It’s January!

It’s that time of year again to start drooling over the seed catalogs.  Currently on my desk, there are only 14 of the new seed and plant catalogs, but I will probably receive a few more before the planting season starts.  It’s still winter up here and we probably won’t see spring until mid-May if we’re lucky, but it’s never too soon to start planning, although that just seems to make the winter last longer when you are really wishing for spring to get here.

One of my fellow gardeners has offered to share seed so we will each compile a list of what we want, then shop the catalogs accordingly.  Also, an inventory of my seed stock from last year needs to be taken so as not to duplicate what is already available.  Of course, the problem is, I want to plant at least one of everything just to see if it will grow.  Plus, the greenhouse fills up fast with herbs and warmer season crops that won’t do well in the outside garden or that I want to make sure I get some fruit from the plants.  But I should have plenty of room for planting this year, I just need to keep track of what I plant and where it is in the garden.

Update on the garden:  It is still covered with snow, which is good, as it is providing moisture for the fall-planted bulbs and for the new potato area.  Hopefully everything will survive, but have to wait and see.  I am curious to see how or if the grapes and apple trees survived, if they had enough root growth and were able to store enough food before winter hit.  The roses that have survived in the big garden will also be moved to one central location when spring arrives so they can be watered and fertilized.  Lots of plans for spring but for now it is still just planning and dreaming about next summer’s garden.

2011 Lessons Learned

The fall planting of alliums is done.  The 24 rows of 7 varieties of garlic, perennial onions and shallots were in the ground and mulched before the snow started to fly and now that the snow cover is most likely permanent for the rest of the winter, they should be in good shape to sprout in the spring.  The greens planted in the greenhouse for fall/winter salads suffered a setback. About a month ago, over the weekend we had the worst winds that we have ever experienced here, lost power for 36 hours so the heater in the greenhouse was not working and the temperatures went below zero at night.  Most of the greens were toast.  It is now time to start over planting some more greens. 

The new area for potato planting had compost added and tilled in before the snow came so another tilling in the spring and it will be ready to plant.  Potatoes had been planted in the same location the last three years and it was time to move them. The alliums are planted in the former potato area.   As a plant pathologist, I need to ’practice what I preach’ and rotate crops to prevent disease.   The varieties of potatoes that have been planted the last couple of years have been seed saved from the previous years, so some new varieties are looking good this year.  The seed catalogs are starting to arrive in the mail so planning can begin. 

This last summer tomatoes, peppers and herbs were planted in the greenhouse hoping to get a nice harvest, but the lesson here is: one needs to open the greenhouse door in the morning and close it in the evening.  Thinking that more heat would be good for the peppers and tomatoes, the door was left shut the majority of the time.  This is not the case.  It got too hot in the greenhouse so flowers aborted and fruit did not set, there was no air exchange and the bumblebees that have been in the greenhouse in years past could not get in to pollinate anything.  Next year, the door will be opened in the morning, closed in the evening. 

An experiment was tried outside with “Walls o’ Water”, growing tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers and artichoke outside in the walls all summer.  The lesson learned here is that you cannot plant warm season crops that need long growing season in mid-June or later and expect to get a harvest.  There was fruit set on the tomatoes and tomatillos below the tops of the walls, but the frost we had on labor day weekend pretty much toasted them so the fruit never matured and there was no harvest.  The artichoke never did set fruit.  The peppers had flowers and a few nubbins of pepper starting, but again, no time to ripen.  Next year, the walls can probably be set out in mid-May to start warming the soil, and the seedlings can be planted earlier.  Of course, if Mother Nature would cooperate and not provide frost quite so soon in the fall, things would be better. 

Spring or cool season plants are also in the planning stages for next spring.  Vegetables like broccoli, spring peas, spring greens (chard, kale, spinach, etc) haven’t been tried up here in the outside garden yet, and since this is all an experiment, need to be planted to see if they survive either the weather or wildlife.  Some of the root crops (beets, carrots, parsnips, etc.) also look good for planting up here.  Winter squashes are another group of plants to experiment with to see if they can grow at this elevation as well. 

