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Best Books for Budding Beekeepers: Hive and the Honey-Bee

Jessie Keith — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:33:58 GMT

Beekeeping 351, taught by the ever-enthusiastic Dr. Fischang, was a magical college course. It opened up a world that I hope to enter one day; one where I have my own farmette along with enough land to allow for a few hives. (I keep my great-grandfather's old beehive smoker on hand in case I may need it one day.)

A key bit of information gleaned from the course, which covered both honeybee biology along with practical lessons for apiarists, addressed the best written works on beekeeping, most notably Langstroth's Hive and the Honey-Bee: A Bee Keeper's Manual. The seminal work was first published in 1853 and has gone through countless revisions. Anyone wishing to start their own apiary, however small, should begin with this technical but accessible tome.

The "Hive and the Honey-Bee" holds even greater meaning for bee book enthusiasts. It is also the name of a massive beekeeping library founded in 1925 at Cornell University by apiculture professor, Everett F. Phillip. Since 2002 library staff and collaborators worked to digitize most of the collection and in 2004 The Hive and the Honeybee site was launched. The site has a searchable database filled with digitized beekeeping books available to all! Those responsible for this impressive effort include the Mann Library at Cornell University staff along with collaborating staff from the University of Delaware, Mississippi State University, Mary Washington College, the Finger Lakes Beekeeping Association.

For the time being my urban dwelling keeps my beekeeping dreams on hold. (Visits to the small apiary at our community garden help tide me over.) But one day that may change. It's exciting to know the best books on beekeeping are readily available for the reading, just when I might need them.

Choosing Good Garden Seeds for Children

Jessie Keith — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:09:43 GMT

Garden planning has become a family affair; as my daughters grow older, they want more say in what we grow. They tend to choose flowers and veggies that are fun, unique and pretty--the more colorful and strangely shaped the better. It's my job to make sure their choices are also easy-to-grow and non-toxic. (Plenty of garden plants are extremely toxic.) Overall, I strive to steer them towards seed for plants that are:

visually cool
easy-to-grow
fast-growing
rewarding with good harvests
extra tasty

Packet images used with permission from Renee's Garden Seeds.

So far, this year's pickings are good. We've chosen lots of seeds from Renee's Garden because they tend to have a colorful mixes as well as miniature plants--both kid-friendly traits. For flowers, we bought Raggedy Anne Mixed zinnias, 'Cappuccino' gloriosa daisies and 'Van Gogh' sunflowers. The large-flowered zinnias come in all colors and have quilled and twisted petals that should glow alongside the warm gloriosa daisies and green-centered sunflowers. (The sunflowers truly look like those in Van Gogh's famous painting, Sunflowers.) All are sure to look fine in a vase as well as the garden. As an added creative flourish, we've discussed creating a 'Van Gogh' sunflower house twining with old-fashioned 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories. (Sharon Lovejoy was the first to dream up this clever flower house idea.)

Our veggie choices are equally fun. Watermelon radishes were a clear winner. They are truly the geodes of radishes. Each mild, crispy, magenta-hued bite is magical for kids. 'Baby Persian' cucumbers will be fun to harvest, and the plants are more drought tolerant than standard, which is better for our climate. We picked chard Neon Glow Mix, which is even more electric than Bright Lights Mix, and the kids actually enjoy eating the young, tender leaves. We also can't go a season without growing yellow currant tomatoes. Melons are another yearly must, and I couldn't resist the baseball-sized melons borne on 'Serenade' despite the steep cost for the seed. (Last year's melon crop was the pits!) We also picked out plenty of cucurbits including the bumpy 'Knuckle Head' pumpkin, diminutive 'Wee-B-Little' pumpkin and Warts and Wings gourds for fall fun.

We've also gotten a few garden kits to make growing even cooler. Growum's Pizza Garden was on the kid's list as was their Taco Garden.

These are but a few of our favorite picks for this year. We'll post pictures when all our summer plants are big and pretty. Have fun making your own groovy kid's garden seed picks!

My oldest daughter at age two in her favorite patch of garden.

The Bulbs Say It's Too Warm

Jessie Keith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:57:58 GMT

A late December trip to Kentucky showed Crocus and early Narcissus blooming two months earlier than expected. In mid-January, I observed a Wilmington, Delaware lawn awash with pretty pink Crocus tommasinianus, which usually appear in early March. My snowdrops, which normally bloom in late February or early March, have been blooming since mid-January and bulb foliage is popping up everywhere. And the bulbs aren't alone. Just last week a friend walking through a Maryland field found a chilly, confused toad slowly hopping along, our yard is filled with twittering robins, and bees are buzzing around searching for flowers to pollinate. WTF!?

