Anybody with experience growing artichokes?

Once.

When we lived in southern MD, I attempted it using a variety that did not bear until the second year (is there any other kind?). I grew it (from seed) in a very large pot, hauled it inside over the winter so it would not freeze to death, kept it down in the basement with the grow-lights all winter. Hauled it back outside in the spring where it produced one measly little artichoke.

Obviously, not the fondest of memories. But perhaps someone else has had better luck?

There are supposed to be varieties that will produce in one year, e.g., Imperial Star and Emerald.

I just ordered small seed packs of Imperial Star and Violetta, which may also produce in one year here, depending on the weather. Will grow seedlings to transplant. Apparently they need to be stratified, and it may be late to start them, but what the heck?

Just figured out that I can put grow lights in the bedroom of the son who is away for college. The only place in the house where the door is always closed. This is important because we have five cats.

Virginia Tech publication on growing artichokes.

This beautiful spring day in central VA has inspired me to be sort of ambitious about an herb/vegetable garden this year. As many folks here seem to have graduate level knowledge of growing dos and don'ts, do you have any specific suggestions for good resources (books, websites, etc.) on learning the basics? My past successes and failures have been based on random chance; hopefully I'll pick up some ways to improve the odds.

We've gotten a lot of mileage out of Carrots Love Tomatoes and Square Foot Gardening. Especially great when your gardening space is limited.

Traditionalists may poo-poo this idea but we've had a decent modicum of success with the upside down tomato planters. These are great when you've got limited amounts of real estate (our backyard is very small and unfenced). The first year we used it, we were getting an average of one to two large tomatoes per day for about six weeks running. And we planted lots of basil on top, which made for lots of great tomato/basil/mozzarella salads.

I also hang the long rectangular box planters off the railing of our deck and grow herbs and edible flowers in them.

Using standard pots, I've grown LOTS of chili peppers - habaneros, jalapenos, and cayenne. I'm still using dried chilis from last season.

I'm going to check out that Square Foot Gardening book that DanielK suggested for some other ideas on how to use our limited space. Thx for the suggestion!! (Oh - and how was your birthday dinner last night??).

These can also be improvised cheaply out of 5 gallon utility buckets, if you have a hole saw and someplace to hang them from. However, I'd stick with a variety with a compact, bushy form...I planted heirlooms upside-down last year and they did their best to reach for both the sky and the ground simultaneously. Hang them high enough and it becomes difficult to gauge how much water they need.

Favorite website: Gardenweb. They have specialty forums for everything -- Virginia gardens, Mid-Atlantic gardens, Southern gardens, vegetables in general, specific vegetables like tomatoes, specific methods like organic, composting, etc.

Favorite books: All New Square Foot Gardening; Four Season Harvest; Vegetable Gardeners Bible.

Best advice: don't bite off more than you can chew. You probably will, anyway, but try to hold back.

Keep up with it, things can go wrong fast. Bugs can attack, animals can invade, drought can sneak up on you when you're not looking.

Mulch. Mulch is your friend, and your vegetables' friend. Hay is good, it's cheap and no weed seeds.

Compost. Compost is like gold to a garden. Collect kitchen waste (no meat, no fat) year round. Find someone with a stable who will give you horse manure if you haul it away. Don't throw away your grass clippings or raked leaves. Leaf mulch is one of the premier things to add to your soil, full of nutrients, no weed seeds, makes humus.

Rotate. Don't grow anything in the same place the next year, especially not tomatoes.

Buy seedlings. It's probably too late to start most summer vegetables inside and have them produce well before first frost.

Don't push the seasons if you're a newbie. Stick with common wisdom.

Enjoy.

And last, but not least, don't plant zucchini unless you really, really, really love zucchini, and frozen zucchini, and canned zucchini, and zucchini bread, etc. , and so do all your family and all your friends and all your neighbors. They will start to run when they see you coming with your latest gift of zucchini.

Also note to self: DeBaggio Herbs opens for the season tomorrow!

Contact your local Cooperative Extension - especially if they have a Master Gardener program in your county.

Signed, a former Montgomery County Master Gardener,

I wonder if a certain board member's expertise can be bought in return for fine food and drink????

I was browsing through the Gardening section at Borders yesterday and came across an interesting book on growing vegetables in "self watering containers". It seems like an interesting theory - has anyone here tried it??? We have a very small backyard and absolutely lousy soil, so this idea has alot of appeal to me.

For fine food and drink I'll tell you anything you want to know.

