Saving the Harvest
Posted on Tuesday, August 30, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Now is the time when gardeners often have too much fresh produce. People joke about locking their cars to keep neighbors from placing unneeded zucchinis in them. Our mothers and grandmothers labored over hot stoves on hot days to put up tomatoes in jars for winter, or making jam. Now there are better, easier ways to preserve the harvest. Let’s have a look.
A straw used to remove air from a bag of cherry tomatoes
I keep tomato products for later use in a number of ways. First and easiest, I freeze tomatoes whole. I put clean tomatoes in zipper bags and freeze them whole. Later, when I want tomatoes for a soup or stew, I just run hot water from the tap into a big bowl and drop in a few tomatoes. That softens them up so I can easily chop them, but it also loosens the skins. I just rub the skins with my fingers, and skin comes off. A few minutes later I chop them and they are just like canned tomatoes.
Want tomatoes for winter sandwiches? Cut them in thick slices and roast them on a sheet pan at 350 degrees until most of the moisture has gone. Then cool and place in zipper bags for storage in the freezer. When you need a tasty tomato in your sandwich, take a few slices out, and cook slightly in a toaster oven to thaw it.
Sun Gold tomatoes are very prolific and dry well for storage.
I grow many hundreds of cherry tomatoes each summer. I plant a dozen or more ‘Sun Gold’ cherry tomato plants each year, and each produces a bounty of rich, golden nuggets of flavor. What do I do with all those? I cut them in half and dry them in a food dehydrator, cut side up. When dry they will keep well in the pantry (or the freezer) in a wide-mouth quart jar. I toss a handful into every soup or stew I make.
Of course you can slice and dehydrate any kind of tomato. I have a friend who slices tomatoes, dries them until they are very crisp, and then grinds them in a food processor to make dried tomato flakes. She sprinkles the flakes into or on to a wide range of dishes. And she usually gives me a pint of them each year, which I treasure – I use it to add that mystical “umami” flavor to a dish.
A few words about food dehydrators. I have lots of experience with two good ones: NESCO American Harvest is a round dehydrator that will allow you to add many extra trays (up to 30, but with much increased drying time). NESCO dehydrators come with either top or bottom heat, so drying time is a bit uneven. The other is Excalibur, a square one with 9 trays. These blow air across the trays, and everything gets dry at once. They both have thermostats and timers that will turn them off when desired.
I use my dehydrators for drying apples and pears that are great for snacking. I cut slices about 3/8 inch thick and bag them up for snacking while they are still chewy. It looks like I will have a great grape harvest this year, and I may try making raisins. Set temperature at 125 to 135 degrees so you don’t break down vitamins.
I also use a dehydrator for drying hot peppers until they are brittle, then I grind them up in my coffee grinder to make hot pepper powder. That way I can sprinkle a little or a lot into a recipe, depending on who will be sharing dinner with me – I like food spicy.
I make tomato paste each summer, but that is more like the hard work my Grandmother did. I core the tomatoes and squeeze out excess juice and seeds, then cut them in half and drop into the Cuisinart. I run it until the tomatoes are a slurry. Then I pour the slurry into a heavy enameled cook pot. I heat it slowly, allowing the mixture to just slowly simmer (to avoid burning it).
It takes a couple of hours to fill the big kettle, and all evening for it to boil off the excess liquid. When I can literally stand up a soup spoon in the mix, I know it I thick enough. I leave the pot on the counter all night to let it cool and evaporate some more, and then in the morning I spoon the paste into ice cube trays and freeze. I put the cubes in bags or jars. It is nice to never need to remember to buy tomato paste – and to have a good use for damage tomatoes that might otherwise end up in the compost. I cut out the bad spots, and use every one.
I have never gotten excited about making jams or jellies. But if you have a dedicated freezer for storage, you can cook your raspberries or blueberries with sugar and spices, then freeze them. The canning process is lengthy and messy, so I generally avoid it. If you just want a little jam, make 3 or 4 jars and store in the fridge. It will be as tasty – and it gives you an excuse to spread some on ice cream, using it up before it get moldy.
Of course, storing food is the easiest, cheapest way to eat the harvest long after it. Winter squashes like butternut and blue Hubbard store for months in a cool, dry location. They store well for months under the bed in a guest bedroom with the radiators turned off.
Cure potatoes for a few days before storing.
When digging potatoes or pulling onions, try to do it in a dry time (not hard this summer). Lower moisture levels are better for storage. Cure them for a few days in a breezy place out of the sun. Store potatoes, carrots, celeriac and rutabagas in a place between 35 and 50 degrees with high humidity. Garlic and onions like lower humidity with cool temperatures. Sweet potatoes should never go in the fridge – they need to be stored in a warm room like the kitchen.
I try to eat something I grew every day of the year, and mostly I do that. Dried herbs, garlic and frozen foods are always there for me to use, so I do.
Henry gardens and cooks in Cornish Flat, NH. Reach him at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net. He is a regular speaker at libraries and garden clubs, and the author of 4 gardening books.
Is It Time to Include Ferns in Your Garden?
Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Many gardeners who focus on flowers and flowering shrubs are missing out on a beautiful and easy addition to their landscape: ferns. A few ferns are a bit aggressive and can elbow their way into flower beds uninvited, but most are polite and offer different textures and colors of foliage with little work. You probably like and use Hostas in shady places, and they are mainly used for their foliage, not their blossoms. So introducing ferns is the logical next step.
Telltale ridge on stem of Ostrich fern.
One of my favorite ferns is the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). This is a big fern, with fronds up to five feet tall. Each fern tapers at both ends, and arrange themselves like the feathers of a badminton birdie. Its most distinguishing characteristic is a groove like you see in a stalk of celery, up the middle of each frond on the topside. It also produces fronds that turn brown and produce the spores. It is the fern that produces edible fiddleheads in the spring.
