Growing Healthy Tomatoes for Canning

By Meara Hayden, Penn State Extension Intern

While I love a good, ripe salad tomato, there is nothing better than having homegrown, homemade salsa or tomato sauce late in the winter. Tomatoes are high-acid foods, which makes them easy to can and keep for the dead of winter, when you’re just dying for something with flavor. But before you can start canning, you’ll have to grow healthy, happy tomatoes.

When purchasing your plants, ask for a determinant variety if you have canning in mind. That means that the tomatoes will get ripe all at once, instead of having a season-long crop, making processing and canning all the fruit easy. Make sure they’re planted in full sun, and far away from any source of weed killer, from your lawn or your neighbors. When you’re planting, strip all the blossoms off the plant and don’t put fertilizer directly in the planting hole, it will fry the roots. Make sure your stakes are in before the plant goes in, you don’t want to hurt their growing root system. It’s also a good idea to continue to strip the blossoms until the plant has enough foliage to support fruit.

Remember, there is no cure for late blight, only prevention. A fungicide containing copper should be applied early and often, and if one of your plants is infected, destroy it immediately. Late blight spreads very quickly.

Once you have buckets of ripe fruit, you’ll want to know how to can it. If you’re new to it all, check out Canning 101: a workshop with master gardeners, June 26, from 6-9pm, at Cedar Crest College. The workshop covers hot water bath canning, no pressure canner required. Learn to can high-acid foods like tomatoes, pickles, and other fruit. Register here: http://www.cvent.com/events/canning-101-water-bath-canning/event-summary-9532edc36c43400786e691dccacc23ff.aspx

Happy Canning!

Growing Hops

While some of my friends may turn up their noses, I absolutely love a hoppy beer, especially on a hot day.  Here are a few facts about the plant that produces such wonderfully citrusy and bitter flavors:

Hops are perennial plants with climbing stems, called bines, which can grow up to 20 or 30 feet long.  The bines die back each year and re-grow the following year. 

Hops are planted not by seed, but by planting rhizomes (thick underground stems that have roots and shoots growing from it).   Only rhizomes from female plants are used since the hops are harvested for their female cones.   

For decent yields, hops need to be trellised.  Backyard growers can make do with a shorter trellis, a side of a garage or a chimney.  Most hop farmers use an overhead trellis system, which consists of 15-foot-high poles spaced every 5 plants.  The poles are connected by overhead wire cables that run both down and across the rows.  On average, hop farmers have approximately 55 poles per acre. 

Large acreages of hops are mechanically harvested with specialized equipment.  Small acreages are generally hand-harvested by removing individual cones as they mature utilizing a ladder or a cherry picker.  The bines could also be cut, pulled down and harvested all at once.

In 2013, Washington state produced about 80% of the U.S. hop crop.  Across the country, there were 35,244 acres in hops yielding a harvest of 69,343,900 pounds!

Grow Your Own: Want to learn to grow your own hops or brew your own beer?  Join us at  Funk Brewing Company on June 7^th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for our Crafting Beer 101 Workshop.  For more information or to register, visit http://www.cvent.com/events/crafting-beer-101/event-summary-760baa251fc147afab34abafbf44a24e.aspx

Sources: http://www.usahops.org/userfiles/image/1388461395_National%20Hop%20Report-NASS%2012-13.pdf

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CCD/introsheets/hops.pdf

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/hg_garden_2006-06.pdf

Cool, Clear Water: Irrigation

With lots of young plants in the ground and a few consecutive days of warm, sunny weather the past few weeks, I’ve been making the most of my 3 rain barrels to irrigate my garden.  My irrigation system is a bit archaic – I fill up a watering can and water plant by plant, row by row.  It takes a lot of time and I know there are more sophisticated systems out there (farmers certainly don’t water plants individually).  One day I’ll upgrade, but for now, my water brigade works just fine for my garden.

Most vegetable farmers use drip or trickle irrigation to water their crops.  In a nut shell, drip irrigation consists of a number of hoses transporting water to drip lines, which are thin-walled, perforated polyethylene tubes.  Water is pumped through the lines, which rest along plant roots, and slowly seeps into the ground.  Drip irrigation is an extremely efficient system since water is targeted to the roots and not lost to evaporation.  Farmers can also use this system to apply liquid fertilizers.    The disadvantage is that it takes a considerable amount of initial set up and installation time.  Some farmers, such as sweet corn growers, use traveling gun systems, which consist of a big sprinkler mounted on a wheeled cart.  The cart is then pulled by a cable through the fields.   This type of irrigation makes sense for much larger plots, but a considerable amount of water is lost to evaporation and never makes it to the plant roots, since the water is intercepted by leaves.

