How to Plan Your Garden: Start Early!

I hope you are reading this somewhere cozy enjoying that delicious sensation of being warm and safe when it is cold and wintery outside. The past few days have finally brought what feels like real winter temperatures to the MidAtlantic region, the tender annuals are brown and dry, and thoughts of the garden’s fresh bounty seem distant.

One thing I love about a four-season climate is the opportunity to rest, reflect, recharge and plan between growing seasons. While we know that the old adage “make a plan and make god laugh” certainly holds true with any sort of farming or gardening, it’s also true that a garden plan can serve as a vital road map when navigating the fluctuations and challenges of a growing season.

Here at Edible Eden we create garden plans using Excel (although there are numerous aps and programs these days that purport to simplify the process). I like the Excel solution because it allows me to think strategically about the varieties, successions and rotations I want to include in my plan. Of course if your plan calls for a March 2 seeding of radishes and March 2 is a blizzard with frozen solid soil…obviously you will need to shift your timeline, but having the basic road map of how many of any given crop to plant where, on what date really helps maximize your yield because you an estimate how many successions you can fit into any given space.

One of the things I love about both landscape design and garden planning is that you are applying a blend of creativity and knowledge across a spectrum of dimensions- certainly time, space, height…but also temperature; remember that the same beet that claims 50 days until harvest in June will take a lot longer to reach maturity in the fall as the hours of sunlight wane and growth slows down (even if the temperatures stay warm).

That brings me to the question of timing. It would be fantastic if there was a hard and fast rule about any given element of garden timing. The truth is- especially in light of climate change- getting the timing right in your garden is like learning to dance on a moving carpet.

This past year I had all my tomato plants in the ground by the end of May and felt very proud of myself. And when the weather conditions conspired to welcome in heavy populations of fungal diseases and blight, most of my tomatoes died and I was very sad.

Meanwhile my wife, who cannot tolerate to see a plant die, had been nagging me to plant the left over tomato seedlings that were dying slowly on our deck all summer long- long past the point in the season that it isn’t worth planting. She just couldn’t stand to see them die; so against all my recriminations and judgements, finally she went and planted tomatoes all over the yard in late July…

Can you guess what happened? The late planting avoided the worst of the fungal diseases, and the warm weather lasted longer than usual…and we were picking ripe tomatoes for Thanksgiving dinner!

All this to say, the winter is a great time to plan, dream and prepare for the growing season even though you never know how the season will play out!

You most likely will want to order any seeds you are purchasing in January. And If you’d like

some help with your garden plan contact Edible Eden for a customized road map for your 2017 growing season.

Fall Fennel Slaw

I love fennel; it’s one of my favorite fall veggies and grows great in our climate. One of the best ways to eat it is raw and whole like an apple. My next favorite way is in this mouth popping salad:

Ingredients:

2 fennel bulbs

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

half a lemon

good olive oil

salt

pine nuts

pomegranate seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. shave the fennel crossways so you get very fine shreds

2. coarsely chop the parsley

3. toast pine nuts

4. combine parsley and fennel shavings, drizzle with EVOO, lemon and salt, top with pine nuts.

Alternatively, if you're dealing with confirmed fennel hater, convince them to try this:

Ingredients

one inch thick slices of fennel

parmesan cheese

olive oil

Instructions

1. Arrange slices of fennel on a sheet tray, drizzle with oil sprinkle with salt

2. bake at 400 until soft, about 30 mins

3. cover with a thick covering of parmesan and continue to roast for another 15 minutes until caramelized and crusted with cheese

4. Just try to keep them on the serving dish...

What is Reemay? Every Farmer's Favorite Fabric

You may have seen it your neighborhood -- the spider webs, cackling pumpkins and plastic skeletons have been replaced by gourds and hand-traced turkeys taped to the window. October has come and gone, and Thanksgiving is quick on its heels. For gardeners nationwide, the next thirty days are a last breath of life before the winter freeze. Many are wondering how to get the most out of their edibles before it’s too late.

Here at Edible Eden, the start of November harkens the beginning of Reemay season. What is Reemay? Reemay is a type of cloth-like fabric, generally made of polyester or polypropylene, which can be stretched over just about any garden plant. The fabric lets in about 75% of all sunlight while helping the plant retain heat and ward off bugs. As the weather gets colder, Reemay is crucial for extending the life of your garden.

Reemay should be set up as soon as the weather starts to turn, we recommend getting it up as soon as possible! Leave it on through the New Year, by which point even a covering of Reemay won’t be enough to ward off the winter.

