Perennial Vegetable Corner: Garlic chives

Allium tuberosum also known as Garlic chives

The last in our perennial allium family, garlic chives are a versatile contributor to the garden.  Easily grown from seed or by separating clumps, this is a carefree addition to the garden.  The flowers also provide for a pleasant addition to the landscape.  The flavor is mild and a cross between garlic and chives.  These are an excellent pot herb or garnish.  Flowers make an excellent garnish and bloom in mid to late summer.  There are even companies that produce and extract for it's aphrodisiac properties.

Suppliers:

Swallowtail Gardens

Local Harvest

Victory Seeds

Galic of the Day: Polish White

Harvest this soft neck variety in early summer and it will keep until mid winter.  This is a rich musky mellow garlic that is very popular in the United States.  This garlic has consistent yields and is easy to grow, very popular to grow in New England.  This garlic does well in cold weather and will produce 5-9 large cloves per artichoke type bulb.  It may have some purpling in the skin making it fairly attractive for display and braids well.  Excellent baker.

Suppliers:
Filagree Farms
Hood River
Karian Farms

People in Our Neighborhood: Farmer Brown

The Energizer Bunny that holds the garden together and keeps us moving forward is our own Farmer Brown.      He tirelessly challenges the gardeners he is working with to be more, bigger, better, faster, stronger.  It's rumored that Farmer Brown does not sleep and pulls all his energy from the rays of the sun and moon.  With a couple or three decades of experience under his belt, Farmer Brown is a fantastic resource and is generally available to teach those wanting to learn how to live sustainably and more in tune with the earth.

Farmer Brown has a degree in viticulture and enology which is often showcased at late night barbecues.  He recently brought a mulberry melomel along that was incredibly tasty and satisfying, but I have yet to taste anything bad from his cellars.  He had a farm in Chillicothe which has given him a great deal of animal husbandry experience and numerous 4-H awards in animal husbandry. Spent many years at the Livingston County farmers market and held a board position of treasurer there He also spent 10 years as a hydroponic grower. Sausage and artisan ham making, food preservation and butchering are just a few of the arts he picked up along the way. 

Spearheading the annual Garlic Fest in town, he throws his tireless determination into putting on a fantastic festival that grows every year.  It's a wonderful way to network with like minded gardeners and to learn more about the community at large.

In addition to the festival, he keeps multiple lots on track with many gardeners at the reigns.  This year he expanded our cooperative farmers to include an intern program.  In order to keep the garden servicing the community he also started a series of classes, the schedule of which can be found elsewhere on this blog.

If you come out and join us in our many endeavors, please make sure to check in with Farmer Brown and find your niche with us to continue to grow our gardening community and the communities of Carondelet and the Patch as a whole.  Together we will make a better place to live, work, and play and Farmer Brown is fantastic at leading the way.

Perennial Vegetable Corner: Ramps

Allium tricoccum also known as Ramps

Ramps are an early spring vegetable of the onion family.  They have a strong garlic odor and pronounced onion flavor.  The mountain folk of Appalachia have long celebrated spring with the arrival of the ramp, believing it to have great power as a tonic to ward off many ailments of winter. Indeed, ramp's vitamin and mineral content did bolster the health of people who went without many green vegetables during the winter.  These delicious greens can be pulled straight out of the ground and nibbled on by those with a passion for strong tastes.  Chopped they may be used in various cuisines.  Excellent paired with eggs or in stir fries, many people develop a passionate love of these vegetables after being introduced to their robust flavor.  Ramps grow wild all over the United States and a patch can be introduced to your backyard by transplanting a clump to fill in some of the shady spaces.  When picking out your space, look for dappled light or shade and plant in a wood chip rich area.   Recently, the Carondelet Urban Farm went on a field trip to Macoupin County, Illinois to dig bushels of ramps.  It was an exciting and taste filled day.  We have had some discussion of what we actually dug up and are awaiting expert opinion on what we brought home to transplant.  Ramps are a great plant to tuck in your landscape and nibble on in the spring of the year.

Suppliers:

Prairie Moon Nursery

Ramp Farm Specialties

Everwilde Farms

Garden Chores for July

It's July and you don't know what to do.  It's hot, the spring plantings are going to seed and it's time to move on.   Here's an easy list of ideas:

1.  Fill your empty spots with fall plantings.  Beets, carrots, beans, chard, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, late cabbage, cauliflower, late beets, celery, turnips, radishes, spinach and others.

2.  Dig in plenty of compost in your empty spaces.

3.  Check the number of frostless days left and plan accordingly.

4.  Mulch, mulch, mulch.  We are going into the dry part of the season, conserve all the water you can.  Mulch will keep down your weeds and lessen the amount your soil changes temperature.  Mulch will also keep ripened fruit from going bad on the ground.

5.  Get your canning equipment together.  Stage your jars, wash everything and clear your shelves for storage.

6.  Renovate your June bearing strawberry beds.

7.  Raspberries - remove 3-4 inches of shoot tips on new growth to encourage branching and cut out canes that just finished fruiting.

8.  Mulch around fruit bearing trees.

9.  Fertilize and dead head flowers to promote new blooms.

10.  Harvest herb leaves for drying before they start to bloom.

11.  Stop harvesting asparagus and rhubarb.

12.  Water at least weekly during dry spells.

13.  Keep tomatoes irrigated regularly to reduce blossom end rot.

14.  It's a good time to plant delphinium, daisies, forget-me-knots, pansies, lupines, dianthus, wall flowers, snapdragons, columbines, poppies, and evening primrose.

15.  Deadhead your roses

16.  Prune wisteria back hard.

17.  Feed all perennials, shrubs, and trees.

18.  Plant rhubarb, shallots, egyptian walking onions, and fava beans for harvest next season. (I usually wait for later due to frequent late winters here in St. Louis)

19.  Transplant strawberries that have rooted from runners.


Here's another excellent blog about what to do now:  A Way To Garden

Garlic of the Day: Silver Rose

Silver Rose Garlic is a softneck variety.  This artichoke bulb multiplies easily and is a great garlic for the garden.  One of the most attractive traits is the ease of which this garlic braids and keeps for up to 9 months making it one of the better keepers.  Silver Rose has a silver skin and rose meat.  It's a mild garlic but packs a little heat with little or no aftertaste.  Silver rose is a larger head with up to 12 cloves per head.  Rich and musky in garlickiness, yet mild in pungency.  These are a late harvest garlic and keep well into the next year.

Suppliers:
Gurney's
High Mowing Seeds
We Grow Garlic
Gormet Garlic Gardens

Perennial Vegetable Corner: Welsh Onion

Allium fistulosum also known as Welsh Onion.

Bunching onions that can be found at the grocery store are an excellent perennial vegetable for the home garden.  Growing 2 feet by 8 inches, Welsh Onion is highly edible.  Bulb, stem, and flowers pack a high onion punch when used in salads and sautes.  Easy to grow, it prefers a sunny location with light well-drained soil.  Juice is said to be used as a moth repellant.  Plants for a Future Database also lists numerous other uses including a sedative for children that can be made from this plant.

Suppliers:

Bountiful Gardens

Horizon Herbs

and many varieties at our local favorite:  Baker Creek Nursery

Resources:

Plants for a Future Database:  Allium fistulosum
Floridata
How to Grow Green Onions
Smart Gardener