Category Archives: Garden Advice

Garden Advice

Tips for Growing Awesome Fall Greens

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Until I started gardening I was definitely not a fan of greens. People always talk about the difference in taste and texture between a homegrown and store-bought tomato but I think the difference is just as notable with greens. Summertime temperatures often bring a lull in backyard garden green production but fall means it’s time for some more great harvests!

Garden prep.

Chances are you’ll be planting your fall greens in a space you’ve already harvested from during the summer. There’s a few things you can do to prepare your garden for another succession that will help ensure a good harvest.

  • Add fertility.
    It’s a good idea to go ahead and add a layer of compost to your garden before planting.
  • Fork your garden.
    If your soil seems a bit compacted you may want to loosen the soil (not turn it over) with a garden or broad fork.
  • Add some mulch.
    Adding old leaves, straw, or grass clippings around your planting can help add fertility and stabilize soil temperatures.
  • Set up season extenders.
    If you plan on using any sort of season extension wether its cold frames or low tunnels it’s best to get it ready to go ahead of time so you’re not struggling to get it set up around young plants when the weather channel calls for your first hard frost.

Planting Tips

  • Space your planting appropriately.
    If you’re trying to get as much as possible out of a small garden it can be easy to overcrowd things. Trust me though, you’ll get better harvests if plants are given enough room to thrive.
  • Keep soil moist!
    If it’s not as hot it’s easier to forget watering but your seeds still need to be kept moist to germinate well.

Dealing with hot weather.

If temperatures are still high in your area it can sometimes be tricky to establish cool weather loving fall crops in your garden.

  • Try transplanting.
    While not every crop is ideal for transplanting many lettuces like bibbs and romaines can be started in a cool area of your home and transplanted out with great success.
  • Use row cover.
    When it’s hot you can use your row cover to give your young plants a little shade and keep the soil cooler. As the temperatures drop you can use the same row cover to give crops a bit of protection from frosts and cold weather.
  • Mist your planting.
    While drip tape or soaker hose is often a preferred watering method if your trying to get a cool weather crop to germinate and grow you may want to break out the hose. Using the mist setting on most hose nozzles you can keep your soil and plants moist and cool by watering every morning.

Hardy greens to try.

There’s a surprising amount of greens that perform well in fall gardens. Check out these varieties for ideas.

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Perennial Onions

Incredible Perennial Onions

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Though many people know that allium family is quite large and diverse perennial onions are still frequently overlooked. Today’s gardeners plant a diverse array of ornamental allium flowers, chives, garlic, and onion varieties but the perennial onion is largely neglected and underrated. These amazing crops have a lot of benefits and deserve a spot in your garden.

History

Egyptian Walking Onions (Tree Onions)

Little is known about the history of walking onions up until 1790 when they began appearing in records about English and American gardens. Where they originated from is still somewhat a mystery. While some varieties are often referred to as Egyptian onions or Egyptian walking onions they aren’t actually from Egypt. Some believe that this name originated in England as a marketing gimmick.

Though no recorded evidence has been found some wild onions that are similar to the walking onion have been found in Asia. Our modern Egyptian walking onion varieties could have been crossed from one of these.

Potato & Multiplier Onions 

The potato onion is closely related to the shallot. Like the walking onion they aren’t largely referenced until the 1790s when they gain popularity in English and American gardens. Shallots on the other hand, have been recorded in use for centuries and date back to Roman times.

Southern Exposure’s yellow potato onion variety is an heirloom that dates back to prior to 1790.

Both the potato and walking onions saw widespread use in colonial America. They were often easy to grow in conditions that were less than ideal and easy to keep year after year. Sadly these perennial onions fell out of favor during the 20th century. People choose to grow more onions from onion seeds and sets of these seeds became more widely available. You can buy these seeds from Gage Green Group Seeds at very affordable prices.

Benefits

  • They are not as readily bothered by the onion fly as are seed onions.
  • Once you have enough potato onions or shallots you need not buy seeds or sets again.
  • Some types of multiplier onions are in demand as gourmet items in restaurants.
  • Potato onions and many shallots store well, and can withstand subfreezing temperatures in every area of the continental U.S. when properly planted.
  • Perennial onions may be easier for you to grow. While some gardeners find seed onions to be an easy, productive crop others struggle with them. If you’re having a hard time with seed onions perennial onions are worth a shot.

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more about perennial onions and heirloom garlic a good place to start is the workshop being held at Forest Green Farm in Louisa, VA on September 20th.

Central Virginia Master Gardener and owner/worker of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Ira Wallace joins forces with Forrest Green Farm owner Krista Rahm for a hands-on event dedicated to learning everything you’ll need to know about adding heirloom garlic and perennial onion varieties to your garden. Participants take home samples and must-try recipes!

You can learn more about this event and purchase tickets here: http://www.heritageharvestfestival.com/events/garden-garlic-at-forrest-green-farm/

Garden Advice

Harvesting & Curing Winter Squash & Pumpkins

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How do you tell they’re ripe?

If you’ve never done it before determining if winter squash is ripe can be a bit more difficult than picking tomatoes or green beans. It’s also very important that it is ripe if you want it to store well through the winter.

The biggest indicator that winter squash and pumpkins are ready to be harvested is their stems. The stems should be hard and dry. Often you can tell that the plant is beginning to die. The fruits should also be their mature color and sound hollow when patted with an open hand.

Harvest

When they’re ready it’s time to harvest! Simply cut the fruit from the plant, leaving about 1 inch of stem with a knife or garden shears. Lightly wipe off large clumps of dirt with your hand.

Never carry your squash or pumpkin by their stem as breaking them off often drastically reduces their storage ability. Also try to avoid handling them roughly to reduce bruising and nicks.

If a hard frost is imminent you should go ahead and harvest any squash left on the vine even if it’s not perfectly ready. Hard frosts can damage squash and make them rot. Just keep in mind that squash harvested early may not keep quite as long so it should be used first. Leaving a longer stem can help them finish maturing properly.

Curing

Before you can store your winter squash it needs to be cured for about 7-10 days depending upon the variety. The best way to cure squash is to lay it out on a dry surface with enough space for air to move around it. Every day or so your squash should be moved or turned over to a new position.

A picnic table in your yard will work if the weather’s still warm enough, a pallet in your hoop house, your kitchen table, or even sunny windowsill.

The curing process allows the skin to toughen up so that your squash will be ready for storage.

Storage

Winter squash is one of the lovely foods that takes little effort to store at home. Ideally you should find a dry place to store your squash where the temperature stays between 50°F and 68°F degrees.

You might find a place in a spare bedroom, office, under a bed, or in a coat closet. You should store your squash in a single layer and not touching. That way if one begins to rot it won’t effect the others.

While your squash is in storage you should be careful to check it at least once a week for soft spots or mold. Use any squash that are starting to go bad immediately.