by Susan Dean | Feb 1, 2018 | Gardening
POTATOES 7 ways to plant potatoes
1. Hilled Rows
2. Straw Mulch
3. Raised Bed
4. Grow Bag
5. Garbage Bag
6. Wood Box
7. Wire Cylinder
If you don’t have garden space for potatoes, don’t worry — you can grow them in towers! Potato towers are a productive and space-saving way to harvest some fresh spuds. The technique is easier on your back and more fun for your kids.
How to build a potato tower:
Using chicken wire, heavy-gauge wire, or even wooden fencing, make a cylinder that’s two or three feet in diameter and three or four feet tall. Secure the cylinder with wire fasteners. Place the cylinder on cultivated ground so it gets at least six hours of sunlight, is near the house and water spigot.
If your cylinder is made from wire, line the inside of the cage with hay, straw, cardboard, or newspaper to prevent the soil from falling through the gaps. All of these materials will decompose. Put a 4-inch-thick layer of compost in the bottom of the cylinder.
You’ll need four or five seed potatoes (or pieces), each containing at least three ‘eyes.’ Place the potatoes on top of the compost, six inches apart. Don’t use grocery-store potatoes because the varieties may be susceptible to disease and have usually been treated with sprout inhibitors.
Consider growing different-colored potato varieties to give your kids a real thrill. Select varieties such as ‘All Blue,’ ‘All Red,’ and ‘Yukon Gold.’
Cover the potatoes with a 3-4 inch layer of soil. Water well.
As the potato plants grow, cover them with more compost. To save money, you can also use a mix of compost and topsoil or potting soil.
When the soil line is six inches below the top of the cylinder, stop adding soil and let the potato plants continue to grow. Keep well watered.
By later summer the plants begin to yellow. It’s time to harvest! Remove the wire fasteners holding the potato tower together and watch as the soil and spuds come tumbling out. Save the soil for use in another container or spread it in your garden.
You can harvest them by either digging up a few potato plants entirely or by minimizing the amount of disturbance to the plant by digging out only a few of the small new potatoes and leaving the rest of the plant intact through the end of the summer to grow storage potatoes. After harvesting, place in the sun for two to three hours to dry, brush off the soil, do not wash until ready to use. Cure the tubers in a 50° to 60°F room out of direct sun for two weeks. Then store them in a cool (40°F) basement or garage for up to six months, depending on the variety. If storage temperatures are too high, potatoes tend to soften and sprout. Store in a dark place to prevent greening and layer between sheets of newspaper so if one spoils it will not spread to the whole lot.
Tubers come in three main types: baking potatoes, the most starchy, which become dry and fluffy when cooked; boiling potatoes, the least starchy; and all-purpose potatoes. Any variety harvested before it develops its full amount of starch is considered a new potato. New potatoes are young, sweet and tender. They are ready at or shortly after the potato plants have bloomed. Harvest as you would fully mature potatoes, using a garden fork to dig down about six inches around the plant. 
There are so many kinds of potatoes!
by Susan Dean | Feb 1, 2018 | Gardening
FIGS
Figs provide more fiber than any other common fruit or vegetable. The fiber is both soluble and insoluble and both types of fiber are important for good health.
¼ cup serving = 5 grams fiber, 6% iron, 6% of calcium, and 7% of the Daily Value for potassium.
They have no fat, no sodium, and no cholesterol. They have a high quantity of polyphenol antioxidants. The fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme that is considered an aid to digestion and is used by the pharmaceutical industry. Because of its high alkalinity it has been mentioned as being beneficial to persons wishing to quit smoking. Psoralen, which occurs naturally in figs, some other plants and fungi, is a skin sensitizer that promotes tanning in the sun.
Diets rich in soluble and insoluble fibers, such as figs, help maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels and may lower colon cancer risk.
Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself. The seeds are drupes or the real fruit. Figs contain a natural humectant — a chemical that will extend freshness and moistness in baked products. Figs come in colors from yellow, brown, and red to purple, and black!
Figs are easy to pick! Ripe figs droop and feel softer. They separate easily from the tree when lifted upwards from their normal drooping position. Figs must be picked ripe. They do not ripen once picked. Some people are allergic to the milky white latex liquid produced by the fig tree and develop contact rashes.
The complex inflorescence of the common fig consists of a hollow fleshy structure (syconium,) lined with numerous unisexual flowers. The edible fig fruit is the mature syconium on the outside and numerous one-seeded fruits (druplets) on the inside. This type of multiple fruit is sometimes called infructescence.
Figs won’t last long at room temperature, but a mildly cool refrigerator will keep them several days.
