Garden, Plant, Cook!

Saturday, January 14, 2017

eBundle Sale Starts Midnight Sunday!

Dear Folks,

The eBundle Sale will begin Sunday Midnight (that means Monday morning - January 16th) and last until Sunday the 22nd.

This is a wonderful opportunity to have a library of sustainable books and more, all in a downloadable PDF file.  Price is $29.97 a 96% savings from the total value of all of the content.

You will also have the option to purchase the files on a flash drive.

Here is a short summary of what the eBundle contains.

73 items in the bundle totaling $814.94 in retail value. Here is the count of those items by category:

Simple Living:  8
Cooking From Scratch: 9
DIY: 9
Frugal Living: 5
Gardening: 7
Homesteading: 7
Natural Remedies: 6
Natural Parenting: 8
Food Storage: 9
Preparedness: 5


Plus I am adding a bonus book if you purchase the eBundle.  Instructions will be given on how to claim your bonus PDF book from me once the sale starts.


Click here to add your email to let you know when the sale starts or save for use when the sale starts. 





-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Thursday, January 12, 2017

Fruit and Roots In The Garden! Bananas, Horseradish, Ginger and Turmeric

Dear Folks,

ROOTS

My horseradish has come up!

On November 19th, I got some nice fat organic roots at Whole Foods, broken them into 3 pieces and planted in 3 different locations, 2 near my ginger and turmeric and 1 in a shade spot where I have an Arabian Jasmine and a Gardenia (I think I found that Gardenia's happy spot but that will be a different post :-).

I've been growing horseradish for quite a while but the bed did not sprout this year the way it usually had, so I figured it was time to get some fresh roots and try some new areas.

Horseradish is one of those root crops which is not supposed to do well here in the desert.  Partial shade has been the key and they usually grow opposite (that was the other key point I figured out some years ago).  The plant usually starts to die back in late Spring/early Summer when the weather gets too warm, and I harvest then, putting some roots back in the ground.  I do not harvest the first year I plant, but I may just have to take a peek this spring to see how the roots are doing.

When horseradish is growing lushly - harvest some of the greens for a nice sharp addition to salads and soups.


>>>eBundle Sale Starts in 4 Days!  Entire Library of Healthy and Sustainable Information. More Information on this post. <<<


Other roots that "should not grow in the desert" are Ginger and Turmeric.  Like the Horseradish, they need a shady spot but with some filtered sunlight.

All of these root foods have found the "northeast" under canopy areas of my gardens their happy spots.  While horseradish does not need frost protection, the tropicals Ginger and Turmeric do.

Pictures are two "green" ginger plants book-ending a yellowing turmeric.  This is my first year growing turmeric so I'm curious as to how the roots perform.  I will let you know when I decide to harvest.

All of these root crops are so good for us, if you can grow them -- do so.

Something you cannot see - yet - on either side of the turmeric I sowed "Ramp" seeds in one of my grand experiments.  It remains to be seen if and when they sprout as the information available indicates it can be a year or more for the Ramp Seeds to sprout.  I chose this spot and one other (near another horseradish) for the same reason - filtered shade.

FRUIT

I've been growing the "Ice Cream/Blue Java Banana" for many years.  We have not had fruit often because 1) the spots where I have stuck the plants in are not the best, and 2) the fruit often has come out at a less-than-optimal time for maturing before frost.

So is the story of this fruit.  Pictures is a bunch we spotted on November 15th.  Because it looked like potential frost I harvested the bunch on November 29th and hung it inside over the sink for light and humidity.  Banana fruit takes approximately 4 months to go from flower appearance to mature fruit.  I have to say the fruit took its time and was looking sad when it suddenly turned yellow almost overnight and appeared ready collapse so I peeled and readied for a bowl of cereal.  A few of  looked like they were more seed than fruit, so I split them and have planted them in a pot - now in my greenhouse.

The last part of the collage is - surprise - a new bunch of bananas spotted January 9, 2017.  Because there are leaves over the fruit, partially sheltering from frost, I will leave these on the plant until they are ready to harvest :-)

So "ice cream"?  This refers to the taste of the banana which is supposed to be like vanilla ice cream.  In the past the fruit has had a creamy vanilla flavor - most of us tasting them agreed.  This time I could not detect any vanilla, but the bananas were creamier than a standard Cavendish (the type you buy in the store).

So is it worth while growing bananas?  Sure. Among other things I love the tropical look of the plants and the leaves are wonderful for steaming/grilling food in, they impart a fruity flavor to foods like fish.

I hope this inspires you to try growing more of these kinds of roots and fruit.

Have a great time in the garden and kitchen with your bounty!



