Viewing comments posted by sallyg

153 found:

[ Eggplant (Solanum melongena 'Millionaire') | Posted on May 24, 2021 ]

According to Burpee, it makes Japanese type, dark purple skinned fruit about 2 inches wide and 8-10 inches long, in about 55 days from setting plants in the garden. I found starter plants at a nursery and am trying it for the first time.

[ Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla 'Fordhook Giant') | Posted on May 21, 2021 ]

This chard grew well for me in 2020 as a spring crop and lasted all winter, it looked a bit crinkly starting to grow again in spring but that went away. In its second spring I got the giant leaves but also some are bolting. Still, I am getting enough off a dozen or 15 plants to make a meal, and it is tender and tastes fine. I have started more seed in case the bolting kills that crop.

[ Geranium (Pelargonium 'Brocade Fire') | Posted on May 21, 2021 ]

I love the fancy zoned leaves like this but do not have the best luck with Pelargoniums in general. Still, this overwintered ok very dry in my basement and is growing and blooming for the second year. I just put it into a hanging basket pot, hoping that it likes some extra soil helping it stay moist. I will place it in partial sun, avoiding the hot deck that seemed to make it struggle.

[ Radish (Raphanus sativus 'French Dressing') | Posted on May 17, 2021 ]

Grew well for me in early spring. Nice mild crisp radishes.

[ Devil's Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa) | Posted on April 17, 2021 ]

I got this as a volunteer. It has grown easily to a large shrub. It does sucker readily, and for that reason I cut down the original and moved a sucker, where that has grown in light shade. Pollinators adore this and make the whole thing buzz when in bloom with all sizes of insect.
There is some presence in US of escaped Aralia from Asia. The spinosa leaves have distinct 'petiolules' where as leaflets of the asian one come directly off the "stem" -(sorry terminology is not my strong suit.) See for information https://www.illinoiswildflower...

[ Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus 'Emerald') | Posted on February 7, 2021 ]

I have grown this and a couple other varieties of okra. 'Emerald' (and the others) grew well in my zone 7 garden. I direct seed in summer, plenty of warm season for them to yield plenty of pods.

[ Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) | Posted on February 7, 2021 ]

I've grown a couple different varieties of Okra. They were problem free, high yielding, and grew well in my zone 7 garden. Pods grow fast, so remember to harvest often. Okra freezes very well. Slice into rounds and freeze loosely, bag them; used later in soup they add a slight thickness to the broth. If your knife doesn't slice easily, the pod is woody and not useable. Some types stay tender longer, so the knife test works better than judging by size.

[ Collards (Brassica oleracea 'Georgia Southern Creole') | Posted on February 6, 2021 ]

I started these from seed spring 2020 (Baker Creek Seed). They grew well, and I also bought Vates starts at the local nursery to compare. Both are very productive, the Creole kept a lighter bluish tone to the leaves, and they seemed slightly more 'refined.' Now that winter is here, Creole is holding up better, not wilting, than the other. A couple of Creole plants look pretty good, but I think I have to take them out so they do not harbor whiteflies all winter into next spring season. I won't be able to save seed from these.

Chickens love to eat collard greens and so do cabbage butterfly caterpillars. I also got harlequin bugs on the collards.

[ Mizuna (Brassica rapa subsp. nipposinica 'Mizuna') | Posted on November 30, 2020 ]

I planted mizuna as a fall crop this year, seed sown August 30. It has grown very well, faster growing than arugula, romaine or spinach, for example, sown same date. It is a very frilly 'cut' leaf with a long but tender stalk/rib, 12 inches or so tall, softly arching. Bug free, at least the slugs, caterpillars, harlequin bugs, and white flies are attacking other crops and leaving this alone. I am a 'lazy' fertilizer user, usually hoping my organic practices do enough, but I have used a small amount of high nitrogen 'lawn fertilizer' around the green crops this fall. Had no problem with our first frost of the year, mid November, 26 degrees one night.

Spring of this year, I started purchased mizuna seed indoors, mid January, planted seedlings outside mid March, and plants grew well until beginning to bolt May 4. My brassicas (luckily) flowered at different times. I saved seed from mizuna and others, the mizuna appears to have stayed true. I used my saved seed for this fall crop.