Enjoy your seed catalogs and happy planning.

Just In Time…………

Given that the weather forecast for this weekend is calling for snow above 9000 ft and the garden is at 8600 ft, there is a good possibility there will be some form of precipitation this weekend.  And, even though it’s nice to be able to use the fireplace again, getting out into the garden is a challenge when it’s cold.  So, it’s a good thing that the fall planting was finished last weekend.  It started about a month ago with the removal of the walls o’ water and the frosted plant material, planting of the hyacinth bulbs, harvesting the shallots and any remaining greens that had been planted and survived the rodents. 

This past weekend was spent finishing up the edible fall bulb plantings.  The potatoes have been planted in the same location for three years, so it is time to rotate those out and plant other veggies in the former potato patch.  So, it is now an allium bed.  Starting at the gate end, three weeks ago, I planted (on 9.24.11) a row of silverskin garlic, followed by rows of purple stripe garlic, gilroy big garlic, spanish roja garlic and a row of multiplier onions.   I received these garlic from a friend of mine, forgetting that the garlic that had been ordered from Peaceful Valley had not arrived yet.  That order arrived the next week, so that weekend was spent planting the new garlic that arrived.  Since the shallots that were planted in the spring did not form true shallot bulbs, I decided to see if could replant some of the ones that were harvested and overwinter them, hoping they would establish and form true bulbs.  So the planting began and there are 4 rows of shallots, then 2 rows of georgian fire garlic, 3 rows of elephant garlic, 5 rows of purple italian garlic and last, but not least, 5 more rows of spanish roja garlic.   These were planted on 10.2.11.   Each of the rows has approximately 10 cloves or plants planted, so you can see that there should be an extensive harvest next summer if everything survives.    All the alliums were mulched with about 4 inches of freshly chipped pine mulch (to help reduce the soil freeze/thaw cycles) and watered well so they could start the rooting process. 

The spanish roja, purple italian, purple stripe and georgian fire are all hardneck garlic varieties.  Hardneck garlic is technically known as the ophioscorodon variety of allium sativum. The name possibly originates from the Greek “ophis” meaning “snake”. Hardneck garlics have a “scape” – stalk – which coils from the top.  On the top of this scape grow a number of bubils which are often mistakenly referred to as garlic flowers.  The scapes need to be cut off so they do not start forming the bulbils, as this takes energy away from the formation of the bulb.  The scapes are quite tasty and can be used in salads or sautes with other vegetables, providing a unique garlic flavor to food.   Hardneck garlics have fewer, larger cloves then the softnecks. They also have less of an outer bulb wrapper, sometimes none at all. This makes them more sensitive and reduces their shelf life.  There are three main types of hardneck garlic: rocambole, porcelain and purple stripe. Rocambole garlic usually has up to a dozen cloves of a tan or browny colour. Porcelain garlic has a satiny white wrapper and the fewest cloves in a bulb, perhaps as few as four very large cloves. Porcelain garlic is often mistaken for elephant garlic. Purple stripe garlic is highly distinctive because of its colouring, with bright purple markings.

The silverskin garlic is a softneck variety. Almost all supermarket garlic is a softneck variety. This is because softneck garlic is easier to grow and plant mechanically and also keeps for longer than hardneck. garlic. Softnecks are recognised by the white papery skin and an abundance of cloves, often forming several layers around the central core.  The flexible stalk also allows softneck garlic to be formed into garlic braids (plaits).  There are two main types of softneck garlic: silverskin and artichoke. Silverskin garlic is most common simply because it’s easier to grow and keeps longer. Artichoke garlic tends to have fewer but larger cloves and a milder flavour. The artichoke garlic bulb wrappers are coarser than those of silverskins and sometimes have purple blotches.  (from http://www.garlic-central.com/varieties.html)

Aside from the garlic planted outside, there are greens (mesclun mix, arugula and micro-greens) in the greenhouse for fall harvest as well as a couple types of herbs.  I have also staked out a new area in the garden for the potato patch next year.  If the weather cooperates the next couple of weekends, compost can be added and the soil tilled in preparation for next spring.  The garden keeps growing.  Happy Fall everyone!

