texas. Check with the local AgriLife Extension office or Master Gardener organization in your county for the best planting dates in your area.

Get some exercise while tending your edible landscape, savor the nutritious results and you have the start to a healthy new year! If you are new to the diverse vegetable kingdom or if the thought of eating turnips, Swiss chard or radishes leaves you feeling underwhelmed, check back here for some tasty ideas for bringing these health-promoting veggies to the table. I’ll be posting some occasional suggestions for preparing the bounty from your garden – you may be surprised how delicious it can be!

This vegetable “bed” causes visitors to pause and admire the gardener’s sense of humor. Photo by Bruce Leander

There are numerous ways to include vegetables in a landscape, as you’ll see from the accompanying photographs, but there are also universal pitfalls to avoid in the process. It’s easy to get caught up in the garden frenzy of a new season but do try to start with a manageable plan. Believe me when I tell you that vegetables will respond much better when you don’t torture them with the following approach:

STARTING TOO BIG

Vegetables are living things; they may not need as much time as a pet but they do require regular attention. A garden that is too big means plants will not receive the care that is required to bring them to fruition.

Vegetable gardens can be as varied as the gardeners that tend them. Some gardeners prefer the contemplative solitude of a morning tending tidy rows of plants. Photo by Bruce Leander

PLANTING IN SHADE

Vegetables growing in the Texas heat may appreciate a little dappled shade at the height of summer but vegetables growing in the cool season need lots of sunlight to counter the cloudy and chilly days in early spring. Farms don’t grow in the shade.

A double row of broccoli grows in a narrow bed bordered by 16x8x8 inch cinder blocks. Lettuce fills the small space within the concrete blocks. Photo by Bruce Leander.

PLANTING AT THE WRONG TIME

Consult a planting calendar for your area or ask an experienced gardener about planting dates. When planting in the cool season months use a soil thermometer to monitor temperature before planting. Different vegetables thrive at different temperatures and most cool season plants will do best when the soil temperature is in the 40-50° degree range.

PLANTING TOO CLOSE

Give your plants plenty of growing room so they don’t have to compete for nutrients and water. Follow spacing recommendations for transplants and if sowing from seed be sure to thin to the proper spacing after seed has germinated.

Some gardens exude energy, enthusiasm and learning, like the vibrant Children’s Garden at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. Photo by Bruce Leander

IGNORING PLANTS

Create a checklist or purchase a gardening to-do guide and stick to it. Allow time for weeding, watering, fertilizing, inspecting and grooming plants. Remove diseased leaves and keep an eye out for harmful insects and hand-pick or spray to keep populations in check.

Remember, for most gardeners growing vegetables is an enjoyable and productive hobby…but when all else fails visit your local farmers market for a healthy dose of locally grown produce. Here’s to a happy and successful gardening year!

Vegetable gardens naturally attract children and other living creatures!. Photo by Bruce Leander.

Grow Bigger, Sweeter Onions

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Jay White

I love growing onions. They are so reliable and easy to grow. Because of this they make a great crop for beginning gardeners. If you are a new gardener and you have decent soil, just stick some quality sets in it at the right time of year and water them regularly. That is basically all it takes to get a pretty decent onion harvest. However, onions are not just for beginners. For those of us that have more gardening experience, we can use all of our knowledge and skill to grow the biggest and sweetest onions possible.

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from my friend Christi at “The Brown Shed”. She bought several more onion sets than her garden could accommodate so she offered me her extras. Since it is onion planting time in Washington County I gladly accepted her generous offer. Christ gave me six different varieties; Yellow Granex (Vidalia), 1015Y (Y is for yellow), 1015W (Texas Super Sweet), Texas Early White, Texas Legend and Belle Red.