So where do farmers source their water? Some farmers may be lucky enough to have a pond or a perennial stream to pump water from.  If they don’t have a water feature on their property, they could use a fire hydrant with permission from their local Water Authority or install a well.  Either of those options could be quite costly, so they’ll need to do the math to balance water costs and harvest profits. 

Save Water in Your Own Yard! If you’d like to build your own rain barrel to water your plants, join Penn State Extension Master Gardeners and Master Watershed Stewards on Wednesday, May 21^st at the Seed Farm in Emmaus.  You can choose between 3 sessions: 5:30 – 6:15 p.m.; 6:15 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.; and 7:00 – 7:45 p.m..  In this workshop, volunteers will guide you through the process of constructing your own, fully functioning rain barrel. The workshop fee of $40 includes a plastic 55-gallon drum and all the necessary parts and assistance to build your own barrel. The workshop also includes a tour of The Seed Farm, an organization that is growing new farmers by providing them with training, equipment, and land which eliminates the top three barriers to farm entry and opens the doors for a new generation of farmers.  To register, visit http://www.cvent.com/events/rain-barrel-workshops/event-summary-457a1fac8ebc4716b8056cb04f5ba325.aspx

Sources:

http://extension.psu.edu/business/start-farming/news/2013/irrigation-for-vegetables

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/plasticulture/technologies/drip-irrigation

http://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-alternatives/horticulture/horticultural-production-options/drip-irrigation-for-vegetable-production

http://www.clemson.edu/irrig/equip/Trav.htm

Local Asparagus at a Farm Near You!

By Master Gardener Marianne McNiel

I love asparagus. As a child, I refused to eat this vegetable that my mother loved, but after years of trying she would be happy to hear that it is one of my favorite vegetables, along with those little cabbages called Brussels sprouts. I can usually find asparagus at a local farmers' market from late April into June. This year with the cold spring weather, you may not see it until well into May. Here are some interesting facts about this great cool-season vegetable.

Asparagus has been eaten as a vegetable and used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years.  It is thought to be native to Russia, the Mediterranean and British Isles.  It was first cultivated by the Romans, and the oldest surviving recipe book has a recipe with asparagus! It was brought to America by the early colonists, but it was not grown commercially until the 1850s.

Asparagus officinalis is a perennial vegetable and one of a few vegetables that are monocots or single seed leaf (cotyledon). Corn is also a monocot, but it is a grain and not a vegetable. Asparagus used to be classified as a member of the lily family along with onions and garlic. In 2003, the lily family was split and asparagus is now classified in its own family, Asparagaceae.  No matter how we classify it, it still tastes great steamed, grilled or stir-fried.

Green, purple and white asparagus are all grown in Pennsylvania. Purple asparagus spears are a newer variety and white spears are produced by removing light from the spears when they first appear. Our Pennsylvania farms produce about 500 acres of asparagus valued at $2.5 million dollars. However, Oceana County, Michigan claims to be the Asparagus Capital of the World and the National Asparagus Festival is held there every June.  Asparagus festivals are also held in several places in California. Presently, the United States is the largest importer of asparagus, but asparagus fresh from our local farm field is fresher and tastes best!

For a farmer, asparagus is an investment crop because the plants are not fully mature for 5 years, but the plants will last up to 20 years.  Asparagus crowns will rise up as they grow and exposed crowns will die. For this reason, asparagus is planted in trenches or furrows that are 6 to 8 inches deep. Mature asparagus plants are harvested for 6 to 7 weeks. The spears are cut when they are about 7 inches long and a diameter of at least 5/16 of an inch. Select spears at your farm stand or market with slight purple tips that are not wilted. Asparagus should be refrigerated immediately after harvest. You can keep asparagus fresh in your refrigerator in a moist towel or with the tips pointed up in a cup of cold water. Spears will last 7 to 14 days in your refrigerator.

Asparagus spears are loaded with nutrients.  They are a great source of fiber, folate and vitamins A, C, E and K.  What about that smell after eating asparagus? The smell is caused by our bodies converting asparagusic acid into sulfur-containing compounds. Scientists have recently learned that all individuals do not experience this strange odor after eating asparagus. It is in our genes to either process asparagus a certain way and to be able to detect the smell, the asparagus gene. So mind your mothers and eat that delicious local asparagus. Find out if you have the asparagus gene!

Sources:

Asparagus Production, Penn State Extension:http://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-alternatives/horticulture/vegetables/asparagus-production

Michigan Asparagus and Festival:

http://www.asparagus.org/

http://www.nationalasparagusfestival.org/

Asparagus and Urine Smell:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-asparagus-makes-your-urine-smell-49961252/

Colorful Carrots!

