Papa Geno's Garden Blog

Looking for seed potatoes and onion sets?  I don't sell them - yet - but I have a couple of friends who do.  I met both guys through the Mail Order Gardening Association, the trade

 association for folks who make their living growing or shipping gardening products.  For onion sets, go to Onionman.   For seed potatoes, go to Wood Prairie.  Both are family-owned companies. I use the products from both companies in my own garden.  In fact, I placed orders to both companies this week.  I've never been able to grow leeks successfully here in Nebraska, but I'm going to try once again, and I've been dying to try fingerling potatoes.  I'll let you know how they did about September.

Tip: Be sure to read the informational material on both websites. That stuff about long-day, short-day, early season and late season is important.

Papa Geno

It's easy to see why the Victorians were so fond of scented geraniums. Bursting with the scents of citrus, rose, spice or mint, these native South African plants are easily grown inside and offer an olfactory treat to winter-weary gardeners. They also lend themselves well to culinary uses, such as herbal-scented sugars.

 Scented Geranium Sugars

To make scented-geranium sugars, use plants that have not been sprayed with chemicals. Select leaves that are clean and dry.

Place a few leaves into a clean, dry glass jar. Cover with two inches of granulated sugar. Continue to layer leaves and sugar until you reach the quantity you want. A cup of sugar is a good amount to start with.

Cover tightly and store in a cool, dry place. Check the sugar in a week. Depending on the strength of the scented geranium leaves, the sugar already may be infused with the herbal scent. Remove the leaves when the sugar has the level of scent you desire. Store the sugar in a cool, dry place. (Hint: you can save the leaves and add them to your next cup of tea!)

To quickly make scented sugars,add a few leaves to about two-thirds of a cup of granulated sugar. Use a blender to finely chop the leaves into the sugar.  It's ready to use!

Note: This method works best with strongly scented plants, such as Rober's lemon rose, lime or Frensham's lemon scented geraniums. 

Try sprinkling the scented sugars over fresh fruit, hot or cold cereals, and desserts. They can turn common beverages, such as tea or coffee, into uncommon treats.

Scented sugars and cookies were made for each other! Here's a recipe to try out.

Lemon-Rose Sugar Cookies

Yield: 5 dozen

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup regular white sugar

1/2 cup lemon-rose scented geranium sugar

2/3 cup butter

2 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

More lemon-rose scented geranium sugar to sprinkle on top

Place all ingredients (except egg white and sugar for topping) into large bowl. Beat batter at medium speed until mixture is well mixed but crumbly.

Shape dough into ball. Place in glass or metal bowl. Cover with plastic, or wrap with waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator for three hours. When dough is chilled, preheat oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease cookie sheets.

Roll half of dough at a time onto lightly floured surface. Keep rest of dough refrigerated. Roll out dough thinly for crisp cookies; roll out dough 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick for soft cookies.

Cut dough into desired shapes. Place cookies a half-inch apart on cookie sheets. To glaze, brush tops of cookies with the beaten egg white and water mixture, and sprinkle with lemon-rose scented geranium sugar.

  Bake at 400-degrees Fahrenheit for six to eight minutes, or until cookies are light brown. Remove cookies to rack; cool completely.

Leslie Coons is a New York-based food and garden writer who has a special interest in culinary herbs.

Yes - cooking with lavender.  Lavender flowers, that is!  From the venues of the Four Star restaurants of Europe and America, to the tables of professional food writers, to the kitchens of ordinary gardeners who like to eat well, lavender is making a comeback as an essential culinary herb! It is actually more retro than it is new - our foremothers and fathers used lavender as a seasoning from ancient times until well into the 20th Century. And not just for sweet stuff, but also for meats and main courses of all kinds.

Some of the recipes below have been floating around for a long time on my hard drive or in a manilla folder in my old-fashioned file cabinet. Others have come from Beth at Essencedeprovence.com and Robyn at Herbsearch.com.  I've never met Robyn, but have visited her site often. Beth and I used to be across-the-street neighbors and I have enjoyed many lavender delicacies at her kitchen table. This is a tiny sampling of the lavender recipes I have collected over the years. If you want more, let me know in the comments section at the end of this blog.

