From the Gardens Registrar: Don’t Dump Weeds in the Dumpster; Vegetables
You Can Still Plant in September; Austrian Winter Field Peas; Tip for Tomatoes;
Tomato Recipes; Weed of the Week: Pigweed; No Workday This Weekend
YOU CAN STILL PLANT VEGETABLES NOW – There
is still time to plant root crops and greens for fall harvest. Kale, lettuce,
spinach, and chard will still have time to produce leaves before frost. And
kale is actually better after it’s been frosted – it’s sweeter and
better-tasting. You can still plant radishes and beets. If you want to plant carrots,
which grow slowly, try smaller varieties, which will mature a little faster. We
still have about two months before the end of garden season – the end will come
sometime in late October or so.
AUSTRIAN WINTER FIELD PEAS – One of our long-term gardeners, who
ran an organic farm in Kansas for thirty years, has just bought seeds for a
cover crop for his family’s plots, and will have extra seeds to share. The plant
is Austrian Winter Field Pea. It did very well for him in Kansas, so he wanted
to see how well it will do in Wisconsin, with its colder climate This plant,
like other legumes, adds nitrogen to the soil, which increases fertility for
main-season crops. These peas should be planted in the next few weeks, and will
probably die over the winter. You can then dig them into the soil in the
spring.
Let me know if you’re interested in getting some of these seeds –
note that quantities are limited. Here’s a link to more information about these
field peas: https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition/Text-Version/Legume-Cover-Crops/Field-Peas
PIGWEED – Today’s weed is pigweed. This is a type of
amaranth, a plant family which includes a number of edible plants as well as
ornamentals. The leaves of pigweed are
edible, at least when young. The seeds can also be eaten, and are said to be
very nutritious. Like burdock, however, it is in our gardens primarily as an
unwanted and unappreciated invader; it can grow quite tall, and spreads like
crazy. It’s easy to pull out when it’s small, but when it’s big, the root is
very solid, and it takes muscle to get it out of the ground. If you’ve got it
in your plot, please pull it out. https://www.ediblewildfood.com/pigweed.aspx
TOMATO TIP – If your tomato plants are still flowering,
September is the time to start pinching off the blossoms. Particularly with
large-fruited tomatoes, these flowers won’t have enough time to produce ripe
vegetables. By preventing the plants from setting more fruit, you’ll encourage
them to put more of their energy into ripening the tomatoes that have already
formed.
TOMATO RECIPES – If you’re inundated with beautiful ripe tomatoes,
here are some recipes for them: http://www.midwestliving.com/food/fruits-veggies/40-fresh-tomato-recipes-youll-love/ As for using up those rotten tomatoes we all
have, we’ll just have to wait until some politicians come to town and make
campaign speeches…
NO WORKDAY THIS WEEKEND – Enjoy the long weekend.
Happy Gardening,
Kathryn