Viewing comments posted by RickCorey

This is an heirloom strain from India, says Pinetree. 67 days, lemon-yellow pods, 6' vines need support

Elsholtzia ciliata (Kinh Gioi in Vietnamese, also called Vietnamese Mint or
Vietnamese Balm) is fast growing and prefers full sun and warmth.

Young leaves & tips add a lemon-like taste to fish & chicken dishes,
salads, soups and tea. Said to have medicinal uses.

Grow in open field or containers. Up to 20" tall.
Sow indoors 3 wks before last frost, or outdoors after any danger of frost.
Barely cover seeds. Currently available from Baker Creek.

Called Ngo Gai in Vietnam, it’s also called culantro, mui tau, ngo tau, Mexican coriander, thorny coriander, spiny coriander, fitweed, saw-leaf or saw-tooth herb, recao and Tabasco parsley.

Ngo Gai / Culantro leaves and roots are used as a seasoning in Thailand, India, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. It is similar to cilantro but has a stronger flavor.

Ngo Gai germinates and grows slowly. It needs shade. Harvest leaves by cutting the entire rosette at the base before flowering. The leaves are thick and retain their flavor and color when dried.

Many agriculturally significant crops are members of the Brassica genus, which falls within the Brassicaceae family. That family has also been called the mustard family or "Cruciferae", so these cultivars are all cruciferous vegetables. Members of the genus Brassica are also sometimes called cole crops, cabbages, turnips or mustards. Brassicas are mostly annuals, some biennial.

The three closely-related ancestral species are:
- Brassica oleracea - (cabbage, broccoli, kale etc)
- Brassica rapa - (turnip, Chinese cabbage, some canola, etc) (includes B. campestris)
- Brassica nigra – (black mustard)

These three species hybridized and produced three species of "allotetraploid" Brassicas (tetraploids from two different parent species):
- Brassica juncea – (Indian mustard, brown and leaf mustards, Sarepta mustard)
- Brassica napus – (rapeseed, other canola & rutabaga)
- Brassica carinata – (Ethiopian mustard)

Common Names - - - - - - species and cultivar group

Cabbage - - - - - - Brassica oleracea, Capitata Group
Broccoli & Cauliflower - Brassica oleracea, Botrytis Group or Italica Group
Kale & Collard greens - - - Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group
Kai-lan - - - Brassica oleracea, Alboglabra Group (leaf vegetable / "Chinese broccoli")
Kohlrabi - - - - - - Brassica oleracea, Gongylodes Group (stem)
Brussels Sprouts - - - Brassica oleracea, Gemmifera Group

Turnip - - - - - - Brassica rapa var. rapa (root and leaves)
Chinese Cabbage - - - Brassica rapa, Pekinensis Group (once called celery cabbage)
Bok Choy - - - - - - Brassica rapa, Chinesis Group
Broccoli Raab / Rapini - - - Brassica rapa, Ruvo Group
Komatsuna - - - - - - Brassica rapa Perviridis Group ("Japanese Mustard Spinach")

Mustard species include Brassica rapa, B. nigra, B. juncea, B. elongate, B. narinosa, B. rupestris and B. tournefortii.


Brassicas are mostly cool-weather annual crops planted in early spring, late summer / early fall, or in winter hoop tunnels.

For example, Chinese cabbage's preference for decreasing day lengths and temperatures make it a good fall crop, but it can be grown in the spring if frost is avoided (frost makes young plants bolt to seed). Fall crops succession-planted after peas or beans benefit from the nitrogen left behind.

Spring crops can be direct-sowed after the last frost, or transplants with 4 true leaves can be hardened off and then set out after the last frost. Seeds tend to germinate best in warm soil, 68-85 F, but their 20-50 days to maturity may have to be over before summer heats up. Fall crops are more often direct-sowed.

Heat-tolerant and cold-tolerant cultivars exist within each group. Varieties that can't take heat are usually labeled "sow spring OR fall". Heat-resistant varieties may be labeled "sow spring THROUGH fall". Experimentation or local Master Gardeners will suggest varieties most suited to your local conditions.

Brassicas grown for their leaves may be harvested at any stage:
- tender, mild-flavored baby leaves for raw salads (for example, thinned seedlings)
- larger leaves pulled from each growing plant have more flavor (for salad or steaming)
- whole older plants for steaming, soup, stir-fry or pickling

A good strategy is to plant them thickly and eat the baby thinnings in salad for a few weeks. Later, thin the slower, smaller plants to give the others room, and eat these thinnings. Then let the most vigorous plants grow to maturity while you pluck a few of the largest outer leaves.

Saving seed lets you sow a large area thickly with little expense. However, Brassicas cross-pollinate very easily by insects within each species, and insects can travel hundreds of yards.

If you want to collect seed, but two cultivars within the same species bolt at the same time, uproot one of them or cover it completely with a floating row cover and weigh down the edges with soil. (You might uncover each cultivar on different days, so that each is pollinated but not cross-pollinated. Use different row covers for each cultivar so that you don’t transfer pollen.)

Brassicas tend to be heavy feeders, preferring well-drained, airy, fertile soil rich in organic matter and mineral nutrients. Work in manure the year before, and several inches of compost before planting, and / or side-dress or bury 1 cup of balanced fertilizer per 10 row feet.

Each Brassica variety prefers slightly different conditions. They may tolerate or even appreciate partial shade, especially if grown in hot summers.