Wayward blooming bulbs.

Two outcomes are possible in this scenario and neither are good. Either the weather's being tricksy and plans to descend with arctic blasts in February and March, thus killing everything biologically inept enough to break bud or hibernation (plants and insects alike), or it's just going to just stay warm and that's not good either.

Lots of plants need significant chill for specific periods of time to flower and produce fruit, particularly fruit producing trees and vines, which means yields could be impacted. Many weeds, pests and diseases will proliferate because fewer will be killed by the cold and longer warm periods mean time for more insect and weed life- cycles. A recent Cornell University article by Craig Cramer titled, Will Warm Weather Wither Plants?, gives an excellent overview of possible impacts on plants.

Biologists project that the warm winter weather will also mean more pesky rodents, ticks, ants, mosquitoes and other bothersome creatures. Oh goody! That means more money spent on products to keep these critters at bay. Expect the repellant, pesticide and pest control industries to thrive.

At this stage, I am hoping for a sharp decline in temperatures and heavy snow. The cold will help manage populations of unwanted creatures and maintain needed dormancy in lots of plants, and the snow will insulate ground-dwelling plants that have already begun to spring forth. Trees and shrubs that have broken bud would suffer, as would all the robins and wayward amphibians, but it's a small price to pay. Bring on the cold. Please!

Canning 101

Jessie Keith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:05:22 GMT

When it comes to storing produce, canning is where it’s at. Well-canned produce lasts longest, tastes best, and makes excellent gifts. But home canning also strikes fear into the hearts of newbies because when it goes wrong it ruins food and invites deadly botulism—both nasty outcomes. No worries new canners! Good canning is easily done, with the right steps, and by following this easy guide you’ll be ripe with its rewards.

What one cans may make or break initial success and canning confidence. Canning truly crispy gherkins, for example, can be tricky while fully cooked fruit butters or jams are easy to get right. They allow new canners to work on basic technique while ensuring end products will be texturally correct.

Good equipment is crucial too. All the essentials must be laid out prepped, cleaned and ready to go before canning can commence. Sterile technique is at the heart of good canning. That means keeping everything hot and germ-free, especially food stuffs and jar interiors. This is laid out in just seven basic steps that will put you on the path towards preserving the harvest through canning.

Materials:

Canning Pot with Jar Rack

8 oz Quilted Crystal Jelly Jars

Canning Jar Lifter

Canning Lids and Screw Bands (new)

Labels and Permanent Marker

Ladle

Wide-mouthed Jar Funnel

Steps:

1. Wash your hands and workspace before starting.

2. Sterilize jars by filling a large pot with water to a depth that will cover them. Submerse as many jars as you can in the pot. Bring the water to a rolling boil and boil for 10 minutes. Remove the hot jars with clean tongs while gently pouring the hot water out before removal. Place the jars upside down on a clean towel and avoid touching their interiors. (Keep the water in the canning pot simmering.)

3. Using a clean ladle and wide mouthed funnel fill jars with hot prepared chutney, jam or butter. Fill to a level that allows around an inch of headspace from the base of the preserve to the top of the jar. Wipe messy jar rims with a clean damp cloth and gently tap the base of the jars to remove any internal bubbles.

4. Place lids and screwbands on the jars. Manufacturer’s instructions may vary so follow those on the box. Lids can be added one by one if you’re concerned about leaving open jars exposed for too long.

5. Place the jars on the jar rack and lower them into the canning pot of hot water, if you have no rack lower the jars in with a canning jar lifter being sure to keep jars from touching. Cover the canning pot and keep at a low boil for 10 minutes.

6. Remove the jars from the pot and place them on towels to cool. Once cool, dry outside thoroughly and apply labels. Include the name of the preserve and date made. Store in a cool dry place.

7. After jars have set for 12 to 24 hours, check for success. If the lids are tight, air free and cannot be pressed down, they’re fine. If they pop down, they are improperly sealed, but don’t throw them away. You can either put them in the refrigerator for immediate use or try to re-cap them using steps 4 through 6. As a general rule, canned food is best used in the first year.

Wilder Quarterly Volume I Corrections

Jessie Keith — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:11:59 GMT

I'm a really nice person, but I turn into a tough perfectionist when it comes to getting plant information right. If it's wrong or subpar, it drives me crazy. I take my plants seriously; I know my stuff; I've worked hard to know my stuff; I want to share good gardening information with the public.