Every good cook in France has a different recipe for Herbs de Provence. This is  a good basic recipe to start with. Experiment with the proportions and find the flavor blend that suits your palate best. All herbs should be dried and coarsely crumbled.  We make ours in ten-pound lots and my calculations to translate this into  "average kitchen size" quantities may  not be precisely correct. But no matter - Herbs de Provence is a matter of taste and nuance, not of being able to measure correctly.  If you don't like the flavor of oregano, reduce the proportion; if you love rosemary, double the amount. And don't get hung up on the formula below.   Beth and I both keep a supply of herbs de provence on the back of the stove year round and use it every day - sometimes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Combine and mix well. Store the mixture in small airtight jars in a dark cool location. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Click here  and then click on "Kitchen Gifts" to see this herbs de provence grinder.

Easy, easy, easy!  My only caution is to take care that you don't burn them. They are very delicate.

Lavender Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 Cups Unsalted butter softened
1/4 Cups Superfine sugar
1 Egg
2 1/2 tbl Dried lavender flowers chopped finely or ground in a grinder
1 1/2 Cups All-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter, sugar, and egg well in a mixer
Add lavender and mix  thoroughly
Add flour a little at a time, mixing as you go. Cover and chill for at least 15 minutes.
Roll out batter on floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness, cut with cookie cutter.Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet on top-shelf in oven.

Check for golden brown edges. Cool thoroughly.

You can add or subtract lavender flowers to suit your own taste.

Perfect with a pot of Earl Grey tea at 4:30 on a cold February afternoon!

These, on the other hand, are perfect on a hot July late afternoon!

Lavender Margaritas

1 cup tequila
1/3 cup triple sec
1/4 cup limeade concentrate
1 cup canned coconut milk
2 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries
2 cups frozen unsweetened blueberries
4 ice cubes
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds

In a blender, combine the tequila, triple sec, coconut milk, and lime juice. Cover and turn to high speed, then gradually add berries and ice. Whirl until smooth and slushy. Pour into glasses. You can rub glass rims with lime and dip the rim in salt. Add a lavender sprig for garnish!

For properly contemplating the gardening you've just completed or the dinner that you are planning to prepare.

You will definitely want to prep this recipe before you drink 3-4 of the tasties described just  above. I would suggest sipping one margarita while you study the recipe, then prep the chicken, and avoid turning on the blender again until the bird is safely in the oven. And by all means place the oven timer between the patio and the blender - you'll never hear it otherwise.

LAVENDER LEMON CHICKEN

Serves: 4

1/3-1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 large onion
1 (4-7) pound chicken
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons flour or Wondra

In a small bowl or mortar and pestle coarsely crush lavender and thyme.
Then stir together with butter, zest, and salt and pepper until well combined.
Spoon mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 4-inch log.
Chill compound butter, until firm, at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Rinse chicken; pat dry. Reserve 2 tablespoons herb butter for gravy.
 
Slide hand under skin of chicken breast to loosen skin from meat and place in slices of the herb butter. Spread remaining herb butter over outside of chicken.

Truss chicken. Place the chicken in a flameproof roasting pan.
Slice the onion into large pieces and scatter around the chicken.

Arrange birds in a flameproof roasting pan.
Roast bird in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part
of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° to 175° F. It will take roughly
55-65 minutes for a four pound chicken and 8 minutes more per every pound
over that. Lift chicken and tilt, emptying any juices from cavity into roasting pan.
Remove the chicken to the platter, cover loosely, and make the following sauce.

Add vermouth to pan. Place pan over high heat; bring vermouth to boil,
scraping up any browned bits and onions. Strain the mixture into cup with pan juices.
Spoon fat off. Pour back into the pan. Bring to a simmer; melt reserved
2 tablespoons herb butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add flour or Wondra; whisk until smooth. Serve with gravy.

Click here  and then click on "lavender" for grow-your-own lavender plants.

If you found the recipe immediately above intimidating, here is one that even a beginning cook can manage.  The best scones I've ever baked started with this recipe, but I added couple of handfuls of fresh wild blueberries and reduced the quantity of walnuts a bit.  And if you don't have walnuts, chopped hazelnuts or almonds will work just fine. I've used toasted pinenuts too, but getting them toasted just right can be a pain in the butt and can add a half hour to the prep time. (I always seem to burn the first batch and have to start over!)

Lavender Walnut Scones 

The question above is probably the question we are most often asked by phone or e-mail. It’s variations are apparently infinite:

Can I grow peonies in Central Florida near the coast?

Is basil hardy in southern Nevada?

Can I grow daylilies in Northern Maine?

Will scented geraniums bloom in Texas?

What Zone am I in?

