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Wednesday, September 26th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 08:51:44 am
 The alien looking monster above is a mushroom patch from Fungi Perfecti www.fungi.com I have it growing in my basement. This variety is a Japanese type called Maitake. The feathery, fully formed mushrooms haven't developed yet, just the primordia base. It's one of two "patches" I ordered from Perfecti. The other, another Japanese variety called Enokitake is not thriving. The few mushrooms growing on it when I took it out of the bag soon withered. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with the Enokitake but if I don't see any mushrooms forming soon I'll try jump starting it, according to some directions that came with the patches. If can figure them out. Fungi Perfecti is located in Olympia. So far, I haven't been all that impressed with the company. A few years back I bought some plug spawn (wood with mushroom spores) for Shiitake mushrooms. Those were a total bust. Perfecti's directions are poorly written and not the easiest to follow. However, the Maitake seem to be doing well. But, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble or expense. These things are not cheap ($25 each) and require watering anywhere from one to three times a day. I'll report back with my progress. 
Categories: New products
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 12:27:16 pm
We got a release from the National Garden Bureau today that listed some enticing new plant varieties for next year. Even though I'm still picking tomatoes from the garden (and hoping the peppers will finish ripening, against all odds), this is exciting! To view the full list, go here. In the meantime, here are some that I like: 1. 'Blue Wind' broccoli. "Bold, much improved Packman type. Heads are medium-sized, blue-green with small, attractive beads. Easier to harvest and more uniform. Harvest 49 days from sowing." 2. 'Tanya' bean. "Long, slender'green beans' with pink pods mature to a glowing, phosphorescent pink. Harvest large, flat, pink beans in 60 days. Excellent flavor and texture. Beans turn green when steamed." (Craig, this one's for you!) 3. 'Portofino' summer squash. "Beautiful romanesco-type zucchini. Firm, nutty flavored, dark green cylindrical fruit with light-green lengthwise ridges. Cut cross-wise, the pieces are star-shaped. Matures at 7-9 inches in 48 days on bushy 24-inch tall plants." Yum. In other news, I've given up hope for my winter broccoli plants: Turns out, the barrel it was planted in was too great a digging temptation for Harriet the Pug. I couldn't bear to get mad at her: She probably thought it was the best birthday present ever.
Categories: Dilemmas
• 3 comments
Thursday, September 20th, 2007
Posted by Sue Kidd @ 04:30:23 pm
News Tribune reporter Melissa Santos today updated readers about $75 million in improvements at Tacoma Community College. Among the improvements: A Japanese Garden. The 10,000 square foot garden is located near the student center building (look for Building 6 or 7 from the parking lot, it's located just beyond those buildings). Of course we had to take a field trip. We spent a portion of our lunch break there. To get there, you cross over a really lovely Japanese bridge that Craig called "very Memoirs of a Geisha." We both thought it would be bigger. What was impressive were the number of large placement rocks and the layout of the garden, which meandered up a ledge to a shady area. It's a really beautiful space. Here are a few videos and pics we snapped (don't laugh at my shaky vid skills).  
Categories: Gardening News, Ahhh, that's adorable
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 12:06:13 pm
 This past spring I obtained some seeds of Himalayan Blue Poppies (Meconopsis betonicifolia). In the past I've grown the grandis variety to great success. Meconopsis are notoriously hard to grow but I've never had a problem with them. The photo above shows this year's crop which won't flower until next year. This winter I'll get some grandis seeds (I misplaced mine from last year, darnit) and have those ready to bloom in '09. You've really got to plan ahead with Meconopsis. Directions to grow these things are lengthly. But, I've got it down to a few basics: 
Categories: Flowers
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 07:56:19 am
While I was pilfering my mother's garden last weekend I noticed she had a lot of flowers growing that are classified as edible. Whenever my nieces are visiting I like to make them laugh by eating flowers. This distresses their parents who lecture them on not eating plants. I am a bad uncle. Edible flowers are a great way to color up a summer salad. Here's a link to a list that might just amaze you. The photo below shows just a few I picked in one round. I'll see what's still in bloom at my next visit.  The large orange flowers are nasturtiams, the round blossoms are cornflowers and the other two with stems are chives. About these: Both the flowers and leaves of nasturtiams are edible and have a wonderful peppery flavor. The cornflowers don't have a strong taste and are best pulled apart. The chives taste just like chives (an onion-like flavor.) Try some on your next salad. Monday, September 17th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 05:09:21 pm
Us editor types just returned from holding our 3 p.m. news meeting at the Puyallup Fair. On the way out I saw these four carved pumpkins. I didn't have time to see who made them as my fellow editors had turned in to scone-craving zombies and I had to keep up with them. I love the fair. Where else do vegetables become art? Well...there is the corn palace: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SDMITcorn.html If any of you are heading to the fair tonight be sure to check out a vegetarian food cooking demonstration by fellow GetGrowing blogger Niki Sullivan and her TNT cohorts, Kathleen Merryman and Debbie Cafazzo. It's at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Pavillion. Sue Kidd will be handing out free samples. Don't miss it!    
