Must-Have Plants I'm Growing

 

"We have plowed, we have sowed,

We have reaped, we have mowed,

We have brought home every load,

Hip, hip, hip, harvest home."

Traditional English Harvest Verse

For the last few months, I've spoken with some of the nation's most well-known garden writers, bloggers and personalities about their must-have plants. So, you might just be wondering which plants I can't live without myself. That's why this blog post is dedicated to my 2010 harvest ... and some of my favorite plants.

As you can see above and below, my garden is a rather unruly mix of wildflowers, roses and perennials. The Shirley and California poppies self-seeded themselves from last year, and seem determined to take over my late-spring/early-summer garden.

As garden writer and designer Rebecca Sweet would say, there are a lot of "showgirls" in my garden. These are the plants that bloom outrageously and then disappear in winter. So, I'm working on adding more four-season interest to my new garden, including some lovely little boxwood shrubs which you can't see here because of all the showgirls. But I'll be glad to have their evergreen shapes in the winter months. You can hear more about showgirl plants from my Nest in Style podcast interview with Rebecca Sweet.

I'm a big fan of succession planting. So although my raised beds started out with lettuces and radishes of all types in early spring, they were replaced with squash and corn when the weather heated up.

Last year, I grew a bean teepee in this raised bed. This year, I'm growing 'Blue Jade' corn that was supposed to grow about three feet. They must like my growing conditions, because they are easily five feet tall now. I'm just starting to pull the blue-colored corn now. Incidentally, it's always good to plant corn in blocks (rather than rows) so they can self-pollinate themselves well.

Eggplants are a great way to grow attractive, delicious plants in small spaces. 'Rosa Bianca' eggplant is an Italian heirloom that will shine in any ornamental garden bed. But I like to grow them in containers too. The flowers are as pretty as the delicious fruit.

'Calliope' eggplant is a hybrid with striped fruit that are adorable. Harvest these eggplants when they reach about 2 to 3 inches in size. Great for northern climates, this eggplant ripens in about 65 days.

My 'Little Fingers' eggplant grew huge in a container, and never stopped producing tiny, black eggplants the size of chubby fingers. This early variety ripens in under 70 days. Incidentally, these containers with eggplants were filled with salad greens of all types in the spring.  Learn more about lettuces.

Grow lots of vegetables, and you can make strange faces with your food too. Starting at the top are 'Calliope' eggplants, 'Patterson Golden Scallop' squash, 'Lebanese White Bush Marrow' squash, 'Little Fingers' eggplants and 'Fairy Tale' eggplants. Incidentally, 'Fairy Tale' eggplants are also excellent in containers, and ripen quickly for northern gardens.

It wouldn't be summer without tomatoes of all types. That's why I grew varieties that ripened at different times. Pictured above (starting top left) are cute 'Yellow Perfect Sugar' (grown by a friend); 'Black Krim;' 'Green Zebra' (grown by a friend); 'Black Sea Man'; 'Isis candy' cherries; 'Tomacchio' and 'Principe Borghese' varieties for drying; as well as 'Stupice' which ripened easily a month before the others. Plus, some 'Osmin' purple basil. Tomato growing tips. Six tomatoes for cooking and preserving.

Beans are another favorite vegetable for us. And we especially love the ones that aren't green. Above are beautiful spotted 'Dragon's Tongue;' pinkish 'Red Swan Bush;' and yellow 'Pencil Pod Wax Bean.' Alongside the beans are flowering oregano stems that make the bees in my garden very happy. More about beans.

The weather is gradually growing colder, and there are only a few more weeks to enjoy these summer vegetables. But I'm already planting carrots, radishes and salad greens for the fall. There is nothing better than delicious food out in the garden, even in the colder months.

Meanwhile, what are some of your favorite must-have plants in the garden? Do you agree with these folks?

