Planning a seasonal kitchen garden

 Planning my garden for the next season is always exciting. This year I had a chance of getting all heirloom seeds from Baker and Creek Heirloom Seed Company thanks to my niece who is in Houston these days.

Here is my mouth-watering list of vegetables that I ordered.
1. California Wonder pepper
2. Tam Jalapeno pepper
3. Golden Marconi Pepper
4. Tom Thumb Lettuce
5. Rossa di Treviso
6. Mizuna red streak
7.Strawberry popcorn
8. Pencil Cob dent Corn
9.Chinese Red Noddle Beans
10.Dragon Tongue Bush Bean
11.Emerald Okra
15. Chinese long eggplant
16. White scallop squash
17. Purple Cosmic Carrot
18. Tamarillo or Tree-Tomato
 

A few vegetables are must in my kitchen garden because of the diversity in their flavors, colors and appearance and also because they are perfect for a container garden. Here is what I selected and why.

1. California Wonder pepper
2. Tam Jalapeno pepper
3. Golden Marconi Pepper

1. Bell Peppers:

 I love heirloom Bell Peppers!  Sweet Peppers are high in Vit C and provide good amounts of Vit B-6 and Vit A. They make my dishes cheerful and fun to make and eat. I wanted to have yellow and red bell pepper. California Wonder is the most famous red bell pepper that I love to grow. Golden Marconi Pepper makes me drool.
Besides sweet peppers I have also included Tam Jalapeno chilli pepper which is even more nutritious than the other two. This means, better pastas, pizzas , pickles and salads!

4. Tom Thumb Lettuce
5. Rossa di Treviso
6. Mizuna red streak

2. Salad Greens and Reds

Me and my husband love crunchy salad leaves in our sandwiches, salads and wraps. Some greens even make the stock more flavorsome.
I try to have several types of greens that mature in different times and have a diversity of colors and textures. We avoid strong flavors and try to include mild to sweet flavored lettuce.
This year I have included, super fast and super rich in Vit A, Tom Thumb Lettuce that can be harvested in 45 days, Chicory, Radicchio that is a perennial which means I can harvest 2 or more heads from the same planting and Mizuna which is packed with Vit C and A besides Calcium, Vit B-6, Iron and Magnesium. 

7.Strawberry popcorn
8. Pencil Cob dent Corn

3. Corns
Although, Corn is sown in Spring and Summer but I will still try to grow these in Fall when its still hot in Karachi.

Corn has always been a fun snack and perfect ingredient for nutritious meals. They can grow easily in containers and look spectacular in your kitchen garden.  To make this display even more fascinating, I picked 2- 3'' big Strawberry popcorn which will become a perfect evening snack for us!  Pencil cob dent Corn is said to be best corn for containers. This will also store well and taste best when used fresh.

9.Chinese Red Noddle Beans
10.Dragon Tongue Bush Bean

4. Beans 
Growing beans is always rewarding. There are so many varieties and flavors to explore that you can never gt bored of growing these. I am growing two very unusual yet stunning beans this season. Chinese Red noddle beans is a vine that will have plenty of wall and trellis to grow on. These deep red beans are 18 inches long that create absolutely stunning display. People who grow this say that the vines wont stop producing fruit!  

Dragon Tongue Bush bean is relatively compact plant with good yields that will tolerate our summer temperatures too.

11.Emerald Okra
15. Chinese long eggplant

4. Okra and Eggplants
Two of my favorite vegetables which hardly makes me happy as a vegetable grower but I am determined to learn to produce best crop possible.

Emerald Okra is know for its high continuous yields of smooth, long , deep green tasty pods even in droughts. Ma-Zu Chinese long eggplant is something I always wanted to grow. This plant produces long 8-12 inch long fruit for a long season and is especially productive in summers. I might also use it for tomato transplants.

16. White scallop squash
17. Purple Cosmic Carrot

6. Squash and Carrots
My love for Squashes made me select White Scallop Squash  for my summer garden but I will try to grow these in winter as well. I am hoping that they will do great in big containers. I have also included Purple Cosmic Carrot because its thin, almost core-less and have a very distinctive color that is closer to our red carrot. This seems like a perfect alternate to the famous Nantes Carrots that is usually grown in containers.