Reemay is perfect for any late fall crops, like cabbage, kale, arugula, spinach  or carrots. By waiting as long as possible to harvest them, they grow sweeter. Reemay fabric can extend the life of your garden by several months and can result in plenty of extra pounds of produce. If you have even a couple of food plants in your garden, It makes sense to consider covering them for the next couple months.

To set up Reemay, we first stretch metal or PVC hoops over the garden to suspend the Reemay without crushing the plants. The fabric is anchored by garden staples pushed into the soil, or, if you’re on a budget, weighed down by rocks.

Interested in ensuring your fall harvest is as bountiful as possible? The garden gurus at Edible Eden can get your Reemay set up in an quick afternoon session. To learn more visit edibledenfoodscapes.com/contact.

Seasons of Abundance: Farm-to-Table Thanksgiving Ideas

Thanksgiving is such a confusing holiday! It’s simultaneously cozy and delicious and so hypocritical. There’s the historical injustice to consider and then there’s the factory farmed Butterball: monstrous animals so over-engineered they can’t even mate on their own. And yet, is there a better feast than the Thanksgiving shmorgasborg of autumnal abundance? Is there a meat more savory and delicious then a pasture-raised, heritage breed turkey roasted to perfection? Here in the MidAtlantic we can grow most of the components of a Thanksgiving feast right in our yards, and the holiday really gives us an opportunity to enjoy the bounty of our harvest! Here are some farm-to-table Thanksgiving ideas you can try this season. 

This year we planted sweet potatoes in raised beds and they went nuts! Some tubers were big as my arm. Sweet potatoes, like winter squash, can be harvested, cured and held in a root cellar until their starring role in the big meal. If your sweet potatoes are visually perfect you will most likely candy roast them in chunks, but if the bugs have been nibbling them, never fear, just trim the ugly spots, boil the rest and make a mashed sweet potato casserole with brown sugar and pears (or marshmallows but you didn’t hear that part from me).

Hearty fall greens like kale and collards are still growing despite the mild frosts we have had so far. Those greens start getting sweeter and sweeter as the frost brings out the sugars. They are fantastic sautéed in olive oil and served with fried shallots and pumpkin seeds on top for a healthy side dish even the vegans will love.

Some other great farm-to-table Thanksgiving ideas: apples and pears have been ripening over the past few weeks and bring a wonderful crunch to any dish. Consider a ultra-local Thanksgiving salad incorporating arugula, red meat radish, honey crisp apple and purple onion. Don’t forget a rice pilaf with wild rice, baby carrots, onions and thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms from the logs for another hearty side dish. I like to season mine with cinnamon, nutmeg and chicken broth.

Want to really confuse your cousin? Slice up a kolrabi, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt for an appetizer none of your relatives will recognize.

Another exciting, garden-to-gourmet Thanksgiving dish features mini-pumpkins. I had always thought of those little 4 inch pumpkins as ornamental; turns out they’re delicious! Scoop out the seeds and bake them with sage leaf, butter and a sliver of garlic, or consider stuffing them with other creative fillings like minced lamb or even cheesecake.

My thanksgiving tradition is to go up to one of my farm mentor’s farms and help slaughter turkeys for a day in return for the bird of my choice. Homer raises his birds on pasture and they peck on the freshest grass and bugs until their big day. Possibly an odd choice for a lapsed passionate vegetarian, but that way I get to avoid the quandary of how ethical/economical I want to be regarding the turkey I purchase.

While today supermarkets give away free turkeys as a marketing gimmick, our ancestors’ harvests were dictated by the weather, luck and hard work. These farm-to-table Thanksgiving ideas take us back to the very roots of the holiday. Growing food and learning about what it takes to get an abundant harvest helps me feel connected to those that came before me; a universal and yet ultra-local birthright that connects us to the seasons, the earth and to ourselves.

Cherry Tomato Ginger Jam

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite things to do with the end of the season glut of cherry tomatoes.

ingredients

4 qts Cherry tomatoes (any color)

1/4 cup fresh ginger, grated

Sugar, around 8 cups

1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

instructions

1. Place the tomatoes in a thick bottomed pot and begin cooking over medium flame.

2. Mash with a potato masher. Once they have begun looking like sauce, use an immersion blender to puree (optional).

3. Add the ginger, salt and lemon.

4. Now add your sugar- you have some leeway with the quantity of sugar- you want to add enough that the color and texture of the jam changes and looks more like jam and less like tomato sauce.

