Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Tomatoes can be set out with protection. “Season Starter” will protect them down to 20°F and will give them a warm environment during the day.

• Plant sunflowers now from seed or plants. Choose either the multi-stemmed kinds for cut flowers or the giants for edible seeds.

• Dahlias come in a wide variety of colors and shapes. Plant the roots now for flowers this summer.

• Put up hummingbird feeders this month and enjoy these colorful and entertaining birds.

• Last chance to plant asparagus roots this year. This delicious vegetable will keep producing for up to 20 years.

A Feast of Flowers

Many of the plants we grow for their flowers were once grown for their flavors as well. Today, cooking and garnishing with flowers is back in vogue. Many restaurant chefs and creative home cooks garnish their entrees with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance.

Common edible flowers include nasturtiums, Johnny-Jump-Ups, borage and chive blossoms, calendulas, bachelor buttons and carnations. Lavender, daylilies and lilacs have edible flowers as well.

Nasturtiums are among the most delicious edible flowers, with a mildly spicy flavor. Stuff whole flowers with savory mousse and use leaves to add a peppery tang to salads. Johnny-Jump-Ups make lovely garnishes and decorations and have a faint wintergreen taste that can be used in salads, drinks and soups.

The dainty star-shaped, sky-blue flowers of borage add a cool cucumbery flavor to the salad. Use in punches, lemonade, and sorbets. Chive blossoms, in lavender-pink, have a subtle onion flavor that goes well with salads, eggs and potatoes.

The bright yellow and orange flowers of calendulas, which prefer the cooler days of spring and fall, have a spicy, tangy, peppery flavor and add a golden hue to foods. Pull out the flower petals and add them to salads, rice dishes, eggs and cheese.

Bachelor’s buttons have a sweet to spicy, clove-like flavor and are used as a garnish. Carnations have a spicy, peppery, clove-like flavor. Use the surprisingly sweet petals in desserts.

English lavender has a sweet, floral flavor. Flowers look beautiful and are tasty with chocolate cake or as a garnish for sorbets or ice creams. The flavor of lilacs varies from plant to plant. They are very fragrant, but slightly bitter, with a distinct lemony taste. Use the newly opened blooms to add their sweet fragrance to cookies, cakes and salads.

Daylilies bloom in yellow, orange, red and many shades in between. Each blossom lasts only a day, but the plants bloom so profusely that they are attractive for a long time.

They are valued for their delicate flavor that is sweet and crunchy, like a crisp lettuce leaf. Pick daylily flowers in the afternoon. Wash them in cool water and pat them dry to use in soups and stir fries or tossed in a salad.

Do be cautious about eating flowers. Allergic reactions are always possible with any new food, so sample sparingly the first time you try any edible flower. It is possible that people who suffer from hay fever will have a bad reaction from the pollen, so it may be best to skip the edible flowers.

For best flavor, use flowers at their peak. Flowers that are faded or wilted will taste bitter. Perk up your summer salads and hot dishes with some of these edible flowers.

If you choose seeds or starts of these plants this spring, you will be harvesting their tasty flowers later this spring and summer.

• Gladiolus bulbs come in every color of the rainbow. Plant them this month for summer flowers.

• Spring feeding of trees and shrubs can begin now. Mulch with manure or apply fish emulsion or commercial fertilizers.

• New rose bushes may have been damaged by the cold weather this week. Prune back dead shoots and new growth will come out to replace it soon.

• Spring vegetables can be planted now. Start your garden with broccoli, cabbage, lettuce spinach and chard. It pays to grow your own!

• Asparagus, whose delectable spears are even sweeter when home-grown, should be planted right away. Prepare a fertile bed for these long-lived vegetables.

Growing from Seeds

When spring arrives, it’s time to plant some seeds. There’s something very rewarding about following the whole life cycle of your plants from start to finish, and trying different varieties from the usual ones you can find at the nursery.

Seed racks at local nurseries, are full of new types of flowers, vegetables and herbs. For a very small investment, you can grow a whole garden of different varieties.

The essential elements for growing from seed are bright light, bottom heat and moisture. Many seeds will germinate without light, but they must be moved into bright light as soon as they are up. Bottom heat is not essential, but it speeds up the process. Moisture is important, especially for seeds which are germinated on top of the soil. A plastic dome over the flat, or strips of plastic wrap will keep the moisture content just right.

