Vegetable Seeds

Parsley is not the easiest herb to grow and its seeds have a long germinating time – about four weeks – but with a little extra care it will adapt well to its soil. An overnight soaking is often. Yes, even this even when starting it indoors, and especially so when sowing the seeds directly in the ground. Sowing outside should be done only when the soil is warm.

The seedlings then can be planted in various sections of the garden as focal points, used as borders or simply planted in pots that can be arranged as to fill in other areas as the need dictates. These pots can also be brought indoors when the weather cools and autumn replaces summer.

Their attractive adds a deep green accent to the overall garden. It works well in areas close to the kitchen door for obvious reasons; convenience in snipping a few sprigs when needed to enhance soups, stews and salads, and equally important an added landscaping touch. Its curly or straight leaved head is in sharp contrast to the yellowish green of lettuce, and the medium greens of the other vegetables.

It is a biennial – growing for two seasons – but it is best to treat it as an annual. The second season is the seed growing season and to keep it from bolting in the heat of mid-summer, keep the seeds buds clipped. Leave only a few plants if you collect seeds for the next year’s harvest. Better still start harvesting early and by the winter arrives you will be well stocked on frozen and dried parsley.

As for soil conditions, it needs a moist soil with the pH level from five to six and lots of well rotted organic matter. It and will not tolerate drought for long even though it requires about six hours of sunshine each day which contributes to a drier soil. Mulching will help preserve a moist soil and will cut down on some extra water needed. A good tip here is to plant it in the swampy area of your garden or near other plants that need the same type of soil. In this way they can benefit each other. Yes, parsley is a mite fussy to grow but the results are so rewarding are well worth the effort.

Harvesting begins when the stalks have grown to a size that they can safely be clipped; naturally, the first clippings will be for a small decorative touch to some dish and not handfuls for salad ingredients. When the growth is large and plentiful it can be cut, washed and frozen, hung up leaves down in a bunch and dried or better still, used everyday and shared with neighbors. This is an inexpensive herb when you grow it yourself, but if bought fresh is somewhat expensive.

The curly leaved variety and the fern leaved variety are the two most used varieties. My online sources say in the United States, the most popular is the curly leaved type, yet this is debatable; if so, its popularity is due to its attractiveness. It is slightly more stunning and more deeply green than the flat leaved variety. Yet recently, I am seeing more of the smoothed leaved notched type grown. Each have definite statements to make as to their use and their eye appeal, therefore whichever you select, don’t ignore this herb for your garden. It will add much joy to your summer gardening experience.

Source:

http://www.gardeningpatch.com/ herbs/growing-parsley

http://www.herbgardening.com

Enjoy this tasty Cinnamon Peas Recipe. It is simple enough for virtually any cook to make! Serves up for 4 so no messy left overs.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon sugar or sugar substitute

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

10 ounces frozen peas

2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Saute onion in margarine. Add remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until peas are separated. Cover and cook until tender.

Makes 4 servings

As the season for planting grows near so does the opportunity to grow a garden with your children. This not only provides a little one on one but gives your children the opportunity to learn to grow there own food and the pleasure of eating it as well.

I have been doing this with my own children for many years. My daughter and I still start many of our own seeds. We have done this since she was two. We not only use store bought seeds but dry some of our own as well. Either way is fine.

This is the best method I have found.

Method:

Two paper towels

seeds ( any type )

water

A water proof dish

Take one paper towel place it on the dish. Place seeds on paper towel. Place second paper towel on top. Take water and wet the paper towels. Keep moist until seeds sprout. Seeds should sprout in 7-14 days ( depending on seed type ). Once seeds sprout and reach about 1 inch in height place in pots or in the garden. Make certain to water them when you plant them. remember not to damage the root just simply tear off the portion of paper towel and place it in the dirt as well.

We have found this method to produce better plants and germinate faster than using the starter pots you buy from the store. This also works well with herbs.

Good luck and remember, the things you do with your children today they will do with there children tomorrow.

Added tips for planting:

Use a good potting soil to plant even if you are placing them in a garden, use potting soil to fill in the hole. This ensures that the plants get the nutrients they need for strong roots.