While you can grow your onions from seeds, this article applies to those of us that grow them from sets. Sets are simply immature onion plants. These immature little onions are very tough. The average onion set can live for three weeks without water. Because of this, if your local nursery or feed store does not have the varieties you want, you can order directly from a number of reputable sources. My favorite is Dixondale Farms. Dixondale is a family owned business that has been growing and selling onion sets in the Rio Grande Valley for the past 100 years. (http://www.dixondalefarms.com/category/onion_plants). In fact, if you live in Texas and you buy your sets from a local nursery or feed store, there is a very good chance that they got their sets from Dixondale’s (all of the onions Christi gave me came from Dixondale).

A young “Belle Red” set .

Onions come in three types (short day, intermediate and long day) based on the amount of daylight needed to initiate bulbing. Because of our latitude, most Texans grow what are called short day onions. Short day onions will begin the bulbing process when day lengths reach 10 to 12 hours. Short day onions can be planted anytime between approximately November 15 (in the southern parts of the state) and the middle of February. The earlier you plant them the bigger the bulbs will get.

Don’t worry about planting in November or December. Onions are very cold hearty plants so they can easily survive temperatures into the twenties. However, temperatures below twenty may kill them. If it doesn’t kill them, it will force them bolt and set seeds. So, if it is going to get really cold you should cover them with a tarp or blanket.

Yellow Granex are the Dixondale hybrid that ulitimately become Vidalia onions. However, they can't legally be called Vidalia unless they are grown in Vidalia County, Georgia. I wonder how many of those folks in Georgia realize there most famous export came from Texas?

Yellow Granex are the Dixondale hybrid that ulitimately becameVidalia onions. However, they can’t legally be called Vidalia unless they are grown in Vidalia County, Georgia. I wonder how many of those folks in Georgia realize their most famous export came from Texas?

In addition to a long growing season, bigger, better and sweeter onions require full sun and well-draining, nutrient rich soil. Onions are heavy feeders and they have a relatively small root structure so it is imperative that your soil has enough nutrition to support the growth of these big bulbs. Most onions prefer a soil pH that is slightly acidic (6.2-6.8). If your soil is too acidic you can till in ground limestone. If it is too alkaline add peat moss to raise the pH.

Once your bed is prepared, use your finger or dibble to make 1” deep holes that are 2” to 4” apart. Do not plant onion sets more than an inch deep as this can interfere with bulbing. Drop your onion set into the hole and pull the soil snuggly up around the plant. Most short day onions need at least 4” between plants to develop a large bulb. If you plant them 2” apart, you need to thin them during the growing season. Many people over plant in this manner so they can use their “thins” as green onions. If you don’t intend on making “green onions”, four to six inch spacing will provide plenty of room for your onions to grow into big, healthy bulbs.

Red short day onions like “Belle Red” and hotter and keep better than the sweeter yellow and white short day varieties

If you are growing your onions organically, top dress your rows with a high quality, high nitrogen compost (like manures) every month. If you are fertilizing your onions top dress the soil with ½ cup of fertilizer (ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) for alkaline soils and calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) for acidic soils ) for every ten feet of row. Apply every month until you see the soil beginning to be pushed back by the bulb.

Always water your plants thoroughly after applying fertilizer. Onions need at least an inch of water per week. However, since they have such a shallow root system you need to ensure that the ground never completely dries out. As temperatures rise, monitor your beds closely and adjust the amount of water you put out. Be careful not to over water. If you see your onion tops developing a yellow tinge, back off of the water. Once the onion matures and the tops fall over, stop watering completely.

Because of their weak root structure, onions do not compete well with weeds. Keep your beds as weed free as possible. I generally mulch mine with straw. However, if you use straw you need to pull it back once the plants start to bulb. This will allow the onions to dry out naturally and will help you preserve them when they are mature. If you are not a “mulcher” you can also control weeds organically by putting out corn gluten meal every six weeks. For non-organic growers, Treflan does a great job controlling weeds and has no adverse effect on the onions.

Onions are ready to harvest when their tops fall over. Stop watering at this point.