In the wild it prefers moist, shady places but it will grow almost anywhere that is not bone dry or in full sun. It will tolerate some sun and ordinary garden soil, but rich, moist soil is where it thrives. Ostrich fern will spread by rhizomes, adding about a square foot of territory to each plant per year. They also produce spores that can fly in the wind to expand their territory.
Although you can buy Ostrich fern and the others in this article, you may be able to transplant some from your own property, moving them in from the woods or field to a garden bed. I have successfully transplanted ostrich ferns using a long, arrow shovel called a drain spade or transplant shovel. I push the spade into the soil on a 45 degree angle to cut roots and loosen the soil in 4 places around it, then push down on the spade to pop the plant, roots and all, from the ground. Best to do on a cool day after a rain– if we ever see one! Be sure to add compost to the planting hole and water weekly in dry times until it is well established.
Maidenhair ferns are dainty, but tough.
Another great fern is the maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum). In the spring it comes up on what look like black wires, then produces almost horizontal fronds that are fan-shaped. In the wild it indicates good rich soil. Books say it does well in moist, shady soil but I’ve had it for over 20 years in dry shade. I think once established it is fine in dry shade, but I’d water it for the first year if in dry shade, or in drought times.
Maidenhair fern is commonly sold in nurseries, and I have rarely seen it in the wild. I have also grown it in a pot on our north-facing deck. In our garden, a plant (or three?) have created a clump that is eight feet by four feet in 20 years, so it is not a fast spreader.
Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides): Unlike nearly all others, this fern stays green all winter, and has very dark green leaves. It grows in free-form clusters, and has simple leaves. The leaflets have a little bump (ear) near the base of each frond and are 1 to 3 feet long. In past times, it was commonly used by florists as a green to add to flower arrangements in winter, though that practice is no longer common as whole colonies were used up.
Sensitive fern is a bit of a thug.
Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis): This fern has light green leaves that are quite wide. Leaflet pairs are opposite each other (like a bow tie). Top-most leaflets are smooth, others have wavy edges. It is very frost-sensitive, hence the name. It often grows in big colonies, either in sun or shade. Can be a pest in the garden as it spreads by root. It is the only fern that I always pull out if it shows up in my garden as it spreads fast and is fairly coarse in looks.
Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana): This is a big fern with fronds up to 5 feet long in a vase-like arrangement. It will grow in wet or dry shade. When spores are produced, they interrupt the arrangement of leaflets with smaller spore-producing sections that are not like the other leaflets. But not all plants will have an interrupted section, so look at a colony to find some that do to confirm the I.D. The little leaflets that produce spores get dry and turn brown in mid-summer. It is common in the wild.
This hay-scented fern planted itself right by my front door, surrounded by stones in hot afternoon sun.
Another fern I like is the hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula). If you have crushed this fern and sniffed it, it smells something like fresh-cut hay. It is finely cut and stays just 1 to 3 feet tall. It is one of the few that will grow in a hot, sunny location such as a west-facing, sandy hillside, though it will grow in shade or rocky slopes. It spreads quickly, and will fill in an area, making a large colony. Sold in nurseries as a ground cover. It will out-compete weeds and grasses in sunny locations.
If you are interested in learning about ferns, many guides use lots of technical language that only fern scientists underestand. One exception to this is “Identifying Ferns the Easy Way: A Pocket Guide to Common Ferns of the Northeast” by Lynn Levine. It’s published by Heartwood Press. There are just 28 common ferns in the book, and there are silhouettes of each at the beginning of the book. The silhouettes are divided into 6 groups based on how the leaves are “cut”. So a quick look will identify most ferns, and the straightforward descriptions quickly confirm which fern you are looking at.
Observe where ferns grow in your woodlands, and try digging up some to put in a shady garden in your cultivated areas. So stop discriminating against ferns and give some a try!
Henry has been
gardening in the same place since 1970. Reach him at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or
henry.homeyer@comcast.net. Please include a SASE if requesting a response by mail. He is a regular speaker at
garden clubs and libraries.
Biennials: Worth the Effort
Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Biennials are some of the least planted flowers we can grow. Why? The year they are planted by seed, they generally do not flower. They only have a clump of low-growing leaves. The second year, the send up a flower spike, bloom, and then die. That’s right. They have done their job of producing seeds, and then die. Gardeners prefer quick-blooming annuals, or long-lived perennials. Biennials are the least favored puppies of the litter.
Purple Foxgloves bloom from bottom of the stem to the top.
On the other hand, some are worth the effort, or the wait. I love purple foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea). In the past, I was able to buy first year plants in 6-packs at a nursery, and planted them two years in a row. After they were finished blooming, I cut down the tall stems and shook out tiny black seeds over a flower bed that had been weeded, loosened and raked smooth. I patted down the seeds, but did not cover them with soil. The tiny seeds just fell into crevices and waited for spring, when they started the growing cycle again.
It is important to know what the leaves of a first-year biennial look like so that seedlings do not get weeded out before getting established. I do that by trying to remember the color, texture or shape of the leaves. Often, color is my cue. So, for example, the biennial rose campion (Lychnis coronaria) has a distinctive gray leaf. I recognize the first year plants – often growing in a cluster – and dig up some to divide and plant where I want them the following year, and to give them more space to grow.
Rose campion is a biennial that self-sows readily.
Rose campion flowers are deep magenta, a truly spectacular color. The blossoms are in inch wide and are very profusely produced. Well worth planting if you can find plants for sale, or buy some seeds and wait for second year blossoms.
