July 29 :: Amazing Squash

Welcome back!

I planted squash seeds near the beginning of June and waited for the raised beds to be built before transplanting them. Here is a photographic timeline of their progress.



June 22 - Dwarf bush type acorn squash seedlings planted in raised beds behind a row of very successful nasturtiums. The squash is on the right side of the raised bed in the above photo.



July 1 - Still pretty wet and not enough sun for much development to take place. The tomatoes in the foreground nearly died, but now they are looking much better than they look in this photo.



July 8 - Still wet and sunless but the seedlings are starting to get better established and the stems are growing stronger.



July 15 - Starting to bud, fruit, and flower. Woohoo!



July 22 - Consistent sun and dryer conditions have lead to a squash plant EXPLOSION! Huge leaves, thick stems and tons of blooms mean a large, healthy crops at the end of the summer. Soon we'll be adding a trellis for the plants to use as support to keep the squash off of the ground as they develop.


Getting excited about the seasonal harvest? Me too! Check out growers in your neighborhood by visiting your local farmer's market. There are many treasures to be found. Don't know where to go in your area? Check this out: http://www.localharvest.org/. This site lists farmer's markets, local farms and apiaries (bee keepers), in addition to other local food organizations.

Cheers to fresh, nutritious food!
your Vegetable Veteran

July 22 :: More Herbs, Hooray!

Hello again!

It's getting hot in the greenhouse (or it was before the last few days of rain) so we went ahead and rolled up the sides to let the fresh air circulate. With the nights staying around 60 degrees, the tender plants are plenty warm enough. The thermostat starts the fans when it gets too hot and the grow lights are set to come on for just a few hours in the early evening to keep everything happy on sunless days.

What is ready to be picked?


Basil leaves can be picked off adult basil plants whenever the need arises. Our basil is tall and healthy and up to half of each plant's leaves can be picked off at a time. The plant will regroup and put out more leaves from the base. In a week or two all of those new leaves will be ready to be harvested.

If basil doesn't get picked it will flower. The flower of a basil plant looks like a tight cluster of healthy green leaves and it shoots right off the top of the plant (see photo above). Eventually the plant will create small round blooms. If you pick off the flowers when they are just forming,the plant will continue to produce more leaves. If you let the flower bloom and go to seed, the flavor of the basil plant changes and the plant will gradually die back. A plant's main purpose in life is to ensure the creation of future generations so once it goes to seed its goal is accomplished and it can die if it is an annual, or become dormant if it is a perennial.



Mint is a stellar grower and spreader. We kept our two mint varieties in pots both so we can remove them to the greenhouse when it gets colder, but also to curb their prolific root growth. Yesterday i pulled out handfuls of feeler roots that grow from the base of the plant and head out to find greener pastures. We have both peppermint (top left in above photo) and orange mint (top right in above photo) which is also known as bergamot - think earl grey tea - and they are ready to be used!

I harvested lots of stems of both varieties yesterday and hung them up in the greenhouse to dry. Traditionally herbs hung upside down will dry effectively for later use, but they really need less humid conditions to do so. With our wet, grey days this week i may have just created a moldy ceiling decoration, but we'll see in a week or two.


Parsley is an annual herb that continues to produce as long as it keeps being picked. I have more parsley seedlings ready to be transplanted but the adult curly parsley plants (shown at the far right side of the bed in above photo) still have a couple weeks of productivity in them. To harvest parsley, just snip or pick off the leafy bunches and chop them up in the kitchen.

Chives are a perennial that can be cut throughout the year (located to the left of the parsley in the above photo). Chive 'leaves' can be cut off right down near the root of the plant then diced in the kitchen. Up to half of the plant's leaves can be cut at a time and the plant will regrow leaves to be cut in a few weeks. The younger chives that i started from seed in the greenhouse this spring have leaves ready to be used. Our larger, older chive plant out in the raised bed just finished blossoming which they do in the mid to late summer. The blossoms are papery in texture and totally edible and, as they should, they taste likes chives!


Enjoy the weather, wear your sunscreen, and visit your local farmer's markets to see what's in season!

Grow on,
your Gardening Guru

July 15 :: Herb Harvest

Hello again!

Back in the greenhouse, the annual herbs growing inside are doing great! Two weeks ago we harvested all of the cilantro just before it went to seed.





The kitchen staff has been harvesting the basil as well. Last week I transplanted another larger batch of basil seedlings into another bed in the greenhouse to ensure we have a constant supply. I also started some new basil seeds which take between five and seven days to germinate. They are just starting to peek through the top layer of soil. After a few weeks, when the baby plants have grown a set of leaves or two they will be strong enough to be transplanted into a big bed.

Below, tall genovese basil seedlings in their new home.



Basil seeds need to be close to the lights for warmth to sprout. Once sprouted, they'll use the light for photosynthesis. I fashioned a temporary higher sprouting set-up, shown below, to make sure the new seedlings get a healthy start.


Until next time,

your Harvesting Hero

July 12 :: Raised Beds 2.0

Happy belated Independence Day! I managed to glimpse the sun a few times over the holiday weekend and over the last weekend as well. I hope the same was true for you!

Last week the last of the raised beds were completed, see photo below. Three smaller beds, 2' x 4' each, were given floors and casters so they can be rolled into the greenhouse as the temperatures drop this fall. We planted six heirloom tomato plants in these rolling beds and they are nearly drowning!. Tomatoes like to dry out between each watering and our newly transplanted seedlings could really use a dose of dry, sunny weather. Hopefully another warm bright day or two is in our near future.



The nasturtiums in the raised beds are loving the wet weather and have turned themselves into an (edible) leafy jungle. See them pictured below in the closest large raised bed, on the left.



The acorn squash plants behind the nasturtium jungle in the large raised beds are also doing well, although they would greatly benefit from some warm weather. Definitely a late summer crop, squash needs warm soil and light to trigger flower and fruit production.

Wish for more sun friends,

your Hopeful Harvester

July 1 :: Sage

Sage is one of the perennial herbs growing out in the raised beds on the Brooks Student Center patio. It is a popular culinary and medicinal herb, and ours is growing really well despite all the damp weather. We have it in a pot nestled into the raised bed so we can pull it out and keep it in the greenhouse over the winter.

Sage can be used dried or fresh (but why use dried when you could be using fresh??) and often accompanies pork, poultry, sausage, and vegetables. The part of the plant used is the leaves which can be picked or clipped off individually whenever you need them. In the raised beds we are growing Salvia officinalis; Purpurascens Group, or purple sage. It is an especially decorative sage variety with lovely, soft purple-gray leaves.



Medicinally sage has been used for centuries for a number of ailments. A hot tea made from steeped sage leaves is good for colds and sore throats. The phenolic acid in sage is antibacterial and so can be used as a mouthwash for any mouth irritations such as inflamed gums. Sage also stimulates digestion and the liver. What a wonderous plant!

Even though purple sage is the most efficive medicinal variety, we planted it because it also does well in containers and raised beds. It has a bushy shape and can grow up to 32 inches tall. The sage in our garden is so happy that we are ready to start using it to prepare food for the summer camps and special campus occasions.

Check back next week for more updates!

Grow on,
The Green Blogger

sources for this information:
"Sara's Superb Herbs" superbherbs.net
"The New Age Herbalist", 1988, Gaia Books Ltd., London.