The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Musings

You don’t have to wait for the growing season to enjoy cheerful blossoms. Using a procedure called forcing, you can encourage spring bulbs to flower early so that you can enjoy their colorful displays indoors during winter. Listen to learn more about this delightful gardening technique.

 

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

            Imagine the joy of a windowsill full of colorful and fragrant tulips, crocus, daffodils, and hyacinths weeks or even months before they will be blooming in your garden.  With a little planning, you can enjoy the spring beauty of flowering bulbs all winter long and even time their flowering dates for special occasions. 

            When planted outdoors, bulbs receive a natural cooling period in the fall when they establish roots and then lay dormant through the winter until growth resumes in the spring.  When they are forced indoors, the dormant period is eliminated, and the entire process is shortened.  Bulbs can be planted inside from late September through November for winter color from Christmas to spring.

            Just about any pot or container that is 4” to 6” deep and has drainage holes, can be used for forcing bulbs.  Pack as many bulbs in to the pot as you want, as long as they don’t touch each other.  Plant them pointed end up with a little bit of the tip showing above the soil, then soak the pots thoroughly until water runs out the drainage holes.  Store the pots in a cool dark place for between 10 to 14 weeks in order for the bulbs to root.  During this rooting period, check them occasionally and water as needed.  Good places for bulbs to chill out may be an unheated basement, a crawl space, an old refrigerator, or covered with mulch in a cold frame. 

            When roots start to poke out through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot and the shoots are well out of the bulbs, they are ready to bring into the house to watch grow and blossom.  Once inside bulbs need cool bright conditions to produce long lasting flowers.  A temperature of between 60°-65° is ideal.  If you are forcing bulbs for a particular holiday or occasion, and they are progressing too quickly, move them to a cooler place with less light to slow their growth.  Water your plants every day or two to keep the soil moist but not soggy.

            After blooming is over, cut back the faded flowers and keep the plants growing to set out in your garden in the spring when they will once again reward you with flowers within a season or two.

Reserve a spot in your garden for onions and their milder cousins, leeks. Their flavor melds wonderfully in all sorts of dishes, from soups and salads to main entrées. Listen to learn how to grow these underground wonders so that you’ll have a plentiful supply. This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

Learn more about how to grow onions.

 

Onions are one of the most widely cultivated vegetables in the world. In ancient times, they were a dietary staple because they are easy to grow and can be stored for a long time.

Onions do best when started in cool (not cold) weather. In cold-winter areas, plant onions in spring. In mild areas, you can plant them in fall or winter.

Onions can be raised from seeds in areas with a long growing season, but most gardeners prefer to plant onion sets—tiny onions that were started from seeds the previous season. To grow large onions, plant the sets four to five inches apart in a row or bed. If you love scallions, or green onions, plant the sets closer together and harvest these immature onions as you thin the plants.

Onions grow best in rich, loamy, well-drained soil. Improve sandy or clay soil with compost or peat moss, and add a standard application of fertilizer before planting. A light application of mulch will help keep the weeds down and conserve soil moisture.

Leeks are closely related to onions, but they don’t have a bulb. Instead, leeks form a thick, fleshy stem at the base of their coarse leaves. The cultural requirements for leeks are the same as for onions. In northern areas, start leeks indoors in flats. When the plants are six to eight inches tall, cut them back to three inches and transplant them to the garden. Mound the soil as they grow, so the lower five inches of stem will become blanched; or plant the leeks in a trench five inches deep and fill it as the plants mature. As with onions, leeks can be harvested when they are young, or you can leave them in the ground until frost. If mulched with a heavy cover of hay, leeks can be harvested well into the winter.

Why the crying? The pungent odor released when an onion is cut is caused by allyl, a natural sulfurous oil that quickly vaporizes and can bring a person to tears. Plunging an onion into boiling water for a few seconds before you peel it will neutralize the allyl, or you can peel it under running water to dilute the irritant—with wet hands and dry eyes.

