Plant your garlic cloves this fall to enjoy next summer!

Freshly harvested Garlic

Garlic should be planted in the fall in order to enjoy it next summer!  Most garlic falls into two categories; softneck and hardneck.  Most of the garlic available in the grocery store is softneck; they are named this because their stalks remain pliable.  The less common hardnecks develop a stiff stem at their core in addition to their leafy stalks.  

Garlic does not produce viable seed, so it must be propagated by planting individual cloves.  Late summer into early fall is the best time to buy garlic for planting.  Mail order catalogs have a wide variety but you can also score some sweet garlic for planting at your local farmer's market.

Garlic does have a lengthy growing season and benefits from a winter dormant period.  In Oklahoma it is normally planted from September through early November.  Break the garlic bulb into unpeeled cloves no more than a day or two before planting so they don't dry out.  Place the pointed end of the clove up during planting and the blunt end down.  If you plant the cloves upside down or sideways they will spend considerable energy twisting around underground before sending up shoots, resulting in a small, unshapely bulb.

Cloves are generally planted 1 to 2 inches deep and spaced a minimum of 4 inches apart in the row, with the rows set a least a foot apart.  Garlic's yield is ten-fold, so if you plant a pound of garlic you will harvest about 10 pounds of bulbs!

Hardneck Scapes

Sometime in the early summer, hardneck garlic will send up a stiff central stem high above the leafy stalks, ending in a pigtail, or scape.  Remove the scape to redirect the energy into the bulb.    Softneck bulbs usually mature a week or so before the hardnecks, around mid-July or early August.  The leaves of both varieties will turn brown and die.  When approximately 40% of the leaves have died back its time to harvest!  

Don’t Forget About the Herbs!

Here at Urban Garden spring is under way! This is your friendly manager, Amanda, and I just wanted to update everyone on what all is going on here. We have a new intern here that I want everyone to come and welcome to our store. His name is Max and he is eager to learn everything he can about urban gardening! Jackie, our right hand lady, is graduating this spring from OSU with a Horticulture degree so please everyone come by and congratulate her on her accomplishment! Our boss lady, Enid, is running the Oklahoma City Marathon on May 1 so please come and wish her good health and good running chi for her race.

We are stocked with plenty of vegetables and annuals right now but something special we carry is locally grown herbs.  Herbs are easy to grow, aromatic, fun to use in culinary dishes, and rewarding to keep! They are practical and economical because everyone uses herbs and they are easy to over winter inside in containers which saves you money! We buy our herbs from Guthrie Greenhouses in Guthrie, Oklahoma and from Peppermint Dragon Farms in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.  They are all $1.99 each. The herbs we have in stock right now are:

·         Penny Royal

·         Round Midnight Basil

·         Christmas Basil

·         Sweet Basil

·         Genovese Basil

·         Summer Thyme

·         English Thyme

·         Chinese Chives

·         Greek Oregano

·         Dukat Dill

·         Italian Parsley

·         Curly Parsley

·         Lemongrass

·         Extract Sage

·         Catnip

·         Peppermint

·         Lemon Balm

·         Spearmint

Some frequently asked questions I have been getting about herbs:

What is Penny Royal?

Penny Royal also known as Flea mint, Mosquito Plant, Pudding Grass, or Churchwort is a late summer blooming perennial that likes full sun to part shade. Planting penny royal around your yard will act as an insect (think flies, mosquitoes, fleas and ticks) repellent. Another clever way to use it as a deterrent as recommended by Peppermint Dragon Farms was to roll a sprig or two up in your sleeve and pant cuff or socks and pockets. Make it so the churchwort is secure in your clothing and not touching your skin. Pudding grass is an excellent ground cover that easily spreads and has purple flowers that emerge in the late summer.

What’s the difference between the basils?

All basil is for the most part an outdoor annual but can be grown year around inside.  Most basils are green in color with a large waxy leaf however there are some varieties that are purple and red.  Basil likes full sun to part shade, well drained soil and can be up to if not sometimes taller than 14 inches.  Pinch back your basil if your wish to promote bushiness. Do not let your basil flower because it ruins the flavor of the herb and shortens the lifespan of the plant.

