Northwest Vegetable Gardening

[Eden]

"Plant onion seed as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring "

Apparently they take quite a while to mature - about 5 months per Seeds of Change

[hummingbirdkiss]

thanks Eden I will plant them this weekend and maybe by October I will have some? it is worth a shot anyway

I wanted to share the same sweet friend who sent me the onion seeds also sent me purple carrot seeds here is a pic he sent to show me what they looked like..I am extremely excited about these

they are just beautiful aren't they? ..sounds crazy but I have never grown carrots so I hope my beds are deep enough these look long!

Edited March 12, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[kiliki]

I grew those "Purple Haze" carrots last year and I'll do so again this year--they are gorgeous and were even more so pickled (the brine turned beet red). I recently learned that wild carrots were originally red or purple or black; carrots have been bred to be orange.

[beauxbrie]

I have grown those purple carrots the last two years and plan on growing them again this year. I still also grow orange carrots, but really love the purple ones. They are so beautiful!

Never thought of pickling them--did pickle some purple romano beans last year and they just turned a mottled shade of green. Do the carrots stay purple?

[hummingbirdkiss]

tell me do you guys think my 12 inch beds will be deep enough for the purple carrots? I have as I mentioned not grown them before so I am not sure how deep I need the dirt to be

[kiliki]

Do the carrots stay purple?

Mine did. I didn't have a recipe for "real" (cooked in the jar in a water bath) carrot pickles--all of the carrot recipes I saw were for quick pickles, where you just pour brine over them, then eat them within a month or so. They stayed beautifully purple for that type of pickle. I've cooked them in a stir fry type dish, and they did keep their color (they dulled a bit) though they turned the rest of the dish purple, which wasn't entirely appetizing. I was so disappointed the first time I cooked purple beans! I didn't know they lost their color when cooked.

tell me do you guys think my 12 inch beds will be deep enough for the purple carrots? I have as I mentioned not grown them before so I am not sure how deep I need the dirt to be

I've only done them in my dog proof 2' deep beds but I'd think you'd be okay--it's worth trying, anyway!

[hummingbirdkiss]

thanks I have to use the beds anyway so I will load the carrot bed deeply with dirt and see what happens for sure...I was bummed as well when I cooked purple beans ..what is the point if they loose the cool color? I am glad to hear the carrots stay purple!

I imagine they would roast nicely

[Eden]

I wonder if the purple beans would keep their color if steamed rather than boiled?

as long as your beds are reasonably soft for most of those 12" I think the carrots should do fine.

We're growing the little round 1" carrots because we don't yet have good soil for more than a few inches down (each year it gets a little better, but we basically started with sand over gravel/glacial till...)

One of the favas is a whole inch tall this morning

It's cute - now that my seedlings are poking up you can look at where the line of arugulas begin to peter out & know exactly how far the sunlight extends into the veggie bed. I need to put a marker there so I know to put shady items like lettuce past that point from now on....

Has anyone grown purslane in our area? I got a couple seed packets on spec because it's supposed to be super high in Omega3s...

[hummingbirdkiss]

I wonder if the purple beans would keep their color if steamed rather than boiled?

as long as your beds are reasonably soft for most of those 12" I think the carrots should do fine.

We're growing the little round 1" carrots because we don't yet have good soil for more than a few inches down (each year it gets a little better, but we basically started with sand over gravel/glacial till...)

One of the favas is a whole inch tall this morning 

It's cute - now that my seedlings are poking up you can look at where the line of arugulas begin to peter out & know exactly how far the sunlight extends into the veggie bed.  I need to put a marker there so I know to put shady items like lettuce past that point from now on....

Has anyone grown purslane in our area?  I got a couple seed packets on spec because it's supposed to be super high in Omega3s...

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No they dont stay purple as soon as they are cooked anyway they turn green I tried..you can roast them and they good that way but then they are roasted so there is no purple then either

I heard purslane was really invasive so I have not tried it..it grows wild here in my town ..or maybe someones yard crop went wild ..very possible

that has for sure happeened with seed fennel ..it is ocming up through the sidwalk cracks

I have bulb fennel and cut it before it seeds so I dont think I caused this mishap

[tsquare]

purple beans are easier to spot for harvest and are pleasing to the eye.

[Eden]

I heard purslane was really invasive so I have not tried it..it grows wild here in my town ..or maybe someones yard crop went wild ..very possible

Per a couple gardening sites wild purslane is invasive but the "gerden" and "golden" purslanes (upright varieties) are not. Also they apparently have no tolerance for freezing so are unlikely to overwinter in our area...

I agree with tsquare even if the purple beans don't stay purple once you cook them they look so cool in the garden they're still worth growing.

FYI those purple carrots when sauteed with the classic butter, brown sugar & Tabasco make for a lovely purple sauce which looks stunning on the plate.

[hummingbirdkiss]

well tomorrow is dirt day ...going to go and rent a truck and get it ourselves .. $300 for delivery ..the hell with that it is only $30 for the truck we rented and whatever for the gas (it is high but not that high)

I am excited about dirt go figure!!!

I plant the purple beans too they do look pretty in the garden .and they are good beans but it is kind of a bummer to loose the color in the cooking process...the first time it happened caught me totally off guard..

.so do scarlet runners I plant those all over the place and just use the beans for seeds the following year

I am mostly excited about these carrots and am glad you folks have had sucess here in the Norwest with them!