Whether eaten fresh or pickled, cucumbers are a welcome and cooling summer treat. They are easy to grow and, with the proper technique or variety, can fit into small spaces. Listen to learn how to keep a steady supply of crispy cukes in your garden.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

Imagine having plump, flavorful strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries ready to harvest right in your own backyard. Listen to learn how easy it is to make this dream come true.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries are three small fruits that are big on flavor and easy to grow. They all require   rich, well-drained soil; plenty of sunshine; and an ample supply of moisture. To prepare the planting site, remove all grass and weeds, and till the soil to a depth of 12 inches. Incorporating compost or manure will add nutrients and moisture-holding organic matter. Strawberries and raspberries prefer a sweet soil and will benefit from adding lime or wood ashes. Blueberries need more-acidic growing conditions, so fertilize with sulfate of ammonia.

For a bumper crop of strawberries, grow Junebearing varieties like ‘Guardian’, ‘Surecrop’, and ‘Honeoye’. Most of these berries will ripen at about the same time, so you can do all your canning and freezing at once and have plenty left over for fresh eating and strawberry shortcake. Everbearing varieties produce most of their fruit in June, with a smaller second crop later. Day-neutral strawberries will flower and fruit irrespective of day length and will produce well into autumn.

If you are a raspberry lover, growing your own is a must. Varieties like ‘Boyne’ and ‘Algonquin’ produce all their fruit in midsummer; ‘Heritage’, ‘Ruby’, and other everbearing raspberries produce two crops—a small one in midsummer and a larger one in the fall. For a variety of tastes and colors, grow some of the black, yellow, and purple varieties.

Highbush blueberry bushes are worth growing just for their looks. At four to six feet tall, these shrubs are ideal for landscaping. They sport dainty white spring flowers with a hint of pink, and they paint the autumn landscape fiery red with their brilliant fall foliage.

Blueberries are partially self-sterile, so plant at least two varieties to assure cross-pollination. For a long picking season, choose some early varieties like ‘Duke’ and ‘Patriot’, midseason varieties like ‘Northland’ and ‘Blue Crop’, and late-season varieties like ‘Jersey’ and ‘Elliott’.

Quarts of flavorful berries from attractive plants that are fun to grow and easy to harvest are why gardeners are going for these small fruits in a big way.

What would we have done without edible weeds? They provided much-needed nourishment for our ancestors, and some have been bred to create tasty produce that we now enjoy. Listen to learn more about these wild plant wonders.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

All of the fruits, nuts, grains, and garden vegetables that we enjoy today are descendants of wild plants.  The early explorers and settlers of America depended upon edible wild plants to supplement their diet of fish and game.  With the help of Native Americans they learned which plants were unpalatable or even poisonous and which ones were fit for the table.  The forests, meadows and stream banks provided them with a cornucopia of fruits, roots, and leafy greens.  The fruits of wild cherries and sweet June berries were eaten fresh or made in to preserves.  Dandelions, lamb’s quarters, and chicory were used for fresh salads and pot herbs, and the roots of groundnut and Jerusalem artichoke made a tasty potato substitute.

            As land was cleared and gardens planted, favorite foods like potato, squash, and corn were planted and hybridized and gathering food from the wilds became less important but not forgotten.

            Today, lovers of edible wild plants can be found searching fields for wild strawberries or scouring the roadsides for a feed of fiddlehead ferns.

            In parts of the Appalachian and Smokey Mountains, gathering ramps (wild leeks) is a spring tradition that is taken very seriously.  The pungent vegetable that has a strong onion flavor can only be gathered for a few weeks in April before it becomes too strong to eat and halitosis becomes rampant.

            Believe it or not, one of the best places to find tasty and nutritious wild edibles may be in your own back yard.  They are weeds.  Emerson defined a weed as a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered and indeed many have been discovered to be great eating.  Purslane is a ground-hugging weed that is common in vegetable gardens and that is a great place for it because it is delicious.  It can be cooked and served with butter, eaten raw in salads, pickled, or made into a delightful soup.  The barbed burrs of the burdock plant that cling to clothes and animal fur make it an unwelcome weed on most properties but once you taste it you may welcome it’s presence. Peeled flower stalks can be steamed and eaten as asparagus.  The roots, long used in Japanese cooking have a mild celery flavor and are a great addition to soups and stews and the tender new leaves can be cooked up and served as you would spinach.