So when the first issue of Wilder Quarterly came out laden with copious plant ID errors, in captions and text relating to my articles, I had a cow. (Teach plant identification on the college-level as I did for years, or manage a huge plant database as I do now, and you will understand the gross, pukey feeling the misinformation gave me.) I resigned from my position as WQ Horticultural Editor once my writing and preliminary edits were complete, but I offered to help with final edits to keep content clean. Sadly, I was excluded from making final edits or adding photo captions, but that can be remedied. In the spirit of definitude, I offer corrections to readers who value accuracy. (I know this may tick off a few young, pseudo-erudite, NYC garden publishing upstarts, but oh well. I need to wash my soiled hands and free my inner plant snob.)

I first noticed the incorrect captions in the Carrot and Dahlia Plant Profiles (pages 12 and 14). I said to myself, "WHAT?! Absolutely NONE of the identifying plant captions match the plants in the pictures!? Crap! What if people actually want to find and grow these plants?" Captions on four other pages are totally wrong too. I guess the editors hoped nobody in the know would notice. Pretty magazine pictures are nice, but they're pointless if they don't provide the right information. On point, here are the right captions for those with bad information:

Carrots (page 12): The plant names given are not those depicted in the photo. The correct carrots in the picture are of Kaleidoscope Mix, which contains the five cultivars 'Atomic Red', 'Bambino', 'Cosmic Purple', 'Lunar White' and 'Solar Yellow.'
Dahlias (page 14): The plant names given are not those depicted in the photo. The correct Dahlias are (clockwise from the left): 'Jason Matthew', too miserable to ID, 'Miss Delilah', a past-peak 'Hakuyou', 'Pooh'

How to Grow: Cauliflower (page 26): Once again, the plant names given are not those plants depicted in the photo. The picture shows the orange 'Cheddar' and what is most certainly 'Snow Crown', or the like. (White cauliflowers all look the same, but the caption manages to name no white-headed forms.)
Keep Houseplants Healthy with a Thorough Cleaning (page 32): This bylineless article of mine shows two plants being cleaned. These plants are a variegated Philodendron and Boston fern rather than a false aralia, rubber tree or Dracaena as the inaccurate photo caption suggests.
Seasonal Pest: Nip Loopers in the Bud (page 19): This awesome article by Longwood IMP master and APGA director Casey Sclar lacks a much-needed byline, but it also strangely identifies the cabbages in the pictures as red monkey flowers (Mimulus coccineus).
Plant Life: Q&A with Russell Stafford of Odyssey Bulbs (page 51): The picture of Russell Stafford is captioned as being six named bulbs instead of a human.
Bulb Planting (page 157): Bad captions aren't the problem here. Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) and grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) are each inexplicably given the Latin name, Fritillaria meleagris, which is not what was written in the original text I submitted.

I hope those at Wilder Quarterly do a better job with the next issue. Securing a new horticultural editor (and giving that person due respect, pay and recognition) would certainly help. A few really stellar plant photographers might make their garden publishing efforts a bit easier too. They could also stand to take tips on botanical Latin formatting from my blog, Botanical Latin, the Language of Gardeners.

(If I come across as a big plant snob, I mean to. Spread the word.)

Five Best Tools for Easy Weeding and Hand Cultivation

Jessie Keith — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:42:19 GMT

Over the years I have used any number of different gardening tools for hand weeding, planting and general cultivation. A few have stood out and become fast favorites. The three key characteristics I look for in a good gardening hand tool are: 1. ease of use, 2. working power and 3. durability. These criteria are met by the following tools:

Fine-bladed hand trowels are excellent all-purpose tools for weeding and planting. They quickly cut at deep or shallow roots in no time and withstand lots of wear and tear if made well. The "rockery hand trowel" at Clarington Forge is just such a fine-bladed tool and it's beautifully crafted for the long haul.

The fine blade of this rock garden trowel makes for easy weeding and planting--especially in heavier or pebbly soils.

For super fast hand weeding nothing beats the classic Korean Ho-Mi (hoe-mee), also called the Korean hand plow or cultivator. This sharp, downward facing tool can get to the base of a dandelion root in seconds with just a chop, chop, chop. Nothing is more effective. For smaller weeds, I use the side of the Ho-Mi to scratch and smooth the soil. It’s an excellent tool for lightly aerating the base of a plant or getting to the root of a tough herbaceous weed as well as planting new plugs. If well cared for, a ho-mi will last forever (if cleaned after use and oiled to prevent rust). It's relatively cheap too.

Long handled versions are also very useful. Just be careful when chopping away with this sharp tool. Its tip can be nasty.

The sharp blade of the ho-mi can chop deep into the soil quickly and makes weeding easy.

A child-friendly weeder that's easy for the little ones to wield is the Dutch hoe from Clarington Forge. It's not sharp, scrapes up surface weeds with little effort and keeps the kids helping out in the garden.