Genovese Basil- This basil has a very full, large leaf and is supposedly the best basil for making pesto. It is a wonderful apple green all summer and loves full sun and part shade.  This particular variety of basil is especially prolific (it produces a lot!). Freeze your pesto in ice cube trays for small portions that are easy to add to hot fresh pasta. Save a little of the starchy pasta water to add to make the pasta a little saucier.

Sweet Basil- This basil has a bright green medium sized leaf and is more appropriate for something like a tomato caprese. It has a sweet mild flavor and is very prolific much like the Genovese basil.

Christmas basil- A unique basil that has green leaves, purplish-red stems and dark purple blooms. It is often used in bouquets. This one has a sweet and fruity aroma and taste.

Round Midnight Basil- This special basil has leaves that are about 95% purple and 5% green.  It has purple blooms and can turn completely purple in full sun! It has a spicier flavor and is very showy when tossed into fresh cooked pasta with olive oil, garlic, slow roasted Roma tomatoes, mozzarella and of course a little starchy pasta water.

What’s the difference between lemon balm and lemon grass?

Lemon Balm is a perennial that likes full sun to partial shade, well drained soil and can get up to two feet tall and a foot wide. It has a wrinkly dark green leaf that produces a lemony smell and oil when rubbed. It belongs to the mint family.  It is great in green salads, fruit salads, marinated veggies, drinks and meat marinades. It is also good for repelling insects but has a flower that is an attractor for honeybees. It is best to harvest it before it flowers for optimum flavor.

Lemon Grass is a tropical perennial tufted grass with long green sharp-edged blades.  It grows in medium sized dense clumps, likes full sun and well drained soil.  The white lower part of the plant is used in culinary cooking either fresh or dried.  It is known as a mild insect repellent and looks great as a garden border. It harmonizes well with coconut milk, as well as poultry and seafood. It can grow to considerable size approximately a foot wide by two feet tall. 

Which mint should I buy?

Naturally, I’m going to have to say you should buy them all. But if you have to choose one you should determine what you use your mint for the most. Spearmint is an easy to grow perennial and spreads easily. I recommend keeping it in a container in full sun to mostly shade.  It is a rich green color and can sometimes have furry leaves.  This mint is best for mojitos, oils, and drying. Peppermint is actually a hybrid mint.  It is a cross between spearmint and watermint.  It has similar growth habits and care needs as spearmint. Peppermint has a high menthol content and is used for teas, and for flavoring toothpaste, chewing gum, confectionary, and ice cream.  The flowers are large nectar producers and attract honeybees.

What is catnip?

Catnip is in the mint family and is commonly referred to as catmint. Catnip can be an annual or a perennial and has tall, green sometimes furry leaves and stalks with lavender flowers.  I usually grow this in a container so that my cat has access to it whenever he wants but my boss has a giant patch in her backyard that usually comes back every year.  It is good fresh or dried and my cat just eat s it off the plant.  Catmint is also used as a mosquito and fly repellent. This herb can be used as a recreational drug for your pet cats’ enjoyment! The common behaviors are: rubbing on the plant, ingesting the plant, drooling, sleepiness, or anxiety.  Catnip can also be drunk as a tea, juice, or infusion for it soothing properties.

What can I cook with my herbs?

If you buy dill and garlic chives and some of the cucumbers we sell you could make pickles or a refreshing cucumber salad-just add some olive oil or avocado oil. Dill is great chopped up into dips with sour cream and onion flakes.  It’s a welcome addition to any salad and is easy to combine into butter for a gourmet dill butter spread.  There are tons of ways to use mint. Its great sautéed with asparagus, marinated with lamb chops, pork or chicken, and there are many bar drinks that are fun to add mint into.  Basil can be used in a tomato salad or pasta salad, topped on a piping hot pizza, and pureed into pesto and mixed into fresh pasta for a quick meal.  It’s also not so bad in a drink with some gin either. Cilantro is always a welcome addition to salsa, ceviche, pasta salad, green salad, pizza, pork, fish, and of course poultry.  It’s amazing atop tacos and of course not a bad garnish for a drink or dinner plate.  Sage is yummy on a pizza with figs and feta cheese. It’s a great addition to a marinade for any kind of meat.  Most herbs can be infused with oil.  If you plant oregano, thyme, parsley and basil you will have fresh spaghetti seasonings.  Be sure to visit the Linnaeus Garden Center’s herb garden and learn more about cooking and cultivating herbs.  It’s a free gorgeous garden to visit tucked back behind Woodward Park at 21^st&Peoria and I’m a volunteer there!