18. Tamarillo or Tree-Tomato

7. Tamarillo or Tree-Tomato

I am too excited for growing these! I have not ordered any tomatoes this time because I was too excited for this similar fruit. Even though I do not have enough space to grow these but I would love to try!! 


Here is my plan for coming season. Share yours on our page Crops in Pots .For any questions and suggestions please write to us.


Happy Gardening

From My Garden: Summer Warmth

We might hate summer heat but my plants love it! They have grown remarkably in last month. Here is just a quick update.

Purple pepper in May 2013

Purple pepper in June 2013

Red Papaya in Nov 2013

Red Papaya in June 2013

 

 

Melon in May 2013

Melon in June 2013

From My Garden: New Flowers

DIY: Graft a Tomato

Bigger and Better Cherry Tomatoes

Who doesn't want high yielding, bigger and tastier tomatoes that grow for a longer season. Here is my secret of growing tomatoes that will not stop fruiting !

During past few years, seed companies introduced " grafted tomatoes" that produce high yields and bigger sets of tomatoes.  I came to know about grafted tomatoes from one of such seed catalogs from UK. I had to experiment so I watched several tutorials to learn how to graft my own tomatoes. Here is what I learned.

Stronger Roots, Better Harvest

Tomatoes are usually grafted on a plant with stronger root system this absorbs more nutrients from the soil and help tomatoes produce better fruits. Many heirloom seed savers also use this method for saving best seeds but commercially, seed companies and garden stores offer grafts on a hybrid rootstock that is grown for pest and disease resistance. I used OP Eggplant as a root stock for grafting Sungold Tomatoes.

Make a  Top Graft

Grafts made on 12 September 2012

Making a  top graft is generally very simple. You just need a little practice and a couple of extra seedlings!
It is important that the stems of your root stock and scion (tomato) stems have same diameters. Ideally, you should sow both plants at the same time. I started my tomato plants from seeds in late August 2012 and bought eggplant seedlings from Mom's Garden, which were slightly bigger than my tomatoes. Make grafts when your plants have 2 sets of true leaves.

Use a sterilized razor to make a clean V cut on the scion stem just above the seed cover leaves. Quickly, insert this stem into a vertical cut made on the rootstock. Use a graft clip or a smooth string to keep it in place. Water your pots and cover it with a plastic bag to keep it humid. I placed my plants in shade for a week until the grafts were made. Use bamboo to support long stems.

If some of your plants wilt immediately, they dint make it. Be prepared for this. Always graft several seedlings at one time to cover for any losses.

Once your grafts are made, take your time to bring the plants back into the full sun.  There is no need to remove the clip or the string at this stage.

Grafted vs Regular Tomato Plants

(R) non-grafted Sungold Tomato plant; (L) Grafted Sungold Tomato Plant

I wanted to learn if grafted tomatoes are really that impressive for this reason , I planted a plant of the same variety without grafting along with the grafted plant. It was very clear in just few days that the grafted tomato was growing faster and healthier. The leaves were bigger, greener and disease free while the non-grafted tomato had signs of an attack by leaf miner and the leaves were too small as compared to the grafted tomato. Grafted tomato also had thicker stem.

Grafted tomato produced  first set of flowers sooner than the regular plant and produced fuller sets of fruits too.

However, at one point, the grafted plant stopped growing taller, instead it became denser while the regular one, kept growing taller. After a week or two, it started growing again.

Right: Grafted tomato; Left: regular tomato[ April 2013]

Grafted tomato was almost double the size of the regular tomato and the plant kept fruiting till April 2012 that is 8 months!

I think, with better fruiting varieties I can get better yields. But so far, grafted tomatoes have impressed me by their super healthy leaves and bigger  tomatoes.

Do grow some grafted tomatoes the next season and share your progress with us on our page Crops In Pots or email us at crops.in.pots@gmail.com.
 
Happy Gardening !

Zahra