growLively

Question #1 of the day: My veggies aren't ripening on time!

Here is another question I received:

"Everything I plant seems to take way longer to grow than any harvest times I read about. seed packets or garden articles.  I planted Brussels sprouts and cabbages about the beginning of September and although the plants are healthy they are just now starting to make heads on the cabbages and no sign of anything with the sprouts. Same thing with my broccoli and carrots, peppers and peas.  Summer and fall plantings alike.  Even my radishes take up to 60 days to get to a decent size. (I won't discuss tomatoes.  My tomato harvest sucked.) I even have this issue with flowers.  I planted marigold seeds in the spring and while they germinate and get a couple of inches tall they actually started growing gangbusters in September!  They are blooming now.

I plant according to the NHG planting dates.  You posted about an abundance of zucchinis and mine were just starting to bloom. My mom is putting up turnip greens and mine are about 4 inches tall. Things seem to eventually get there, but what's making things grow so slow?

Some of the things I planted last fall grew to be about 4 inches or so and then just stalled out for the rest of the winter.  I left them alone and in the spring they started growing again to give me an early spring harvest.  But that can throw off my spring planting plans.  That was ok because last spring I was putting in new beds and I just shifted around.  This year it won't work.  If I'm still waiting for my fall garden to harvest in the spring, I won't have space to plant my summer plan.  Or will have to plant later. 

I am new to gardening.  I moved to Dallas in the fall of 2007 from Houston. I attended one of your new gardeners seminars at NHG. I have raised beds in full sun with a mix of garden soil, composts, manures and lava sand.  I fertilize with seaweed/fish emulsion in a foliar spray.  Any suggestions?"

Answers: There are a number of factors at play here. First is obviously timing. There are different times for starting seeds of crops and transplants outdoors. Make sure you're starting seed indoors in January/February for Spring crops that need to be transplanted in March...same goes for fall crops. It sounds like you're trying to follow properl seeding and planting dates, but I'd ask you to perhaps give some specifics about say, when exactly you seeded your zucchini, or your turnips. My turnip greens are also ready now as well. I seeded them outdoors in September.

Next, the most important factors are going to be temperature, rainfall/watering and your soil quality. Temperature drives development (fruit), Light drives green growth. So if temperatures are say unseasonably cool, or warm, that will effect development of your plants and change the length of time to ripening. Your marigolds for example probably needed to be started indoors in Jan/Feb to be ready for Spring planting. They like our cooler spring and fall weather here, but get a bit stunted once the summer heat kicks in. That's why they're doing great now. I recommend planting transplants of marigolds in March/April and then again in August and early September.

Your plants sound stunted and that is usually due to water management and soil fertility. Realize that "new" soil, even if it's a mix of really good composts, etc. can take a little while to become bioactive. Soil microbes that assist in the breakdown of nutrients take time to multiply. New soil is always less fertile that a mix that's been in the garden a year or so. So when you plant veggies into a bed with new soil, you'll often see stunted or yellowing plants. Amend the soil with things that are food for microbes (molasses, fish emulsion) and make sure you're fertilizing the plants. The liquid seaweed is a good instant feed, but there is no lasting effect. You'll need to put down a granular veggie food in the beds as well as supplementing with a liquid feed. Once your soil is really good, you won't have to fertilize as much. It can take a new soil mix a year or more to get really active in my experience.

We had a very hot dry summer, followed by a very wet October. That really got a lot of people's plants off schedule. It's key, during August and September, to really water those fall crops enough to get them off to a good start. They are cool season plants, but we put them out in the garden at a time here when it is still really hot and dry. This can stunt growth and development causing either a failed crop or delayed production. 

Does this help?

'Four Seasons' Viola...My new fave...

These are the cutest violas! The 'Four Seasons' Viola series is a mounding/spreading type of viola that has a bit better heat tolerance on average. They don't trail quite to the degree that 'Purple Rain' does, but they really fill out a container or basket nicely. They produces masses of small blooms. This is definitely my favorite new series of viola to come along in a while...and now just happens to be the perfect time to plant them.

