How to Grow Strawberries

In growing strawberries you must know what to expect. Indeed you will get luscious red fruits for short cakes and pies, and in a lot less time than you would have to wait for tree fruits. Yes, strawberries are vigorous perennial plants that grow like crazy with very little encouragement. They take up relatively little space in the home garden. But your venture will be disappointing unless you acquire a bit of strawberry savvy.

Established beds that are left to fend for themselves will have all sorts of problems. They may suffer from bugs, diseases and weeds that creep in. The plants will become overcrowded and will overrun the rest of the garden. Old plants will, over time, bear less and less heavily; their crowns will push up out of the soil and be winter injured. And what you assumed would be strawberry fields forever will be nothing but a strawberry mess. To prevent all this from happening you will need to put a little effort into managing those beds. You may even decide that growing strawberries as an annual crop is the way to go.

Types of Strawberries

Therefore, there are four different kinds of strawberries, each of them wonderful for different reasons. The classics strawberry plants bears for a few weeks in June or earlier in warm climates and then quits. Strawberry festivals were inspired by this kind, because the output during those weeks is so great that you either needs to bake them, can them, freeze them or open up your doors and feed the whole town.

“Ever-Bearing” strawberries, the second kind, don’t really bear all season. They produce two crops, the first at the usual time and the second in late summer. Neither crop is as large as that of June bearing plant, nor do ever bearing types tend to be a little less hardy, but for gardeners who want two modest harvests rather than one big one they are just right. “Day-neutral” strawberries are a new development. They are less sensitive and to the difference between long and short days than the first two types.

They bear most of the summer, even as days lengthen, letting up only in the very hottest weather. These are perfect if you are more interested in a steady supply of strawberries than an avalanche. Day-neutral varieties are often plant in fall and harvested the following spring even in relatively cool climates. Give this a try even if you live up north and see how it works for you.

Finally there are the “Alpine” strawberries or fraises des bois-tiny little elongated fruits from Europe that are similar to the little wild strawberries that grow in the United States, but are bigger and easier to pick. You have to grow a great many plants to have more than a sprinkling of fruit to top a bowl of cereal or a whipped cream covered cake or a pie, but a great many Alpine strawberries plants is not a bad thing to have. You have had excellent luck growing them from seed. They do not spread by runners the way other strawberries do and so require less managing. They are also very pretty and can be used as decorative edgings in flower gardens as well as for a food crop. Best of all, they bear all season long.

Select a Site

First of all, you need a sunny spot for strawberries. It should also be a warm one, to support the plants escape late spring frosts. These can nip the blossoms, turning their center black and preventing berries from forming. Thus when selecting a gentle south facing slope not a pocket that traps cold air. You need a spot with good drainage or the plants will rot and get diseases. If your drainage is not excellent consider growing strawberries in raise beds.

The vegetable garden is a good place for strawberries if you can spare even as little as 60 square feet. You can also grow them among fruit trees as long as the berries get enough sun. You might plant two rows of fruit trees with an avenue between them and a path down the center, then edge the path in strawberries. Also, if your space is very limited, you might grow a small crop spaced intensively in a raised bed or in one of those strawberry barrels or pyramids you see advertised. While these look charming on a terrace, however, don’t expect the kind of yield you would get from a bona-fide strawberry patch.

Soil Required for Strawberry

In addition to needing a well drained site, strawberries need soil that is fertile and very generously supplied with organic matter. Well-rotted manure, thoroughly dug in, will accomplish both purposes. The pH should be a bit on the acid side 5.5 to 6.5. Removing all weeds from the site is of utmost importance, especially if you want to keep a bed going for a number of years. Like many gardeners, you will learn the hard way what perennial weeds, particularly grasses, can do to a strawberry bed. It is best not to plant on a spot where grasses or hay have been growing recently; instead choose a more established garden area. You might even prepare a spot by growing cover crops and turning them under for a year or two before planting.

Planting a Strawberries

Strawberries are normally planted in early spring, although in warm climates they can be planted in fall. Fall planting will give you a crop the first spring. Strawberries are available at most garden centers. Where they are grown in flats, just like vegetables, however the most inexpensive way to buy them is bare root, in bundles. Strawberries may carry viruses that will ruin the crop and be hard to eliminate from your garden, so unless you have a very good local source, order strawberries by mail from a reputable company that will certify them as disease free stock. One year old plants will usually bear just as soon as order ones, and they are cheaper.

