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Growing Instructions

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  • The Swiss Chard

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Swiss Chard - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Swiss chard is a cold tolerant biennial that is closely related to the beet. It is native to southern Europe and much older than the beet. It is believed to have developed from a form of wild beet thousands of years ago. White, yellow and dark green forms of chard have been known since ancient times. Aristotle mentions a red-stalked chard around 350 BC. Swiss chard has been grown both as a vegetable crop and also as an ornamental. It was introduced into the United States by the colonists who considered it another form of beet grown for its greens. In the 1848 it was listed among the beets. It was written that, “This is a hardy biennial

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  • The Sweet Pea

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Sweet Pea - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions In 1696, a Franciscan monk, Father Cupani was wandering the hillsides of Sicily when he came upon a flower so vividly colored and so potently fragrant that he was captivated. He collected the plant and planted its seed in his monastery garden. The fragrance of this sweet pea was extraordinary like the perfume of honey, propolis and wax that comes from a newly opened beehive. The original plant had deep blue lower petals, known as standards, and purple upper petals, known as wings. Father Cupani sent the seed to a friend in Britain in 1699 and by 1724, the seed was commercially available as Cupani's Original or Matucana. In the early 19th century, the color range of

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  • The Spinach

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Spinach - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Spinach is a cold tolerant annual that was native to central and southwest Asia and was first cultivated in Iran. Wild varieties can be found throughout Asia, North Africa and Europe. There are basically two kinds of spinach: smooth-seeded (including most modern varieties) and prickly-seeded (from several older varieties). Both of these kinds of spinach produce varieties that have smooth leaves or crinkled (savoyed) leaves. New Zealand spinach is actually not a spinach, but is an excellent alternative to spinach. This plant is a perennial which is much more tolerant of heat and drought than traditional spinach varieties. New Zealand spinach was introduced into North America in 1772. Spinach prefers the cold temperatures of early spring or late fall

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  • The Shallot

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Shallot - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Shallots are closely related to multiplier onions which are small onions that multiply freely by producing several lateral bulbs. The difference between a multiplier onion and a shallot is arbitrary. Commercially those onions with yellow or brown skins and white interiors are classed as multiplier onions while those with red skins and a distinctive, delicate flavor are classed as shallots. Unlike onions, shallot bulbs are made up of cloves like garlic and are the size of chestnuts. Shallots have long been associated with fine French cuisine. Their delicate flavor, when cooked, adds to but does not overpower other flavors. Shallot bulbs may be planted in the fall or the spring similar to garlic. Fall plantings will mature earlier. Spring

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  • The Salsify

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Salsify - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Salsify is a hardy, long-season perennial vegetable that has a deliciously flavorful creamy root. It has been cultivated for centuries in Southern Europe and around the Mediterranean. It has never gained widespread popularity, but has always had a very loyal following among a devoted few. Salsify came to the New World with the colonists and was grown throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. In 1848 it was written, “The Salsify is indigenous to England. The roots are bioled or stewed like carrots, and have a mild, sweetish flavor. They are also par-boiled, made into cakes, and fried like oysters, which, when thus cooked, they strongly resemble, in both taste and scent. The stalks of year old plants are

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  • The Rutabaga and the Turnip

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Rutabaga and the Turnip - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Rutabagas and turnips belong to the brassica family which includes cabbage, cauliflowers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mustard among other vegetables. Turnips have been cultivated for thousands of years and are probably native to both Europe and central and western Asia. Rutabagas, which are often called Swede turnips, combine the thick turnip-like roots with bluish green leaves that resemble cabbage leaves. Because of this combination, many have theorized that rutabagas developed as a cross (intentional or unintentional) between turnips and some wild form of cabbage. Since rutabagas are such extremely hardy plants that grow well in Northern Europe and Russia, a hybrid cross could have occurred sometime during the Middle Ages. European colonists brought turnips to

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  • The Rhubarb

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Rhubarb - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Rhubarb is an herbaceous perennial, a member of the buckwheat family. The plant possesses an extraordinary tolerance for both cold and drought. It is hardy to Zone 3 and can be grown in colder climates if mulched. It can adapt to warmer climates where the plants simply die back in summer and resume growth in the fall. It probably originated in the desert region of Siberia around the Volga River Basin. The name, rhubarb, comes from Rha, the name Muscovites gave to the river Volga, and barbarum, a reference to the barbarous people that lived in the region. Rhubarb is also known as “wild strawberry” and “pie plant”. In 1770, Benjamin Franklin who at the time was

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  • The Rape

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Rape - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Rape is an annual belonging to the mustard family and a member of the larger brassica group, which includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and turnips. Little is known about the origin of rape except that the seeds have been highly valued for their oil since ancient times. Nearly half the rape seed is oil. Rapeseed oil is used for cooking, lubricating, lighting, fuel, in the manufacture of soap and synthetic rubber. Canola oil is also made from rapeseed oil. The seed residue after the oil has been extracted can be formed into a cake which is a nutritious livestock food. In the United States, rape is grown for forage, particularly for hogs. It is also sown as a

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  • The Radish

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Radish - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Radishes originated in China, and in China, today, truly wild forms of the radish can still be found. The name, radish, comes from the Latin word, radix, which means “root” and specifically radish root. The genus name, Raphanus, is a Latinized form of a Greek expression raphanos which means “easily reared”. In prehistoric times, the radish spread to Middle Asia where many different forms were developed and soon after, the radish spread to the Mediterranean. Before the pyramids were constructed, ancient Egyptian writing show that radishes were being cultivated, and the ancient Greeks so valued the radish that they offered up little gold radishes to the god Apollo. The Romans also were familiar with various forms of

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  • The Pumpkin and the Squash

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Pumpkin and the Squash - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Squash, beans and corn, known as the “Three Sisters” comprised the trinity that was the staple diet of ancient America. Unbelievably, remains of wild or, possibly, cultivated squash have been found in Mexico that date to 9000 BC. Similar archaeological evidence has been unearthed in South America, Central America and northern, North America. The wild varieties of squash were quite small and unpleasantly bitter tasting. Ancient peoples were not attracted to these vegetables for food. Instead, it is hypothesized, that ancient peoples collected the squash and dried them to make rattles and instruments for ceremonies and containers for storage and eating. Eventually, the ancient peoples came to appreciate and value the squash seeds which were

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