This episode, we chat with Heather Zindash about IPM and best practices for diagnosing and treating issues in your garden. I share why gardening is not canceled and the plant profile is on kale.
BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month!See how at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/support.
This week I harvested three handfuls of the Radishes - both 'White Icicle' and 'Early Scarlet Globe'. They were mild and not sharp at all, which I attribute to our cool, wet spring weather. If you didn't see our video that we posted a few days ago on how to easy it is to grow radishes, check it out here. We had another freeze scare. I hope that is the last of the season! Everything seems to have pulled through fine. I did a bit of weeding and pinned down a sheet of weed cloth over the unplanted areas of my plot. It is just so frustrating right now to have two plot neighbors who have not shown up to do anything yet this season, meaning I am basically sitting next to two weed seed bombs. I hope they come out to tame them soon!
Strawberry 'Chandler'
I also harvested some Asparagus, Kale, and Spinach. The newly seeded green are growing fast and I should be up to my neck in salad greens in a few weeks. The 'Purple Moon' Kale from Renee's Garden are a few inches tall now and I am really liking their pretty color. There were signs of slugs chewing on the radishes and baby beets, so I liberally sprinkled Sluggo (iron phosphate) around them as well as in the Strawberry patch. The slug that dares to chew on one of my berries this season is going to sign his death warrant!
What are you planting this month in your edible garden?
About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.
For our April 2020 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is giving away a “Keep Calm and Garden On” T-shirt (prize value: $25). Washington Gardener has an online store of print-on-demand “Keep Calm and Garden On” merchandise. In these times, it seems the message is more relevant than ever! We have added some new item choices to it, such as phone cases, buttons, and magnets. See https://www.cafepress.com/washgardener.
To enter to win a “Keep Calm and Garden On” T-shirt, send an email to
WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com by 5:00pm on Thursday, April 30, with “Keep Calm and Garden On” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in April 2020 issue and why. Include your full name and address. Winners will be announced on May 1.
UPDATE:The winner of our Reader Contest chosen
by random drawing was Stephen Voss of Washington, DC.
If you
want to purchase the“KeepCalm and Garden On” merchandise, our Washington
Gardener online store of print-on-demand items is at: https://www.cafepress.com/washgardener.
Radishes are the easiest vegetables to grow! This is the
edible I recommend to anyone starting off a school garden or introducing their
children to gardening. Not only is it super-easy, but it is very quick to
germinate and can be harvested in a month or so (depending on the variety).
To grow radishes, you start from seeds. Pick a sunny spot in the early spring
or early fall. (You can also grow them in containers.) Take a stick and draw a
1/4" deep line in the soil, then gently drop your seeds in. Try to space
them out as best you can. Seed tape can help with this, but don't get too
obsessive about it. If the seedlings come up too crowded together, then you
thin* them to make space for the strongest ones to continue on and grow to full
size. Keep the radishes watered, but not overly saturated, if it does not rain
regularly.
You'll know when to harvest them when their shoulders start to show above the
soil surface, but you can harvest them early and eat them if you like or leave
them in the soil for an extra week or so. Just don't wait too long as they
start to get tough and woody when left in the ground past peak. It is best to
harvest them and store them in your refrigerator where they can last several
more weeks for you.
I like my radishes straight from the garden -- freshly
washed and with a dash of salt. Some people like to slather on butter and layer
them on a good bread for a radish sandwich. You can also slice them into salads
and any stir-fry dish.
There are milder forms of radishes, if the classic 'Cherry Belle' and 'French
Breakfast' are too "hot" for you. Try some of the white 'Icicle'
radish or a 'Watermelon' radish. Some people say the more consistently you
water and the faster the radishes grow--the milder their taste will be. Your
mileage may vary...
If your radishes are bring chewed on-suspect slugs. Sprinkle
some diatomaceous earth or Sluggo (iron phosphate) around them.
By the way, did you know that you can eat the radishes you thin out. The tiny
radish thinnings can be added to a salad raw.
The seeds are edible too! So if the radishes "bolt" (go to flower and
then to seed), let them. Then collect the seeds to use the seed pods raw or in
stir-fry. You can also collect the seeds to use for the next growing season. Be
sure to label your seeds and keep them in a dry spot, like a baby food jar.
Radishes: You Can Grow That!
The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine and edited by
intern Emily Coakley.
This episode, we chat with returning guest Marianne Willburn about chickens in the garden, her fuzzy ducklings, and new hugelkultur installation. The plant profile is on lilacs and I vent about leaf blowers.
BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month!See how at: https://anchor.fm/kathy-jentz/support.
This past week has been really chilly. We had freeze warnings on two nights and I was worried about my Strawberries, which are already setting fruit, but they seem fine.
I harvested a handful of Asparagus, two bags of Kale, and several radishes.
Everything else is growing nicely. The edible Peas and Sweet Peas are taking off, so are the Beets, Carrots, Spinach, Lettuce, and 'Purple Moon' Kale seedlings.
It is interested to look at the small Beet seedlings and see the red and yellow (gold) veining developing.
The Garlic is getting crazy big. I am wondering if I should harvest them in May this year!
beet seedling - yellow
In the rest of the plot, I am slowly beating back the weeds and have started Nicotiana seedlings indoors that I hope to transplant out in a few weeks along with direct-sowing a bunch of other cutting-garden flowers like Zinnia, Cosmos, and Gomphrena.
What are you planting this month in your edible garden?
About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.
It is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day again! On the 15th of each month, we gardeners with blogs share a few bloom photos from our gardens. Here in the Mid-Atlantic USA (USDA zone 7) on the DC-MD border, we had a few bad wind/thunderstorms this past week, but today it is sunny and calm, though very chilly. North of the DC metro area, they even had snow overnight!
In my garden, I have a multitude of blooms. Here is my list of what is in flower today: - Carolina Jasmine - Redbud Tree - Lilacs - Primroses - Violas/Pansies - Lily of the Valley - Wild Violets
- Snapdragons - Azaleas
- Solomon's Seal
- Wild Ginger
- Rhododendrons - Forsythia (ending) - Weeping Cherry Tree (ending) - Alyssum - Epimedium 'Pink Champagne' and 'Sulfur' - Leucojum - Hellebores - various - Daffodils - various - Tulips - various
Spring has sprung, so I thought I'd share again the garden products I use almost every day. I added a few more on this year that I have personally trialed. These are the tried-and-true work tools that make my garden grow, save my back from breaking, and generally make life a little easier. Treat yourself!
BTW, the gift ideas are linked to Amazon, so if you click on them and order any, Washington Gardener Magazine gets a few pennies added to the account for the referral. Our full Amazon storefront is at:
Need even more ideas?My friend Keri at Miss Smarty Plants blog has put together her list of great garden gift suggestions here.
Disclosure: Clicking on these links and then ordering anything from Amazon may put a few pennies in the Washington Gardener Magazine bank account. Thank you for anything you can direct our way. We are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
