All posts by Jordan Charbonneau

Garden Advice

5 Root Crops for the Fall Garden

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Fall planting is upon us! Where we’re located in zone 7a and many other areas, August is a great month to plant your fall garden. These are some of our favorite plants for fall. They help keep fresh produce on the table longer into the winter months. 

Lutz Winter Keeper Beets

This beet will get you farther into winter with fresh beets on the table! As the name suggests, Lutz Winter Keeper Beets store very well and are an excellent addition to any fall garden. They’re an old heirloom variety that was bred before modern refrigeration. 

Unlike many beets, which become woody, Lutz Winter Keepers stay sweet and tasty even when they grow large. Their leaves make delicious salad greens too!

We’ve had problems finding good “true” seed for Lutz Green Leaf, but finally, this is the good stuff – thanks to the fine folks at Uprising Seeds for sharing theirs!

Misato Rose Radishes for the fall garden
 

Misato Rose Fall Radish

In case you’re unfamiliar, there are two types of radishes. There are spring radishes that are small, quick to mature, and best used fresh. Then there are fall or winter radishes which are slower growing, large, and better for storage. These radishes thrive in autumn’s cooler temperatures, making them a great fall garden choice.

Misato Rose is our favorite fall radish! It’s beautiful and very forgiving. Unlike many radishes, it will still bulb even if crowded or thinned late. It’s a great fall crop for beginner gardeners.

American Purple Top Yellow RutabagaAmerican Purple Top Yellow Rutabaga

Rutabagas are a versatile, easy-to-grow crop for the fall vegetable garden. They’re often overlooked in modern gardening and cooking, but rutabagas were once an important staple crop for many families. 

American Purple Top Yellow Rutabagas are the classic rutabaga for home and market gardeners. They’re an improved strain of Purple Top Yellow (pre-1850) introduced in 1920. They have mild, yellow, fine-grained flesh.

Oxheart Carrots for the fall gardenOxheart Carrots

These unusual-looking carrots date back to 1884! Like many root crops bred before grocery stores and modern refrigeration, these carrots are an excellent storage variety. In good conditions, they grow 5 to 6 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide and may weigh up to a pound!

Oxhearts get their name from their thick, blunt, “ox-heart” shape. This short wide shape means they’re excellent for areas with shallow, rocky, or heavy clay soils where longer varieties struggle. However, their size means they need plenty of space.

Sandwich Island Mammoth Salsify Sandwich Island Mammoth Salsify

Salsify may not be the prettiest vegetable, but it is tasty and easy to grow. The roots have an oyster-like flavor (some say scallop-like or artichoke-like) and are excellent baked, stewed, or cooked in a cream sauce. In the past, it was sometimes called the vegetable oyster.

Salsify is one of those crops that used to be very popular in Europe and North America but faded from widespread use with the advent of modern refrigeration. It’s still an excellent fall crop. This variety dates to before 1900 and keeps well in the ground. Harvest roots after they’ve been through a frost.

 

The dog days of summer will be gone before we know it. While your kitchen may be packed with produce now, it’s time to get your fall crops started if you want to keep fresh produce coming in through the fall and winter. These five heirloom root vegetables are lovely additions to any fall garden.

Bonus Tip

Did you know you can seed flowers in the fall? Several flower varieties can be planted in the fall for extra-early spring blooms. Check out our guide to fall flowers to plant for spring blooms.

Garden Advice

Moon-Phase Gardening

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Humans have been watching the sky for thousands of years. In ancient times, humans crafted the first calendars by watching the changes they observed in the moon. Naturally, humans used the changes to plan important events, including various agricultural activities. While we may never recover the complete history of ancient agricultural practices, there is little doubt that planting by phases of the moon dates is a time-worn tradition.

Today, we can sometimes find the remnants of these traditions still in practice.  Particularly in Appalachia, older generations and those taught to garden by them still regularly practice planting by the moon’s phases. The practice has also seen a resurgence, particularly among permaculturalists. In today’s blog, we’ll uncover what we know about moon-phase gardening.

What is Moon Phase Gardening?

It may sound mysterious, but moon-phase gardening is a simple practice. In moon-phase gardening, you plant certain crops with the waning (diminishing) or waxing (becoming fuller) moon phase. The belief is that you should plant those crops with above-ground produce like lettuce, beans, tomatoes, and cabbages during a waxing moon and plant those crops with below-ground produce like potatoes, beets, carrots, and turnips during a waning moon. 

A waning moon is also generally considered to be the best time to harvest. The belief is that the plants generally have less sap flow during the waning moon and will have a longer shelf life if harvested at this time.

You can easily find the moon phase for specific dates online or use moon phase calendars or more detailed publications like the Old Farmer’s Almanac or Llewellyn’s Moon Sign book. 

Some moon-phase gardening practitioners also plant by astrological signs. Generally, earth and water signs, including Cancer, Taurus, Scorpio, Pisces, and Capricorn, are thought to be fertile and moist, while fire and air signs like Leo, Gemini, Aquarius, Aries, and Sagittarius are believed to be dry and barren. However, there are a couple of exceptions. Practitioners believe Virgo (an earth sign) is barren while Libra (an air sign) is fertile. Some folks also believe certain plants perform best when planted under a specific sign.

You may have also heard of biodynamic farming, which was started in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner and also uses moon-phase gardening. The practice of biodynamic farming leans on some of these older traditions but has additional steps and breaks plants into further categories: root, leaf, flower, and fruit. 

