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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Why You Need to Grow Chives

Chives...kids seem to love them.  Maybe because it's like eating grass except it tastes better. I'm not sure what it is, but I know our boys liked them and my seven year old nephew loves them too.  It's the one of the herbs you can eat right away like a food, unlike some of the stronger flavored herbs.  After eating them outside, I would send the boys over to the parsley patch and have them eat a few leaves to help kill the onion odor.  I called it the "parsley chaser."

And if you enjoy onions; you'll really like chives.  These hollow tubes of onion-ness are sure to please the gourmet in all of us.  Here are a few reasons why you'll want to include them in your herbal garden...
 

1. Chives are Ridiculously Easy to Grow.  
I personally think this is always a great reason to grow something.  If it's easy and grows well, it makes us look like a garden genius (which is always good!)  Seriously, it is easy to grow and virtually maintenance-free.  It's equally easy to grow by seed or by division.  I've done both.  If you don't dead-head the flowers, you'll have lots of chive seeds and new plants next year.  When you do plant them, it's good to give them some space to spread out because they will.  Not obnoxiously, but will reliably spread over time. 

 Buy seeds at the store or online.  Find the plants at a nursery, or better yet from a friend.  Plant the herbs or sow the seeds in a sunny location or part shade (although I have some in quite a bit of shade and they still do well) and water when needed.  You can also start the seeds indoors earlier if you want.  Chives grow to about 12 inches in height and you will want to think about dividing them every 3-4 years to prevent any root disease.  I have to be honest in saying I have never divided one patch and my container plant I only transplanted twice and haven't had any problems....these little guys are hardy.

2. They Make Excellent Container Plants. 
 I have a large pot of chives right outside my side door.  What makes this great is that they are a few steps away when I'm cooking.  I don't have to weed them, feed them, or baby them.  They are perfectly happy in their little home.  I started with a medium sized garden pot, probably a 12 inch and moved up to the next size (transplanted) some years later when I could tell they were very pot bound.  

When you want to harvest them, just grab a handful of them and cut them close to the roots.  I leave about a half inch to an inch behind.  They will quickly regrow in no time.  In fact, it's reinvigorates them when they are harvested so don't be shy about using them...they like it.

3. They Grow Beautiful Flowers.
Even if you don't like onions or chives, they are so worth growing for the purple flowers in spring.  I have a large stand of them in my front yard and I absolutely love them.  The bees love them too...another eco-bonus for your landscape.  As a matter of fact, there are different alliums which are grown entirely for their flower.  I know because I've bought them over the years.  Having an edible landscape/flower garden is a win-win idea. Let these flowers dry on the plant to collect the small black seeds.  They are small but easily recognizable.  You can use these seeds to start new plants indoors over the fall.  Chives need a dormancy period so it's best to grow new plants for winter as your summer grown plants will need the winter to rest.  

I love to use the flowers in salads and as garnishes by pulling apart the individual florets.  You can also make Chive Blossom Vinegar with them and use the vinegar for salad dressings and marinades.  
 

 

4. Chives Do Have Some Surprising Health Benefits!                                                                 

These little onions are called alliums because they contain "allicin" the compound that garlicand regular onions are known for.  Allicin is known to help reduce cholesterol and also is known for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. 

Chives also contain more Vitamin A than any other allium relative."100 g of fresh leaves contain 4353 IU of vitamin-A or 145% of daily recommended levels." 1     
                                                   
" In addition, the green leaves contain other flavonoid-phenolic antioxidants such as carotenes, zea-xanthin, and lutein. Together, these compounds offer the human body protect from lung and oral cavity cancers." 2  

These little strands of green goodness really pack a punch when it comes to flavor AND health benefits.  Not too shabby for this modest and easy to grow perennial herb you're sure to enjoy.

How do you use Chives?

Use the leaves of this plant by harvesting and chopping them into small pieces.  I use chives to top every meal I make including soups and stews.  They lose their flavor with cooking so it's best to use them fresh at all times.  They also don't dry well.  I've found the best way to preserve them is by making them into an herb butter.  All you need is a stick of softened butter and chopped chives.  Add as many or as little as you like.  Stir to combine well and shape into a roll on a piece of waxed paper, roll to close tightly, wrap in plastic and freeze in an airtight container.  When using, let the log thaw gently and cut into little coins to serve.  Yum...delicious! 

