It's Springtime in my mind

Hello everybody, just a few more short weeks and we'll all be able to get outside and do the things we love! Until then I wanted to share with you some exciting news. We, Swindler and Sons Florists, are getting ready for a great business expo at Roberts Arena (March 5-6). We will be featuring our new Garden Center offerings for Spring 2010. Over the next few weeks I will introduce you to many of these annuals, perennials, vegetables and even a "square foot garden kit".

One of the biggest changes for us this spring will be the number of different tomatoes that we will be growing. In years past we have grown as many as 20 different tomatoes, but because of the incredible passion we have seen from many of you we will attempt to grow more than 70 different varieties of tomatoes.

For an old-time tomato taste we selected over 35 new (to us) heirloom tomatoes. With names like Black Krim, Box Car Willie, Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, Amish Paste, Great White, Hillbilly, Arkansas Traveler, Brandywine and Caspian Pink, you know they are going to be good.

We will still be growing our established hybrids Better Boy, Early Girl, Jet Star, Heartland, Yellow Boy, and Beefmaster, but will add new varieties like Brandyboy, Big Beef, Pink Girl, Scarlet Red, Red Defender and Moreton.

Over the next few weeks I will go in greater detail on some of these varieties as well many others not yet listed. I will also talk about our Bicentential plans for the Main Street plantings, new selections of annuals that take our July-August heat as well as top performing perennials.

We welcome all your gardening questions and if we can't answer them we'll make something up! Just kidding, we'll be happy to research your question.

Demo Garden gets compost bin!

The demo garden now has a compost bin!

We constructed a three bin compost pile out of chicken wire and small metal posts, but there are different sizes and designs of bins out there. You can make your own or there are many pre made ones ready to buy.

Making compost is simply helping to facilitate the natural cycles of growth and decay. If you’ve taken a walk in the woods you have seen compost in its most basic setting. Plants and animals that die over the course of a season decompose on the forest floor. This creates a rich soil on the forest floor.

Your garden soil can be greatly improved by adding your own compost. Compost releases the nutrients that were once found in the decomposing materials into your garden. It is a great organic alternative to adding chemical fertilizers. When applying synthetic fertilizers you are usually just applying nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Compost supplies those elements as well as many others such as boron, copper, zinc, iodine, and iron.

The organic matter in compost binds to soil particles, which helps sandy soil retain water and clay soil drain better. This action also allows for more air space in the soil, which helps roots to grow.

Compost can also provide nutrients, moisture, and habitat for beneficial organisms living in your soil.

You can put your kitchen scraps, grass clippings, weeds, dead leaves, straw, livestock manure, & some paper into your compost pile. By composting these materials you can save up to 20% of your trash from going into the landfill!

For more information about composting, including a step-by-step tutorial, compost bin designs, a list of do’s and don’ts, and more visit compostinfo.com

Symbols of Summer in the Demo Garden

A sunflower is blooming in the demo garden! I love sunflowers. They are a symbol of summer, are beautiful and have a nice smell to them. I like them so much that earlier this summer I camped out in our patch at home!

The big, beautiful acorn squash plant in the demo garden doesn’t look so pretty anymore. It has developed powdery mildew, a fungal disease. This disease affects many different plants, but squash is one of the species that are especially susceptible. Each species contracts a different type of powdery mildew, so this fungus should not transfer onto any other plants in our garden. Powdery mildew is whitish gray covering over leaf surfaces and other parts of plants. It is usually caused by high humidity, which plantings in the shade, lots of dew, and close plantings can contribute to. This fungus can impair photosynthesis and extract nutrients from plant, causing a decline in the health of the plant. Leaves will probably turn yellow. If powdery mildew is really severe it can prevent buds from forming into fruit on the plants. Our Acorn squash already has many large squashes on it, so we will have to wait and see how they ripen.

Over the past couple of weeks the garden has been filled with signs of summer as we harvested the rest of the pole beans, quite a few

cucumbers, an eggplant, a kohlrabi, a couple of habanero peppers, more turnips and more herbs. The marigolds are blooming around one of the beds, making a pretty border around the tomatoes and peppers. I cut down the rest of the buckwheat and turned the entire plot under last week.