[little ms foodie]

when is the annual Tilth sale?

[crouching tyler]

when is the annual Tilth sale?

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Tilth Edible Plant Sale - Save the Date!

May 3, 9AM - 3PM & May 4 11AM - 3PM

Get your 2008 heirloom vegetable & herb starts!

Sale is in Meridian park at 4649 Sunnyside Ave N in Wallingford.

more information: Seattle Tilth

[hummingbirdkiss]

I would love to attend the Tilth sale it looks like it has a fantastic number and types of plants available! ..but it also looks very crowded? can you tell me about it it is easy to park? are the crowds huge?

is it easy to navigate?

I get so overwhelmed with stuff like this appears to be ...that I end up just leaving and tend to miss out on some wonderful things

[LEdlund]

I would love to attend the Tilth sale it looks like it has a fantastic number and types of plants available! ..but it also looks very crowded? can you tell me about it it is easy to park? are the crowds huge?

is it easy to navigate?

I get so overwhelmed with stuff like this appears to be ...that I end up just leaving and tend to miss out on some wonderful things 

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It's crowded but I don't think it's crazy crowded. Think of it like going to the U District farmers market. It's busier early in the day and gets quite empty towards the end. But, if you go at the end, you also run the risk of them being sold out of some things that you want.

[crouching tyler]

The tilth sale is crowded, but I love it. I think the key to enjoying the sale is to relax, not rush, chat with your fellow gardeners, have some donuts - and bring a wagon so you don't have to carry all those little plants by hand. Also, the wagon makes parking much easier - just park somewhere in the neighborhood, within a couple blocks - and you can wheel all your purchases back to your vehicle. (I found a used wagon on craigslist, by the way).

I've been going to the sale for years now, and consider it the official start of the growing season. I know the date itself signifies nothing, but it feels like the garden version of opening day to me.

Edited March 19, 2008 by crouching tyler (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

thank so much for your replies I will give it a try if I feel overwhelmed I can leave..I like the idea of the wagon and think I can just borrow my friends 2 year olds for the day ...

I love then entire idea of it and being around plants and gardeners all a positive ...

when I say I get overwhelmed it is almost pathological sad to say ..I do fine is busy cities when I am just wandering... but crowds at fairs and farmers markets just make me feel anxious and overwhelmed ...and as I get older it is harder for me to deal with

oh well mind over matter I will just bite the bullet and go...besides there is alway xanax

[kiliki]

It really is worth going to for the variety--you just don't see as many kinds of starts at nurseries. The lines LOOK really long, but they move fast (just like the big plant show they have at Sand Point). This year's sale is right before we go to France for two weeks so I have to decide whether I can trust our 11 y.o. neighbor who brings in the mail to keep them alive while we’re gone.

[hummingbirdkiss]

thank you for that ..hey as far as watering goes can you do a timer on a cheap drip system...or liter pop bottles with holes in the lid and a small hole in the top ...so it just dribbles out around the plants?

two weeks in France ...sigh ..jealous over here

[beauxbrie]

I heard purslane was really invasive so I have not tried it..it grows wild here in my town ..or maybe someones yard crop went wild ..very possible

Per a couple gardening sites wild purslane is invasive but the "gerden" and "golden" purslanes (upright varieties) are not. Also they apparently have no tolerance for freezing so are unlikely to overwinter in our area...

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I grew golden purslane last year. I thought since it was eaten like a lettuce that it would like being planted in early spring like you would other lettuces. Anyway, that completely failed. So I replanted it--again most of the seeds failed to germinate. But I had one tiny plant that just sat there barely growing--so I threw the rest of the seeds in, and about that time it started getting warm--well those purslane plants just took over that corner of the garden. It wasn't a matter of being invasive, just a matter of you don't need more than a couple of plants because they ended up getting massive. The leaves don't hold that well after being picked, either, so in the end I just couldn't keep up with it.

This year instead of purslane I am going to try corn salad.

[hummingbirdkiss]

here is the pop bottle watering method my friend swears by it but she leaves the ...this could buy your plants time if the 11year old is amiss with watering? he just has to fill the bottles up once in a while this way

and it is so green click

Edited March 19, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[kiliki]

Thanks for the link...it hadn't even occured to me to investigate something like that but it looks interesting.

[hummingbirdkiss]

Thanks for the link...it hadn't even occured to me to investigate something like that but it looks interesting.

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you are very welcome the woman who dose this actually uses a two liter bottle and puts it between four plants

[Eden]

I grew golden purslane last year.  I thought since it was eaten like a lettuce that it would like being planted in early spring like you would other lettuces.  Anyway, that completely failed.  So I replanted it--again most of the seeds failed to germinate.  But I had one tiny plant that just sat there barely growing--so I threw the rest of the seeds in, and about that time it started getting warm--well those purslane plants just took over that corner of the garden.  It wasn't a matter of being invasive, just a matter of you don't need more than a couple of plants because they ended up getting massive.  The leaves don't hold that well after being picked, either, so in the end I just couldn't keep up with it.

This year instead of purslane I am going to try corn salad.

Thanks for the heads up I will try to be patient then & wait to sow the purslane till it's a bit warmer.

FYI my mache (corn salad) is already popping up & thinking about needing to be thinned out.