More than most people care to know: Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium, as well as chromium.

Asparagus is a useful companion plant for tomatoes. The tomato plant repels the asparagus beetle, as do several other common companion plants of tomatoes. Meanwhile, asparagus may repel some harmful root nematodes that affect tomato plants.

Ohio State University – Bulletin 826 – Asparagus Production Managemen

How To Cook Asparagus {Recipes}

Planting Asparagus – Do It Right The First Time {How To DIY}
Michigan State University Extension
Asparagus Plant Once For Years Of Fine Dining Easy to grow and harvest and a true luxury feel good food. Plant a few rows and you will be harvesting Asparagus for many years to come with a minimum of effort.

Preparing the Soil:
Any preparation for planting asparagus should begin no later than the year before you plan to plant. Begin with a soil test. Asparagus has some unusual nutrient requirements and it may take you a while to build the soil up. One of the crop’s most unusual requirements is a high pH (a “sweet” versus “sour” soil). We use a pH of about 7.0 here although a little higher doesn’t really hurt anything. That may be a problem if you are living in the southern United States where soils are generally naturally acid. It could take a lot of lime and more than one year to get the pH close to right. Remember when applying lime you want to work it as deeply into the soil as you can. Asparagus will grow at lower pHs, but research at Michigan State University shows that lower pHs are more conducive to the growth of the Fusarium fungi. Fusarium Root Rot is generally what eventually kills asparagus plants. For other nutrients follow recommendations based on a soil test. Although asparagus prefers sandy soil, anything you can do to raise the organic matter of the soil before planting will also pay big benefits. Compost is probably the easiest way to do this, but manure would be beneficial as well.

Choosing a variety:
Original plantings of asparagus in the United States are mostly one of the Washington varieties, Mary, Martha or Waltham Washington. These are unimproved, non-hybrid varieties. What hybrid means in the case of asparagus is “all-male” hybrids. In a non-hybrid bed you will have an equal number of male and female plants. You will not be able to tell the difference until berries appear on the female plants, unless you are a good enough botanist to tell the difference between male and female flowers. A hybrid asparagus variety will have something less than half female plants. This is important, because it takes a fair amount of energy to grow the berries. While female plants generally produce larger spears, they also produce enough fewer spears that the yield advantage in Michigan for hybrids is about 50% greater. Michigan grows mostly hybrid asparagus, chiefly Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight, Jersey Supreme and Jersey Gem out of the Rutgers University breeding program in New Jersey. Increasingly growers are planting more Canadian hybrids, especially one called Teissen, which our early tests show is more productive. The Canadian hybrids were produced out of a breeding program at Guelph University in Ontario. The Jersey strains are available in many garden catalogues, I am not sure that the Canadian ones are readily available to gardeners yet. Jersey Knight is what growers here generally use for fresh market. Most of the rest of the varieties I mentioned are mostly processing varieties. These varieties are bred for northern climates. I am less familiar with some of the varieties used in the southern United States, but UC 157 is widely grown in places like California and Mexico. It comes from the University of California breeding program.

Transplanting the asparagus:
Please notice I said “transplanting” not “planting”. I sometimes get asked about growing the asparagus plants from seed. That was tried many years ago in our area without much success. For one thing, the asparagus crown needs to be planted deeply so that you don’t have spindly spears, and if the seed is planted where it needs to be to germinate, the crown won’t be deep enough. I strongly recommend year-old nursery grown crowns. They are small enough that they don’t suffer so greatly from transplant shock. Even two-year old crowns don’t do as well as year-old crowns because they are so big that the transplant shock cancels out any benefit from the larger crown size.

I often get asked about transplanting or moving mature crowns to a different location. While technically possible, my advice on that idea is forget it! Crowns more than two years old are generally huge and it is very difficult to get them out of the ground in one piece. The transplant shock is correspondingly larger and the end result is that the moved crowns usually die. Even if they don’t die immediately, you are probably moving the Fusarium root rot organism, that has almost certainly infected the crown, with it, and in their weakened condition the crowns fall victim to the disease a lot more quickly.

As I’ve already said, asparagus needs to be planted in a trench. In sandy soil, that trench needs to be 8-10 inches deep. Clay soils should have shallower trenches, about 6 inches in depth. Rows in Michigan are planted from 4 to 5 feet apart to give fern room to grow in the summer. Crowns should be planted between 8 and 12 inches apart on center. A little phosphate fertilizer should be put in the trenches before the crowns are set. Be careful that the fertilizer you use does not also have enough potassium or nitrogen to burn the crown. I usually recommend triple super phosphate, also known as 0-46-0, if you are going to use dry fertilizer. I believe you can also buy liquid, high-phosphate, transplant fertilizer. We are not exactly sure why the phosphate is important, although we speculate that it enhances development of the root system and helps reduce transplant shock. This benefit seems to occur regardless of the phosphorus level already in the soil.