Often biennial flowers are in the same genus as perennial plants. Closely related plants are grouped in the same genus (equivalent to your last name). The second name is the species (equivalent to your first name). So Lychnis is like “Jones” and coronaria is like “Susan.
So for example, our common purple and pink foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) has relatives in the Digitalis genus. I grow two kinds, D. grandiflora and D. lutea. Both are yellow and both often start new plants by seed, so I have plenty. The latter one has smaller blossoms than the former one.
A biennial wildflower I just love is Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota). As the species name, carota, implies, it is in the carrot family. The tap roots are not as big as carrots, but the fragrance is about the same. But root is white, while most carrots we eat are orange – though white, yellow, purple and red varieties are available. Anyhow, Queen Anne’s lace stands up tall (to three feet) and has an umbel or flat-topped cluster of tiny white blossoms, with purple ones in the center. It is a great cut flower in a vase. Young second-year plants are occasionally sold in 6-packs in garden centers, and some of those are pink or even dark purple. Lovely.
Another way to get Queen Anne’s lace is to dig up first year plants and transplant then on your property. They are commonly seen along the roadside and are free for the taking on rural roads. Mature Queen Anne’s lace has a tap root and is difficult to transplant.
Please note that poison hemlock is a related carrot-family plant. But unlike Queen Anne’s lace, it has smooth stems, not fuzzy ones, has no purple center to the flower. It has purple blotches on the stems. The sap of hemlock can cause rashes when exposed to sunlight.
Angelica is my favorite biennial.
Perhaps my favorite biennial is angelica. Again there are biennial and perennial forms, but the biennial is the best. Its scientific name is Angelica gigas. It has huge purple or burgundy globes of small flowers, each globe 4 to 8-inches across. The plant stands up 4- to 6-feet tall with strong stems and big leaves.
The best thing about the plant is this: it is an absolute gem of a pollinator plant. When I last grew it, it often had three or more bees on it at once. Unfortunately, it is hard to find in plant nurseries, and when I have found it, it was a big second-year plant in a 2 gallon pot that cost me at least $15. Yikes. I tried planting seeds after blooming, but did not save any for spring planting. I got no plants from my meagre efforts, but I will buy seeds now and try starting some plants next spring.
Most plant books list hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) as biennials, though some consider them half-hardy perennials. One plantsman told me that the plants with leaves the shape of fig leaves are more perennial than others. This is a tall plant, sometimes 6- to 8- feet tall, that has open-throated 2- to 3-inch blossoms that come in a variety of colors from white to pink, red, yellow and nearly black, often with a yellow center.
Hollyhocks do best in rich, moist soil in full sun. I’ve had one clump in my asparagus patch for perhaps 20 years. But they will also grow in part shade. They open their buds in sequence up the stem over a period of 4- to 6-weeks. When done blooming, cut them to the ground immediately. I believe that makes them wonder if they have produced seeds, and come back the next year to finish the job. They do show up uninvited in the garden, and I always welcome them.
Henry is a 20-year veteran of the UNH Master
Gardener program, and the author of 4
gardening books. Reach him by email at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
A Few Thoughts on Planting Trees
Posted on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 · Leave a Comment
This Japanese red maple was dug up and transplanted from Connecticut to my garden on a hot August day 20 years ago
First, August is not the best time for planting trees. Most experts suggest spring or fall when it is cooler and rain more regular. But let’s face it, I’m a gardener, and if I see a nice tree for sale, especially one in bloom or one I’ve been looking for, I am going to get it – no matter what the experts say. And I bet many of you do the same.
I confess to acquiring four trees in late July. I bought three that I had been looking for, and I got a nice one as a gift. And since I have these new trees, I am not going to keep them in their pots until fall. I will plant them, and water them daily, if needed, through the heat of summer. They will do better in the ground than in a pot where roots can easily dry out on hot days. I have planted a few trees and shrubs in my garden this summer, and all are doing fine.
If you are planning on buying trees, allow me to give you some advice. First, NO IMPULSE BUYING! Learn everything you can about the particular tree you are considering well before you buy it. There are books and web sites by universities or botanic gardens that provide excellent information. I suggest avoiding web sites of companies selling trees. Talk to knowledgeable friends. Ask questions.
Dr. Dirr’s book is my bible for woody plants
Of the tree books on my shelves, I depend most commonly on books written by Michael Dirr. A retired professor, he has been learning about trees and testing trees and talking to growers for more than 50 years. All his books are readable, dependable – and opinionated. His classic is “Manual of Woody Landscape Trees: Their Identification, Culture, Propagation and Uses”.
At nearly 1200 pages, his Manual really does cover every tree I have ever wanted to learn about. It’s not flashy: there are no glossy photos to drool over. Just line drawings of the leaves for most species, and lots of good info. If you want a copy, it lists for $81.80 for the most recent (sixth) paperback edition from Stipes Publishing. Or get your library to order one. Second hand copies are probably available, too.
So start by seeing what the hardiness of a tree is. No point in buying a tree you remember from your time living in North Carolina unless it is hardy in your zone, too, which it might well be. Then look at what he calls culture: soil, pH, and sun/shade requirements.
Read what Dr. Dirr says about size. He generally tells you how big a tree will get in the garden, how fast it grows, and the biggest size known. Let that be a guide. It is so easy to buy a small tree and plant it without really thinking what it will be like in 50 years. I remember a little evergreen growing in front of our house when I was growing up. When we bought the house in 1954, we decorated it with Christmas lights. Then in later years we used a stepladder to put more lights on. By the time I left for college, it was nearly as tall as the 2-story house – and blocking the view from some windows.
So before buying a new tree, try to see what a mature specimen looks like in your town or state. Go to a public park or arboretum (a zoo, of sorts, for trees). Pay attention to the width of the tree, not just the height.