Unless you live in Zones 4, 5 & 6, more-or-less in the central part of the country, I’m not going to be able to give you advice based on my personal exeprience. Both my partner Sharon and I were born on farms in Nebraska, and most of our growing experience is in an area that is borderline Zone5/Zone 6 in mild winters and Zone4/Zone5 in harsh winters.  Since only 1% of our customers are in Nebraska, and maybe 6-7% in the entire Great Plains region, my personal experience isn’t going to be nearly as helpful as advice you can get free (and quickly) much closer to your home.

If you don’t know what Horticultural Zone you are in, Click here for an interactive USDA Zone Map.

If you have a question about whether a particular plant will grow in a specific area,  click here  for a Directory of Cooperative Extension Offices in every county in America. The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by one or more experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes.

Based on my own experience, these guys and gals know a lot more about what grows and doesn’t grow in their local counties than I do.  I read the guidebooks and the promotional literature about the plants I sell, but the Extension Agents deal with ordinary gardeners in their geographic areas every day.  Jut to give you a couple of examples: Nebraska has more than sixty Extension offices spread throughout the entire state, New Jersey has 21 – one for each county, Florida has at least 75 offices, and California has about that many.  The Directory will provide addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and in many case websites.

And they do a LOT more than sit around and answer gardener’s questions. Most are actively engaged in researching and writing about topics of interest in your locality, and will have lots of free gardening information to share with you, via the Internet or ink on paper. 

You pay for this stuff – you might as well use it.
 
Click here for an interactive Hort Zone look up. (Thanks to the  Arbor Day Foundation!)

For horticultural information about your specific city or county, click here.

Papa Geno

. A lifetime of living in small houses, flats and apartments has, of necessity, made me into a container gardener. I have been known to choose an apartment for the direction and size of its windows alone, ignoring all other considerations. That is why when my customers ask me if they can grow herbs indoors, my response is always: "What direction do your windows face?"

                                           

All indoor plants need good air circulation - this is a factor often overlooked by indoor gardeners. Good air circulations will help cool the plant on a hot sticky summer day and warm it on a cool one. It will also help in the neverending fight against insect and fungus attacks - the bane of every indoor gardener.

                                 

Pots. Most herbs will thrive in 6" pots but do not expect them to be as big as they would be in the garden - and remember - only repot them when they are ready. Putting a small plant in a large pot will not give you a bigger plant - the chances of root rot caused by pockets of water in the excess soil are more likely to result in a dead plant. (For more about Pots, check out the Basil article, dated 1/16/2006, in this series.)

Feeding. When your herbs are growing vigorously, fertilize with water soluable fertilizer every two weeks or so because plants in pots quickly exhaust the soil nutrients. Havest the young new sprigs, generally pinching back to ensure a fuller plant with lots of new growth. When planting your seeds, always use fresh new potting medium - you could be transferring who knows what from old pots where the plants or seeds have died.

Pests. Many people are surprised when their indoor plants, including herbs, are invaded by insects. Spidermites, white fly and aphids often arrive with the plant then thrive and multiply in the slightly stressed indoor environment. The key here is - don't wait! The problem is not going to go away, it will only get worse.

All three of these pests can be easily treated with Insecticidal Soap. If the plant is small and manageable, carefully dunk the whole plant, upside down in a bucket of the solution about once a week. Otherwise liberally spray the entire plant. Keep in mind that you want to eat these plants so read the instructions on products and don't use anything poisonous. Check your plants every time you water especially under the leaves and in the axials of the stems - that is where these baddies lurk.

My final tip is this - mist your plants. If you live in one of the drier parts of the world or have forced air heat mist your plants every day. They will love you for it and produce lots of fresh and tasty herbs for your enjoyment even without an outside garden.

Thanks to Joi Beckett for this contribution.

Click here to return to Renee’s Garden Seeds on Papa Geno’s website.

Click here to see live plants suitable for growing in containers.

Click here to return to Papa Geno’s Herb Farm home page.

Papa Geno

Container Gardening

 inviting and relaxing outdoor room, grow first-rate vegetables and add enjoyment to the summer season. Your garden area can be a patio, balcony, terrace, rooftop or any undeveloped site where the soil is not suitable for in-ground gardening. In fact, one of my favorite gardening pen- pals grows her eggplants in big pots on board the converted tugboat she and her husband live on! For those who do not have the time or whose physical capacities are limited, container gardening is a special source of satisfaction. If you are a cooking oriented gardener, you'll find having containers of your favorite culinary herbs really close at hand to snip at will is a real advantage.

