Sunflowers are native to the Americas and have been cultivated for over 4,000 years. They were a major food source for the indigenous population and were even used medicinally.
Botanically called Helianthus from the Greek helios, meaning sun and anthus, meaning flower, sunflowers were adopted as a major crop by the Russians. Sunflower oil stays liquid at lower temperatures than animal fats, which was advantageous in their cold climate.
Victorians fell madly for sunflowers and used their likeness in art and architecture. Early American pioneers pounded the stalks to extract the fibers. The stalks were also used as kindling and the seedless hulls were compressed into fire logs.
Plant sunflowers in mid spring about 1 to 2 weeks before the date of your average last frost. They need full sun and aren’t overly fussy about soil fertility, although they benefit from a side dressing of compost.
Thin the seedlings so the plants stand 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the size of the variety at maturity. Many varieties will first produce a large basal flower and then branch out to produce many smaller blooms after the basal flower is cut. Some varieties naturally branch out, producing many smaller flowers.
Hybridizers have been busy and sunflowers now come in a wide variety of sizes and many colors in the yellow/gold/orange/rust family. They are spectacular planted in various heights and colors as a theme garden.
Sunflowers reseed themselves prolifically and will come up every year, even if you don’t want them to. It goes without saying that small wildlife, such as birds and squirrels, find them irresistible.
If you want to harvest the seeds for snacks or for planting next year, cover the flowers with a paper lunch bag when the seeds begin to ripen. Otherwise the local livestock will completely devour your sunflower crop.
The blooms of sunflowers turn to follow the path of the sun, beginning in the east in the morning and continuing throughout the day. They are one of the few flowers that follow this peculiar practice.
By all means cut them and use them in bouquets. Their bright, cheery colors look good in any decor.
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Rainbow Swiss chard adds bright color to stir-fries and vegetable side dishes.
Swiss chard is a green that grows well during the hot summer months, usually without turning bitter. Any bitterness will only be in the mature outer leaves and disappears when they are cooked. When sweltering summer weather passes, the large outer leaves will loose their bitterness and they’ll begin to grow sweet and succulent again.
Thought to originate in Sicily, the original varieties of Swiss chard had white stems, but in recent years new varieties have been developed with stems of bright colors, such as the rainbow Swiss chard in the photo at right. Even the leaves can have a slight purple tinge.
Swiss chard was originally called “Swiss” because seed catalogs in the 19th century wanted to distinguish it from French spinach. Botanically it is called Beta vulgaris flavescens and is a member of the same family as beets. Essentially it’s a beet without a root.
Plant Swiss chard, rainbow or otherwise, in mid to late spring. Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep and an inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. When the young plants are about three inches high, thin to stand about 4 to 6 inches apart. For intensive spacing plant them 6 to 8 inches apart in all directions. It’s not overly fussy about the fertility of the soil.
If you’re a lazy gardener (like me), Swiss chard will be a good friend to your garden. It withstands neglect and will even grow during droughts.
You can start harvesting the leaves at any size. Tender young leaves can be added to salads or stir-fries. Larger more mature leaves should be cut from the outside of the plant and the new leaves at the center of the plant should be left to mature.
Swiss chard will even grow in partial shade and still produce a respectable crop. It survives temperatures down into the 20’s. Even if the leaves on the outside of the plant freeze the inner leaves will still be intact and edible.
The entire plant is edible, but the stems need a longer cooking time than the leaves. Interestingly, American cooks primarily use the leaves and European cooks primarily use the stems. I use the entire plant. The stems have the texture of cooked celery and should in fact be cooked similarly. The leaves can be substituted in virtually any recipe calling for spinach, with a slightly longer cooking time.
A blossom on a snow pea vine. Toss them into salads for color and flavor.
Late summer is the time to start planting for fall harvests. Now is the time to plant vegetables that prefer to mature during cool weather.
Plant Pisum sativum—the English garden type along with edible podded snow and snap varieties—in early to mid August for harvesting in mid to late September.
