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Warm Season Planting 2005
This is the first year we are doing a full-blown edibles planting for the
warm season. Seeds were sought out that claimed to do well in hot,
humid weather. Many of them are from Thailand. Here is the plan:
Potager:
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A - Mediterranean Chick Pea
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K - Amaranth 'Chinese Red Star'
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B - Lagos
Spinach (Quailgrass)
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L - Purslane 'Goldgelber'
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C - Mediterranean Chick Pea
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M - Boniato (root)
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D - Lagos
Spinach (Quailgrass)
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N - Amaranth 'All Red Leaf'
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E - Sweet Potato (2 purple-red & 1 beige,
pre-sprouted root)
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O - Boniato (root)
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F - Amaranth 'All Red Leaf'
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P - Amaranth 'All Red Leaf'
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G - Sweet Potato (3 orange, pre-sprouted root)
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Q - Long Bean 'Chinese Red Noodle' / Jicama
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H - Amaranth 'Hopi Red Dye' & 'All Red Leaf'
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R - Chayote (pre-sprouted fruit) / Asparagus Pea
(Winged Bean)
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I - Amaranth 'Chinese Red Star'
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S - Long Bean 'Thai Red Seeded' / Jicama
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J - Purslane 'Goldgelber'
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T - Malabar Spinach / Yard Long Bean
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In addition, there will be Nasturtiums in each box corner:
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N1 - 'Alaska'
(bright colors, compact plants, white-splashed foliage)
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N5 - 'Jewel' (bright colors, compact plants)
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N2 - 'Black Velvet' (near-black flowers)
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N6 - 'Moonlight' (very pale yellow flowers)
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N3 - 'Empress of India' (bright colors, trailing
vines)
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N7 - 'Peach Melba' (pale yellow flowers w/red splotch at
base)
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N4 - 'Gleam' (bright colors, compact plants)
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N8 - 'Vesuvius' (peachy orange flowers)
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As you can see, this season we have gone back to the traditional pattern for
laying out the potager. All beds will be edged with Sweet Alyssum 'Aphrodite'
(mix of salmon, lavender, lemon, pink, silver, wine, red, and tan flowers)
for attracting beneficial insects. Sweet Alyssum is one of the few
flowers that can be sown every month of the year here. Of course,
everything is arranged for good color combinations, making sure reds and
purples are interspersed with greens, and that the Nasturtium flowers will
contrast nicely with each other.
Large Pots (can be moved into shade): Broccolis ('Wok Broc' sprouting,
Raab 'Spring' for long days), Collards 'Vates', Peppers (a hot & a sweet
assortment from Pinetree, plus another pot with two from Target ('Sweet
Havana', 'Chocolate'), Tomatoes ('Black Cherry', 'Equinox', 'Hotset', 'Isis
Candy Cherry', 'Lollipop', 'Red Pear', 'Snow White', 'Thai Red Turtle Egg',
'Yellow Pear' - two of these were bred for setting fruit at high
temperatures, the others are cherry or paste tomatoes, which take the heat
better here - my Yellow Pear from earlier this year is still producing fruits!)
Long Planters (can be moved into shade): one of Chards ('Canary
Yellow', 'Flamingo Pink', 'Oriole Orange', Japanese 'Umaina', 'Vulcan' red),
and two of Oriental Greens (Chinese Cabbage 'Beka Santoh', Chinese Cabbage
Shirona', 'Mibuna 'Early', Misome Komatsu/Tatsoi hybrid, Molokhia, Pak Choi
'Canton Dwarf', Pak Choi 'Extra Dwarf', Pak Choi 'Golden Yellow', Pak Choi
'Shanghai Green', Pak Choi 'Yu Choy Sum' flowering)
Herb Circle: Signet Marigolds for edible flowers ('Golden Gem', 'Lemon
Star'), Sesames for seeds (Kingoma tan, Kurogama black, Shirogoma
white), Roselle 'Jamaican Cocktail' for calyxes (tea), Stevia. Already
growing here, and expected to last through the summer, are: Honeysuckle,
climbing Roses ('Dortmund', 'Prosperity', 'Clair Matin'), Lemongrass,
Rosemary, Blackberry, Tilo, some Mints, three varieties of Cuban Oregano,
Greek Oregano, Garlic Chives, Society Garlic (planted this season), Daylilies
(planted this season), 'African Blue' Basil (from the 2003 cool season!),
Lemon Verbena, potted Figs, and medium Snapdragons for color (if you keep
deadheading them, they will stay alive for several months).
