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Category: Vegetable Gardening

What Doesn’t Belong Here?

I stumbled on a corn plant while maintaining a client’s garden a couple of months ago. Most people would have pulled the plant.

I love it when volunteers show up in the garden! Whether animal or vegetable, it doesn’t matter.

Nature is Random and Ordered

Nature is both random and ordered—certain plants like certain conditions. If conditions are right, those plants will grow.

In nature, plants grow in groups with some overlap. There will be fewer plants on the edge of the group than in the center. Different plants with similar requirements can grow in the same group.

Nature is not neatly sheared balls with perfect spacing and a mulch bed. Nature is quite the contrary.

Parts of a Corn Plant

Corn plants are wind-pollinated. You’ll never see a farmer grow a single row of corn. You’ll see corn growing in blocks so that the wind can spread pollen among the plants.

Wind knocks pollen off of the plant’s tassels, the male part, at the top of a corn plant.

Pollen falls onto the silk, the female part of the corn plant. There is one strand of silk for each kernel of corn.

Corn plants can have more than one ear of corn.

Where Did the Corn Plant Come From?

I would guess one of the neighbors had a bird feeder in their yard; and a raccoon, squirrel, or bird brought the corn to the garden. The animal must have missed a kernel, and it grew.

We’ve had a very wet summer with no drought—excellent conditions for corn.

I asked if it was okay to leave the corn plant when weeding the gardens in June. I forgot about it until my client sent a picture of the mature corn plant.

This photo was taken on June 30.

By August 22, the corn plant had matured.

When I gently rubbed the ears of corn, I could feel the plump, tasty kernels. I look forward to returning with the barbecue and some butter!

September 8, 2023
Compost Pile Potatoes

Last week while bringing a load of debris to the compost pile I spotted something growing in the mass of leaves, sticks, vegetative kitchen scraps and garden debris.

After a few moments, I realized it was a compost pile potato vine. A few weeks ago I tossed potatoes in the pile and I guess they liked it there.

Here’s a picture of the compost pile potatoes from a distance.

A closeup of compost pile potatoes.

If you think those leaves look familiar they should. Indeed potatoes are in the same plant family as tomatoes, Solanaceae. It looks like tomato plants growing but it’s too early in the season for that.

Below is a comparison of the leaves of the two plants.

My plan was to move the compost pile to where my mulch pile is when I finished spreading the mulch. As a result, I’m not sure what to do.

June 18, 2019
Sugar Snap Peas First Bloom

Yesterday I spotted the first flower on my Sugar Snap Peas in my Square Foot Garden. I can’t wait to try them out!

After some quick reading on the Burpee website I realized I made a few mistakes on my first try with Sugar Snap Peas.

First, I should have staggered two to three planting times 7-10 days apart to extend the harvest.

Second, I should have given the plants support. Sugar Snap Peas grow six feet tall. Looks like my peas are going to turn into a groundcover.

I’m looking forward to trying Sugar Snap Peas soon.

June 15, 2019
Square Foot Garden Update | Artwork Broccoli

My other Square Foot Garden bed is filling up fast. In this bed, I planted Sugar Snap Peas, Onion Sets, and Artwork Broccoli.

Artwork Broccoli

I stumbled onto Artwork Broccoli at Tractor Supply. Artwprl Broccoli has an upright habit and is quick to grow secondary heads once the main head is harvested. The heads of Artwork Broccoli aren’t as large as traditional Broccoli but there are more of them for a longer time.

Artwork Broccoli has an extremely upright habit.

After taking these pictures I cut off the broccoli heads and steamed them. Delicious!

If you look in the leaf axils you can see new broccoli heads forming. As soon as the main head is cut the secondary heads start growing.

Red Onion Sets

I’m also growing Red Onion Sets. I placed the sets in the soil in mid-April and after six weeks of growth, they have come a long way.

Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar Snap Peas finish out the bed. The Sugar Snap Peas have been growing fast but so far no signs of flowers.

Thanks for joining me on a tour of my Square Foot Garden. I’m looking forward to sharing more updates throughout the year.