Fig varieties include:
Brown Turkey Figs are used exclusively for the fresh fig market and is common at PYO farms..
Celeste figs are about the size of an egg, a purplish-brown when ripe, and a dark, sweet, moist, purple flesh inside.
The Calimyrna Fig is known for its nut-like flavor and golden skin. Commonly eaten as is.
The Mission Fig, named for the mission fathers who planted the fruit along the California coast, is a deep purple and darkens to a rich black when dried.
The Kadota Fig is thick-skinned with a creamy amber color when ripe. Practically seedless, this fig is often canned and dried.
by Susan Dean | Feb 1, 2018 | Gardening
THE ASPARAGUS Asparagus are coming up now and they are delicious! I like to eat them raw right out of the garden. They are easy to care for and produce every year. It is a perennial vegetable rich in B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Asparagus is one of the first crops of spring harvest! They thrive in areas having winter ground freezes or dry seasons. The mild, wet regions of Florida and the Gulf Coast are about the only places where it’s difficult to grow.
Prepare an asparagus bed with care for they will occupy the same spot for 20 years or more. They will tolerate some shade, but full sun produces more vigorous plants and helps minimize disease. Asparagus does best in lighter soils that warm up quickly in spring and drain well; standing water will quickly rot the roots. Prepare a planting bed about 4 feet wide by removing all perennial weeds and roots and digging in plenty of aged manure or compost. Asparagus plants are monoecious— a plant is either male or female.
Some varieties of asparagus, such as ‘Jersey Knight’ and ‘Jersey Giant’ produce all male or primarily male plants—male plants yield more harvestable shoots because they don’t have to invest energy in producing seeds. Choose an all-male variety if high yield is your primary goal. If you like to experiment, grow an heirloom variety or a purple-stalked variety like ‘Purple Passion’. With an all-male variety, twenty-five plants are usually adequate for a household of four; plant double that amount for standard varieties. Starting asparagus from 1-year-old crowns gives you a year’s head start over seed-grown plants. Two-year-old crowns suffer more from transplant shock and won’t produce faster than 1-year-old crowns.
To plant asparagus crowns, dig trenches 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep (8 inches in sandy soil) down the center of the prepared bed. Soak the crowns in compost tea for 20 minutes before planting. Place the crowns in the trenches 1½ to 2 feet apart; top them with 2 to 3 inches of soil and two weeks later, add another inch or two of soil. Add soil periodically until soil is slightly mounded above the surface level to allow for settling.
by Susan Dean | Feb 1, 2018 | Gardening
Horseradish has a clear, fresh taste and packs more zing than the store-bought variety, and it must rank in the top five easiest-to-grow food plants, because it thrives in almost any condition. Horseradish is a rugged, cold-hardy (to Plant Hardiness Zone 3) perennial that grows best where there’s enough of a winter to force the plants into dormancy. You can choose from two widely available types of horseradish: common horseradish, which has broad, crinkled leaves, and Bohemian, which has narrower, smooth leaves and better disease resistance, though disease is very rarely a problem for home gardeners.
Horseradish thrives in full sun but tolerates light shade. Horseradish can take almost anything but consistently waterlogged conditions. Site your horseradish in an out-of-the way spot, because you won’t want to move this perennial once it is planted.
Grow horseradish from plants or root cuttings set out in spring or fall. You won’t be able to find seeds, but roots are often available at farmers’ markets, grocers, and retail and mail order nurseries. Cut off the top third to half of the root to use in the kitchen, saving the bottom part to plant. Loosen the soil to 12 inches deep and add a shovelful of compost. Plant the root cutting at a 45-degree angle, with the top of the cutting 2 inches below the soil line. Root cuttings from nurseries generally come precut and just need to be planted. One plant is usually plenty for a family. If you love horseradish so much that you need more than one plant, space them 30 inches apart. Water it once a week during dry spells and use a couple of inches of mulch around the plant to help conserve moisture.
You can enjoy your first horseradish harvest one year after planting. Carefully dig away the soil from around the main root, taking care to free up the side roots and remove them at the same time. For the best yields, Oregon State University recommends harvesting after frost kills the foliage. Scrub the main root under running water and dry well. If enclosed in a perforated plastic bag, horseradish root will keep in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for three months or longer.
The most common issue gardeners face with horseradish is how to keep it from growing where they don’t want it. To control its spread, remove the entire root, including its branches, when harvesting; then replant only the number of roots you desire as plants for the following season. Whatever you do, don’t till up ground containing horseradish root or place roots in your compost pile, because you risk spreading the plant all over the garden.