This kid-sized Dutch hoe allows kids to get into the weeding act too.

I could not get by in the garden without my trusty garden knife (also called a soil knife). It can reach and cut deep roots. You can saw through the bases of tough plants or even use it for harvesting greens and kohl crops. One side of the knife is sharp for slicing and the other is serrated for sawing. Both can easily break through skin so its best held in a leather belt holder.

The soil knife is a versatile hand tool that you will never want to be without once you try it.

For large woody weeds nothing is more effective than the amazing, sapling pulling Weed Wrench. In a matter of minutes, an area riddled with small weed trees can be cleaned beautifully roots and all. It works like no other tool I've tried. Just clench the base of the sapling or small tree and pull. Ignore the fact that it’s a bit pricey. It will pay for itself quickly in time and effort saved wrangling with hard-to-pull woody weeds. There are several sizes available to fit the needs of any gardener.

The weed wrench doesn't look like much but it's a powerful weeding tool!

Pecan Bust 2011 (Plant Pecans Folks!)

Jessie Keith — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:54:40 GMT

Chinese markets are buying up pecans, and the 2011 crop was crap. These tidbits remained outside my radar until I went to buy pecans for holiday baking. A small bag for $6.00 was too high, so I didn't pay up. When I decided to bite the bullet a few days later, the price was higher and none were left. Supply and demand in action. What to do? I say plant pecans.

Established pecans are trouble-free trees. A mature specimen will produce loads in a good year. For this reason, pecans were cheap nuts where I grew up in southern Indiana. My grandparents could buy enormous bags of unshelled, fresh pecans for just a couple dollars. (Granted, you'd get the occasional withered, bitter reject, but overall they were fine.)

Technically speaking, the pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is a large, deciduous, hardwood tree native to the southeastern half of the United States. Wild stands grow in uplands and flats where soil drainage is good. (So as long as you don't have soggy, clay-rich soils you can grow them.) They have tall straight trunks and broad, oval canopies with compound green leaves that turn yellow shades in fall. Trees take up to 20 years before they produce nuts, though some cultivars produce much earlier. The husked nuts ripen in early to mid-fall. Nut production is inconsistent from year to year, typically in one to three year intervals with boom crops followed by one to two weak crops. More than one tree is needed for cross-pollination.

'Apalachee' is one of many new pecan cultivars released by the USDA-ARS. (Picture c/o the USDA-ARS)

The USDA ARS has a very successful pecan breeding program. In it they list over 100 variants developed , each with different nut and production qualities. The list is worth perusing, but here are some of the best trees for home growers:

'Deerstand' -A very hardy selection that produces medium-sized nuts in mid-fall.

'Snaps' -The hardy trees produce small nuts early in the season, even as young trees.

'Desirable' -High vigor and good nut production make this a great selection for home growers.

'Cheyenne' -Young trees yield pecans and yields remain consistently high from year to year.

'Mohawk' -Nuts are thin-shelled, prolific and trees begin producing when young.

Lots of specialty nurseries sell pecan trees. Those that sell large trees being the best. Some quality specialty sources are:

Woodard Pecan Nursery

Williams Pecans

Bob Wells Nursery

Womack Nursery

Texas Pecan Nursery, Inc

Be sure to secure trees early if you want best picks. Mid-spring is the ideal time to plant pecans. Some nurseries will hold trees until spring planting season. I'm considering buying two in hopes of relieving future pecan woes.

Marian's Ghoulish Christmas Pumpkins

Jessie Keith — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:07:41 GMT

This post is in honor of my sister, Marian Keith. For the past few years she's decorated her rotten Halloween pumpkins for Christmas. The result is ghoulish and hysterical. I commend her for her resourcefulness and creativity! (They'd make great Christmas card covers, eh?)

Marian's jolly Christmas pumpkins 2010

Marian's even jollier Christmas pumpkins 2011

Winter Pine Cone Crafting

Jessie Keith — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:14:35 GMT

Behold our goofy pine cone animals! The antlers are contorted filbert twigs and the hat an Echinacea seeadhead.

My doctor's office is surrounded by white pines (Pinus sylvestris) that produce loads of the prettiest, largest white pine cones I've ever seen. They used to waste away on the ground until the scavenger in me kicked in a couple of years ago, and I asked if I could collected some. Since then, we've made pine cone crafting a yearly tradition.

Wreaths are expensive but with a basic $4.00 grapevine wreath base from Michael's, our pine cones, some florist's wire and a few baubles, we constructed a very pretty pine cone wreath for very little money. I think the final tab was $7.00. I sprayed it with a little balsam room spray from Williams-Sonoma as a final wintery flourish.