            Lawns are great hunting grounds for nutritious leafy greens.  Dandelions, clover, plantain, and sorrel are all delicious and full of vitamins.  Be sure to gather your salads  only from lawns that have not been treated with pesticides.

            There are many books available on identifying and preparing plants from the wilds.  You may even want to gather seeds from some of your favorites and grow them in your garden so that you can weed it and reap.

Honeybees are invaluable friends of the garden, pollinating flowers as they gather pollen and nectar for the hive. These social insects live in highly organized, efficient societies. Listen to learn more about what it’s like to be a bee.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

Man has been raising bees and harvesting their honey for thousands of years.  Honey was a common food in ancient Egypt and until the development of refined sugar, was the only sweetener known to man.  Bees wax, from which the honeycomb is made is also harvested from beehives and is used in a variety of products ranging from candles to cosmetics.

            Far more important than the honey and wax that honeybees produce is the service that they provide for agriculture.  Honeybees pollinate more crops than any other insect and without this transfer of pollen from one flower to another fruits and vegetables couldn’t develop.

            Whether hidden in a hollow tree or kept in a beekeepers wooden hive, every colony of honey bees functions in the same way.  A bee colony is made up of three types of bees; workers, drones, and a queen.  Each type of bee has specific duties to perform.  Most of the bees in a hive are workers, sterile females that can number in the tens of thousands.  Young worker bees are called house bees.  They build and maintain the hive, feed the young, make honey and wax, and tend to the queen.  Older workers make flights from the hive to gather nectar and pollen for food and for use in making honey and wax.

            There are about a hundred drones in a colony.  They are males that develop from unfertilized eggs whose only job is to mate with the queen.  During the mating ritual, the young queen flies high in to the air.  The first drone to reach her does the mating and then dies.  The other drones are allowed to stay in the hive until winter when they are driven out by the workers.  There is only one queen in a hive, she can lay up to 2000 eggs a day and may lay a million eggs in her lifetime.  When a new queen is born, the old queen leaves the hive with about half of her workers to form a new colony.

            As a worker bee buzzes from flower to flower, she gathers nectar and stores it in a specialized stomach call a honey sac.  She also picks up pollen in her fine hairs and combs it into pollen baskets in her back legs.  Heavily laden with nectar and pollen she finds the shortest path home making a “bee line” for the hive.  When a bee finds a large patch of flowers, she tells the other workers by performing a dance on the honey-comb.  The “round dance” says that the flowers are close to the hive and sends the bees scurrying in all directions until they find them.  The ‘wagging dance’ indicates that the flowers are not near by.  The direction in which the worker wags her tail tells the location of the flowers in relation to the sun and the number of times that she wags it pinpoints the distance.

            To make a pound of honey, a bee would have to fly 50,000 miles and visit nearly a million flowers.  Although no one bee could ever do that, it certainly seems that they try.  When flowers are in bloom, bees work nonstop from sunrise to sunset gathering pollen and nectar and pollinating flowers in the process.  To be as busy as a bee is to be busy indeed.

Insects, diseases, and animal pests can spoil your fun in the garden, chewing, wilting, or absconding with your cherished flowers or hard-won harvest. Listen to learn how to deter these interlopers without the use of pesticides or lethal controls.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

When it comes to controlling pests in the vegetable garden, an ounce of prevention is often worth much more than a pound of cure. By taking just a few precautions, you can harvest tasty insect- and disease-free vegetables all season without using dangerous pesticides, and can keep animal intruders out of your garden with nonlethal controls.

