First day of fall 2021

 Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, where finally Autumn has arrived and the season begins with cooler temperatures and discussions of a winter garden. Despite what some might tell you here in Zone 8a gardening is a year-round affair. The warm season crops go in in April around Easter, and the Cool –season stuff goes in roughly around September. Some stuff like Collards takes a little longer and thus, we start them in early-mid August if from seed but at the start of September if using plants. Every crop has its nuances that you need to keep an eye on. For instance, if you started seed indoors you need to start sowing things as early as mid-July to August to get the best results for the slower growing cool season crops.

 

Fortunately we have a great opportunity to get things rolling while the humidity is low and night time temperatures are cool. It is less physically exerting to garden when the weather is cooperative and also the bugs are less aggravating. You should not wait to get those crops in the ground though because the longer you wait the less likely they will have established and the higher chance a frost might wreck everything. Additionally, procrastinating will delay your effective harvest, and that could mess up your culinary plans for Thanksgiving, Christmas or the New Year. A lot of people ask in general if it’s too late or too soon and the simple answer is that it is somewhat complicated.  Gardening thankfully is not an exact science with a catch-all answer to all problems or quandaries. Generally speaking, you put warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers in after Easter in spring, and start planting out the fall crops in late August or September. I personally can say that I have planted out things as late as the end of October and gotten good but delayed results. As long as you don’t wait too long you can still have that cool season low-maintenance veggie garden you have had a craving for.

 

With all that said, there are a few things you should consider starting from seed versus buying as plants. I typically start Cilantro/Coriander, Radishes, Carrots, and Snow Peas from seed in the garden because it’s so much cheaper and effective to do so. These plants do not benefit from being transplanted and their roots tend to grow quite fast and you really don’t want to disturb that. Generally you don’t want to disturb any plant’s roots if you can help it but with some they seem to experience no real loss in productivity if you do. As a general rule you never want to disturb the roots of anything producing tubers (radishes) or that has a taproot (carrots, fennel). Peas are in this group because they produce a lot of  roots fast and can rapidly out grow their containers if the container they were sprouted in is not big enough so it’s better to give them root space right off and let them do their thing. What you start by seed hinges on your spare time that you can apply to maintenance and your gardening skill level. For those of you out there who are wondering; the easiest things to start right now are Snow peas, Carrots, Cilantro and, Radishes. The latter three can have their seed tossed on any patch of dirt that’s been slightly scuffed and is moist. The former needs to be covered in about ¼” of dirt but that’s pretty easy and the seed is large and easy to handle.

Peas are a great way to get young kids involved since they are very noticeable when they germinate and emerge. More difficult and or finicky seeds like Swiss Chard, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Broccoli, Cauliflower and so on should be started indoors over a heat mat to maintain soil temperatures. Some of these seeds like the celery need to be soaked overnight just to germinate properly.

The key to getting your sown seed to come up uniformly is to gently moisten the soil where you sowed them on a daily basis (assuming no rain) for about two weeks and then as needed once the seedlings are visible. The easiest way to do this is to use something like a rain shower wand attached to a hose or a watering can so the water doesn’t wash out the seed or beat up the seedlings. You should avoid using any sort of fertilizer for about two weeks after the seedlings emerge to avoid burning but, initially use a water-soluble fertilizer at half-strength weekly for three more weeks to really get things going. After that assuming there are no freezing temperatures or rainy weather you can switch to a two-week rotation on fertilizer at normal strength. I would also advise using mulch, but not that wood mulch you can buy at the bLowes or Home Despot, what you want is quality Pine Straw because it does not float, it barely changes color and it discourages digging animals. Also it does not acidify the soil as much as some think and there’s the bonus value of it not attracting termites. Now, with all that said here are some garden photographs.

The first step to preparing the warm-season garden for cool season growing is to harvest what you can, which in this case is the carrots, basil, perilla and whatever peppers and cotton are ready.

After the bed is weeded and the soil gently moved around a bit with the hard steel rake, the collards are planted with about a foot of distance between them. I add a bit of granulated tobacco fertilizer at this point just to give them a constant boost as they grow.

The final step is to apply a decent layer of pine straw to keep the weeds down and the critters from messing with the seedlings. I watered it all with the rain wand attachment on my garden hose right after and maintained a once-a-day watering schedule for two weeks with adjustments for rain.

Bigelowia nutallii - Nutall’s Rayless Goldenrod

Nutall's Rayless Goldenrod is called that because it's flowers dont have petals or 'rays' as they tend to be called on members of the Aster family. Make no mistake this goldenrod is a member of the aster family, it's just a bit anti-social.