Place a little seven dust about an inch away from the plant all he way around. This insures that the bugs or caterpillars don’t eat your new plant.

Don’t over-water plants, this causes bacteria to grow.

To keep cyan peppers mild. Place about a 1/2 teaspoon around the plant.

To get a good color for red bell peppers , place a nail in the ground by the roots.

Plant marigolds in your garden to knock down on insects. This is a must in my garden every year.

Use dried cucumber peals to ward off ants in your garden. This works rather well.

In deciding upon the site for the home vegetable garden it is well to dispose once and for all of the old idea that the garden “patch” must be an ugly spot in the home surroundings. If thoughtfully planned, carefully planted and thoroughly cared for, it may be made a beautiful and harmonious feature of the general scheme, lending a touch of comfortable homeliness that no shrubs, borders, or beds can ever produce.

With this fact in mind we will not feel restricted to any part of the premises merely because it is out of sight behind the barn or garage. In the average moderate-sized place there will not be much choice as to land. It will be necessary to take what is to be had and then do the very best that can be done with it. But there will probably be a good deal of choice as to, first, exposure, and second, convenience. Other things being equal, select a spot near at hand, easy of access. It may seem that a difference of only a few hundred yards will mean nothing, but if one is depending largely upon spare moments for working in and for watching the garden and in the growing of many vegetables the latter is almost as important as the former this matter of convenient access will be of much greater importance than is likely to be at first recognized. Not until you have had to make a dozen time-wasting trips for forgotten seeds or tools, or gotten your feet soaking wet by going out through the dew-drenched grass, will you realize fully what this may mean.

Exposure.
———

But the thing of first importance to consider in picking out the spot that is to yield you happiness and delicious vegetables all summer, or even for many years, is the exposure. Pick out the “earliest” spot you can find a plot sloping a little to the south or east, that seems to catch sunshine early and hold it late, and that seems to be out of the direct path of the chilling north and northeast winds. If a building, or even an old fence, protects it from this direction, your garden will be helped along wonderfully, for an early start is a great big factor toward success. If it is not already protected, a board fence, or a hedge of some low-growing shrubs or young evergreens, will add very greatly to its usefulness. The importance of having such a protection or shelter is altogether underestimated by the amateur.

The soil.
———

The chances are that you will not find a spot of ideal garden soil ready for use anywhere upon your place. But all except the very worst of soils can be brought up to a very high degree of productiveness especially such small areas as home vegetable gardens require. Large tracts of soil that are almost pure sand, and others so heavy and mucky that for centuries they lay uncultivated, have frequently been brought, in the course of only a few years, to where they yield annually tremendous crops on a commercial basis. So do not be discouraged about your soil. Proper treatment of it is much more important, and a garden- patch of average run-down, or “never-brought-up” soil will produce much more for the energetic and careful gardener than the richest spot will grow under average methods of cultivation.

The ideal garden soil is a “rich, sandy loam.” And the fact cannot be overemphasized that such soils usually are made, not found. Let us analyze that description a bit, for right here we come to the first of the four all-important factors of gardening food. The others are cultivation, moisture and temperature. “Rich” in the gardener’s vocabulary means full of plant food; more than that and this is a point of vital importance it means full of plant food ready to be used at once, all prepared and spread out on the garden table, or rather in it, where growing things can at once make use of it; or what we term, in one word, “available” plant food. Practically no soils in long- inhabited communities remain naturally rich enough to produce big crops. They are made rich, or kept rich, in two ways; first, by cultivation, which helps to change the raw plant food stored in the soil into available forms; and second, by manuring or adding plant food to the soil from outside sources.

“Sandy” in the sense here used, means a soil containing enough particles of sand so that water will pass through it without leaving it pasty and sticky a few days after a rain; “light” enough, as it is called, so that a handful, under ordinary conditions, will crumble and fall apart readily after being pressed in the hand. It is not necessary that the soil be sandy in appearance, but it should be friable.