By Miles Necker, Master Watershed Steward

I’m always up for trying to plant a few flowers or a vegetable or two. Though I never seem to be successful, it is nice to try. Growing up I have found myself to almost have a brown thumb (something I’m trying to correct hanging out with the Master Gardeners). The only thing I have managed to keep alive any length of time is a Christmas cactus, and that is simply because cacti are virtually impossible to kill. So this year when my family started planting their garden my mother asked if I wanted to use part of one of the raised beds I had installed, turning our small front lawn into a series of raised beds with barely enough room to mow between. I figured ‘why not?’ and so began to consider what I wanted to plant. I obviously wanted something easy to grow. The only other condition I had is I wanted to be able to eat whatever I planted. Personally I don’t like just having flowers everywhere, I prefer my plants to have a use (apologies to my youngest sister, who lives for picking flowers and filling our house with them).

After much thought I finally chose my vegetable: carrots! Not only does the British military use them to see at night (World War II joke), but they are just good to eat, overall. You can cook them, yank them out of the ground and eat them, caramelize them, and pretty much anything you could want to do! Perfect! I had picked my vegetable. But now to go about learning how to not kill them and still end up with luscious carrots for my next salad.

This was a moment I realized: I may be in over my head planting anything at all, but still I soldiered on. I decided to learn everything I could before planting, and what follows are the Carrot Planting Basics.

Carrots are best planted just as spring begins to ‘spring’, around right now (mid-April). If you plant them much later you end up with shriveled carrots due to overexposure to heat. Plant them too early and the same thing happens due to not enough heat. So, they like to be planted when it is still cool, before the last frost date.

As far as soil goes, it is best to put them in loose, near neutral soil, as is common in a raised bed. If you’re going to plant them in the ground around your house make sure to break the soil up as they prefer a more aerated soil. If you’re going to fertilize your glorious taproots, it is best to use a 1-2-2 ratio fertilizer that is high in potassium, though they should do fine on their own.

Once you have your fertilizer and soils all sorted out, it’s time to plant the carrots. Dig a trench about ¼”. If you want multiple rows make sure their about 1’ apart from one another. It is very important to make sure that the soil around the carrots does not crust. To avoid this, make sure to keep slightly moist or cover the seeds with fine compost.

Throughout the growing season make sure to keep the soil around the carrots moist, but be absolutely sure to not overwater them as it can lead to nasty bloated carrots. If you start to notice the orange tops of the root poking out of the soil, cover it up. If left, the top will turn green and you can no longer eat it… it will affect the taste.

As soon as your carrots reach about finger sized you can start harvesting them if you wish. While it is perfectly fine to let them grow into gargantuan taproots of glory, the smaller carrots will tend to be juicier and more tender. If you mulch the soil well you can even keep carrots in the ground close to winter. Out of the ground they are best stored in a moist environment that is near freezing temperature.

Following the above directions, I am sure someone even like me can pull off growing carrots, and I’m going to try. As I write this I am glancing over at the seeds I’m going to be planting this weekend and dreaming of the delicious caramelized carrots I will be eating in the future.

Don’t have time or space to grow your own?  Support Your Farmer!

LEHIGH: Bleiler’s Produce Patch in Breinigsville

NORTHAMPTON: Ray of Sun Farm in Easton

BERKS:  Old Earth Farm in Oley Valley

BUCKS: Palovchak’s Produce in Doylestown

Manure: Spring is in the Air

By Master Gardener Sue Kowalchuk

While the appearance of robins is often cited as the harbinger of spring, I would argue that the application of manure on the farm fields is the true indication that spring is around the corner.  During this year’s unrelenting cold and snowy winter in eastern Pa, it was the sight of brown on the white, rolling fields that comforted me that winter was coming to end.

Although manure is a commonly used soil amendment, the type used, the amount, and the timing of the application are critical factors in ensuring that it will be effective and safe.  Both fresh and composted cattle, poultry, and horse manure are typically utilized on farms and/or in home gardens. Application can improve soil health and structure, as well as provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K); essential nutrients for plant growth. The amount of N, P, and K contained in each type of manure varies.  The best type to use will depend upon availability, percent of each nutrient in the specific manure and nutrient needs of the plants being grown. Consequently, soil testing to determine deficiencies and manure testing to determine nutrient content are good practices to guarantee success.  The amount applied is also important. Too little will result in insufficient nutrients, too much could leach into the groundwater, rivers, or streams and/or negatively impact plant growth.

Fresh manure of all types has a higher nitrogen content, with poultry having the highest. Some caution, however, is advised if choosing to apply fresh manure.  Not only can fresh manure contain weed seeds (horse manure is the worse offender), but pathogens, such as e.coli, or salmonella can be present.  In addition, the higher nitrogen levels can burn or kill plants. For these reasons, it is recommended that it be applied no later than 3 months before planting, and up to 4 months for crops that come in contact with the soil. For the home gardener, the safest practice is to apply in the fall, or consider composted manure.