Looking in a forest to see how close trees grow together is not the answer. Trees are wonderful, and many people have done research on how trees communicate with each other (see “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How the Communicate”, a NY Times bestseller in 2016 by Peter Wohlleben), but they aren’t very smart (by our standards, at least). And they don’t plan very well. Where a seed lands, it will try to grow – even if it is right next to another tree, or in a shady place where it will not thrive.
Spicebush is a great native shade shrub
Some years ago I planted a spicebush (Lindera benzoin). This is a native shrub that thrives in the shade, even in dry shade. It has fragrant, spicy leaves, twigs and berries. I used to chew on the twigs when I was a boy in lieu of chewing gum, which was prohibited by my parents. Dr. Dirr says it grows 6 to 12 feet high “with a similar spread”. Mine now is 6 to 8 feet high and an 8 foot spread. My new specimens are in 2-gallon pots, just 24 inches tall. I was about to plant them 3 or 4 feet apart, but stopped myself. If a mature tree is 8-feet wide, it is 4 feet from the center of the tree to the outside. So a pair of them should be about eight feet apart, or at least six.
In the past two years I’ve been working to develop a private arboretum on what was a 5-acre lawn, now a meadow. Last summer we planted about 100 native trees and shrubs of many species, including a dozen oaks of various kinds and sizes. It’s a five year project.
A mature oak can be can be 75 feet tall with a spread of 50 feet or more. But I did not plant them 50 feet apart. I want the roots to interact, sharing nutrients and knowledge. And in a storm, intertwined roots can help prevent trees from toppling over. So I planted most about 30 feet apart. I’ve seen oaks in a meadow like the one I’ve been planting: the branches between trees touched, but did not intrude on their neighbors. On the sides facing the meadow, the branches were longer. Yes, somehow they communicate.
So feel free to wait until the weather is cooler and rain more frequent to plant new trees. But if you must plant now, keep everything well watered!
Henry may be reached at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or at
henry.homeyer@cocast.net. He is the author of 4
gardening books.
Have Happy Houseplants in Summer
Posted on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Just like kids on school vacation, your houseplants may want to go outside to play. And like your kids, don’t put them out in full sun all day without sunscreen. Well…there is no SPF 30 for houseplants, so you will have to make other accommodations.
If you haven’t brought out your houseplants, you may want to consider it now. Plants have widely differing needs for light, and many houseplants are popular because they can sit on a table in the living room without any direct light. These will do best on a covered porch for the summer, not on a sunny deck.
This fig leaf go sunburned and will never recover.
But even plants that thrive outdoors in full sun need to be introduced to the outdoors slowly. I have a potted fig tree that I bring into the house each winter. It drops its leaves and takes a snooze, so I keep it in a cold basement, which it seems to like. I water it once a month during the winter as the low humidity indoors would desiccate its roots if I didn’t give it a little water. Then in March I bring the fig upstairs into a cool, bright room. Soon its buds swell, and it produces leaves.
When all danger of frost is past, I bring our fig outside and put it on the deck we have on the north side of the house that just gets morning sun. After a couple of weeks of morning sun, I bring it down to the lower deck which gets more sun, and it generally rewards me with a few tasty figs before frost. This year I put it into afternoon sun too early, and the leaves showed signs of sunburn. They yellowed, and a few got brown edges. It will recover, but it just reminds me how sensitive leaves are to strong sun. It may punish me with no figs this year.
Growing Figs book cover
If you are interested in growing figs, you should get a copy of Lee Reich’s book, “Growing Figs in Cold Climates”. It covers cultivar selection, over-wintering and pruning techniques, even how to tell when your figs are ripe. It’s in paperback and is fully illustrated with nice photos. Lee lives in upper New York State, and was an Associated Press garden writer until he recently retired. Check out his website and blog at https://www.leereich.com.
My potted banana tree has been outdoors on my north-facing deck for several weeks, and I keep edging it further out into the sun from time to time. It is a tropical plant and can take lots of sun, but once again, I am careful not to shock it by too much sun too early on. Unlike my fig tree, I bought it knowing that the banana is never going to produce fruit. But I love its big, wide leaves and that it brings up memories of my time in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer.
This banana tree thrives outdoors in summer but does not produce fruit.
If you have your houseplants outdoors, be sure that they are not getting over-watered by Mother Nature. When we got an inch and half of rain I went around to look at my houseplants that are sitting in saucers and drained off excess water. Water in a saucer will get soaked up into a pot by capillary action – or even greedy roots that sneak out through holes in the bottom of a pot. Most houseplants don’t need as much water as garden plants, and continually wet roots tend to rot.
What about insects getting on your houseplants if you let them outdoors? Yes, you probably will get some aphids on them. But other insects like ladybugs will probably keep them in check all summer. You will need to give your plants a brisk shower with the hose at the end of the summer to wash off any remaining aphids and/or their eggs. Or you can spray them with a dilute soap solution that will kill the aphids. Things like “Safer” brand insect killing soap are safe and approved for organic gardeners. It dissolves the fats in their outer shell, and they dehydrate and die.
Scale insects are another pest your houseplants may encounter while enjoying their life outside – though you can get them inside, too. Scale insects are a group of some 8,000 species of insects that suck sap from your plants, and may excrete honeydew that attracts a black mold that you might notice first.
Most scale insects are small, under a quarter of an inch in size, and have a wax mono-shell that covers them as they suck the plant’s juices. The shell can be one of many different colors. But if you see them early on, you can get rid of them easily by wiping them with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. I have only gotten them once.