Viola 'Four Seasons White & Pink Wing'- stunning. A lovely combination of white and lavender/pink. Tons of blooms.

Viola 'Four Seasons Purple & Bronze' - a very unique color combination, love it. The plants look really full.

Viola 'Four Seasons Blue & Yellow' - a more traditional color combo, but it looks like it's going to bloom gangbusters.

What to plant right now...

This is what I planted this weekend....

Still time to get broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and other cole crops planted. Don't forget cool season herbs like dill, fennel and cilantro. Chard, sorrel, lettuce and spinach can go in the ground as well. In this bed, I ripped up a few 'Golden Mama' Tomato plants on their last leg. They were still covered with fruit, but I'm going to make green tomato pickles with what I harvested from them.

This is also the perfect time to plant pansies, violas and other cool season color like Iceland Poppies, foxglove, snapdragons and the like. They will perform much better next spring if you get them in the ground before the first frost (Avg. here is Nov. 17th). I usually do a combo of purples, blues and whites. But every once in a while I shake things up with some orange! I know...livin' on the edge, eh? LOL. So this year's cool season combo is blue and orange, with some purples here and there. (Didn't have the heart to pull out the pretty little gomphrena in the photo...maybe next week). I also planted up some hanging baskets with 'Purple Rain' trailing pansy...fabulous!

Time to Plant: Garlic

I planted a few varieties of garlic yesterday. The entire month of October is prime garlic planting time. Purchase culinary garlic bulbs for planting (preferably not from the grocery store-often they are treated to prevent sprouting). You'll usually find varieties of Softneck, Hardneck and Elephant garlic. The Softnecks are better adapted to warmer  climates. Hardnecks will have a hard shoot that emerges from the middle of the bulb. They often have a more strong, hot flavor. Elephant garlic produces huge bulbs but a milder flavor. Split the bulb up into the separate cloves. You can peel the tunic off the clove if you want to but you don't have to.  Plant each clove about two-inches deep and each clove several inches apart. Choose a sunny spot with rich well draining soil. I plant mine in raised beds. Fall is the best time to plant garlic as it needs a cool period to develop a root system, before it begins to put on heavy bulb growth with the return of warm temperatures. 

The following spring, leaves and scapes (flower shoots) will emerge and grow through spring. Fertilize your garlic with an organic veggie/herb food in early spring, just as the leaves begin to emerge. When it turns hot plants will bolt (flower) usually late-spring early-summer.  After bulbs have bolted, you'll wait to harvest them until the lower leaves have started to turn yellow and die off. Once you've harvested your garlic, you'll need to let it cure (dry down) for a couple of weeks. Don't cut off the foliage or roots. Set them in a shady dry spot, perhaps a shed, where they can dry. After the foliage/roots are completely dry, then you can trim them if you want to and store. You can save a few of your garlic bulbs to re-plant the following fall, or eat it all and buy new ones!

What to plant this weekend...

Ok, it's been rainy, but the weekend is supposed to be nice. That means you have nice soft moist soil just waiting to be planted. So what can you plant right now? Well, a bunch of stuff! Any of the cole crops, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and the like. You can plant from transplants and you might still have time to go ahead and start some from direct seeding as well. Swiss chard, kale, collard and mustard greens (transplant or seed). Salad greens can be direct seeded right now. Also, direct seed radishes, beets, turnips and carrots. The weather is perfect for their quick germination. It's also the perfect time to plant cool season herbs like dill, parsley, cilantro and fennel. Garlic! Don't forget your garlic. The month of October is the perfect time to get your garlic cloves planted. Separate, but do not peel, the individual cloves. Plant about 1-inch deep and several inches apart. You'll harvest bulbs in late Spring. You can plant onions from seed right now, but not from slips or sets. You'll plant those in January. Oh, and don't forget your fava beans. direct seed those in garden now. It's a bit too late to seed peas...they really need to go in the ground in early September.

Here is some Swiss chard in my garden that I seeded back in August and then again in September. 