Must Haves (Flowergardengirl, Andrew Keyes, Pamela Price, Tee Riddle)

Must Haves (Rebecca Sweet, Jenny Peterson)

Must Haves (Kylee Baumle, Fern Richardson, Susan Cohan)
Must Haves (Joe Lamp'l, Patti Moreno, Theresa Loe of Growing a Greener World TV)
Must Haves (JeanAnn Van Krevelen, Lisa Gustavson, Michael Lieberman)
Fav Winter Plants (Kerry Michaels, Maine)
Fav Winter Plants (Dan Eskelson, No. Idaho)
Fav Winter Plants (Doug Green, Canada)
Fav Winter Plants (Helen Yoest, North Carolina)
Fav Winter Plants (Christina Salwitz, Western Washington)

Must-Have Plants (Jean Ann Van Krevelen, Lisa Gustavson, Mike Lieberman)

Photo by Elaphurus on Flickr

It's harvest time! So, this segment of "must-have" plants spotlights delicious and delightful edibles of all types. These three clever gardeners, from across the nation, show you how beautiful fresh food can be ... and how you can grow vegetables, herbs and fruit in even the smallest urban spaces.

Jean Ann Van Krevelen is a big fan of fresh foods from her Portland, Oregon (Zone 8) garden. She was the main author of Grocery Gardening: Planting, Preparing and Preserving Fresh Foods, which I also co-authored. She also co-hosts the funny and popular Good Enough Gardening podcast with Amanda Thomsen on iTunes. Somehow she finds time to be social media director at Cool Springs Press. Find Jean Ann on Twitter @JeanAnnVK. Or, at her blog Gardener to Farmer.

Jean Ann likes her edibles to not only taste good, but look lovely as well. Perfect example? The purple tomatillos at the top of this post.

"I just love purple tomatillos," says Jean Ann. "In addition to being absolutely gorgeous, they produce in cooler weather than tomatoes. Their crisp, clean, slightly sour taste is ideal for fresh dishes like salads and salsas. Cook them down into a sauce and use them in Mexican or Asian dishes."

Photo by beautifulcataya on Flickr

Another favorite is 'Peacock' broccoli. "It's twice the bang for the buck," explains Jean Ann. "You can eat the little broccoli florets and the leaves. This broccoli is tender and small, so it doesn't need much cooking. Try it in salads, stir fries and grilled dishes. The leaves can be used as kale and incorporated into almost any dish. They will be a bit more tough, so blanch the leaves or saute them."

For more than 16 years, Lisa Gustavson has enjoyed spending time in the garden. In Western New York State (Zone 5b), she grows lots of unusual vegetables and fruits, mixed with flowers, throughout her charming half-acre property. Lisa is known by gardeners nationwide for her popular blog Get In The Garden. Or on Twitter at @GetInTheGarden.

Photo by Lisa Gustavson

As a young girl, Liza never particularly cared much for pumpkin pie. But now she simply loves the pie made with winter squash like this gorgeous heirloom 'Galeux d' eysines' (shown above). The beauty of this healthy vegetable is a big plus.

"The squash's sweet flavor may have won me over," she recalls. "But it was the plant's long, rambling vines and huge orange blossoms that hooked me on growing them. The sight of such a large plant unfurling from one seed is just amazing to me."

Photo by Lisa Gustavson

Fresh beans have meant "summer" to Lisa since she was a little girl. "Back then, the beans were from a local farm market," she remembers. "Now as an adult I plant different heirloom beans to eat fresh and can. I also plant varieties for drying for winter soups and stews. They're easy to grow and the beans are just beautiful."

Shown above are her stylishly spotted 'Rattlesnake' beans, green 'Vermont Cranberry' beans and purple 'Trionfo Violetto' beans. These beautiful beans elevate a simple meal into a gourmet experience.

Who says you can't grow food in small places? Mike Lieberman has grown food on a tiny fire escape in New York City (Zone 6), and a small balcony in sunny Los Angeles (Zone 10). Regardless of the size of his garden, he always eats well. Known to thousands on Twitter as @CanarsieBK, this active blogger, social media consultant and writer "walks the talk" when it comes to green living. You can learn more at http://www.canarsiebk.com/.

Have a small garden yourself? Michael recommends vegetables, fruits and herbs with a high yield. Here are some of his must-have plants for urban living.

Photo by Mike Lieberman

"A container filled with lettuces will make it to your plate quickly," explains Mike. "Plus, this plant will provide for you for many months. Growing your own lettuces helps to cut your food bills, because you'll have plenty of fresh homegrown greens to enjoy." 

The above picture shows different leaf lettuces alongside a pot of thyme as well as 'Jimmy Nardello's Sweet Italian' and 'Chili Rellenos' pepper plants on a New York City fire escape. More on lettuces.