Well, you can start with 25 plants, since you do have to fuss with strawberries a bit its best not to overextend yourself. In any case, 25 plants will perhaps be all you will need because each mature plant will produce as much as a quart of berries. If you find you enjoy strawberry growing a lot and want to freeze them or make jam, add more plants of several different varieties in subsequent years. If the plants arrive before planting time, put them in the refrigerator with the plastic wrapping open, and keep the packing around the roots slightly moist. Moreover try to plant them as soon as possible, or at least heel them into the ground. Take special care not to let the roots dry out any time.

When your soil is thoroughly prepared, mark out some nice straight rows. Although there are several different ways to arrange a strawberry plot, depending on how you want to manage the subsidiary plants that form on runner, they all start with straight rows. If you watch the way strawberry plants grow, you will see that the original plant that you put in the ground, called the mother plant, soon puts out long thin stems; these are the runners.  When they get to be about 9 inches long they turn up at the tips and put down roots, forming daughter plants. If left to their own devices the daughters send out their own runners and produce granddaughters and pretty soon what you have is a thick, unproductive ground cover. So some form of birth control is always needed with strawberries.

If you are laissez-faire kind of gardener, try the matted-row system. The plants are set out about 18 inches apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart and are allowed to send out as many runners as they want. To keep the space between the rows from filling up with plants, go to your path after harvest and get rid of the outermost plants on each side of a row, either by removing granddaughters individually by snipping the runners and digging up the little plants, or just by  running a mechanical tiller between the rows. When you are done, the row should be only a foot or two wide. It is also a good idea to remove some of the mother plants from within the row. Leave the newest ones, which will bear more vigorously the following season. If you remove as much as 75% of the vegetation, your patch will be the better for it.

If you are a meticulous kind of gardener, you will like the spaced-row system. Here you set the strawberry plants a t least 18 inches apart and remove some of the runners from each so that there only four to six of them spaced at least six inches apart. Some rather compulsive growers even reposition the daughters to make the spacing more even. In future years, keep removing older plants so there is always at least six inches of space around each of the remaining ones.

The last method is for tidy gardeners, it is commonly and rather misleadingly called the “hill system”. So no true hills are involved, however you simply set the plants fairly close together 12 inches apart in every direction if fine, 18 if you have plenty of space and remove any and all runners that form. This forces the mother plant to put its energy into fruiting rather than making runners, though it will form multiple crowns.

You can make single rows, or space the plants equidistant from each other in a grid but don’t make the patch so wide that you can’t reach into it easily from the outer edge. If you have to step into your patch at picking time you will squash a lot of precious berries. Eventually the mother clumps will get too dense, so if you are growing your own replacement plants you will want to let just some runners grow and form new plants. This method works particularly well for the day neutral strawberry varieties, which tend to produce fewer runners anyway.

Moreover, whatever kind of spacing you use for strawberries always set the plants into the ground the same way. The roots should be spread out but pointing down ward. The best way to do this is to dig a cone shaped hole  with a smaller cone of earth in the center of it, then drape the roots over the earth cone, rather like the way day lilies are planted, but with only one plant per hole. B e absolutely sure that the crown the place where the roots join the stem is exactly at the soil surface too deep, and the crown will rot; too shallow, and the roots will dry out. Also be sure to firm the soil well around the roots. Water thoroughly. If your soil is not very rich you can use a weak liquid fertilizer solution at planting time.

Growing Method

The first year, little spring planted strawberries will produce some flowers but these should be pinched off so that the plant will put its energy into growing and producing a fine crop for next year. Mulch between the plants and between rows will help conserve moisture and keep down the weeds, and winter mulch laid over the plants may be necessary. You can use the same material for both purposes something light such as straw or salt hay. Apply the winter covering about Thanksgiving time, or whenever hard frosts are a regular occurrence, and then brush it aside to expose the plants at blossom time. Don’t take the mulch away, though leave it next to the plants and use it for a quick emergency cover if late frosts threaten or fro covering the ground under ripening berries to keep them clean and rot free.

Moreover, top dress the plants once a year at blossom time with rotted manure, compost, or a balanced fertilizer like 15-15-15. If the weather is dry, make sure the plants get an inch of water per week, especially when flowering and forming fruit. And be sure to keep up with the weeds, removing them while they are still tiny, especially if you haven’t mulched. With June bearing strawberries it is also a good idea to cut off the foliage right after the harvest. Timing is important either cut plants down as soon as your crop is finished or not at all, otherwise there won’t be enough time for new leaves to grow and nourish the plants for the rest of the season. In a small patch you can cut plants down with sheers; in a large one use a scythe, a sickle or a power lawn mower set so that  the plants are cut back to 1 ½ inches tall. Then fertilize and water deeply.

