What are your garden plans for 2021?

[whole milk]

Thanks Dave, that was really informative.

I'm going to bring my plants in this afternoon and see if I can revive them with a root trim and repotting (worth a try).

Yeah, I think my mistake was forgetting them outside one spring evening when got cold. Either way, I've placed an order with the local nursery for two more - one way or another I'm getting my curry leaves.

 

[pepperhead212]

Again, good luck with the curry trees, whole milk!

Two more tomatoes planted today - the Wee Tang Shebang gold cherries. In 6 days the stalks got much thicker, and ready to plant. Still 5 left, though I might not plant all of them - some just are not growing fast, so I may replace those with some of the stronger varieties, that I have extras of.

Still too cool for peppers and eggplants, though the covered peppers are staying safe, and actually growing! The rest have to wait a while longer.

 

[larry_stewart]

Ill probably get my tomatoes in within the next week. As always, I got more than II have room for. Dropped a few varieties from last year that underperformed ( or just weren't as good, and picked up a few new ones . Did start a few varieties from seed and have an over abundance of them, so will also be electing the cream of the crop to go in he garden. Anything left over will ( and that I cant get rid of) will wind up in pots.

Eggplants and peppers in the garage ( which stays a good 10 - 20 degrees warmer than outside). Expose to sun on warm sunny days. All looking good.


Making lemonade out of lemons with the peppers. Since I wasn't able to get the varieties I usually plant ( due to an error by he supplier), I selected a few new ( similar ) varieties . Hopefully they work ou, and who knows, maybe will be my new ' go to' peppers.

Arugula ,leaf lettuce , spinach, kale and radishes are all harvestable, which means a lot of salads or greens based dinners for the next few weeks. Also have some chard from last year that overwintered. Still taste fine, but got to pick to make room for some of the warmer weather stuff. I may blanch and blend up the old chard along with some of the other greens to make saag for future Indian dishes. Did that last year and worked out well.

Got my first batch of leaf cutter bees and released them. A little cool for them but I did see a bunch whipping around the yard on the fruit trees ( primarily apples at this point)

My chives are huge this year. Smaller than scallions but significantly larger than the typical chives Ive had from the same plant in the past. Also flowering earlier than past years. Usually they flower in June.

Stringbeans were the only failure I've had this year as far as starting everything inside. Maybe 33% germination, most seeds rotted. Did everything I normally do. Only change was a I used a self watering seed tray which Im guessing just made it too moist. Good thing is beans grow so quickly, I just replanted more in a different tray.

Cukes, Okra, Basil, squash all in the cells under the lights waiting for it to get warmer before going to the next stage in the garage to harden.

Waiting for sweet potatoes to become available , but thats usually the end of may/ early June . Just keeping my eyes open for them. They will replace the lettuce .

Garlic looking very healthy. Making an effort not to over water this year ( as I did last year, winding up with 25% loss, and another 25% sub-par to what Im used to. Luckily 50% turned out fine.

Already making mental notes of what will replace the onions, garlic and leeks in July.

Oh yeah, peanuts hardening in the garage too.

 

[pepperhead212]

I have a tomato flowering already! All cherries/grapes, of course, but the only open one is not the 42 day, but the Kustengold, which is also the fastest growing, even with these cool nights. It had no blossoms started in the pots - only two of the 42 days had some of those, which I pulled from one, to see if it would make a difference. Now, both look about the same size, and about the same number of buds on the one I cleaned them from. The Kustengold started budding about 3 days ago, and one is open now! After seeing how fast it grew, I planted the other "extra" I had, instead of one of those slowpokes I have. Another that is growing well - very dark green, and a few flower buds, as well - is the Cherry Brownie I planted. I think I have 2 extras of those. Nothing visible on the Sunsugars (my usual first ripe ones), and they aren't growing as fast as those others. The tomatillos started out really fast, but these others have taken off!
Kustengold Grape tomato, one of the largest in a week of cool weather, 5-7. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kustengold - first open blossom, 5-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

42 day tomatoes, 5-8, both of which have a number blossoms formed. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I stuck a thermometer in one of those covered pepper SIPs, just to see how cold it's getting at nights, and during the day, as well. The low last night was 49º outside here, but the low on that thermometer was only 57º, so that was good! And right now it is 81º inside there, and only 66º outside. I see a lot of new growth on them, so they must be doing ok.

 

[pepperhead212]

I planted 2 more tomatoes today - a Boxcar Willie (planted this years ago, and got it as a freebie this year), that has a very thick stalk, and dark leaves, and another Cherry Brownie, that I put in the spot next to the first one, that I originally had for a second Wow! Sungold, but that one just isn't growing nearly as well, either the one outside (the better of the two), or the second one, in the seed room. Plus, I have only one more chocolate variety, while I have 5 gold varieties of cherry/grape (and two of the rest planted), so I planted another cherry brownie, since it's one of the strongest looking varieties, inside and out.

Only down in the 50s tonight, then the mid 40s two more nights, then it will start going up. Maybe next weekend for the eggplants and peppers.