Can you take your houseplants out of their pots and put them in the ground? You bet. But if you do, they will get bigger during the summer, and may not fit into their pots, come fall, or not so easily. But if you don’t mind potting up plants, and want your geraniums, for example, to really thrive, plant a few in the ground. Real soil and sun? It’s what houseplants dream of.
Henry is a lifetime organic
gardener and the author of four
gardening books. He
gardens in Cornish Flat, NH. Reach him by e-mail at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
What You Should Be Doing Now in the Vegetable Garden
Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 · Leave a Comment
Heat descended on us recently like opening the door to a roaring woodstove. The old adage about colonial India was, “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun.” I think that applies here, too. I, for one, have no desire to work in the garden when temperatures get to be in the eighties or more.
My strategy is to go bed earlier, and get up at 6am – or even earlier if I can. In general I’m not a morning person. I like coffee, the newspaper in my hands, and a leisurely breakfast. But with the heat, I feel a need to see what plants need some water, and what veggies should be picked early in the day.
Raised beds need more water than plants in the ground.
The most vulnerable plants are those that have just been transplanted or installed. I recently moved some small Swiss chard plants from a somewhat shady place to a raised bed in full sun. Gravity works on water, not just Newton’s apple. Raised beds tend to drain of water and dry out faster than beds in the ground. The soil is warmer, too. So those Swiss chard seem to need water every day now.
I can reduce my need to water that raised bed by mulching it well. I’ve mulched the rest of my vegetable garden with four to six pages of newspaper, covered with straw or hay. That is primarily for keeping the weeds down, but it also reduces the need for watering. But the raised bed was built later, and I haven’t mulched it yet. Gotta get on it!
I also regularly water a bed of zinnias that were only planted by seed in June. Anytime you plant seeds, you should water daily until they germinate to avoid drying out the seeds at a critical time. And when the plants are small, they need regular watering, too.
We have thinned all our root crops by now, which is important. If you haven’t, you should. Carrots, beets, parsnips, radishes and rutabagas need room to grow – an inch, at least, from their nearest neighbors. You can eat the small vegetables you pull. The leaves of beets are a tasty treat when steamed lightly and served with butter.
Garlic scapes like this are tasty when chopped and added to a stir fry.
I’m harvesting garlic now, too. Not the entire crop as yet. I just pull one or two for cooking as needed. I’ll pull them all in August when the leaves start to brown up. When I pull the main harvest I leave the tops on and hang them in the cellar upside down to cure. I’ve read that the bulbs will absorb additional nutrients from the leaves and stem while they cure.
Fresh garlic is nearly impossible to peel. I just use a sharp paring knife to make 2 slices into a bulb – one on each side of a clove. When it pops out, I can peel off the outer layers and insert the clove into a press, or smash it with the wide blade of a French kitchen knife and then chop it finely.
I’m often asked if cutting off scapes, those curly tops of garlic, helps to grow bigger, better bulbs of garlic. I’ve been experimenting with that for years, and don’t see a significant difference. So I cut off scapes to use in stir fries, salads or stews, but don’t bother to remove them all.
I picked a few ‘Early Girl’ tomatoes in mid-July this year, which is early, even for them. Although I started almost all my tomatoes by seed in April, I did buy a few bigger plants to get those early tomatoes. Next up will be my ‘Blue Beauty’ tomatoes, which I did start by seed indoors. They are a gorgeous deep purple, with green at the bottom. When the green turns red and they soften up, they will be ready to pick.
For once I have planted lettuce regularly all summer, so I have had enough to eat and to share. And I have lots of small plants to transplant and separate. I recommend that you plant some lettuce seeds directly in the ground now for early fall eating, and in a month, do it again. Mark your calendar! After all, some spaces will be opening up in the garden as you harvest radishes, peas, beets and more. Look for heat resistant or hot weather lettuce varieties like Adriana, Monte Carlo or Red Cross – all available from Johnny’s Seeds. Cool weather lettuce quickly bolt in August heat.
I am picking heads of broccoli now. But the best if yet to come. I once made a little garden in the lawn for an elderly friend, and planted 2 broccoli plants there. Unfortunately, my friend pulled out the broccoli once they had yielded their first big heads. Little did she know that broccoli will send out side shoots, smaller spears of broccoli, for the rest of the summer and fall! Just keep on picking. And if the side shoots start to open with yellow blossoms, pick and eat them anyway. They will still be tasty.
Potatoes will be ready early this year. Start digging them after they flower.
I seem to be having a great year for potatoes (I have not seen a single potato bug), and should have plenty to eat and share. I planted 100 chunks of potato, and each plant should give me one to two pounds of spuds. I will start harvesting a few after they have blossomed. I like to slip my hand under a plant and “steal” a potato or two for dinner before I start the harvest. If you grow potatoes, be sure to let your children or grandkids help you when you harvest them. All kids are excited by the buried treasure!
So beat the heat: get up early and go out to your garden. There is always something to do.
Henry is a lifelong organic
gardener, and a 20 year veteran of the UNH Master
Gardener program. He is the author of 4
gardening books. Reach him at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
Plants to Avoid If You Can
Posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 · Leave a Comment
This is the time of year when wild parsnips are in full bloom. They stand anywhere from two to six feet tall, and are topped with clusters of tiny flowers facing upward and arranged in a flat cluster called an umbel. The blossoms are similar to those on Queen Anne’s lace, but yellow.
Wild parsnips often grow along the roadside. Many people are easily burned by the sap.
Avoid wild parsnips because you can get terrible burns from the sap of this plant. When the sap on you is hit by bright sunshine, most people develop painful blisters. This is unfortunate, as this common plant is spread by seed, often creating large patches in fields and along roadsides. If you get sap on you, wash it off with soap and water immediately, cover the area, and stay out of direct sunshine for 48 hours.