One decision you will have to make no matter what growing method you use is how long to keep a patch going. If there are a lot of disease problems in your area you may find that starting a brand new crop in a different part of the garden every year will keep the plants much healthier. But you will always need to have two patches going at once. While one patch is producing another one will be growing to replace it the next year. It’s up to you how you manage your patches. If your plants never get disease and you are not much interested in trying new varieties, you may prefer to just keep the same patch going by removing the older plants each year.

Pests and Diseases

You will assuredly have some problems with birds eating your ripe strawberries, and possibly with chipmunks as well. If your crop is big you may not lose enough for that to make much of a difference, but if it is a small one you should protect it. Birds can be deterred by plastic netting, cheesecloth or the agricultural fabric. These will provide some measure of protection against chipmunks too, as will a series of chicken wire covered wooden frames.

White grubs in the soil, especially those of June bugs, can eat the plants roots. If your plants wilt suddenly even when it’s not dry, pull one up and see if the root system looks damaged. The best way to deal with grubs is to avoid planting in areas where sod has recently been growing. If you still get them, try pouring a weak kerosene solution one tablespoon of kerosene to a cup of water on the soil around the plants.

Moreover, rotating your strawberries with other crops will help keep both insect and disease problems under control, but take care that you don’t plant them where tomatoes and other Solanaceae have grown recently or melons, raspberries, mint or roses. These can all harbor verticillium wilt, which wilts plants and stunts their growth. It is also very important when growing strawberries to remove all plant debris from the patch, because it can rot and harbor fungus disease. This includes berries that you don’t pick because they are overripe or have been nibbled or otherwise damaged. Toss these into a separate basket and destroy them.

Another disease to watch out for is red stele, a fungus that rots the strawberries roots. Both verticillium and red stele are cool climate, cool weather diseases. Botrytis fungus and other rot diseases are best fought by good sanitation and thorough picking. Virus infected plants must be destroyed, and the place where they have gown should not be used for strawberries for a number of years. In fact it’s best to wait awhile before growing strawberries anywhere following a virus attack. Virus diseases are difficult to identify, so it is advisable to consult your extension service if your plants are doing poorly and you can’t pinpoint the problem yourself. Fortunately there are now varieties that resist strawberry diseases have noted some with good general diseases resistance.

Harvesting Your Crop

Strawberries can be harvested the second year after planting. With June bearing ones this will mean waiting for about fourteen months for your first crop, but in climates where fall planting is safe your crop should be ready the following June. Wait for the berries to be fully red, not green at the tip, before you pick them. Resist the temptation to beat the birds to the strawberries by picking them almost ripe. They will not ripe well off the vine. Strawberries, despite their bright color, can be hard to find; lift the foliage up to see those hiding underneath. Never grasp the berry itself when you pick, because it is easily bruised instead pinch or snip the tem. Collect and store the berries in shallow containers, in a layer no more than 5 inches deep or the weight will crush those on the bottom.

Varieties:

There are so many strawberry varieties available that it is sometimes hard to know which to choose, but here are some guidelines. The most popular every bearing strawberry is “Ozark Beauty” good for most regions. Some other cold hardy ever bearing varieties are “Fort Laramie” “Superfection” and “Ogallala”. Those with more disease resistance than ‘Ozark Beauty’ include ‘Ogallala’ and ‘Quinault’. The best day-neutral varieties are ‘Tristar’ and ‘Tribute’ both fairly disease resistant. There are also so many varieties available, but it is highly recommended to consult your Extension Service for about your specific area.

Top 13 Weird Furits

13. Sugar Apple

The sugar apple is a strange fruit, which taste is just like a pineapple-banana combo. The fruit is looking like an overgrown pinecone; the scaly, green skin is filled with an edible custardy pulp. It’s a good source of fiber and contains antioxidants and B vitamins.” Therefore, it contains low-calorie treat in farmers markets, gourmet grocery stores in the Spanish markets. Sugar-apple is high in energy, an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese, a good source of thiamine and vitamin B6, and provides vitamin B2, B3 B5, B9, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium in fair quantities. The fruit is alike in sweetness to the sugar-apple but has a very different taste like pineapple. The arrangement of seeds is in spaced rows, with the fruit's flesh filling most of the fruit and making grooves for the seeds, instead of the flesh's occurring only around seeds. Source: Charismaticplanet

12. Rambutan

This hairy fruit looks like a sea creature than a fruit, but don’t let its spines and leathery, red skin fool you. Rambutan taste is very sweet and mildly acidic like grapes. This delicious fruit is full of vitamin C and iron, the fruit’s translucent flesh resembles a boiled egg and is similar to a lychee in texture. This fruit can be found in Asian market and eat it right from the rind, but discard the single seed are toxic. However, in canned form, you can mix it right into a fruit salad for a tropical twist.