Do not fill the trenches in completely, although that is sometimes done successfully on very sandy soils. The best approach is to cover the crowns with about 3 inches of soil. Let the new plants grow through that soil for about 6 weeks and add another 3 inches of soil. Wait until the plants have gone dormant in the late fall or in the spring before growth begins to finish filling the trenches.

Commercial asparagus in Michigan usually lasts between 12 and 15 years, but in soil that hasn’t grown the crop before and is isolated from other asparagus fields the life expectancy can be longer. A few people have asparagus beds that are over 50 years old. However, spear diameter can begin to drop as the bed ages.
Harvesting Asparagus:

Do not harvest your asparagus the year you plant it or the year following planting. The asparagus plant needs to grow and establish a healthy crown and it will need all of its energy to do that. The third-year after transplanting we generally harvest the field for about two weeks. A better way to look at it is in terms of the number of pickings. We try to harvest fields 8 to 12 times the first year of harvest. Which number we use depends on the strength of the field. A picking is taken whenever the spears get tall enough to harvest, usually between 8 and 10 inches, which may be every day in warm weather or every four days in very cool weather. In warmer weather you will find that tip quality will be better if the spears are picked at the shorter end of this size range. The second year of harvest we will pick the field for about four weeks and the third year of harvest we will pick for a full season which is six or seven weeks. In terms of number of harvests for a full-season, figure 22-24 harvests. Harvests may be more or less than that depending on the strength of the field indicated by carbohydrate storage in the roots. However, most gardeners lack access to the modern tools needed to measure those levels. One thing you can use as a guide is the number and diameter of the spears you are harvesting. If the number of spears in a harvest drops off dramatically beyond 15 pickings or so, or if the spear diameter drops, you may want to consider ending harvest early. These yield drops are a good sign that the crown is beginning to experience stress.

Growers should harvest all of the spears that come up until the end of the harvest period, even the small diameter ones we call “whips”. You will find that whips are generally higher in fiber and tougher to eat than large diameter spears. That is because most of the fiber in asparagus is in the skins, making the larger spear the more tender. This is the exact opposite of what consumers assume when buying fresh asparagus, but is true nevertheless.

I also get questions on cutting versus snapping of asparagus. We see no difference to the plant whether the spear is cut below the soil surface, at the soil surface or snapped off above the soil surface. Most of the world cuts their asparagus, but in Michigan we snap ours. Snapping has an advantage to the home gardener in that you really don’t need to trim snapped asparagus because it generally breaks off above the woody, high-fiber section of the spear. You may have noticed that fresh asparagus purchased from other states usually requires a fair amount of trimming to get rid of the woody bottom section, even if the white “butt” is trimmed off before you buy it. Snapping generally eliminates this problem.
After the end of the harvest season, the spears should be allowed to grow. A spear is really just a plant shoot, and the shoots will grow into the mature fern that re-charges the crown for the next harvest season.
Managing the asparagus fern:

It is important to remember that the asparagus fern is the “factory” that supplies the energy to the crown and storage roots for the next year’s crop. Anything that a gardener can do to keep healthy, green fern throughout the post-harvest growing season will increase yield and quality the next season. Fern should never be pruned or cut back. Competing weeds and insect and disease pests should be controlled throughout the growing season. However, it is not a good idea to encourage excessive fern growth late in the season, August and September in Michigan. That means that fertilizer and irrigation water should be stopped after August 1st. It takes a great deal of energy from the crown to grow new fern, and after that date there may not be enough day light and warm weather left to allow the plant to make enough new photosynthate to replace the energy lost in growing the fern.

Weed Control:
Weed control is very important in successfully growing asparagus, especially in the first couple of years after transplanting when the young crowns are at their most vulnerable. Commercial growers use a variety of herbicides to control weeds. Most of these are either unavailable to gardeners or are too expensive to use on less than a commercial basis. If you are really curious about herbicides I suggest that you visit the following web site, http://www.msue.msu.edu/vegetable/weeds.htm, which is part of the Vegetable Area of Expertise web site at Michigan State University. A question I often get is using salt for weed control. This was widely practiced in the United States in the 19th Century. Asparagus is very tolerant to salt and most weeds are not. The sodium in salt can actually replace some of the plant’s potassium need and there may be some small benefit in Fusarium suppression from salt. But, it takes a lot of salt! In one disease control study by Dr. Mary Hausbeck at Michigan State University in the 1990s, salt was applied up to levels of 1000 pounds per acre. At the 1000 pound per acre level, some weed control was observed. Better weed control would probably require even more salt. As you can imagine, applying salt at amounts over a 1000 pounds per acre has a few side effects. On a clay soil it could result in the complete loss of soil structure causing the soil to take on a concrete-like consistency. On sandy soils this effect wasn’t observed, but that is probably because the salt was washed away by rainwater percolates through the soil. Before you try salt as a weed control, you may also want to consider that very few other desirable plants can handle the salt levels of asparagus, so you are going to be stuck with a dead area in your garden for decades after it is no longer an asparagus patch. Tillage is another possible option. Commercial growers in Michigan have pretty much abandoned tillage because equipment can cut into asparagus crowns, opening them up to Fusarium root rot and thereby shortening the life of the field. If home gardeners want to till an asparagus bed, early in the spring before spears begin to grow from the crown is safest, although some people also till immediately after the last harvest is taken. The late tillage will certainly break off some of the spears that could have grown into new fern using up some of the crowns reserve energy. Remember to till as shallowly as your tiller will allow. While I have had no experience with organic mulches, I can see no reason why a leaf or straw mulch applied 3 to 5 inches deep after the fern has started to grow in the summer wouldn’t also be effective.
Insect control:

Asparagus is attacked by a number of insects in Michigan, and probably more in other parts of the United States. The first one you will notice in the spring is the cutworm. In Michigan, we see the white cutworm first. The white cutworm over-winters as a larva and can begin attacking spears as soon as they emerge in the spring. The usual damage that results is that they eat the tip off the spear.

The common asparagus beetle is the next major pest in our timeline. This beetle is uniquely colored with a black and white checkerboard pattern set on a field of maroon. Its chief damage during the harvest season is to glue black eggs to spears. These eggs, which can be numerous, are oblong and stick out from the spear. This pest lasts through harvest season and hatching larvae feed on growing fern, often browning the fern completely off if left uncontrolled.

Dark-sided cutworm also arrives during harvest, but usually a couple of weeks after the white cutworm, since in over-winters as an egg. This cutworm feeds on the side of the spear as it grows causing it to bend, often in a corkscrew shape. At present, carbaryl, the active ingredient in most garden dusts, is often used by homeowners to control all of these pests. However, carbaryl’s homeowner uses are being reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency and if that label is cancelled, a substitute will need to be found. For cutworms, carbaryl must be used as a liquid spray and it is best to apply it just before sun set as cutworms are night feeders. It is important to remember that if you use carbaryl you should wait at least 24 hours before picking treated asparagus. Follow all label directions when applying this or any pesticide.

Disease Control:
Diseases are often the most damaging pests to asparagus plants. There are two major foliar diseases in Michigan, asparagus rust and Stemphylium purple spot. Sanitation is an important tool in controlling these diseases. Since both diseases move from the debris of the previous year onto emerging spears and fern, it is beneficial to remove the debris of the previous year’s fern in early winter or early spring and destroy or compost it to kill the over-wintering structures of both of these diseases. Since both of these diseases need moist conditions to grow, another cultural practice can be to plant beds so that prevailing summer winds can blow the length of the row and dry out the fern rapidly. A slightly wider row spacing, perhaps 6 feet, and a wider spacing between crowns may also help in improving air movement and drying of the fern. Failing that, fern should be treated with a fungicide on a regular basis, two weeks is often used in preventative treatments, throughout the summer to prevent premature browning off of the fern. Fungicide treatments by commercial asparagus growers in Michigan begins when new shoots are fully ferned out up until the first week of September.

Purple spot and rust are often difficult for the ordinary gardener to tell apart. Purple spot often shows up on asparagus spears during harvest. At that point the disease, as the name implies, looks like purple spots and in severe cases may have a gray spot in the center. This disease is not generally a problem for gardeners, since cooking usually causes the spots to disappear from the spears. Purple spot during the fern season is more serious. Lesions have a brownish-purple color and are usually irregularly shaped and sunken.

Lesions on the lower stalk are not serious unless numerous enough to girdle the stalk, but on small branches or needles they can cause needle drop. Since the stalk generally remains green, gardeners often miss the onset of this disease, but if you notice a carpet of yellow needles below the fern, the disease has probably already done its damage.

Rust can be an even more damaging disease. It is very fast moving once it gets started. Unlike purple spot, it has three distinct lesions. The earliest lesions are large, ½ inch by ¼ inch, raised, eye-shaped and a creamy orange in color. They can appear on harvest stubble late in the harvest period. The mid-summer lesion type is a dark-red, rusty color, is raised and rod-shaped when the blister opens. Also unlike purple spot, these lesions are confined to stalk and branches, but when numerous can cause the entire plant to turn brown. In the fall these lesions transform into the third lesion type. Its characteristics are exactly like the summer version, only the color is black. This last stage is the over-wintering stage of the fungus. Commercial growers treat only the first two stages of this disease, usually with preventative sprays of fungicides containing the active ingredients chlorothalonil or an EBDC-type fungicide often found in combined insect/disease garden sprays. If you want details about commercial fungicides this address, http://www.msue.msu.edu/vegetable will take you to the f the MSU Vegetable AoE web site that lists various bulletins dealing with disease control in vegetables. Two other bulletins to look for on this web site are “Purple Spot Disease of Asparagus” and “Rust Disease of Asparagus.”