Time to Plant: Broccoli, lettuce, fava bean seeds

Now that temperatures have started to dip, especially at night, and the rain is falling (will it ever stop??? lol) you can go ahead and start seeds of cole crops directly in the garden. Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, mustard greens, kale and cauliflower. You can also direct seed fava beans, spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard, sorrel and carrots. All of these seeds are going to be small, with Swiss chard and spinach being the largest of the greens, so don't bury them too deep. No more than a quarter of an inch deep. Fava beans are planted about 1-inch deep. Keep the soil surface moist for 7 to 10 days until germination. Remember, lettuce seeds need light to germinate so you will not bury the seeds under the soil. Simply sprinkle them onto the soil surface and pat them down. Because they have no soil cover, you'll have to take extra care that they stay moist until germination. You'll need to thin the seedlings after they emerge so that you don't have too many plants too close together. You can mix an organic veggie food into the soil before you plant your seeds.

Time to Plant: Bulbs!

Ok guys...it's time to start buying and planting bulbs! Yay! Perennial bulbs such as daffodils, muscari, leucojum, anemone's, Dutch iris and much more are arriving at NHG and you can start planting them now through fall. Tulips and hyacinth are also arriving and will go straight into our special bulb cooler. Tulips and hyacinth require a vernalization, a chilling period if you will, at temps around 45-50 degrees F before they will initialize a flower bud upon return to warmer temps. Our soil temps are not consistently cool enough through winter to give them a natural vernalization in our climate. So, you have to chill them for about 8-10 weeks in fall, and then plant them in December. Usually, the third week of December is the optimal time to plant in the DFW area. You'll need to plant them when soil temps hit 50F or less, which usually happens after Thanksgiving. Get them in the ground no later than the first week in January. Plant tulips deep!!!!!!! That means 6-8 inches from the top of the bulb to the soil level. If you purchase bulbs with NHG we'll store them in our cooler and call you when it's time to plant. There are requirements for this process so ask about our bulbs storage next time you come in. So start planning your bulbs display now and get your favorite varieties!

Malabar Spinach

If you're looking for something a little different from the regular 'ole spinach, check out this red-stemmed Malabar spinach. This beautiful vine, Basella alba,is no relation to true spinach, but has a somewhat similar texture and taste. Malabar spinach also prefers warmer temperatures and so can be grown in late spring, summer and early fall, when it's too warm for regular spinach. This is a fast growing vine will quickly cover a trellis or arbor and it has pretty little white blooms. You can eat it fresh in salad or cook like any other green. It won't tolerate a hard frost so you'll plant new ones next spring. When the Malabar spinach is finished, your true spinach should be maturing for the cool season. Perfect timing!

Time to Plant...Naked Ladies

Yes..that's what I said. lol. For those of you less familiar with the colorful common name for Lycoris radiata, otherwise known as surprise lilies or spider lilies, they are often referred to as such because the bloom stalks preceed the foliage. They are a fall blooming bulb (blooming right now as a matter of fact) but are usually not available in garden centers during spring.  You should find them in the garden center now. You'll find the classic red, Lycoris radiata as well as the less common yellow strain of the species. You'll also find the pink species, Lycoris squamigera. Plant them in the fall and you'll have blooms the following fall. Occasionally, bulbs you plant right now might shoot up a bloom this October, but no guarantees. Beeeeautiful.

Time to Plant...fall seeds

I've gotten more requests lately to post more often about what to plant when. Planting alerts if you will. So I've created a new category on the blog called "Time to Plant". These posts will be short but timely and I'll do my best to post them more often.

Right now, you should be finding cole crop transplants in the garden center such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, salad greens and cool season herbs. Plant these now and keep in mind we'll still have some warm days, meaning you'll need to keep an eye on adequate watering. Direct seed snap and snow peas, lettuce greens and fava beans into the garden now.

Also, you can start seeds of all the cool season crops indoors to transplant outside in about 6-weeks. If you hurry, and do it this weekend, you can still squeeze in some warm season crops. Direct seed into the garden bush beans, black-eyed peas, scallop squashes, bush zucchini and pickling cucumbers.