11. Noni

This is a favourite fruit of juice lovers, because it is only for sipping.  Therefore, only a half cup of Hawaiian noni juice has 15 calories and 1.5 grams of sugar, which is low for fruit juice.  This fruit also contains over 50% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C.” Pick up the nutrient-packed fruit in juice and powder form at health food stores and drugstores like Walgreens particularly during your period. “It was usually used in Polynesian cultures to treat menstrual cramps; preliminary animal studies have also shown the juice of this fruit is linked to cancer prevention and treatment.

10. Annatto

The spiny, heart-shaped fruit looks edible, partially, when its seeds can be eaten, and they’re loaded with antioxidants, including tocotrienols, a form of Vitamin E which has been shown to fight cancer-forming cells. Annatto is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree , often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery". To reap the benefits, look for the seeds whole or in powder form in the Latin food section of the supermarket or at Latin markets, and enjoy their nutty, peppery taste as a seasoning on meats, soups and rice dishes and in baked goods. But the super seeds have another purpose: They give butter its yellow color.

9: Jackfruit

If you’re a fan of bananas, you’ll go bananas over jackfruit. Under its enormous, prickly, green exterior (it’s the largest fruit grown on a tree), the jackfruit’s numerous bulbs have a sweet, buttery flavor. “It’s a good source of vitamin C and one of the rare fruits rich in the B-complex group of vitamins, which benefit memory and mood and can even ease migraines,” says Dimitriou. “They also increase energy and diminish heart-disease risk.” When cooked; add jackfruit, sold at Asian food markets, to jams and desserts. Or fry them as chips.

8: Horned Melon

This fruit has horn-like spines, hence named it “Horned Melon”. It is also called Kiwano, Jelly Mellon, Hedged Gourd, Melano and KiwanoCucumis metuliferus. The horned melon has orange skin/lime green with a refreshingly fruity taste, and textures same to passionfruit or pomegranate or combination of banana cucumber and lime. It is grown in the United States, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. The fruit primarily used as a snack, salad, salsa, cocktail and for decoration. Some also eat the peel, which is very rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber. Moreover its health benefits include high in Vitamin A, Beta Carotene and Magnesium, has high water content, is good for weight loss and is packed with other vital minerals. The fruit can be used in cooking, but when eaten raw, most suck out the pulp.

7: Carambola

Carambola or starfruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles. The fruit has prominent longitudinal ridges, running down its sides usually five when cut in cross-section, hence its name in cross section, it resembles a star. The entire fruit is edible and is usually eaten out of hand. They may also be used in cooking and can be made into relishes, preserves, and juice drinks. Carambola is rich in antioxidants, potassium, and vitamin C; and low in sugar, sodium, acid, and also a potent source of both primary and secondary polyphenolic antioxidants.

6: Pitaya (Dragon Fruit)

A pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species indigenous to the Americas. Pitaya usually refers to fruit of the genus Stenocereus, while pitahaya or dragon fruit refers to fruit of the genus Hylocereus. The sour pitayas are a variety that is commonly eaten in the arid regions of the Americas, refreshing, with juicier flesh and a stronger taste. Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit that has become increasingly popular in recent years. People enjoy it for its unique look and taste, and there’s evidence it may provide health benefits. Dragon fruit is a low-calorie fruit that is high in fiber and provides more than one-third of the RDI for vitamin C. Dragon fruit contains several antioxidants that protect cells from damage. These include betalains, hydroxycinnamates and flavonoids.  Dragon fruit may look exotic, but its flavors are similar to other fruits. Its taste has been described as a slightly sweet cross between a kiwi and a pear. Dragon fruit is easy to prepare and can be enjoyed on its own or paired with other foods in healthy recipes.

5: Guanábana or Soursop

The agressive looking guanábana contains a docile white custard-like and headily perfumed flesh. It is usually made into a paste, ice cream or agua fresca, but can be consumed as is. But be sure to buy a nice ripe one. The flavour of the fruit has been described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple, with sour citrus flavour notes contrasting with an underlying creamy texture reminiscent of coconut or banana. Soursop is widely promoted as an alternative cancer treatment, however, no medical evidence that it is effective.

4: Passion Fruit

This fruit is native to South America, grown in green houses to boost its flavor. It is usually found bright red in color but variations can exist, you might also get to see them half green and half red and quite bulky in size.  There are two types to know about, one is the poisonous sibling and the other as passionate as its name. How natural is that, because it is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy fruit is a pepo, a type of berry, round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced; passion fruit juice is often added to other fruit juices to enhance aroma. Passion fruit flower is the national flower of Paraguay.