Glitter pine cone ornaments remind me of childhood. Isn't that a craft that every kid creates sometime from preschool to third grade? This year we were inspired by mini pompons and google eyes in addition to iridescent glitter. The ornaments don't look complete without little ribbons. We like to hang ours upside down as one would see them in nature.

Pine cone animals are cute and fun to make. Twigs make great legs and antlers for mini deer and bits of bark serve as perfect little ears. We also used a few of our flower seedheads from the garden as heads and ears. Parts requiring fast, secure fixation, like legs, were hot glued on by me. (For safety's sake, I keep the glue gun far away from the children.)

All these things make fun (and cheap) gifts. They also create pleasing memories for the kids. And any cones we don't use for crafts get stuck here and there indoors or out as decoration. No waste.

Our wreath has a little golden bird my daughter picked out.

The final wreath had tinsel embellishments alla Franzie.

The rest of the cones served as rustic trees in our mantle winter village.

My Mid-Atlantic Late Fall/Early Winter Garden (December 1, 2011)

Jessie Keith — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:41:12 GMT

This time last year it was nice and cold, but for the last few days it's been in the 60s and 70s (though today it's finally in the 50s). Forget about the freak East Coast snow in late October. It made no dent. There are so many flowers blooming in my yard it looks as it did in mid-fall. Gomphrena 'Fireworks', hardy Chrysanthemum, Salvia elegans, Salvia coccinea, Salvia Navajo Dark Purple, sweet alyssum and hybrid Monarda viridissima are still shining as are the blooms of the native vine, Lonicera sempervirens. I'm still cutting pretty table arrangements. My daughters are rapt!

A few weeks ago I madly harvested herbs and dried them thinking they would be toast by mid-November at the latest. All still look as fresh as a daisy. Rosemary, thyme, chives, sage, oregano, parsley and even a few peaked basil leaves are fragrant, green and available for the picking.

It's the warmest November in memory. Some may find the balminess pleasing, but unseasonably warm weather depresses me, particularly early in the season. It's just not jolly in areas where snow and chill are the norm. I want snowy, plush jacket weather, weather that will give me an excuse to snuggle up to new spring seed catalogs and forget about tending my garden for a while.

Rosemary and hardy mums still growing and blooming on December 1, 2011.

Pretty purple Salvia and sweet alyssum still shining.

This pretty late-blooming Monarda is as colorful and beautiful as can be.

The purple-pink flowerheads of Gomphrena 'Fireworks' have yet to succumb to the cold.

Killer Fruited Cranberry Sauce or Pie Filling/Topping

Jessie Keith — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:32:54 GMT

This cranberry sauce is the best pumpkin pie topper ever.

I can't get a hold of a recipe without majorly tweaking it, and last Thanksgiving I tweaked a home run. In this case, I modified the fruity Wayne's Cranberry Sauce, a highly rated Food Network recipe posted by Paula Dean. I changed the citrus, raisins, added orange zest, upped the Grand Marnier, removed the spices and added toasted pecans. I also chose the tart, winey, late-season cooking apple, 'Stayman Winesap.'

The results were perfect for my wants--a clean, fruity sauce with a nibble of nut. Everyone loved it, and my father asked me to make more and bake it in a pie shell--a brilliant idea. It evokes all the best harvest flavors and also tastes great on pumpkin pie (a two layer pumpkin and harvest cranberry pie may be on order).

Dean-Inspired Fruited Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup finely chopped apple (a tart cooking apple is best)
3/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
1 large orange, zested and juiced

Directions:

Boil sugar and water in a medium saucepan until the sugar has totally dissolved, around 5 minutes. Add in the fresh cranberries, return to a boil, then lower to medium-low heat and simmer for around 8 minutes. Add the apples, golden raisins, orange juice, orange zest and Grand Marnier then cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure all the cranberries have popped by squishing those that are still whole. Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool. Mix in the pecans before serving (this keeps them more crisp).

Add the mix to a pie shell and bake or enjoy with a festive turkey dinner.

By the end of the meal, little cranberry sauce remained.

"Ranting" About Gardening Demographics

Jessie Keith — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:50:57 GMT

Mom will be so proud. I recently received my first ranty mention on the popular gardening blog, Garden Rant. Does that count as another notch towards garden writing success? The effervescently optimistic side of me, if such a side exists, says, "Oh yes!"