That's all folks.  Chives...an herbal garden hero.  Blessings!



References:
1.http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/chives.html
2. Ibid.
Additional Source:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/407900-health-benefits-of-chives/

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Make an Herbal Container Tea Garden

Herbal teas; also known as "tisanes" are a must-have for any tea drinker.  But if you live in a small space, you may not realize how easy it is to have a small tea garden with herbs.  Many herbs do quite well in containers and they make a great little display as well.  I like my herbs in containers because I can locate them wherever I want and not have to create an flower bed for them.  I also don't have to weed them either.  

I wouldn't recommend putting all your tea herbs in one small pot.  They will grow into beautiful large plants if you separate them and not stuff them into one spot.  Also, when you grow them all together, the more vigorous plants tend to overtake the smaller ones and you can potentially lose an herb this way. Even though those pots with several kinds of herbs look really cute - if you're growing your plants for harvest, this one pot/many herb method really doesn't work well.

                                             1. Start with the Basics.

There are quite a few herbs to choose for your tea garden and the list goes on and depending on what you like.  The basic herbs you will want to include for sure are the mints and chamomile.  When I started drinking herbals, chamomile was my first tea.  It wasn't my favorite but that was because I was drinking it in tea bags (yuk) and using older flowers from herb shops.  Growing your own is a totally different taste sensation.  The taste is fresher, brighter and all around better.  It easy to grow too.  I started mine in the fall in containers and let it overwinter.  It came up fine on its own and I didn't have to do anything really.  Or you can purchase a few plants to get your garden started.  If you leave a few flowers on the plant toward the end of the season, it will easily self-sow.  Just don't empty out the soil from the container. 

                2. Grow Herbs that Will be the Base Flavor for your Own Tea Blends.

For me that is the mints.  I have been growing two different peppermints as well as spearmint for years in pots.  I have found that the best way to keep the strains and flavor of peppermints pure and contained is to grow them this way.  I have a wonderful chocolate mint and a blue balsam mint.  I also keep the mints flavors intact by keeping them from flowering by keeping the leaves picked.  I harvest the top portion of the stem on each stalk and let them air dry or gently dry them in my dehydrator. 
Growing them in the containers makes it easy for me to keep them harvested regularly than if left in a garden bed where they tend to spread and it becomes easy to let them go.  By regularly harvesting the leaves and not letting them flower, they don't cross pollinate, set seed and produce a new diluted mint flavored plant as my other mints have.  

Growing mints and chamomile gives you two great flavor profiles in which to add in other herbs from the garden.  Especially if you are growing herbs for medicine.  Many of the medicinal herbs are bitter tasting by themselves so it's great to add mint and/or chamomile to flavor your own blend.  They also taste great by themselves.

 

3. There are lots of Herbs to Choose for Your Garden.

Besides the herbs mentioned above, there are some great herbs out there to add to your tea garden.  You can start with a few herbs and add some more each season.  I have grown Pineapple Sage, Lemon Balm, Hyssop and don't forget to add a Stevia plant to your garden.  These can grow in containers well and you can use the leaves fresh or dried to sweeten your teas.  I often add dry stevia leaves to my tea blends to naturally sweeten them.  Be adventurous in your tea herbs too, lemon thyme and lemon basil can be refreshing as a tea too.

                      4. Remember to Feed your Container Herbs and Water 
                                                      Them Regularly.
 
Because these plants are living in pots you need to make sure to use a fish emulsion or other organic food once or twice in the summer.  I find I don't need to do much except water the pots if they look a bit wilt-y.  If the summer is really hot, I often move them to a part shade location until they begin to perk up a bit.  Mints tend to like some shade and this is a bonus to growing in containers.

So don't let a lack of space limit you from making your own herbal teas.  Even if you have smaller pots on a patio space or porch, just make sure they get some decent sun and keep them watered for your own fresh teas.  You'll definitely taste the difference.

Blessings!!

What are your favorite tea herbs?

More posts on growing plants in containers:  Container Plant How-To's and How to Plant a Cottage-Style Window Box


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