3: Ackee

This is Jamaica’s national fruit. The seeds of this fruit were bought from West Africa into Jamaica on a rumored slave ship and from then on this has become the delicacy around the Caribbean. To eat this fruit, one has to remove the black tops and cut open the fleshy yellow arils, because the reddish region in between is very toxic. Ackee you are very tricky! The fruit is pear-shaped, however when it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, each partly surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh the aril. The dried seeds, fruit, bark, and leaves are used medicinally.

2: Buddha’s Hand

You may be scared in the first look, but didn’t feel a thing when you’ll swallowed it; it just tastes like a lemon. The fingered citron is unusually shaped citron variety whose fruit is segmented into finger-like sections, resembling a human hand. It is called as such because of its shape, it resembles a tightened octopus. It is found in China and India. It is used to flavor fish and eaten raw with spices when mixed with salad. Buddha's hand fruit is very fragrant and is used predominantly in China, Malaysia and Japan for perfuming rooms and personal items such as clothing, and in cupboards to keep out the smell. The Buddha’s Hand fruit can also be eaten often as a zest or flavouring in desserts, savory dishes and alcoholic beverages or candied as a sweet. The sliced, dried peel of immature fruits is also prescribed as a tonic in traditional medicine.

1: Tamarillo

Tamarillo is known as the popular sibling of the regular tomato we use every day, its paler and burnt in color. The fruit is eaten by scooping the flesh from a halved fruit, when lightly sugared and cooled; the flesh is used for a breakfast dish. The fruit is distinctively shaped seeds in the middle when you slice it in half. Tamarilllo fruit grows in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia and tastes similar to the Passion fruit. The fruit color varies from yellow and orange to red and almost purple. Sometimes they have dark, longitudinal stripes. It is used in making juices and in certain areas of Bolivia it is used in cooking, particularly to prepare the sauce. In the industry it is used as a strong preservative because the fruit contains a high amount of pectin.

Pyracantha, An Evergreen Plant Provides Seasonal Interest and Berries

“Pyracantha” is the scientific name of firethorn plants, an evergreen plant that is easy to grow and provides seasonal interest and berries can handle the simple care of firethorn bush. “Pyracantha” is a genus of large, thorny evergreen shrubs in the family Rosaceae, with common names firethorn or pyracantha are native to an area extending from Southwest Europe east to Southeast Asia. The Pyracantha plant can reach up to 20 feet tall, having seven species provides white / red flowers, (produce during late spring and early summer) and orange and yellow berries from late summer and mature in late autumn. The plant is valuable ornamental plants, decorative flowers and fruits often very densely borne.

The “Pyracantha” aesthetic characteristics in conjunction with their home security qualities make them an alternative to artificial fences and walls. “Pyracantha” is also good shrubs for a wildlife garden, providing dense cover for roosting and nesting birds, summer flowers for bees and a plenty of berries as a food source. “Pyracantha” berries are mildly poisonous as their seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides, however in some colder countries “Pyracantha” and the related genus Cotoneaster are valuable sources of nectar when often the bees have little other forage during the June Gap. Birds love the berries of the “Pyracantha” and take shelter from wintry blasts all through the long cold season and spring bloom is just the icing on the cake.

How to Grow “Pyracantha”

It is possible to grow red berried “Pyracantha” from seed, and then you need to do collect seeds from plant in the autumn, remove the outer coat of seed and place the seed in your fridge for 60 days to break the seeds cold dormancy mechanism. Lightly scratch the seed coat with some very fine sand paper to scuff the hard coat, then you can sow the seeds as normal. Moreover “Pyracantha” is very easy to propagate from stem cuttings and this method will produce rooted cuttings until spring, but cuttings taken after December never seem to grow as well as ones taken between Sep to Dec.

Moreover select a sunny, shady or a partly sunny location for growing firethorn shrubs. They can also thrive in dry or moist soils, though damper areas produce bigger plants. Therefore, you may want to choose a fertile, moist place when planting firethorn. Also consider the location of your shrub prudently. The plant’s remarkable looks are paired with prickly leaves that snag and scrape. Plant the shrub away from doorways, gates and entryways. Hence dig the hole twice as large as the root ball when planting firethorn and provide consistent water while establishing. Install firethorn in fall for the healthiest plant and best results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tarragon (Artemisia Dracunculus)

This is hardy perennial becomes a woody shrub, normally about three tall. Tarragon is a species of perennial herb in the sunflower family and it is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America, and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes in many lands. It is long, slender, dark green leaves have a strong, slightly licorice like flavor that you either enjoy or you don’t. People normally love it in salads, in sauce béarnaise, in vinegars and many other ways too. Ideally like to have a big tarragon plant in the garden so that it can harvest great gobfuls of it in summer, plus one or two potted plants inside for winter. You should buy only plants labeled French Tarragon. The tarragon market has been infiltrated by a Russian variety that, while a vigorous plant, has little or no real tarragon flavor.