 

 

Acanthus ‘Summer Beauty’ – Bears Breeches

The best part of this Acanthus is that no one knows where the heck the name Bear's Breeches came from. Maybe it's tied into that old joke about a bear crapping in the woods or maybe some ancestor of this plant was used by bears as toilet paper...

 

 

 

Ruscus aculeatus ‘Wheeler’s Variety’ – Butcher’s Broom

This is a plant I've long sought, and managed to buy a few years back and boy it was not cheap. However Butcher's Brooms prefer shady areas and are like Sky Pencil Hollies minus being a holly or having any of the problems.

 

Abelmoschus manihot ‘Chief Kubo’s Prize’ – South Sea Salad Tree

 

 Ok, folks I have just found out the best information ever on this tropical cousin of Okra. Yes the leaves and stems and immature seed pods are edible and so are the flowers, but  it is apparently perennial in zone 8A. Sopme sources say 8B, but the USDA states 8A and really who are you going to believe, some random website or these folks!

https://pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Abelmoschus+manihot

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/abelmoschus-manihot/

 

Hibiscus coccineus ‘Texas Star’ -  Scarlet Rose Mallow

 Yup, this is the plant that had a neighbor calling the police on me because she was absolutely certain it was marijuana, and the leaves do look that way, until it flowers.

 

Ricinus communis ‘Zanzibar’ – Castor Bean

 It keeps getting bigger, it's literally just a little bit shorter than the dogwood behind it and all this growth in a single growing year. Let's hope it can survive the winter.

 

 

Rosa ‘oregold’ – Oregold Rose

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not a fan of roses in general, and only three specimens are allowed int he test gardens because of their exceptional health and vigor. The golden yellow of this one is remarkable.

 

Hosta sp. - Hosta

This is one of the more colorful hostas that was recovered from the crescent bed earlier in the year, it has tripled in size and for the first time it's going to bloom. Not long after taking this picture it was repotted to a much larger 15 gallon pot. Oh and don't mind the feisty kitten photobomb.

 

 

So, while the temperatures and humidity have been low I decided to dig out all the Daylilies that aren’t really doing good. I replaced them with the Texas Star Hibiscus, Mekong Giant Banana, Bear’s Breeches and the South Sea Salad Tree. The lilies have been moved to the large strawberry pot after the strawberries were removed. Like the lilies the Strawberries have been progressively under performing for a while.

 

 

Would you look at that, the hot sauce made from my Fayetteville Inferno Peppers is right there on the Board at Fowler's BBQ!

 

 

Here are the latest YouTube videos for your garden entertainment:

 

Salad Tree? Not in here buddy! (100^th LITFM!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP1r_yoXN2c

 

I’d make a meat pun here but it’d get butchered.

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

 

Go for the Gold-enrod!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rus8Tz5sRlg

 

So many breeches I can’t bear it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61ubssXhFms

 

Spring will be here in a lily bit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS_h8sMMYb4

 

 

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 fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, 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 Produce:

Fresh Garlic: $1.00 (Available now!)

Soup Kits: $6.00 (Available in October)

 

Vegetables: ($3.00 each)

Arugula, Astro

Broccoli, Green Magic

Cauliflower, Snow Crown

Collards, Green Glaze

Endive, Benefine

Kale, Dinosaur

Kale, Red Russian

Kale, Redbor

Kale, Dwarf Blue Curled

Spinach, Green Beret

 

Herbs: ($3.00 each)

Cat Mint

Parsley

Oregano

 

Fruiting Plants:

Muscadine Grapes, Green ($4.00)

 

Ornamental Stuff: ($3.00 each)

Coneflower, Artisan Soft Orange ($3.00)

 

Coming Soon:

TBA

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

 

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

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

 

 

Meetings are back on track folks! We now meet at LeClairs General Store on the First and third Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is on October 7^th  between 5:30pm and 7:00pm. We are in the back room so come on in and join us for a fun garden chat.

 

 

If the two above methods do not work you can always contact me through this blog, PM me through Nextdoor.com and or visit the Fayetteville City Market. This brings to a close the eighteenth LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned the next episode which should be posted at some point in October. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

Gardening In Winter

     Welcome back to another episode of Lost In the Farmers Market, where we were going to continue our discussion of pruning things in the winter. Unfortunately that post is delayed because as it turns out I have to order a piece of equipment online as it is out of stock in the store. Go figure that this happened and it seems to be the theme of the last few months complete with a sad “waa-waa” sound effect. Now this means I will have to cover something else for this slightly delayed post and that will be some garden photographs. I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again, just because it is winter does not mean no gardening can be done. The first day of spring this year is on March 20th. The last frost date for zone 8A which is most of Fayetteville is April 21st-30th, so with that in mind we know how much time we have for winter operations before the weather warms and the mosquito brigade starts being a problem again. The catch here is that our winter weather has been colder than prior years and there is no reason to suspect this will change for 2021 if all of January is any indicator. He have 95 nearly-guaranteed cold weather days left in the winter to early-spring season to work with and now is the time to do those effort-heavy labor projects.