Start by choosing plant varieties that are resistant to common insects and diseases. Stonehead cabbage, for example, is early-maturing and resists black rot and yellows. Burpless varieties of cucumbers are never bothered by cucumber beetles, and the ‘Big Beef’ and ‘Celebrity’ tomatoes are resistant to verticillium and fusarium wilt, tobacco mosaic virus, and nematodes. Before you put transplants into your garden, inspect them carefully. Removing a few insects or egg masses now will save you countless headaches later.

Pests are drawn to weak and unhealthy plants, so keep crops growing strong and stress-free by supplying them with consistent moisture, feeding as needed, and weeding. By not using poisons in your garden, you will be protecting the good bugs, like spiders, ladybugs, and lacewings, that prey on destructive insects. Planting a few flowers among your crops will provide an inviting habitat and help attract these garden heroes.

Rabbits, woodchucks, raccoons, and deer can do a lot of damage in short order. To repel rabbits and woodchucks, surround the garden with wood ashes or dried blood meal, or sprinkle wood ashes over the garden.

The smell of dog droppings or human scent will deter raccoons. Train your dog to do his thing near the edge of (not in) the garden, and ask your barber for a bag of hair to spread around your plants.

You can say “not tonight, deer” by ringing your garden with strings of flashing Christmas tree lights and hanging bags of strong-scented bath soap a few feet above the ground.

In the long run, it’s easier to keep pests and problem animals out of your garden than to evict them after they have taken up residence.

Columbines are charming, easy-care flowers that are happy in many garden settings and offer a wide variety of color choices. Listen to learn more about these hummingbird favorites, including how they got their unusual name.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

Perched atop of airy stems above a nest of ferny foliage, the dainty pastel flowers of columbine appear bird like as they nod up and down with the gentlest of breezes.

            The name columbine comes from the Latin “Columba” meaning Dove.  It was the Romans who first noticed that the shape and configuration of the flower petals resemble a cluster of Doves, which accounts for one of the plants common names “Doves in a Ring”. At one time this delicate looking flower was known as the lions herb because the leaves were rubbed on the hands to gain courage. Columbines botanical name, Aquilegia, means an eagle and probably refers to the flower’s long hanging nectaries that resemble the bird’s talons.

              Both in Europe and early America, columbine seeds were taken in wine to treat jaundice and other diseases of the liver, a practice curtailed in the late 1700’s when it was realized that this “cure” was often fatal.

            Eighty or so species of columbine grow throughout the Northern Hemisphere, most of them in North America and Europe.    In the wilds, these hardy perennials  can be found growing amongst ferns under a shady canopy of trees or on the exposed rocky slope of a mile high mountain, and as a garden perennial they require minimal care and never need winter protection.  As tough as they are, columbines are rather short lived and usually last only a few years, in the garden.  However,  if the spent flowers are left on the plants to form seed capsules, the glossy, black seeds will self sow or can be planted in a cold frame for transplanting to the garden the following spring.  All columbines, no matter where they are native to, will interbreed and are quite promiscuous when planted together.  This means that the seedlings of the hybrid mixes of columbine in your garden will not necessarily display the color or characteristics of their parents, but may actually sometimes outshine them.

            The personable columbines will fit in to just about any setting.  They add a woodland charm to rock gardens and naturalistic plantings and make a bold statement that won’t go unnoticed when planted in mass in the perennial border.  They even do well in containers and are a perfect perennial to grace a vase.

            Hummingbirds seem to seek out gardens where columbines grow.  Most folks believe they are attracted by the bright nectar laden blossoms, but we suspect that they just want to hang out with the eagles and doves.

Whether it’s to cover a slope, enhance a rock garden, perk up a wet area, create a meadow, or fill some other landscaping need, ornamental grasses come to the rescue! Listen to learn more about these versatile and attractive plants.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

         One way to reduce lawn mowing on your property is to plant more grass. This may seem a bit paradoxical but by planting some of the ornamental grasses you may be able to do just that. More and more gardeners are turning to carefree ornamental grasses to eliminate much of the work that is associated with [gardening and] lawn care.

