Sprouting Up in Your Garden July 20, 2009

Summer has hit with a vengeance! We have all of our summer veggies planted and yet I am still looking around for room to put more. In fact, we just pulled out the borage by the storage shed to make room to plant.

All this is tempered by the fact that I know that it is almost time to plant for fall. It seems strange, but then I look at the germination temperatures on the back of the seed packets and it all makes perfect sense. These plants that culminate in fall harvest all sprout in 75-95° soil, plus they are quick-growing. Nature has a wonderful design!

So here we are plotting for cooler temperatures while we melt in the summer heat! Needless to say, I don't think we are going to need to use the greenhouse for a while...

Most people plan all winter for their gardens, anticipating spring and summer with relish, poring over seed catalogs, and dreaming of nature's bounty packed away in their homes by fall. And in some parts of the country, this is a necessity because they have a set growing season, from somewhere around April to maybe September before they are faced with frosts again (a respectable 6 months). Some places are even shorter, only 3-4 months. However, here in most parts of Southern California, we are blessed with a Mediterranean climate! So what, you ask? Focus on the word "Mediterranean" and you might see Spain, France, Greece, Italy, and their wonderful array of foods and bounty all year round. We too can grow year round because our climate is remarkably similar, but most people ignore the whole fall and winter seasons. So how do we use this time instead of staring at dirt for 6 months? The trick lies in knowing both which vegetables and varieties you can grow, and knowing what structures or other physical means you can use to protect plants from the occasional hard frosts we encounter.

First up, let's look at the typical kinds of veggies that are good for fall and winter. This includes spinach, lettuces, some gourmet greens, celery, most of the Brassica family (cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, Brussels sprouts, kale, etc), chards, beans, peas, most of the root veggies, and many more (for a good list, click here). Most of these plants can last all winter but need to start out with warm soil temperatures for germination, so you have to start them in mid-to-late summer. That way, they have time to get established before the first frosts come along. Even amongst this list of veggies, there are differences in varieties. When you are shopping for seeds or plants, you must be sure that the breeds you get can tolerate the conditions to come. A good example is spinach; there are varieties of spinach that are bred not to bolt in the heat and aren't that great at tolerating multiple frosts (like America Spinach), but there are also types that have been bred for the cold and would bolt in the first really warm spring day (see Viroflay Spinach). This is true of most of the veggies we have listed here, but there are always the few that will grow in cooler conditions only, so be sure to check the tags on the plants or the backs of seed packets you are planning on buying.

Once you have figured out what plants to get, the next obstacle is what do you do when those hard frosts hit? And you know it is inevitable, as soon as you are starting to get a nice pea crop, the local weather office predicts a hard frost! Yup, it's happened to us too! Allow yourself some mild panic, then take a deep breath and remember what you read here. The plant killing part of the hard frosts is not the temperatures (yes, you heard me right!), but the actual air that settles on the plants. So the trick is to keep this air off the plants, and you do not need a greenhouse or cold frame to do it. All you need is some PVC pipe and elbow joints, short rebar or solid stakes, and some sort of fabric (either leftover landscape fabric, spare old sheets, or even large trash bags will do...use what you have or can get cheap). The basic instructions I will list here, but if you need more details or pictures, I will be posting a page on our website soon (click here).

Whether you have raised beds, containers or rows, the key is to form a tent over your plants to protect them from the effects of the frost. To begin, place your stakes or rebar on either side of the bed or container; these will support the PVC frame you are about to make. Next, build a U-shaped PVC frame high enough to reach over your tallest plants in that section, using the PVC pipe and elbow joints; you don't want the fabric to rest on the plants if you can help it. Slip the ends of the PVC frame over the stakes or rebar. Now form a tent with your fabric, and be sure to weight it down on either side with rocks, bricks, or whatever else you can find. We have found that the hard frosts invariably come with at least a breeze, and in earlier attempts we covered our plants only to come out in the morning and find out the wind had fouled us up (hey, it wasn't windy when we put them on!...lol). Be sure to remove the tents in the morning to avoid fried plants! These tents will help protect your fall-into-winter garden from the worst of the frosts and allow you to continue to enjoy produce from your garden all year round.

I am looking forward to the next shift of the seasons and hope that we have inspired you to look at gardening all four seasons here in Southern California. It is not only possible, but should be taken advantage of and celebrated! Enjoy!

What To Plant Now: Southwest - a good month-by-month approach to what seedlings to plant in your garden, from Mother Earth News

Zucchini Fusilli

Cutting the zucchini into strips and cooking them until they're tender but still holding their shape allows them to twist and turn around the fusilli, clinging to the noodles like sauce. In addition, the pine nuts add richness to the plate, which—like all good pasta dishes—tastes greater than the sum of its parts.

Prep and Cook Time: 40 minutes.

Yield

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds zucchini
2 garlic cloves
12 large basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 tbsp. salt, divided
3/4 pound fusilli
1 cup fresh finely shredded parmesan cheese (about 2 oz.), divided

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, trim and discard ends of zucchini. Cut each zucchini into 3- to 4-in. lengths; cut each length into 1/4- to 1/2-in.-thick matchsticks and set aside. Chop garlic and set aside. Cut basil leaves into thin ribbons and set aside.

2. In a large frying pan over medium heat, toast pine nuts, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. In the same pan, melt 1 tbsp. butter with 2 tsp. olive oil. Increase heat to high and add half of the zucchini and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook zucchini, stirring frequently, until soft and browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer zucchini to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the butter and oil in the pan as possible. Repeat with remaining zucchini and 1/4 tsp. salt. Remove frying pan from heat and reserve.

3. Add remaining 1 tbsp. salt and fusilli to boiling water and cook until pasta is tender to the bite, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

4. Meanwhile, heat reserved frying pan over medium-high heat, add remaining 1 tsp. olive oil and the chopped garlic, and cook until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add reserved zucchini and pine nuts. Cook, stirring, until well combined. Add zucchini mixture and reserved basil to cooked fusilli and toss to combine. Add 1/2 cup parmesan and remaining 1 tbsp. butter. Toss until butter melts and everything is well combined. Divide among 6 plates or pasta bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup parmesan and serve immediately.

We will be working on our internal structure for gardening services, and thinking about a CSA-type delivery that would involve monthly plants. If you have any comments, thoughts or ideas, we would be happy to hear them!

If there are any questions or subjects you would like us to cover, please email us at amity@sproutinguporganically.com and then look for them in future newsletters!