Quick tips on growing unusual root crops
Root crops are vegetables that have adapted their roots into a swollen form that are good for eating fresh or cooking. We are familiar with carrots, beets and radishes as common root vegetables. But there are many more interesting root vegetables that are easy to grow in most home gardens.
Salsify is known as the oyster plant and has white, carrot-like roots with a slightly oyster-like flavor. These plants grow much like carrots with similar needs. Give them good soil with eight to ten inches clearance below for roots to stretch unhindered. They like heat and will grow well even where summers are hot.
Celeriac is a big, rough-looking globe of a root crop that is related to celery and carries a distinct celery flavor. It needs no special treatment and can grow up to six inches in diameter. Like most root crops, it is more tender if it isn’t allowed to grow too big. It is tasty in soups and stews and can be stored in a cool dry place for use long after it is dug at the end of the summer.
Parsnips have been grown for centuries and have a slightly sweet flavor to their roots. Another crop that isn’t fussy and can even tolerate a light frost, grow parsnips for adding to stews or cooking up as a side dish. Like other root crops, the parsnip is happy in a rich soil with regular water and plenty of sunshine.
Quick tips for growing carrots
Carrots are not difficult to grow in the vegetable garden. Like many root crops, they are biennials, meaning they grow the first year and flower and set seed the second. Carrots need to be dug before they begin to form flower stalks or they will become hard, bitter and woody.
Grow carrots from seed. They don’t like to be transplanted so thin seedlings so there is space between plants for each to develop without crowding its neighbor.
Give carrots a rich, moist – but not wet – soil. They like compost but manure will cause roots to fork. Remove stones and plant them where nothing will interfere with roots growing downward. There are short-growing varieties that are best for stony or shallow soils.
Carrots grow attractive feathery foliage and can be grown among other garden plants if you don’t have a vegetable garden. They will need to be dug when they are large enough to be eaten, so if you plant them among other plants be sure to make sure you have room to dig without injuring their neighbors. You can also grow them in pots so long as they have enough depth for the long roots to grow uninhibited. Harvest them when they are big enough to be eaten. Younger carrots may be smaller, but they are tender and tastier than the older giants.
Not only are fresh carrots flavorful, but they are rich in vitamins. Look for wide, short, or round varieties or try one of the colorful cultivars in red, purple, yellow or white instead of the usual orange. Enjoy your garden carrots raw, cooked or store them in a cool dark place for the winter.
Best buys and garden gifts for the holidays
It used to be that Black Friday and Cyber Monday were the best shopping days at the end of the year. But now, with the economy so unsettled, retailers are likely to extend many of those great prices right through the shopping season. Garden plants and supplies were once little touched by these sales. But the green industry has jumped into the sales arena too.
I’ve been surprised by how many online businesses — from seed and plant sellers to greenhouses and garden decor – have been offering special prices or free shipping on the Internet. Even garden centers and the big box stores have glittery holiday discount displays.
This is not only a great time to buy holiday gifts for friends and family, but it might be a useful time to snatch up some of those items you want for yourself. Also, if you have an office space that needs interior decor or a business connected with gardening, this may be the last chance to purchase a tax deductible business expense for the year. Look for any deals on some of the bigger items like pond kits, fountains, power tools, lawn mowers or snow blowers. Or maybe a good camera, a rain water storage tank or a new laptop can be a good investment during the best buys of the holiday period. Even a live Christmas tree to decorate an office space or room where the public or clients gather can become a legitimate tax deduction.
Check your favorite online garden shopping sites. Most will have a special section for the holidays. And don’t forget some of the smaller online sites and boutiques. You may not get the huge discounts of the larger retailers, but you are more likely to find treasures that are not available elsewhere — making them the best holiday gifts regardless of whether they are the best buys or not.
Coffee in the Garden
Coffee certainly has a place in the garden. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting back to sip a good cup of coffee surrounded by the beauty of nature.
You can even grow coffee as a plant; a natural small tree known as coffea arabica. But you’ll need to live in a very mild climate to grow it outdoors. Otherwise, you can plant it in a pot to enjoy on the patio during warm months and bring it indoors when the weather cools. It also makes a good house plant – but don’t expect to get sufficient or quality beans to make your own coffee from growing your own plants.
There are other ways coffee — or the materials involved in making coffee — can help out your garden. You can recycle those inexpensive paper coffee filters for gardening help. And don’t throw the coffee grounds in the garbage either. Here is a little list of some of the ways you can make more use of coffee in the garden.
- Use coffee grounds to acidify soil and add nitrogen. Add them to a compost heap or dig them directly into the soil.
- Use coffee filters for germinating seeds. Moisten the filters and sprinkle the seeds on top. Pop them in a clear plastic bag and wait for them to grow.
- Line the bottom of a pot. Instead of using crocking or newspaper, try using coffee filters to cover the drainage holes in the bottom of a pot so the water passes through, but the soil doesn’t.
- Absorb oil spills on the driveway or greenhouse. Coffee filters make excellent absorbent pads.
- Press flowers in a book using coffee filters to blot up any moisture as the plants dry.
Make a wreath to decorate for the holidays
Wreaths are traditional ways to decorate the entry of your house during the holidays. You can buy all kinds of wreaths made from natural or synthetic materials or you can make your own. Although these circular creations are usually hung on the front door, the placement – indoors or out – and the materials you can use, are limited only by your imagination.
Start with a form. You can buy a form made of bent sticks, Styrofoam, floral foam, wire or other materials at your local craft store. Or you can cobble together your own frame. The idea is simply to provide a tire shaped base that you can cover with decorative materials. Make it strong enough to support the covering materials, especially if the wreath will be hung for a time on a door that opens and closes. If you make your own, don’t forget to include a wire for hanging when the wreath is done.
Keep it simple and natural. You can put together a wreath easily by simply twining wire around short, supple evergreen branches, attaching them to your base frame. Then add whatever items of décor you want; plastic ornaments, glitter, dried seed pods, pine cones, ceramic figurines, etc.
Get imaginative. Any material can cover your wreath form. You can use feathers, dried sprays of flowers or the inflorescences from ornamental grasses. Strips of colored paper or crepe paper make interesting surfaces for pinning little witches, ghouls or rubber snakes for Halloween. Wrap straw or raffia around the form and tie on miniature pumpkins and small gourds for an autumnal or Thanksgiving wreath. Wind a circular frame on the diagonal so it becomes a candy cane with red and white ribbon for Christmas.
Build a living wreath. A little more complicated project is to make your wreath into a self-supporting circular hanging garden. You will need to fill a wire form (you can make your own with rolled chicken wire) with damp sphagnum moss packed tightly enough to retain water and form a base for plants to grow. Some people add a little soil to the interior of the moss. Then push in cuttings from assorted succulent plants and wire them into place until they root. Rosette forming succulents will create flower-like forms. Dunk and soak the whole wreath in water when the moss starts to dry out. Then let the plants grow and fill in to create a living conversation piece for the holidays. This will be a holiday wreath that will look great for the rest of the year.
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