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Free Seed Share and Q&A With Catherine, The Herb Lady at Mesa Urban Garden

Dear Folks,

My Semi-Annual FREE Seed Share has not gone away, even though, sadly, the Mesa Farmers Market has closed.

COME OUT to the Mesa Urban Garden, for the new Seed Share Location.

A fun combination event.

Saturday, January 28, 2017
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Seed Share and Q&A with Catherine, The Herb Lady
Mesa Urban Garden (MUG)
212 E 1st Ave (NE Corner of Hibbert and 1st Avenue)
Mesa, AZ 85210

(602) 370-4459

AND

POTLUCK - Noon to 1 p.m.
Bring a dish of your choice if you want to participate in the potluck

QUESTION and ANSWERS  Catherine will discuss transition gardening with edibles and take questions.

FREE SEED SHARE Pick up some seeds to get growing or expand your garden.

RAFFLE - Get your free entry ticket to win either a gardening calendar or book written by Catherine, The Herb Lady

SEEDLINGS FOR SALE - seedling starts will be available for sale all ready to put directly in the ground.

MUG - Mesa Urban Garden is an all volunteer, non-profit community garden.  You can rent a bed, all ready to garden in.

Donations help support MUG's year round programs of helping people grow their own food and also contribute fresh produce to the local food bank.





-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Monday, January 09, 2017

eBundle - Library of Healthy & Sustainable Tools! One Week to Sale Launch

Dear Folks,

"68 authors, 73 books, courses and videos, all with a retail value of $814.94. With a price of the bundle being $29.97, that's a 96% discount." 

All in a PDF file, a library of sustainable, healthy lifestyle information.

The sale will last one week - January 16 -22, 2017.  You will have the rest of the year to download your purchase.

You will have the option to purchase on a flash drive mailed to you for a little higher price.

I am offering a Free Bonus Book PDF when you purchase the bundle.

Click on this link to sign up to be notified when the sale starts, you don't want to miss this opportunity.

. . .

Earn Money.

If you have a website, blog or a mailing list of followers you can earn a commission on sales of the eBundle.

Click here for more information.



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Sunday, January 08, 2017

Lumpy Lemons? Sour Oranges? What Gives? Rootstock!! Seed Share Coming.

Dear Folks,

It is that time of year in the Valley of the Sun where folks are harvesting their citrus, some for the first time, some gifted, and some discovering a sour surprise.

>>> Seed Share Coming UP! Watch For Details <<<

Some of the garden forums have been fielding questions about why their sweet oranges are NOT sweet or why they have lumpy lemons some with the look of "orange"?

The quick answer is the tree disease-resistant root stock took over the target fruit.  Look closely at this picture to see the end result of the sour orange root stock melding with the graft.  You can see instead of a single straight trunk, there is a ridge type long vertical protrusion on the tree.  The resulting meld allows the stronger sour orange to replace or combine with the intended fruit like lemon, sweet orange or tangelo/mandarins.


How did that happen?

The Citrus tree is a shrub, not a true single trunk tree.  So as a shrub in its natural environment it can have many, many trunks all bearing the fruit of the variety:  Orange, lemon, grapefruit, lime etc.

Citrus grows very well in the desert southwest, however the desert soil harbors certain diseases which would kill off the citrus tree rather quickly if not for the practice of grafting - we will talk lemons for now - lemon stock on to the disease resistant sour orange stock.  The allows for a health, well maintained citrus to produce great fruit for decades.  [Some areas of the valley have healthy citrus trees over 50 years old.]

Once the lemon tree is grafted on to the sour orange root stock, you have to maintain a single trunk for a couple of feet to keep track of the suckers that the root stock tries to send up.  Look at this photo and observe 1)  The green suckers and 2) where the graft is - it is quite noticeable - a "lump" in the trunk.


ALL OF those suckers need to be removed and you MUST check regularly to keep them cut off.  When they are very small you can just see the green leaf tips and you can rub them off the tree.  One they reach the sizes of the ones you see in the picture you need to prune off with sharp pruners as close to the trunk as you can and check those areas regularly - they will try to come back.

In the example of the tree where the meld occurred there is probably no way of saving the tree.  It would take observing which main branch/trunks are the fruit want and sawing off all of the others, creating a lopsided tree.

 
However, if you have the room and want to keep the tree, you can USE the juice and fruit.

The Sour Orange is also called the "Seville Orange" in Europe and  the juice in particular has historically been used in place of vinegar or lemon.  You can search the internet for Seville Orange recipes.  Lots of interesting uses.  And of course you can make marmalade - I have a great recipe for marmalade which uses the whole fruit (except for the seeds), just adjust the sugar to your taste with sour fruit.

I hope this helps you understand how to maintain your citrus trees and how to deal with a problem if you catch it in time.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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