Tuesday, May 2, 2017

May 2, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

Hi Gardeners

Red Crown Imperial
I saw an Oriole this morning, in the cold misty rain.  Maybe the hummingbirds will be here soon too.  I saw him at my back feeder, eating suet.  In the front yard I have an Oriole feeder that I put grape jelly in a couple weeks ago.  I hurried out there to check it and the jelly was gone and I have no more.  I filled the dish with pineapple tidbits and sugar water and a small orange cut in half.   My husband said he was there eating.  I’ll get more jelly later today to keep him around.

We have had 1 ½ inches of rain in the last 2 days.  That’s better than what was predicted for us, which was 3 inches.  But it’s been a wet spring this year across the country.  Experts are predicting the rest of spring and summer will remain wet.  That means the drought is gone across much of the country but other problems can happen with too much rain, like delayed planting of crops.  Still I am happy our weather included only rain and not snow like Kansas had or tornadoes that many across the country received.

Wind has also been a problem here; even without storms many days have been so windy it’s difficult to do things outside.  Many people are telling me that they don’t remember as much wind in other years, or when they were younger.  And people are right in their observations.  Since at least 2011 scientists have noted that we are having more really windy days and higher wind speeds. How about you?  Do you think it’s windier than 20 years ago?

There’s still no consensus that more wind is caused by climate change, although it’s starting to seem that way.  Wind is usually caused by differences in air pressure, low air pressure meeting high air pressure, and by temperature differences, like where a warmer water surface meets colder land surfaces.  Climate change has caused more erratic weather patterns, more and faster switching from high to low air pressure waves so it stands to reason this may explain the higher and more frequent windy conditions.

Spring is early

According to my records the sequence of plant bloom is a week to 2 weeks early this year, depending on the species.  The redbud is in full bloom, my clove current is making the yard smell wonderful, the lilacs are beginning to bloom; the flowering quince is still in bloom.  The pears, cherries and apples are blooming and I found 2 flowers on my little peach tree.  Some beach plums I have by the pond are in bloom and attracting lots of bees.

Tulip Banja Luka
The crocus are gone and many of the daffodils, but the tulips and hyacinths are looking great. I am greatly impressed with the tulip ‘Banja Luca’ I planted last fall.  It’s yellow with red flames on the edges and some streaking.  It glows in the sun.  The trillium and trout lilies are blooming nicely.  The Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) is very pretty right now.  Also in bloom Bleeding Hearts, Forget- me- not, creeping phlox, and Spanish bluebells.  The sweet woodruff is just starting to bloom.

My lettuce I planted early in April is up and growing nicely but the potatoes I planted are still just sitting there.  The strawberries are beginning to bloom and there are buds on the blueberries. My little greenhouse is full of seedlings and pots of summer bulbs.  Inside my lemon tree is beginning to bloom and I had a beautiful bloom on a yellow hibiscus this morning.  The orange jasmine has buds.


Foraging and children

May is morel mushroom month in the northeast and I noticed that a lot of people are posting pictures of their finds.  It’s also ramp season in many places. (See article below on scallions, leeks and ramps.)  Please be very careful about identifying these plants before eating them.  Both morel mushrooms and ramps have close lookalikes that can make you very sick or even kill you. (Ramps look like lilies of the valley, which are toxic.) Forage with an experienced person the first couple of times.

I know it seems like a fun activity to take your kids foraging for wild foods.  And for older kids it’s probably fine.  But I urge parents to leave small children behind when foraging.  I have seen bad things happen when small children pick and eat things like mushrooms because they have seen their parents do it.  A child’s small body is less likely to handle toxic plants well and even a few bites of some mushrooms can have serious consequences.  I have sent several parents with their child to emergency rooms after seeing or hearing about what the child has ingested.

Teach your children not to eat anything they find growing wild until they have consulted with you.  Very young children model their parent’s behavior and they often can’t determine what is a safe plant to eat and what is not.  They may be on the playground or playing in the backyard and see something they believe is edible. The age at which a child is able to be trusted to identify plants will vary and you as their parent are best equipped to know when that time is.  Until then don’t taste or eat wild things in front of them, or harvest wild foods in front of them,  even when you are warning them not to do the same thing.  Because kids always obey their parents, right?


