How to Grow Beets and Spinach

 Beets and Spinach may, at first glance, seem like two odd veggies to pare together but they are actually both from the chenopod or amaranth (depending on who you ask) plant family and have very similar growth requirements. I love growing both and cant imagine a veggie garden without them. They are both also very easy to grow from seeds. 

Both veggies are cool weather crops so here in York County, PA i can get two crops in a year: one in spring and one in fall. I only grow beets in spring but I'll get into that shortly. I sow seeds for both between St. Patrick's Day and the first week of April. Both are quick growing and can be planted in successions. That is, plant a few seeds every few weeks to keep a harvest going. Average soil conditions are fine but they do require full sun. 

Spinach is a great crop for cut and come again leaves as long as you never harvest more than 50 % of the leaves at any time. I love to blanch the leaves and then freeze them in ice cube trays for future use in soups, casseroles, pizza and eggs. Spinach plants will fizzle out in the hot July sun so pull them out and start again in mid to late August. If you plant enough, you can grow enough under a cold frame to keep you harvesting all winter. My all time favorite variety is Monstreux de Viroflay from Baker Creek Seeds because of the large yields but I've had good success with Bloomsdale Long Standing too which you can find anywhere. 

Beets can be eaten a few different ways. The greens are edible. Young leaves can be put right in salad. Older leaves are great steamed with a little vinegar on them. The roots are great roasted. However, my all time favorite is to pickle the beets and can them for winter eating. So yummy, especially when you soak hard boiled eggs in the pickling juice. You can get more information about that here. 

The downside of pickling beets is that it's TONS of work so I prefer to grow all my beets at once and have one big canning day a year. Although there are many kinds of beets to try, I'll admit to having only grown Detroit Dark Red because that's what my parents grew and I'm a little sentimental about it. Hannah is going to try Chioggia beets this year so that should be fun. 

Both Beets and Spinach are relatively pest free. I've never been tempted to treat them for anything, insect or fungus. However, rabbits do love to chew on both so I keep chicken wire fencing around both while they are young and especially tender. 

Have you ever grown these veggies before? What varieties to you like?

Fall Gardening Part 1 - Edibles

I do love Fall

 

One bright side of the whole pandemic has been a surge in people wanting to grow their own food. If you haven't gotten on the bandwagon yet, or even if you have, it's not too late to plant more food for this years harvest. You might be surprised to learn that several kinds of vegetables actually prefer cooler weather and fall is a great time of year to grow them. 

Of course, the timing of planting depends on where you live. The farther north you are, the sooner a hard frost will come and put an end to your growing season. I live in south central Pennsylvania on the line between zone 6b and 7a. You can learn more about climate zone here. 

Carrots and peas can take a while to germinate so I planted my seeds last week. Carrots cannot be transplanted and peas are so easy to grow from seed that you don't need to buy plants. Lettuce, spinach and kale grow quicker so I've planted a little but I can plant them here up until Labor Day. Some vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, take so long to grow that you're really better off buying plants at your local garden center and planting them soon. Beets and radishes are also great to start from seeds now. 

The trick of fall gardening is that the plants don't like heat but you have to plant them in summer so they'll germinate and have enough time to grow. This means at least daily watering. It's a hassle, to be sure, but every October when I can still go outside and pick fresh produce I'm always so glad I planted more veggies ahead of time. It's also really important to keep the veggies clear of weeds and properly thinned out because sunlight will be more scarce in the fall and your plants will not due well with competition. 

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Do you practice gardening in fall? What are your tips and tricks? Feel free to post in the comments below. 

How to Perk Up Your Fall Garden

For those of you ambitious gardeners that planted for a fall crop to extend you harvest, this post is for you. If you haven't started your fall veggies yet, then here in central Pennsylvania it's too late to plant. Except for garlic and perennial onions of course, but that's another post. However, if you've planted lettuce, spinach, peas, beets, etc then I'm here to help.

So, fall gardening is all about managing resources. The days are getting shorter, so sunlight is more scarce. The weather tends to be drier in the fall so water is of concern. If you fertilized your soil in the spring, it may be in need of a boost. All of these things can cause your garden to stall. If you're disappointed in how your veggies are doing, then follow these steps.

First, eliminate competition for resources. That means be thorough with pulling out weeds. The good news is that weeds aren't as aggressive now as they are in the spring but be sure to get rid of the ones that are there. Also, it means thin out your seedlings more than you usually do. Seedlings packed together too closely will be stunted in growth.

Second, you can't do anything about a lack of sunlight but you can keep your garden beds watered regularly. As I'm writing this, we haven't gotten rain in quite a while so I gave my plants a good shower tonight.

Third, if you haven't fertilized it recently, now is a great time to side dress your plants. That means putting fertilizer or well rotted compost alongside your plants. Don't put them right on the plants as it may burn them. Your plants will thank you for it.

Do you enjoy fall gardening? Feel free to post your tips in the comments below!

Fall Gardening 101

The beginning of August may seem too early to talk about fall but if you want to get into fall gardening, now is the time to start. I don't mean start planning, I mean get out there and plant stuff. If you haven't gotten into fall gardening before, you should try it. Harvesting fresh vegetables in October and November is really great.

First, you have to know when your first frost date is. That's when you're most likely to have a first killing frost. Here in south central PA, the date is October 21st. To find your frost date, go to www.almanac.com Look on the seed packets to see how many days they need to ripen. Then you can count backward to figure out when you have to plant them. For instance, I just planted peas and they require 65 days to ripen. So I know I have more than enough time.

Second, you have to plant cold hearty vegetables. Many of the veggies you planted last march will work great now. Great selections  for fall include: peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, and beats. These plants will thrive in cooler temperatures.

Third, do what you can to keep the seeds cool during the hot August days. Probably the hardest part of fall gardening is keeping your seedlings well watered. When the seedlings get three to four inches tall, you can thin them out and mulch them to help keep the soil cool and moist.

As a side note, October is the best time to be planting garlic. It won't ripen till the following July, but it is SO GOOD. So, try some garlic.

And that, my friends, is it. If you want to extend your harvest even longer into the winter, you can use row covers to keep the frost off. It's not hard. It's not expensive. You can do it and enjoy delicious vegetables this fall. Have you ever gotten into fall gardening? Please write about it in the comment section below!

Pennsylvania Pickled Beets and Eggs

One thing you won't ever see on this blog are a bunch of recipes. However, when it comes to traditional ways to use your garden produce, I'm all in. I grew up with pickled beets in Michigan but the egg part I picked up since moving to Pennsylvania. With a little bit of thought I was able to use my great grandmother's pickling recipe and add the hard boiled eggs at the end. Here is how you too can make pickled eggs and beets.

First off, this blog is about gardening and right now is a great time to be harvesting beets in central PA. My family has always used Detroit Dark Red Beets but I'm sure you could substitute the beets of your choice. Pick enough beets to fill a regular sized stock pot, scrub them down and cut off the root tips and greens (please don't throw your greens away, they are delicious!).

Second, boil the beets till the skins are loose, about an hour. Strain the beets and let them cool before removing their skins.

Third, cut the beets to uniform size before returning them to the pot. Don't get too fussy about it.

Fourth, add 2 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup apple cider vinegar and 3 cups of water and mix it all up. Boil for another hour or until the beets are the consistency you want.

Fifth, hard boil 12 eggs and peel off the shells.

Finally, take a 2 quart jar and take turns adding beets and eggs then poor the pickling juice over it all.

Refrigerate for at least 24 hour and enjoy!