Categories: Gardening events, Ahhh, that's adorable
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 10:48:52 am
 The photo above shows a regular cucumber and two lemon cucumbers. I wasn't sure if the yellow one was overripe so I picked a white version as well. It turns out the yellow was just perfect - not overripe. (DUH! They're called 'lemon.') I thought it had more flavor than the garden variety and absolutely none of the bitterness that many cukes can get. My mother was less than impressed. She likes the regular one better. But then she confessed she's not a fan of cucumbers in the first place. Here's a shot of the lemon cuke sliced open... 
Categories: Vegetables
Friday, September 14th, 2007
Posted by Sue Kidd @ 04:14:23 pm
And, as you can tell, I'm back from vacation and catching up with reader garden questions. Here's another one:
Hmmmm. I've always operated on the notion that flower foliage (say that three times fast), no matter how ugly it may look in your front flower bed, is essential in providing nourishment for the following year's growth (or something like that). So is that the case for cala lilies and crocosmia? And while we're at it, when can I chop down the foliage that is all that's left of my day lilies? I let the foliage go through October last year -- and it became one giant, hot, tangled, slimy mess. Gross. Your thoughts please.
Categories: Q & A
Posted by Sue Kidd @ 03:54:22 pm
A reader writes to us:
Is the gardenia getting enough sunlight? Is the gardenia in the ground? Or a container? And where is it planted? I'll e-mail the reader and ask for those particulars. In the meantime, anyone have any gardenia intel for our reader? Also, if you have a garden question, please e-mail us at gardenphoto@thenewstribune.com. The Get Growing bloggers are at your service. Plus, we like calling the master gardener hotline. Those people love us.
Categories: Q & A, Ahhh, that's adorable
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 12:02:02 pm
Here at Get Growing HQ we are finally enjoying the long coming tomato harvest. All of us tomato growers have different varieties and different climates so it's been interesting to compare notes. We'll bring you our full assessment of the season when it's over: what worked, what didn't. What varieties were mealy mush and which were tomatoey heaven. Here's what I plucked last night...  Green zebra (green stripes), brandywine (the big red one), lemon boy (yellow) and sungold (orange cherries.) My take so far: The zebras are tart and flavorful, the brandywines have a wonderful underlying flavor that reminds me of beef, the sungolds are very sweet and the lemon boys are boring.
Categories: Tomatoes
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 10:14:57 am
 I harvested my ornamental corn last weekend. It was as spectacular as Territorial Seed Company promised it would be. No two ears were quite the same in their color combinations. Red, yellow, orange, blue, black. It really brings back memories from my childhood. Territorial Seed http://www.territorial-seed.com/ says this variety (called 'Painted Mountain') can be eaten fresh but I didn't have the heart. It's just too pretty. Maybe next year. 
