De Circo Broccoli

Remember this broccoli?

One application of slow release fertilizer and about six weeks later turned it into this plant.

I had no idea when I started this broccoli plant from seed that I had procured a "cut and come again" variety. Simply put, after I harvested the center head, which was about twice the size of a silver dollar, dozens of off-shoots began to develop and mature. I've had several good sized harvests off this one plant and am kicking myself for not planting a ton more of it.

I live in a very warm part of the south and didn't think I'd be able to enjoy such a plentiful broccoli harvest, since it is a cold weather plant and prone to bolting. The first picture was taken in February and the second in March. We've had some weeks of warm weather, but aside from needing more water, the broccoli hasn't bolted yet. So, fellow gardeners, if it's broccoli you'd like to grow, try De Circo.

Note: If you don't have the patience to start broccoli from seed (and I almost don't) then set plants in your garden instead of seeds, available at your local garden store in spring or autumn. For southern gardeners, I recommend starting plants or seeds in autumn, since the spring can be incredibly unpredictable in terms of heat.

Growing Your Own Potatoes

Potatoes are a great crop for southern gardeners. All you need is seed potatoes and quite a bit of room since these plants like to grow and grow big. (Short on space? visit thegardenhelper.com for alternate growing methods.)

Getting Started

You can start your potato crop anytime the soil is warm enough to work. Potatoes aren't particularly picky about being too cold, but they do need to be able to push through the soil. Pick a space where the potatoes will have lots of room to spread and grow big and fat. Remember, your seed potatoes will be set every 15 inches in rows that are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart. Yeah, I wasn't kidding about needing a lot of space.

You'll want to purchase your seed potatoes a few days before planting, which might mean going to the "big kid" garden store, not just the hardware store that happens to have a gardening section. Prepare for lots of gardening lingo and don't be afraid to ask questions. And don't try and cheat on this step, by for instance taking an uncooked baking potato and planting it in the ground. Sure, you might get a crop, but your chances of success and yumminess greatly increase when you use certified seed potatoes.

Okay, so you have your dirt, and your seed potatoes. About a day or two before you plant, cut the seed potatoes into chunks. Each chunk needs to have at least one or two "eyes." This step is very important since the eye is where the potato will sprout. Set the cut seeds outside somewhere where they can get warm and sunny. Be sure to keep them nice and dry as well.

Time to Plant
On planting day, dig your trenches (remember, you will be setting the seed potatoes 15 inches apart in rows that are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart, so plan accordingly!) Then, pop your seed potatoes into the trench cut side down. Cover them loosely with 3 to 4 inches of dirt and give them a nice drink - but not a soaking. After a few days, you will see strange, giant, alien-like leaves busting through the soil. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little bit there, but the first time we planted potatoes, I was amazed at just how large and funky the sprouts can look pushing up through the ground. So if this happens to you, don't be scared, be proud.

Potato Care
As your potatoes grow, you will want to make sure the roots (also known as tubers) stay sufficiently covered with dirt. Remember, underneath the ground, baby potatoes are growing and swelling and reaching up towards the light - do not let them get near the light. They will turn green and sometimes even toxic if they are exposed to the sun before they are mature. So every so often, as the plants grow taller, hill loose dirt around the plants. This will ensure that your potatoes don't get hit by the sun too early and will also encourage the potatoes to get bigger and fatter which means more space for sour cream and butter come harvest time!



Your potatoes will need lots of water. Be sure to keep an eye on them especially when it gets hot and when they are flowering (did you know potatoes flower? pretty cool, huh?) Just like most of your vegetable plants, water early in the morning so that the potatoes have time to dry out before nighttime. Not only do damp plants during the evening hours raise the potential for bacteria and disease, there is a theory that plants truly do sleep during the night and watering them forces them to stay awake, thus making it difficult for them to grow. Makes sense to me that all living things would need some type of restorative period to be at optimum performance.


Potato Harvest
Now comes the fun part - harvest! Your potatoes will be ready for harvest 2 to 3 weeks after the plants have stopped flowering. The potatoes you will gather at this phase are sometimes referred to as "new" potatoes and will be quite a bit smaller than if you wait an additional 2 to 3 weeks after the foliage dies back to harvest. Whichever you choose, when you begin digging, be very, very careful. It's easy to damage the fragile skin of the potatoes if you use heavy tools like a spade or a hoe, so be gentle. After all your potatoes are gathered, if you are expecting nice, dry weather, lay the potatoes out on top of the dirt, unwashed, for 2 to 3 days to give them time to "cure" which basically means prepare their skins for storage. If it's wet, move them somewhere cool and dry to cure instead. Undamaged, cured potatoes store well in cool dry locations for anywhere from 3 to 6 months, if you can keep yourself from frying the whole batch into curly fries at the first chance you get. For more information about growing potatoes, the mound method, or even how to grow potatoes inside old tires, visit thegardenhelper.com.

Black Thumb Basics: Watering

My friends who claim to have black thumbs ask me all the time how I know when my plants need water. These poor people stare at me intently as I explain and scribble notes frantically as if there will be a timed quiz later, complete with an essay question. "Put down the pencil," I reassure, "It's easy." And it is.

Sure, each plant has its own water requirements and some need more, while some prefer less. But I promise you, with practice, you'll come to find that it's just not that scary or that hard.

