This week we finally had a decent rain and once again escaped the threat of frost/freeze. So I continued to pick Peppers, Tomatoes, Basil, Cowpeas, and Cilantro.
A gardener from one of my garden clubs came by to collect orange flowers from me for her Day of the Dead display tomorrow. We pulled a bunch of Marigolds (still in okay shape) out of the shared compost pile and I cut several orange Dahlias as well for her. I cannot wait to see pictures of how that turned out.
The Radishes, Lettuce mix, Cauliflower, and Cover Crops are all under cover cloths now and are growing well. Can you believe I have more Blackberries developing also? We'll see if any of those ripens before the frost.
What are you growing in your edible garden this week?
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 14th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).
Pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo)
are a summer squash that is used for a fall decoration and baking pies.
They are native to North and Central America. They are hardy
to USDA zones 3 to 9.
Pumpkins are easy to grow from seed. Wait until the soil has
warmed to 65 degrees in the spring and then form a mound of soil and plant 3
seeds in the top of it.
If all three seeds emerge, you can thin them to the
strongest one or two seedlings. I place a small wire cage on top of the
seedlings until they are several inches high to protect them from birds
plucking them out.
Pumpkin vines need lots of space to sprawl and should be
planted in full sun. Spread straw or other mulch around the mound as the vines
expand to suppress weeds and retain soil moisture.
They need consistent watering of 1-2 inches per week.
Fertilize them weekly.
Avoid overhead watering which will wet leaves as humidity
breeds mildew.
Another tip is to make sure your vine grows away from your
pumpkin, so your pumpkin will not grow over the vine and snap off the stem.
When you see a pumpkin forming on the vine, put a piece of
cardboard or thin board underneath it so it doesn’t sit in moist soil and rot.
This also helps discourage mice and other creatures from chewing a hole and
moving in.
If you are looking to grow a giant pumpkin, you need to
source seeds for the Atlantic Giant variety. You then need to start with soil
preparation in the fall, by preparing the soil with compost and testing the
soil conditions to see if they need amending
Smaller varieties of pumpkins can be grown in containers and
trained on a trellis. They do not
require the heavy watering and feeding that the large pumpkins do.
To harvest a pumpkin, wait until it reaches its mature size
and fully colors up and the stem starts to harden. Then cut the stem about 3
inches above the pumpkin. Then set the pumpkin in a sunny spot to cure for
about 10 days before storing it in a root cellar or basement.
Pumpkins: You Can Grow That!
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Audio, Photos, and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Ellen Isaacson
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In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with the Ethan Kamerow of Cultivate the City, all about Carnivorous Plants The plant profile is on Mexican Bush Sage and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on the Many Ways to Use Pumpkin by Christy Page of GreenPrints.
If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:
And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!
This week we harvested Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and took off the outer calyx (pictured above) to let it dry on some indoor screens to make tea. I also saved a few of the seed pods to dry and share at our next Seed Exchanges.
Then we pulled one of the Jerusalem Artichokes aka Sunchokes from the pollinator garden strip. I had planted them there this spring figuring that the concrete borders will keep them in check and in future years they'd be available as a food crop to anyone who needed them. Pictured below are the tubers from that plant. I am letting them cure now along with the few Sweet Potatoes we harvested a few weeks ago.
I'm still cutting Dahlias daily. We are expecting a frost maybe this weekend. We shall see...
Once the frost hits, we will pull out the last of the Basil, Tomatoes and Peppers.
We thinned the Radishes and harvested some Cilantro. The Lettuce mix and Cover Crops are also growing well. However, one of the four Cauliflower seedlings has taken a hit. It is under a covercloth and all foliage was eaten -- maybe a slug or rabbit?
What are you growing in your edible garden this week?
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 14th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).
Hairy Aster (Symphyotrichum
pilosum) is native throughout the eastern half of the United States.
It is a perennial wildflower with small daisy-like flowers running along tall
stems. The stems have a hairy texture—hence the common name.
It’s other common names include Frost Aster, Awl Aster,
Steelweed, and Hairy White Oldfield Aster.
Hairy Aster blooms from summer into fall and is hardy to
zones 3 to 9.
It grows best in full sun. It thrives in disturbed soils
such as along roadways. It is also salt-resistant and drought-tolerant.
Hairy Aster is visited by many kinds of pollinators. Its
seeds are also a winter food source for songbirds.
If left to go to seed, it will self-sow easily. It is low-maintenance and
requires no fertilizing or other care.
Hairy Aster: You Can Grow That!
The video was produced
by Washington Gardener Magazine.
Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Ellen Isaacson
➤ If you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up
and subscribe to our Youtube
channel (thank you!)
➤Remember to TURN ON notifications to know when our new
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In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with the Arthur Chadwick of Chadwick & Son Orchids, all about the First Ladies' Orchids. The plant profile is on Snake Plant and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on the October Leafy Soirée by Christy Page of GreenPrints.
If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:
And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!
The Iron & Clay Cowpeas (pictured above) are producing like crazy now. Note that Cowpeas are also known as Southern Peas or Black-eyed Peas, but they are actually a Bean (legume). You can eat them green and also eat the foliage. It is used for animal foraging too. Cowpeas are named that because the cows love them! I'm harvesting them when the pods are almost dry on the vine, then I'm drying them on screens in my sunroom. Then I plan to shell them and save them in glass jars. After all the rabbit trouble we had with these all season long, I'm just happy to get anything from these plants!
I'm cutting Dahlias daily. We escaped the frost last week that others were touched by in our region, but temps are supposed to drop again this weekend -- so fingers crossed that the Dahlias and other plants hang on for a bit more. We will soon pull out the last of the Basil, Tomatoes and Peppers. I yanked out the last of the Zucchini vines and put in more Cover Crop seeds in their place.
The Radish, Lettuce mix, Cilantro, and Cauliflower seedlings are both doing well. We will need to thin the Radishes soon and can harvest Cilantro any day now.
What are you growing in your edible garden this week?
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 14th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).
Autumn Daffodil (Sternbergia
lutea) is also known as fall daffodil, winter daffodil, or yellow
autumn crocus. Despite the bright-yellow color, it really does look more like a
tall crocus, than a daffodil.
The Autumn Daffodil is an heirloom pass-along bulb that
is experiencing a resurgence of popularity.
It is hardy to USDA zones 6 to 9. Autumn Daffodil is
native to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. It's also found in
southern Europe.
It is related to Amaryllis and is deer-resistant and vole-proof.
When ordered from a bulb catalog, the bulbs will
arrive in late summer or early autumn and should be planted right away.
After planting the bulbs, they may take a year or two to
acclimate, but after that they should reliably bloom each fall and increase a
bit every year.
It prefers well-drained soil and a mostly sunny location.
It does best planted in a spot with a southern exposure and a bit of extra
straw mulch in colder climates.
The foliage stays up all winter
leaves and grows to about 10-inches tall.
The bulbs can be lifted and divided before the leaves die
down in late spring.
Autumn Daffodil: You Can Grow That!
The video was produced
by Washington Gardener Magazine.
Audio, Photos, and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Ellen Isaacson
➤ If you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up
and subscribe to our Youtube
channel (thank you!)
➤Remember to TURN ON notifications to know when our new
videos are out
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