Onions are the second most grown vegetable in the home garden. When you consider that the average American consumes 20 pounds of these spicy bulbs each year, it is not hard to imagine why so many people love to grow them. With a little care and finesse, you can make your twenty pounds of onions the biggest and sweetest you have ever tasted. Julia Child once said “It is hard to imagine civilization without onions”. I have to agree.

BTW, your onion crop is ready to harvest when the tops fall over. When that happens, be sure to come back and read “How to Harvest and Cure Onions” and “Harvesting and Curing Onions Part 2” by Patty Leander.

This post has been shared on the Homestead Barn Hop and the HomeAcre Hop. These hops are a great way to connect with, and learn from, some of the best bloggers on the web. Be sure to check it out!

Squash Wrap Up

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Jay White

Another front came through last night. Since this is the second significant front to come through in November I realize that the end of growing season is at hand for a lot of things in my garden. The last front actually brought a little freezing weather with it so I had to cover up the tomatoes. I also had a few winter squash that were not quite ready so I covered them too. I also harvested the winter squash that were ready.

The last of the winter squash. Top wrung – Red Warty Thing, Black Futsu and the unidentified squash. Second wrung – Turk’s Turban. Third wrung – another unidentifed squash. Photo by Chris Rue

I planted five varieties of winter squash back in August. I bought the seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com). Even though I planted five varieties of squash, I wound up only harvesting three of the varieties I ordered. This was due to a couple of strange things that I have never happened to me before.

The cucmber beetles ate everything – leaves and flowers included!

The first were the cucumber beetles. OMG! They were terrible. In addition to being a general menace they completely destroyed all of the vines of the Lakota winter squash. I really wanted this variety so that was pretty disappointing. However, that is nature. Bugs happen. Since I have never had cucumber beetles before, and since they COMPLETELY ate all of the Lakota vines, I can only assume that the Lakota squash brought the bugs to me. I will never plant this variety again.

This image of Galeux d’ Eysines is from rareseeds.com. This what I wanted to grow. The green and orange squash in the first picture is what I got.

The next thing that happened was truly strange. I am convinced that Baker Creek somehow messed up their packaging. I ordered a variety called Galeux d’ Eysines. As the season progressed it became clear that I had none of this variety growing in my squash patch. Instead, I had a large, oblong squash that was mostly green but stripped with a little orange. To this day I have no idea what variety this squash is. I have gone through all of the pictures on their website and I can find nothing that resembles the squash I grew. Very strange. I know accidents happen but I have never bought a package of seeds and then had them turn out to be something other than what was advertised.

This lovely Tatume’ was grown by MOH reader Sherry Westphal in Michigan.

On another note, I recently got an e-mail and pictures from Sherry Westphal of Michigan. She grew Tatume’ on a trellis in her garden. Tatume’ is my favorite squash of all time. Tatume’ is the rare squash that can be grown as either a summer or winter squash. I grow it in the spring and eat it when it is young. However, if you leave it on the vine it will turn into a mild winter squash. So glad Sherry enjoyed her Tatume’ and took the time to send pictures and tell me about it.

All of this cold means the end of what I consider prime gardening time. The tomatoes are done and the last of my winter squash will soon be on the porch. However, thanks to my mild climate, I have enough greens and brassicas growing in the garden to keep my hands dirty until February.

The Red Warty Thing

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Jay White

I love garden surprises. This fall, my surprise came in the form of a massive squash called The Red Warty Thing (formerly called Victor). Back in July I pulled down my cucumber vines. This left me with a 33’ trellised row in need of planting. So, I ordered 5 varieties of heirloom winter squash from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com). In all honesty, I didn’t plan on eating any of them. I wanted to use them in the fall decorations around our house.

I have never enjoyed watching anything grow more than I did this Red Warty Thing

When I ordered The Red Warty Thing, I thought I would be growing a lovely orange, bumpy, softball sized decoration to mix in a bowl with my gourds, acorns and leaves. I was very surprised when my “decoration” turned into a 16 pound pumpkin!

