Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Chrysanthemums come in bright fall colors to give you instant color in flower beds and containers.

• Divide Astilbe and Oriental poppies now. Replant healthy roots and add some bonemeal in the bottom of the hole when you replant.

• Pansies and snapdragons can be planted now to replace summer annuals. They will give you color this fall, winter and next spring.

• When lily flowers fade, remove the flowers but don’t cut back the stems until leaves have yellowed in the fall.

• If your bearded iris blooms were sparse this year or the plants are more than four years old, now is the time to divide and replant them. Mix some bone meal into the soil, and plant the rhizomes just beneath the soil surface.

Fresh Vegetables from the Fall Garden

September is a great month to spend some time in the garden. Mornings and evenings are cooler and a delightful time to harvest the summer crops and set out some new plants for fall vegetables.

Broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, kales and collards can be planted now. And so can spinach, Swiss chard and Asian greens.

Try growing some Chinese cabbages now. Although related to cabbage, they don’t taste much like cabbage. They are more sweetly flavored, with large, crisp, lettuce-like leaves. They are used in salads, sautéed, or pickled in Kimchi.

Pak choy is a popular Asian vegetable which belongs to the loose-leaf cabbage family and resembles Swiss chard. It develops large, glossy dark green leaves with wide white celery-like midribs. It is tender and delicious either cooked or quick fried in oil. It is used extensively in Chinese restaurants in Chow Mein, Chop Suey and soups.

Baby Bok Choy has become the most used vegetables in various Asian dishes due to its excellent flavor, texture and size. This fast-growing vegetable can be ready for harvest in 3-4 weeks. Young leaves and petioles are very tender and crisp, and they are good for stir-fry cooking.

There are many other interesting Asian greens. Nappa cabbage, or Wong Bok, makes large, cylindrical tight heads with broad round smooth leaves. It is very tender with a mild flavor. Tatsoi is a loose-headed variety similar to Pak choy with a large, bulbous celery-like base. It produces well into winter. Mizuna is a Japanese non-heading leaf type with narrow, dark-green, feathery leaves. It is very decorative in salads and popular in stir-fry.

You can also plant turnips now. Plant seeds up to 50 days before your first fall frost. Purple Top White Globe is an old-fashioned variety that will also give you tasty greens through the winter months.

Many types of lettuce will grow well now. They prefer the cooler weather of fall to the heat of summer, so they will make nice heads for you in the weeks to come.

Leave room for garlic! Sets will be available later in September. By planting them in the fall, you will be harvesting fresh garlic next June.

Onions can also be planted now. Green onions can be harvested in 3-4 weeks by pulling up the entire plant or just by cutting the green leaves off with a pair of scissors, leaving an inch or two of growth so the onion can continue growing. Larger varieties will grow through the winter and produce big bulbs next spring.

This is also a good time to set out artichoke and rhubarb plants. They will grow vigorously in the cooler weather and be ready to produce next spring.

Make the most of cooler days in your garden. By setting out new plants now, you will extend your harvest season into November.

• Chrysanthemums come in bright fall colors to give you instant color in flower beds and containers.

• Cover newly planted vegetable starts to protect them from birds. Spray cabbage and broccoli plants with BT to control cabbage worms which make holes in the leaves.

• Replace tired petunias with bright pansies, snapdragons, calendulas and stock for garden color this fall and winter.

• If you have dogwood, walnut, birches and maple trees, these should be pruned in late summer or fall because these will bleed sap when pruned in early spring or late winter.

• Lettuce can be planted from starts for a quick fall crop.

Enjoy a Taste Treat with Asian Greens

Chinese cabbage is the common name given to many different kinds of leafy Asian vegetables. They are grouped based on size, shape, heading and non-heading.

If you have a little extra space in your fall garden, try growing some Chinese cabbages. Although related to cabbage, they don’t taste much like cabbage. They are more sweetly flavored, with large, crisp, lettuce-like leaves. They are used in salads, sautéed, or pickled in Korean kimchee.

Chinese cabbage requires cool weather for most of its growing season, so fall planting works best. Spring planting usually results in the plants bolting and going to flower before they make edible heads.

Plants do best in a rich, light loamy soil. Apply plenty of compost or well-rotted manure before planting. It is important for the plants to grow quickly, so keep the soil moist and cultivate frequently to keep down weeds and save moisture. Set plants out about 10 inches apart. They will be ready to harvest in about two months.

Pak choy is a popular Asian vegetable which belongs to the loose-leaf cabbage family and resembles Swiss chard. It develops large, glossy dark green leaves with wide white celery-like midribs. It is tender and delicious either cooked or quick fried in oil. It is used extensively in Chinese restaurants in Chow Mein, Chop Suey and soups.

Baby Bok Choy has become the most used vegetables in various Asian dishes due to its excellent flavor, texture and size. This fast-growing vegetable can be ready for harvest in 3-4 weeks. Young leaves and petioles are very tender and crisp, and they are good for stir-fry cooking.

Nappa cabbage, or Wong Bok, makes large, tight, cylindrical heads with broad round smooth leaves. It is very tender with a mild flavor. In much of the world, this is the vegetable referred to as “Chinese cabbage.” It is used in stir fries, soups and kimchee.

To harvest Chinese cabbage, cut the entire plant at ground level when the heads are compact and firm. A light frost is fine, but they should be harvested by Thanksgiving.

There are many other interesting Asian greens. Mizuna is a Japanese non-heading leaf type with narrow, dark-green, feathery leaves. It is very decorative in salads and popular in stir-fry. Tatsoi is a loose -headed variety similar to Pak choy, with a large, bulbous celery-like base. It holds well into winter. Tendergreen mustard-spinach is a leaf type with flat glossy dark-green leaves that grow fast and hold well into the winter months.

Try adding some Asian greens to your garden and your diet, and treat your taste buds to some interesting new flavors this fall and winter.