How can you get rid of wild parsnips? Wild parsnips are biennials – meaning they die after blooming in their second year. I’ve read that mowing a patch of them right after they bloom (but before they produce seeds) will get rid of them, but only if you do this for three to five years. Presumably the repeated mowing is needed to kill plants that come back from seeds that did not germinate in year one.
Giant hogweed is an invasive that can burn you with its sap.
Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is in the same family as parsnips, but is bigger, harder to get rid of, and even more toxic. I saw it for sale some 20 years ago and was intrigued by its size (6 to 12 feet tall) and blossoms that are up to three feet across. I bought it and planted it, having been told that it was not a perennial, though it is.
Even though I didn’t know its sap could cause burns, I quickly decided that giant hogweed was not a plant I wanted – it popped up 50 feet away from where I planted it, and could grow in full sun or full shade, wet soil or dry. I decided it had potential to be a thug.
At first I just cut off the flower heads before they produced seeds, but in year two or three I decided to pull it by the roots, I was lucky that I was able to get out the roots which can go down two feet or more. And even more fortunately, either I did not get sap on me, or I am not allergic to it. It is not widely distributed in New England, though it is a real pest in parts of California and elsewhere.
I was less fortunate when it came to getting rid of the Japanese butterbur (Petasites japonicus) I purchased long ago. I was told that yes, it could run, but it was easy to contain with a lawnmower or a stream. Not so. This plant can send roots 20 feet or more, then send up new plants. It is an aggressive plant that will smother almost any other. It likes moisture, and does well in shade as well as sun.
Depending on the variety, this plant can produce clumps of huge leaves that stand up to five feet tall. It has small flowers that erupt from the soil before the leaves. The roots go down deep and break easily, making it tough to remove. In its native Japan, it is considered an edible, but I have no interest in eating it.
I have lost control of our Japanese butterbur. It crossed the stream and gone under the lawn to other beds, and generally become a pest. Even though it is interesting to look at, enough is enough! I wish I had never bought it!
Buttercups are pretty but tough to control
Another pest I have will surprise you, perhaps: buttercups (Ranunculus repens). Like some of the others mentioned above, at first I welcomed this bright harbinger of spring which displays cheerful yellow blossoms. But it has become a problem because it spreads not only by root, but by seed, and once established it is difficult to weed out. And it will choke out other plants. It is glorious in bloom, but very tenacious. If you have moist, rich soil in part shade, watch out. I’d advise removing it early before it starts crowding out other plants. This one is native to Europe, but there are native species that are not a problem, I am told.
Years ago a friend gave me some iris that had the roots of goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) tangled in with the iris roots. It quickly took over the iris bed, choking out everything else. A native of Asia and parts of Europe, it can form a dense mat that outcompetes everything else. The roots are brittle, and thus hard to remove. Even a scrap of root can start a new plant.
Goutweed will outcompete any other plants and is difficult to eradicate
I dug out all the goutweed, took away the soil down to 12 inches and replaced the soil after putting down a heavy weed mat. Still … 5 years later it crawled out from under the mat. If you have it, accept you will probably always have it, though with persistence and a good weeding tool, it is possible to control. But I wouldn’t buy a house that has it!
A variegated form of goutweed called ‘Snow on the Mountains’ has green and white leaves and was sold as a groundcover in the past. But sometimes it reverts back to the more aggressive all-green form and tries to take over the world. So avoid both forms.
Let’s face it: plants take advantage of us if they can. We like good looking, interesting plants, so they put on a good show. But among the good ones, there are those aggressive thugs that deserve no mercy. All you can do is be attentive, and act quickly when a new plant starts to take over your gardens.
Henry is the author of 4
gardening books, and a lifetime UNH Master
Gardener. Reach him at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or by e-mail at
henry.homeyer@comcast.net.
How to Move a Shrub
Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 · Leave a Comment
A tree spade can move good-sized tree, but it is expensive to do so
I remember talking to a gardener some years ago who, when I mentioned that her tall pines were interrupting the view, waved a hand and said, dismissively, “Oh, yes, I’ll have someone move them.” I nearly choked. Moving shrubs is not difficult, but big trees? Though theoretically possible using a big machine called a tree spade, it’s a very expensive proposition.
I have moved several shrubs over the years. I bought a Carolina allspice or sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) which, according to the literature, can be planted in full sun or part shade. I planted it in full sun in rich, moist soil. The first year the leaves got sun burned and developed brown edges. Oh well, I thought, perhaps it had been grown in deep shade. If so, it will recover and next year it will be fine. But the next year it burned again.
So that fall I moved my shrub to a shady place which got just a little dappled sunshine. It did not burn, but it didn’t flower much the year or the year after. “Huh”, I thought. “Maybe it needs more sun”. I waited a few more years, and never got many blossoms.
Finally, like Goldilocks of Three Bears fame, I found just the right place. I moved it into dappled shade under a big pear tree. It has flowered magnificently ever since. Which shows, I suppose, the persistence is important in the gardening world. I was tempted to let it just muddle along, but was rewarded for my effort moving it.
Moving a shrub is hard work but possible
It is much easier to move a shrub in the first year or two of its life in your garden. It takes a few years for roots to grow out and away from the root ball. Early in its life in your garden you will be able to see its original rootball when you dig it out.
When I plant a tree or shrub I generally facilitate root expansion in two ways. First, I dig a wide hole for the root ball – at least three times as wide as the root ball. If the soil is very compacted, I dig an even wider hole. All that digging is intended to leave the soil fluffier, and easier for tiny roots to penetrate.