May almanac

May is a pretty month, almost as good as June. The full moon is May 10th and appropriately enough it’s called the flower moon. Perigee is the 25th and apogee of the moon is on the 12th.  Other names for May’s full moon are mother’s moon and milk moon- because new mothers and their milk are everywhere. The month name of May is derived from the name of the Greek goddess Maia, associated with fertility.
Fringed tulip

There are two sets of notable days in May folklore. The first is Chilly Saints days, named for the Saints Mameritus, Pancras, and Gervais.  The days are the 11th, 12th, and 13th and it is said that these days will be cold and frosty. In 2016 these days were warm and rainy but we had snow flurries on the 15th.  I think the Chilly Saints days are earlier this year like everything else because we are having some chilly days here right now, like a lot of the country.

The second set of folklore days is the Ember days.  May Ember days are the 22nd, 24th and 25th.  On the 22nd the weather predicts the weather for June, the 24th predicts July weather and the 25th predicts the August weather.  Example: if it’s cold and wet on the 22nd of May the month of June is supposed to be cold and wet. Let’s see how that worked out here.

In 2016 May 22nd was sunny and average in temperature.  June 2016 was pretty average in sun and above average in temperature.  May 24th 2016 was sunny, warm and humid.  July 2016 was hot and wetter than average.  May 25th, 2016 was partly sunny and hot.  August 2016 was average in temperature and rain. 

Mother’s Day, 14th, and Memorial Day, 29th, in May are some of the biggest sales days that greenhouses have and May is almost synonymous with a trip to buy flowers. May is planting month around here.  Plant something every day!  May’s full moon is said to be a great time to harvest any medicinal herbs that are growing for their maximum potency. It’s good that Memorial Day is late this year because it’s a date many people use to signify it’s safe to plant everything.  But beware- frost can still happen, although it isn’t likely.

May Day, May 1, has passed, Cinco de Mayo is May 5th , May 6th is No Diet Day which is great.  It’s also National Teachers day so hug a teacher.  May 8th is World Red Cross day and Iris day.  The 16th is Love a Tree day.  The 29th is Learn about Composting day and the 30th is Water Your Flowers Day.

May is National Barb-b-Que month, National Salad Month, National Egg month, National Hamburger month and National Date your Mate month. May is also Older Americans month, Bike Month, National Skin Cancer Awareness month and Blood Pressure Awareness month.

May’s birth flower is the Lily of the Valley.  It signifies sweetness and humility. (But remember its poisonous)  It also means a return to happiness and you are supposed to give them to people you find complete happiness with.  The birthstone is the emerald which is a symbol of re-birth.


Blue strawberries

Here’s a warning to gardeners out there.  People are passing around pictures of blue strawberries with ads offering seeds for sale.  THERE ARE NO BLUE STRAWBERRIES.  This is a hoax.  The pictures have been altered by photoshop.  The so called blue strawberry seeds are even being sold on Amazon. I tried lodging a complaint with Amazon but they responded by saying the seller has in small print- “the color may be different from pictured.”  They are offered on EBay too, but you’ll find no reputable nurseries offering them. 

Along with the offers for seeds you’ll also find people warning against blue strawberries because they are genetically modified with genes from Atlantic Flounder, a fish.  It is true that an attempt was made to induce better cold hardiness in strawberries by inserting a gene from Atlantic flounder but the trial wasn’t terribly successful and the berries are not on the market, either as a crop or a novelty.  And the GMO strawberries were never blue, they were red.

There are white and yellow novelty strawberries.  It’s true that to some people the white strawberries taste a little like pineapple.  There are some very dark red strawberries being passed off as black or purple.  That’s a matter of color perception I guess.  But there are no blue strawberries.  Strawberries are best purchased as plants, not seeds anyway.  The seeds are tricky to grow and plants are relatively cheap.  If someone is offering blue strawberry seeds to you I’d be real suspicious of what else they are selling.