The major soil disease of asparagus in Michigan is Fusarium root rot, caused by fungi that exist in all soils at some level. Asparagus is an excellent host for this disease and populations grow steadily in your asparagus bed over time. At present the only control is to keep asparagus crowns healthy so that they can successfully fight off the disease as long as possible. Affected crowns will have a brick-red rot that works from the outside of the crown in until the crown is killed. This disease also explains why it is not a good idea to plant a second crop of crowns in an old asparagus bed. Because levels of Fusarium are already high, the yield and life expectancy of the new bed is much less.

Non-pathogenic asparagus problems: Gardeners also may see several other conditions that they may think are caused by a pest, but are really caused by something else. Sand blown by high winds is often one of these things. Wind blown sand can injure spears, usually on the windward side. This causes the uninjured cells on the other side of the spear to grow more rapidly causing the spear to grow bent toward the wind that caused the injury. Frost can also be devastating to asparagus beds, causing spears to first take on a glassy, dark-green color and then to shrivel and turn black. In both of these situations affected spears should be removed and new ones allowed to grow. Spears can also come up bent and twisted if they are being grown in rocky soil. There is very little that can be done about this situation and the bending does not affect the eating quality of the spear.

Fertilizer:
I generally do not give asparagus fertilizer recommendations unless they are based on a soil test three or less years old. In general, asparagus is a big user of potassium, uses very little phosphorus other than in the year crowns are set, and uses small amounts of nitrogen. Fertilizer types don’t seem to be too important, other than that there is some evidence that ammonium-types of nitrogen fertilizer may increase Fusarium problems. That means that nitrate-types like calcium nitrate may be better, although they are much more expensive. In some areas sulfur may also be necessary, and in very high pH situations some of the micronutrients like manganese may also be deficient.

Irrigation:
In Michigan and most of the eastern United States, irrigation is completely unnecessary. That is because asparagus is extremely deep rooted. In deep soils, roots often reach 10 feet in depth. In more arid regions some irrigation may be necessary, although overhead irrigation makes an ideal environment for foliar diseases.

Pickle some Asparagus

White asparagus:
Contrary to popular belief, white asparagus is not a variety. It is simply asparagus spears grown in the absence of sunlight so that chlorophyll does not develop. White asparagus does have a slightly sweeter taste and has less fiber than green asparagus. In parts of Europe, especially Germany and the Netherlands this is the primary way that asparagus is grown and consumed. Outside of Europe it is regarded more as a curiosity or gourmet item.

The traditional way to grow it is to plant crowns on the soil surface instead of trenches and to mound dirt up over the rows. During harvest pickers walk between the mounded rows and when they see an asparagus tip just cracking through the soil they dig the spear out of the dirt and cut it off. An alternate way to raise white asparagus was developed by Dr. Jim Motes, an Extension Specialist recently retired from Oklahoma State University. His system was to place bent iron hoops over flat rows and cover them with thick black plastic. The plastic blocks sunlight and the pickers can then just lift up the plastic and snap off the spears.

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GROWING LEEKS
Most leeks require a long growing season of about 120-150 days, and a minimum of eight hours of bright sunlight daily. Some newer cultivar’s require as few as 90 days to maturity, and these may be most suitable for northern U.S.A. short season growing conditions.
Leeks do best in a slightly acid soil, with a pH of 6.0-6.8, but will grow well in even a slightly alkaline soil.

In northern climates, start leek seeds inside in late February or March. For best results, transplants should be no more than 10-15 weeks old when set out in the garden. Harden off the plants for 5-7 days before transplanting by putting them in a cold frame. If you don’t have a cold frame, set them outside for longer periods each day while returning them to the shelter of your home or garage at night.

Transplant leeks as soon as early spring weather has stabilized and daytime temperatures are at least 45 degrees. Trim the roots of the transplants to 1” to facilitate transplanting, if necessary. Plant them 2-6 inches apart with 12-36 inches between rows.

Leek leaves consistently emerge opposite each other, directly above the previous leaf. Close spacing works well if plants are set out so the leaves will grow into the between-row space, rather than towards the plants on either side. This will make the best use of space, light and air circulation.

To produce long white shafts, some gardeners plant leeks in furrows. Set transplants at the bottom of a six inch deep furrow. As the plants develop, raise the soil level along the stems up to the leaves, gradually filling the furrow.