Secondly, I loosen the roots, tugging them away from the root ball. I pull away any encircling roots. I use my CobraHead weeder to tug on bigger roots that are firmly tangled to get them loose and ready to spread out into the soil. And if I break some smaller roots? I don’t worry. It will stimulate the roots to grow.
The hole should only be as deep as the root ball, not deeper. Your tree should sit on un-excavated soil so that it will not settle in time. If soil or mulch covers the trunk flare, the trunk will rot. It is a slow process, but soil and bark mulch have fungi that will destroy the bark of a tree, slowly killing it – it takes six to ten years.
Trunk flare should never be covered with soil or bark
What is the trunk flare? That is the area at the base of the tree that flares out and often sends out above-ground roots that gently descend into the soil. It is most obvious in large trees, but some swelling in small trees should be evident at the base of the tree. That area is often buried with soil when you buy a tree, and you need to expose it.
If the flare is buried after planting, you may notice tip die-back at the top of the tree, and early fall coloring. Both are signs of trouble. Check out trees you have planted – and pull back the mulch or soil that is covering the flare. Do it now, and your tree may recover (depending on how long the flare has been buried).
If you are planting trees this summer, remove the tree from its pot or burlap covering. Expose the trunk flare before you dig the hole so you will know how deep to dig. I put a rake handle or wood stake over the hole to help me measure how deep it is before placing the tree into the hole. It is better to have the hole a little shallow than a little too deep. You can always mound the soil to bring it up to the proper amount of coverage.
This drain spade is good for transplanting perennials and shrubs
For moving shrubs, the best tool to use is a long narrow shovel called a drain spade. The blade on mine is about 6 inches wide and 15 inches long. I push the blade into the soil in four places around the shrub. Each time the blade goes into the soil on about a 45 degree angle, with the idea of getting under the center of the shrub itself. I push down on the handle, and it lifts the shrub a little. After loosening the shrub I push down hard on the shovel and the shrub is ready to lift out.
The best time to move a shrub is in the afternoon of a drizzly or cloudy day, not on a hot, sunny day. Move the shrub right into a prepared hole at its new home. I generally do not add fertilizer to the new hole as I don’t want to force rapid new growth. Slow-release organic fertilizer is safe to use, but not too much, and a little compost is good, too.
Be sure to press the shrub down firmly in the hole after you have filled in the space around the root ball with soil, and to pack the soil in around it firmly with your hands. Water well at planting time, and at least every other day during hot, sunny times.
Lastly, I recommend looking at where other people have planted shrubs of the same species as yours that are doing better. And if you need to move yours to a better location? Go for it!
The Battle between the Mower and the Grower
Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 · Leave a Comment
In most households, one person is the gardener, and another takes care of the lawn. Or perhaps a hired service or teenager does the mowing and string trimming. But it is common that there is conflict between the two parties. There are ways to minimize the problems if both parties are willing to compromise – and perhaps do a little extra work.
The mower generally wants to get the job done quickly. There are other things to do in summer – other lawns to mow, ponds to swim in, or hammocks to doze in. What can the gardener do to help the mower?
Keep mulch from touching the tree. This ring will keep mowers and trimmers away from the trunk.
First, create a nice mulch ring around trees and shrubs. This will accomplish a couple of things: it will protect the bark of a tree from damage by a string trimmer. And it will hold in moisture and keep down weeds, benefiting the tree. For the mower, it will speed up the process of mowing round the tree and may even obviate the need to use the string trimmer. But never let the mulch touch the tree – it can cause it to rot, eventually killing it.
What else can the gardener do to help the mower? Remove low hanging branches. Apple trees, among others, often have low branches that reach out way beyond the circumference of the mulch ring. And yes, it is nice to be able to pick apples of those low branches, but do you really need them at the three or five-foot level?
Quite frankly, I think trees look better if the lower branches are removed and the bark of the trunk is on display. Many trees have nice looking trunks with interesting bark. I like to see the “legs” of a shrub or tree.
And what can the mower do to help the gardener? Blow the grass away from the flower or vegetable beds. There are few things more annoying than weeding and mulching a flower bed, only to have a person with a mower blow grass and perhaps dandelion seeds into the bed. And yes, I have seen professionals then blow the grass off the bed, but it is so much easier (and quieter) to just point the mower so that it blows the grass away from the beds.
Keep hoses off the lawn where you can
Then there is the issue of hoses. Mowers generally do not want to be bothered disconnecting hoses that cross the lawn. They say that a mower with blades set at three inches should clear the hose, running right over it safely. But sometimes the front wheels of the mower will somehow push the hose up. And then the hose can be damaged.
So what can you do? If you are depending on a hose for regular watering of new trees or perennials, you probably need the hose to cross the lawn so it can be used every day or two. Think about burying the hose. If you are crossing a section of lawn that is heavily traveled, you may wish to dig a six-inch deep trench and slide the hose inside a section of plastic pipe.
To avoid having to re-seed the trench, use an edging tool to slice through the grass and lift strips if sod out carefully and set them aside. Dig a shallow trench and after pushing the hose through the pipe and placing it in the ground, cover the pipe with some good top soil. Then take the sod and fit it back where it was before.
The advantage of the pipe system is that you can pull the hose out of the pipe if it develops a leak, or if you want to put it in the barn for the winter. Quite frankly, I don’t think you need to bother with a pipe – or even burying it completely. Just take your edging tool or a straight-bladed shovel and slice into the lawn. Pull the handle back and forth, creating a “V” in the grass. Push the hose into the “V” and step on it. Push hard enough so that the top of the hose is not sticking up into the grass, but is right on the soil line. As the grass grows, you will not see the hose. I have done this, and left hoses in the ground for years with no ill effects.