Plant peas in between the rows of corn in your garden. The corn will mature and be harvested long before the peas need the room. Another good place to plant fall peas is where lettuce or other greens were growing. These leafy crops deplete supplies of available nitrogen in the soil and the roots of peas “fix” nitrogen into the soil.
This is a complicated scientific process that I’m not qualified to explain. Suffice it to say that it works. Once the plants are finished producing, leave their roots in the ground and they will release the captured nitrogen into the soil where it can be used by other plants that you subsequently grow in the same area.
When planting peas for fall, plant them almost twice as deep as spring-planted peas. This will help keep the seeds cool and also from drying out before they germinate. In any case, keep them well-watered to avoid over stressing them and also mulch the soil to keep it cool.
Space the seeds about two inches apart and thin the seedlings to about four inches apart when they’re three inches high.
Snap peas and Oriental snow peas grow tall enough to require some type of support for them to climb upon. English garden peas only grow about 12 to 18 inches high and do not need such support.
The blossoms and new growth shoots of pea vines are also edible. In fact, the seedlings that you thin are completely edible. Simply pinch off the roots and toss them into a salad or stir-fry.
Check your pea vines daily once they start producing. Edible podded peas are best eaten when the peas inside are just starting to swell. English garden peas, traditionally eaten when plump and succulent, can quickly become tough and woody if left too long on the vines.
When freezing weather kills off the vines, leave the roots in the soil. By spring they will be nearly completely decomposed and ready to plant a crop that likes rich, well-fertilized soil, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, or melons.
Corn as we know it today does not grow anywhere in the wild. It is a plant that was developed by an unknown group of people in Mexico between 7,000 and 12,500 years ago. They used a wild grass called teosinte which had small kernels that were separated on the cob, unlike our modern day hybrids.
Zea mays is how we classify corn botanically today. There are thousands of varieties of corn classified as either sweet corn or field corn. Sweet corn is for human consumption and is the corn on the cob we eagerly wait for every summer. Field corn is grown as animal fodder and used to produce cornmeal, corn syrup and corn bio fuel.
Corn is a hot weather plant and will not grow during the cool temperatures of spring. Wait to plant until the soil warms up to at least 6o° and all danger of frost has past. Plant corn seed 9 to 12 inches apart in rows that are 24 to 30 inches apart. For intensive spacing, plant 9 to 12 inches apart in all directions. Since corn is wind pollinated, always plant two rows or use intensive spacing. This will help facilitate pollination.
For a continuous harvest, either stagger your plantings a week or two apart or plant several different varieties that mature at different times.
Mulch the soil well and provide at least one inch of water per week.
There are three types of sweet corn: standard normal sugary, sugary enhancer, and supersweet.
Standard sweet corn contains a sweet gene that regular field corn does not. This type is best suited to eating immediately after picking, as in “start the water boiling before you go out to the garden to pick the corn.”
Sugary enhancer hybrid corn contains an enhanced sugary gene that makes it sweeter than standard sweet corn and also much more tender and creamy. This type of corn is the best and most tasty for eating fresh and it is considered superior to all other types of sweet corn.
Supersweet hybrid corn has a higher sugar content than standard sweet corn but has a crispy, tough-skinned texture and lacks the creamy texture of the other sweet corn varieties. This is not noticeable in fresh corn on the cob but does affect the quality of frozen and canned corn. This type of corn is considered superior to all varieties for fresh eating unless it must be stored, shipped or mechanically harvested. This makes it a natural for the urban home vegetable garden.
Corn is ready to pick when the kernels are fully formed but not completely mature. This occurs about 20 days after the first silk strands appear. When ready to harvest the kernels are smooth and plump and milky juice appears when punctured with a fingernail. The silks will appear dry and brown and the unpicked ears will feel firm.
Because sweet corn only remains in this stage for about seven days, check them frequently so that the kernels do not become too mature.
And don’t forget to start the water boiling before you go out to the garden to pick it.
Green beans are one of the most popular vegetables grown in home gardens.