Another method is to hill leeks by planting them at normal soil level, then mounding compost or similar mulch material around the plants several times during the growing season. A transplant solution of half strength 20-20-20 or 10-10-10 fertilizer will get them off to a good start. In mid-summer, side-dress with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 at a rate of one cup per 10 feet of row.

Leek roots are fibrous and shallow, so take care not to damage them by hoeing close to the plant. Water the soil around the leeks thoroughly every week. Avoid excess watering since it promotes fungal disease.

HARVEST
Leeks are fully developed when the stem diameter exceeds one inch. Some smaller varieties mature at ½”-¾” diameter. A quality leek should have a firm, white shaft more than 3 inches long. Swelling at the base, called “bulbing,” is undesirable. Unlike their onion and shallot cousins, leek tops do not die back as the crop matures. The top growth, called the flag, should be dark blue green.

Harvest leeks by either gently twisting and pulling them from the earth or digging and lifting them. Trim the leaves to a more manageable length at harvest, if desired. Thoroughly clean leeks before cooking. There is often a small amount of soil held tightly between the leaves, so slice the whole leek lengthwise, separate the layers, and rinse to remove any soil.

Leeks are fairly frost tolerant, so you can delay harvest until after the first few frosts. Temperatures as low as 20F may not harm some varieties! Mound mulch around your leeks to protect them, and you can enjoy digging fresh vegetables out of your garden into late fall.

Although in milder climates leeks can be overwintered and will continue to grow again in the spring, this is not recommended in Northern growing areas.

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Onions easy to grow and ‘almost’ fail proof for the home gardener. They grow well in most parts of the U.S. and have many uses in the kitchen. You can grow them specifically for green onions or you can let them mature and harvest them for their large bulbs. You can also choose to grow onions and use a few early as green onions, harvesting the remainder as delicious bulb onions.

There are also special kinds of onions that don’t develop bulbs and that are used exclusively for green onions. Onions are a popular cool season vegetable and although they are considered a biennial plant they are grown as annuals.

The onion is exceptional in that it will thrive under a very wide range of climatic and soil conditions. There is perhaps no extended area in the United States, except for the mountainous regions, where the onion cannot be successfully grown. However, onions grow best in temperate climates without great extremes of heat and cold.

Onions grow in an unusual manner. They start growing the large bulbs we know as onions when the levels of daylight reach an appropriate level for them to start forming. The time that you plant the onions affects when they form bulbs. If you plant your onions too late in the season, they may not form bulbs properly.

One important thing to remember about onions is that there are two different classes of onions. Long-day and short-day onions.
Long-day onions are more appropriate for northern states because they are adapted to longer days. Southern states should use short-day varieties of onions.
When you go to your nursery, they will usually list long-day onions as L and short-day onions as S.
Short day onions develop bulbs with an average of about 12 hours of daylight. Long-day onions form bulbs with more sun, around 15-16 hours of daylight.
You should grow the kind of onion appropriate for your region to ensure proper maturation of the onion bulbs.

Shallots are related to onions but have a different flavor. They also have ornamental value as they produce attractive flowers during the summer. They can grow quite tall as well, about 1 ½ feet. French shallots (grey shallots) are quite popular. There are also red shallots, echalion shallots, and Dutch yellow shallots.

Bunching onions, These kinds of onions are appropriate for harvesting as green onions. Recommended varieties include Beltsville Bunching and Japanese Bunching. These onions work just as well if planted from seedlings, seeds, or sets. These kinds of onions are a good pick for colder climates and late fall to winter harvests. They will not form bulbs and indeed the entire plant with the root structure can be harvested and used.

Winter onions, These are onions that are planted during the winter in some areas and are harvested during the following growing season. Egyptian, Hill and Walking Onions are often considered winter onions. They are good for an early batch of green onions. Make sure to use a layer of mulch with these kinds of onions.

Cornell University has a great guide to growing Egyptian onions.
Cornell University – Egyptian or Walking onion growing guide

Cornell University – Common Onion growing guide

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I am going to build me one but on a much smaller scale. I simply don’t have the room for one as large as the one built by David LaFerney at doorgarden.com

Many seeds are hard to germinate because they need a high soil temperature for germination. Peppers, eggplants and tomato’s are in this list of hard to start from seed plants.

