It’s All About Nutrition!

Growing Potatoes Vertically… The Harvest

We wanted to update everyone on the results of our growing potatoes vertically project.

After all of the foliage turned brown and started withering we waited an aditional 2 weeks before attempting to harvest. When the big day came we trimmed back the foliage, separated the fencing and tipped the whole pile over.

Given the fact that we had a terrible growing season up here in Rhode Island this year I was pleased to see a good amount of potatoes. After picking through them and discarding those that were mostly green or scabbed over we ended up with just over 15 pounds. Not the 50 pounds plus we were hoping for but given the weather and the fact that this was our first attempt at growing potatoes vertically we were pretty happy.

The quality and flavor of the potaoes is amazing and we are already planning next years crop. The pictures below will give you an idea what harvest day was like.

You can check out our other posts that chronical our growing potatoes vertically project by visiting these links…

Original getting started post

First update

Second update

Tags: Growing Potatoes Vertically, Growing Season, Potato

Indoor Herb Gardening

My husband and I decided to try indoor herb gardening this winter by using the herbs we grew outside this past season. Most of the herbs grown in pots were too big to move inside so they were split into smaller plants and repotted with fresh potting soil. We allocated an area in one of the rooms in our home for the purpose of growing the indoor herb garden. To display the potted herbs, an old desk was converted to hold a light source–a grow light for plants–by using 2 x 3’s attached to the desk and hanging the grow light from them.

The materials needed to create our indoor herb garden were…
2 – 2×3x8’s
4 metal 90 degree corner brackets
2 eye hooks for hanging
A basic fluorescent shop lighting fixture
2 Philips 40 watt – 48 inch Plant and Aquarium bulbs
Total cost of the project was just about $60.00

Certain herbs such as parsley, rosemary, and chives can be purchased at your local supermarket in the produce section. Herb kits and grow lights can be purchased at most home and garden centers.

This is our first experience with an indoor herb garden and it is definitely worth a try. We started ours about a month ago…our herb collection includes parsley, rosemary, chives, tarragon, oregano, basil, lemon verbena, and lavender. Everything is doing fabulous accept for the Tarragon which did not take well to being moved indoors. The grow light is turned on for 16 hours and turned off for 8 hours. With constant attention, love, and care we hope to enjoy fresh herbs throughout the winter months…and so can you so give it a try. Have fun!

Tags: basil, Chives, Herb, lavender, lemon verbena, Parsley, rosemary, Tarragon

Vegetable Garden Update

Well…I haven’t discussed our vegetable garden in a while so here is an update. Most of our plants are doing well except the eggplant…we lost most of the eggplant due to unusually wet conditions during June and July but there is hope for a few that are very small and still alive. The tomato plants are doing well and need more time for the tomatoes to ripen. We have an abundance of zucchini squash and cucumbers…we are picking them every day…the challenging part is to think of ways to eat them. We add zucchini to breads, pasta dishes, egg scrambles, salads, oven roasted potatoes, and just cooked in a pan with tomato sauce, onion, garlic, and spices. We actually started vacuum freezing the zucchini so we can enjoy it during the winter months…it will be great to add to soups. There are times when we give our zucchini and cucumbers to family and friends for all to enjoy. We are enjoying some fresh green beans and onions also…and our herb garden is flourishing. There’s nothing like eating fresh vegetables and herbs right from the garden…the flavors and textures are unsurpassed. More on this later….

Tags: Cucumber, Eggplant, Vegetable, Zucchini

Picking (harvesting) Winter Squash

Harvesting winter squash varieties including Butternut, Acorn and Spaghetti squashes begins after their skins have hardened. Winter squash will store well for long periods of time after harvest, generally 3 to 4 months. It is important to make sure to harvest fruit before the first frost to prevent damage to the skin. To harvest fruit use a pair of pruning shears to cut the stem about ½ inch above the fruit being careful to not break the stem off of the fruit. Breaking the stem off will cause a wounded area for fruit rots to spoil the squash. Butternut squash are ripe when the outside skin turns a deep flesh color. Acorn squash are mature when the underside of the fruit turns an orange-yellow color where it had laid on the ground. Spaghetti squash is ripe when the skin turns a golden yellow color and hardens. If squash are soiled they can be washed. Store fruit in a warm (at least 55ºF) dry and dark area for extended shelf life.

Tags: Acorn squash, Butternut squash, Spaghetti squash, Squash

Picking (harvesting) Watermelon

Harveting watermelons is not as straight forward as many other vegetables when it comes to deciding exactly when to harvest. One of the reasons is that they do not slip off the vine like cantaloupes when ripe. This makes it is necessary to look for other indicators. Rolling the melon over and looking at the ground spot where the melon was laying is probably the best method. If that portion of the watermelon is a pale yellow color, the melon should be ripe. You can also look at the tendrils (short, curly, stem-like vine) next to the melon. The tendrils are close to the area where a leaf is attached to the main vine. When the first tendril next to the fruit looks dead and dried up, the melon closest to that tendril should be ripe. Watermelons will store longer than other melons and should be refrigerated, especially after cut.

Tags: Cantaloupe, Melon, Watermelon