Any of the herbs we sell will be an excellent choice as long as you determine what herbs you will eat the most and what kind of area you will be planting them in compared to their care needs.  Herbs are easy to grow, rewarding to have and economical to keep.  They provide excellent foliage in the yard and some are excellent natural pest repellants.  Some herbs have health benefits and are natural remedies. Try some herbs this year in your garden! That’s all for now, fellow gardeners.

Your friendly manager,

Amanda

Tulsa's Urban Garden: What can I plant right now??

www.tulsaurbangarden.com

What can I plant right now??

Hey fellow Urban Gardeners!

It's Amanda, your friendly UG manager.  I was thinking today that many of us are just frothing at the bit with anticipation to put something green in the ground, especially me! I thought I would select a few cold weather crops and plants that would be perfect to plant right now.

Broccoli
Broccoli is classified as a brassica green. It's relatives are brussel sprouts, cabbage, caulifower, kale, mustard, radishes, and turnips.  Broccoli grows best in full sun for at least 6 hours a day.  It needs well-drained soil that's steadily fertilized. Mexican bat guano would be an excellent choice and is easy to add as a top dressing that can be watered in to the soil.  If starting broccoli from seed, it is best to start them indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, which is now. We sell excellent 12 site seed starter kits that fit in your window and include grow media, a grow tray, and a humidity dome for only $2.99.
Planting broccoli in a container is an easy solution to a small growing area.  Make sure to pick a container that's at least 12 inches deep, choose a variety that is known for producing plenty of side shoots and be sure to fertilize or choose a soil with fertilizer in it such as Fox Farm's Ocean Forest. 

Brussel Sprouts
Brussel sprouts grow on a large, tall plant with their heads spiraling up and down the thick stalk. They need full sun for about 6 hours and must be in a well drained steadily fed soil. We need to plant our brussel sprout starts as soon as possible because they do not tolerate warm temperatures (above 78 degrees or so) well at all. Mulch is an important factor to spread around your brussel plants because they do not like their soil to dry out more than a few inches deep.  Cottonseed meal ($7.95 for 2.75lbs)  would be an excellent fertilizer to side-dress your plants with when the brussel sprout heads just start to form.  As far as containers go, brussel sprouts might not do very well since they can become very large plants.  Some varieties can get as big as 3 to 5 feet tall and up to 2 feet wide.  You can begin harvesting your brussel sprouts as soon as their heads reach 1 inch in diameter.  If you leave the heads on the stalk too long the tightly wrapped heads will loosen which would be an invitation to pests, like aphids.  Brussel sprout leaves are edible as well however they are tougher and thicker than other cabbage-family greens.

Cauliflower
Cauliflower can be sensitive to warm temperatures so it is best to get this cabbage-family vegetable in the ground about 1 to 2 weeks before the last expected spring frost.  It is best if the ground temperature is around 55 degrees fahrenheit.  If you want to grow it from seed now is the time to plant them indoors for them to be ready to transplant outside in April. Cauliflower needs about 6 hours or so of full sun a day.  Soil is a very important factor in growing healthy cauliflower.  It needs to be well drained and well fertilized.  It is essential to water cauliflower when the top few inches of soil are dry.  I would recommend feeding your cauliflower every 2 weeks with a diluted fish fertlizer such as Neptune's Harvest ($14.95 for a 36oz bottle).  Cauliflower can be grown in containers but it is a one time producer; one cauliflower head and the plant is done and ready for the compost pile.  Once the cauliflower heads start to form, it should only be a week or two until they are ready for harvest.  You will want to cut your cauliflower when it's head reaches about 6 inches across.  It will seem much smaller than what we are used to in the grocery store, but I've found it is much wiser to harvest a small, high-quality head than risk it becoming overmature.