Well, if you want to grow Tarragon then prefers full sun but will take some shade as well. It grows best in very well drained slightly sandy, alkaline soil. If your soil is heavy and wet, make a raised bed and mix plenty of organic matter into it. In very hot climates the plant may go dormant in summer. In cold climates cut the plants back in fall. If it gets extremely cold where you live, mulch with evergreen boughs or salt hay. Unlike Russian tarragon, French tarragon is not grown from seed. Tarragon is one of the four fines herbs of French cooking, and is mostly suitable for chicken, fish and egg dishes.

Moreover, you need to purchase a plant or obtain a division or a stem or root cutting from a friend. Dividing your plants every few years will keep them vigorous and also keep the flavor strong. To bring tarragon plants indoors pot up and let sit in freezing weather for a few weeks. Therefore, cut leaves for dying at a time when it is not rainy or humid, by hanging them upside down in a paper bag or in a dark, airy place. Store the leaves in airtight jars. Freeze in plastic bags or containers or as tarragon butter. Make tarragon vinegar, but try to keep a pot of fresh tarragon around all the time if you are a tarragon lover, because it tastes best fresh.

How to Grow Brussels Sprouts

Some vegetables, like lettuce and asparagus, are grown for the thrill of an early harvest of fresh tasting produce for the table. Brussels sprouts are a late thrill. The ultimate cool weather crop, their flavor is actually improved by a touch of frost. Hence, plantings are timed to mature just when days are still warm and sunny but night frosts are just beginning. The plant is slow growing but makes up for it by being frost hardy. Picking continues well into fall and even winter. The mature plant looks like a palm tree with big floppy leaves on top and little round sprouts growing tightly all up and down the trunk. Each plant yields about a quart of sprouts; they freeze well.

Well, to grow Brussels sprouts in a sunny, well drained plot. Thus, it takes a long time to mature reserve it a spot for the whole season. You can interplant small and or early crops between the rows. If there is a way to shield it from the wind without shielding it from the sun, do so. The tall mature plants can blow over.

Brussels sprouts have the same soil requirements as broccoli and the other cabbage vegetables, average pH; and a deep sandy loam, well worked and rich but not overloaded with nitrogen. Organic matter in the soil will support it to retain the steady moisture the plant needs. Moreover traditionally Brussels sprouts are grown on a compacted soil but just a moderate firming with the feet after planting should be sufficient. Do this even if planting in raised beds. Firm soil doesn’t mean heavy soil, however; good drainage is very important.   

How you time your planting depends on your climate. In a cold winter area you grow one crop, starting seeds indoors and setting out the transplants so that they have 90 to 100 days to grow before hard frosts. By contrast, if you live in a warm climate where the plants would have trouble getting through the hot summer, you are better off planting an early spring crop, a late fall crop or both! Sow seeds directly in the ground in February, water well, and even rush them a bit with some extra fertilizer, then harvest in May. Sow again in mid-summer, watering religiously.

It might take you a season or two to work out the right Brussels sprout schedule for your area and for the varieties you want to grow. But be aware that the plant can take frost, but not hard freezes. And in a complete frost free area you might not have luck with it at all. Moreover, plants should be spaced about two feet apart each way if you are using a grid, or two feet apart in the row, three feet between rows. Dig a shovelful of compost or a small handful of 5-10 to 5 into each hole, and water very thoroughly. Make collars to foil cutworms. If you plant seeds, fertilize the whole row; moisten furrows well, and thin to the above spacing.

Mulch will help keep the soil evenly moist, and an occasional side dressing of liquid fertilizer will be helpful. Since the plant is tall but shallow rooted, it tends to be a little tippy, and it is wise to make a soil mound around the plant as it grows, firming with your foot or the back of a hoe.  Furthermore pest control is the same as for broccoli diseases are best controlled by crop rotation.

Each sprout grows in a leaf axil and matures from the bottom of the stalk upward so start picking at the bottom. You should prefer to pick them small, like large marbles not like the golf balls you get in the market. To make detaching them easier, pick the leaf below the sprout first, then the sprout, with a twisting motion.