FAQ For Pepper Growers and Want To Be Pepper Growers

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Pickle for everyone

Pickle Ingredients:
3 Lbs of Kirby cucumbers
2 Medium onions
2 Large bell peppers (one red, one yellow if possible)
1 Lb of carrots
2 Oz. of kosher salt
1 Lb of ice cubes

Brine Ingredients:
32 Oz. of cider vinegar (5% acidity)
16 Oz. of water
8 Oz. of brown sugar (less if you prefer)
½ Bunch of lemon thyme
2 Tablespoons of pink peppercorns, cracked
1 Tablespoon of yellow mustard seed
2 Teaspoons of whole allspice berries, cracked
2 Teaspoons of coriander seeds, toasted and cracked
1 Teaspoon of fennel seed
1 Teaspoon of ground cloves
4 Bay leaves

Directions:
1. Rinse cucumbers in cold water. Trim tips and slice the cucumbers into fourth-inch rounds.
2. Peel skin off of onions and slice onions into fourth-rounds, then slice the rounds into half-moons.
3. Combine the cucumbers and onions with the ice and salt and mix thoroughly. Place in a refrigerator for at least one hour.
4. Peel the carrots and chop into half-inch chunks.
5. Rinse the peppers and slice them in half to remove the seeds. Cut into 1-inch squares.
6. In a large stockpot, mix together the cider vinegar, water, sugar, lemon thyme, mustard seed, fennel seed, cloves and bay leaves. Bring brine to a boil and then simmer over medium heat.
7. Crack the pink peppercorns and the allspice berries using a mortar and pestle and add to the brine pot.
8. Toast the coriander seeds over medium heat, shaking frequently until a little wisp of smoke appears, usually about two to three minutes. Set aside.
9. Remove the bowl with the cucumbers and onions from the refrigerator and rinse the contents under cold water to remove the salt. Place them in another bowl and mix well with the peppers, carrots and coriander seeds.
10. Pack the vegetable mixture evenly into 2 half-gallon or 4 quart jars.
11. Return the brine to a boil and pour the brine over the vegetables, making sure to completely cover them (you may have some extra brine). Screw the lid onto the jars firmly.
12. Allow the jars to come to room temperature and then place them in a refrigerator.
*Pickle Vegetables will be ready to eat in 24 hours and will last for a month or two under refrigeration.

**Notes on the vegetables: There are numerous varieties of heirloom cucumbers and kirbies that will be appropriate for this pickle. Smaller cucumbers (1 ½ inch diameter maximum) are preferred as they will be less seedy and typically have more firm flesh. What makes this pickle visually appealing is the play of different bright colors, which is why the red and yellow peppers are preferred to contrast the green kirby cucumbers. If you were using yellow lemon cucumbers, you might want to substitute green bell peppers.

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How to Make Dill Pickles at Home This also has a DIY – how to do that video

Ingredients:
6 Glass pint jars
4 Lbs of pickling cucumbers
3 Dill heads (or 1 tbs of dill seed and several fronds of dill leaf)
4 Garlic cloves
1 Tbs of pickling spice
6 Whole black peppercorns
3 Cups of white vinegar
6 Tbs of kosher salt

Directions:
1. Wash 4 pounds of pickling cucumbers.
2. In each of 6 pint jars, put:
– 3 Dill heads (or 1 tbs of dill seed and several fronds of dill leaf)
– 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and halved
-1 Tbs of pickling spice
– 6 Whole black peppercorns
3. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil.
4. Mix in 3 cups of vinegar and 6 teaspoons of kosher salt. (You may need more of this mixture and should have extra on hand.) Keep this liquid at a roaring boil when placing the mixture into the jars.
5. Slice the cucumbers into quarter-inch rounds. Discard the ends.
6. Pack the cucumbers tightly into the jars, leaving a half-inch for headroom. Adjust the lids.
7. Place the jars immediately into the boiling water bath.
8. Process for 7 minutes.
9. Tighten the lids.
10. The lids are good if they don’t “pop” when you press down on them the next day.
** Jars that fail to properly seal should be refrigerated and eaten within the next week or so.

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Italian Pickled Vegetables – Giardiniera
Giardiniera, or mixed pickled vegetables, is what most Italians think of when they hear the words Sotto Aceti, a collection of mixed pickled vegetables. The standard Italian antipasto misto wouldn’t be quite right without these, and they also work very well with boiled meats in the winter months. This recipe will make about 2 1/2 pounds, and though you might be tempted to put it all into one big jar, you’ll be better off using several smaller jars because the contents of an open jar loose their freshness.

Ingredients:
10 ounces (250 g) button onions, peeled and soaked in cold water for an hour
*Option: 3 or 4 small button mushrooms for each pint jar
*Option: 3 or 4 strips of red and or yellow bell pepper for color
*Option: 1 or 2 small long mild (sweet) red pepper
*Option: leeks cut into 1/2 thick round slices
*Option: 2 inch long young cucumbers
10 ounces (250 g) baby carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
10 ounces (250 g) white celery, stalks only, stripped of filaments and cut into short lengths
A medium-sized cauliflower
*Option: broccoli young and tender
1 quart (1 liter) white wine vinegar (have more handy)
A couple of bay leaves
2-3 cloves
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
Several sterile pint jars, with lids that seal well.

