Exploded Thermometers everywhere!

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market. This is a belated post as it was supposed to be posted last week and so it combines the latest plant with last week’s content. Another post without a plant list will be up shortly as a representative for the current post for this week. If that wasn’t confusing enough, then gosh darn it I’ve not done my job!

First off I’m sure some of you recall the mega storm on Tuesday the 9^th but I snapped a few pictures of the strangest part of the event, when the sky turned so bright yellow that it seemed to be bright enough to be high noon.

This effect happens because the sun is shining behind the storm, and this odd color is more likely during sunset when the sun appears more orange-yellow than normal. As freaky as it is it is not a sign of a tornado as some think but rather an odd lighting phenomenon. For note the storm delivered 3” of rain and yet at least around my way as of this writing a week later not a drop to speak of and yet on Tuesday a week later the temperatures hit 101 degrees.

‘Gator’ Aloe nearly in bloom.

The Specimen plant didn’t look too happy, yet here it produced a bloom so sometimes aloes do strange but awesome things. Even so right after this image was snapped I did a little cleaning of dead leaves.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’

The vaunted red coneflower I sold last year during the summer looks like this when in bloom. These are specimens I planted in the crescent garden to show what the plant could look like in the garden.

Monarda didymus ‘Lambada’

Commonly called Bee balm, this member of the mint family is best known for its pink or red blooms that offer lots of nectar to a large variety of pollinators and humming birds. Note the mildew spots on the leaves, all bee balm tend to get this; it’s rarely fatal to the plant.

Monarda sp. ‘Purification’

This is Purification bee balm; it’s the most successful species of bee balm I’ve ever grown in the south simply for its even spread and reliability. As you can see it’s in full bloom and in the morning it’s practically quivering with pollinators. But of course next week we’ll have some other garden images of plants that are handling the summer heat wave in their own way.

For those not in the know; the Fayetteville City Market is open on Wednesdays between the hours of 12:00 to 5:00pm and on Saturdays between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. The market is located at 325 Franklin Street in downtown Fayetteville. We are located on the grounds of the Fayetteville Transportation Museum. The market is a rain or shine event that persists in all but the worst weather. For note I have resumed service on Wednesday markets so you can come on down and not only get the best local foods, but you can now get your garden plants too. Fortunately June has begun with heat humidity and rain and I am responding by turning up the heat. This month you can expect to see some of the world’s hottest pepper plants. But Behold, the latest home grown organic item is now available.

With summer officially beginning on Saturday it is my great pleasure to introduce a critical herbal plant that doubles as a house plant. It is likely that in just a few moments you’ll know what plant I mean in specific but for those who do not recognize it let me tell you about it. This particular herb is considered a tropical and does not tolerate our cold weather however with time and age individual plants can get quite massive and it will produce a tall flower stalk with reddish-pink tube-shaped flowers. We all know it because we’ve seen in in a number of products ranging from beverages to skin protecting cosmetics. It is perhaps the most fundamental introductory plant to the world of succulent plants and indeed every house hold should have one especially if you love to cook. Of course you might know by now that I speak of Aloe barbadensis or as it is commonly called Medicinal Aloe or Aloe Vera. Fortunately the high heat of summer came early and with it the increase in sunburns has prompted me to offer this special plant early to meet the needs of the visitors at the booth. Aloe will be offered in one of three sizes with the larger size coming later.

-          2.5” pot Aloe Vera $3.00

-          3.5” pot Aloe Vera $4.00

-          6” pot Aloe Vera $6.00

Before you ask no this is not the start of Sparklitis month, but rather a response to summer arriving early. The best part is that these aloes were grown organically from a massive mother plant that still resides at the Headquarters. The mother is very vigorous and is currently in a 12” pot with three primary stems. So of course you can figure that the off sets being sold are very vigorous.

But of course this is not the only thing because this week’s market list is below.

Vegetable

3x Pepper, Trinidad Congo

2x Pepper, Trinidad Douglah

1x Pepper, 7-Pot

1x Pepper, Naga Jolokia

2x Pepper, Santaka

Fruit

4x Tomato, Traveler 76

6x Tomato, Black Krim

4x Tomato, Cherokee Purple

2x Tomato, Brandywine

Herbs

4x Santolina

2x Rue

1x Artemesia

June so soon?

Welcome back to another episode of Lost In The Farmer’s market. This is the first episode of the summer season where it actually is acting like summer should. We ended a week or two of virtually no precipitation with rising temperatures and humidity. Fortunately we had at least 1.5” of rain to counteract the mini-drought and should be back on schedule for all things agricultural and garden. In the middle of this some great snapshots from the garden were taken and we’ll start the first real post of the summer with those.

