One Amazingly Easy Container Vegetable to Grow This Year!

 Years ago I planted a decidedly non-trendy vegetable in the garden.  I'm not sure why I was compelled to grow something that I had no idea what it was, but for me that was typical in my early gardening years.  I was in the experimental zone with the garden as my laboratory and this promising new veggie was one of the first of my discoveries.

Tomatillo "Toma Verde"

The plants grew.  As a matter of fact, they more than grew.  They made their presence very well-known in my small garden space and I wasn't able to keep up with their fruits.  By the end of summer, I was pulling up seedling after seedling of this alien vegetable which was determined to take over the world, er, my garden and tomatillo was its name...

I didn't even know what to do with them.  I made up some salsa with them but was too afraid to eat it.  But the whole episode was not a loss.  I formed a connection with these super easy to grow plants that were prolific to boot.  I would be growing them again and I did but not until many years later.

Tomatillos in early summer.

Years later in the culinary scene, salsas were becoming "all the rage" and tomatillo plants were now showing up in garden centers (on purpose!)  I had begun to cook with them, actually buying them at the store for my White Chicken Chili and Roasted Salsa Verde.  So I decided to grow them again but realized I didn't have room for them in my small home garden and so I tried them at our community garden.

Early fruits and blooms

They grew well but were infested by a caterpillar that destroyed practically every fruit. Bummer.  I wouldn't spray my plants but decided to try them at our house again where the bugs weren't as voracious.  This time I grew them in containers.  

 Tomatillos are a member of the nightshade family and are a distant relative of our red tomato.  They originated in Mexico and are heavily consumed there after being fried, boiled or steamed.  With the hot pepper trend beginning in the U.S. over the last 10 years, tomatillos became sought after for their tangy, slightly citrus-y flavor and of course their amazing color.

Tomatillos in containers; late summer

Tomatillo fruits are covered by a thin husk that the fruit actually grows into after a small yellow flower blooms.  The husks continue to grow until you get a nice golfball sized fruit that means it's perfect for picking.

When I started my seedlings, I use the same growing culture as for regular tomatoes and grow them alongside them by starting them indoors at the same time.  The leaves of the tomatillo are definitely different than that of a tomato so no problem telling them apart. 

Why plant in a container?  Two reasons for me; first, I ran out of room in my garden and two, I didn't want their seedling volunteers to take over my garden then next year.  Not that I don't love volunteers, but they are very happy to multiply when they are happy where they're grown.  And besides, they grew very well in the 5 gallon pots I planted them in.  I didn't do much, just watered and fertilized with an organic mix a few times over the summer and gave them lots of sun and heat.  They did the rest.

A few pointers for growing them:

1. Make sure to plant more than one or two!  I only planted one container the first year and got all blooms and one fruit.  They need more plants in order to cross pollinate.  I also made sure the leaves and blooms all intertwined with each other so the bees would have no problems hopping from one plant to the other.  Four plants gave me enough for fresh eating as well as lots for freezing.

2.  To freeze them: Pick the fruit when it fills out the husk but before it turns yellow.  You can still use the yellow ones but the green ones are what you want.  Peel the husks and compost.  Lightly wash the fruit (they have a sticky substance on them) and dry.  Then place in a freezer bag on it's side in the amount you need to use for a recipe.  I used quart bags and filled them and placed a few hot peppers for instant salsa verde.  They freeze unbelievably well and last a long time in a deep freeze.  Just take them out to thaw, puree and cook when you need them.

So if you're a veggie risk-taker like me, then you'll love growing these plants and more importantly, you'll love eating them.

This is a great vegetable to add to your diet and perfect for a container garden!  You can find growing guidelines here at Organic Gardening.

Happy planting and blessings!


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Garden Update: Transplanting Tomatoes

It's hard to believe that April is gone and May is here.  With May comes more outside gardening work and that includes transplanting seedlings that have been started indoors and hardened off outside.  I started them using recycled materials that I wrote about in a previous post.  In mini-green houses, I set them near registers indoors to germinate and then took them outside, covered, on warmer sunny days to harden off.  The method worked out great as it allowed me to get them started inside but used the sun outside instead of sun lamps or placed on the windowsills.