Preparation:

Bring the vinegar to a boil with the herbs, spices and salt. While it’s heating separate the cauliflower florets. When the vinegar comes to a boil, add the vegetables and cook them for about 15 minutes. Remove them to the jars with a slotted spoon and pour the boiling hot vinegar over them; have more boiling vinegar handy should that in which you cooked the vegetables not be sufficient.

Cover the jars tightly and let them cool. Store them in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks, and they’re ready for use. Expect them to keep for a year or more.

*Check lids for proper seal. After jars have cooled over night, the lids are good if they don’t “pop” when you press down on them.
** Jars that fail to properly seal should be refrigerated and eaten within the next week or so.

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Why is common sense so uncommon?

If you are going to have a small number of chicks a homemade/improvised brooder may be all that you need. I have seen many things recycled into brooders. Everything from old aquariums, plastic and card board box and made from scratch wood brooders and wire. They all have one thing in common, they keep your chicks confined to a rather small area where you can provide a heat source to keep them warm and dry.

Hint: Wire in a light dimmer switch to your heat lamp. Use this to control your heat source for your brooder.

DIY Hatching Eggs

First Came The Egg Then Chicks!

Free Chicken Coop Plans and Brooder Designs And Plans

Why is common sense so uncommon?

Have you seen this little stinker?

Brian Biggins’ life stinks. The Maryland organic farmer’s land is suffering from an infestation of stink bugs, crop eating garden and farm pests emitting the odor of cilantro mixed with burned rubber and dirty socks.

They began destroying his fields of peppers and tomatoes in 2010. Now, they have invaded his home, where Biggins crushes them by hand and has trained his dog, Coadee, to eat them.

Still, thousands scurry across the floor of his farmhouse. Stink bugs, brown marmorated nemesis, infiltrated the US as cargo ship stowaways from Asia about 15 years ago and have proliferated in the past two years. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the immigrants have spread to 36 states; trade groups say they were responsible for $37 million of damage to apple crops alone in 2010.

“It’s not so much an evolution but a takeover,” according to Anne Nielsen, an entomologist recruited by Rutgers University in New Jersey specifically to study stink bugs, known to scientists as the Halyomorpha halys. The winged critters like to feast on crops in the spring and hibernate in warm homes in the winter. So the battle is on among both scientists and entrepreneurs to knock down the species.

This stink bug measures between half an inch and one inch long, with a speckled brown exoskeleton. Its colloquial name stems from the odor emitted from glands on its abdomen, a defense mechanism triggered by disturbances like predators or homeowners who stumble upon them in attics.

Scientists are more concerned with the bug’s appetite for crops than its smell. The insects are voracious vegetarians that forage on about 300 species of produce, trees and vegetation. An estimated $21 billion worth of crops are at risk where stink bugs have been detected.

In 2010, the bugs were particularly ruthless on apples in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, Seetin said.
There were fewer apple losses in 2011 because farmers better anticipated the bugs’ arrival and doused their crops with pesticides used on moths, according to Tracy Leskey, the USDA entomologist leading the government’s research effort. But the chemicals are effective only on bugs sprayed directly not the hordes that follow.
The long term goal is to cultivate a natural predator to the bugs. Spiders will eat stink bugs, but there is no American predator that relies on them as their main food source.

Researchers have hope for tiny parasitic wasps from Asia, which scientists are studying to see if they can be hungrily effective if introduced in the US. The wasps lay their eggs within the stink bugs’ own egg masses. When the wasp larvae hatch, they devour the stink bug eggs and kill them.
Researchers are now studying a colony at a USDA research unit but it will take several years to determine if they (parasitic wasp) are safe to release.

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Harvest Eggplant fruits while still glossy. Use a knife or pruning shears rather than breaking or twisting the stems. Many eggplant varieties have small prickly thorns on the stem and calyx, so exercise caution or wear gloves when harvesting. Leave the large (usually green) calyx attached to the fruit.

Eggplant is best started from transplants. Select plants in cell packs or individual containers. It is important to get the plants off to a proper start. Do not plant too early. Transplant after the soil has warmed and the danger of frost has passed. Eggplants are more susceptible than tomato plants to injury from low temperatures and do not grow until soil temperatures warm.

Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in the row, or closer for small fruited types. Three to six plants are usually sufficient for most families unless eggplant is a favorite vegetable, eaten often. Allow 30 to 36 inches between rows or space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in all directions in raised beds.

Use a starter fertilizer for transplanting. Side-dress nitrogen fertilizer when the plants are half grown and again immediately after harvest of the first fruits. Given sufficient moisture and fertility, eggplant thrives in the heat of summer. The plants tolerate dry weather after they are well established but should be irrigated during extended dry periods for continued peak production.

Harvest eggplants when they are young. Size is not always an indication of maturity. The thumb test hold the eggplant in your palm and gently press it with your thumb. If the flesh presses in but bounces back, it is ready for harvesting. If the flesh is hard and does not give, the eggplant is immature and too young to harvest. If the thumb indentation remains, the eggplant to over mature and should be dis-guarded into your compost pile.