Apparently, I made a boo boo by writing, "Most garden magazines stick to the classic gardening demographic, which most popular surveys recognize as older, financially secure females with college degrees and no children at home. This is a good thing (we love our serious, dedicated gardeners), but cultural and economic changes are changing the face of the American gardener. Wilder seeks to appeal to that new face. " in my blog about Wilder Quarterly. It incurred this rant by Elizabath Licata: "So far, the word on Wilder is that it addresses a different audience than that aimed at by the current gardening magazines. That is likely true. What isn't true is the assumption that those magazines were satisfying the "older, financially secure females with college degrees" which is how Wilder horticultural editor Jessie Keith defines the traditional gardening demographic. All generations and all demographics of gardeners want new and exciting content in their magazines."

The good thing is we are both on the same page. Big businesses, mainstream garden magazines included, target demographics based on expensive research and surveys. Every magazine does it, save modest, experimental periodicals like Wilder Quarterly. The question is how are larger garden magazines defining what their most prevalent demographic targets like to read? Most recycle the same dull gardening themes with little divergence, which is a real bore to longtime gardeners and readers. Where's the new content and new perspective? Fresh ideas are in order.

From a writer's perspective I've been disappointed too. Lots of my fresher, more unique garden article ideas have been shot down by mags because their subjects are not "mainstream enough" or "don't fit the demographic."

Either way, I got my rant and won't give it back.

A snippet from BHG showing their reader's demographics.

Getting to the Root of Yams and Sweet Potatoes (Good Recipes Too)

Jessie Keith — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:16:29 GMT

What's the difference between yams and sweet potatoes? It's a common question asked of horticulturists this time of year. The two tubers may have similar textures and flavors, but sweet potatoes and yams are not the same. They come from two distantly related plants from very different parts of the world--though they are both tropical vines that grow under similar sunny, hot growing conditions.

There are approximately 600 yam (Dioscorea) species and several are edible, but the most popular and readily available are the fleshy roots of Dioscorea cayennensis, or the yellow yam. African in origin, its large, elongated brown tubers have hard yellow flesh that softens up when cooked. Unlike sweet potatoes, it needs to be peeled before cooking and eating. Above ground it forms monstrous vines that can reach lengths of 40 feet, if not maintained. The tubers of this tender perennial take around a year to mature, so it's not a quick turnaround crop. Yam tubers also don't store for long, unlike the fleshy tuberous roots of sweet potato.

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is actually a morning glory, if you can believe it. It's one of those rare plants that's grown as a tasty vegetable and a pretty ornamental (yellow, purple and variegated-leaved forms are popular foliage plants). Unlike yams, this vigorous, herbaceous, trailing vine is native to Central America and the Pacific Islands. Its fleshy, tapered, tuberous roots have edible smooth thin skin that houses firm sweet flesh of white, yellow or purple-blue that softens when cooked. Above ground it forms vigorous vines that can reach lengths of 20 feet, if not maintained. Sweet potatoes can be grown any time of year, so long as growing conditions are very warm, and produce a harvestable crop in only three to four months. The tubers store well for months of kept in a dark, cool place.

Yams must be peeled, otherwise sweet potatoes and yams cook up similarly. My busy holiday schedule won't allow me to cook and share my favorite sweet and savory yam and sweet potato recipes, so I'll just share a few excellent recipes from worthy cooking sites.

1. The sweet potato pie by SheSimmers is absolutely amazing! She adds chopped pecans to the crust. Super yummy.

2. I've made Martha Stewart's watercress salad with roasted sweet potatoes with spicy, seasonal arugula and it's the bomb. It makes a pleasingly light addition to holiday meals.

3. Perfect yam fries with cumin from The Three Cheeses. Need I say more?

4. The uniquely tasty sweet potato gnocchi with crushed hazelnuts from The Italian Dish is a lot easier to make than it looks.

A bowl brimming with white-fleshed sweet potatoes ready for cooking.

Fall Rhubarb and Asparagus Planting

Jessie Keith — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:26:34 GMT

The other day I was at the community garden amending my veggie beds for winter and planting garlic. For conversation, I asked some fellow gardeners if they knew where I could find a couple of rhubarb plants this time of year (perusing nurseries is too time consuming for my busy schedule). Anyway, both asked, "Can you plant rhubarb in fall?" My response was "Yes. Rhubarb is tough as nails." In the same vein, I received a comparable question when I transplanted asparagus late last fall.

Hardy spring perennial edibles are most commonly planted in spring, but I'm not sure why because they fare beautifully, if not better, if properly planted in fall. Their roots get a chance to establish, and by spring they're rearing to go. Amending and covering with a good bit of rich compost will protect through winter and help them on their way.

I cherish my 1961 copy of How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method by J.I. Rodale and Staff, and in it they indicate fall rhubarb planting is best done in regions with long, cool falls. (That's what we have in Delaware.) But they also emphasize that rhubarb is one of the few perennial crops tough enough to manage Alaskan winters, so those living in northerly states may also be able to plant it in fall with success.