                                  

Container Herbs

Even though I grow an extensive backyard herb garden, I still plant my favorites for everyday use in 4 or 5 pots set outside the kitchen patio so I can get to them quickly whenever a recipe needs a little herbal zing. Best of all, container herbs need little weeding and no hoeing and can be moved easily. I always plant several kinds of basils in a big deep pot so I can use them in salads and sautés and, late in summer when they start to flower, I enjoy them as fragrant ornamental edibles. Strappy mounds of flowering chives and garlic chives or shiny broadleaf parsley are also delicious and attractive container plants as are low mounding shrubby perennials such as thyme, oregano, and marjoram. Blue-green leafy dill fronds are pretty as a picture and in a nearby container you can snip them off to top salads and stews anytime. I grow clumps of cilantro in containers to add to grilled shrimp, chicken or mix into fresh salsa, keeping them in clear bright shade rather than full sunlight in the heat of summer so the plants stay leafy as long as possible.

Container Flowers

You can plant one variety to a container and cluster them all around your patio to take advan- tage of different microclimates – 3 medium sized pots placed together will make a beautiful combination of color and form. Or you can plant a mixed bouquet of 3 or 4 plants in a big container at least 18 inches wide. In combining flowers, keep their final heights in mind, planting low trailing plants at the outer edge, medium ones inside and the tallest varieties at the center. Space plants closely, about 4 inches apart, so they will grow to cover the container's surface. Be sure to feed them regularly to encourage lush growth.

Container Vegetables

Growing an edible container garden is easy and rewarding. Tomatoes, peppers, egg-plants, chiles, cucumbers, beans, and squash will reward you with beautiful plants and abundant harvests in warm weather. In the cooler seasons of spring and fall, you can grow all kinds of glorious salad fixings or nutritious leafy greens like pak choi, chard and kale -- all are wonderful ornamental edibles.

Container veggies need a good rich soil mix, and plenty of room for an ample root system with careful attention to regular watering and fertilizing. Their attractive foliage and colorful harvests are decorative as well as delicious!

Gardening in containers--a quick course

Remember that all container plants need more attention than plants in the ground, as they rely solely on the gardener for all their needs. Confined to a limited space, they will quickly become stressed if essential water or fertilizer isn't available regularly. It's not hard to provide a good growing environment; just remember the essentials:

• properly drained soil mix
• adequate and regular supplemental fertilizer
• enough but not too much water
• the right amount of light
• some protection from temperature extremes

Use a properly drained soil mix - don't use garden soil for containers! A good commercial potting mix will give consistent drainage, is free of weeds and pests, and it won't compact to a rock-hard mass that water can't penetrate by mid summer. I always replenish the soil mix for containers at the beginning of each season to restore the tilth of the soil in my pots and ensure the best conditions for young plants.

Gardening in containers isn't very complex or complicated. Start by using the right sized containers for plants you mean to grow through the summer. Containers can be whatever suits your eye and pocket book, from fancy big clay pots, lightweight pots, and window boxes, to wine barrels, recycled pulp containers, wooden boxes or even big drain tiles you may have available. Just be sure you have large enough containers to hold the full-grown plants and their root systems and provide good drainage, air circulation, and season-long root space.

Water and Fertilize

Water and remove spent blooms on container plants regularly and make it a part of your everyday routine. In the heat of summer, containers may need water every day. I put my forefinger in the soil and if it is dry beyond the first joint, I water immed-iately. Feed your container plants throughout the season with ½ strength liquid fertilizer solution, applying it to the soil about every 3 weeks. ( Being an organic gardener, I use a mix of equal parts of diluted liquid fish emulsion and kelp, and recommend it.) I also adjust for the blast of summer heat by keeping my containers on casters so I can move them around. You should be able to find these little wooden or plastic platforms to set your plants on - square or round and fitted with wheeled casters - at a local nursery. Another advantage is that the platforms keep containers from staining the patio (or deck). And, if I go away for the weekend, the containers can easily be wheeled and grouped in a cooler, shadier space so they won't dry out while I'm away.

Moveable feasts of color

Consider your container plants as design accessories of your "outdoor rooms"; move them around through the season and rearrange them as suits your fancy or their need for sun or shade all season and place them where you'll enjoy them most to enjoy a new flush of bloom or scent. I love to have blooming, leafy containers next to my patio and lawn chairs, on my picnic table and along my daily pathways to delight all my senses throughout the gardening season.

Click here to return to Renee’s Garden Seeds on Papa Geno’s website.

Click here to see live plants suitable for growing in containers.

Click here to return to Papa Geno’s Herb Farm home page.

Papa Geno