Eggplants bruise easily so harvest gently. Always cut the eggplant with the cap and some of the stem attached. Eggplants do not like cool temperatures and do not store well. Harvest and use them immediately for best flavor. If you must store them, wrap them in plastic and store for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator. Be careful as it will soon develop soft brown spots and become bitter. Use them while the stem and cap are still greenish and fresh looking.

Eggplants are not a storehouse of nutrients. They are naturally low in calories and unpeeled, they provide some fiber. There is also some folate and potassium.

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Basil Herbed Baby Eggplant
Good chilled as a summer appetizer or side dish.
3 pounds small Oriental-type eggplants (4-6 ounces)
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sherry or red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into shreds

Wash eggplant, remove caps and cut into quarters or cut in half. Sprinkle with salt and let drain for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Spread pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet, cut sides up. Mix garlic and oil, and drizzle over eggplants. Bake 30 minutes until the eggplants are brown and tender. Cool slightly.

Rinse basil leaves. Stack leaves and roll into a scroll. Cut across into thin shreds. Set aside. Place the eggplants in a large bowl and drizzle with vinegar, add basil shreds and toss. (Option, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese) Serves 4 to 6.

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Garden Fresh – Greek Style Eggplant Salad {Dip}
6 eggplants
garlic (3 cloves)
onion 1/4 cup {white sweet}
Olive oil 1/4 cup
juice of 1-lemon
salt {to taste}
pepper {to taste} {fresh course ground pepper corns}
parsley

METHOD: Prick the eggplants with a fork and bake them in hot {350 degrees} temperature.
When they are soft enough, cool them and peel.
Chop the eggplants and put them in a blender until they become a pulp.
Gradually add olive oil, onion, garlic, parsley and lemon juice into the blender and continue
working with the mixture until the pulp becomes soft.
Garnish with whole olives and red onion slices.
Serve cold with fresh hard crust bread.

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Greek Style Fried Eggplant
1/2 cup all-purpose
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for sprinkling eggplant
1 small eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-3/8 inch thick slices.
Olive oil or Canola oil, for frying

Place the flour, egg, and bread crumbs each in 3 small bowls.
Add the 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the egg and whisk to combine.
Season the bread crumbs with a tablespoon of dry finely cushed Oregano and stir with a fork or your hands to thoroughly combine.

Dredge each piece of eggplant in the flour, coating thoroughly and then shaking to remove any excess flour.
Coat each piece with the egg, then dredge in the bread crumb mixture, pressing to make the bread crumbs adhere.
Transfer the eggplant pieces to a rack or to paper towels to let them dry slightly before frying.

In a deep, heavy skillet heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil to 350-375 degrees F.
Fry the eggplant pieces, in batches if necessary, for about 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown.
Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain.
Salt to taste before serving.
Garnish with spoon full of eggplant dip {above recipe}.
(Option, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese)

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Mexican growers on the Baja Peninsula, epicenter of Mexico’s thriving new organic export sector, Mexican farmers toil amid the cactuses often saying we are “planting the beach.” Del Cabo Cooperative, a supplier here for Trader Joe’s and Fairway, is sending more than seven and a half tons of tomatoes and basil every day to the United States by truck and plane to satisfy the American demand for organic produce year round.

Organic labeled produce are increasingly removed from the traditional organic ideal. To grow produce that is not only free of chemicals and pesticides but also is grown locally on small farms in a way that protects the environment.

The explosive growth in the commercial cultivation of organic tomatoes in Mexico, for example, is putting stress on the water table. In some areas, wells have run dry meaning that small subsistence farmers cannot grow crops. And the organic tomatoes end up in an energy hungry intensive global distribution chain that takes them as far as New York and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, producing significant global emissions that contribute to global warming.
From now until spring, farms in Mexico to Chile to Argentina that grow organic food for the United States market are enjoying their busiest season.

Michael Bomford, a scientist at Kentucky State University who specializes in sustainable agriculture said “in general organic farms tend to be less damaging to the environment than conventional farms. In the past, however, organic agriculture used to be sustainable agriculture, but now that is not always the case. He added that intense organic agriculture has also put stress on aquifers in California.”

The original organic ideal was to eat only local, seasonal produce, shoppers who buy their organics at supermarkets, from Whole Foods to Walmart, expect to find tomatoes in December and are very sensitive to price. Both factors stoke the demand for imports. Few areas in the United States can farm organic produce in the winter without resorting to energy guzzling hothouses. American labor costs are high. Day laborers who come to pick tomatoes in Baja make about $10 a day, nearly twice the local minimum wage. Tomato pickers in Florida may earn $80 a day in high season.

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