There is a lot of fraud by seed sellers on places like EBay and Amazon.  Rose seeds of every imaginable color (for example “Rainbow” roses) roses don’t breed true, blue bananas, purple dwarf Japanese maple, Fuji apple (you can’t grow them from seed, apples don’t breed true), and numerous other scams.  Even the common seeds that are real varieties are generally outrageously overpriced (Morning Glory seeds $11.99).  You can get a lot of good deals on Amazon and EBay, but I suggest you don’t buy seeds and plants there.

If you want to buy seeds and plants on line there are numerous reputable places to do so.  At the right side of this blog is a link (Garden catalogs) to many, many places to buy seeds and plants.

And be careful clicking on links related to blue strawberries.  I was going to get a picture to use here, clicked on a link and got an attempt to hijack my computer and had to shut everything down quickly.

When gardening becomes a challenge

I certainly know what it’s like to be physically challenged and a gardener.  I have mobility issues and struggle with hands deformed from arthritis.  But gardening is my favorite activity – along with writing about gardening, and I continue to do both.  My husband is in a wheelchair but he continues to be chief helper and lawn mower.

As we grow older gardening isn’t as easy as it used to be.  Knees ache, backs are stiff, hands lose their grip.  People of any age can face gardening challenges because of injury or disease.  You don’t have to give up on your garden because of physical or even mental challenges.  With a few adaptations and some planning you can continue to enjoy gardening.

Planning

Planning is the key to challenged gardening.  Look at your landscape carefully and see where you could make changes that would make it easier to access or care for your garden.  Maybe you are healthy now but think about things you can do to make it easier to garden in the future.  We all age, accidents and illness can happen at any time, and even if we don’t need the accessibility now it’s nice to know that relatives and friends who have accessibility issues could enjoy your garden.

If you are facing a lifestyle change that makes gardening difficult and need to make a lot of changes to continue gardening, consulting with a professional gardener or landscaper who has experience designing accessible gardens can be a major help.  To find them you could ask hospitals, nursing and hospice facilities who does their landscaping.  You can also interview landscapers or gardeners to see if they have experience designing gardens for those physically challenged. Another suggestion is to tour accessible public gardens for good ideas. 

Even if you cannot afford to hire a landscaper to do the work, hiring someone with a non-biased eye and experience that can look at your property and make suggestions can be very valuable.  Maybe you or family members can then gradually make the changes.   

Use the right tools and equipment

Buy tools that have large, padded ergonomically correct handles.  Try them before buying to see if you can grip them and operate them. Ratcheting pruners require less hand strength to use.  Paint tool handles a bright color to make them more visible.

I have three tools that I favor and that are almost always with me.  One is a small but sturdy, short handled shovel that’s easy to use from a seated position.  One is a cobra weeder, the tool with the finger like blade and the other is a narrow hand spade, with a notch on the end, and a serrated edge for sawing.  I also have ratcheting pruners, a pole pruner, and a good pruning saw.

Tool buckets with a padded lid allow you to keep all your tools close as well as have a place to sit and garden from.  There are special padded ‘wagons” you can sit on as you garden.  A walker with a seat can be handy to use at the gardens edge, especially if it has a basket to carry tools.  I also have an old wheelchair that has the seat replaced with boards.  I can put my tools on it or a bucket of water and push it to where I need to be.  I transport heavy pots and bags of chicken feed on it.  And if I need it there’s a place to sit.

If you are still able to kneel use a padded kneeler that has handles to help you up.  Knee pads that strap on your legs are also available. A long handled reacher kept with your garden supplies can keep you from having to bend over as much. 

Buy power tools with electric motors or at least electric starters if pull start gasoline equipment is too hard to use.  All of our smaller equipment is now electric and the new electric or battery powered equipment is much stronger than it used to be. 

There are special, wide, deep tread tires for electric and manual wheelchairs that make it easier to operate them on turf or bare ground.  A pouch over the wheelchair arm can be used to hold garden supplies and tools.  My husband can get all around the yard, through the path in the field and down to the pond on his electric chair unless the ground is too soft.

Give up some dignity. 

Sit or even lay on the ground rather than stooping and kneeling.  Bring a pad or cushion with you to sit or lie on and make sure you can get up from that position.  You’ll find me on the ground gardening all spring and summer and right into bulb planting time in the fall.  I bring meaning to the phrase “down and dirty”.

