Fenton Friday: Harvesting Roselle and Sunchokes

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).

Plant Profile: Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) is also known as the Swamp Rose Mallow and it loves our hot, humid summer. This perennial hibiscus is winter-hardy to zone 4, while the tropical hibiscus is an annual for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic.

This dramatic flower of mid-summer into early fall is a real stunner in the back of flower borders or as a container plant. The individual flowers can reach 12-inches in diameter and are often referred to as “the size of a dinner plate.” Hardy hibiscus cultivars come in white, red, pink, and bicolor combinations.

For best flowering, plant hardy hibiscus in full sun (at least 6 hours). Give it some room, as the plant can grow up to five feet wide and high in one season.

It likes moist soil, so keep it well-watered and mulch it with bark chips.

Dig in a bit of compost each spring and that is all the fertilizer they require.

The hardy hibiscus is susceptible to insect problems such as aphids and Japanese beetles. The best way to prevent this is to keep the plants healthy and never let them get drought-stressed.

To prevent it from self-seeding everywhere in your garden, regularly deadhead the spent flowers and cut the whole plant back after a hard frost.

Note that any of their seedlings may not bloom the same color as their parents. If you want more of the same plant, you can propagate them easily from stem cuttings in spring before they start flowering.

A few popular hardy hibiscus selections to try are ‘Lord Baltimore’, ‘Peppermint Flare’, and ‘Kopper King’.

Hardy Hibiscus: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.
It was shot and edited by intern Alexandra Marquez.

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