Photo by Mike Lieberman

Herbs are a terrific food value, according to Michael. "It doesn't matter what herb you grow as long as it is one you are going to use," he says. "When you go to the store, you have to buy a bunch for 2 to 3 dollars, even when you only need a sprig. The rest winds up going to waste. Grow your own herbs, and you can harvest them as you need them. They'll last much longer too."

Mike's apple mint (left) and greek oregano (right) are growing alongside tomatoes and rosemary in the above picture. It's a perfect example of how delicious seasonings will survive growing conditions in one of the world's most urban environments.

My favorites? Over the months, you've read plant choices from some of the nation's most well-known garden writers, designers and bloggers. You may even be wondering which plants I personally can't live without. Tune in next week to find out ... when I reveal some of my favorite plants of summer 2010, complete with lots of photos. Meanwhile, don't miss these other plant picks.

Must-Haves
Flowergardengirl, Andrew Keyes, Pamela Price, Tee Riddle

Rebecca Sweet, Jenny Peterson

Kylee Baumle, Fern Richardson, Susan Cohan

Joe Lamp'l, Patti Moreno, Theresa Loe of Growing a Greener World TV

Winter Favorites
Kerry Michaels, Maine
Dan Eskelson, Northern Idaho
Doug Green, Canada
Helen Yoest, North Carolina
Christina Salwitz, Western Washington

Seed Advice, Heirloom Seeds, Plant Lists

Purple carrots, blue corn, spotted lettuce and rose pink beans. These are just some of the unusual and delicious vegetables you can grow from seeds in your garden.

Nest in Style Podcast: Eager to learn more about seed starting? Have questions about heirlooms and hybrids? Or, just want more professional garden design tips? Don't miss this Nest in Style podcast episode and hear from three nationally-recognized gardening experts: Nan Sterman, Chris McLaughlin and Rebecca Sweet.

What I'm Growing: While you're listening to Nest in Style, why not look over some of the seeds that I'm growing in the garden this year? You'll see they aren't your average grocery store vegetables.

Beans - "I was determined to know beans," wrote Henry David Thoreau in the late-19th century. And I know just what he means. I love growing beans from seeds. Here are a few beans I've grown in my garden already or that I'm trying this year for the first time.

Bean, Purple Podded Pole - Shown in picture above; purple heirloom bean of northern European origin. Turns green when blanched.

Bean, Ideal Market Pole - Very productive, stringless green pole bean, shown in picture above from harvest 2009.

Bean, Red Swan Bush - Beautiful dusty, red-rose snap bean, which I'm eagerly trying for first time this year. Just think how lovely it will look with purple podded pole beans.

Bean, Pencil Pod Wax Bush - Stringless yellow wax bean that is great for freezing or canning. Trying this one for first time. As you can probably tell, I prefer my beans in unusual colors.

Bean, Painted Pony Bush - Dual purpose bean with long stringless green beans, which later grow to become attractive dry beans in brown and white. These dry beans are highly recommended for soups and stews. I'm trying this variety for the first time, because I'm eager to taste and compare both types of beans.

Bean, Dragon's Tongue Bush - Wax bean with cream-colored pods and thin purple stripes, which disappear when blanched. Below is a picture of some beans I grew in 2009.

I'm growing a lot more than beans, of course. Below are just a few vegetables I'll sow in my garden this year.

Carrot, Cosmic Purple: Bright purple carrots with shades of yellow and orange. Trying for first time.

Carrot, Jaune Obtuse Du Doubs: Lemon-yellow carrot with fine, sweet taste. Trying for first time.
 
Carrot, St. Valery: French variety dating back to at least 1885, handsome bright, red-orange carrots. Trying for first time.

Carrot, Tonda di Parigi: Round in shape, these orange, 19-century Parisian heirloom carrots are 1 to 2 inches long. Ideal for rocky soil. Trying for first time.

Radish Helios: Yellow, olive shaped radishes; Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company reports this heirloom came from Alzbeta Kovacova-Pecarova of Kosice, Slovakia (very near the village where my grandfather was born!) Trying for first time with great delight.

Radish, Purple Plum: Bright-purple skin with crisp white flesh. Trying for first time.

Radish, Long Scarlet: Long and slender, bright red radish that dates back to pre-1870s.  Radish that looks a bit like a carrot -- How cool is that! Trying for first time.

Plus, I can't wait to try ...

