Nik's Picks: Best Vegetables for San Francisco

Hi Everyone,

Check out this list of the easiest veggies to grow in San Francisco. Of course, this also applies to just about anywhere else in the fog belt of coastal Northern California as well. I hope this inspires you to garden!!

Nik’s Picks: Best Vegetables for San Francisco

Artichoke (and Cardoon): This giant perennial thistle is adapted to cool, coastal climates. Doesn’t need much care or attention. But it does need a lot of room (4’x4’). Not the best for a small garden. In San Francisco they have a short dormant period in the winter when they die back to the ground briefly. This perennial crop will produce more and more food every year! If grown in containers or raised beds, give at least 5 gallons of soil or 24” of depth.(Note: Cardoons will give you a lot more food for the real estate. You eat the blanched leaf stalks of these artichoke relatives. DELICIOUS!! And you get to see them flower!!)

Varieties: Violetto produces tons of small, tasty chokes!

Arugula: Add a little spice to your salad, or make some delicious pesto, with this easy to grow brassica green. It matures quickly and produces heavily year round. Will do best in well-amended soil in sun or part shade. (Note: Try to find the perennial wild arugula. It is a little spicier, but will continue to produce even after it flowers. And you don’t need to replant it season after season! Just cut it back when it gets woody and watch it come back fresh from the ground.) If you let either the annual or perennial varieties go to seed they will self sow like mad!! Can grow in shallow beds or containers just fine.

Carrots: Everyone loves carrots!! They are slow to mature and are a bit more finicky about soil and nutrients (need deep, well drained, rich soil) than many of the crops here, but home-grown carrots are SOOO much better than anything you can buy in the market. The sugars start deteriorating as soon as they are picked, so the fresher the carrot the sweeter it is! Seed them densely in early spring or late summer, be patient while they germinate and thin them as they get big.

Varieties: Purple Haze, Danvers, Tondo di Parigi

Chard: This is a beautiful leaf crop that grows really well here. It needs some nutrition and may be slow to start, but in some gardens chard seems to be the happiest plant. It will produce large, colorful leaves for at least two seasons before going to seed. You are almost certain to get leaf miners infesting your leaves in the summer and fall. So try planting it in late summer/early fall so it can get established in the winter before this pest becomes prevalent. Needs at least 5g of soil per plant or 18” deep bed.

Varieties: Bright Lights all the way!! Mix of colors. Why would you grow any other variety?

Cilantro: Cilantro is notorious for flowering almost as soon as you put it in the ground. But our cool climate will slow it down and allow us to enjoy at least a month of harvest. Give it a little extra nitrogen, keep it watered and it will produce even better for longer. The flowers and seeds (yep, that’s coriander) are also edible. So let it do its full cycle thang! Can be grown year round from seed or start. Doesn’t need a deep container or bed.

Varieties: Slo Bolt

Fava Beans: Often thought of as a cover crop or obscure Italian delicacy, this is one bean that loves San Francisco’s consistently mild temperatures. It will even grow well in part sun. It may need to be staked when it starts producing beans, but other than that is totally maintenance free. Plant from seed any time of the year. And it’s not just the beans that are delicious, the leaves make a great addition to salad or braising mixes. Would prefer a 12” deep container or bed.

Kale: This incredibly nutritious brassica green will grow well year round here. It doesn’t need a particularly rich soil and will grow in part sun. Produces a huge amount of food in a small area. Plant from seed or start. Each plant will grow and produce for at least two seasons. Needs at least 18” of soil in a bed or container.

Varieties: Portuguese is my favorite, if you can find it. But any kind of Dino and Russian are great too.

Leeks: Leeks are a great crop to sneak in throughout the garden year round since they don’t take much room and grow slowly (reallllly slowly!) They will grow in full or part sun. They would prefer a rich, well drained soil, but I have found that they will limp along in pretty much any garden and they NEVER get any pests or diseases. Harvesting a big ole’, pearly white leek after that long (sometimes up to 150 day) wait is pretty exciting!! Plant from seed or start. Needs at least 12” of soil in containers or beds.

Varieties: Lincoln

Lettuce: We are truly blessed to be able to grow lettuce year round! In many areas it gets too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Don’t have to worry about too much summer heat here. Make sure you amend the soil well and provide protection from slugs and snails. Plant from seed or starts.

Varieties: Tom Thumb, Little Gem, Speckles, Butter Oak. There are sooo many great varieties! Experiment and find your own favorite.