Freshly grated horseradish emits fumes that can make your nose run and irritate your eyes, so prepare it in a well-ventilated area, or even outside if your eyes are extremely sensitive. First, peel a 3- to 4-inch section of root as you would a carrot. Cut it into half-inch chunks and drop them in a blender or food processor. Add ¼ cup cold water and a bit of crushed ice and grind to a fine texture. Have some white-wine or rice-wine vinegar handy.
by Susan Dean | Feb 1, 2018 | Gardening, Music
Nasa’a Pick for Best Air Filtering Houseplants There are many benefits to having plants in our home and office environments. Transpiration from leaves normally raises the humidity in a room by 5-10%, which is particularly good when air is dry. Plants can act as effective botanical air-purification systems. The higher the transpiration rates, the higher the convection currents, which ultimately has a pulling effect on airborne toxins.
During the 1980s, NASA found that some species of plants can eliminate up to 87% of toxins in the air, including formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, trichloroethylene, carbon monoxide, and even dust. These volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) are off-gassed in homes from paint, varnishes, cleaning solutions, insulations, wood, furniture, carpeting and other products. NASA concluded that 15 to 18 mature air-filtering plants in a house with an area of about 160 square meters could maintain the level of emissions in accordance with our environmental standards.
The following thirty species have been shown to be effective biological air filters:
Bamboo Palm (Chamadorea elegans or C. erumpens)
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelini)
English ivy (Hedera helix)
Florist’s mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
Kimberly queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterrata)
Rubber plant (Ficus elastic)
Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens)
Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans)
Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensisI)
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum varieties
Schefflera (Brassaia actinophylla)
Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)
Dendrobium orchid (Dendrobium sp.)
Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia sp.)
Long leaf fig (Ficus binnendijkii)
King of Hearts (Homalomena wallisii)
Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa)
Lily turk (Liriope muscari)
Spider Plant (Clopophytium comosum)
Philodendron (Philodendron sp.)
Dragon tree (Dracena marginata)
Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
Flamingo lily (Anthurium andreanum)
Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens)
Azalea
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
Cast iron plant ( Aspidistra sp.)
Indoor Plants Help Clean the Air
The top ten plants for removing formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air:The Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum “Mauna Loa”) is a compact plant that grows to a height of 3’ with a 2’ spread. This hardy plant tolerates neglect. It prefers indirect sunlight and high humidity, but needs to be out of drafts. Water thoroughly, but allow to dry between waterings. The leaves should be misted frequently with warm water.
The Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata “Bostoniensis”) grows to 4’ in height with a spread to5’. It has feathery ferns best displayed hanging. It prefers bright indirect sunlight. Keep soil moist and mist with water.
The Ficus Alii (Ficus macleilandii “Alii”) grows easily indoors, and resists insects. It prefers
a humid environment and low to medium light. Soil should be kept moist but allowed to dry between watering.
The Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) is a hardy, drought-tolerant and long-lived plant, the Dwarf Date Palm needs a bright spot free of drafts. It grows slowly, reaching heights of 8-10’. The Dwarf Date Palm has sharp needle-like spines arranged near the base of the leaf stem
The Philodendron (Philodendron sp.) is a hardy houseplant. The philodendrons prefer medium light but tolerate low light. Direct sun burns the leaves and stunts plant growth. Plants are available in climbing and non-climbing varieties. When grown indoors, mist regularly and keep leaves free of dust. Soil should be evenly moist, but allowed to dry between watering.
The Dracaena grows to 10’ with a spread of 3’. Plants do best in bright indirect sunlight coming from the east/west. They can adapt to lower light if the water is reduced. Keep soil evenly moist and mist often with warm water. Remove dead leaves. Leaf tips will brown if plant is under watered but browning may be trimmed.
The Rubber Plant (Ficus robusta) Grows very well indoors, preferring semi-sun. Avoid direct sunlight, especially in summer. Young plants may need to be supported by a stake. It grows to 8’ with a spread of 5’. Wear gloves when pruning, as the milky sap may irritate the skin. Water thoroughly when in active growth, then allow the soil to become dry before watering again. In winter keep slightly moist.
The Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) is called the “reed palm”. It prefers bright indirect light. The plant likes to stay uniformly moist, but does not like to be over-watered or to sit in standing water. 
The Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) adapts well to most interiors. Rhapis are some of the easiest palms to grow. The “Lady Palm” grows slowly, but can grow to 14′ in height.
The Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)called the “Butterfly Palm” can reach 10 to 12 foot in height. Likes a humid area. Requires pruning. You want plants with larger caliber trunks at the base.