Has a very mild flavor, dark green color, and is more tender to eat raw than a kale. It cooks tender, too. I chop it, entire leaf and stems, and use it in potato and vegetable soups to add greens. Cooks quickly, similar to other basic soup vegetables like carrots. Adds a nice dark green when cooked. Could be a salad green if you like the frilly texture. Chickens like fresh mizuna.

[ Spotted Inch Plant (Tinantia pringlei) | Posted on November 8, 2020 ]

I've had this plant for at least 8 years in my garden, zone about 7 Mid Atlantic region, US. It dies down over winter, comes back/pops up here and there. Interesting leaf color and cute little lavender flowers. I have left it to figure itself out for some years now. Shade plant, like a small, cuter cousin of Asiatic dayflower, not as aggressive as dayflower either.

[ Coastal Plain Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium dubium 'Little Joe') | Posted on October 26, 2020 ]

'Little Joe' is a winner in my central Maryland garden. I have it in morning to midday sun, shade after that due to being against a deck. Soil there is dense (clay due to deck construction) and stays moist (due to grading and exposure) It's in the third year, this was a very rainy one, still matured at a nice 4 feet, unlike its straight Joepye neighbor that got to 7 feet.

[ Late Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) | Posted on September 5, 2020 ]

Very common in central Maryland waste places and roadsides. Can self sow in a casual garden. Smells like vanilla to me. Watch out for new plants, can be overabundant if you let some go to seed.

[ Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris 'Rattlesnake') | Posted on August 28, 2020 ]

I am growing these for the first time. Fast growing vines and fast growing big beans. There are strings to remove when cooking but it was easy to do and I did not have strings in my cooked beans. Even quite big beans with well developed seeds cooked up tender. Good flavor. Do keep an eye out for side shoots down low, later, making more beans- I had missed those and that's how I ended up cooking a big handful of older beans today. Do NOT let them grow up a sunflower as I did, it makes it hard to find the beans.

[ Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum 'Big Bertha') | Posted on July 17, 2020 ]

Maryland garden, experienced with some peppers and other vegetables, but first time grower of these, from a nursery starter. I am amazed at the three huge fruits it has by mid July on a not that huge plant. The plant looks quite healthy, though, with large leaves and a thick stem. The proof is in the pudding, or for bell peppers, the cutting to see if my choice of variety and better attention to water and fertilizer...Tomato tone... will give me a juicy thick bell pepper, finally.
Editing to add- now it is October and the plant is loaded with heavy fruit, even broke a branch. Support these well. The best bell peppers I have ever grown. Good thickness. Note we have had plenty of rain this summer.

[ Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum) | Posted on July 14, 2020 ]

We planted a number of these last year at the library where I work, mostly full sun. They've grown very well with little special attention. Now they are covered in blooms, and bringing in lots of different bees and wasps. Great choice for native garden in Mid Atlantic area.

[ Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) | Posted on July 10, 2020 ]

This plant works as a "trap plant" for Popillia aka "Japanese" beetles. I let these grow in a few places. When the beetles appear, they can often be found on the tallest clusters of leaves, in the morning or evening especially. This year I've already picked many dozens of beetles. I knock the beetles into a bowl of water, then give them to my chickens. Chickens love to eat the beetles.

[ Habanero Pepper (Capsicum Chinense 'Habanero') | Posted on June 21, 2020 ]

I bought 2 starter plants from a nursery collection labeled "Salsarific" (peppers and tomatoes) and also labeled Capsicum annuum Habanero. I assume it is a generic habanero and they just goofed on the species name. By mid July the two have become very bushy, as tall as a three ring tomato cage but wider, and are loaded with fruit.

[ Inch Plant (Tradescantia zebrina) | Posted on June 1, 2020 ]

I have been growing this for a few years in Maryland. It looks horrible most of the time inside the house. But I have kept some alive till spring when I put it outside. It quickly adapts to full sun here, becomes huge, lush and gorgeous and grows like a weed. Roots easily where stems lie on soil.

[ English Pea (Lathyrus oleraceus 'Alderman') | Posted on May 30, 2020 ]

Growing these for the first time, most of the plants are 5 feet tall and started blooming about a week ago. Look nice and healthy with a lot of flowers coming. Germinated well in the garden.

[ Pennsylvania Smartweed (Persicaria pensylvanica) | Posted on May 17, 2020 ]

This is a very common backyard weed in my area of Central Maryland. Emerges in very early spring and can start to bloom in May. Cultivating the garden this spring resulted in a lot of these growing, along with henbit and others.

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