June 7, 2019
Square Foot Garden Update | Lettuce Lovers Garden

The wettest spring I remember has my Square Foot Garden growing like, well, a weed. I planted my cool season lettuce in mid-April and it’s taken off since then.

Above is my lettuce bed. I picked four varieties of lettuce at Tractor Supply from Bonnie Plants.

Romaine Lettuce

First I planted Romaine Lettuce. I like how Romaine Lettuce stands upright and the loose habit makes it easy to harvest a few leaves at a time. I also enjoy the taste.

Iceberg Head Lettuce

Next, I planted Iceberg Head Lettuce. Iceberg Head Lettuce is my go to when buying lettuce at the grocery store. The secret, in my humble opinion, is to shred it thinly when cutting for a salad.

When reading about Iceberg Head Lettuce at Bonnie Plants I learned head lettuce grown on the east coast may not have as tight a head as lettuce grown on the west coast. After harvesting one head I agree.

Garden-grown head lettuce is a bear to clean. I watched the video below for lettuce cleaning tips. The best way to clean freshly picked lettuce is to dip it in a large bowl of water and use a salad spinner for drying.

Buttercrunch Lettuce

I’ve read Buttercrunch Lettuce has good taste and is easy to grow. I tried grocery store Buttercrunch Lettuce over the winter and the taste was strong. We’ll see how freshly grown tastes!

Green Leaf Lettuce

The final lettuce I planted is Green Leaf Lettuce. Green Leaf Lettuce resists bolting, when plants go to seed in the summer’s heat.

I find it interesting that the best name anyone could come up with for this plant is “Green Leaf Lettuce.” I wonder if the same person bred a pumpkin called “Orange Pumpkin.”

In my next post, I’ll show you my Square Foot Garden planted with onions, broccoli, and sugar snap peas.

June 6, 2019
First Shade Day – The Leaves are Out!

First Shade Day is the first day you can see shade from the trees each spring. May 5 was First Shade Day this year; though it was raining when I made the observation.

First Shade Day signifies the unofficial beginning of spring. I know the cold, damp gloomy days are over.
John Holden

Below are some observations of the yard on First Shade Day 2019.

Shade Garden Ideas

Below is the Hosta Garden leafing out. This garden has a lot of significance for a couple of reasons.

First, the root flare of the Sugar Maple to the left that’s 100 to 125 years old.

Second, when we bought our house this area was half moss and half weeds. It was a mess! Over the years I placed the stepping stones, spread compost, and planted the Hosta to get it to where it is today.

Theo is enjoying First Shade Day too! On the right are some Tiarella (Tiarella cordifolia) in full bloom along with an Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Old Fashioned’) .

Epimedium – Plant for Dry Shade

Sulphureum Barrenwort (Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’) in full bloom growing in dry shade and looking great! Barrenwort dies back to the ground in the fall but reliably returns each spring. It’s a very slow spreader that works better as a grouping than as a ground cover.

Sulphureum Barrenwort (Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’) flower and foliage. The foliage has a reddish tinge when it emerges and the small yellow flowers provide interest in the spring garden.

Japanese Crabapple – Spring Flowering Tree

Japanese Crabapple in full bloom. When we moved into the house 20 years ago the tree was a stick 6 to 8 feet tall.

Over the coming weeks, the petals will litter the plantings and lawn beneath the tree. Following that leaves will slowly drop through the summer. When the leaves drop in the fall they are thick and leathery and don’t ‘grind up’ with the lawnmower easily.

While I’m not a fan of Japanese Crabapples; few trees can compete with their beauty in full bloom. Here’s a great list of Japanese Crabapple Cultivars .

If you can identify the cultivar of Japanese Crabapple from the flowers please let me know.

Square Foot Gardening

Last year I started a square foot garden. I planted lettuce seedlings a couple of weeks ago. I only covered the plants once to protect them from frost so far.

In my other bed I planted onion sets, broccoli and peas.