Getting closer to the plants is also helpful for those with vision difficulties.  If you have wide, firm surfaced paths a mechanics “creep” cart could be used.  Lay on it face down and move yourself around with your hands.

Wear comfortable clothes suitable for the weather.  An apron with pockets is a very helpful garden aid.  Wear your glasses, soil and dust can be hard on contacts.  But be careful when you get dust and dirt on your glasses, wash them with running water before rubbing them or you may scratch plastic lenses as I have many times.

Build raised beds. 

There are two types of accessible raised beds.  One is a large table-like planter that your knees can fit under as you sit in a wheel chair.  The other is a bed/container that is raised to a comfortable height and that has a wide edge that you can sit on as you garden or that allows you to pull up next to them.  These beds should be no wider than what you can reach to the middle from either side.
 
Raised beds that are wheel chair accessible 
Raised beds take some time to build and there is an expense involved but they will last for many years.  If the expense is too much, get creative.  Old bathtubs and stock drinking tanks are also good raised planters.  Old refrigerators and freezers can have the motor removed, be turned on their back, spray painted to blend in the landscape and filled with a good potting mix to make a raised planter.  You’ll need to drill holes in tanks, tubs and frigs for good drainage.

Take your time. 

Gardening becomes painful when we try to do too much at a time, especially when we first begin in the spring.  Work in small segments of time each day, gradually building up the time spent gardening if you can. If you are trying to garden differently than you have previously it will take time to develop new ways of doing things.

Change the type of things you are doing often.  For example weed for an hour, and then do some pruning or watering to avoid repetitive injury and reduce the chances for sore muscles.  And for goodness sake take time to just sit and enjoy your garden.

Get rid of difficult to care for plants and situations.

Some plants take much more care than others.  Hedges that need to be trimmed and plants that spread invasively should just be removed.  Or if you must have trimmed hedges consider hiring someone to trim them once or twice a year. Tea roses that require spraying and special pruning can be replaced with low care shrub roses or landscape roses.  If you have ditches or hillsides that are difficult to mow cover them with groundcovers or let them go un-mowed.

Planting native and non-native plants that are ideally suited to your landscape conditions and that have low maintenance needs is a good idea.  They can be as attractive as fussy perennials that need grooming and staking or plants that require frequent watering.  If you mow a lot of lawn consider cutting down the lawn size.
 
Consider paving

For a gardener paving over space seems almost like a sin.  But paved paths make garden accessibility much easier for people in wheelchairs or using walkers.  They are also better for people who have an unsteady gait or vision problems.  Raised beds can be placed at the edge of paved paths or even at the edge of paved patios or your driveway.

Consider moving gardens isolated by lawn to the edge of paved driveways or walks.  Even a vegetable garden can be grown along a driveway.  You may be able to grow a container garden on a wood deck.

Paved paths used by wheelchairs should have a raised “rim” on both sides to keep wheelchair wheels from falling off a side and possibly tipping the chair over.  These paths should also have gentle slopes. If any steps remain, even small ones, they should have a handrail.
Notice the brick edge to guide wheelchairs

Watch your health

Make sure your tetanus shot is up to date.  Wear sunscreen.  If your medications make you burn easily or become ill from over exposure to sun, garden in the early evening and morning.  Wear insect repellent when there are mosquitoes.  Drink lots of fluid when it’s hot.

Carry a cell phone with you.  If you fall or get stuck somewhere you can call for help. Wear any medical alert bracelets or necklaces you have when you garden.  It is probably best not to go out and garden if your county has a bad air alert issued or the temperature is very high.

If you have difficulty with vision use magnifying glasses to read pesticide labels or ask someone to read them for you.  Making a mistake mixing or using pesticides could be a big hazard to your health.

Get help with gardening.

Children, grandchildren or young neighbors often enjoy working in gardens.  With your supervision they learn about gardening while functioning as your arms and legs.  There may be a mistake made now and then but it’s a great way to spend time with young people.

