Posts Tagged ‘garden’

Sunset Magazine, August 2009 Issue

While researching an article on desert gardens, I recently discovered Sunset magazine and subscribed immediately. Gardening, cocktails, backyard barbeques — what more could you want? Its content is geared toward living in the West, with entertaining stories like “A Taste of Mendocino,” and travel tips on the “10 Best Mini Wine Country Escapes,” but its voice calls out to anyone who might want to explore their local environment or sow some seeds in the garden with a glass of great wine in hand.

Here’s a recent article that had me California dreamin’:

How to grow a salad bar

Sow seeds in late summer and enjoy your own fresh greens through fall

Sunset Magazine's salad bar - Photo by Rob D. Brodman

1. Prepare the soil

Choose a sunny spot with rich, loose, well-draining soil (our greens grow in a raised bed). Add fresh potting mix or amend the existing soil by digging in aged compost.

Video: How to get great dirt

2. Sow seeds

Sprinkle seeds of assorted salad greens thinly, about ½ inch apart and as deep as seed-packet directions advise. For added flavor and color, add chives and edible ‘Sorbet Lemon Chiffon’ violas from sixpacks. Water regularly so that soil remains evenly moist as seedlings develop.

More on sowing seeds

3. Harvest

When plants reach 5 to 6 inches tall, shear the lettuces with scissors 1 to 2 inches above the base (the “cut and come again” method); they’ll regrow for a few more harvests.

IN THIS PHOTO

Lettuce

Red- and green-leaf lettuces such as ‘Oak Leaf’ and ‘Ruby’, as well as the Heirloom Cutting Mix from Renee’s Garden.

Other greens

‘Bull’s Blood’ beets, kale, spinach, and ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard.

As reported by Jenny Andrews of Garden Design magazine, Caladium lovers from all corners of the Earth are poised to converge on Lake Placid, Florida (dubbed the Caladium Capital of the World), for the 19th Annual Caladium Festival, Aug. 28-30.

While there are activities to suit any penchant (arts and crafts booths, goodies, contests, entertainment, a classic-car show), one of the highlights is the chance to tour the caladium fields of local growers, where pink, red and white caladiums dance across acre after acre, like the poppy scene from The Wizard of Oz. And, of course, there are plenty of caladiums available to purchase for your own garden.

First grown in Lake Placid in the 1940s, caladiums thrived in South Florida thanks to the ample warmth and sunshine and ideal soil. Since then, the industry has continued to expand until it now includes more than 1,000 acres owned by more than a dozen families, some of them now in their third generation of caladium growers. So you can bet, if you have a question about caladiums, someone in Lake Placid knows the answer.

For more information visit www.lpfla.com.