 This method also caused the plants to become hardier and sturdier than they would be if completely raised inside.  Even though these little seedlings leaves are a bit battered from being outside in the elements, their new leaves will be more than ready to do the job.  

You will know it's time to transplant once the second set or "true" set of leaves start to appear.  When these leaves appear, the plants put out a long tap root and you'll want to transplant before that happens to make the it less stressful for the tomatoes. 

I decided to use some small plastic cups (8 oz size) that I had left over to use as the new tomato plant containers.  These would be perfect for the job.  However, drainage is vital for each new plant so I needed a fast way to put in drainage holes.  Here's a photo tutorial on how to easily do this.  I found this on another garden bloggers site.  A great idea I have to say...

With all the drainage holes in place in each cup, I went on to put drainage holes in my mini-greenhouse containers too.  Then filling each cup with planting mix, I wet the soil thoroughly and went to hang some clothes out on the line while the soil-less mix absorbed the water.  I like to give it some time to settle in before planting the new seedlings.

To actually transplant the seedlings, I used a plastic fork to gently loosen the soil around the plant holding the plant by its leaves (never the stem.)  Once it was loosened, I was able to dislodge it from the soil and place it in its new home.

Because tomatoes are a vine, you can bury the stem as deep as you want.  It will form roots along the stem and become stronger as it grows.  These plants got a bit "leggy" from a lack of light inside, but transplanting them deeper solves this problem.

And there you have it...25 plants all relocated into new homes; larger pots...or in this case - cups.  I'll just recycle the cups when they're finished too.  I will probably transplant the tomatoes one more time to larger pots before putting in the garden in late May or earliest June.  Now that they are in a bigger pot, they'll take off with this round of warm weather we're expecting to have around here.  To give them extra warmth, I'll cover them with their greenhouse lids at night to help keep the temps stable and to give them the best start.  Tomatoes like warm weather.

Tomatoes done for now...peppers are next!!  Looking forward to a great garden this year.  Hope yours is too....Blessings!

What are you doing in the garden right now??



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Seed Catalogs: Reviewing the Pros and Cons

I don't know about you, but this is the season for seed catalogs and I certainly have gotten my share this year and have been inundated in the past as well.  They do tend to pile up in numbers but their color filled pages get me to dreaming about this year's garden.

Why even order out of a catalog?  
After all, most stores carry lots of seeds this time of year.  Well, here's a look at why you may want to consider placing a seed order through the mail and the downsides as well.  

If you've never ordered out of a seed catalog, then it's pages can seem a bit daunting for sure.  But once you narrow down the staple items you're looking for, like beans, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc; it gets much easier.  So let's take a look at the benefits first of ordering seeds through the mail or online.

1. Choices, choices and choices!! 
  Why you do have quite a few options in the store, seed catalogs generally carry a lot more inventory and this means more choices and options for you.  This is one step closer to gardening successfully.

2. More options means finding varieties suited to YOUR growing conditions.  
 This is one huge advantage I love about seed catalogs.  Not only many varieties, but you can pick a zucchini that is a space saver and only 47 days until fruiting...this is a huge plus if you are short on space and live in an area that has a short growing season.  Stores usually carry a limited amount of vegetables and each variety may have only 3-5 choices depending on what it is.  This means that if I'm looking for an heirloom squash or more choices in certain kinds of pumpkins, I'm probably going to be very limited in what they offer.

3. It's much easier to find and buy heirloom and organic seeds. 
  If you only plant these types of seeds, then they will be much more difficult to find in a store.  Burpee does offer its own heirloom seeds, but again, their offerings are pretty limited and if organic is the only option for you, then this option may not even be in the stores.  I have to grow some hybrids because of limited space and I need disease resistant tomatoes, so I tend to use a catalog that will carry a selection of heirlooms as well.

4. You get more seeds per package. 
 What's great about most seed companies is that they will give you an approximate number of seeds in a packet.  You generally get more in them then from a packet from the store.  This is not a problem for something like eggplant, but when it comes to green beans, I want to make sure I get enough for a good planting and I always do when ordering from a catalog. 

5. You get lots of information in your catalog about each variety.  
For me this is really important.  I like the descriptions from the smaller seed companies where they give personal reviews of what they liked about a specific variety of vegetable.  For instance, "...very sweet tasting and prolific...we harvested 20 peppers from one plant."  This helps me so much when making a decision.  I feel more assured I made the right choice.  When in the store, the lack of information makes me feel like I'm taking a shot in the dark with that vegetable.  Many times it works, but it feels more stressful because they just don't tell you a lot.