Since we got the demo garden planting pretty late and this summer hasbeen pretty cool we are still waiting on our first tomato, but they are turning! Nonetheless, tomatoes are now abundant at the farmers market and in our home gardens. I love the wonderful smell that tomato plants possess. I enjoy caring for tomatoes, transplanting, suckering (even if it does stain your hands black), stringing, and picking them. I like seeing the different varieties, in all their different shapes and colors. The only thing I do not like about tomatoes is eating them. I’ll admit this is pretty abnormal (especially for someone that has 800+ tomato plants at home)! I simply do not enjoy the taste of tomatoes.

However, I have found a salsa recipe that I believe is delicious. It is a verysimple recipe for making fresh garden salsa. Even though it takes a little while because you have to let the tomatoes sit and drain, it is easy to make, so try it out!

Garden Salsa

5 medium tomatoes

½ tsp. Salt

2 small onions

2 hot peppers

1 small clove garlic

2 tsp. Balsamic vinegar (rice, wine, cider)

2 tsp. Olive Oil

salt & pepper to taste

Core and dice tomatoes in medium bowl. Add salt and let drain for about an hour. Pour off juice. Add the rest of the ingredients. Chill one hour. Enjoy!

Wishing for thyme in the demo garden

Every time I visit the demo garden I am struck by how wonderfully it is growing. I really enjoy visting and working in the garden because there is always something new to observe. Last week the demo garden changed its look slightly. The Haricot vertical bush beans and the Goldrush bush wax beans were harvested and the plants pulled out. The beans were so pretty that I just had to eat one of the yellow wax beans before the volunteers took the pile of beans home.

The acorn squash plant is huge! We pulled the bean plants out as soon as we harvested the beans to make room for the monstrous plant. The plant has many small squashes on it. The plant and the weird shaped (acorn looking) squashes are provoking many comments from all of the volunteers, as well as one of the park employees who is looking forward to trying one as soon as they are ready to harvest.

I also chopped down half of the buckwheat and am going to turn it under with a shovel this week. This will allow the plant to decompose in the soil and release its nutrients for our next planting. The buckwheat has grown so much (it comes up to my waist now) and is covered in small, attractive, white flowers. The bees are enjoying the buckwheat flowers even more than I am! Every time I go to the garden the flowers are covered in bees of all sizes, which isn’t too much of a surprise since buckwheat honey seems to be popular. It is a wonderful sight! For more information about buckwheat and cover crops check out my post from a few weeks ago.

Herbs take up a section of the demo garden with Sweet Marjoram, Basil, Dill, Coriander, and two kinds of Parsley growing. These are a nice addition to the garden because they can be harvested almost constantly throughout the summer and add a really nice touch to dishes. My family planted an herb garden along the back of our house this year and I am trying to remember to utilize them as possible this summer.

Herbs always seem a little tricky to me. I am never quite sure how you are supposed to pick each herb, when to cut, if I am supposed to pick the flowers off, how much water they need, how to preserve them, etc. For help with these questions and others, visit the West Virginia Extension Service’s site about growing herbs in the home garden.

Herbs not only add great flavor to recipes, but they also prove their worth as good sources of vitamins and minerals. Marjoram contains calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and vitamins A and C. Basil is rich in magnesium, manganese, and vitamins A, C, and K. Dill contains calcium, iron, manganese, and Vitamins A and C. Coriander is full of Vitamins A, K, B, C, E as well as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Parsley is the stand out herb, as far as nutrition is concerned, being a great source of Vitamins A, K and many B vitamins. I’ve even heard that it contains more Vitamin C than some citrus fruits! Parsley also has iron, calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, and iodine.

This is enough to convince me that I need to make an effort to add some spice to my cooking. Not only will my taste buds benefit, but my body will as well!

Late Blight: A Lesson in Buying Local?

If you have kept up with news in the Northeast, or the vegetable blogosphere, you may have noticed the term "late blight" cropping up in articles with overtones of desperation. My first exposure was an article by the New York Times entitled “Outbreak of Fungus Threatens Tomato Crop,” accompanied by a picture of some seriously sickly tomatoes (picture from NYT shown at left). Being the professed tomato enthusiast that I am, this headline immediately caught my eye as I scanned the homepage a few weeks ago. And it has only continued to infiltrate the news.