“Loam: a rich, friable soil,” says Webster. That hardly covers it, but it does describe it. It is soil in which the sand and clay are in proper proportions, so that neither greatly predominate, and usually dark in color, from cultivation and enrichment. Such a soil, even to the untrained eye, just naturally looks as if it would grow things. It is remarkable how quickly the whole physical appearance of a piece of well cultivated ground will change. An instance came under my notice last fall in one of my fields, where a strip containing an acre had been two years in onions, and a little piece jutting off from the middle of this had been prepared for them just one season. The rest had not received any extra manuring or cultivation. When the field was plowed up in the fall, all three sections were as distinctly noticeable as though separated by a fence. And I know that next spring’s crop of rye, before it is plowed under, will show the lines of demarcation just as plainly.

Everyone has different expectations from their vegetable garden so there is no clear cut formula for planning one. However, before you start the serious work of cultivating the land, having some idea of what you intend to grow and where will save a lot of time and possibly failure. In order to do this there are a few things to take into consideration when deciding the final layout and use of the vegetable plot.

The Geography Of The Garden

By considering the geography of the garden I mean taking into account factors such as shade, climate and water supply. These will help to determine the structure of your plot.

Shade

it is very helpful to know what parts of the garden will be in shade at what times of the day and year because some plants will not grow well in shade or in direct sunlight. If you observe the garden over a period of time and note the shady and sunny areas this will help you decide how much space you can devote to plants that will grow in their preferred positions.

Climate

When deciding what you want to grow it is important to know if those crops are suitable for your climate. Some plants for instance won’t tolerate sharp frosts and will be killed off. You also need to be aware of the plants that need a lot of sun and heat do grow well. Experimenting a little is fine so long as you don’t mind a few failures, and occasionally there may be a few surprising successes. Even so, on the whole it is better to understand the nature of the climate zone you live in and work with it rather than trying to fight it.

Wind

Being aware of the prevailing wind direction and which parts of the land are exposed will also help determine where in the garden certain plants can be grown. For example, some plants such as most fruit crops and some brassicas

won’t tolerate wind. If necessary a protective fence can be use to create shelter. If you do this, a slatted fence is best because the wind will be able to pass through the gaps with its force considerably reduced, whereas a solid fence can create swirls of wind which can damage your plants.

Water

A water supply is vital for a garden and it is handy to position your seedbed next to one as seeds and seedlings will initially need regular watering. As their roots strengthen however this will be a little less important.

Soil Condition

Another important factor in planning your vegetable garden is the nature of the soil. It will be necessary to know what type of soil you have so you can add the correct conditioning

When I was born, in the early 1980s, the custom was to keep ‘baby’ indoors for two weeks – or three for a mid-winter baby like me.

The second I was able to be outside though, that very first outing on the very first day outside, was with my Da to his allotment.

At this point, I had, along with my parents, been gifted life-membership of the Brooklands Allotment Association, in recognition for Da’s long service.

So when I say I’m just crazy about gardening, you can quite legitimately say I’m a little biased.

Fair comment I say! – After all, much of my formative years were spent in the allotment, then, or with my Da out on his rounds as a freelance gardener. Later, when we moved from our flat to a house, in the garden.

Even my first solid meal was peas from Da’s allotment – so it was pretty much a given that I would grow up wanting a veggie patch of my own.

There was just one problem. Da was a qualified gardener & a very talented one. He’d been to horticulture college though, to learn how things should be done properly & had some very strict ideas about some things from his own boyhood.

The upshot was, I was allowed to join in, but not to have a veggie patch of my own. It was a parallel of the age old situation of ‘no you can’t have a dog, it’d be too much work for me’.

So, hardly surprising, when I moved out on my own I rebelled. I had houseplants on every surface, a windowsill herb garden, which considering at the time, all I could afford was an old stone bread bin to plant it in & it had no proper drainage, lasted very well. (Most things died after about nine months, but we still had parsley from it after a year!)

I was hugely frustrated by this point, because we were at the very beginning of our second growing season in our perfect little cottage, which was absolutely perfect for us, except for one thing: our back yard, though a real sun trap (I got bad sunburn out there in early/mid February, unusual for Devon), faced WNW & was 7′x12′ of concrete.