Fall Clean-up

Here at our elevation, it is quickly becoming fall.  The aspen are starting to turn, night temperatures are consistently in the 30′s now, with a few dips into the 20′s.  Daytime temps are in the 50′s and 60′s (all temps in Farenheit) so it is still nice, but not warm enough to grow many more vegetables outside.  In the big garden outside, all the frosted veggies from labor day weekend have been torn out, the walls o’ water are emptied and in storage for next year.  The shallots are harvested even though they will have to be treated like scallions/green onions.  It never did get warm enough for them to form true bulbs like the ones you see in the store.  The shallots are definitely going to have to be eaten fairly soon.   The white onions are all harvested and actually had some decent size bulbs, although they could also have used some warmer temperatures.  I noticed on the onions that something had been feeding on the leaves, but all they did was pull the bulbs from the ground without eating the bulbs and just left them lay on top of the soil.

Sixty purple hyacinth bulbs got planted this weekend as well.  In the area where the wall o’ water veggies were, are the new bulbs. Hyacinth are also deer resistant, so hopefully they will survive in good shape.  They are planted to the correct depth, watered in and covered with a nice 3-4 inch layer of pine mulch.  If they are anything like the daffodils, flowers should start showing in June/July of next spring. 

Another project this weekend was cleaning out the greenhouse.  All the warm season veggies (tomatoes, peppers, etc) have been replaced with freshly planted greens (mesclun mix, micro-greens and arugula) for some fall, cool season fresh produce.  All the herbs that were left in the greenhouse were also harvested (basil, sage and parsley) and they have been used to add fresh flavors to all the cooking this weekend.  Now I just have to remember to water the newly planted seeds in the greenhouse so they actually grow.  The heater in the greenhouse has been replaced with one that has a fan to circulate warm air since the nights are so cold.  It would not do for the greens to freeze.   

All in all, a productive weekend, looking forward to some fresh greens and perhaps, after some research, there will be other seeds that can be planted in the greenhouse for fall harvest.

Labor Day Weekend 2011

Given that the temperatures at our elevation dipped into the 20′s on Saturday night, it seems that the garden needs winterproofing.  The tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos that are outside in the walls o’ water got their tops toasted.  I’m leaving the toasted foliage on the plants to help protect the developing/ripening tomatoes in the walls.  Even the foliage on the artichoke that was hanging outside the wall o’ water got a  bit of frost damage.  The shallots and chard made it through the frost with no evidence of damage so they will be staying in the ground for a bit longer.  The grapevine leaves also had some serious frost damage, all of the leaves are curled and brown.  Here are some photos of the tomatoes and peppers that got hit the hardest. 

So, this weekend was all about winterizing some of the large garden.  The grapes and apple trees had a fair bit of weeding done around them then some fresh mulch was added to the base of each plant.  I planted some daffodil and ornamental allium bulbs in the perennial bed inside the big garden, then added more mulch to help protect the crowns of the perennials.  One of the mint plants suffered from frost damage, but a different type of mint actually seemed to thrive.  Guess it’s time to make mojitos with the mint before we get a serious freeze.  The perennials in the beds closest to the house can wait a bit longer for winterizing.  They are more protected and not so exposed to the elements.  But, still have my work cut out for me.

Critters!

One cannot really stay out of the garden for very long.  I went to a conference, was gone for about two weeks and during those two weeks, some sort of critter (or critters) had discovered my potato patch, which I realized when I returned and got back to my garden.  Mind you, the damage didn’t look like much from afar, but on closer inspection it was evident that there were quite a few potatoes that had been feasted upon.  Now, they don’t eat the whole potato, they just take bites out of a lot of different potatoes and they seem to have a discerning palate.  While the russets were mostly left untouched, the specialty potatoes were really hard hit.  They loved the Colorado Rose, Russian Banana Fingerlings, Nicola, not so much on the German Butterballs or Yellow Finns and the Purple Majesty’s were all intact.  Apparently, they are not a fan of purple potatoes.  Maybe the color stains their teeth or the taste is not to their liking, who knows?

