A Welcome Weed

Cerinthe major, also known as honeywort, is a what I call a welcome weed in my garden. I planted it several years ago and never fails to reseeds itself in the fall. While everything is losing its leaves and going dormant for winter, this plant shows some promise and fills in empty spaces.

Even after snow and frost, honeywort is not phased and continues to grow. These are my first flowers of spring, blooming along side my daffodils and pansies.

I planted them close to my espaliered apples. Bees love them and it's possible having them in close proximity to each other helps with pollination. I had such a great apple crop last year.

I'm not sure if I have the plain species or the 'Purpurescens' variety. There is also C. retorta that has a yellow throat peeking out from the purple bracts. I would love to get my hands on some seed!

I highly recommend this annual. Plant it near your fruit trees and hopefully they'll help with pollination as they have with me!

The Biggest Parsnip Ever

I left some parsnips to overwinter. I couldn't keep up with eating them last fall, and was curious to see what would happen to them.

The greens were not affected by snow or cold--although it was a relatively mild winter. Plus, my back garden has great western exposure so whenever the sun is shining, it feels warmer than the rest of the yard.


Look! The sun is shining on them right now. It was so warm on Saturday, I was able to wear a short-sleeve shirt. Not bad for the end of March.

Parsnip greens look very similar to Italian parsley. They both belong to the carrot family (Apiaceae). I am leaving this small bunch to flower and see what they will look like. I'm sure the flowers will attract bees or other pollinators.

While I was removing the other parsnips from the bed, I came upon a doozie. This parsnip was so big, it took a small excavation to extract it from the ground. I managed to pull out the entire thing in one piece.


Check that out. Pretty impressive! It was about three feet long. My son thought so too and was thrilled to carry it into the house. I didn't bother to cook it up. Just took its picture to show all of you!

Fava Beans!

We've been lucky to have a few relatively balmy days this last week. I took advantage of the weather to plant out my fava beans. Finally!



The first to be planted from Adaptive Seeds. I chose the variety Ianto's Return for their purple color. I think the pods themselves will be green, but I'm hoping to make some purple fava "hummus." Last year I added fava beans to my pesto to extend the amount and give it a little more depth. At $4 per pound at the farmer's market, I decided I should grow my own this year.


Since the fava beans are quite large, I used a dandelion weeder to plant each one at the base of the wire trellis.


Ianto's Return is said to be big with many tillers and this wire trellis will support the big plants. I really like its rustic look. I don't know where it came from, but I found it right before it was about to be thrown out. It worked well with my pole beans bean last year, and I can't wait to see how the favas do on it.

Yes, that's sun shining on the newly planted seeds. Looking forward to seeing them sprout soon!

Kitchen Garden Planner

I just started playing around with Kitchen Gardeners International veggie planner. It's an online tool that is free to try out for 30 days and is $25 after that for a year subscription.

It will save your plans from year to year, and remember what perennial crops will be retained for next year's plans.

At first glance, I like it. I've never done a plan like this before other than on scratch paper or in my head. This way I won't lose or forget what I've planned. Also, there is a lot of impromptu planting that doesn't match what I originally intended--especially when I have too many starts to plant out! I can then go back and change the plan to match what is actually in the ground.

Here's a look of what I have so far. Sorry...I know it's small.



It's fun dragging around the crops and virtually planting them out on the screen. I wish there was a space for noting varieties and a few more crops like cardoon and hardy kiwi which I had to draw myself.

I'd also like a feature where I can add my shrubs and perennials since I don't have a designated raised bed for my veggies. I think there should be a big push for this since I'm sure I'm not the only one who plants their crops along with the more or less permanent focal points in the garden.

Or, better yet, a way to scan an aerial shot of the bed (easy to do from a 6' ladder or your porch) and overlay the crops. I'm going to explore the features a little more and see what I come up with. Definitely going to make a go at this and try to plan out both my front and back gardens.

Sunshine!

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I can't pass up my chance to get in some gardening while the sun is out. And it's actually feeling balmy!

My garden is overrun with liverwort. Ack!

Northwest Flower and Garden Show

I could smell the Northwest Flower and Garden Show a block away as I climbed up Pike Street. You know that smell when you walk into a florist? That fresh-cut flower smell that is close to carnations? I was convinced spring arrived early.

Well, it did this year with the show. Usually it doesn't happen for a couple more weeks, but I'm glad it's here now. This winter hasn't been that bad--yes, a week of snow--but it hasn't been as wet and cold as it could be. But, still, we had a dismal summer so having this escape was a nice respite.

I know I talked up the amount of edible lectures at this year's show and I was looking forward to the displays being as impressive. Unfortunately, there was only one display that showcased how wonderful edibles can look in your garden.

Well...okay, two, but although this has edible items in its display, it's not technically filled with edible plants.

Yum! A garden with bread and cake.


They did manage to squeeze in this urn planter with an culinary bay tree. Nice. I have one of these in my garden...although it's much smaller and in the ground.

The one true edible display was created by Cascadian Edible Landscapes. Featuring colorful chard, kale, and an assortment of herbs. The main focal point was a converted VW Bus for 5 cute hens that were pecking around.



I also liked the large table that was probably 10 feet long decorated with pots crammed with herbs--mostly mint and thyme. A lovely touch and so easy to do!

Anyone can take this idea home with them for their outdoor summertime soirees.

I couldn't believe my eyes with apple trees and blueberry shrubs forced into bloom in time for the show. I have been involved in a similar process and it's tricky. Timing is everything since you want flowers for the show, but not too early that they're spent and falling off as the garden is installed.


Nice job, Cascadian Edible Landscapes! I'm inspired to eat my yard this summer. I hope others were too.

It's Show Time!

Next week is the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. I'm pleased with the number of seminars about edibles. It's enough to make your head spin! I seems like there is at least one per stage per day.

A few that have caught my eye are...

Cool Season Edibles with Bill Forness on Wednesday afternoon. I think we'd all like to know how to grow veggies year round. And also on Wednesday on the DIY stage is Edibles Cubed where you can learn how to grow an edible cocktail table. Sign me up!

On Thursday Wendy Tweten, who is also known as Miss Snippy, is going to show us how to make veggie gardening fruitful and fun during At Play in the Potager. Suckered in once again by the DIY stage, I may check out the gutter gardening lecture with Jayme Jenkins. I think my fence lined with lettuces would look fabulous.

Growing Food in Small Spaces lead by Teresa O'Connor on Friday looks good. And if you want a small break from the edibles but want your "scent-ces" to be enlightened, check out Riz Reyes' Fragrance in the Garden. I'm always picking Riz's brain for good ideas about the latest cool plants.

Over the weekend, there's another lecture about potagers, and another about winter veggies on Saturday.

I think Sunday's Eating Your Landscape will be interesting since the subtitle suggests edible trees, shrubs, and annuals--something I try to do in my own garden.

There you have it. That's just a small preview of what you'll find edible-gardening wise over the five days starting Feb 8th. Enjoy!