 

[taxlady]

... Also have some chard from last year that overwintered. Still taste fine, but got to pick to make room for some of the warmer weather stuff. I may blanch and blend up the old chard along with some of the other greens to make saag for future Indian dishes. Did that last year and worked out well.
...

Do you mind explaining what you do; how you store it; and how you use it later?

 

[blissful]

Do you mind explaining what you do; how you store it; and how you use it later?

Taxlady, thanks for asking that. I also thought, what a great idea for when I have a surplus of greens.



I made some saag, and I'm sorry to say, I don't know what I'm doing. It wasn't a hit with me or the mister......but I did try. I'd still like to know what his recipe is for saag. Thanks Larry!

 

[pepperhead212]

Saag can be seasoned in many ways, and used in many types of dishes. So what I do, to freeze the greens, is chop them coarsely - in varying proportions, depending on what I'm harvesting, and it rarely has spinach, which traditionally saag often has exclusively - wash them well, shaking some of the water off, but leaving some for steaming, them toss it around in a wok, over fairly high heat, until it begins to wilt, then put the cover on for a minute or so. Then, I let them cool, then blend it in the food processor to a coarse purée, and freeze, for later use. For a one dish saag, seasoned as the current recipe calls for, I chop them up fairly fine, and it needs no processing.

I got my last 3 tomatoes in today - ended up with 36, the most I've planted in a long time! I got in my only Chocolate Cherry, Pinky Blast, and Annie's Singapore cherry, and another Wow! Sungold. I have 15 extra plants, for some friends - fortunately, none of the plants I put in snapped off, or had any problems, and most are growing well (though, of course, I don't know about the last several). The 42 day has some flowers open now, though the kustengold, with the first open blossom, is still the fastest growing of any plant out there.

The weather is great today - almost up to average finally, and getting warmer in the forecast. Tomorrow, the eggplants might go in; if not, then Saturday. Peppers go out for starting hardening off tomorrow (my friend's larger peppers are already hardened off, so he'll get those tomorrow, with some tomatoes). I've been hardening off the okras, squash, and gourds long enough - they go in Saturday. Soon, I can turn my lights off upstairs!

I have a few extra bottle gourds and an extra bitter melon, if my Indian friends want to plant some...I keep forgetting to ask her!

I really do wish it would rain some here. This shortage usually doesn't happen here, at this time.

 

[blissful]

Thanks Pepper!

 

[taxlady]

Thanks for the info, Dave. Do you have any good recipes for saag? Or can you point me to some sites on the intertubes that have decent recipes?

 

[pepperhead212]

taxlady, Here are a couple of good blogs for Indian foods, with some authentic recipes for saag, one I think with 5 different greens! Of course, this isn't necessary, but shows how much goes into the real thing! There are many other recipes I remember on them, with puréed greens, but not named saag - the types of things I add the purées to.
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/sarson-ka-saag/

https://hebbarskitchen.com/sarson-ka-saag-recipe-sarson-da-saag/

 

[taxlady]

taxlady, Here are a couple of good blogs for Indian foods, with some authentic recipes for saag, one I think with 5 different greens! Of course, this isn't necessary, but shows how much goes into the real thing! There are many other recipes I remember on them, with puréed greens, but not named saag - the types of things I add the purées to.
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/sarson-ka-saag/

https://hebbarskitchen.com/sarson-ka-saag-recipe-sarson-da-saag/

Thank you, Dave. I'll have a look at those.

 

[pepperhead212]

It is very sunny, and already 66°, getting to 75° later, and hopefully no more nights in the 40s. So all of the plants are out, hardening off, the newest ones where it will get shady soon. Many things will go in today, but most peppers will be last, as usual, and will go on the porch tonight. No rain, to speak of, in the forecast, and we really need some. I almost never have to water at this time, except newly planted things. But fortunately, all of my irrigation system is set up. I flushed the last few lines yesterday, and fixed a couple problems I remembered from last season, and it's all set.

 

[larry_stewart]

Do you mind explaining what you do; how you store it; and how you use it later?

A lot of it is based on which greens I have available.
Ive been to Indian restaurants and had saag Paneer and Palak Paneer. never had them side by side and didnt go to Indian restaurants often enough that I never really thought much about it until I became more observant. Saag is basically leafy greens, where as Palak is specifically spinach ( I always mix them up, so I may have it backwards). The leafy greens Ive seen in recipes usually include spinach, mustard greens, kale ...).

I used to use chopped spinach from the grocery store as the green, but with abundance of leafy greens ( especially this time of year ) in the garden, and the last recipe I made was about 50/50 spinach and mustard greens, so I decided why not just make my own.

I usually blanche the leafy greens, blend them up ( not to a puree but More of a finely chopped. Ive had and seen the dish both ways , either pureed or finely chopped. I like them both ways. Anyway, after blanching and cooling, I blend up, strain to get most of the water out, then freeze it in proportional sizes ( about 2 cups). This way, when I make it, Im ready to go.