These three vegetables grow well together in a garden because they all have about the same needs. They all require about 6 hours of full sunlight, need well draining soil, and they all need to be properly fertilized with a mild fertilizer like fish emulsion or bat guano every two weeks or so.  Please come see us soon and get some yummy brassica family greens in the ground! We have all three of the cool-weather vegetables available in heathly 4 Inch rounds that sell for $1.35 each. These are locally grown so they are hearty enough for our crazy Oklahoma weather.

Lacewings, Beneficial Nematodes, Ladybugs and Red Wigglers!

We have a fresh supply of Lacewings, Beneficial Nematodes, Ladybugs and Red Wigglers!  Stop in today.  Remember until fall, we are open late on Monday and Tuesday !

You say Ladybug, We say Ladybird Beetles!

Today we received our first shipment of ladybugs! We have ordered these for our own personal use, but this is our first shipment for the store. Today the FedEx dude dropped off our ladybugs and they were alive!

The life cycle of the ladybug is between four & six weeks. Ladybugs lay up to 300 eggs in the spring in an Aphid colony. The newly hatched larvae feed on Aphids for up to 3 weeks. The adult Ladybug emerges about a week later. Ladybugs usually do not have their spots for their first 24 hours of adulthood. So if you catch one without any spots, you may have a very young adult!

Ladybugs are very interesting...did you know?

There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of Ladybugs worldwide.
A female Ladybug will lay more than 1,000 eggs in her lifetime. Whew!
A Ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies! Brings new meaning to "Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home..."
Aphids are a Ladybugs favorite food. That makes me very happy.
Ladybugs chew from side-to-side; not up and down like people.
A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 Ladybugs.
Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators don't eat them.
If you squeeze a Ladybug it will bite you, but don't cry the bite is harmless & painless.
The spots on a Ladybug will fade when it gets older.
During hibernation, Ladybugs will feed on their stored fat.
Ladybugs won't fly if the temperature is below 55 degrees.
The ladybug is the official state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee.
The male Ladybug is usually smaller than the female Ladybug.

Most people know the Ladybug by its nickname, but Entomologists refer to it by the technical term, Ladybird Beetle. Ladybugs help gardeners and farmers by consuming huge numbers of plant-eating pests. In winter Ladybugs may be found hibernating in protected hiding places such as tree stumps, cracks in wood or ground-covering vegetation. They hibernate in groups of 50 to 100 MILLION to produce and conserve warmth.

Bonsai Trip

Hello Gardeners! We have returned from our "bonsai express" run to Olive Branch, Mississippi! Wow what a trip, we left a little late on Friday but arrived in plenty of time to scope-out the nursery and plan our purchases for Saturday. Brussel's Bonsai was so beautiful and green, especially with such great weather. The Specimen House was completely amazing. I have never seen such impressive bonsai specimens. Of course, it was fun to imagine purchasing one of these beauties, but the price tags were in the THOUSANDS of dollars. Everything was so neatly groomed perfectly placed on the tables. There was moss everywhere; amazing cool, moist, mossy and green.

Brussel's is divided between Indoor and Outdoor Bonsai. So everything with a yellow tag was considered a tropical or indoor bonsai. There were about 4 gianormous indoor greenhouses full of Serissa, Hibiscus, Schefflera, grafted ficus, golden gate ficus, Brazilian Rain tree, etc....you get the point.

Next we headed downstairs to the outdoor bonsai; these were all identified with blue tags...(by the way, all these tags were labeled with watering and lighting instructiions)this made it easy to figure out what the growing requirement were for each tree. I think there were about 8 outdoor greenhouses, filled with azaleas, pines, gingoks, trident maple groves, bald cypress groves, pussy willows and japanese maples.

Brussels Bonsai has a preview sale every year in March, and usually everything is 20% except specimens and books. However, that leaves lots of big, beautiful, finished bonsai that are all on sale for 20%. Also, this place is so nice and friendly and customer oriented. They will pack all your purchases in super-nice packing and boxes and load them into your car! We even had one guy climb on top of our SUV to tie up a very heavy pot of bonsai pots. They provided a light breakfast and an awesome spread for lunch .... all for their preview customers!

Check it out online~or drive to Olive Branch and see it in person....if you love bonsai...you won't be disappointed.

Well, alas, its back to the salt mine for me!