So, which critter(s) are we talking about?  It appears there are a couple of different varmints at work here.  I think there are marmots, judging by the size of the openings of the burrows.  My spouse says they are wyoming ground squirrels.  A brief search for photos on the internet yielded these photos from Wikipedia and Greg Lasley Nature Photography: 

Yellow-bellied Marmot

The marmot looks to be a bit bigger than the wyoming ground squirrel and frankly, it doesn’t really matter, because something was feasting on my potatoes. 

 So what to do?  Let’s harvest.  So that’s what I did for the last couple of weekends, harvested all the potatoes.  Finished harvesting this past weekend, gathering up the last of the russets.  The harvest this year is not as bountiful as last year, but we will still have plenty of spuds to eat throughout the winter months.  Ultimately, the potatoes only had about a three month growing season since they got planted mid-June, so all-in-all, we did really well.  Now if only my tomatoes would start producing, but that’s another story.

My Least Favorite Thing………………

I truly love to garden.  It’s gratifying to plant a seed or a tuber and watch it grow.  It borders on being spiritual and there is the added bonus that the harvested edibles are tasty.  However, there are some things about gardening that are not as much fun.  One of those is weeding out the unwanted plants from the garden.  Now mind you, some of these plants are pretty, even produce very nice flowers (wild yarrow comes to mind), but they have no place in my potato patch or any other part of the garden.  These weeds will suck up water meant for your intended plants as well as the nutrients that the edibles need.  So, the weeds need to go. 

It seems that there is progress on the weed front but then a rainstorm comes along and suddenly, the garden looks like it hasn’t been tended to in several weeks.  So, back out, with spade in hand, to tackle the invaders.  Today it was the fence line at the bottom of the potato patch along with some huge patches of grass elsewhere in the garden.  It’s actually starting to look civil.  So, onward with the spade, hoe and whatever other tool is needed, to continue the battle.  I figure by the end of the summer, I should have the entire thing weeded.

Grapes

Last weekend was all about finishing the cordon system for the grapes (wine and table) and weeding the planting area.  That was accomplished, so this weekend it is time to plant the wine grapes.  The table grapes were planted last Sunday and they seem to be holding their own out in the garden.  The weather this week was kind of up and down, but we did receive some nice rain. It hailed here during the week, but it must not have been too bad as nothing in the garden looks like it suffered major damage.

There are 5 varieties of wine grapes, 3 reds and 2 whites.  All are cold hardy to at least -20F and a few are labeled as cold hardy to -30F.  Hopefully, they will do well up here.  Since these vines are only a year old, they most likely won’t produce fruit for a few years until they become established.  The grape varieties that we normally think of as wine grapes (Cabernet, Chardonnay, etc.) won’t grow at this elevation.  They require a more mediterranean climate.   So here is what is being planted:

Reds

‘Marquette‘ is a new red wine grape from the U of Minnesota that exhibits high cold hardiness and resistance to disease.  This variety has moderate vigor with an upright, orderly growth habit which is desirable for vineyard management and fruit sunlight exposure.  Hardy to -36F (zone 3) without serious injury.  Wine made from this grape exhibits cherry and black currant flavors and aromas of blackberries, pepper, plum, tobacco, leather and spice with excellent tannin levels.

‘Frontenac‘ is a bluish-black wine grape from the U of Minnesota as well.  The vine has moderate vigor, slightly upright growth habit with arching canes and is very hardy (zone 3).  The berry clusters are medium sized and loose.  Frotenac makes a deep, garnet colored wine with black or sweet cherry notes.  It has also been used to produce port-style wines of outstanding quality with lush shades of cherry, raspberry and black currant.

 ’Marechal Foch‘ is a versatile red wine grape having low vigor and a ‘bushy’ growth habit.  Small cluster and berry size, it is recommended to prune long to get sufficient yields.  It is hardy to -24F.  This variety may not do as well up here as it requires a significant amount of heat to fully mature the fruit.  More information on this and other cold hardy red wine grapes can be found at https://www.reddogvineyards.com/Red_Wine_Grapes.php.