Does Moon Phase Gardening Work?

When we look for modern scientific research, there really aren’t studies that support the idea that the moon affects plants’ growth. Some research has explored whether or not plants are affected by moonlight or the moon’s gravitational similar to the way it affects the ocean’s tides. So far, most of the science available says that plants are not affected by either of these qualities. However, one study focusing on coffee plants did indicate that the full moon affected the plant’s circadian rhythm. Further research on the moon’s effect on plants is needed to make solid conclusions.  

While this practice is undoubtedly old and has many staunch believers, some historians believe that our relationship with the practice has changed over time. In her essay, Planting by the Moon: Medieval Science and New Age Religion, Professor Rebecca Krug of the University of Minnesota argues that medieval gardeners used this as a practical technique but did not put it above other observable conditions, while new age writers and gardeners have assigned spiritual and philosophical significance to the practice.

Should I Use Moon-Phase Gardening Techniques?

Gardening is nothing if not an experiment, and if you feel drawn to moon-phase gardening, there’s no harm in it. While we don’t have scientific evidence that it works, whatever works for you and doesn’t harm the land is the right way to garden. Whether you want to experiment yourself or are looking to connect with your ancestors or learn a little more about history and astronomy, moon-phase gardening can be an exciting project. 

Garden Advice

8 Steps to Save Lettuce Seed

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Lettuce is an excellent crop for beginner gardeners, but it’s also great for beginner seed savers! Lettuce is an annual crop that it completes its entire life cycle and produces seed in one season. Lettuce is also self-pollinating, doesn’t require huge isolation distances, and just a few plants in a small garden can produce viable seed. There’s also an incredible myriad of lettuce cultivars to choose from! Here are the eight simple steps to saving lettuce seed.

1. Choose an Open-Pollinated Variety

You can probably find hundreds of lettuce varieties available on seed racks and websites today. You can save lettuce seed from whatever variety takes your fancy, as long as it’s open-pollinated.

Open-pollinated refers to how the seeds are bred. In an open-pollinated system, plants are pollinated by other plants of the same variety, creating seed that will produce “true to type” or display the same characteristics each season. This type of seed makes up most of the seeds we carry at Southern Exposure. 

All heirlooms are open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated seeds are heirlooms. Heirloom refers to the age of a variety. We consider heirlooms to be those open-pollinated varieties bred before 1940.

2. Plant Your Lettuce

Lettuce germinates well and thrives in the cooler temperatures of spring or fall. Sometimes we plant in spring, and sometimes, we plant in fall and overwinter crops. Lettuce bolts, meaning it goes to flower in the warm temperatures of summer. You can direct sow or transplant your lettuce.  

When planting your lettuce for seed, you should isolate different varieties by a minimum of 12 feet for home use. For pure seed, isolate varieties a minimum of 25 to 50 feet.

Sow seed 1/4″ deep and thin to 10 to 16 inches apart for fresh eating or about two feet apart for seed saving, depending on the variety. You can plant loose-leaf varieties more closely for fresh eating but try to maintain good air circulation around the plants. Soil should be cool and moist during the germination period.

While it isn’t strictly necessary here in Virginia, with rain about every 1-3 weeks in the summer, it’s easiest for us to grow lettuce seed under cover in high tunnels.

3. Tend Your Lettuce

Lettuce grown for seed should be watered and weeded like lettuce grown for fresh eating. You’ll also want to watch your lettuce for signs of pests and disease. Spray off aphids with the hose and treat other pests as needed. At the first signs of disease, remove any infected plants.

When the plants bolt, they get quite tall and sometimes lodge and tip over. Use stakes and twine to keep plants upright and ensure good quality seed.

4. Save an Appropriate Number of Plants

If you’re growing some lettuce for fresh and eating and some for seed, allow enough plants to bolt and form seed. For viable seeds, you only need seeds from one plant. However, to maintain seed over generations, save seed from five to ten plants. If you’re trying to save a rare variety, it’s best to save seed from at least twenty plants if you can.

5. Allow the Seeds to Mature

Lettuce seed develops and matures on each branch over a period of time. We often have to harvest lettuce seed from a crop every week or so for a few weeks as it matures. When the lettuce seed “feathers,” when the parachute-like pappus emerges, it’s time to harvest the seed.

6. Harvest the Seeds

There are several ways to harvest the seeds. You may shake the seed heads into a paper bag. When dealing with just a few plants, you can clip a mature branch, hand-pull the seeds, and place them into a container. 

In the photo above, Ken holds a large baking tray to catch the seeds that Irena massages off the seedheads. It’s sticky work! Lettuce sap contains latex, so we pick up a lot of sticky residue and seeds.

7. Clean and Process Your Lettuce Seed

After harvesting, the seed needs to be dried and cleaned. You can gently rub the seeds between your hands or against a light screen material to detach them from their pappus and any other loose debris.

Depending on the chafe you’ve got in your seeds, you’ll probably need to screen and winnow your seeds. You’ll need a much gentler breeze than you would for larger seeds like beans; lettuce seed is tiny. Take care not to lose it!

The seed should be fully dry when you store it. If you try to bend a seed in half, it should break rather than flex. 

8. Store Your Lettuce Seed

Store your lettuce seed in dry airtight containers somewhere cool and dark. When stored properly, lettuce seed may last for up to six years.

Growing lettuce and saving seed from your crop is a great project for beginner gardeners and seed savers. Following these steps, you can help steward an open-pollinated lettuce variety and have seed for years of gardens to come!