Sometimes a young neighbor can be hired at a fraction of the cost of hiring professional help to do things like mowing, weed trimming, and pruning.  A neighbor who wants to garden but doesn’t have the space in his or her yard might be glad to do some chores in exchange for a spot for a veggie garden.

Some service clubs and charitable organizations will send volunteers to do heavier garden chores once or twice a year.  Ask at a senior center or call some of the organizations in your area to see if such services are available.

You don’t have to give up gardening if you face physical obstacles.  Gardening is good for the mind and soul as well as the body. Just learn to garden smarter and don’t worry about what others think about your gardening habits, or your garden.

Corydalis

Corydalis solida
Corydalis solida,( kor-rid'uh-lis SOL-ih-dah) or fumewort, is native to northern Europe and Asia.  It has naturalized in many Northeastern woodlands but is not considered an invasive pest by most people.  It can be a delightful addition to the spring garden.  Corydalis are spring ephemerals, which means they begin growing in early spring but disappear by mid-summer. Corydalis are hardy from zones 4-8.

Corydalis has gray-green, ferny looking foliage consisting of a palmately compound leaf and plants get about 10 inches tall.  They form a tuberous root system.

The flowers appear in mid-spring and are held in clusters above the foliage.  They are generally a shade of mauve, lavender or purple but are sometimes rose or white.  Corydalis flowers are long and tubular, with a flare at the tip. The flowers are liked by bees and after pollination form narrow seed pods which ripen about June.  The plant will seed itself and spread if it likes the spot.  It’s a moderate spreader in most places and since it disappears in summer I cannot see it becoming much of a pest.

Corydalis likes moist, woodsy rich soil.  It’s excellent under deciduous trees where it gets some sun before it blooms but is shaded as late spring heat arrives. It’s also a good plant for rock gardens in the north.  I suggest using it in partly shaded gardens combined with windflowers, species tulips, trilliums, trout lilies, bloodroot, bluebells and other small bulbs.  Plant them among later sprouting shade lovers like hosta and astilbe for a pretty show before those larger plants overtake them.  It can be planted along woodland paths and edges.

Gardeners can plant seeds; they should be sown immediately after the pods ripen for best germination.  They probably will not bloom the first year after seed planting in mid-summer.  The best way to start them however, is probably by buying the tubers and planting them in the fall with other spring flowering bulbs. 

There are a few cultivars of corydalis, ‘Beth Evans’ is a pink flowered cultivar, but usually they will be sold as unnamed tubers.  Yellow corydalis, Corydalis lutea, is another species of corydalis sometimes offered for sale with yellow flowers.
 
Corydalis makes a good spring gtoundcover
Herbal and medicinal uses of corydalis

Corydalis is poisonous and should not be eaten.  The Fumewort tubers have been used medicinally for centuries in Chinese and European folk medicine.  Tubers are harvested after the plants go dormant, dried and powdered.

Uses of Fumewort include as a pain killer and sedative/ anti-anxiety medication and to lower blood pressure.  It was often used for painful menstruation, arthritis, and for painful injuries.  The tuber powder also has antibacterial properties.   The plant also acts as a blood thinner.

Corydalis should be used very carefully in herbal medicine. It can produce hallucinations and serious health problems if not used correctly and in small doses. It should never be used by pregnant or nursing women or those on anti-coagulants.  Tell your doctor if you are taking this.

Leeks, shallots, scallions and ramps

If you do any cooking you have probably seen reference to one of these onion family members.  Maybe you have dispensed with fancy and just used an onion in the recipe but these plants do have different tastes and are botanically different from one another also.  They are good cool weather garden crops and some are quite expensive to buy so experimenting with a few in the home garden might be a great idea.  Here’s how to tell the difference between these delightful and delicious plants.

Leeks

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum), are an old world vegetable.  While the Irish identify with shamrocks (and potatoes) the Welsh use the leek on their national emblem.  The leek has a mild taste, somewhat like onion with a subtle twist.  It can be eaten fresh, it’s crisp and sweeter than onion but most often leeks are used in soups and other dishes.  Leeks do not store well and are generally used fresh.
Leeks

The leek does not form a bulb, rather the edible part consists of tightly packed leaf sheaths, which are white or pale green and form a cylindrical shape just above the roots.   The upper or green portion of the leek leaf is flatter and broader than an onion leaf.  Usually soil is pushed up around the base of leek plants to make the edible portion paler.  They can be harvested at any stage but are generally left to grow to an inch or so in diameter.   

