Harvest Joy

Late August in to September is the ultimate time to harvest or seek out fruits and vegetables are that ready, ripe, and delicious. Let's just call it what it is - harvest joy. Followed by eating joy. 

If you're not a home vegetable or fruit grower, look no further than your neighborhood farmer's markets, roadside stands or hurry up and subscribe to a community supported agriculture (CSA) program. Grocery stores are loaded with regional and locally grown produce. Warning - shopping the fresh produce aisle while you're hungry may be hazardous to your shirt when biting in to a Palisade peach!

How's your harvest coming along? Are you staying on top of the number of squash, peppers and tomatoes that are screaming at you to be plucked, eaten or shared? For helpful harvest and storage tips check out the handy chart below. 

Did the Vikings Grow Tómatar?

Now that I have your attention, let me elaborate. Did Vikings grow tomatoes (which in the Icelandic language are called tómatar).The short answer is probably not. Iceland, known as the Land of Ice and Fire has a climate ranging from temperate to subarctic. Their July summer temperatures in the warmer southern part of the island averages between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. On really warm days it can get to up to 78 degrees. Winters are fairly mild - in the southern lowlands they average around 32 degrees.

Even without studying past Viking culture and diet, we assume correctly they fished. A lot. They also farmed grains for bread and used cattle for dairy products and sheep for wool. Vikings grew many types of vegetables, including onions, leeks, peas, beans, cabbage and turnips. They gathered wild greens, nettles, cress, lambs quarters and berries. Toss in some whaling and at the end of long week or celebration feast they enjoyed their spiced mead, otherwise known as honey-wine!

Photo from Iheartreykjanik.net

But tomatoes they did not grow. Icelanders grow them today in greenhouses heated by geothermal power - it's a year round industry. I read about a restaurant located right in a greenhouse that serves very tasty tomato soup, tomato schnapps and unforgettable tomato ice cream. I'll be dreaming about tomato popsicles tonight.

Why does this it matter whether the Vikings grew tomatoes or not. Well, it doesn't really, I just like the Icelandic name for tomatoes - tómatar pronounced phonetically - TOE-ma-tar. Plus it is on my bucket list to travel there one day and hopefully take a tour of their incredible greenhouses and yes, have some "mouthwatering cheesecake with jam of green-tomato, cinnamon and lime" at Fridheimar Restaurant.   

If you've read this far, then you probably grow and like tomatoes too, so keep a look out for tomato events in late summer into September. One such event is not to be missed - the 2017 Taste of Tomato in Boulder on September 9 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Gateway Park Fun Center, located at 4800 North 28th Street. Presented by Harlequin's Gardens and the Boulder County Extension office, it's loads of fun to enter your own tomatoes or learn more about successfully growing them and saving seeds for next year's delicious crop. Read all the details at this link - 2017 Taste of Tomato.

Gotta run, I have some tomatoes to harvest and time to make a tomato pie. 

 

Smart Pots Grow Smart Plants

I'm in my sixth season of using Smart Pots to grow vegetables. Just like last summer I'm using them to grow tomatoes, basil and potatoes. The only difference this year is that the plants are growing better, in a way, smarter - they are very healthy, disease free and producing. I credit two reasons for this - using Smart Pot containers and the consistent, sunny and mostly hail-free weather conditions.

Hard to see but six Smart Pots growing potatoes

If you are unfamiliar with Smart Pots then you're missing out on one of the easiest, plant and root growing friendly containers on the market. These felt-like, reusable, lightweight containers ensure garden growing success for anyone. Smart pots have been described as the cotton shirt of the container world. Why? Plants growing in porous Smart Pots don't get as hot - they breathe, allowing air to flow through the container and around the plant. The plant feels comfortable, just like we feel when wearing a cotton shirt. 

Roots in Smart Pots subsequently grow larger and don't end up up growing in circles like they do in other hard material containers. Once a root in a Smart Pot reaches the side of the fabric, the root forms new roots that will grow up, down or side-to-side in a process known as air root pruning. No root girdling, just lots more healthy, happy, fibrous root growth!
  