Never tried that, but for lousy soil highly recommend raised beds. We make our raised beds using boards and rebar. Won't win any neighborhood beautification awards but in the back yard, who cares?

I bet it was Edward C. Smith's 'Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers'. he is also the author of the book Ilaine mentioned, 'The Vegetable Gardener's Bible'. It's a great guide, I think I've had it checked out from the library for way too long. I got 3 Earthboxes last year & I think they performed very well-the greatest benefit was a slight reduction in watering. I had tomatoes & peppers, & instead of having to water daily (or even twice daily, when it was ungodly hot), I could skip a day or two. That said, last year was a rough year for tomatoes, I think our nighttime temperatures were just too high, I had a couple that did well & the peppers were great.

You can make a homemade self-watering container, I'm experimenting this year w/Tuckertotes & cutup milk cartons. I've also built a raised 'lasagna' bed by using paper, compost, peat, manure, leftover or used potting soil. Using containers forces you to keep a close eye on your plants, although you'll have to do alot of watering...

Biggest difference between raised beds vs. containers, in my opinion -- earthworms. Raised beds are full of earthworms, which eat decaying vegetation, and make earthworm poop, aka worm castings, a great fertilizer. They also bring minerals up to the surface and enrich the soil thereby, and aerate the soil, and all sorts of good things.

And they don't dry out as fast as containers, although I couldn't tell you why. Well, mulch, of course, but even non-mulched raised beds don't seem to dry out as fast as containers.

Because the root mass to soil ratio is much higher in containers.

Plus the soil used in containers drains FAR faster than topsoil.

Soil? You don't need no stinkin' soil!
Not when you have......Millenium Soil
http://www.yearroundtomatoes.com/index.html?directLoad

Depends on what you mix into your potting soil.

And I have found earthworms in containers that I have used outside. Of course they were placed on the ground so the little guys could find there way in there.

Well, even though we only had a dusting of snow Fri. night, w/ the prolonged low nighttime temps, I think alot of my plants are going to be slammed. Many of the Japanese maples look a bit wilted, the dahlias in the container plantings (what WAS I thinking?) are toast. Other than a few herbs, I don't really have kitchen garden plantings out yet, though-so that's good. Although it's a little early to guess, alot of the newly emerging perennials, as well as the newly planted, look OK. Next time, I'm going to listen when they tell me Mother's Day is when it's safe to plant....

Yep. And if you're planting basil or eggplant, wait another week beyond that.

I have many extra clumps of Garlic Chives for any DR member's garden. I am going to let any one come and dig them up and transport them in a container you provide. Garlic chives are a nice addition to your herb garden and come up every year. The garlic flavor is mild and I use them in place of chives in a lot of dishes and salads. They will be available this Sunday the 15th. I have shovels, but you dig (very easy) and put them
in your own pot. I suggest bring a bag or box to put the pot in.
I am off of Rt 7 in Vienna, behind the McLean Bible Church (Wolf Trap Woods) near Wolf Trap.
PM me for directions
Scott

looks like my spinach and lettuce seedlings survived the freezing temps! Although they are cold weather plants I did cover them on Fri, Sat and Sun as a precaution

My next door neighbor, who does everything "by the book" always waits to plant his tomatoes and plants them Memorial Day.

My tomato seedlings are quite leggy -- next year I need to use a timer for the grow lights, as I keep forgetting to turn the lights on, although they are on a very sunny windowsill so get a lot of sun that way.

So I am going to try Wall O Waters, which I found very cheap at the end of the season last year, also red plastic mulch which really does enhance growth and keep down weeds, as well.

We spent the weekend getting the plot ready, although the wheelbarrow got a collapsed wheel so didn't add the compost yet. But I am definitely going to plant them this week.

If it doesn't work, then Plan B is to buy new tomato plants, but I think it will work. Merrifield Garden Center planted a display tomato in a Wall O Water this past weekend.

We are going to plant them deep and sideways, leaving much of the stem underground. Last year someone at the plot told me about this but it was too late to try myself. The underground stem makes extra roots and the plants catch up fast and then exceed the ones planted conventionally. Her tomatoes were very productive.

Ours were too, which I attributed to red plastic mulch and Tomato-Tone and lots of compost.

Bought from the hippy herb guy at TP market and planted yesterday: rosemary, thyme, basil.

I have lettuce sprouting in a container, sown about a week ago I think. I went to the River Farm plant sale on Sat. & bought a ton of plants, including tomato seedlings. The garden center where I work also gets in a good variety, but a little later. I'm too impatient, so I picked up German Johnson, Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Grape, Lemon Boy, Yellow Pear, & Ildi. I didn't see my favorite, which is Sungold. Now it's time to fill the earthboxes, put the leftovers in the ground, start watering, & wait for tomatoes....