You can extend the season a long time by piling straw or the loose mulch around the plants as high as possible and covering plants and mulch with clear plastic. You can even pull them up, roots and all, and heel them into soil in a dirt bottomed shed or cellar or in big pots like the once shrubs come in. Or hang them upside down in a cool place, picking for a few more weeks. Moreover, another trick to hurry things up, if frost seems to e coming and the sprouts are still tightly closed, is to pinch off the top of the plant. The bottom ones will start to open faster though the yield will be diminished to some degree.

The two most commonly grown varieties of Brussels sprouts are Jade Cross Hybrid and Long Island Improved. Both are dwarf and short season roughly 90 days to harvest.  Or you can try the early Prince Marvel or Captain Marvel. Less available but worth trying are the European varieties such as Valiant or Field star Number one. These have a very long season, though between 175 to 185 days to harvest so you would need to be able to start early and grow them well into the fall. But the flavor is said to be worth every bit of the effort.

 

Cerbera Odollam The Suicide or Murder Tree

Cerbera odollam is a dicotyledonous angiosperm, commonly known as suicide tree. The tree is also called pong-pong and othalanga and this plant belongs to poisonous Apocynaceae family. The plant yields a potent poison that has been used for suicide and murder, which includes the yellow and common oleanders. The seeds are excessively toxic, containing cerberin as the main active cardenolide and cardiac glycoside toxin that block the calcium ion channels in heart muscle, causing disruption of the heartbeat, most habitually fatally. The plant native to sub-continent mainly endemic to India and other parts of southern Asia growing preferentially in coastal salt swamps and in marshy areas and grown as a hedge plant between home compounds and it grows wild along the coast in many parts of Kerala, India. Therefore, Cerberin is incredibly toxic in relatively low dosages, habitually killing its victims within a few hours, during which time they may suffer crippling stomach pain, diarrhea, irregular heart rhythm, vomiting and sometimes a splitting headache. The plant is growing upwards of 30 feet tall and no plant in the world is responsible for as many deaths by suicide as the odollam tree.

A similar species found in Madagascar named “Cerbera Venenifera”, has a rich history of ordeal poison, major cause of more than 3000 deaths per year in previous centuries. As this is powerful toxic plan currently completely ignored by researchers, chemists, analysts. The Cerbera odollam plant is responsible for about 50% of the plant poisoning cases and 10% of the total poisoning cases in Kerala, India, used both for suicide and homicide. There were over 500 cases reported of fatal Cerbera poisoning between 1989 and 1999 in the Kerala State. It is also likely that several cases of homicide using the plant go unnoticed in countries where it does not grow naturally.

Researchers have found its fruits are used for manufacturing bio insecticides and deodorants and using the seeds as a feedstock in the production of biodiesel. Cerbera odollam is having close resemblance to oleander; another highly toxic plant from the same family yields milky, white latex. The tree unripe fruits looks like small mango with a green fibrous shell enclosing an ovoid kernel measuring about 2cm x 1.5cm with two cross-matching white fleshy halves. Therefore, with the change of weather, on exposure to air, the white kernel turns violet, then dark grey, and ultimately brown, or black. French researchers performed a study in 2004 that indicated that the suicide tree may be responsible for more deaths than even the incredible amount already known. It is very quick and more painless than other available methods of suicide. 

How to Grow Turnips and Rutabagas

There is nothing in the garden quite as unromantic as a turnip, unless perhaps it’s a rutabaga. It is strongly flavored, good storing root vegetables; they are rarely invited to sit at formal tables. But they are good earthy peasant food. Most people insist on a bowl of buttered mashed turnips at thanks giving dinner, and they are also good cut up in soups.

Turnips are small, usually white, and have no necks rather like the children in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The leaves, which are green and fuzzy, sprout right from the root itself and are an excellent, nutritious cooked green especially tasty with pieces of ham, slab bacon added. Some turnips have yellow flesh, others have white. Some varieties are grown for the root, others for the greens, still others for both. Rutabagas, sometimes called “Swede Turnips”, are five or six inches in diameter and purplish in color. They look somewhat like a rounded sweet potato. 

The flesh inside is usually yellow. There is a neck or crown one or two inches long, from which sprout smooth bluish leaves. Once got through a rather lean winter on rutabaga crop; the tubers coated with paraffin and stored in the basement, lasted all winter long. Both turnips and rutabagas are cool weather crops that get tough and woody and go to seed in hot weather. Which to grow? If you want an early spring crop, or want to grow cooking greens, choose turnips. For a fall crop that will keep a while in the ground and for a long time in your cellar, rutabagas are a better choice, and to some palates they are sweeter tasting. But turnips are twice as fast to mature almost 35 to 60 days compared to rutabagas 90.