As for the next three areas, of course, this is way too much to plant in my
small space at once, but these are the seeds I have and I'll try most of
them.
Tropical Vegetable Area: Abelmoschus manihot (edible flowers),
Sunflowers for looks ('Apricot Twist', 'Bashful', 'Earth Walker', 'Moulin
Rouge') and for seeds ('Black Russian', 'Giant Grey Stripe'), and Papayas
('Thai Red', 'Sunrise Solo').
Melon Patch: Melons ('Edisto', 'Thai Long Muskmelon'), Watermelons
('Ali Baba', 'Dixielee', 'Orangeglo', 'Sugarlee'), Winter Squashes (Calabaza
'La Primera', 'Thai Large Pumpkin'),Grain Amaranths ('Manna', 'Mayo Indian',
'Mercado', 'Orange Giant'), Millets ('Dragon's Claw Ragi','Purple Majesty'),
Sorghums for seeds ('Black Amber Broom Corn', 'Mennonite', 'White Popping'),
Moringa ('PKM-1' for greens & pods), Jute (greens & fiber), Cotton
'Earlene's Green' (produces green cotton!), Okras ('African', 'Borneo',
'Burgundy'), red Lablab Beans, Cowpeas ('Monkey Tail', 'Red Ripper'), Velvet
Bean (cover crop), Eggplant 'Bride', Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense - one of
the coolest looking plants ever!), Wonderberry (Solanum burbankii), and
Huckleberry (Solanum nigrum 'Chichiquelite'). Spillover from the Melon
Patch goes into the Tropical Vegetable Area.
South Succulent Bed: Gourds (Luffa 'Chinese Okra', Snake, Snake 'Thai
Serpent', Italian 'Cucuzzi' - all edible at the immature stage like little
zucchini), and Summer Squash 'Coosa' (Lebanese). There is already a
'Cucuzzi' growing there, which was planted in the cool season and just sat
there until April, when it took off. It has nice, beautiful, large
leaves with a lacy white pattern on the veins and *no mildew*! Not to
mention huge flowers. It will get a mate to help it produce - the first
fruit just started swelling a couple of days ago.
Kitchen: Seeds for Sprouting (Alfalfa, Arugula, Broccoli, Chinese
Cabbage, Mung Beans, Chinese Radish, Salad Mix, Stir-Fry Mix). Got a
sprouter from Pinetree and will be trying this for the first time, as well.
It should be noted that many commonly grown vegetables have edible parts that
we don't normally use, but people in other countries do regularly. For
instance, I have an African recipe for pumpkin leaf stew (which also includes
ground peanuts - yum!). Here is a short list of some of these unusual
uses for usual vegetables:
Edible Parts of
Some Common Vegetables
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Vegetable
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fruits
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seeds
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pods
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young shoots
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young leaves
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roots
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flowers
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Beans, Lablab
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Beans, Snap & Winged & most others
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Hibiscus
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X
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X
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X
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Jute
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X
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X
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Katuk
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Luffa
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X
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X
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buds
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Malabar Nut
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X
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X
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Moringa
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Okra
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Peppers (Capsicum, sweet or hot)
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X
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X (cooked only!)
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Pigeon Peas
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X
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X
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X
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Squashes, Winter & Summer
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Sweet Potatoes
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X
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X
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X
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Tropaeolum tuberosum
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X
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X
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X
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X
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A slightly adventurous gardener can grow a surprising amount of food in a very
small space by using such multi-purpose crops. A few leaves picked from
each of several plants, every day, taking care not to strip too many from any
one plant to decrease its production, would yield greens for the pot all
year, especially if some of the plants grown are perennial shrubs rather than
small annual plants. Something to think about, and to try!
Home **
What's New?
** How It
All Started * Garden Update
October 2004 * Garden Diary 2008 * Garden Diary 2009 *
Garden Diary 2010 * Garden Diary 2011 ** New! Garden Diary 2012
** Rose and Perennial Court * Rose Update Feb 2003 * Front Garden Update 2008-9 * Behind the Wall * Herb Circle * Tropical Edibles
Area ** New! Growing
Dinner: Visit to a Homegarden ** Potager
* Potager 2004-5 * Potager Plan
2008-9 * Edibles 2008-9 * Crop Chart
2008-9 * Edibles
Planting Schedule * Warm Season Planting 2005 * Succulent Beds * Wild Edibles *
Caterpillars to Butterflies * Building Healthy Soil
* Ecological Gardening
* Index of Plants and Techniques Featured * Annual Vegetable Chart * Long Lasting Markers: Jewelry for Your Plants * Build a Gardening Notebook
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