What a fine weekend. In the garden now: lettuces, Swiss chard, fennel, cilantro, dill, parsley, chervil. In the basement under the grow light: six different tomatoes, 3 peppers, 4 different basils, an eggplant. The border is shaping up, too, with blue flax, rue, lavender, rosemary; soon to join will be the other perennial sub-shrub herbs: thyme, oregano, marjoram, and savory.

It's good to be back in the saddle. <ow>

We're swimming in arugula and spinach right now.

Decided that growing from seed was too much hassle this year and am off to DeBaggio on Friday afternoon to pick up some tomatoes, eggplants, basil varieties etc to round out the summer crops

Bamboo Shoots.....

I have running bamboo in my back yard with new growth (shoots)coming up. Are these edible? How do I harvest and fix them? I am sorry to say I always thought they come from a can (LOL).

Plants up.....
Mint
Garlic Chives
Rosemary
Assorted other herbs

Tomatos and peppers will go in later this week.

I put all my tomatoes out, also 'Sundance' yellow squash, 'Tasty Jade' & 'Cool Breeze' cucumbers, 'Ichiban' & 'Fairy Tale' eggplant, a couple of very puny 'Cajun Delight' okra (but I have a backup packet of seed). I also have basil, tarragon, rue (overwintered), parsley growing, & now that it's warming up a little, I'm going to sow nasturtiums, shisho, basil (& put out seedlings, I don't trust my luck)

What do you do with rue? I love the look of the plant so I put one in couple of years ago and it is thriving but I'd love to be able to use it.

Admire it. It's very bitter, hence its use as a synonym for deep regret. The genus is Ruta, as in "that which we call Ruta by any other name would still be a damn fine chef."

I put all my tomatoes, chili peppers, and eggplant out this weekend, also. Planted herbs and nasturtiums also. I'm just a little worried that I've done this a week or two too soon. The nighttime temperatures are still dropping into the low 50's/high 40's and I've been told this will impact the fruit producing ability of my plants. Any comments from people who have gardened in the area for longer than I have?

In my experience, a few nights of 40s/50s nightime temps early in the season seem to have little effect on fruiting. As long as the days warm up, the plants seem to do fine.

I've got my tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini in now. Beans will be going in this week and okra at the end of the month. I am beginning to harvest lettuce and arugola.

I was going to head out to DeBaggio yesterday, but I checked thier site and they mentioned this:

From DeBaggio's:
"It is probably safe to plant Tomatoes at this time. Temperatures may still be a little low for Basil, Peppers, and Eggplant to thrive. If the long term weather forecast holds, then the week after Mother's Day should be ok for planting these heat loving plants.
Basil, Peppers and Eggplant may be stunted or produce poorly when exposed for too long to temperatures below 50-55ºF. Tomatoes will slow down or produce poorly when exposed to too many nights below 40-45ºF.
We have had killing frosts as late as the end of May."

So, I'm going to wait...

I don't do anything w/ my rue either-I know it's good to grow it by tomatoes. I'm going to plant nasturtium seeds, as well as okra, I discovered the 2 tiny okra seedlings were right in a water hole. I have 2 big containers of lettuce mix, ready to harvest. I'd like to fit in at least 1 more tomato-I've given up hope of finding a 'Sungold' seedling, I might add a 'Health Kick', this was mentioned as a good plant for canning/freezing (not that I've ever had enough tomatoes to save)...Linda

Latin Americans use rue/ruta as a folk medicine. Supposed to be good for ear aches, etc. I bought some at a Latina grocery, and the patrons and patronesses crowded around, showing me with sign language -- I think you bruise it like muddling mint for a mint julep, and then put it in your aching ear, or your aching tooth. Maybe. I think that's what they meant.

Since it was mentioned in another thread... alpine strawberries, aka fraises du bois, are shockingly easy to grow. And unbelievably tasty (as zoramargolis and Anna Blume will testify). DeBaggio Herbs way out US 50 near South Riding carries them. Totally worth the effort.

Thanks for adding the info on the strawberries. I've discovered a nice nursery in S. Alexandria called Holly Woods and Vines. They have a nice selection of vegetables and herbs (and everything else you can think of). I got 3 tomatoes, 2 are heirloom varieties which sounded good by description, peppers and herbs. I do container gardening since my side yards and back yard is either landscaped, or woods.
How long do the alpine strawberries produce? Do you think that they would do ok in a large container?
I'm thinking of adding some more herbs and maybe those strawberries from DeBaggios.