Categories: Vegetables
Sunday, September 9th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 09:49:24 pm
I spent part of Sunday visiting two gardens as part of my last NPA garden open of the year. (There's at least one more this weekend.) Afterwards, I biked 16 miles (yes, sixteen) on the Foothills Trail. Total bliss. Painful. But blissful. First up was the stunning one-acre spread of Julia and Ernie Graham of Puyallup. The house has a magnificent view of Mt. Rainier with the thickly planted, organic garden spreading out around it. It would take me pages to describe the plant palette, focal points, containers and paths. The garden's fame speaks for itself. It's won second place twice in the Pacific Northest Gardens Competition and has been featured in Sunset, Better Homes and Gardens and Fine Gardening. The Grahams have brought in truckloads of dirt to build up the soil for their garden.  Black mondo grass edges this water feature.  A pleasant garden cafe setting.  The Graham's garden has many focal points and rest areas.  Julia uses a lot of pots (she buys them from Tacoma Boys http://www.tacomaboys.com/ and Aw Pottery http://www.awpottery.com/) and fills most of them with annuals like coleus and tropicals like taro that she overwinters.  A paperbark maple is one of many maples in the garden but this one definitely has the most interesting bark. ------------- Next up was the Old Goat Farm down the road in Orting. Owned by Greg Graves and Gary Waller this can be best described as a small nursery with a large demonstration garden. www.oldgoatfarm.com  As Greg and Gary like to point out, they are not the old goats the farm and nursery are named after.  The farm is a great blend of gardens and...well...farm complete with chickens, peafowl and farm dog.  The guys grow an arresting mix of annuals and perennials in their garden.  These two plinths lend a formal air to the garden.  This vine has been trained in to an interesting pattern. Thursday, September 6th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 06:23:46 pm
 I harvested my soy beans last night. Otherwise known as edamame these are the fresh bean pods you get as appetizers in Japanese restaurants. While you can buy them bagged and frozen just about anywhere these days I've never tasted any so good as the ones I had last night. Despite the fact the deer like to nibble on the leaves my edamame were trouble-free and productive. I wish I had planted more. After rinsing I dropped them in boiling water for five minutes. After cooling down I simply squeezed the beans out of their shells and in to my mouth. My beans, a variety called 'beer friend' came from Territorial Seed Company. Any friend of beer is a friend of mine.
Categories: Vegetables
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 09:17:49 am
I've been watching my squash, eagerly awaiting some delicious fruits of my labor. There was one especially promising one hidden under the canopy of leaves. I figured it was only a matter of days before it would be mine. But my hopes were dashed: This weekend, I discovered tiny bite marks near the vine. In a fit, I removed it from the vine, broke it in half and threw it. Harriet the pug later collected the pieces and put them on the doormat. I think she was sad, too. Last night, I went to check on it again. Looks like something is eating the blossoms off of my squash: About 10 stems were perfectly clipped off at the top. The flowers had vanished without a trace. To top it al off, I don't see any more squash coming. Are slugs doing this? I don't think so. Even so, I offered one to Harriet, who delights in eating cigarette butts she finds during our walks. I figured maybe she's French and would enjoy some escargot with her smokes. While she was licking the slug, I realized snails make escargot, not slugs. And that pugs are from China. And that, if I didn't take the slimy thing away from Harriet, I'd get myself in trouble. So goes this week's gardening misadventures.
Categories: Dilemmas
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
Posted by Craig Sailor @ 12:42:22 pm
I felt like I was living in the Midwest last night as the lightning and thunder got closer and louder. Within minutes the rain was pouring and I was running around my house closing windows. "Dodged that one," I thought smugly. How wrong I was. Last night my tomatoes were seven feet high. Today they are about three feet high. Now I know what farmers are talking about when their just-ready-to-harvest crops are destroyed by a storm. Clearly, I need taller and stronger tomato cages. Chalk it up to rookie mistakes. The good news is that most of my tomato plants survived unscathed. Now...if only they would ripen. 
Categories: Tomatoes
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Get Growing
Craig Sailor is the Arts & Entertainment editor at The News Tribune. Last year he planted his first vegetable garden. Focusing on unusual varieties, “Freak of Nature” returns for 2008 with a new crop of uncommon vegetables and flowers. This year he’ll try yin yang beans, giant pumpkins, blue poppies and mutant sunflowers. He gardens at his North End Tacoma home and sneaks seeds in to his mother’s garden at Willapa Bay when she’s not looking. . More gardening blogs:
Greengirl"Starting seeds, dreading weeds."
You Grow Girl
Between Plow and Wood
Downtown Tomatoes Category
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