The Winter garden at the test gardens is proof that you can have something going on in the winter.

    For today’s post there is a topic substitution while I wait for the new powered tool to arrive * Tim Allen Grunting noises intensify!*. If you planned your garden well then you should have something to harvest right now in the dead of winter. So let me show you what is in my garden at the headquarters right now.

    Those of you who hit up the market in fall of 2020 know that for the first time in several years I offered spinach plants for sale. They were not a good seller, which seems par for the course from prior experiences. I don’t know why folks don’t like spinach much but the surplus did not go to waste. These four plants were planted in a 14” pot and placed out with no expectations. They weathered frost and rain and all the cold temperatures and they are finally starting to get some size. I imagine with a bit of fertilizer in the next two months I might have something harvestable later. Maybe this is the big secret to growing spinach in zone 8A, plant in October, and let them be until late winter/early spring.

    Now this is a surprise, I never got any Rainbow Lacinato Kale to the market in 2020 and the undersized seedlings were thinned for the largest and best looking plants and stuck in the veggie garden in a big block. They look nothing like Dinosaur kale, the seed packets for them said they were variable in color and shape but, I didn’t see this coming. The picture does them no justice as they are this deep purple-green color that is quite fetching. A win for weird food plants for sure!

    The Swiss Chard I planted is showing some strange mutations as well. I planted the green type almost exclusively as a spinach substitute for when I make Henbit curry in the spring to add bulk greens to it. Well some look normal and some have these beautiful more spinach looking leaves and I am not upset about this at all. Could this be the next big variety or just a happy little accident in the seed packaging process of my supplier? Either way this just more healthy greens for me to harvest.

    Here is another biennial I sold at the market, ‘Ruby Perfection’ Cabbage. It wasn’t a great seller but then the seedlings were not very dramatically red. This more mature specimen and the other three in its row are fantastically red-purple, everything a red cabbage should be and also they indicate by color the soil is definitely acidic in pH. 

    Red Russian Kale is another variety I sold at the market; it is also known as ragged jack. It comes in a green form and some other variants but none get the extravagant purple color that this one does. It also seems to make for the best kale-bean soup base as the leaves have more chew and crunch despite cooking. Red Russian isn’t as crunchy as Dinosaur Kale but a delight nonetheless.

Accipiter cooperii

    Here is our last picture, this is a Cooper’s Hawk spotted just beyond the train tracks behind the Transportation Museum during the market on Saturday the 23rd of January. It isn’t the best picture I’ve ever taken, but still, everyone should know there are several species of Hawks in our region and they are beneficial in that they eliminate certain animal pests that might damage crops or livestock.


    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 Produce:
Soup Kit: Parsnip: $6.00
Soup Kit: Turnip: $6.00
Garlic Bulbs: $1.00
Seasoning Packets: $2.00
Shallots: $2.00
Parsnips, 1lb: $4.00
Turnips, 1lb: $3.00
Onions, 1lb: $3.00


January House Plant Collection:
Haworthia 'Fat Albert': $8.00
Haworthia 'West Jogo': $7.00
Devil's Backbone: $7.00
Sausage Spurge: $4.00
Starfish Sansevaria: $7.00
Aloe 'Sunset': $8.00
Aloe 'Checkerboard': $8.00
Rhipsalis, Slender: $7.00
Rhipsalis 'Drunkards Dream': $7.00


House Plant Spotlight!



Aloe deltoideodonta ' Sparkler' - Checkerboard Aloe

    That scientific name is quite the mouthful of Latin!  These members of the Aloe family get their name from the almost square spots on the leaves which in contrast to the grey-green leaves. This unique aloe is fairly easy to grow and does not ask for much other than occasional water and mild fertilizer (monthly) during the growing months (May-Sept). It is unclear if this particular aloe yields any medicinal gel, but it certainly is a unique addition to your collection. The two things you should never do with a succulent or this aloe is to allow the plant to sit in a puddle of water or to keep its soil constantly wet. The second thing is to never expose this plant to temperatures below 35 degrees as it can suffer frost damage which may introduce disease and cause the aloe to decline. As a final note, Checker Board aloes do best when potted in clay pots and only require repotting every 2-5 years or as needed. Pot-bound aloes will produce offsets more frequently than aloes that have ample room for their roots.


    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 is the second LITFM post of 2021; stay tuned for our next post on or about the 5th of February. Don’t forget to check out of YouTube videos at LITFM-Garden Shorts.