The fungus, called late blight, acts according to its name—it typically strikes tomato plants late in the season (around August or September) when conditions are cooler. The spores of this pathogen, officially titled Phytophthora infestans, are found in the soil and are incredible contagious, meaning that small outbreaks, while not uncommon, can be devastating. But this year the Northeast region, New York in particular, is experiencing a particularly wet June, which has caused a widespread outbreak that is both unprecedented and economically devastating.

In an area that typically sold locally-grown tomatoes at or below $20 a box (wholesale), consumers may soon be paying up to $40 a box. Doubling the price could be extremely harmful to area growers, and the farmers markets that display their wares. And with cases being reported as far west as Ohio, it is important that even mid-west growers are wary of this disease and its implications as the spread continues.

And beyond the statement of caution, what else can be taken from this article? Another reason to buy locally grown vegetables. Following is a quote from the original NYT article:

“Professor Fry, who is genetically tracking the blight, said the outbreak spread in part from the hundreds of thousands of tomato plants bought by home gardeners at Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Home Depot and Kmart stores starting in April. The wholesale gardening company Bonnie Plants, based in Alabama, had supplied most of the seedlings and recalled all remaining plants starting on June 26."

Now, it is important to remember that big-box stores like those listed above, and even Bonnie Plants, are not responsible for the outbreak. This fungus has been around for years and the weather conditions have abetted its spread tremendously. But, the very nature of these larger stores makes it easier for pathogens, such as late blight, to spread more easily. Because, to echo the statements of Mr. John Mishanec (a pest management specialist at Cornell also quoted in the article) these garden centers are not required to undergo inspection by the Department of Agriculture, and their employees are not often trained to spot harmful diseases.

Having worked in my family’s greenhouses for over six years I can fully appreciate this statement. Each spring, John Day, who works for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, stops in to check out our Garden Center. Because he comes in every year he knows his way around, and usually just gives one of us the heads-up before meandering about the facilities. This visit results in a quick report and oftentimes a few updates concerning common “ailments” for the region (some years we are on the lookout for spider-mite on roses, some years its blossom end-rot, and some years it is simply aphids). His inspection, along with my Uncle Gerry’s degree in Horticulture, makes it possible for us to spot diseases/pests early on and treat them accordingly. This essential responsibility, to us, is simply another "given" when buying from local growers.

Unfortunately, this is the guarantee you won’t always get at a big-box store.

Now, I have done some checking around to see if late blight is something we ought to be worrying about in our region. After speaking with Tony Nye, OSU Extension Educator in Agriculture, and John Day, our Department of Agriculture inspector, it doesn’t look like late blight is cause for concern in our region just yet. This was reiterated by area farmer Brad Bergefurd, who reported similar symptoms in a few plants, but nothing that has been confirmed. (All three mentioned Blossom-End Rot as the larger concern for our region, for more information check out my earlier blog entry HERE).

To be safe, however, be on the lookout for symptoms of late blight, which include brown spots on leaves, fungal growth on underside of leaf (sometimes white), black spots on stem, and firm brown spots on tomato fruit.

For another grower’s perspective, and a personal account from the Northeast, check out the article Tomato Disappointment: A Farmer’s Perspective on Late Blight in the Northeast.

For a profile of the pathogen itself, check out this Science Daily article HERE.

Demo Garden Workshop Kit Available

As Maggie mentions below, Last Friday (7/24) the ECC Demo Garden was bustling with young YMCA campers who were visiting for a workshop on the importance and value of local foods, gardening, and sustainable growth. ECC’s Maggie Ashmore worked with Eric Guindon of Wilmington College’s Grow Food, Grow Hope initiative and Phil Swindler of Swindler and Sons to plan the programs.

The demonstration garden was established this past spring by Energize Clinton County to illustrate both the nutritional and economical benefits of having a small-plot garden. The demonstration garden serves as a way to increase public awareness and provide a valuable educational tool for people of all ages.

For Energize Clinton County, supporting local growth is critical to its mission to promote sustainable development. Along with the demonstration garden, ECC facilitates the Clinton County Farmers Market and the Buy Local First campaign in order to further stimulate the growth of the local economic foundation in Clinton County.

Also, please check out GFGH’s John Cropper’s excellent piece in the 7/28 Wilmington News Journal on Friday’s activities.

ECC has published a document with the Grow Food Grow Hope (GFGH) initiative detailing the recent youth education program held last Friday at the ECC Demonstration Garden in J.W. Denver Williams Memorial Park.