When I was a kid I visited a friend whose father was growing peas early in the season. I remember watching the peas growing in the muddy, cold soil and wondering why anyone would plant so early.

I’ve learned that peas like cold, muddy soil. These seedlings were planted mid-April and they’re thriving.

Seasonal Color Ideas

My wife came back from Target with this cool bucket. She poked holes in the bottom with a nail for drainage, filled the container with potting soil and planted some pansies from the local grocery store. Voila!

German or Bearded Iris

This picture is the bed of German Iris I made a video about years ago. In the video, I mention weeding around the iris. I decided to keep the leaves in the bed to shade the soil and see if it keeps the weeds down.

Thanks for sharing First Shade Day with me.

May 10, 2019
How Pumpkins Grow?

Yesterday my wife and I took the family to get Halloween pumpkins. While walking through the field it occurred to me that some people may not know how pumpkins grow.

How Pumpkins Grow

Pumpkin plants are Monoecious, they have both male and female flowers on the same plant.

The female flower has a small ball beneath the flower. When pollinated the small ball grows into a pumpkin. Female flowers are shorter and closer to the stem than male flowers.

Male flowers grow on long stalks. There are many more male flowers on a pumpkin vine than female flowers.

Pumpkin flowers open for one day. If a female pumpkin flower doesn’t get pollinated that day no pumpkin will grow.

Sometimes a female flower that’s not pollinated will grow larger, perhaps to the size of a golf ball, and then stop and turn yellow.

Bees fly through the pumpkin patch collecting pollen and accidentally carry pollen from male to female flowers, thus pollinating the flowers and creating pumpkins.

Once pollinated, a pumpkin grows at an exponential rate. The worlds largest pumpkin grew to over 2000 lbs. The most popular seed for growing giant pumpkins is Dill’s Atlantic Giant.

Pumpkins start green and turn orange when they’re ripe. There are many varieties of pumpkins depending what size and type of pumpkin you’re looking for.

While you’re walking through the pumpkin patch this Fall remember how much work it takes to grow a pumpkin, let alone select the perfect one.

Happy Halloween!

October 15, 2018
Cucumber Vine Growing

I marvel at how much growth is in the tip of a vegetable vine. Whether it be pumpkins, squash or cucumbers. All that potential growth bundled into a little ball.

The image above is the tip of a cucumber vine.

I’ve got a ton of photos of my Square Foot Gardening experiment this year. More to come.

August 10, 2018
Why I love Gardening

Tonight as I walked through the yard I saw a spider weaving a web. If you thought a spider carefully crafted a web over the course of days you’re wrong. I would guess it took the spider an hour or two to weave the web below.

This post isn’t about spider webs but it’s related to that moment. As I watched the spider weaving it reminded me of one of the reasons I enjoy gardening.

I enjoy watching the changes in the garden season by the season, month by month and day by day.

A neighbor often comments how he always sees me walking around the yard. I stroll through the yard in the morning, after work or in the evening and admire the plantings and enjoying the changes.

A new addition to the garden this year is my square foot garden. When I was a kid back in the 80’s I read Mel Bartholomew’s book Square Foot Gardening. I loved the concept and planted many squares back in the day.

This spring I read All New Square Foot Gardening and tried it again. My square foot garden has received the most attention of any part of the yard this year.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes growing my square foot garden. We’ll share those lessons another time.

This spring I visited the White Flower Farm and bought a Dinner Plate Dahlia. I’ve always wanted to try one of those giant flowers and figured, “Why not?”

The extent of my soil preparation was digging a hole 10 inches deep, placing the tuber in the hole and filling it half way with dirt. All I’ve done since is water the plant and give it some liquid fertilizer. A couple of weeks ago I filled the hole in the rest of the way and today I staked it.

About 2 1/2 months later my Kelvin Floodlight Dahlia is three feet tall with a yellow flower ready to pop (see image at top of post). I’m in shock at how easy dahlias are to grow and how much fun it was to watch.

You can see the yellow bloom of the dahlia just to the left of the purple coneflower.

Why do you garden?

July 29, 2018