OK forget the thermostat, who turned on the sauna?

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, we hope your garden endeavors are working out just as you planned them. There is a slight change in schedule regarding posts to this blog and posts on the youtube channel. It was found that producing the videos and the blog posts at the same time proved too often be a but heavy on time consumption. So posts up here on the blog will be every other week as planned but we moved over a week. Videos will alternate in the same way on the non-blog post weeks keeping conflict between the posts at a minimum. So for today we have another set of garden photos showing our progress in this strange summer.

Coleus amboinicus – Cuban Oregano, this is the Cervesa and Lime variety which was the first Cuban Oregano I was ever introduced to. It has a more citrus-twang to its flavor. This specimen is the mother plant from which all the cuttings sold at the market came from, she’s in a 10 or 15 gallon nursery pot which was an upgrade from a 14” pot. Cuban Oregano used to be known as Plectranthus amboinicus.

 

Coleus amboinicus – Cuban Oregano, this is a variety with a larger leaf and cream to white colored variegations. These plants can get huge over the course of a summer and have the expected basil-oregano sort of scent and flavor.

 

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Zanzibar Castor Bean. This giant castor bean can get up to twelve feet tall in a single warm growing season, it is not frost hardy. Thankfully one plant will produce a fair number of large easily processed seed to grow in later years. Folks at the market doubted the size and capabilities of this tropical looking annual, but this one just keeps getting bigger.

 

 

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Zanzibar Castor Bean. This is proof that my claim that the leaves can grow large enough to have a diameter similar to pizza pie pans. This leaf is at least twenty-two inches in diameter but in reality if it were to lie perfectly flat might be two feet in diameter. They will get bigger, this is just the beginning.

 

 

Ricinus communis ‘Impala’ – Impala Castor Bean. At the market while selling Castorbean Plants I often get asked what the flowers look like and the descriptions are certainly entertaining. It’s hard to really describe the flowers but this picture illustrates it easily. The flowers are the little pink and white things lower on the stalk. The spiky pink balls are the seed pods, thankfully the spikes look more dangerous than they actually are. These castor beans volunteered from seed that survived in the garden soil somehow, it might be that they are more cold hardy than your normal Impala types.

 

 

Abelmoschus esculentus ‘Jing Orange’ – Jing Orange Okra.  Strangely enough they aren’t very orange, but I am still happy with the red coloration. These have become a replacement for Red Burgundy Okra in the garden and seem to be more vigorous and productive. The pods are still tender at 3-5 inches in length and I’ve been slicing them and freezing them for later use in succotash or gumbo.

 

Nicotiana sylvestris – Evening Scented Flowering Tobacco. I sold these at the market last year and from seed they have volunteered in the garden in a few places and really I am not all that upset about this. The scent at night is nice and the long tube flowers stand out in comparison to the other flowering tobacco plants in the garden this year.

 

 

 Brassica oleracea var. medullosa – Marrowstem Kale. Just when I thought this plant could not do any more to amaze me, it said ‘hold my fertilizer’. The stem is even thicker and according to a caliper measurement it’s two inches thick which if this keeps up I think it’s trying to be a Kohlrabi. I’ll keep you all up to date on how this cold season specimen plant develops.

 

 

Echinacea purpurea ‘Purple Magnus’ – Purple Magnus Coneflower. It wouldn’t be a LITFM post without a coneflower and these purple magnus coneflowers are looking really good. Asters bring in the pollinators and on a sunny day there are tons of things hitting up these perennials for the nectar and the pollen.

 

Lastly, here is the Blueberry harvest, seriously thats a LOT of berries.

 

Here are the latest YouTube videos for your garden entertainment:

 

All about wonderberries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhyIqdE0sn0

 

The science of how Thunderstorms apply nitrogen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA-rXvazNPs

 

The origins and uses of Tomatoes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yEPZEFMlcw

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

Fresh Food:

Blueberries, Pint ($4.00)

Figs, 1lb ($8.00)

 

Summer Veggies: ($3.00 each)

Pepper: Habanero, Golden Bell, Ghost ($4.00)

Pepper, 6” pot: Scotch Bonnet ($5.00), Cayenne ($5.00)

 

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

Basil, Emerald Tower, Dolche Fresca, Rutgers DMR Devotion

Cervesa & Lime Cuban Oregano

Oregano

Thyme

Shiso, Green 6” pot ($5.00)

