Plants for Readers: Collards

from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

Early one morning as we were beginning our day's play in the back yard, Jem and I heard something next door in  Miss Rachel Haverford's collard patch. We went to the wire fence to see if there was a puppy--Miss Rachel's rat terrier was expecting--instead we found someone sitting looking at us. Sitting down, he wasn't much higher than the collards. We stared at thim until he spoke:

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," said Jem pleasantly.


"I'm Charles Baker Harris," he said. "I can read."

(Image Source)

Collard greens  are staples of Southern cooking and, were even grown in ancient Greece and Rome (Aggie Horticulture).  Rich in vitamins, it is generally a winter crop harvested after the first frost for best flavor.   Considering how many crops are not in season during our short Houston winters, it is nice to be able to grow a variety of leafy greens during our colder months. The leaves grow up to about two feet long, giving us some idea of how small Charles Baker "Dill" Harris actually is.

If you find yourself eating collards at a Southern restaurant, you will likely have them the traditional way: boiled a little longer than necessary and flavored with hamhocks, pork fat, or bacon. Not perhaps the healthiest way to serve them, but certainly very tasty.

They can also be used in soups, or boiled served with a little salt and pepper and olive oil, and maybe some vinegar.

Some people who like edible landscapes find that leafy green winter crops such as collards and kale make decent ornamental annuals, as well as good eating.

For Houston area residents, Bob Randall recommends planting collard plants between early October and early November.  The Aggie Horticulture website suggests seeding and even planting as early as September.

Further Reading:
Plant Profile at Floridata
Marinated Collard Green Salad
Southern Collard Greens
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

There is a closet joke in here somewhere...

Those ubiquitous pocketed over-the-door shoe organizers can serve many purposes.

But I never thought of using one as a planter.

For people with limited space, here is an interesting idea involving a pocket shoe organizer similar to the one pictured below:

I'd probably pick one made out of darker fabric, as I expect the lighter-colored varieties will begin to look very stained from the water running through them and bringing soil particles along with it.  It would probably require frequent watering, too, depending on how breathable the fabric is.

Still, it is a great idea if you have limited space, and it's probably less expensive that anything at the garden centers that would serve a similar purpose.

I suppose one can always find another home for all of those shoes.

Talking to my plants...

...and my husband has been the primary outlet for my gardening concerns lately, as I have had little time for blogging. Much of my free time, such as it is, has been spent outside, taking advantage of every remotely tolerable moment of decent weather to get as much heavy outdoor work done as possible before the summer heat confines me to light weeding, seed scattering, and small container gardening. However, plenty has been happening, so while I wait till I have a little more time for more detailed posting, here are a few things I have learned during my (monthlong now) blogging silence:

Radishes do not always grow as fast as the book says they will.

Squash plants grow very fast when planted in good conditions.

Round-up (despite its drawbacks) is by far the most efficient method I have yet tried for getting rid of unwanted areas of lawn.

Containerized Grumichama (Eugenia brasiliensis) does not like neglect. Do not allow to dry out for more than a couple of days, or risk losing the year's fruit crop.

Containerized feijoa's hate drying out, too.

It is possible to neglect a bougainvillea too much.

Thornless Prickly Pears like south facing Houston walls in the springtime

Cherimoya seeds can be sprouted by wrapping in a wet paper towel kept constantly moist.

Sophora Secundiflora sometimes drops its immature seed pod crop, thwarting plans to send ripened seeds to waiting relatives. Cause as yet unknown. However, happy plants grow well. Next year's flowers may come from this year's growth.

Double Knockout Roses are awesome.

So are "Wave" petunias.

Checkerboard fuschias are both collectible and hardy, and look great growing in the shade near star jasmine and Southern Maidenhair ferns.

Pinto beans can sprout in the bottom of a wet kitchen sink, if left long enough.

Air potatoes can, apparently, sprout in a dark closet in a plastic bag with no soil, no water, and next to no light while certain persons try to decide whether to plant them at all due to their potentially invasive qualities.

That just about covers it!

Search: Tomato Varieties for Houston

Someone dropped by while Googling (I can't believe that's actually a verb now) for "Tomato varieties Houston Texas"

Your county Extension service or local Master Gardener should have some good information on tomato varieties. Also check with your nurseryman.

In her Lazy Gardener's Guide, Brenda Beust Smith recommends the following:

• Champion
• Celebrity
• Dona
• Early Goliath
• German Johnson
• Hawaiian
• Sweet Chelsea
• Texas Wild

In Year Round Fruits and Vegetables, Bob Randall recommends these (In order from large to small, with some repeats from Smith's list):

• Super Marmande (early)
• Dona (early)
• Carmello
• Big Beef
• Arkansas Traveler (late)
• Sweet Chelsea
• Sweet 100
• Texas wild (Produces in summer)
• Viva Italia (cooking)
• Sunmaster (Produces in summer)

For those of you growing your tomatoes iin pots, the Houston Garden Book recommends these for containerized tomato growing:

• Patio
• Pixie
• Tiny tim
• Saladette
• Stakeless
• Atom
  

For better information on growing tomatoes here in the Houston Metro Area, I strongly recommend getting copies of the books by Smith and Randall. These are most easily obtained by going to Urban Harvest.