People who mow, generally, also like to string trim the edges of beds and around trees. A common mistake is to trim the edges too close to the ground, “scalping” the grass near the flower beds. I have no suggestions on how to avoid this, except to politely ask the mower NOT to trim so darn close. Maybe growl a little.
Clover in the lawn is good for bees and pollinators
Then there is the question of how often to mow. People who mow commercially like to have a regular schedule, and as often as possible. But if your spouse or child is the mower, point out to them that you want to let the grass get a little taller before mowing. Explain that the Dutch white clover that only blooms when the lawn is a little long is much loved the bees and pollinators. Get them to think of the lawn as the lunch buffet for bees.
If you set the mower at three or four inches, your lawn will thank you. Yes, I know that the infield of Fenway Park is cut at less than an inch, but your half acre of lawn need not be. Grass plants need to feed their roots so they can grow deep into the soil – where the moisture is in dry times. The longer each blade of grass, the more food it can make by the miracle of photosynthesis.
If you keep your lawn longer, it will compete better with crabgrass and weeds. And you will get used to seeing it longer, and like it – or at least I do. You should not think it is a sign of indolence to have a lawn that doesn’t look like a green buzz cut.
There Is a Free Lunch!
Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 · Leave a Comment
My father, may he rest in peace, always told me that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Wrong, Dad. I grow at least three tasty vegetables that require no work to speak of: I just plant, mulch and harvest. If you are a lackadaisical gardener and like garlic, rhubarb and horseradish, you are in luck.
Horseradish is big plant. The roots can be used to make a spicy condiment for sandwiches.
Let’s start with horseradish: It’s in the broccoli family, and once planted, it will never ask anything of you. Yes, it does slowly expand the patch of ground it claims as its own, so you may want to dig some up each year and make horseradish sauce. But if you plant it bordering a lawn on one side and a barn, house or path on the other, it won’t travel far.
The roots of a mature horseradish plant will grow deep, probably all the way to China. So when you dig it, some will always be left in the ground to come back. I have extracted roots longer than 18 inches. The plant is tall, easily three or four feet, and the leaves are wide and a bit coarse looking. Not a particularly pretty plant. And although it produces little white flowers, it doesn’t produce viable seed. You can start it from a scrap of root you get from a friend at harvest time.
The sauce can be very powerful or more mild – depending on how you make it. Wash the roots with a scrub brush, then peel with a potato peeler. Chop into chunks under an inch in size, and put in a food processor or blender. A cup of chunks will make all I need for a year. I blend the chunks with half a cup of water or so. It takes a few minutes of blending to get it to the right consistency as this stuff is fibrous and tough to break down. Don’t overheat your blender, so stop and start.
If you want mild horseradish add a third of a cup of vinegar pretty much right away. If you want it hot (which I do), wait a few minutes after blending, then add it. The mix should be spreadable with butter knife and juicy. Store it in a glass jar, preferably with a plastic lid. Metal lids rust and dissolve from the fumes in less than a year.
The fumes when blending are powerful, so don’t get your eyes and nose by looking into the blender. You may even want to do the job outside on the deck.
Rhubarb does best in rich, moist soil but will grow most anywhere
Rhubarb is a wonderful vegetable, even if old-fashioned. Like horseradish, it is a forever plant that once planted should provide you with treats for the rest of your life. You can buy a plant or get a friend to divide and share some roots. Some rhubarb has red stems, others green stems. They taste the same, but I like the red color. The leaves contain oxalic acid and are not edible.
Since rhubarb is going to live forever, I recommend adding lots of compost and some slow-release organic fertilizer at planting time. If dividing rhubarb, early spring is the best time to do it, but anytime it all right. It grows best in full sun, but as a leafy green it will thrive in part sun, too.
I like making rhubarb punch as an early-summer refreshing drink. Pick a few stems, and cut into one-inch chunks. Add an equal amount of water, and boil until the rhubarb is falling apart. Sieve through a colander or sieve. The add water – a cup of fruit will easily make a quart of punch, or even two, depending how you like it. Add sugar to taste and serve cold.
Garlic should be planted in October, and it is ready to harvest in July. This year mine started to blossom in late June, sending up curly stalks called scapes that are edible and decorative. I will resist picking any bulbs of garlic until mid-July or later so it can reach maximum size. But don’t wait too long: if you do, the outer layers of leafy material that cover each bulb will start to break down, and it will not store as well.
Garlic that is near ready to pull.
Okay, I looked at mine today and did see a few weeds I should pull. But it really is essentially a work-free crop. I plant cloves three inches apart and three inches deep in rich, compost-containing soil. Full sun is best. Once planted, I mulch it heavily – up to a foot of fluffy mulch hay or straw. Over the winter it will pack down to just three or four inches. In the spring the leaves will grow right through the straw, but weeds do not.
Garlic stores well in a cool, dry place. By now, some of last year’s garlic is starting to sprout in the kitchen. I have made garlic powder by drying it in a food dehydrator, then grinding in a coffee or spice grinder, but normally I just store it. I have read that one can freeze it, too, but haven’t done so yet. Don’t store it at room temperature in oil – as a root crop there is always the possibility of getting botulism.
Whatever you plant in the garden will reward you well beyond the work it involves to grow. To get good results do these things: prepare the soil well, and add compost. Provide plenty of sunshine – even if it means planting in the front lawn. Water regularly in hot times, especially early in the season. Pick you veggies when they are small and tender, that’s when they will taste best. And lastly, don’t let the weeds get ahead of you. Never let weeds blossom and distribute their seeds. Mulch is an easy way to keep weeds at bay, particularly if you put down a few sheets of newspaper under the straw or hay.
Henry is a lifetime organic gardener who stores and eats something from his garden every day of the year. He lives in Cornish Flat, NH and is the author of four gardening books.
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