The document is available for download by clicking on the picture to the right.
To learn more about Grow Food, Grow Hope, visit: http://www.growfoodgrowhope.com/

Demo garden hosts program for YMCA Day Camp

Last Friday Eric Guindon, Mariah Fulton, Phil Swindler, Kelsey Swindler, and I led a program about gardening for 32 YMCA day campers at the demonstration garden. I was impressed by the knowledge that the campers already possessed about gardening and food issues. I was also amazed by their enthusiasm to participate in each activity. I think the program went well and I hope the kids had as much fun as I did.

For more information about last Friday’s program please read John Cropper’s blog post about it on the Grow Food Grow Hope site or his article in the Wilmington News Journal!

CSA Week 7

Now is the time that locals starting feeling that sweet tooth craving for some sweet corn. For the CSA in Week 7 we got our first batch. The tomatoes have been enormous and super juicy and meaty, reminding us of that fresh summer taste.

For this week we had:

Sweet Corn-6 ears
Zuchinni-3
Yellow Squash-3
Cucumbers-3
Tomatoes-5
Greenbeans- 2 Large bags
Peas- 1 Large bag
Eggs-1/2 dozen


This CSA is for 25 weeks from Bergefurd's Family Farm.

Demo Garden Thrives!

It amazes me how much the demo garden grows every week! Last week I thought all of the plants looked pretty large, but this week they have really filled out. The plants are spilling over the edges of the beds. The garden looks really full and productive! We have small green beans, peppers, squash and tomatoes forming!

Some of our white radishes bolted and so we pulled them out of the garden. I made a mistake and pulled the rest of the white radishes out because I thought they were bolted as well. Afterwards, one of the volunteers informed me that is just the way white radishes grow. It just goes to show that you can learn something new about gardening every day.

We also discovered that the turnips are big enough to eat. When I announced that the turnips are ready to be pulled in the ECC office I created a problem. Where are we going to give all of our turnips? Taylor said that he is ‘turnipped out’. His comment made me think about the way you eat when you have a garden.

When spinach is ready you eat spinach, when peas are ready you eat peas, when zucchini is ready you eat zucchini, etc. This summer I have looked through my family’s cookbooks multiple times (with the arrival every new abundant veggie) for new ways to prepare our garden harvest. I actually find it quite exciting to flip through the pages of a cookbook in an effort to prevent myself from becoming sick of a particular food.

I love that gardening can lead to creativity in the kitchen! Besides trying many recipes out, I also enjoy doing taste tests with different varieties of zucchini, potatoes, lettuce, peas, etc. I encourage you to pick something out of your garden, grab a cookbook, and start cooking. There is also a wealth of recipes on the internet! If you do not have your own garden, I would push you to go to the farmers market and buy veggies with out worrying about what you will do with them, until you get home. This is a chance to be resourceful and creative!

Some delicious recipes for what is in season right now include:

Zucchini Hot Cakes

2 cups grated zucchini (pressed dry between paper towels)

2 T chopped onion

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

¼ cup flour

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 T mayonnaise

¼ t oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

Stir together all ingredients. Melt 1 T butter in skillet. Spoon 2 T batter into skillet and press down with spatula. Cook until both sides are browned. Repeat until all batter is used. Serve plain or with tomato sauce or grated cheese or sour cream.

Garlic Friendship Dip

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

½ cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup Parmesan cheese

a little Parsley

Blend together & let chill. Serve with veggies or chips.

Local CSA Week 6

As our CSA continues we are able to eat with the seasons, and since it's July, blueberries arrived. Along with blueberries are everyone's favorite, tomatoes, and lots of green beans, squash, cucumbers, and more.

For this week we had:

Yellow Squash-3

Zuchinni-3
Yellow Squash-3
Cucumbers-3
Tomatoes-4
Radishes-5
Blueberries-1 pint
Greenbeans-Large bag
Eggs-1/2 dozen

This CSA is for 25 weeks from Bergefurd's Family Farm.

Gardening As a Movement

For the last six months, there's been an undeniable buzz in the Clinton County air that would otherwise have seemed foreign. Issues of sustainability and green development have appeared above the fold in the Wilmington News Journal almost as often as ribbon-cutting ceremonies and little-league victories. People are more conscious of their daily habits now than they ever have been, and they're thinking community-first. It can best be described as a new, community driven energy, and Wilmington has started to move.