Mustard: If you like mustard on your hot dog, then you should definitely try to grow this robust green in your garden. It is easy to grow year round in sun or part shade, with few pests or specific nutrient needs. Make sure you give the larger varieties plenty of room. Plant from seed or start. Small varieties (such as Ruby Streaks and Golden Streaks) can be grown in shallow containers or beds. Larger varieties (like the Southern Giant) need at least 12”.

Varieties: I love Ruby Streaks in a salad! Southern Giant will get bigger than an elephant ear!! Try them both!

Peas: Since they grow vertically, peas are the perfect crop for gardeners who want to make the most of a small space. Grow them in little pots and trellis them up your fire escape. Plant them along the fence behind the rest of your veggies. Snow peas, sugar snap peas and shelling peas all climb. Just makes sure you don’t plant bush peas. They are best planted early-mid spring or late summer here. Aren’t too picky, but prefer a well drained, rich soil. Can be grown from seed or starts, but be sure to protect diligently from slugs and snails either way. Don’t need a deep bed or large container.

Varieties: Mangiatutto Carouby has a gorgeous flower and great flavor. Oregon Giant is VERY productive!

Sunchokes(AKA Jerusalem artichoke): This sunflower relative produces incredible amounts of tasty, nutty, sweet, creamy tubers. I love them roasted! Buy a few tubers from the farmers market and plant them in the spring in well drained, well amended soil. Will do best if you feed them with nitrogen regularly. You may even get some flowers if you plant them early enough or the summer is long enough. Harvest when they start to die back to the ground. This crop definitely needs a large 7g + container or a deep bed.

Winter Gardening in the Bay Area

Hello fellow year-round gardeners,

I know it's taken me a while to write another post, but I promise to be better from now on. So please bear with me. . . .

One of the best things about living in the San Francisco Bay Area, or the west coast in general, is that we can garden here all year. Sure, it might be a little wet and cold to do some stuff, but our gardens are never completely asleep like they are in more harsh climates. Here are a few things that can/should be done this time of year in the garden:

1. This is the best time to plant California native and drought tolerant plants. Many of these plants don't want summer water at all, so it is best to plant them now while they can get some water to get them established before the dry season comes along.

2. January-March is a great time to prune and graft deciduous fruit trees. You will have to attend one of my workshops to really learn how to prune or graft, but here are a few quick tips about dormant pruning:

1. Prune for shape. Take out any crossing branches or branches that are growing into the middle of the tree.

2. Dead, diseased and damaged branches should be removed.

3. Don't try to bring down the height of a tree in winter. Dormant pruning is invigorating, so these branches are likely to grow back with a vengeance. Wait til summer to tame your overgrown fruit trees.

4. Make sure you sterilize your tools before you prune. Many diseases can be passed through the use of contaminated tools. Rubbing alcohol should do the trick. Just wipe down your blades with it.

5. If you want to encourage branching on a young tree, cut the tip of the shoot you want to branch to an underfacing bud.

3. Dormant spray deciduous fruit trees such as peaches, apricots and cherries. This is especially important if you have had disease problems in the past. I recommend a sulfur spray. It's organic, but be sure to wear a mask to avoid any respiratory problems! It's actually best to start spraying just after leaf drop and spray twice more, once right around now and once just before bud break in the spring.

4. Plant deciduous fruit trees. Wait until a little bit of a break between storms for the soil to dry out a little bit. It's not good to dig in the garden when it's too wet. When the soil is moist but not wet, go for it. Make sure not to bury the graft union (where the variety you are trying to grow has been grafted onto the rootstock). This looks kind of like a knuckle and is usually pretty obvious. I recommend staking young fruit trees.

5. Start planning for spring! What crops do you want to grow? What varieties? If you want to grow your own seedlings it is important to think ahead to make sure your babies are ready when it is time to put them in the ground. Don't make the common mistake of starting seeds in April! Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants take at least two months to germinate and grow to a good plantable size. That means if you want to plant your tomatoes in mid-April you should start seeds by mid-February. And if you want to order seeds from a catalogue you should probably do it right about now.

Thanks for reading!

I'll be posting again soon with some advice on starting seeds and garden planning.

Thanks for reading,

Nik

Check out the website: www.purplecarrotgardening.com

Herb Spiral Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Hn_t3kC7Y

Summer Gardening in San Francisco

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!