How do I know when it's time to water my plants? Well, to be fair, I've spent a lot of time with my plants and know them pretty well. I've underwatered all of them and overwatered most of them at one point or another. Each time I messed up, I made a mental note and now I understand all of my plants watering needs. But if you're a beginner and are scared to death at the prospect of watering, relax and follow these easy steps. If you think your plant might be thirsty, stick your finger in the dirt near the plant up to at least your first knuckle joint. If the ground feels dry, add some water! If it feels wet, don't!

No really, it's that easy.

If you're still concerned about your plants, look at the leaves. A brown and crusty leaf normally indicates a lack of water. A limp and yellow leaf normally indicates too much water. I'll be the first to admit that there are plenty of other plant ailments that have nothing to do with watering that can show up in the form of brown and crusty or yellow and limp leaves. For that kind of diagnosis, you'll need a good gardening book or an experienced gardening friend. I highly recommend having ready access to both.

One more tip to keep in mind when contemplating your plants water needs: drainage, or the ability of the soil or container to retain and also dispel water appropriate to the plant's needs. How do you know if your plant has the proper drainage? If you feel like you're water the fool out of your plants and they're still parched, your container might have too many holes, which means the water is essentially running through the soil without reaching the roots. You can fix this problem by getting a new container. If the problem is the soil itself, then you will need to amend it - a topic for another post. If you have the opposite problem, water that is consistently damp even when you haven't watered in awhile, then you need to create more drainage by either adding holes to the container or again, amending the soil. In either situation, watch your plants, and the dirt they live in to get all the clues you need to keep your plants properly hydrated.

Starting Indoors

We have a great growing season here in the south. In some regions, you can grow vegetables year round with the proper planning. Even still, it's a great idea to get a jump start on the growing season by starting seeds indoors where it's nice and warm and then transplant them into the garden after the soil warms up. Another plus, seed is cheaper than plants, so this method is very budget friendly.

Trying to be as economical (and earth friendly) as possible, I created my own pots to start my crop of bell pepper, basil and two varieties of tomato; all plants I know prefer soil that's warmer than what's outside right now. To make the pots, I took empty half gallon milk jugs, washed them thoroughly (in the dishwasher, actually), cut them in half, carefully poked a few holes in the bottom for drainage, filled them with dirt and put them in a sunny window inside a deep baking pan. I used a sharpie to mark the planting date and what kind of seed I used on the outside of the jug. The plastic is a great insulator and holds heat well. So far the only problem has been this:


I didn't sterilize the soil as many of my books and websites recommended so all kinds of little plants that were waiting beneath the soil for warmer days have happily emerged. Solution? Wait until they get big enough for me to be able to tell which is which and then pull the little suckers out.

Winter Gardening: Onions

Next time I do onions, it will be from sets (or bulbs) - not seed. This has been the slowest boat to China to get them to even look like this.

You can see where I side dressed the plants with some slow release fertilizer. Maybe that will help. I spoke to my gardening friend about them and he shook his head when I told him that I used seeds, not bulbs. Maybe I'll just chop up the greens and use them like you would use chives. Sigh. So disappointing.

Winter Gardening: Broccoli

I was convinced that I'd never in my lifetime be able to get a good broccoli harvest in the south. Between waiting for the seedlings to grow and fretting that the weather was too warm, I always ended up with plenty of stalk, but no heads.

So I talked to my favorite gardening pal. He's been gardening in this area his whole life, which is, at my best guess, at least sixty years. And, no, I don't have the nerve to ask him to confirm that estimate for me. Please - my momma taught me better than that. When he heard how small my plants were (tiny) and how long they've been in the ground (months) he asked me what type of fertilizer I was using. I said, "None," and he rolled his eyes. Maybe that's my problem?

So I side-dressed some slow release fertilizer today. We'll see. Anything is better than nothing, right?

Yes, that is the broccoli plant in the center. I know, I know. After all that complaining about how small the plants are, now you think I'm a big fat liar. But folks, you can't eat those lucious green leaves. And the part you can eat, well, it looks like this.

Can't see it? Look closer. Yes, that quarter-sized cluster of green - that's it! Now can you see why I'm discouraged?

By the way - Curious about the grids? It's square foot gardening. Check it out here.

Winter Gardening: Lettuce

It's January. The lettuce I planted in November is puny, but it's still alive. Normally by this point, some rascal has chewed holes all through it or the cold or the heat (or a bipolar contrast of the two) have strangled it to death. So alive, but tiny, is definitely a plus.

Weeding has been the key with this garden. I've learned that dollar weed can survive anything, and anything that kills dollar weed, also kills vegetables. Pulling them up (over and over and over) seems to be the only thing that keeps them at bay. To help with the puniness problem, I applied some slow release fertilizer as a side dressing. Hopefully that will encourage growth in the lettuce. The two photos above show seedlings that I transplanted about a month ago. The photo below is of some I did today. I started them too close together and so their roots were all intertwined, a delicate problem to correct. I'm pretty sure they're going to love having a lot more room in the big garden. I realize the lettuce is a ticking time bomb. I don't know how much cool weather we have left, and I know the lettuce won't be happy when it gets hot again.

Curious about the grid system? It's square foot gardening. Check it out here.

Lesson learned: although cheaper, planting lettuce by seed is a tedious and lengthy process. I'm definitely thinking of buying established lettuce plants next year and actually getting an edible, bigger than micro-greens harvest.

I also need to research heat and drought tolerant lettuce varieties for year round growing. Is there such a thing?