Select a Site

A sunny location is appreciated, but not essential. A 4 * 4 foot bed will give you up to twenty five rutabagas and up to thirty turnips.  Since both members are belongs to cabbage family, try not to plant either where other cabbage vegetables have recently grown.

Select a Soil

Soil texture is important for both turnips and rutabagas, as it is for any root crop. Make the soil loose, well drained, and well ventilated by incorporating plenty or organic matter into it. Moreover you should use rotted manure, compost or commercial bagged humus, and dig it in to a depth of at least seven inches, especially for rutabagas, whose tubers are larger and whose root systems go down several feet. Therefore, both like a neutral pH but will tolerate a pH as low as 5.5. Moreover lime the soil if it is more acid than pH 5.5. Turnips are not very heavy feeders as vegetables go; soil of moderate fertility is adequate with one exception. If you are trying to grow a spring turnip crop before hot weather comes, you do want fast growth. So give spring turnips a good dose of 5-10-10. Rutabagas like slightly richer soil than fall turnips. And make sure your soil has adequate phosphorus for foot development, no matter when you plant.

How to Plant

Well, spring turnips should be planted as early in spring as you can work the soil late winter in warm climates or set into pre dug furrows even earlier than that, for fall turnips, wait until mid or late summer in the north, and even until late fall and winter in the south. Well, you can plant rutabagas in spring when the ground has warmed or early summer in the north, allowing three months before the first average frost. You can plant them in mid or late summer farther south; to be sure the tubers are forming in cooler weather. Seeds are sown directly in the garden. They are very tiny, but try to get them about an inch apart. They should be sown ¼ inch deep in spring, but ½ inch deep in warm weather, in well moistened furrows. The seeds germinate quickly but do not like to come up through a crust, so just sift some compost or fine soil over the furrow and then keep it moistened.

Rows should be at least 15 inches apart for turnips, and at least 18 inches for rutabagas. When the seedlings are five to six inches high, thin them to three to four inches apart, eating the thinning as greens (young turnip leaves are even good raw in salads). Thinning is not as important if you are growing just for green; but tubers of both turnips and rutabagas need ample room to reach full size undisturbed, so be sure to thin if you want to harvest those. Rutabagas should be thinned to at least six to eight inches apart to permit good root development.

Growing

Both crops need careful but frequent cultivation to keep the weeds down. Mulch will help, but be sure to sprinkle some lime on the soil first if the mulch is an acid one like bark. Turnips appreciate a good, deep soaking with water once a week if the weather is dry. Rutabagas are drought tolerant within reason, since the roots go so deep. Top dressing should not be necessary with either turnips or rutabagas as long as your soil is moderately fertile, except perhaps with spring turnips. But if you do top dress, use a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus, and once that is high in phosphorus, and one that is high in nitrogen only if you are growing turnip greens not tubers.

Pests and Diseases

For the most part the same ills that beset cabbage and other members of that family afflict rutabagas and turnips. Control root maggots by dusting the soil with wood ashes, and if necessary by covering seedlings with cheesecloth to keep off flies that lay the eggs from which the maggots hatch. Small holes in the leaves indicate flea beetles, which can be hosed off or dusted with rotenone. Treat aphids the same way. Club-root and black-root are occasional problems. Rutabagas can rot in the center from insufficient boron in the soil, an affliction known as brown heart. If this condition appears, dig a little Borax into the soil and soak it thoroughly with a   hose.

Harvest

Dig turnips when they are two or three inches in diameter. A few light frosts may improve the flavor of both tops and roots, but do not let them freeze solid. Cut off the tops and store the tubers in a cool place, just above 32 degree. Harvest rutabagas while the ground is still soft enough to dig, and cut off the tops and any long roots projecting from the tuber. Store them the same way you do turnips burying them in a container of barely moist sand will help keep them from drying out. 

Dipping them in paraffin will also prolong their keeping time, as it will keep moisture from escaping from the tubers. Just scrape off the paraffin along with the skins when you peel them for cooking. Turnip greens can be eaten as early as you do your thinning and as late as a month or so after planting. If you are growing a root turnip crop, you can still harvest a few outer leaves from the plants occasionally to make a meal of greens. But do not cut off all the greens if you want to harvest the tubers at least not until it is time to dig the tubers up.

Varieties

For early turnip crops, grow all seasons, while flat, shogoin, Tokyo Cross, just right, Tokyo Market, Jersey Lily or Extra Early White. For greens grow Seven Top, Shogoin, all top hybrids or Just right, Purple Top White Globe and Aberdeen yellow are good for fall and for storage. The standard rutabaga varieties are American purple Top, Laurentian, Long Island Improved, and Macomber, a white fleshed type that keeps very well.