Alberta Co-op Grocery

November Garden Guide

Posted November 4th, 2010

by Teryani Riggs, Working Owner

Well, the rains are finally here, Samhain has passed, and the leaves are showing their glory. It might seem like time to throw in the towel and hibernate until spring like many of our plants, but there’s still much that can be done in the garden— just dress warm and have some hot cider ready for when you come in.

Harvesting: November is a prime time to harvest brussel sprouts, starting from the bottom upwards. Be sure to stake plants that are leaning. Depending on your planting, you may also have carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, and greens ready for eating. In our garden, we still have plenty of kale, chard, chickweed, and zucchini for the eating.

Also notice that this is still prime season for some species of apples and pears, and that the season for walnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts is upon us.

Planting: Between Halloween and Thanksgiving is the prime time for planting garlic. In the beginning of the month you should still be able to plant favas and other cover crops, as well as finishing up planting bulbs for spring flowering.

Other Garden Tasks:

• Build cold frames to extend your season
• Check all stored crops for signs of disease
• Continue to cut back perennials and remove annuals that were done in by the cold. (You can leave some perennial foliage for habitat for critters if you like.)
• Drain hoses and put them away for the winter. Also turn off outdoor water sources.
• Selectively prune trees and shrubs that don’t bloom in early spring. Do NOT prune if temperatures are at or below freezing! The wood of many plants would crack under these conditions.
• Make sure all beds not cover-cropped have a good layer of mulch on top.

And have a great holiday season!

Tags: gardening
Posted in Home and Garden

Autumn Harvesting Guide

Posted October 7th, 2010

opinion by Teryani Riggs, Working Owner

Now that the days are shorter and the weather is cooling, we see a lot questions coming up about when to harvest warm weather vegetables.  Here’s a short guide:

• Summer Squash — Best harvested while still on the small side.  Not only is the flavor better, but if left on the plant a too long it begins seed formation and reduces further fruit set.

•  Winter Squash — Are completely mature when the stem is brown and shriveled, but our summers rarely last long enough for that to occur.  You can help the fruit along by removing the very smallest squash and any new ones from the vine after September 1st.   This allows the plant to put the remainder of its energy into ripening the larger fruit.

•  Peppers — Many varieties of both sweet and hot peppers change color from green to red or yellow as they ripen; his is a great guide for harvesting for best flavor.  Make sure to harvest thin-walled varieties of hot chili peppers well before frost or the onset of the rainy season to prevent rotting of the fruit. If the fruit has not entirely ripened by this time you can pull up the entire plant and hang upside down in a cool, dimly lit place

•  Tomatoes —  Even with removing all flowers and the smaller, immature tomatoes by September 1st, the cool summer we’ve had has left some of us with lots of unripe tomatoes even into October.  Withholding water and root-pruning can certainly help your fruits ripen, but if you still have green tomatoes by the time the first frost/rains come, pickled green curry tomatoes, fried green tomatoes, minced meat pie, and fermented whole green tomatoes are all tasty alternatives.

Next week: what to do in the garden in October.

Tags: gardening
Posted in Home and Garden