5. In general you can estimate around a cup of sugar per cup of tomato puree.

6. Now cook the mixture down until it reaches the texture you are looking for.

7. I put a few little plates in the freezer and when I think the jam is ready I test the texture by putting a spoonful on a frozen plate, returning to the freezer for a couple minutes and then tasting. This way you can both assess the ultimate texture of the finished jam as well as adjust the seasoning.

Cool Cucumber Soup

Most of us get distracted at some point in the season and fail to harvest some of those cucumbers- it’s hard to keep up with them when they really start fruiting! Here is a solution for those overgrown, seedy slicing cukes that are no good for pickling or salads. I like to serve in a small glasses with a crouton on top but it tastes just as good in a bowl!

Ingredients

2-3 large slicing cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded, diced

1 quart your favorite unflavored yoghurt

Handful fresh mint and /or dill and chives

1 clove garlic

1 small shallot

Salt to taste

Squeeze of lemon or vinegar

drizzle of honey

Instructions

1. Mix cucumber, shallot, yoghurt, minced herbs and garlic, salt, honey and lemon.

2. Blend in a blender or use immersion blender to puree.

3. Mix well and allow to sit for an hour or more.

4. Adjust consistency and seasoning as needed. You can use milk or veg stock to thin it out.

Josh's Favorite Beet Recipe

Ever wonder what to do with beets? Well, this colorful root crop starts sizing up in late spring and can be grown all summer and into fall. Options for preparation are diverse and numerous but this is by far my favorite!

This makes a great side-dish to serve with fish or chicken or a beautiful addition to a meal of summer salads

Ingredients

1-2 bunches beets, golden, chioggia or red, with greens

2 tablespoons honey

2 table spoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil (olive, vegetable, grape seed- your preference)

1 block feta cheese

1 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. First remove beet greens, wash well and put back in the fridge.

2. Trim tails and noses off beets and put in pot of water. Simmer on the stove for approximately 45 minutes or until fork tender (you can also steam them if you prefer).

3. While the beets are still hot, put them into a bowl with cold water and use your hands to slip off the skins.

4. Once the beets are skinned and cool enough to handle, slice them and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle them with the oil, honey and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

5. Next, put them on a sheet tray and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

6. While the beets are roasting, melt some butter in a sauté pan, chop the beet greens and sauté in butter until soft. (You can also steam the greens if you are trying to avoid the butter.)

7. Now spread the cooked greens on a plate or platter.

8. Next remove the roasted beets from the oven and carefully arrange on top of the greens.

9. Lastly, crumble feta cheese all over the dish and serve warm.

Peak Summer Harvests & Baby Rosenstein

Here we are at peak summer and all that early season work should finally be paying off. All those fruiting plants: the tomatoes and cucumbers, zucchinis and eggplants, peppers and summer squash are all ripening on the vines. The onions, garlic, shallots as well as beets have matured and can be used now. The basil and other summer herbs are still going. Now is the time to be creative in the kitchen and, if you can stand the heat, get your Farm To Table cook on.

Unfortunately, this is also the season of fungal diseases, summer pests and extreme heat- so it can be easy to get distracted worrying about your plants survival. Indeed, the game now is to see how long you can keep some of these annual plants alive and yielding before they succumb to their eventual seasonal demise and make way for the rich hearty flavors of fall.

Truth be told, one of the real skills of a grower is getting the timing right. Many of our favorite fall crops must be planted around mid-August if they are to yield before winter conditions arrive, but often those precious summer crops are still occupying garden space long past that window.

What to do? Well, the first thing is make sure to have a garden plan to serve as a roadmap and guide planting decisions over the course of the season. Edible Eden offers garden plans for any size garden that will help maximize your space over the course of the season.

If you don’t have a plan in place; consider interplanting some fall crops in and amongst your yielding plants over the next few weeks so that when they do go down your kales and cabbages will rise to the occasion and fill their space.

Here at 2601 Taney, we are thinking a lot about timing as we continue our extended baby watch. Teri was at 40 weeks a week ago and now we are trying to go about our lives knowing that at any minute labor will begin and we will need to step away from whatever we were doing and head to the hospital.

It’s a good thing we have plenty of beautiful produce to munch while we are waiting!

Stay posted for news of the soon-to-arrive baby Rosenstein and enjoy that summer produce while it’s here.

Farmer Josh