'New Big Dwarf' Organic Tomato

They are very affordably priced and come in several sizes and three colors. I'm using black #15s for potatoes, #20s for tomatoes and big bag bed mini for basil.

Try new plant varieties or tuck Smart Pots anywhere in the landscape where there's good sun and easy access to water. Gardeners appreciate that they can be used during the growing season and easily emptied, folded and stored over the winter. Try the wall flower saddle planter over railings, gates or fences. The sidewall opening on the transplanters come in very handy for potting up plants as they grow larger.

Fill them with quality sterile potting soil at the beginning of each gardening season and plant or seed just as you would in any other container. Over watering is practically impossible with the porous nature of the container. Smart Pots will provide many seasons of use before needing to be replaced.

Use a tray or tarp underneath so soil won't seep out onto concrete or wood surfaces. If used on bare ground, no need to use anything under the Smart Pot. They are growing on the small rock mulch near my raised beds. I water daily on hot days and fertilize plants twice a month.

Lettuce Leaf Basil in Mini Raised Bed - Veil for Insect Protection

My new technique to grow basil is to heavily over seed a mini raised bed, then harvest as micro basil greens or allow them to grow to two sets of leaves. In a few short weeks there are plenty of greens to use fresh in salads or pesto with plenty left over to process in oil for freezing.

There's still time to seed more basil, and while you're at it, get going on the third or fall season of gardening with your favorite leafy greens.

City Living Among the Foxes and Rabbits

People living in rural areas are used to seeing wildlife or having encounters, hopefully from a distance. I admit we have a can of bear spray in our cupboard - purchased a few years ago before hiking around Jackson, WY. I hope to never use it living here in central Denver, despite it being recommended recently by a state wildlife professional to deter raccoons from feeding on apples or peaches. She said one hit of the spray and they won't return. Our apple tree died years ago and we no longer have peach trees, but we do have rabbits and squirrels all around us and now, a very sick fox.

The rabbits are easy to keep out of the backyard, a four foot small mesh wire fence attached to the wrought iron has kept them away from the lettuce and the lawn. I still see four or five of them in our neighborhood quietly resting on front lawns taking a nibble here and there in between their daytime naps. Some look a bit thin and possibly mangy, but not nearly as sick as the fox we encountered a couple of days ago. 

Ferris, our dog alerted us to the fox in the corner of our front yard upon returning from an early morning walk. It was immediately evident that the poor critter was very unwell and not interested in moving away quickly. It was lying on mulch near the neighbor's north fence behind some of our bushes. We quickly got Ferris in the house and blocked him from going out on that side of the house.

The photo is disturbing to say the least. The face is clearly plagued with mange or some kind of infection. When it walked around the fence to the neighbor's yard to hide under his low deck, it was clear the tail and legs were also diseased. Honestly, I thought the animal was some kind of escaped small goat, which are legal to have in Denver - it looked nowhere near what a fox is supposed to look like.  

After calls to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Denver Animal Shelter, the neighbor and I got a visit by a helpful, friendly Animal Protection Investigator from the Denver Animal Shelter. Ordinarily they do not get involved with nuisance wildlife, but since this fox was sick or possibly injured, they took action. The investigator did his best to try to view the fox under the deck, but the area was too dark and wide to see very far. Based on the many sightings of this sick animal on the local Nextdoor website, he said he'd set up a trap. The trap caught a squirrel the first night, nothing last night. 

There's not much more that can be said about wildlife moving in or coexisting in and near cities and people. They were here first. I don't blame them for hanging out where food is pretty accessible. The city born and raised Canadian geese in Denver parks are a draw for foxes and coyotes. Another neighbor recently told me that someone on her block regularly puts out dog food for foxes, not a good idea, obviously, plus it is against the law in Denver. 

We know the dangers of being near or touching sick wildlife and our first priority is for our safety and health of our children and pets. My hunch is the poor fox has moved on to the weedy space near the highway south of us to quietly die. Rest in peace.

8-8-2017 Update  I was told that the fox was found earlier today a half a block from our house and quietly euthanized by the City of Denver Animal Shelter. I don't know the details other than it was a very, very sick fox and was easily caught and died peacefully.