One aspect of this movement is a focus on gardening and sustainable food production. Mark and Taylor have done a remarkable job marketing the benefits of gardening, whether backyard or in a community setting, and their support has been instrumental in the last few months. I suppose now would be a good time to introduce myself: I'm John Cropper, a Wilmington native, friend of Mark and Taylor and recent transplant who now serves as an AmeriCorps* VISTA volunteer at Wilmington College. I can honestly say that I am back in Wilmington, moved from Columbus, because of this fresh thinking: our project as VISTA volunteers is a community gardening and local food movement called Grow Food, Grow Hope. Sustainable food policy and production is enjoying a national media frenzy right now: whether in the White House kitchen garden or in movie theaters, where two new food documentaries, "Food, Inc." and "Fresh" are gaining widespread acclaim. And we can't help but think that Wilmington is already a leg-up.

Already, there is a laundry list of gardening projects happening around the city. There is the ECC demonstration garden at Denver Park; there is the Grow Food, Grow Hope community garden on the Wilmington College campus, where families come every week to harvest fresh vegetables and learn how to prepare them on site; there is the Wilmington College farm on Fife Avenue, where we are growing a number of different crops to be donated to local food pantries, and later this year, we are hoping to establish upwards of 30 backyard gardens at the homes of Clinton County residents, using our capacity to help build and facilitate the gardens. It can be confusing at times describing the various gardens to people who aren't familiar with our project. But that's not a bad thing. That there are enough gardening projects happening to make somebody confused is only a sign that we are doing something right.

It is our hope, at Wilmington College, at ECC, and throughout the community, that we can all come together to utilize whatever resources we have available. I will be blogging on the ECC garden blog as time progresses, and I would hope you would follow the Grow Food, Grow Hope blog as well, at growfoodgrowhope.blogspot.com

Demo Garden Blooms!

The Demonstration garden has really blossomed this week. The bush beans, Russet potatoes, and Acorn squash are covered in pretty blooms. The tomatoes and peppers are beginning to produce small fruits and the Kentucky Wonder Pole beans have reached the top of their trellis.

This week we harvested some Dill, Basil, and the remainder of the Cherry Belle radishes. I added some compost to the soil and planted 4 head lettuce in their place.

There are barely any weeds to be seen in the garden now, and no insect pests. The eggplants look better than any I have ever grown, not a flea beetle in sight. Their foliage is a beautiful purple and green.

The buckwheat is looking nice as well. It is anywhere from 3-7 inches tall now. I know a farmer that grows buckwheat, and he recommends cutting buckwheat when it is about 7 inches tall, and eating it in your salad. Today I tried eating some plain, and it was pretty good. I am excited to try some in my salad!

While you can eat buckwheat plants when they are young and tender in salad, or harvest their seeds and make flour out of them, we did not plant the buckwheat as a food crop. We planted Buckwheat as a green manure crop.

A green manure is a crop that is grown during the summer months

and plowed back into the soil while still green or right after it flowers. The purpose of doing this is to improve the soil quality in your garden or field. They can help retain water, loosen and aerate the soil (helps to suppress weeds that thrive in highly compacted soil), prevent weeds from growing and seeding, provide food for beneficial insects, and help reduce plant diseases and pests. When the crop is tilled back into the soil it releases nutrients as it breaks down and improves the tilth (fluffiness) of the soil.

Many plants that are used as green manures are legumes, which make them useful for fixing nitrogen in the soil. Some plants also help replenish Potassium, Phosphorus, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur in the soil as they decompose.

For more information on the benefits and limitations of green manures visit the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service for an overview of cover crops and green manures. You can also visit gardenguides.com for a list of green manure crops, as well as information on when to plant and turn them under.

Local CSA Week 5

This weeks CSA had some of the summer usuals. We're starting to get the red tomatoes, green beans, and large cucumbers.

Yellow Squash-3
Zuchinni-3
Cucumbers-2
Tomatoes-5
Radishes-5
Black Raspberries-1 pint
Greenbeans-Extra Large bag of yellow and green
Eggs-1/2 dozen


This CSA is for 25 weeks from Bergefurd's Family Farm.