Thanks.

Hey, I work at HWV, school hours during the week, next time you're in, say, 'hi'-I'm Linda, & I'm usually somewhere in the front. Today, I added 4 more tomatoes-Golden Jubilee, Celebrity, 2 Mortgage Lifter (already have 1 of these, but these were freebies-they got bunged up off the truck). I also put in 2 'Cheyenne' hot peppers (wonder if they're a variety of cayenne?) & a 'Japanese Millionaire' eggplant (bizarre name, what could this mean?).

Earlier, I planted a couple of the 'Pink Panda' ornamental strawberries, tiny, like the frais de bois-they're yummy, but they're so tiny, I always forget to look for them (they're in containers) & usually the birds or bugs get them first. I also noticed flea beetles on my eggplant & aphids on my other tomatoes, so I sprayed some Neem. My tomatoes in earthboxes are outpacing the ones in the ground, but it's early yet-no tomatoes still.

Not food plants, but I managed to plant a bunch of tropicals this weekend-musa basjoo & musella lasiocarpa bananas, hedychiums, some gorgeous red mandevilla...No wonder this is my favorite time of the year!

Hey Thistle, good to know! My tomatoes were Rutgers (channeling those "jersey tomatoes" of my youth) and Old German. Am hoping for good eating this summer! Oh, and got 3 basil plants too.
btw.....we also got one of those HUGE purple Petunias and a shepard hook......the neighbors are jealous...

You think it's too late to start growing them?

I have an Old German, too, in 1 of the EBs, w/ a German Johnson-they're getting pretty big! I almost got a Rutgers, today, too-I'm really out of room for tomato plants, but I was looking at them today, thinking, "Someone needs to buy these tomatoes & put them in the ground". I need to get some basil soon or I'll be too late-I have seed for Thai 'Siam Queen' basil, but I think I've missed my window of opportunity.

Definitely not too late to plant some strawberries, just get smaller ones or be prepared for them to spread...

The reason I work there is to support my plant habit-I'm in the red almost everyday I leave, but my garden is getting to be pretty awesome...(& I've learned alot, too, we have some very experienced plant people there)...Linda

There's good news and bad news. The good new is: they do fine in containers; the plants are tidy and compact and do not run as other strawberries do; they produce from late spring well into summer (in my experience). The bad news: they produce sporadically and are not prolific. And lots of non-human critters find them tasty, too. Don't plan on hosting an alpine strawberry theme party. Don't even plan on having enough to make, say, a batch of jam or ice cream or a large tart from them, unless you have a very large plot of plants.

But... do plan on peeking under the leaves every other day to see what they've produced. If you have a half dozen or so well-established plants, you might get a whole cupful in one day. Enjoy them when you can, on a whim, without planning for them. Put them on a pretty plate for lazy summer evening grazing.

They are tiny, fragile, and do not travel or store well at all. (I'm frankly amazed that anyone is producing them comercially.) They disintegrate under anything more than the gentlest stream of rinse water. They are candy sweet and intensely perfumed.

They are a fleeting reward for hours of careful gardening. You'll get more bang for your gardening buck from a plot full of tomatoes and basil. But good tomatoes and basil are easily found (in August, if you're not summering elsewhere). Alpine strawberries are not.

Like cherry blossoms under a full moon in Kyoto, or so I've read, alpine strawberries are an ethereal pleasure.

If all the produce jetted 'round the world for us to enjoy in any season were this close to their original, unhybridized, unmodified for commercial transport flavor, we would have no need for an afterlife, for this would be heaven right here on earth.

They make you happy to be alive.

Not at all, though you won't get may berries this season unless you find mature plants for sale.

If you start your seeds now, you'll have useable plants in plenty of time for peak tomato season. Basils grow fast once the hot weather is here. Just be fanatical about pinching them (don't strip individual leaves from the plants), don't overfertilize, and by end of July you'll have big, bushy plants.

Also, as of two days ago DeBaggio had plenty of basil plants left, in dozens of varieties, including several Thai types. $2.99 each.

This is the type of simple advice I need! Does it harm the plant or just make its growth unwieldy?

What other herbs is this true for? I've got sage, Italian parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and the aforementioned basil growing in herb boxes. I've just randomly snipped from the sides or tops, which seemed to have made sense, though sage now seems to be treated like basil. True? Anyone willing to offer a quick primer guide on herb care (snipping vs. pinching, sun exposure, and water requirements would be of help). Thanks as always!