Tomato Forum!

There is a discussion forum at Chron.com on tomato varieties for the Houston area.

Check it out.

Companion herbs for tomatoes

While you are getting your seeds spouted and considering where to put your tomatoes once they are ready to be transplanted, here is some interesting information:

According to the Houston Garden Book, tomatoes like to be planted with onions, parsley, carrots, chives, asparagus, marigolds, and nasturtiums. avoid planting them next to cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, potatoes, fennel, and corn.

January is for tomato seeds!

This is the month to start your tomato seeds indoors or in a greenhouse to get the earliest possible jump on the tomato season!

Strawberry Jars

November, according to the newsletter I get from Urban Harvest, is the ideal month for planting strawberry plants in the Houston area. Accordingly, I went out and prepared myself by obtaining a strawberry jar.

Then I stopped and said to myself, I've never actually used one of these before.

Thanks to the wonders of Google, I have rectified my ignorance. Here is a webpage with step-by-step directions for filling one of these things.

Strawberry jars can also be used for other plants with shallow root structures.

For pictures of how these can look when they are full, see this post by Angela at Plants Bulbs and Garden, who put together a strawberry jar with her 2 1/2 -year-old son. Apparently, this is a fun gardening activity that kids can do too!

Incidentallly, for you who love trivia: the strawberry is actually, technically a vegetable, not a fruit. (But tomatoes are fruit!) Don't believe me? Click here.

When to plant veggies.

Some resources:

Harris County Vegetable Gardening Guide (.pdf)

Lazy Gardener's Guide by Brenda Beust Smith.--Straightforward, simple, month-by month gardening tasks and planting tips. I bought my copy at the Urban Harvest office in Houston.

Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston, by Bob Randall---If you are serious about having your own veggies, this book is AMAZING!

UrbanHarvest.org

"True love and Homegrown Tomatoes"

Homegrown Tomatoes
by Guy Clark (click here to hear him sing the entire song)



Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with egss, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the site put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes


To hear John Denver sing this song, check out the last two minutes of this YouTube video.

Basil

I planted some of it this week in containers with organic potting soil, and kept them watered.

The seeds took only two days to start sprouting.

Wow.

I guess it's easy to grow basil in Houston if you plant your seeds in late August!

Opuntia update--Unexpected aquisition.

I was telling a plant-loving friend of mine that I was thinking of trying to grow a prickly pear, when she told me I was welcome to a lobe of the "spineless" one that she has. So I took her up on it.

The thing looks pretty cute in its container. No obvious signs of new growth yet, but it doesn't look like it is rotting, either. According to this it takes a month for the new roots to form, and I only planted it a couple of weeks ago.

Unfortunately, I do not know exactly which species I have. Maybe when (and if) it gets bigger, I'll take some pictures and post them. Who knows, maybe someone will stumble across the blog and give me some ideas. :)

I can personally recommend handling these with dainty fingers (and gloves, if available). They do not have obvious spines, but they do have tiny little ones that can cause pain, and which are difficult to get out of one's skin, especially if you can't see them very well! I got one in my thumb while transplanting the pad I got from my friend, and it took some careful looking and removing!

Opuntia (Prickly Pear Cactus)

Generally, the damp, muggy climate of this region would discourage me from growing cacti. But, I might make an exception for this one. I saw a fairly happy looking one growing in a large container in front of someone's house today, which makes me think it just may be possible.

Opuntia ficus-indica. Photo Source: Wikipedia

Why would I even bother?

It so happens that young prickly pear pads are a good, nutritious food, once you remove the spines. I learned this from my grandmother, who prepares a nopales salad from time to time. Being diabetic, my grandmother also appreciates the fact that nopales are good for her blood sugar levels. The fruits are edible as well (probably not for diabetics), but I have never personally tried them.

The two species that I most often hear of being used are Opuntia streptacantha and Opuntia ficus-indica, both natives of Mexico. The latter of these is supposed to taste better. I honestly have no idea which I have tried. My grandmother has a cactus growing in her garden which she occasionally uses for food, but I do not know which exact species it is. It does bear a strong resemblance to the one in the picture above.

Propogation of these from cuttings is fairly easy, from what my grandma tells me. She cut a lobe from another cactus, buried the bottom half in the ground with the top half sticking up, kept it watered for a little while, and just watched it grow. That was about 20 years ago, and it is well established, and (by my guess) at least six feet tall now. In her case, it probably helps that the soil she was dealing with is the sandy kind that this cactus enjoys best. If planted in a hot, sunny location that they like, these things will thrive with little to no maintenance. At least, they will in Southern California. I have yet to see what will happen in the wetter parts of Texas.

Worth trying? Yes. Do I have the slightest clue where to go to get one around here? Nope. Not without knocking on the doors of strangers' houses. Hm. Not quite desperate enough for that.