Hemerocallis fulva - Tawny Daylily

The true common day lily if there is one has to be this guy right here. They popup in the late spring and persist as foliage all summer. The happy orange flowers of these guys can stand at 2-3 feet tall which makes them ideal for enjoying in a natural setting and for photographing.

Hemerocallis sp. ' Stella' - Stella Day Lily

The day lily is a food forager's ideal plant; it is completely edible but can cause frequent bathroom visits if too much is eaten. Day lilies are named for the fact each bloom unless the temperatures remain cool last for about one full day. Thes are not to be confused with Oriental/ Asiatic lilies which are true lilies (Lilium). Daylilies are actually grouped botanically with leaf-succulents such as aloes and the members of the Red Hot Poker's family (Kniphofia) . Stella is an important variety because it is the daylily that keeps blooming where as traditionally one might get a short bloom season and that was it for the year. As a side note, Daylilies and Oriental Lilies are BOTH poisonous to cats even the pollen can cause acute renal failure so if you have pets be wary.

Delphinum sp. - Larkspur

Good old Larkspur, a plant with a flower almost as complicated in shape as the most exotic orchids. Larkspurs are the late summer blues of the garden and are very adaptable. Common Wildflower seed mixes will have these.

Delphinum sp. - Larkspur

 What's this now? That is a pure white Larkspur who's origins are currently unclear as I only had blue. Not that it's a bad thing to see some random wildflower genes asserting themselves but this single plant was and is quite impressive compared to the one above.

Asclepias curassavica - Scarlet / Swamp/ Tropical Milkweed

I snapped a shot of the scarlet milkweed in the last post, but right after the flowers opened and as you can see they are an epic shade of flamboyant orange and red.

Hypericum sp. - Saint Johns Wort

Saint John's Wort is a herbaceous perennials that  bears incredibly bright yellow blooms followed by what you see above, pearl-like seed capsules which are colorful and almost good enough to be considered a second bloom. However, it should be noted that St. Johns wort is a useful medicinal herb as tinctures and salves made of it's leaves reduce the healing time of bruises and lacerations. Paired with betony which is known as wound wort, the two can be used to accelerate healing.

Lavendula angustifolia ' Lady Anne' - Lady Anne Dwarf Lavender.

Lady Anne was a dwarf variety of lavender I decided to offer this year because of it's tolerance of humidity and it's petite (up to 12") size. This form of English lavender is a better neighbor as it sprawls less and blooms the first year as you can see above.

The bloom of a betony plant.

 The betony family comprises of a large number of herbaceous plants often with the botanical Latin first name of Stachys. You might know it's most famous relative, Lambs Ear, or it's 'weedy' relative Rattlesnake Weed. But as more things bloom you'll see them up here with little tidbits of information and there will be a lot of stuff to talk about as the summer progresses. But I move onward to the market information for this weekend.

For those not in the know; the Fayetteville City Market is open on Wednesdays between the hours of 12:00 to 5:00pm and on Saturdays between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. The market is located at 325 Franklin Street in downtown Fayetteville. We are located on the grounds of the Fayetteville Transportation Museum. The market is a rain or shine event that persists in all but the worst weather. For note I have resumed service on Wednesday markets so you can come on down and not only get the best local foods, but you can now get your garden plants too. Fortunately June has begun with heat humidity and rain and I am responding by turning up the heat. This month you can expect to see some of the world’s hottest pepper plants and if that doesn’t suit your fancy, June is the first month I am offering for the first time fig bushes. Bordeaux Regional Nursery is proud to present three types of figs for your culinary delight.

LSU Gold

-          Fruit is green-yellow when ripe and they have pale red flesh inside.

-          Bred for our region by Louisiana State University, LSU handles heat and humidity very well.

-          Good general use fig for all purposes.

Negronne

-          Sometimes called Violette du Bordeuax.

-          Fruit is ripe when they are a deep purple-black and have red flesh inside.

-          Comparable to Black Mission in sweetness, and is good for cooking.

White Ischia

- Very fast growing, the mother plant puts on several feet a year.

- The fruit is golden-green when ripe and has a reddish flesh.

- Good for use in breads and brewing.

But of course this is not the only thing because this week’s market list is below.