Whites

‘La Crescent’ is a white wine grape from the U of Minnesota that has excellent winter hardiness and wine quality.  The vine is vigorous, moderately productive with a sprawling growth habit.  This one will require ‘vine training‘.  Hardy to -30F with no trunk or bud loss.  The wine is an excellent sweet or dry white with an intense nose of apricot, peach and citrus.

‘La Crosse’ is a vigorous white wine grape bred by Elmer Swenson.  This vine has an open semi-upright growth habit with productive secondary buds.  Hardy to -21F.  The aromatics of La Crosse range from pear, apricot, slightly Muscat, to citrus and floral.  Makes some excellent, fruity, semi-sweet wines but can be used as a blending component for lighter wines. More info on this and other cold hardy white wine varieties can be found at https://www.reddogvineyards.com/White_Wine_Grapes.php. 

All-in-all, another great weekend of gardening is ahead.

Progress

It has definitely been a busy spring so far.  The weather has been extremely cool.  The potatoes finally got planted a couple of weeks ago and are just now starting to push a bit of foliage up through the soil.    I planted eight varieties of potatoes this year, Nicola, Russet Norkotah, Colorado Rose, German Butterball, Yellow Finn, Purple Majesty, Rio Grande Russet and Russian Banana Fingerlings.   The shallots are producing lots of little green shoots.  The onions are doing well, but may not bulb if we don’t get some warmer temperatures.  We’ve been eating the greens from the greenhouse for a couple of weekends now and they are tasty.  The spicy mesclun mix with some baby swiss chard makes a fabulous salad. 

Perennials have been planted in the big garden and in the small beds close to the house.  I planted Gayfeather (Liatris spicata), Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum), Red Hot Poker or Torch Lily (Kniphofia uvaria) and some more Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia).   The apple trees were planted last weekend (see Jan 2, 2011 post for info on apples) and then last week it got a bit chilly at night, so they were struggling a bit even though I had tried to acclimate them before planting. 

But the biggest accomplishment this weekend was getting my posts set for the cordon system so I can plant the wine grapes (next post will be all about the grapes) and finished stringing the wire around the big garden to keep the deer and moose out.  All in all, a very good weekend.

Never say never…….

……and don’t trust your eyes when making a cursory inventory of the garden after winter.  It has been a beautiful weekend up in the mountains, very little wind, mild temperatures and no rain or snow.  So, it was time to get out in the garden and see what’s what.  The last post lamented the loss of some of my plants, but that was a bit premature.  A perennial bed by the stairs to the deck needed rehabilitation, so all the weeds were removed, composted horse manure added and it has been replanted along with 5 roses, 1 peony and a winecup to create an instant garden.  I discovered a russian sage (1 of the 2 from last year) that was starting to leaf out so it was replanted as well, and the lambs ear in this bed was coming back strong.  The annuals were put in the pots on the deck, mostly annual geraniums since the ground squirrels/chipmunks don’t care for those, and watered and fertilized.   

The perennial bed on the other side of the deck has been weeded (mostly) and both lavender plants are still going strong.  Only one lambs ear plant did not make it, but the other two are doing beautifully. The globe thistle is coming back as well as the Cheyenne Mock Orange shrub.   It is starting to leaf out nicely.   Hopefully the irises will bloom in another 2-3 weeks and they will be spectacular.  I know what you are thinking, haven’t the iris already bloomed?  Well, along the front range at the lower elevations, they have, but up here, they generally don’t bloom until mid-June to the first part of July.  The daffodils by the greenhouse didn’t even bloom until about 2 weeks ago. 

 Composted horse manure was also added to the potato patch and all of my spuds are planted as well as the shallots.  The aspen are starting to leaf out and are providing a nice, light green color in the background.  The only drawback to having the aspen leaf out is looking out and seeing how many have died and need to be cut down.  That is an entire summer project in itself.   

All in all, a very productive weekend in the garden.