         Unlike conventional grasses, ornamentals don’t need regular mowing, seldom require fertilization, and are rarely bothered by insects or disease.  Sedges, rushes, and other grass look-alikes are also considered ornamental grasses providing a huge variety of plants that are suited for just about any application. There are tiny tufted grasses like the silvery-blue sheep fescue that work as a ground cover or hardy rock garden plant and towering giant bamboos that can turn a stroll in your yard into a jungle adventure.

         Grasses are very colorful plants. The blades and feathery plumes display bold greens, soft blues, rosy reds, purples, and tans that change with the seasons. A real attention-getter is Japanese Blood Grass, a two-foot high perennial that starts in the spring with green blades with red tips and turns increasingly red as the season progresses. This variety is spectacular when planted en masse or when back lit in a night garden.

         Extremely versatile, grasses can be planted in [mass] a group, mixed with other grasses, or used as accents with shrubs and flowering perennials. Try massing tall fluffy varieties like pampas grass and feather reed grass to form a showy hedge or screen, or plant it as a backdrop for smaller plantings. Use tough low-growing buffalo grass to control erosion on a slope or to create a drought-tolerant no-mow meadow. For wet spots, good choices that will even grow in standing water are sweet flag and cotton grass.

         Grasses can be started from seed and transplanted into the garden or purchased as mature plants from a nursery and set out along with annuals and perennials. Be sure to find out if the varieties you choose have special growing requirements such as soil type and preference for sun or shade.

         Grasses are tough and, once established, will endure extremes in growing conditions but will greatly benefit from a bit of pampering at planting time. Since young grasses may resemble grassy weeds, thoroughly weed the area prior to planting. Mix compost thoroughly into the soil, and apply a light application of a complete fertilizer like 5-10-10. Water thoroughly in the absence of rain for the first couple of weeks, or until new plants [seem] get established.

         At the end of the season, the stems and seed heads of quite a few ornamental grasses can be harvested and used in wreaths and dried arrangements, so even if you don’t like the mowing lawn, you just might get a lot of pleasure in cutting a little grass.

Some vegetables don’t like to advertise. Their delectable, enlarged roots quietly grow beneath the soil surface, hidden from view. Listen to learn how to rustle up a batch of these fun, easy-to-grow “root crops” for yourself.

This segment of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Musings podcast series was written by George and Becky Lohmiller and is read by Heidi Stonehill, an Almanac editor.

 

Root crops are just that—crops that are grown for their edible roots. The most popular ones with the home gardener are beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, and turnips. Potatoes are tubers, and onions are bulbs, so they don’t qualify.

Root crops are easy to grow. They all require about the same growing conditions and care: deep, loose, rich soil; average fertility; plentiful moisture; and at least one thinning.

The Beet Goes On

■  To assure a continuous supply of tempting baby beets and juicy beet greens, make successive plantings every two weeks in spring and early summer. Beet seeds are actually clusters of three to five seeds, so they come up in clumps that need thinning when the leaves are two inches high. Delay additional thinning until the greens are big enough to harvest and eat.

Worth Their Weight in Gold

■  Heavy clay or rocky soil will cause carrots to become stunted, forked, or otherwise misshapen. If your soil is not perfect, try growing midget or round varieties.

How Sweet It Is

■  Like carrots, parsnips require deep, stone-free soil. They are extremely hardy, are insect-free, and suffer from few diseases. Parsnips keep all winter. Just leave them in the garden and the cold soil will turn them sweet and flavorful. Dig them up in spring for the first delicious meal from your garden.

The Radical Radish

■  Radishes are quick and easy. Some varieties will mature in just three weeks. They require little attention and no additional fertilizer—only what you apply at planting time. Sow radish seeds with slow-germinating seeds like carrots. When you harvest the radishes, you will be giving the carrots their first thinning.

Turn to Turnips

■  The trick to growing sweet, flavorful turnips is to harvest them when the root is young and only two to three inches in diameter. If they grow too big, they may become woody and bitter. Remember, turnip greens are high in vitamins A, B, and C and are more nutritious than the roots.