Composted manure has been aged for several months and could also be mixed with other organic materials such as animal bedding. The overall levels of some nutrients are lower, but the heat generated in the compost pile and length of time exposed greatly reduces the likelihood of weed seed and pathogens.  This makes it a good choice for use later in the spring.

Using manure is a good way to improve soil health and increase plant yields while simultaneously “ recycling” animal waste.  Paying attention to type, amount and timing will provide you with the desired results and enable you to enjoy a bountiful harvest. That is, as long as the bugs, fungus, etc. are under control, but that is another story for another blog.

If you happen to notice the appearance of brown on the white snow or muddy fields, or a less than pleasant odor while driving past the farms, remember that it is a sign of spring and local fresh fruits and vegetables are almost around the corner.

Resources

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/pnw0533/pnw0533.pdf

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/000513.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/using-manure-and-compost/ 

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/242.html

Spring Flowers!

By Master Gardener Amy Weis

 

The greenhouses are starting to fill up at Richards Gardens 

With the Philadelphia Flower show and the snow (hopefully) ending the other week many people are starting to contemplate the flowers and plants they will be adding to their gardens this spring.  It may still be in the 30’s in the Lehigh Valley but the perennial and flower plant farmers in our area have been hard at work for the last several months; preparing and growing the plugs, bare rooted plants and seeds which will become full, bountiful and blooming plants by the time we purchase them in April or May.

We have a lot to choose from in the Lehigh Valley as we decide which plants to put in our gardens.  However, the plants we will eventually buy will fall into one of the following categories.

Woody plants are plants that have woody stems that persist above ground even through seasons that don't favor growth, due to low precipitation or temperatures. Woody plants include mainly trees and shrubs.

Annuals are plants that grow from seed to flower in one year and then die. Usually you buy annuals in the spring and know they will die in the fall.

Common annuals include marigolds, petunias, geraniums, impatiens, and zinnias.

Biennials are plants that require two years to complete their life cycle. First season growth results in a small rosette of leaves near the soil surface. During the second season's growth stem elongation, flowering and seed formation occur followed by the entire plant's death. Common biennials include foxglove, hollyhock, and pansies, black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne’s lace.

Perennials are plants that persist for many growing seasons. Generally the top portion of the plant dies back each winter and regrows the following spring from the same root system (e.g. Purple Coneflower). Many perennial plants keep their leaves year round. Common Pennsylvania perennials include peonies, sedum, asters, coreopsis and phlox.

When I begin my spring search for annuals and perennials, one of my first stops each year is the perennial nursery of the dynamic mother - daughter duo of Emma and Roxie Richards of Richards Gardens, off a quiet back road in Quakertown, Pa. Emma Richards has been growing and selling plants for 35 years, starting with field grown pansies in the 1970’s. Her farm has been in the family for many years belonging first to her grandfather, John Roth, in the latter part of the 19^th century. Emma and Roxie’s customers come from the entire tri-state area and include grandchildren of Emma’s original customers. Their only real form of marketing for thirty-five years has been word of mouth and it seems to have worked quite well.

The Richards, along with other perennial and plant farmers in the valley, are now in the process of putting out plugs and bare roots in their greenhouses and starting their potted seeds. The pictures below are of their greenhouses now. Look for the same greenhouse pots in a few weeks in this blog to see the plants you and others in the Valley may be buying come spring.

Learn to Grown Your Own: Every home gardener will find something of interest at Workshops for the Gardener!  Workshops for the Gardener is scheduled for Saturday, April 12^th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the PPL Walbert Training Center.  The event kicks off with a lively discussion about growing the very best heirloom tomatoes with expert Steve Bogash, one of our own Penn State Extension Horticulture Educators. Choose from sessions on home garden topics taught by our Master Gardening volunteers. Topics include:  Growing Great Cut Flowers; Year-Round Garden Maintenance; Ticks, Mosquitoes, and West Nile Virus; Ten Plants That Changed the World; African Violets; and Shade Gardening.  For the final session, participants will have a chance  to choose a demonstration to observe and interact with the instructor. Demonstration topics include: Herb Gardening, Rain Barrels, and Garden Photography.  You can peruse the garden fair to find books, plants, jewelry, soaps and more for purchase.  The conference will also feature a silent auction to benefit the Master Gardener program. The conference costs $50 with lunch included.  To register online go to http://www.cvent.com/events/workshops-for-the-gardener/event-summary-c76210525d4e4b04b6d8a170ec0a8e84.aspx

References:

aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu  

Woody plants of Utah, Renee Van Buren

Herbaceous Perennial Production, A guide from Propagation to Marketing, Dr. Leonard Perry – University of Vermont

www.uky.edu/Ag/NewCrops/introsheets/nurserybiz.pdf