Vertical Gardening in a Salad Basket

October 5, 2016

If space is limited, if salad eating pests are a problem at ground level or you’d just like a hanging accent in that sunny spot, consider a suspended salad basket.

Decide how low you’d like the basket to hang. Bend the wire hanger ends all at once to ensure a level hanging basket. Attach wires to basket edge by bending them around the top wire rim. Moisten the sphagnum moss (EZ-Wet Soil Penetrant speeds the process, 1tbs/gal water). Take the moss and line the basket with it. An inch thickness will be just enough to hold the soil in. Place moss all the way up the sides of the basket and make it extra thick around the top rim. We suggest you place a Soil Moist Mat for Hanging Baskets over the moss in the bottom of your basket. It contains water holding polymer.

Now put about 3″ of soil into the bottom of the basket.

Add 1 Tbs. of Osmocote slow release fertilizer and mix into the soil. Carefully make an opening in the moss wall from the inside. Take a baby lettuce plant and gently coax the root ball through the opening, ending up with the roots well inside the basket and the leaves out. Plant 3-6 plants like this on this layer.

Cover the roots with 1-2″ of soil mixed with Osmocote slow release fertilizer and repeat with another layer of plants. Fill the basket for the final time to within 1″ of the top. This provides watering room. Add the final 1 Tbs. Osmocote slow release fertilizer. Mix in and plant the top of the basket with the remaining plants. Hang; water well. Keep evenly moist, grow and enjoy fresh salad greens all winter long.

Try this with violas too. In spring replace lettuce with Herbs

Capers and Saffron

September 21, 2016

Saffron Crocus and Caper bushes are 2 plants that gardeners often ask for and we seldom have in stock. Saffron is only available in the fall as a bulb so the window of opportunity is narrow. Caper bushes are grown by just a few growers; we see them here once or twice a year. We now have beautiful plants and bulbs in stock so we’re letting everyone know; come and get yours!

Saffron is known as the world’s most expensive spice. Saffron is the delicate thread-like female portion of the saffron crocus flower. It is easy to grow but labor intensive to harvest. One or two dozen bulbs will provide enough saffron for a few dishes. As the bulbs multiply over the years, so too will the harvest. Plant crocus in good draining soil with protection from afternoon sun.

Caper bushes are Mediterranean plants known for producing the cape, an immature flower bud which is pickled for use in salads as well as meats and pasta dishes.

Plant caper bushes where the soil drains perfectly; they typically grow in sloped, dry locations where they receive very little extra water… Almost like a California native.

Just add Salt and Vinegar – Growing Pickling Cucumbers

April 20, 2016

cucumbere Cucumber plants have arrived and the time is right for planting for summer salads and pickles.

Cucumbers are great for making a Greek salad with tomatoes, olive oil, onions, Greek olives and feta cheese.

Cucumbers also make super simple and very tasty refrigerator pickles. Set sliced cucumbers, sliced onions, a few cloves of garlic, fresh dill and a touch of pepper. Pour salt water brine over the cucumbers to cover, then place in the fridge for at least a day, but up to a week, then open and enjoy.

Growing your own cucumber means you harvest your crop just minutes or hours before serving a salad or creating a batch of pickles. The taste difference between fresh and store – bought can be significant.

Try any cucumbers , but one of our favorite cucumbers is the lemon cucumber, available from seed or starts through early summer.

cucumber-jar Recipe for Refrigerator Pickles
We have loosely followed the recipe for refrigerator dill pickles from the website called, browneyedbaker.com/quick-easy-refrigerator-dill-pickles/, varying the ingredients based on what we have around and how many cucumbers we have to work with.

For Each Quart Jar:
Cut up about 1.5 pounds of cucumbers into slices or wedges. (Lemon cukes have become our favorite).

In the bottom of each jar add the following:

2-4 cloves of garlic, smashed or sliced
1 heaping teaspoon of black peppercorns
A couple of pinches of red pepper flakes, or use small sliced pieces of hot peppers from the garden to taste.
3-4 sprigs fresh dill or a teaspoon of dill seeds

Fill the jar with Cucumbers and add slices of white onion too if you like. Work a few more sprigs of dill in over the pickles.

Mix the following and pour over the pickles to cover:

2 cups water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sea salt – dissolved in the brine

dill-weed Put a lid on it and refrigerate at least a day. We set them in the fridge upside down so the spices work down through the pickles.

These are so good it’s hard to keep them from disappearing.