My hubby was actually the catalyst in the end. He knew about my frustrated desire to move towards self sufficiency. In fact, he’d already suffered being sent up ladders (he’s SO afraid of heights) to reach to change light fittings over to energy savers, Moltex cloth nappies, compostable disposable nappies (both, obviously, for the children, not for him!) & was getting used to our meat box delivery from the same herd that grazed across the valley from our cottage.

He said to me, baby if

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING* A few years back I was a frequent viewer of a TV show called “Square Foot Gardening” starring the originator of the method and author of the book Mel Bartholomew. Mel went to great lengths explaining how his method of gardening worked and demonstrated how easy it was to have a beautiful garden without a lot of work and how it all can be done in a relatively small space. It works for both flowers and vegetables.

I had just recently moved to South Florida and knew nothing about gardening in a tropical zone and was amazed to discover that winter was the time for gardens here. Equally important was the size of my small lot. Quite a difference from my previous gardening experiences in Atlanta, Georgia.

After watching Mel’s show and reading his book I decided to give his method a try. The principal is very simple. You merely build beds measuring a number of square feet in size, such as four feet by four feet (16 square feet) or two feet by eight feet, or four feet by eight feet or longer if you wish. The point is you want a space with equal square feet no wider than four feet. Four feet wide allows for moving around the bed to work it from either side. If it is wider you won’t be able to work the center portion.

You can use wood or bricks or anything you like to outline the beds, just be sure to keep it in square feet. I used 2×6 lumber but 1×6 works just as well. I made three different sizes and placed them in different locations in the yard where they could get full sun and blend in with the fruit trees and grass. It looked very nice.

Following Mel’s instructions I mixed the proper soil and filled the boxes to within two inches of the top. Still finding my way I outlined the square feet with string attached to the frame with tacks. All those little square feet outlines looked real nice. Now it was time to find out what and how much I could plant in each of those squares. As I scanned the possibilities I was amazed at how much I was going to be able to plant in each square as well as how many different varieties would grow in the same bed. You could have tall plants in the back and shorter ones in the front.

I chose to have an herb garden in one bed and planted seven different herbs. I planted various vegetables in the others. I even grew cabbage although it took an entire foot for each head. I got adventurous and ordered a few seeds from Germany and grew the long white radish as well as kohlrabi and a few others.

If you think you might be interested in trying this method of gardening yourself you can get the information you need by going to Mel’s web page at: squarefootgardening.com.

He offers many different methods for using his plan including beds that are raised off the ground for seniors, handicapped and others who find it difficult to plant and maintain a regular garden. Depending on your particular circumstances he most likely will have an idea that fits you perfectly. You may want to give it a try. I really loved my little garden.

*Square Foot Gardening is a registered trademark of Mel Bartholomew.

Planting a vegetable garden at home can be fun, economical, and educational, but it can also be quite frustrating if you dont do some planning and preparation. Here are some ideas to get you started, check with your local Cooperative Extension for more tips.

First you should plan out your garden. One thing you will want to consider for a home vegetable garden is sunlight. Vegetable crops need a lot of sun, about six hours of full sunlight a day. For convenience, placing your garden near your water source, and near your house are good ideas as well, if possible. Draw a chart of your garden and plan out what crops will go where. If this is your first try at vegetable gardening, it is a good idea to start small so you can see how much time and work it will require. Plant crops that your family really likes in quantities that will be manageable to grow and use.

If you want good crops, you need good soil. Preparing your garden bed is the next step to a successful garden. Some preparation in the fall, like tilling, or loosening up the soil, will make it easier to get ready in the spring and will allow you to start some plants out earlier. For optimal results, have your soil tested to see if it is acidic, what nutrients it has, etc. This will help you decide how and how much to fertilize your garden. If you dont want to have your soil tested, ask the local gardening or seed store about local conditions. They should be able to give you a good idea of what is typical in your area. When you fertilize, pay close attention to recommended amounts and ratios of fertilizer to soil or size of your garden bed. Too much fertilizer will burn and kill your plants.