6. You can actually help support seed saving. 
 If you order from the Seed Savers Exchange, then you are helping a non-profit business succeed with its vision to save heirloom varieties for future generations.  That always feels pretty good!  Also, you should be able to save the seeds of many of the varieties from there because they are open-pollinated. Buy once and plant many times again.

The downsides...

1. It can be expensive.  
Not only can the seed prices be a little heftier depending on what company you are ordering from, but if you add in the shipping charges, this can add up very quickly.  I do find the quality is really good with most seed companies though. If you're ordering from a catalog but don't have a large order, you may be able to share the expenses with another gardening friend.

2.  You may not be able to get all your seed needs from one catalog.  
This is where it can really hurt you.  Paying shipping one time can be bad enough, but twice?  Ouch.  I try to place an order with the company that is going to offer me the most varieties I'm looking for and use the store to supplement the seeds that I don't need to be as fussy about.

3.  It takes time to get your order. 
This is not a problem if you order early, but if you don't then you won't be able to get what you're looking for in time to grow for that season.  I've procrastinated about ordering so many times and missed out on certain vegetables I wanted to grow.  You have to be purposeful when ordering through the mail.

A few more bonuses with seed catalogs...

1. Lots of great information!  
They usually give you more planting information for a specific vegetable and then a great description of each variety.  When just starting out in gardening, I used to study seed catalogs because they are packed full of great gardening knowledge (I still study them!) I've noticed this most with the smaller specialty companies. They know that more practical information means you'll have a better garden, and they want you to do well with their seeds.  So they are generous on planting tips, how-to's and facts about different varieties.  This makes them great free resources that make junk mail pretty valuable!

2. They sometimes include recipes. 
 How great is that?  I love that they give you ideas for some of the specific foreign type vegetables too...this is a fun plus that helps you to want to experiment with different varieties than what you may be used to.

3. They can make your garden much more successful.  That's right.  With all the great information, they can help you choose varieties suited for your particular growing zone and region.  The more specific you plant to your growing area the better your harvest will be.  For example, they will often tell you what kind of onions to grow if you live in the north as opposed to the south.  They will often recommend varieties that have been proven to grow well in certain zones too.  This helps so much if you're a new gardener or are trying to grow a new vegetable that you've never tried before.  You typically don't find this information in a store display of seeds.

Cook's Garden

So, there you have it...just a few things to think about when considering ordering online or from a catalog.  I always order online from the paper catalog as I like reading from a paper copy better than trying to read everything online.  However, you may find navigating a web page a bit easier than a catalog.

I personally am hoping paper catalogs never stop as they are great to pick up and hold and pass along to a friend and gardener.

What's your favorite seed catalog?

Blessings!


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Seed Packets: Packages of Promise

 

There has always been something very enticing about a seed packet.  Whenever I see them in a store or in a catalog, I have to stop and look at them; almost as if I've never seen them before.  Maybe it's because they only make their appearance once a year.  Or maybe it's the rows of enticing pictures and colors that pull me in. They seem to stand out like picture postcards foretelling of happy times to come.

Whatever it is; I'm always drawn to them.  They scream out life in the middle of winter,  speak of hope for new seasons, and forecast great things coming my way if I'll only bring them home.

  

 It's not just the pictures that draw me either, the names are compelling as well.  The old timers who named many of the heirloom varieties were very creative and descriptive.  No Green Bean No. 17 here.

 With such names as "Green Tiger," "Red Russian," and "Dragon's Tongue," I feel as if I'm in the middle of a fantasy story itself, anxiously waiting for the story to unfold.

 Each packet holds the key to a new life in the recesses of it's paper shell.  Tiny seeds of promise, hope, life and renewal.  Promises that if you carefully follow its instructions, you will reap a harvest of fruitfulness and abundance.  I really like that...

All this in a 98 cent packet + good soil and water + a little hard work + faithfulness and hope = Abundant Harvest.  Wow.  I'm in!  Guess that's why gardening is such a rewarding way of life.  

Here's hoping all your promises come true this year...blessings!

Are you seed packet addict fan? 



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