Pax,
Brian

Wow. This is putting me to the test.

In general, when you strip individual leaves from a plant, you're reducing the plant's ability to photosynthesize. The bare stem left behind can serve no biological purpose and will not re-grow those leaves.

"Pinching" refers to the practice of removing a stem just above a node (nodes are where leaves or other stems develop). This stimulates the plant into re-growing new stems, resulting in a bushier plant - meaning more leaves to harvest.

I don't have time to research this, so here are a few guidelines off the top of my head. As I'd hate to disseminate mis-information, I welcome any corrections.

Basil is a warm weather annual. Don't set out plants until nighttimes lows are above 55F. Pinch young plants just above the third set of true leaves, and pinch each new stem above the third set of new leaves. By the fourth iteration of this process, you'll be getting significant amounts of leaves, and the plant will become distinctly bushy. Keep after it, because pinching will also delay flowering. Once flowers develop, the entire plant will start to taste harsher. If you see flowers, pinch back hard ("hard" in this case is jargon meaning to go further back on the stem - at least three nodes). Since basil is an annual, you can only delay this flowering impulse for so long; eventually the plant will flower anyway or will just fade away (which is fine, because it dies not longer after setting seed anyway). If you want to keep your plants going after the cool weather returns, you can do so by taking soft cuttings and rooting them. Keep the new plants in a warm, sunny spot. But, as with all clones, the new plant is not really a baby - it will have a significantly shorter life span than the parent plant. Some varieties of basil respond better than others to cuttings. In my experience, the ornamentals last a lot longer than the culinaries. African blue basil, for instance, can be kept going for many years through vigorous pruning and stem cuttings, but it doesn't taste very good.

The other popular annual herbs, like cilantro, chervil, and dill, prefer cool weather and have very short life spans (2 months at most), and there's not much to do to prevent them from bolting. Bolting is when the plant kinda wholesale gives itself over to reproduction and sends up massive flower stems. Game over. The plants get funky tasting when they reach this stage. You can delay it once or twice by cutting out the entire bolting portion (if you study the plants every few days the change in foliage will become quite evident), but bolting is a response to hot weather. The best way to keep a supply of these all season long is to continually (like, every two weeks), sow new seed. These plants do not need to be pinched as basil does. They grow multiple stems from the crowns, so just remove stems as you need them.

Parsely is actually a biennial (meaning it has a 2 year life span). It will mostly die back in the winter and re-grow the next year. But, that second year's growth is entirely devoted to reproduction, and once again, it affects the flavor of the plant. So for culinary purposes treat parsely as an annual. It will last well into winter if lightly mulched (say, with autumn leaves).

The perennial Mediterranean herbs, like rosemary, oregano, marjoram, savory, and thyme, are woody when mature. Again, don't strip leaves, but rather take stems as you need them. Allow the plants the chance to develop and branch out somewhat before whacking 'em. You'll notice as they grow that the older stems will lignify (turn woody). Cutting woody stems doesn't hurt, except for rosemary, which will become stunted. Remove the soft, tender stems of rosemary. But if you start too soon, you'll really stunt the plant.

These herbs, by the way, need very well drained soils not too rich in organic matter. If you're growing them in pots, make a mix of a lot of sand with some native soil and compost (use a product like Leafgro if you don't have compost). They all get very large, though, so either put them in the garden next spring or start again if you have to keep them in pots. Also, don't keep them moist. Once established, they should be allowed to dry between waterings. And don't water them from overhead - this region is already too humid for them, so keeping the leaves wet just encourages fungal diseases. Water the soil.

As youngs plants these perennials do well in a rich potting mix, but as they age the roots will start to rot from all that moisture.

Thyme has an interesting growth habit, often browning out and dying at the original crown within two years, but staying green at the tips. If you bury some of the stems (either woody or soft) while they're still attached to the plant, they'll root at those sites - this is another form of cloning and will keep the plant alive for many years. Rooting them from cuttings is trickier.

I can't remember much about sage. I haven't grown it in years. It's a desert plant, so provide poor, well-drained soil and allow it to dry between waterings. I think you want to harvest soft stems (kind of like pinching basil) only, but I just don't remember.

All of these plants, whether cool-weather or hot-weather, will take as much sun as you can give them. A little morning or evening shade won't hurt, but otherwise they need to be in full sun.

That was probably waaaaaay more info than you wanted.

Elizabeth - you are a gold mine of information. Input like this makes this board so valuable to me. Thank you.

I mean, I'll still end up killing all my plants but at least I'll know what I should have been doing.