Watching this squash turn into a pumpkin has truly been the highlight of my fall garden

I have grown very few things that I enjoyed as much as this squash. In fact, watching it grow became a part of our evening routine. It produced huge vines with huge, beautiful leaves. After that came the huge yellow flowers. Once the bees did their thing, we enjoyed watching the light yellow football shaped fruit that was about the size of golf ball turn into the huge Red Warty Thing. For the first month, it kept its yellow color. Once it got about as big as it is now, the skin started to change. Then it developed slight ribs like a pumpkin. Then the bumps started forming and the color started changing ever so slightly every day.

This baby Red Warty Thing has gone from golf ball to softball size in less than a week

As much fun as it was to watch the squash grow, I will probably not grow it (or any other squash) for a couple of years. The reason I have finally decided to give up on squash for a while was a little green bug called the cucumber beetle.

This little green bug has finally convinced me to put away my squash seeds for a couple of years

Now I am a pretty experienced gardener. However, I have never experienced insects that were this invasive and this destructive. While I am accustomed to squash bugs and squash vine borers, I have never encountered anything like the cucumber beetle before. As soon as the foliage reached the top of the trellis, these guys showed up. And not just a few either. They came en mass. Over the next few weeks they systematically stripped all of the foliage and flowers from my 15 plants. The only way I could keep ahead of them was to let the squash vine on the ground. For some reason the bugs only ate the foliage on the trellis.

The cucmber beetles ate everything – leaves and flowers included!

Since I grow organically, I didn’t have any means to fight them. I never noticed a larval stage. One day I noticed holes in the leaves and the next day the trellis was covered in a swarm of green bugs. These beetles finally showed me that as an organic grower I am truly defenseless against a determined invader.

Since this is going to be the last winter squash I grow for a while I decided to do a little research and see what I could do with a 16 lb squash. Turns out, I can do a whole lot. According to the internet, the Red Warty Thing has a flavor and texture that allows you to use it in all of your pumpkin recipes. So I can puree it and use it to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup. It can also be cubed and roasted just like an acorn or butternut squash. Since I really like all of these things, I am looking forward to helping my wife convert our “decorative” squash into a plethora of pumpkin dishes for all of our Thanksgiving guests.

Harlequin Bug – A Real Sucker By Patty Leander

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Jay White

Brassica plants love our fall weather. So do harlequin bugs. And unfortunately harlequin bugs love brassicas. These colorful bugs are attracted to the large, succulent leaves of various members of the brassica family, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards and mustard. A cousin to stink bugs, the adults are easy to spot because of their orange and black exoskeleton, and if you find one there are usually many more in the vicinity.

Adult Harlequin Bug in curly kale. All photos in the post by Bruce Leander

One of the best methods for controlling this pest is to perform a regular “search and destroy” operation to keep them in check; otherwise they will continue to proliferate in your garden. Monitor your plants for clusters of the distinctive, black and white barrel-shaped eggs which are usually laid in clusters of 10-12 on the plant stems or the underside of leaves. Each female egg has the potential to hatch and grow and lay another dozen eggs in only four to nine weeks, so if you can eliminate just one egg mass you will be way ahead in this game we call vegetable gardening.

This dime shows the relative size – the intricate eggs are tiny and easy to overlook

Harlequin Bugs have distinctive egg cases, usually 10-12 barrel shaped eggs laid side by side

Organic products, such as spinosad or insecticidal soap, only offer fair control and are most effective in the nymphal stages. Adults become more resistant and harder to control so find those eggs and destroy them! If any eggs should escape your eagle eye, hand pick the resulting pests and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. Row cover can be used to protect plants, just make sure there are no adults or eggs present before covering plants. Another control option is to plant a sacrificial trap crop of mustard or turnips to attract the bugs away from your desirable plants, then pick off the adults or spray the trap crop with insecticide rather than spraying all of the brassicas you plan to eat. Keep an eye out for this pest in both fall and early spring as they can easily decimate a plant if not kept under control.

The colorful adults are plentiful and easy to find; handpick and dispose of them in a bucket of soapy water