Try to rotate where you grow Brassicas, ideally using the same soil only every third year, since they tend to share insect pests and soil diseases such as club root fungus. Floating row covers deter cabbage white butterfly caterpillars.

Kitazawa Seed company advertises "Minowase Summer Cross Hybrid" as a Japanese hybrid Daikon, tapered root 12-14" long, plant early spring or early summer for fall harvest, 53 days to maturity. Mildly pungent, especially suitable for pickling. The Kitazawa catalog number is #103. I'm guessing that's the same as, or at least similar to, "Minowase Summer Cross #3".

Hazzards also offers "Radish Daikon Minowase".

This is a different variety from "Mino Early", which matures in 40 days, and may be used somewhat more often in soup.

Grown for bronze-green or purple-green foliage, but blooms are more showy than P. digitalis 'Husker's Red'.

Here's a list of some tomato varieties said to ripen unusually early, and/or to have unusual cold tolerance.

For example, in the PNW, 'Oregon Spring' can be planted four weeks before the last frost, and needs protection only when there's frost.

These were compiled by reading and comparing descriptions, with frequent reference to the Territorial Seed Company catalog that ranks tomato performance in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Determinate varieties ("DET") spread laterally, may not need stakes or trellises, and ripen "all at once". Indeterminate varieties (INDET) grow vertically, need trellises, and ripen over the whole season.

I'd appreciate corrections, additions and comments.

ULTRA-EARLY & COLD-TOLERANT:

'Glacier' - ultra-early, cold-tolerant, SEMI-DET
'Stupice' - ultra-early, cold-tolerant, compact DET
- - - Not a heavy fruit bearer, and the fruit splits for some
'Northern Delight' - ultra-early, "for the Far North", 2' DET
'Beaverlodge' series - ultra-early, compact DET, containers (not sure about cold tolerance)

EXTRA-EARLY & COLD-TOLERANT:

'Manitoba' - extra-early, cold-tolerant, 3'-4' DET, "Canadian for colder climates"
'Matina' - extra-early, INDET, "dependable even in cold/wet summers"
- - - early and flavorful and bore a lot of fruit over a long period.
'Sub-Artic Plenty' - extra-early, "Canadian", DET
'Oregon Spring' - extra-early, very cold-tolerant, "plant 4 wks before last frost
- - - & protect only when there's frost"
Sophie's Choice: Heirloom from Edmonton, Canada, by Carolyn Male in 1997.
- - - Extra early, flavorful. 2' DET vines suited to containers.
- - - 6-12 ounce globes red-orange outside and deep red flesh. Strong disease resistance.
- - - Not heat-tolerant or drought-tolerant. Best production in cooler climates.



EXTRA-EARLY:

'Early Wonder' - extra-early, 3'-4' SEMI-DET, med red globe
'Siletz' - extra-early, reliable, DET, 4"-5" red
'Ildi' - extra-early, yellow grape pear, 8'-10' INDET
'Gold Nugget' - extra-early, 2-3' DET, bland yellow cherry
'Sungold' F1 - extra-early, 4'-8' INDET, containers, orange cherry
- - - tends to split for me


EARLY:

'Yellow Plum' - early, productive even in cold, 4'-6' INDET, yellow cherry
'Bloody Butcher' - early, cool climate, 4'-6'
'Maskabec' - early, 18"-36" DET, 4-6 oz. red globe
'Golden Rave' (hybrid) - early, gold Roma plum6'-8' INDET
'Husky Cherry Red' - early, semi-DET or dwarf INDET
'Sub Artic Cherry' - early, DET, pink, "developed in Alberta for short seasons"
'Early Cascade' - (hybrid but seems pretty true) - early, short-summer, PNW,
- - - "reliable: sets fruit in any climate", red-orange


LESS EARLY:

'Marmande' - semi-early, cool climate, med-large red beefsteak type, full flavor
'Early Girl' (hybrid) - semi-early, med red globe, flavorful
- - Early Girl isn't very flavorful nor does it produce over a long period of time
'Santa Cherry' / 'Santa Sweets' - mid-season, tolerates cool summers, 4'-8' INDET
'Morden Yellow' - mid-late, Canadian for colder climates, 2'-3' DET, med yellow globe

The deep blue-green leaves are the edible part of 'Broccolo Spigariello'/'Spigariello Liscia.' They have a mild-sweet broccoli-kale flavor, but are more tender. This is a Southern Italian heirloom.

Sautee, stir-fry, steam, braise, or add to soup. Cooked leaves freeze well.

Direct-sow 1/8" deep after last frost. 12-24" tall. 16"-24" spacing.
Once established, the plants tolerate cold down to 25º F. Harvested leaves are replaced over a long season.

Although listed as an "annual vegetable," mine did not flower or go to seed the first year. I planted them in late spring or early summer 2011, but they did not form heads or flowers until early spring 2012.

According to Richard F. Dufresne, Salvia mexicana `Limelight’ may grow to 4 feet in full sun, with 18" spikes. He gives the hardiness zone as "8 (7?)".

Leaves fragrant, used to make tea or jelly. Edible flowers attract bees & butterflies.
Semi-erect growth habit. Bag seed heads to collect seed. Seed doesn't store well.
Provenance: Mexico. Older name: S. rutilans. Family: Lamiaceae.
Grows as annual in Zone 6.
Other propagation method: softwood cuttings.
Height 36" to 48", prefers full sun.
Spacing: 24" to 36"