The numbers on fuel usage, CO2 emissions, and food miles

I have grown up on a farm and have been selling at farmers markets since I was 8, so it is only natural for me to try to eat locally. I can get pretty frustrated when I notice people that are not thinking twice about where their food comes from. I can think of an almost endless list of reasons to eat locally, but one reason that has gotten a lot of press is the number 1,500. Our produce travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to consumer.

I have heard this number tossed around quite a bit, and have recently wondered where that number came from. Maybe it is the science major in me that needs studies and numbers, but I felt the need to find out where that number came from. I started searching on the Internet, and found a study conducted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture entitled “Food, Fuel, and Freeways”. This study is an Iowa perspective on how far food travels, fuel usage, and CO2 emissions carried out in 2001.

First, the center calculated how many miles produce traveled to reach Chicago using data from the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service in 1998. They found that produce traveled an average of 1,518 miles to Chicago. The Capital Area Food Bank also found that produce traveled and average of 1, 685 miles to Jessup, Maryland.

Next, the center calculated the number of miles food traveled from three local, Iowa, food systems where farmers were selling to restaurants, hospitals, and conference centers. They discovered that the food in these systems traveled an average of 44.6 miles instead of the 1, 546 miles it would have traveled via the conventional system. When they only regarded produce the numbers were 37.9 miles vs. 1, 638 miles.

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture also

calculated fuel use and CO2 emissions to transport 10% of the Iowa estimated consumption of 28 fresh produce items for three different food systems. The conventional system represented a retail/wholesale supply system where domestic sources supply Iowa with produce using semi trailer trucks. The Iowa based-regional system was a hypothetical scenario based on existing Iowa based distribution infrastructure. In this scenario, a cooperative of small and mid-sized farms would supply Iowa retailers/wholesalers using semi trailers and mid size trucks. The local system represented farmers who sell directly to consumers through CSAs, farmers markets, restaurants, hospitals, and conference centers using trucks with light gasoline usage.

The conventional system used 4 to 17 more fuel than the Iowa based regional system or the local system. The conventional system also released 5 to 17 times more CO2 from the burning of fuel than Iowa based regional systems or local systems. The range in these numbers is dependent on the type of truck and system used to transport the produce.

Those are some numbers to think about! I hope this gives you one more reason to consider buying locally grown/raised food or even grow your own!

By the way, the number 1,500 comes from an article written by John Hendrickson in 1996, using data from 1980. His summary is quite informative and raises even more issues about energy usage in the U.S. food system, including ways to conserve energy.

First demo garden harvest!

The demonstration garden is growing wonderfully! The Kentucky Wonder Pole beans are starting to grow on the trellis and the Acorn squash is going to bloom in the next couple of days! All of the herbs are thriving and need to be used!

This week the tomatoes were suckered and the garden was weeded and watered. One volunteer has worked in the garden each day for about ½ hour. There have been relatively few weeds in our plot, mostly just a creeping vine.

The buckwheat has germinated and is now about ¾ inch tall. The germination was pretty spotty, but there is still a fair stand.

I pulled 10 more Cherry Belle radishes today. I ate one that was slightly larger than a golf ball. It was nice inside, not pithy, but it sure was spicy. There were a couple of ladies eating lunch in the park that were happy to eat the rest of the radishes!

Radishes are actually really good for us. They are high in fiber, Copper, Manganese and Potassium. They are also a good source of Vitamins C and K. Radishes are a member of the mustard family, which helps explain why they have a bite to them.

We are most used to seeing red, round radishes, like the Cherry Belles in the demo garden. However, they can be found in a variety of shapes and colors. French breakfast radishes are red and white in color and can hold up slightly better in the heat. I enjoy eating them because I believe that they pack less of a punch than Cherry Belles. It could be argued that the prettiest radishes are the Easter egg variety. They are perfectly round and come in a colorful mix of white, pink and purple!

Radishes are a great crop to start out gardening with because they do not take up much space, are easy to grow, are nutritious, are frost tolerant, and are ready to eat in as early as 21 days. If you would like any more information about Radish varieties or growing tips click HERE.

It's Zucchini Time!

If you have your own garden or have been to the farmer’s market lately, you have surely noticed the influx of zucchini that has recently arrived. I have been waiting for this time of year for quite awhile. Growing up, I disliked zucchini for some reason, but it is now one of my favorite foods.