Asparagus is a little less hardy, so fall-planted crowns definitely require a mulch layer of compost for good root set and successful overwintering. My crowns flourished last yea,r and I even had harvestable shoots, though I abstained from picking them to help the plants build power for the 2012 spring harvest. One suggestion for fall planters: refrain from fully cutting back the tops if planting asparagus in fall. The tops continue to feed the roots through the season and help plants become better established faster.

Anyway, back to my original question, "Can I find a couple of rhubarb plants this time of year?" I found them online at www.burpee.com right away. The flavorful red-stemmed cultivar 'MacDonald' is what I'll probably choose. They suggest folks in my zone plant in mid-October, but I bet I can push the envelope and plant now with success.

My 'Jersey Knight' asparagus was divided and moved to my veggie bed with great success last fall. After planting I amended with rich compost and got rid of the bark mulch.

Good red color and great flavor are what I want from my new new rhubarb plants. 'MacDonald' offers both.

The 1000-year Old Dog Rose at St. Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim

Jessie Keith — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:39:19 GMT

Saint Mary's Cathedral of Hildesheim, Germany is no ordinary church. It has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985 and houses some of the most beautiful and ancient Roman bronze works I have ever seen--namely a fantastic door decorated with three-dimensional depictions of the life of Jesus (image below). The original church itself dates back to 815 and its lovely inner garden houses the Gothic chapel Annenkapelle, built in 1321. But what makes the garden most appealing and fantastic is the ancient 1000-year old dog rose (Rosa canina) it houses.

Some have doubts that the rose is as old as they say, but if dutiful guardians have regularly taken cuttings from the original rose over the course of 1000-years, it is feasible. Either way, it's huge, well-tended and beautiful year round. My photo shows it in full hip just a few days after Christmas.

The 1000-year old dog rose of Saint Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim is well-protected and beautifully pruned and trained.

Small graves in the courtyard garden are decorated with modest stones accented with simple mounds of trimmed shrubs and evergreen groundcovers.

Cobbled roads lead to the main church of Saint Mary's Cathedral.

Seeing the intricately decorated ancient Roman bronze door at the cathedral is worth the visit alone. The door was commissioned by the Saxon Bishop Bernward in 1015.

A holiday appropriate detail of the door.

A verdigris tower is the high point of Saint Mary's Cathedral, Hildesheim.

Celebrating Pumpkins at Longwood Gardens

Jessie Keith — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:08:32 GMT

(Prefatory note: This blog was written in 2010. Sadly, when I visited Longwood last week in hopes of finding groovy carved pumpkins there were none to be found. Maybe because it was such a bad year for pumpkins in the region. It was so wet, mine literally rotted on the vine. Local farmers had similar troubles. Maybe next year?)

Professional pumpkin carving and carving contests are a hot item inthe Brandywine River Valley. The influence of events like the Chadds Ford Great Pumpkin Carve (www.chaddsfordhistory.org/events/pcarve/...) have certainly influenced local interest in fantastically carved pumpkins. Longwood Gardens (www.longwoodgardens.org/)has also boosted its pumpkin displays over the years to include lots ofwonderfully carved giants. Last year's display was certainly one of thebest and this year's should prove to be even better! Here are just a few of their pumpkins from the 2009 season:

A cheerful monarch butterfly decorates the face of this huge 'Atlantic Giant.'

Easter and Halloween merge with this interesting bunny pumpkin.

All the carved pumpkins are decorated with a cool display of diverse gourds and squash.

Not your typical Jack-o-lantern.

VW pumpkin

Some of the squash on display were amazingly huge! My 6' 4" brother is standing for scale.

This frog themed carving is certainly unusual. It'll be interestingto see how long these sculptural carvings last. As long as the weatherstays cool.

These shots offer a small taste of the pumpkins creations you'll find on display at Longwood Gardens this year. Check them out if you can!

Note: This year Longwood will also have fantastic displays of glass-blown pumpkins and squash created at Cohn-Stone Studios! These lovely works of art will also be available for purchase.

Garden Book Review: Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs (2011)

Jessie Keith — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:29:25 GMT

Over the years I've wrangled with Dirr's books on woody plants--his more scholastic Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (1998) has the technical information I want but is visually lacking, while his Hardy Trees and Shrubs: an Illustrated Encyclopedia (1997) is slim on content but pretty. It was my hope that the new Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs (2011), which is slated to hit bookshelves in November, would strike a balance between the two older volumes, and largely it does.