There are two ways to plant the seeds, depending on whether you want to transplant the tiny seedlings or not. You can plant 10 or 15 seeds in a single cell of a cell-pak and then transplant each plant into its own pot in about two weeks. Or you can put 2 or 3 seeds in each cell and remove all but the strongest one after they germinate. It may depend on how large your germinating area is.

Plants can be grown on the windowsill, but you will get stockier, stronger plants if you use fluorescent lights suspended about 4 inches above the pots. They can be left on 24 hours a day or at least 12 hours a day.

Most perennials do best when planted on top of the soil. Sprinkle them over the moistened seeding mix, spray with water, then cover with plastic wrap. Place under the lights and most seeds will germinate in 5-10 days. In about two weeks, you can remove the plastic wrap then water as needed. Growing plants need good ventilation. If necessary, set up a small fan to keep the air moving.

It is important that your pots and propagation area are clean and sterile. Soak pots briefly in a 10% solution of clorox and water before filling them with bagged seeding mix. Clean pots and moving air will usually prevent “damping off”, a disease that causes young plants to keel over.

When should you start your seeds? Tomatoes and peppers should be started right away, along with sunflowers and marigolds. Squash, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and basil can wait until mid-April or May along with zinnias.

The last thing to remember is not to plant them outside without hardening them off first. It’s best to get them acclimated to it gradually. Some people take them out a little longer every day, starting with an hour the first day. Or you can put them out in a cold frame for a few weeks, lifting the plastic for a few hours a day.

If this is your first try at seed starting, it might be better to start small. Remember, there is always next year when it comes to gardening!

• Last chance for asparagus roots this year. Prepare a fertile bed for these long-lived vegetables.

• Potatoes like to grow in the cool weather of spring. Plant them as soon as possible.

• Tree peonies are long-lived shrubs that are available now as root divisions. Their large, fragrant flowers bloom for two months each spring.

• Wildflower seeds can be broadcasted now on hillsides for colorful blooms and erosion control.

• Lettuce, cabbages, broccoli, onions and other cool-season vegetables can be set out with no frost protection. They will give you a delicious early harvest.

The Beauty of Begonias

If you have shady garden areas or are looking for a brilliant accent for your patio or balcony this summer, you can start some tuberous begonias indoors in March or April. Tuberous begonias provide a spectacular display from July through October and come in white, pink, red, yellow, orange, and apricot.

There are upright begonias and hanging begonias and they grow from tubers which look like small brown lumps with a depression on one side. Choose only firm tubers and look for those with tiny sprouts showing on their upper, concave surfaces.

Start with small, clean pots 2 to 3 inches deep. Fill them with a mixture of equal parts of potting soil, peat moss and sand or perlite. Place each tuber hollow side up with the top just even with the soil level. They rot easily if planted too deep. Water the tubers once really well, to wake them up, and place them in a warm, bright spot.

Cover the freshly-planted tubers with plastic wrap to promote growth, but remove the covering as soon as growth appears. Don’t water again until you see some growth or the soil is quite dry. Some begonias will sprout right away others will take weeks, but you should see growth shoots within a month.

Once the shoots are showing, water them regularly, never allowing the soil to dry out. Give the new plants bright light, but shade them from direct sun. Feed them with half strength fertilizer when their leaves and stems are about 3 inches tall, and every two weeks after that. When the shoots are 6 inches tall, the begonias are ready to be transplanted to the garden or outdoor containers. Don’t put them outdoors, though, until all danger of frost has passed, and remember to harden them off properly first.

Tuberous begonias thrive in partial to full shade and need well-drained soil. They need to be kept away from hot sun and drying winds. Water them generously, especially during hot weather. Keep their soil moist but not soggy; the tubers will rot if they get too much water. Keep an eye out for mildew and first sign of a white patch on any of your begonias’ leaves, apply a fungicide right away.

If you’re growing hanging types, pinch out the primary growing tip when the plant is about 2 inches tall to make sure they have lots of branches to cascade down from their pots. Plant 3 tubers in a hanging basket.

Deadhead begonias regularly, removing wilted leaves and flowers to encourage them to produce more blooms. The large-flowered, upright types of begonias should be staked.

Once the show is over in the fall, you’ll be able to dig and store your tubers until spring rolls round again. Properly stored, tuberous begonias will give you years of vibrant, eye-popping blooms to brighten up your shady garden areas. So get your tubers started now for a show-stopping summer!