Corn, Blue Jade: Steel-blue cobs that become jade-blue when boiled. Dwarf plants that grow 2 to 3 feet bear 3 to 6 ears of corn. One of the few sweet corns that can be grown in containers. Trying for first time.

Squash, Lebanese White Bush Marrow: Rare variety of cream, oblong summer squash, which is delicious baked or fried. Trying for first time.

Speaking of squash, I loved this winter squash I grew last year:

Squash, Musquee de Provence: Averaging 20 pounds, this French variety of winter squash has orange, blue and green colors that ripen to a deep, rich brown. The deep orange flesh is great for baking.

Salads will be made with greens such as these:

Lettuce, Merveille Des Quatre Saisons (Marvel of Four Seasons): With a name like that, how could I not grow this French variety? This bibb letuce has ruby-red leaves with tightly folded green hearts. I've grown this tasty heirloom several years.

Lettuce, Forellenschluss: This old Austrian heirloom is a favorite of mine. The green romaine leaves are speckled with deep rose, and stand up well to salad dressings.This lettuce is as beautiful as it is delicious.

Arugula, Apollo: Productive variety of domesticated rocket; high in vitamin C; excellent in salad mixtures.

That's not all I'm growing this year either. They'll be more cool-season and warm-season plants, which I'll start inside from seeds, direct seed out in the garden, or buy as transplants from local nurseries or farmer's markets. We're lucky here, for instance, to have many unusual varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants available for purchase.

Whatever you decide to grow this year, just remember, it's important to rotate your vegetable crops each year. Want more information? Read the Seasonal Wisdom post on crop rotation.

Happy growing!

Harvest Time in the Garden

"In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year,

bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil."

Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden, 1905

It's harvest time, a time when many gardens are loaded with late-season vegetables and fruit ripening to perfection. So, it seemed the right time to give you a quick tour of our kitchen garden this year.

Vegetables and flowers are close neighbors in my suburban garden. Above, 'Rosa Bianca' eggplants grow next to sages and other flowers and herbs.

'Rosa Bianca' is an Italian heirloom variety, which is prized by chefs because it rarely becomes bitter. We've grilled the eggplant with olive oil and herbs, as well as featured it in casseroles with feta cheese and other vegetables. This variety can take 70-85 days from transplanting to ripening, so start seeds inside in the spring and plant seedlings after the first frost.

'Fairy Tale' eggplant is a lovely variety of eggplant that really produces well in containers. As the variety only takes about 50 days to ripen, this eggplant is ideally suited for shorter growing seasons. We've sauteed them with olive oil and other vegetables for delicious side dishes.

'Packman' broccoli just keeps on giving. It starts with a single stalk early in the season. Once you harvest that central stalk the plant produces side stalks throughout the summer.

We planted broccoli seedlings in late-April and are still eating from these plants in late-September. If you look closely, you can see all the many side stalks developing into tasty vegetables for us to eat.

With more than 10 varieties of hot and sweet peppers around here, we've been drying them, grilling them, stuffing them, you name it... Above are some paprika, cayenne, hot Thai and jalapeno peppers just waiting to be picked. (Be sure to wash your hands, however, when you do. Hot peppers can burn your eyes if you aren't careful.)

Lipstick' sweet pepper is one of several pepper varieties we're growing, including 'Sweet Banana' and 'Giant Marconi.' With all this abundance, we're freezing peppers now so there will be plenty around for colder months.

Speaking of colder weather, earlier in the season we planted cool-season vegetables such as peas, radishes and beets. In the foreground are 'Forellenschuss' lettuces, which have become a family favorite. The speckled leaves of this delicious romaine-type lettuce are not only lovely, they also maintain their shape well and don't become limp and boring with salad dressings.

Once those cool-season vegetables were pulled out in the summer, we planted a bean teepee in one bed and sweet peppers in the other. Above is a photo taken last week. As you can see, with the right growing conditions, you can have beans later in the season than you may think.

The bean teepee is planted with 'Ideal Market' and 'Purple Pod' pole beans, which are starting to ripen now. The goal is to keep picking these vegetables as they ripen, so the plant keeps producing as long as possible.

But even as these warm-season vegetables ripen, the growing season is by no means over. There are still those cool-season vegetables to grow in fall, such as Brussels sprouts, kales, 'Tom Thumb' peas and more.

In other words, we may not yet be eating from our garden all year long, but we're working on it. Yep, we are definitely working on it...