Hello Beautiful People,
Welcome to my new Purple Carrot blog! There are many reasons why I started Purple Carrot. The ability to be own boss doing what I love to do. The dangling carrot of financial independence. The pure challenge of being an entrepreneur. But the main reason, really, is the opportunity to share what I have learned about growing food and sustainable living with my community. I want to empower people and make a positive difference in their lives. There are many ways that I intend to use Purple Carrot to do this (check out my website at www.ilovepurplecarrot.com), and this blog is one of them. I want to use this space to share what I have learned and continue to learn. I will post everything from seasonal tips on growing your own fruits, veggies and herbs to new urban permaculture design ideas and inspirational quotes. You can always count on the Purple Carrot blog to teach you something new, or remind you of something you used to know but have forgotten. I will also post food and farming related events, articles and links to other organizations. Check back often . . .
Seasonal veggie gardening tip of the month:
Don't limit yourself to just one summer planting! This is California, not New Hampshire people!
A lot of people only plant their favorite summer veggies once, in the spring. This is appropriate for long season crops like melon or tomatoes, but can severely limit the overall productivity of your garden. Many, in fact, most common vegetables can and should be planted at least twice in the Bay Area. When a crop is planted multiple times in a season it is called succession planting. We are very fortunate to have a looooooonnnnggggg growing season here. Of course, we can grow food year-round here, but I'm talking specifically about summer veggies.
Right now is a great time to plant your second crop of summer squash, cucumbers, beans, carrots, basil, cabbage and sunflowers!
Some of our local microclimates might not have the warmest summers, but they all have a long frost free period that allow us to plant warm season crops as soon as mid-April and harvest tomatoes until the beginning of November. That's approximately seven months! Gardeners in the mid-west would kill to be able to grow squash, green beans and carrots that long. And, of course, we often get some of our best weather in the late summer and early fall. This allows that second or third planting of zucchini or haricot vert beans to ripen while folks in Michigan are raking leaves and shopping for winter coats.
There are many crops that can be planted throughout the spring and summer, but the main ones that come to mind are: summer squash, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, beets, asian greens, cabbage, corn, basil, cilantro, arugula, spinach, carrots, and sunflowers. Of course, the ideal planting times and the first and last dependable planting dates depend greatly on your microclimate. For example, it may not be possible to grow lettuce and spinach all summer in the hottest parts of the Bay Area.
Here are a few tips on how to sneak in 2-3 plantings of your favorite summer veggies:
1. Timing is crucial. If you want to maximize productivity then you need to get the first planting in the ground as soon as you can in the spring and then stagger your planting by anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month depending on the crop. For example, cucumbers will usually take about 2.5-3 months to produce and can be harvested for about 2 months. That means if you plant in the beginning of April you will be harvesting from the end of June/beginning of July til the end of August beginning of September. Then you'll be done. No more cukes. But if you plant again in the beginning of June, you could be picking and pickling into October or longer. The idea is to have a continuous harvest, but not be inundated. It may take you a year or two to get it right, but then you will thank me!
2. Interplant short season crops with those that mature later. Intercropping is a great technique for gardeners without a lot of space to play with. Try planting that first crop of lettuce or beets in between your tomatoes. Chances are they will mature just as your tomatoes are starting to fill out and need all that room. Or, alternatively, prune back some of the leaves of your summer squash that is coming to the end of its life and make room for a crop of carrots or beans.
3. Let some of your garden rest until it's time for a second planting. Ideally, we want to let our garden soil rest for at least a season out of every year anyways. If you have a medium-large garden, try just letting a few beds sit fallow or planting a spring cover crop until you are ready to put in a second planting of your favorite summer crops.
4. Extend your season. In some parts of our region it may be very helpful to use a variety of tools that will help you be able to plant earlier and harvest later. Growing in containers is a great way to do this because the soil warms up faster and the tender little seedlings are a little less accessible to slugs and snails. Try planting seedlings instead of direct sowing crops like beets and squash. This will give you an extra couple of weeks at least. Cloches (little bell shaped glass covers) and hoop houses also help you be able to plant frost tender crops earlier and harvest later.
5. Plant short season varieties. If they taste just as good as the longer season ones, then why not?! Look at seed packages and tags in seedlings to find out how long they take to mature. Try a few varieties every year until you find short season ones that you like. The more of these you plant, the more food you will be able to grow.
Well, that's it for now. . . . thanks for reading! Hope it was useful
Happy Gardening!