Im at work now, so I dont have the specific recipes available, but in general, heat up some spices ( cumin, coriander, hing...). Blend up some fresh tomatoes, ginger and garlic and hot pepper depending on the heat you like), toss them in the pan with the spices until the tomatoes break down. Dump in the chopped / pureed greens, salt to taste, towards the end stir in some dried methi leaves.And either heavy cream, or the vegan alternative is either coconut milk ( which I dont use cause it adds that coconutty flavor I dont want in the dish). or blend up soaked cashew with a non dairy milk until smooth, then add that.

I ve tried recipes that you thicken with basically a roux made with chickpea flour ( very light roux, not a deep brown),

One recipe has you cook the greens with onion, ginger and chili pepper, then blend it up that way..

Above is just general explanation. dont have the exact recipes on hand ( at work now ).

We eat it often enough that the frozen greens aren't in the freezer for much longer than 6 months, so ive never had any freezer burn issues.

2 days ago picked 2 packed gallons of kale and 1 packed gallon of spinach. Still have a bunch of chard out there that need a few more weeks before they wind up on the chopping block.

 

[taxlady]

Thank you very much Larry. I don't have gallons of greens, but sometimes I do end up with more than we can eat before they go off. This sounds very useful. Being able to do the prep in stages makes it much easier for me to get stuff done.

Have you tried young chard in salad? We really like it mixed in with lettuce and maybe some other greens. I chop the stems and throw them in too. Nice crunch, sort of like celery.

 

[pepperhead212]

I got a lot done today! I took all those extra tomatoes over to a friend's house, along with those peppers for their son. We planted 5 of the tomatoes on the side, and 8 in the front, and I set up a drip system for those on the side.

Later, I came home and planted a lot here, since the lows are only supposed to be down to 54°, from now on. So I planted 7 eggplants, 3 bottle gourds, 2 tetsukabuto squash, 3 polaris butternuts, and 3 butterbush butternuts. On the other side I put in 2 bitter melons, and 3 cucumbers - one county fair and two Wisconsin 58s. Then I planted my okra - 12 Little Lucy, and 6 Emerald green. The only pepper I planted today was one of the large ones - a Paper Lantern habanero, which was strange, as it was the slowest of the chinense varieties, to germinate, and to grow, but eventually it took off, and now it has two pepper buds started on it.
Paper lantern habanero, on 5-14, started on 3-7, showing a pepper started already. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here are most of the rest of the peppers, going in the next couple of days, with a few extras for some friends.
Most of the smaller pepper plants hardening off, 5-14, started on 4-1. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[pepperhead212]

I got my first flowers in today - something that I don't usually do! I put 4 yellow canary zinnias in (because they were free samples, twice, from Baker Creek), plus 6 Mexican marigolds, in between peppers in the front row - 2 each of Superchili, Meteor, and Thunder Mountain. I still have at least 18 more peppers I will planted tomorrow.

Everything I planted has already shown signs of growth, even yesterday's plantings. They love that intense sun!

 

[larry_stewart]

Thank you very much Larry. I don't have gallons of greens, but sometimes I do end up with more than we can eat before they go off. This sounds very useful. Being able to do the prep in stages makes it much easier for me to get stuff done.

Have you tried young chard in salad? We really like it mixed in with lettuce and maybe some other greens. I chop the stems and throw them in too. Nice crunch, sort of like celery.

Love chard. I prefer it over spinach, mostly because it grows higher off the ground compared to spinach, therefore less dirt and clean up. I try to grow more flatter leaf varieties and the y curly or textured leaves to reduce hiding places for insects ( I do the same with parsley. I like the curly leaf cause its fluffs up the tabouli, but I have less insect issues with the flat leaf).

 

[larry_stewart]

I also got most of my flowers in today. Still a few bare spots which Ill go back to the nursery sometime this week to fill in.

Got the peppers and eggplants in today.

tomatoes go in tomorrow, as they take a little more thinking on my part for placement of which varieties ..where. More of a thought process.

Im on my third string bean planting, Having only about 1/3 success due to the seeds rotting before germinating. I direct sowed which seem to be popping up, and also tried aa new potting soil in some cells which I hope will make a difference, Still early enough that if it doesn't work, ill just pick up a few flats from the garden store.

My kirbies germinated but trying a new variety which is theoretically bacteria wilt resistant. although germinated, dont look terribly healthy so I may pick up a flat of kirbies too.

peanuts and okra still in the hardening phases.

Only thing left I have to purchase is sweet potatoes , which wont be available for another week to two. then I take a little break, using the time to plan out my second and third plantings ( of cukes, beans and zucchinis)

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry, What's that kirby variety that is supposed to be bacterial wilt resistant? Only two varieties I have heard to be resistant - County Fair (my usual variety to grow), and Little Leaf, which did not produce well for me. The one I grew for the first time last season, that did not get wilt, and produced great, was Wisconsin 58. Most varieties I have tried through the years have died, often before I got a single cuke from them.