 

Ornamental Stuff: ($3.00 each)

Cotton, Erlene's Green (Limited Quantity)

Flowering Tobacco 'Saratoga Purple', 'Saratoga Rose'

Marigold 'Antigua Yellow', 'Durango Red',  'Tangerine',  'Hero Bee'

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'

 

Coming Soon:

Comfrey (Herb, late summer)

We have a new place to share information and work on groovy sustainable stuff!  You can look for Sustainable Neighbors in our own Nextdoor.com group under the name “Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville”. You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join but it is a private group so feel free to request to join us if you are signed up on the Nextdoor.com site.

 

https://nextdoor.com/g/ybvdm226x/?is=nav_bar

 

Unfortunately, Covid-19 is still mucking up the works in terms of meeting in person. The good news is that Sustainable Neighbors does have a Discord Server. You can request access through our Meetup.com page or you can request access via our Nextdoor.com group. The meetup.com page is below for anyone looking to join us.

 

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

 

Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to buy anything or maintain any sort of attendance standard, you can come on in and join the meetings. When this Covid-19 mess calms down we may be able to resume normal in-person meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market. This brings to a close the thirteenth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on or around the 16^th of July. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

Thunderstorms you say? I'll beleive that when I see it!

Welcome back to another episode of Lost In The Farmers Market or LITFM to all you internet abbreviation fans out there. This episode is one of the more important ones of the year because we have a major announcement and some good photographs from the garden. So let’s start with the announcements since that part is time sensitive.  In case you have not been to the Sustainable Neighbors page lately this weekend, specifically on Sunday the 8^th between the hours of 1 and 4pm there is a garden tour. There are two Locations and this is an unstructured tour, you can go to one location or both and visit in any order you choose. The two locations are Melissa’s Celtic Gardens and My own Test Gardens. The full information including driving directions on both is posted on the Sustainable Neighbors site.

The Tour Page

For the record I have to say that visitors to the test gardens will get to see what’s on the growing rack before anyone else, including a few items not due for sale for a few months. Visitors are welcome to purchase stuff off the racks and as per tradition if it’s outside and on the racks it’s available for sale. But of course today’s main topic covers some good garden photographs and a little bit of advice concerning our strange weather.

First off, we know the weather is hot and miserable, rain has been so unreliable that for the first time in test garden history in North Carolina I ran a rain barrel empty irrigating the plants in the month of May. For record I expect to brain a barrel dry in August or July but may is typically unheard of. We’ve received no precipitation of any note (less than 0.05”) and supposedly there is a band of thunder storms headed our way. So maybe we have some relief in the cards but honestly I’ll believe it when I see it. Now keep in mind, as a rule of thumb most new plantings need daily or nearly daily watering for roughly two weeks to get the transplants established. Larger transplants such as trees or shrubs may need longer care to reduce the effects of transplant shock.

Solanum quitoense – Bed of Nails/ Naranjilla

Here are True Facts about the Bed of Nails Plont. If you asked a gardener who spends too much time in the sun to suggest the perfect plont to define sexual deviancy he might just select the Bed of Nails..... and then open his trench coat to flash you. Being a part of the nightshade family pretty much guarantees some shady business is going on. That’s right belladonna I’m looking at you with your saucy murderous haucinogenic mayhem. The bed of nails plont is named for its spine covered leaves and stems which might just be the fantasy of one Marquis De Sade. That’s right kids…ask your parents if you can Google that. Enjoy the nightmare fuel....just doin' my part. Bed of nails is best known for being painful…and being painful and…well it’s a tropical depression of pain. The spines make handling it, harvesting its fruit or attempting to get the money you loaned it it back a pain. In fact even after it dies its dead spines are still dangerous making it well…you get the idea.For those of you not excited by this, some have suggested it as a barrier plont beneath a teenage daughters window. It's like a total C*** block and cold shower all in one just thinking about it. In fact some theorize that the only reason bed of nails has fruit is to lure people into its thorns making it the sociopath of the garden.*

Centaurrea cyanus - Bachelors Buttons

I’ve had pictures of this up before but not while it is in full bloom. This plant is a result of the same seed mix that introduced the evening primroses, Larkspur, small pink poppies, several cosmos and the tickseed plant pictured below. Honestly I don’t know why the plant is called what it is as buttons in that shape must’ve been a pain to get undone but the blue color of the flowers is quite striking.