Vegetable

3x Early Black Egg Eggplant

2x Pepper, Flashpoint Habanero

1x Pepper, Cubanelle

1x Pepper, Trinidad Douglah

1x Pepper, 7-Pot

1x Pepper, Naga Viper

1x Pepper, Naga Jolokia

1x Pepper, Chocolate Scorpion

1x Pepper, Santaka

1x Pepper, Aji Pineapple

1x Pepper, Aji Citro

1x Pepper, Aji Limon

1x Pepper, Aji Chinchi Amarillo

Fruit

2x LSU Gold Fig

2x Negronne

2x White Ischia Fig

3x Ground Cherry, Cossack Pineapple

3x Tomato, Pink Stuffer

3x Tomato, Black Cherry

1x Tomato, Rainbow Cherry

3x Tomato, San Marzano

3x Tomato, Traveler 76

1x Tomato, Underground Rail Road

3x Tomato, Black Krim

3x Tomato, Cherokee Purple

3x Tomato, Brandywine

Herbs

4x Sweet Basil

1x Thai Basil

1x Cinnamon Basil

2x Santolina

2x Rue

2x Artemesia

4x Tumeric

Hot, but not in the way you think

Welcome back to another episode of Lost In The Farmer’s Market! It’s that prime season where the spring’s cool day time temperatures are tapering off and the first real challenge of summer’s heat and humidity are beginning to limit one’s ability to garden for as long as was possible during the spring. This is a time of some of the most violent and brief pop-up thunderstorms which help in keeping our gardens reasonably well stocked in water and green due to the delivery of atmospheric nitrogen. Amidst all that the mosquitoes, fleas and ticks become a problem as well so we break out the repellant and appropriate attire and hope for the best while performing the usual garden chores with the aim being a better harvest.  Yes, indeed it is late spring and we’re getting a taste of the heat of summer. With all that we get a chance to see some cool things in the fields and, to kick off today’s post I have some interesting photographs from the field.

Charadrius vociferous - Killdeer

I spotted this bird on the Fayetteville Technical Community College’s main campus, I’d seem them running about on a nearby grassy area before but it seems now the campus has a breeding population of Killdeer. This one has decided to nest in the pine straw not far off a loblolly near the construction site so I can presume it is very used to people. For note Killdeer are a native medium sized plover, they are named onomatopoeically after their primary call.

Santolina rosmarinifolia – Green Lavender cotton/Santolina

So all the types of santolina are in bloom right now but the green type which is more minimalistic in form is striking because of the ration between bloom and foliage. You can see compound flower which identifies it as a member of the daisy flower clearly here. The flowers of santolina are literally the center of a daisy with none of what we might call petals.

Santolina chamecyparissus – Grey Lavender Cotton / Santolina

The grey form is also in bloom, keep in mind mature stands of santolina tend to bloom from mid-April through June. Both are incredibly drought tolerant once established and will survive poor soil neglect and are evergreen and aromatic but have no known culinary uses. The primary use for santolina is as a natural alternative when paired with Cedar as a clothing moth repellant.

Asclepias curassavica – Scarlet Milkweed

Milkweed is a diverse group of plants that all are pollen providers or hosts to a number of butterflies. Scarlet Milkweed may be an attractive magnet plant for Humming birds due to its incredibly red blooms which have yellow centers. For those who wanted to know what the difference in bloom is between Scarlet and common milkweed look below at common Milkweed.

Asclepias tuberosum – Common Milkweed

To be fair this stand was grown from seed and is about six years old, but what a show! This specimen will be blooming hardcore for another few weeks to a month. Common milkweed is perhaps the most orange thing in any given garden short of an African marigold and yet it is one of those temperamental perennials that hates being transplanted due to its deep taproot. Once it in and established, generally a milkweed when provided with annual compost and spring fertilizer will grow into a potentially large deciduous flowering hedge every year. The plant that the seeds for the one photographed came from reached four feet in height.

Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’ – Liliac Sage

Originally this battered specimen was found on the distressed plant rack for $3.00 it was fairly beat up. But being planted in a partial shade bed for protection from summer heat it’s finally recovered it seems. Only time will tell if it’s a long-term success or not but I do know Sages LOVE cold winters as all varieties of sage on premises rebounded incredibly after our last harsh winter. Honestly…with a name like purple rain how could a ex-DJ like myself not buy if only for the chance to make Prince Jokes.

But now we move on to the closing of this overdue post*. I do have some very good news, I’ve managed to work out a trade partnership with the pepper lady. As some of you might remember Laura Bradley used to be a market vendor at the Farmer’s Market and stopped attending. She never stopped growing horticultural curiosities and now I am bringing her organically grown GMO-free exotic pepper plants and spices to the City market! This is one hell of an event because now you can hit up the booth and find things that no one has seen before. Starting with the Wednesday market you can expect to see Turmeric plants, and a new variety of pepper plants such as super-hots like Naga Jolokia, and Chocolate Scorpion. We’ll have strong hots like Trinidad Congo and Red Fatali. For those not into the burn there is a selection of low-hots such as Aji Pineapple, Aji Limon. The selection is random and always super good. But don’t worry if you want regular peppers we’ll have that, and the usual array of garden favorites.

*Another will be posted for the last weekend of May shortly.