Leeks can be started from seed but if you can, try to find small transplants.  In the US this can be difficult so you may want to start your own seed inside 8 weeks before the last frost in spring or in flats outside in late summer for transplanting.  They need at least 6 hours of sun and well drained, fertile, organic soil that is slightly acidic.  Leeks can be planted as an early spring or fall crop as they do not like hot weather.  You can plant leeks in the spring quite early, when there are still light frosts. They can be left in the garden for a long time in the fall for a gradual harvest but harvest before a freeze. 

Leek maturity ranges from 70-100 days, pick a variety that will be mature either before hot weather in the spring or a hard freeze in the fall in your area. Giant Musselburgh is a heritage leek, Autumn Giant, Carentan, Megaton and Lancelot are a few other varieties.  You may have to search for seed.  Territorial Seed, www.territorialSeed.com and Seeds of Change www.rareseeds.com are two sources.

Shallots

Shallots, (Allium cepa var. aggregatum) are not to be confused with scallions.  They are separate onion sub-species with different flavors and growing styles.  You will sometimes see them advertised as potato onions or multiplier onions.  Unlike scallions, shallots form small bulbs or cloves each with its own “papery” skin in a cluster at the bottom of the plant.  The shallot leaf is like an onion leaf, narrow and hollow. 
Shallots
Photo credit Ruth Hartnup

Shallots originally came from South East Asia where they are still widely used in cooking but they also became popular in France and the Netherlands as cooking staples.  Different countries favor different bulb colors of shallots from reddish colored to grayish.  Shallots have a sweet, mild onion flavor and most good cooks will tell you that there is a difference in flavor of a dish cooked with shallots or onions. Shallots have more calories than onions and slicing them will make you cry just as much as an onion does.

Shallots like the same conditions as leeks, spring or fall growing times. At least 6 hours of sun and fertile, well- drained soil.  Keep them well watered to develop the sweetest taste.  They also withstand light frosts.  Shallots are ready for harvest when the leaves turn yellow.  

Shallots are almost always planted as sets, (small bulbs) - which are more expensive than onion sets.  You can however, save sets for next seasons or next year’s planting as shallots store as well as onions in a cool dry place. Plant sets 6-8 inches apart.  Either plant in early spring for early summer harvest or mid- summer for fall harvest.  While some shallots that are left in the ground may over winter and return in the spring it is better to save some sets inside through the winter for spring planting.

Shallot seed is also available.  Seed is generally sown outside where the plants are to be grown in early spring and thinned to about 6 inches apart through the summer until you harvest a single “clove” in the fall.  Some of those cloves could be saved for spring planting.  Each clove or set planted usually will return you 4 or more shallots in a cluster.

Many shallots are sold just by color, such as gray or red shallots.  You can also look for Ambition, Sante, Camelot, or French Red.  Shallots can be found at Gurneys www.gurneys.com or Territorial Seed, www.territorialSeed.com

Scallions

Here is where there definitely is some confusion.  Some people consider scallions to be a separate variety of onion- a non- bulbing onion (Allium fistulosum).  Others say scallions are simply immature onions of any type, (Allium cepa) eaten before they make a bulb.  The fact is both types can be called scallions and any onion can be eaten at an immature stage as a “green onion”.  Scallions are generally eaten fresh although they can be cooked as well as any onion.
 
Green onions or scallions
Some scallions look like thin leeks, others have a small bulb. Scallions can be red, white or yellow in stem and bulb color.  Scallions taste like onions and there are variations in the strength of the onion flavor depending on the variety.  Scallion leaves are long, narrow and hollow. You can eat a scallion any time the stem is large enough for you.

Scallions can be planted from seed or sets or even from small plants, although that seems rather a waste of time if you are planning to harvest them at green onion or non-bulb stage.  You can always use the thinnings from any garden onions as scallions.   If you plant sets and harvest them as scallions there will be a soft remnant of the set left on the new scallion stem that you will need to pull off as you clean them.  Scallions planted from seed will not have this, although they will take longer to be ready to eat.  If you are planting seed for use as green onions or scallions use types that don’t make bulbs.