Coreopsis tinctoria –Plains Coreopsis

I admit the angle on this one is a little funny because this little tickseed was growing under a much larger evening primrose. There are a few of these guys in the crescent bed and they came in with the wildflower seed mix and hopefully will naturalize.

Hemerocallis fulva – Tawny Daylily

These daylilies finally bloomed in a corner of the yard and much to surprise they are the breed of day lily often indicated as entirely edible and one of the better ones for foraging. The pretty orange blooms are a double bonus however as they do brighten an area under a Crape Myrtle.

Lampranthus sp. – Ice Plant

I don’t have precise information on this species of Ice plant, but I do know it’s a tender perennial in our climate as opposed to normal ice plant (delosperma cooperii). The change in leaves and the variegation do make the extra fuss worth it and finally it’s decided to bloom. This picture was taken in the early evening after the flowers had closed yet it took a year to get it to bloom at all.

Plectrantus amboinicus – Cuban Oregano

That’s right; it’s a member of the Swedish Ivy family and yet is edible and in taste and scent sort of resembles a mix between basil and oregano. The normal ones you might see at the store have smaller solid green leaves but as of late varieties have appeared that look like this or that also have splashes of pink on the leaves.Ironically it makes for a fantastic house plant so you have a supply of herbal goodness year-round.

This covers the garden topics and we must move on to a discussion of the farmers market this weekend. The weather has said there is a 50% chance of showers that’s the same for Thursday and Friday so hopefully the weather system isn’t going to mess with Saturday. The weather for Sunday is supposed to be clear and sunny and hopefully what storms we get will cool off the temperatures a bit. The Fayetteville Farmer’s Market runs from 9:00 am through 1:00 pm and may go later if there is enough foot traffic. The market is located at 325 Franklin Street in the Transportation Museum’s parking lots and is a rain or shine event. I might add the Sustainable neighbors Garden tour is on Sunday between 1:00 and 4:00pm information about the tour can be found in the link at the beginning of this article. But enough of the event information below is this week’s plant list.

Southward Skies: A northern guide to southern Gardening

This is the second edition of my book, which was published using data compiled from several years of test garden operations. It’s written to aid gardeners of all skill levels in successful garden methods that are targeted for the south east but had proven to be a valued resource for gardens across the eastern coast. It’s certainly a good gift for that gardener you know or for yourself if you’d like to have a reliable field guide. The book costs $25.00 and we do take checks for this item, you can even have it signed.

Vegetables

2x Eggplant, Casper , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Eggplant, Early Black Egg, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Eggplant, Louisiana Long Green, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Jalapeno, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Habenero, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Sweet Banana , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Pimento, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Pepper, Carolina Wonder, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Brown Berry, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Cherokee Purple, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Martino’s Roma, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Rainbow Cherry Mix, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Red & Yellow Currant, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Reisotomate, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Underground Railroad, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Fruits

8x Strawberry- Ozark Beauty, 3.5” pot ($3.00) (On sale!)

Herbs

2x Artemesia, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Basil, Sweet, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Basil, Thai, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Basil, Cinnamon, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Basil, Red Rubin, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Bee Balm, Lambada, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Chives, Common, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Fennel, Black, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Lavender, Munstead, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Mint, Chocolate, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Marjoram, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Oregano, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Parsley, Italian, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Rosemary, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Sage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Thyme, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Coming Soon:

Black Hungarian Pepper

Potatoleaf Hillbilly Tomato

Japanese Black Trifele Tomato

Angel’s Trumpet “Bloomfield”

Passion Vine

Cucumber, Poona Kheera

Cucumber, Armenian

Melon, Vine Peach

Melon, Horned

This wraps up another episode of LITFM, I hope you all didn’t mind the jokes about the bed of nails plant; those jokes just had to be made. Feel free to let LITFM know if you want that to be a recurring spoof or if I should quit while I am ahead. Barring that remember to keep an eye on your hanging baskets and small pots during this type of weather as they may dry out faster than you expect. Thank you for reading

*P.S. All of the above is a joke, if you do not get the reference, look here and be prepared for hilarity.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BbpaNXbxg