Now you can lay out your garden. Use stakes and string to create straight rows so you will know where your seeds are before they come up. Put up wire hoops or trellises for tomatoes, beans, and other plants that climb. Make soil mounds for tender vine crops like cucumbers and pumpkins. Whether you are planting seeds or plants that you have purchased or started indoors, make sure that you leave enough space between plants so they can get adequate sunlight, and not be competing with their neighbors for water and soil nutrients.

With a little forethought, you can end up with an enjoyable hobby that feeds your family, too!

Vegetable Ragout

I want to share with you a delicious and healthy recipe from Ukraine. Usually, it is a vegetable meal, but if you want you can add pork to the recipe. The ragout serves as a side dish (garnish), but it can also be a main dish because it’s a very filling meal. This meal is perfect for summer time when there are a lot of fresh vegetables that you can buy in a grocery store or pick them up in your own garden. The most interesting thing in this ragout is you don’t need to follow the recipe exactly, if you like some vegetables or spices more, add them more than the recipe says, and if you don’t like certain things, just exclude them from the recipe. As long as you use the main ingredients, you won’t spoil the taste of the ragout, believe me!

Ingredients:

3-4 medium potatoes

1 medium zucchini (squash)

1-2 carrots

cabbage loaf

1 sweet pepper

1 hot pepper (optional)

1 medium onion

1 big tomato (optional)

fresh basil (optional)

1 stalk of celery (optional)

1 tbs freshly pressed garlic (optional)

salt

black pepper

red pepper

1 cup water

cup any vegetable oil (corn, canola, olive as you wish)

2-3 tbs tomato sauce (Prego or another)

Direction:

1. Peel all vegetables and cut in pieces.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat (use a dip skillet or a pan). Add potatoes; cook 15 min. on each side or until browned on both sides. Add zucchini and cook 10 more min. Add carrots and onion; mix everything and cook 5 min. Add cabbage (cut in stripes or shredded); mix and cook 5 min. Add peppers; mix well and cook 10 more min. Add tomato; mix and cook 10 min. Add water; bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover skillet with lid and simmer vegetables for about 20 minutes.

If you will see that it’s not enough oil or water, add more because you don’t want vegetables to be burnt.

Tip! Even I give you the exact time for cooking each vegetable, you don’t need to follow it exactly. Personally, I don’t peel and cut all vegetables together but only potatoes, and while I cook the first ingredient, I peel and cut next vegetable in a recipe and then add it to skillet. It allows me to save some time and not to pay attention how long I should cook each ingredient; it won’t be raw after all, believe me!

3. Uncover skillet; add salt, garlic, spices and tomato souse; mix everything well and cook 10 more minutes. Remove from heat; cover with lid again and let stand 5 more min.

The ragout is ready! Bon appetite!

Total time: about 1 hour 20 min

Makes: 4

Both red and green peppers are high in vitamin C, making them one of the prize winners, of aiding in one’s good health if added to our diets. My mother use to have a large bowl of roasted red peppers in our refrigerator at all times. Our family used her well loved peppers in sandwiches, mixed in salads or eaten as a side dish. Sometimes she used them as a topping over her delicious homemade pizza. Even though red peppers can be a bit expensive to purchase, You’ll feel they were worth adding to your grocery list after tasting this rustic Italian vegetable recipe.

Ingredients;

6 large sweet red bell peppers, left whole

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large clove of minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Lower your oven rack to the middle of your oven. Put your oven on broil. Place the whole red peppers onto a baking sheet that’s been sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Put the pan in the oven, keeping the oven door cracked opened. As the peppers are roasting, you will need to turn them often to prevent them from burning. Meanwhile, mince your garlic and chop the parsley. Once the peppers are very soft and and their skins are charred (not completely burned,) remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

When the peppers have cooled, carefully peel their skins off, discard the stem and remove most of the seeds. Slice them length wise. After you are done thinly slicing each pepper, place them in a bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic, and chopped parsley to the bowl. Stir everything together well. You can serve them immediately, or store them in the refrigerator for future use. Roasted red peppers will keep nicely for about a week. If you’re going to use them as a side dish, remove them from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving them. When they’re eaten as a side dish, they taste better at room temperature. For all other uses, they can be eaten chilled if you desire