Scallions can be planted early in the spring and all through the season until late fall.  It’s best to make several small plantings through the season to have a long harvest.  You can pop in onion sets wherever you harvest something like early peas, or the first cabbages.  Seeds take somewhat longer than sets to mature to eating size and in summer you will need to keep the rows well weeded as they don’t tolerate weed competition when small. 

Like shallots and leeks scallions need 6 hours or more of sun, moist, but well drained soil, and fertile soil.  They will tolerate light frost and more heat than leeks and shallots.  If you are going to harvest them as scallions plant sets about 4 inches apart.  If you want some of your onions to grow bulbs, pull out every other scallion, leaving plants 8 inches apart.

Onion sets and seeds can be found in almost every garden store, at least in the spring.  You can store sets for summer and fall planting by keeping some in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator or in a cool, dark place.  Good varieties that do not produce bulbs and make great scallions are Evergreen, Guardsman, Lisbon, Shimonita.

Ramps

You may know of ramps from fancy restaurants or a backwoods festival in the Appalachians.  Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are wild perennial members of the onion family native to North America.  They are also called wild onions, wild garlic or wood leek.  They were eaten by Native Americans and the city of Chicago is named after them – shikaakwa is the Native American name for ramps.
 
Ramps
wikimedia commons
Ramps have become very trendy in foodie circles.  Long a spring favorite in some areas, so much that spring festivals are centered on them, they have become so popular that many state have made them a protected plant and limit or forbid harvest from the wild.  They are now being grown commercially, but are harder to grow than most onion family members.  It’s hard to find a source of plants or seeds but this could be a lucrative small crop if one was located near a city where fine restaurants would feature them.  Ramps sell for just under $20 a pound.

Ramps have a single flat broad leaf, similar to the leaf of the Lily of the Valley.  It is sometimes tinged with purple.  The stem is similar to a leek or scallion and is the part generally eaten, although the leaves are sometimes used too.  Ramps taste like a very strong mixture of green onion and garlic.  They are generally cooked before being eaten and frying them in lard or bacon grease and eating them with beans and cornbread or in scrambled eggs are common uses.  They are also exchanged for onions or garlic in many recipes.   Many gourmet recipes have been built around them too.

It’s hard to find a source to buy ramp seed, the most common way to get plants.  Try www.prairiemoon.com or http://www.seedman.com   If you try to harvest wild ramps or seeds check to see if your state has any restrictions first.  Make sure you know what you are harvesting too; lilies of the valley for instance are poisonous.   Ramps grow in patches in rich moist areas, usually in partial shade, generally along wetlands or forest edges.   Ramps are primarily a spring crop, although some people are experimenting with growing them as a fall crop too.   Ramp seed usually requires a period of cold before it germinates.

There you have it – the onion cousins.  Why not try something different in the garden this spring?

Leek Soup

Spring is the ideal time for leek soup.  This soup is delicious and hearty.  If you are a vegetarian you can sub vegetable broth for chicken broth and leave off the bacon. Add some homemade bread and you are eating like a king.  The recipe makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

6 big fat leeks, remove green, slice white part thinly
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup butter
6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
6 cups chicken broth
½ cup finely chopped parsley
1 egg yolk
2 cups cream
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In the bottom of a large pot sauté the onions and leeks in the butter until soft.

Add potatoes, broth and parsley and simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Lift out the vegetables in a slotted spoon and put them in a strainer.  Over the pot of broth smash and push the vegetables though the strainer. ( You want the strained vegetables in the pot.)

Beat the egg yolk in a bowl. Take out a big spoonful of the broth and add it to the egg.  Stir until well blended.

Now add the egg mixture and the cream to the pot.  Add seasonings.  Heat the soup to just before boiling, stirring constantly.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle some bacon on top of each bowl. 






May 6th, Saturday, is World Naked Gardening Day, enjoy!

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

And So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Newsletter/blog information

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I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com

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