I enjoy all the different varieties of zucchini that are out there. From dark to pale green, yellow, green and yellow, long and skinny and even round. My favorite variety of zucchini is Costata Romanesco. It is a paler green/gray in color, with green flecks and it is ribbed. It is an heirloom variety that does not yield as well as most of the hybrids do, but it sure is delicious!

I love zucchini and yellow squash sautéed, grilled and in bread. My favorite zucchini recipe is Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin. I cook it as much as possible. I could eat the entire dish by myself. In fact one of my friends and I regularly split it between the two of us, despite the fact it is supposed to feed four people. I even made it for the family I stayed with in New Zealand (where they call zucchini ‘courgettes’) and the kids actually begged their mother to make it for them the next week! It has the stamp of approval from some of the pickiest eaters I know. Click HERE for the Everyday Food recipe.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium zucchini (about 7 oz each) sliced crosswise ½ in thick

2 medium yellow squash (can use zucchini instead) sliced ½ in thick

2 shallots (or small onions) minced

2 garlic cloves minced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

½ cup heavy cream

1cup panko (or breadcrumbs)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add zucchini, yellow squash, shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini and squash are crisp tender, 4-6 minutes.

2. Add cream and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in ½ cup panko and ½ cup Parmesan

3. Spoon mixture into a shallow, 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining panko and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bake until top is golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

4. Enjoy!

Follow our local CSA

With any initiative comes jargon, and as our blogger Kelsey noted in a recent post about the acronym CSA's, local food is no exception.

In addition to Kelsey's post there is plenty of information out there on this quickly-growing trend. Her subsequent post discussed a CSA that is available here, locally, in Clinton County--and also mentioned, is that both Mark and I are participating this year to demonstrate an easy way of supporting local farmers and locally-grown, nutritious food.

The CSA is being done by Wilmington's Bergefurd's Family Farm Market. We have a full share which is broken into 25 weeks at $20 each ($500 for the season). We are going to keep a post updated with the progress of our CSA--i.e. what we are getting from week-to-week.

A worthy note--CSA's work with the growing cycle, and so the initial shares will be lighter and build up as the season treks on.

So refer to the link at the top of the page to follow, or just check back for updates in the middle of the week.

Week 1 -- 6/10/09
1/2 dozen eggs
Strawberries-Quart
Radishes-Small Batch
Garlic Scapes-Small Batch
Lettuce--Medium Bag

Week 2 -- 6/17/09
1/2 dozen eggs
Strawberries-Quart
Radishes-Small Batch
Garlic Scapes-Small Batch
Lettuce-Medium Bag
Peas-Pint
Dill-Plant
Cilantro-Plant

Week 3 -- 6/24/09
1/2 dozen eggs
Beets-7
Peas-Pint
Yellow Summer Squash-2
Zucchini-2
Green Tomatoes-2

Week 4 -- 7/1/09
1/2 dozen eggs
Lettuce-Large Bag
Radishes-7
Zucchini-2
Yellow Summer Squash-2
Green Tomatoes-3
Garlic-1 clove
Blackberries-pint

Blossom-End Rot and Synthetic Fertilizers: Back to the Basics

I received this question via email late last week, and after doing some research, think that it will be very useful to those who have planted tomatoes and/or peppers, especially at this point in the season. Wanted to pass along what I found!

Brad Guindon writes:

Hi, I am a friend and follower of ECC and the garden blog. I started a mini patio garden this summer at my apartment west of St. Louis where I live. I have red peppers, zucchini and basil growing in one large container, and an upside-down tomato plant hanging by my front door. Everything has been growing great until recently. The pepper, which is green and about the size of a golf ball, probably a little bigger, has recently had a soft brown spot appear on a decent sized area of the pepper. I have been making sure to keep then well watered, especially recently with the high temperatures here. I have attached a blurry picture to help with your diagnosis. If you can, please help save my pepper!

Hi Brad!

Thanks for your question, and for following the blog! I did some research based on your description and ran the picture by my dad, and it looks like you are dealing with blossom-end rot. This is a calcium deficiency that causes the dry, sunken spots that you noticed. It is typically found on the first few fruits, and is evidence of fluctuations in the soil saturation and an irregular uptake of nutrients. It is likely that despite your noble efforts to keep the vegetables well-watered, that the high temperatures caused some inconsistencies.

