Untitled

[gerples-blog]

Kale has germinated

Well, that didn't take long. The silver kale germinated in 7 days and the lettuce in 8. The Russian Red curly take took 9 days, but it was in a little drier location. Fall gardening .... for the short-focused!

[gerples-blog]

There will be a program next week at Arlington Central Library. Jennifer will be discussing the SuperFoods movement, varieties you can grow in Arlington, and things you should consider for our locale.

[gerples-blog]

Garlic likes nitrogen

I am looking for information on increasing garlic bulb size. They seem to be undersized in our soil so far. I was thinking phosphorous would do the trick, but a UC-Davis study from the late 80s indicated that nitrogen increases bulb size, and thus yield. 100 to 200 lbs of nitrogen per acre seemed to be their sweet spot. That's the only study I can find on the subject. The idea is that if you grow the leaves earlier in the season, then that will lead to a larger bulb size when the bulb starts to grow.

That's a lot of nitrogen. Using 10-10-10 fertilizer, that would mean 1000-2000 lbs of 10-10-10 per acre or, on my .10 lot, that would be 100-200 lbs of 10-10-10. Yeesh. Well, I'll probably go with something with higher nitrogen content and lower other nutrients to reduce the amount of fertilizer being applied. The garlic has arrived; planting in the next several weeks.

[gerples-blog]

This is the 3rd year that the Local Foods Local Chefs program is happening. A series of new restaurants, some restaurants from previous years are on the list. Looks like a lot of them are on the Clarendon Blvd/Wilson Blvd corridor, but they did include Busboys down in Shirlington. with The kick-off event is at Whole Foods in Clarendon with a book signing. 

[kimnelson-deactivated20121204]

Bee on basil

[gerples-blog]

kimnelson:

Here's something to inspire me to prep for my bee talk; a bee on basil. That's a whole bunch of pollen collecting fuzziness going on there. Wonder how the basil pollen affects the honey flavor? 

[gerples-blog]

Our August orchestra, still playing into September. I suppose those wings get a little tired by the time the cool weather hits. It's no wonder I haven't seen them in awhile. This is the most obvious I have seen one, but he's still blending into the background

[gerples-blog]

Time for some fall planting! We've got two types of kale, a carrot called hercules, european greens, lettuce, and broccoli. The broccoli is a smaller head type, only 45 days until harvest time. Hopefully we can discourage rabbits for 45 days. I like fall plantings. The ground is warm so the seed germination is quick and the new flush of  growth is nice to see when everything else is on its decline.

So much focuses on the spring. We consistently get people at the plant clinic who do not consider fall a time for planting. You can read their faces and see they question question any advice other than "pick pumpkins and rake leaves". Yes, fall is a great growing season. Choose the right plants and they'll reward you with crisp, succulent leaves of yummy, a thank-you for not putting them through the hazy July days of summer that makes them oh-so-bitter.

[gerples-blog]

This looks like a must stop place 1500 20th St Northwest DC. Saw them at the Arlington Farmers' Market. They just bought 3 bushels for their yellow peach sorbet and gelatto. Yum.

[gerples-blog]

There’s plenty of peaches at the market but they’ll be gone soon. Here's some white peaches. Looks like they still have yellow clings, too.

[gerples-blog]

Another morning at the market. Our plant problems today have been dealing with the rain. BANANAS is the answer to everything. 

[gerples-blog]

Cornell AI bots talk to each other. Rapidfire conversation on life's big issues ensues. Funny, well funny for a computer science type of person.

[gerples-blog]

And let's not forget Hercules, the clay busting carrot for Arlington! Johnny's got 'em by the 5000 for ordering.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=hercules

[gerples-blog]

Ordering by the pound from Peaceful Valley ... that makes for a lot of garlic with few keystrokes.