Green beans are one of the oldest cultivated plants, having been cultivated for at least 6,000 years in the Americas. Green beans are native to Central and South America, unlike broad beans grown to produce dried beans, which are native to Europe and Asia.
There are over 4,000 known varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris available in seed catalogs. This includes so-called green beans as well as dried beans. “Green beans” are simply immature beans that are picked while the seeds are still small and tender. They come in green and yellow varieties in both bush or pole styles.
Bush beans grow on compact bushy plants and produce their crop over a 3 to 4 week period approximately 50 days after planting, depending on the variety. Pole beans are twining vines that grow 8 to 12 feet high and produce their crop from about 60 days after planting until the vines are killed by frost.
Plant either variety of beans in late spring after all danger of frost has passed and after the soil has warmed up to at least 65°. Some experts claim the plants will be healthier and produce more beans if you wait until the soil has warmed up to 70°. Although some gardeners start beans indoors, they grow best if the seeds are planted in the garden where they are to grow.
Beans don’t require overly rich soil as long as it is well drained. Do not plant where potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce or cabbage were grown the previous year. Move your beans to a different location in your garden every 2 to 3 years.
Plant bush beans about an inch deep, 1 to 2 inches apart in rows that are 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart. When the seedlings are 3 inches high, thin them to stand about 3 to 4 inches apart. For intensive spacing, plant them 4 to 6 inches apart in all directions.
Plant pole beans an inch deep in hills about 3 feet apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. Insert a pole in the center of each hill and plant 6 to 8 seeds around it. Thin to the strongest four plants when they are three inches high.
Side dress with 10-20-10 fertilizer every 2 to 3 weeks until the bush beans produce their crop. Continue fertilizing pole beans for the entire growing season. Keep them well watered; beans need to be kept evenly moist or they may drop their blossoms before the infant beans form. Mulch the soil around them to retain moisture and prevent it from drying out.
Harvest green beans before the seeds in the pod begin to swell. They should be crisp and firm and easily snap when broken in two. The “snap” is how they became known as “snap beans.” Hold the plant with one hand while picking with the other hand or you may pull off most of the plant along with the beans. Another good way to harvest them is to use a small pair of scissors and snip them off the plants.
In European folklore, planting beans on Good Friday or in the dark is considered good luck. As far as I’m concerned, any green beans that escape notice by a bunny are considered good luck.
*Green beans are the second most popular vegetable behind tomatoes.
Calendulas, also known as pot marigolds, are one of the easiest annual flowers to grow.
Calendulas are now grown primarily for their golden yellow flowers, but they were traditionally grown as both a seasoning and for medicinal purposes.
Calendula officinalis is its scientific name, but it is also commonly refered to as “pot marigold.” The reason for this is it was once used by the poor as a seasoning, particularly as a substitute for saffron.
The name “calendula” comes from the Latin kalendae, meaning the first day of the new moon, which was also the first day of the month for the Romans. The plant got this name because it was always in bloom on the first day of every month. Calendulas will flower constantly in mild climates.
Pot marigolds grow 18 to 24 inches high and bloom prolifically for the entire growing season. Plant the seeds in the garden where they are to grow. When they are two inches high, thin them so the plants stand 8 to 12 inches apart. Calendulas will reseed themselves and come up every year.
They will grow in almost any type of soil, as long as it is well-drained. They don’t require any additional fertilizer, but they will benefit from a top dressing of compost once during the growing season.
Calendulas have antiseptic and anti-fungal properties. Their petals are often made into calendula oil or calendula cream, which are applied to help sores and skin ailments heal faster.
Pot marigolds are known as the “herb of the sun” because the flowers have the unusual habit of closing in the heat of the afternoon and remaining closed until the sun has risen the following morning. They then follow the path of the sun, just like sunflowers.
It is sometimes described as the flower of grief because dew gathers in the flower during the night and drips off like tears when the flower opens the following morning. In the language of flowers, calendulas mean sacred affections, joy, remembrance and grief.
Calendulas are also known as the friendship flower, which is the way I prefer to think of them.
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