Second Seminar a Success!

Thanks to Sage A. and Jim R. for a great organic gardening seminar today. Sage gave a very informative presentation on starting seeds indoors, potting up, hardening off, and transplanting into the garden.

In her system, seed flats are cleaned in a 5% bleach solution to sterilize them. They are then filled with seed starter potting soil (fine texture) and placed in a shallow pan so that water is wicked up from the bottom.

When the soil is moist, the seeds are planted. In this way seedlings get just the right amount of water and are not displaced by watering from above. She pointed out that plastic coverings (humidity domes that often come with the trays, plastic bags, etc.) should not be used to cover the seed flats. A fan of some sort in the room will help prevent "damp off", which is a fungus that makes your seedlings keel over.

A heating pad is placed under the pans to keep the soil warm enough for germination. You can buy an expensive heat mat with a thermostat made for this, but most veggies germinate on the medium setting of the heating pad. Sage also adds a small amount of Medina Plus to the water to give the seedlings a boost.

Shop lights with full spectrum flourescent "grow light" bulbs are suspended over the flats. After germination the first two leaves to open are the seed leaves, and next the true leaves appear. Plants should not be potted up to a larger pot until they have true leaves. After plants have been potted up and kept under the grow lights for a few more days, they are "hardened off" by gradually increasing the amount of exposure to outside air and sunlight. Finally they are ready to be transplanted into the garden.

Sage also passed out copies of the Kerr County Vegetable Garden Planting Guide from Texas A & M. This guide works well for our conditions here in the Frio Canyon. This guide indicates which plants can be seeded directly into the garden and which should be started indoors, and gives the window of planting time for each vegetable.

Next up was Jim R. who talked about using colliodal phosphate (also called rock phosphate) to help make tomato plants sturdier. A handful of this powder, available at most nurseries, should be placed under the plant at planting time.

Trudy F. pointed out that tomato plants can be planted with more of the stem below ground level to encourage root growth. Joe M. mentioned mycorrhiza root fungus and how important it is in a healthy soil. Jim said that Tums or Epsom salts are a good source of calcium for tomatoes.

He passed around two books - Malcolm Beck's Lessons in Nature, and The New Square Foot Gardening Book by Mel Bartholomew. Jim described square foot gardening, in which plants are grown in a mixture of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. His handouts included information on square foot gardening and Fanick's chart on planting by the phases of the moon.

Trudy F. won a cardoon plant given and grown by Sage A.


This seminar was informative and well received. Stay tuned to this blog for information on our next seminar!

Do You Swoon for Cardoon?

Congratulations to Catherine T. for winning the door prize of a cardoon plant from Sage A. at the recent meeting. If you are interested in trying this in your garden, please let me know, as I have a limited number available for sale or trade. (They have already doubled in size since you saw them!)

Cardoon is a naturally occurring variant of the same species as the Globe artichoke. With cardoon, however, the young tender leaves and undeveloped flower stalks are braised and eaten rather than the flower bud. The root can also be boiled and served cold. Reportedly, they taste like artichoke.

Many years ago I bought one at a nursery and grew it as a landscape specimen, never knowing it was edible! It requires so much room (about a 3-6 foot circle) that you will only want one in a small garden, and as a crop it probably wouldn't be profitable. But if you have some space and want a truly beautiful plant you might consider adding a cardoon to your garden and diet!

It is native to the Mediterranean, where it was domesticated in ancient times by the Greeks and Romans. It was commonly eaten throughout medieval Europe, and is still cultivated in France, Spain, and Italy.

Although many people have never heard of it, the vegetable was commonly cultivated in the gardens of colonial America. Like so many types of produce, it simply fell out of favor with the degrading of our nation's diet. You can occasionally find them at farmers' markets during the winter.

And, if you happen to be in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 19th, cardoon stems are battered and fried and traditionally served at St. Joseph's altars in a city-wide homage to Joseph, the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus, and to carpenters. This is because New Orleans was a major port of entry for Sicilian immigrants during the late 19th century.

The plant is currently being considered as a possible source of biodiesel. Oil is extracted from its seed and is comparable to safflower and sunflower oil. Cardoon can also be used as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. In Portugal Nisa cheese uses it as a rennet for an earthy flavor.

Cardoon requires a long (5 month) growing season but does well in dry climates. You'll want to keep an eye on it, as it is considered an invasive weed in California, Argentina, and Australia. I had no problem with it trying to escape when I grew it before.

They can be planted after the last frost into a well-manured bed. You can let them grow as is, or if you want to blanch them, about half way through their growing season you arrange the stalks by tying them upright to within a foot of the tops on a dry day and earth up around them without letting soil fall between the leaves, continuing this process as the plants grow.

The plants will be fit for use in about a month after earthing up. Do not let the plants freeze, as they are not frost-hardy! To harvest, remove the earth carefully and take up the plants by the roots, which must be cut off. The video above shows the basic way to prepare them. Closer to harvest, I'll try to find some recipes to share.