Overall, Dirr's new encyclopedia is prettier and easier to peruse than previous volumes, and it's heavy on content. Around 3,530 much-welcome glossy color pictures replace the occasional black-and-white sketches found in the old manual. Clean alphabetical organization of plant species also makes it easier to find plants as does the simple index of botanical names in the back of the book. Students, landscape specialists and gardeners will also appreciate the useful lists of "Selected Plants for Specific Characteristics or Purposes," also found in the back of the book.

The chief setback of Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs is its "text embedded data," a problem I had with his 1997 encyclopedia. When I want basic characteristic information about a plant, I don't want to read paragraphs. Perhaps my perspective is biased. Not only did I learn woody plants from Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, I taught with it and favor its mode of delivery. Its neatly partitioned characteristic information, offered under headers like Hardiness, Habit, Culture and Diseases and Insects, is very accessible. I would value this new encyclopedia far more if it distilled basic information down in a similar fashion.

Lots of new cultivars make the encyclopedia an important update on older volumes. Once again, it's a little challenging picking through the paragraphs to find plants, but the information about them is concise and apt. Dirr highlights those varieties he likes best, which is also beneficial.

Overall, Dirr's new book offers excellent and thorough coverage of hardy woody plants well-adapted to many parts of North America. Its information is very good, as always, though sometimes approached from a southeastern perspective. I would recommend this book to any gardener seeking a definitive book on woody landscape plants for North America.

Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs by Michael A. Dirr. 3530 color photos. 952 pp. Timber Press. $79.95

Support Landreth Seed Company, the Oldest Seed House in America

Jessie Keith — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:44:40 GMT

I first bought seed from Landreth Seed Company, the oldest seed company in the United States, six or seven years ago during an event at Winterthur. Impressive quality and a nice selection of garlic bulbs have kept me coming back. Sadly, the historically significant old seed house is struggling despite the recent financial successes of its new owner, Barbara Melera.

According to a 9/25/11 Philadelphia Inquirer article by Virginia A. Smith, Malara turned a profit this year after accepting loans up to $1 million from friends, family and two outside investors. But the article states, "The two outside investors, who lent <Landreth> $250,000 and $175,000, want to be paid back, and the money isn't there." The article further explains, "Melera's immediate goal is to "raise $150,000 to $175,000 by then from seed sales and advance orders for the 100-page, 2012 catalog."

I encourage gardeners to help out by purchasing next year's seeds from Landreth. Their seed is high-quality, selection good, and the effort will help this American horticultural institution stay afloat.

Image of 2012 Landreth Catalogue c/o Landreth Seed Company

Lovely Late-season Monarda Hybrids

Jessie Keith — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:50:05 GMT

Years ago I planted a suite of Monarda species closely related to Monarda punctata that have flourished and hybridized in my Delaware garden. The plants were procured from graduate school field-collection trips in Texas, Michigan, Florida and the East Coast for my Master's research which culminated in a thesis titled Monarda Section Cheilyctus: Patterns of Speciation and Endemism . Three of the species initially planted were the rare Texas endemics, Monarda fruticulosa, M. maritima and M. viridissima, which have proven surprisingly hardy.

Many interesting and diverse hybrids spring up every year from these reproductively compatible species. Some bloom early in the season, starting late in June, but many don't begin to flower until late-summer or early fall. These late-bloomers are clearly progeny of the fall-blooming species, M. maritima and M. viridissima.

Photos are the best means of capturing the diversity of these lovely late-season Monarda. Some have bright-pink tiered bracts while others have ivory or white. Heights, bloom times and floriferousness varies widely.

The fall-blooming, pink-bracted beauty popping up from the Mexican hairgrass is certainly a Monarda punctata x M. viridissima hybrid as it maintains characteristics of both.

Loads of ivory-bracted Monarda punctata hybrids add unique charm to the front bed. They began blooming in late-August and will continue until frost.

This colorful foot-high Monarda happened to pop up in the front of one of my beds. Its appearance suggests M. maritima and M. viridissima parentage. Who knows where the compact height came from.

125 Year Old Scythe Reborn

Jessie Keith — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:50:58 GMT

My paternal grandparents had a beautiful old scythe that hung on their wall for as long as I can remember. The artful old tool was passed down to me when my grandparents passed several years back. I've yet to display it because I have nightmarish visions of my small children trying to pull it down from the wall, so I've kept it safely bundled in the garage out of sight and mind.

This spring we needed a scythe to cut back a green manure crop on our veggie plot, so the circa 1875 scythe was put in use for the first time in likely 80 years or more. A little sharpening and oiling quickly brought it back to fine working order.

An ominous blade worthy of the Grim Reaper.

Our good friend John Everard scything back winter wheat.

Almost done!

Tilling under the vestiges.