Most of my suggestions are more preventive than anything:

• First off, next year I wouldn't put too many different vegetables in one pot. It often surprises people to learn just how much soil you need even for one plant, and with too many different varieties you will find that they compete for nutrients in the soil.
• Also, avoid using water soluble fertilizers (like Miracle Grow). These do not stay in the soil profile long and usually contain a higher concentration of synthetic nitrogen (synthetic releases too quickly to regulate the uptake of nutrients and leaches out of the soil--abetting nutrient deficiencies and thus problems like blossom-end rot). I would steer you more toward granular/organic fertilizers to help regulate the nutrient uptake. For more information on synthetic nitrogen, check out the Northeast Organic Farming Association article HERE. For general information on organic vs. inorganic check out a post from the Vegetable Gardener HERE. And if you need any help in selecting an organic fertilizer, just stop in to Swindlers and check out our selection of Espoma organic fertilizers and plant food!
• Make sure your pot has good drainage, and maintain a very consistent watering schedule.
  
• And to ward off blossom end rot in future gardens, you might try putting down some calcium nitrate about the time the plants start to blossom. The guys over at Wilmington College used calcium nitrate this year for this very purpose.

And for this year's garden there is good news. Discard the affected fruit and try out some of the above suggestions! Let me know if you are successful in saving the peppers!

Oh, and HERE is a link to an OSU extension fact sheet that I found useful (don't get too freaked though, they make it sound pretty ominous).

In fact, here is a sample picture they have included of a pepper affected by blossom-end rot:

Hope this information is useful to you as the season continues!

Demo Garden Grows!

The demo garden has grown beautifully over the last two weeks! The muskmelon, nasturtiums, and even the sweet peas are up! There is a wonderful stand of each. We were a little worried about our chance of germinating sweet peas in this hot weather, but the lure of gorgeous looking and delightful smelling blossoms prompted their planting anyway.

One of the local Girl Scout troops made superb vegetable signs to adorn the garden, which pleased the demo garden volunteers. Our favorite is one that says “sweet pepper” on one side and “sour pepper” on the other.

I finally was able to plant Buckwheat seed this week for our cover crop! It should germinate within 4-5 days, so hopefully I will see little seedlings popping up by the beginning of next week.

While I was planting the Buckwheat, I took a look at all of the other plants in the garden and discovered that a few of our radishes are ready to eat! I pulled one and ate it, yum! Due to the heat the radish was a little spicy, although I always think that Cherry Belle radishes are a little on the spicy side.

The beets, turnips, and radishes were thinned early in the week to allow each plant enough room to grow. While the demo garden beets are a long way from mature, I am now starting to eat the beets out of my families’ garden.

I love beets.

I even have a shirt that says “I dig beets” on it. The greens make an attractive addition to salad mix when they are small and tender and raw beets are good chopped up in salad. I spent the last 4 months in New Zealand, and during my time there I even acquired a taste for pickled beets. Even if you aren’t beet crazy, you will probably still enjoy roasted beets.

I think that roasted beets taste exactly like sweet corn. While I am going to have to wait a few weeks for some fresh sweet corn from the farmers market, and probably until August in order to eat corn from my garden, I can eat beets now. Plus they make a brilliantly purple dish on your plate!

To roast beets just cut the greens off about 1 inch above the root and cut off the skinny root.

Toss the beets in olive oil

Roast at 400 F for about 1 hour

Put some butter and salt on the beets and enjoy!

I eat the skin and it tastes just fine if the beets are fresh. If you are opposed to eating the skin, it pulls away easily after roasting.

Kelsey wrote about beets already, so sorry for another post about beets. But please try them if you haven’t already!

Local CSA

So all this talk of CSA had me asking around. Luckily, I didn’t have to go far to find out more. As I was sitting around the ECC office writing up my last post, Mark filled me in on a local CSA he and Taylor belong to: the Bergefurds family owned and operated farm. For $500 up-front they became a member for 25 weeks, receiving a bushel/basket of vegetables (or other specifically requested products) worth around $20 each week. I checked out their website (you should too) and the variety of produce available through membership is astounding! Just go to Bergefurd’s Farm Market to learn about membership, availability, and pick-up locations.

Because honestly, buying local produce is at the heart of a more sustainable economy, and besides that—it just tastes so much better.