It's decided - Brussels sprouts will not be grown in Wright Gardens this year. As much as I love eating those delectable miniature cabbages, I've just not had luck growing them.
During the past two summers, the sprouts have never formed into compact heads. I suspect the summer and fall temperatures were not cold enough. Rather than sacrifice space in the garden this year, not to mention nutrients from the soil, I will leave the growing of Brussels sprouts to others with more acreage and experience with that particular Brassica oleracea.
Okra is tasty in jambalaya and gumbo, and the plant has beautiful flowers, but it will not be grown in the garden this year either. Beans will be grown instead. Beans for drying, to be exact! The beans we've selected are:
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Good Mother Stallard Pole
Hidatsa Red Indian
Brockton Horticultural
To grow these beans I'm going to plant them according to Iroquois 'Three Sisters' method. The three sisters are corn, beans, and winter squash. To sum up why these three plants work so well together, the corn stalks act as living supports for the beans; the beans pull nitrogen from the air that benefits all three plants; and as the squash leaves shade the ground surrounding all three plants, they help keep moisture in the soil as well as weeds at bay.
The following web sites expound upon this ancient philosophy-
The Old Farmer's Almanac
LeslieLand.com
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA): Download the free .pdf file.
The "Ancient Companions" section begins on page six; however, all of the information included in the document is interesting. This web site is also mentioned in the Leslie Land article. (I can't figure out how that acronym works either.)
The corn that will be grown in this trio of plantings is Seneca Red Stalker. It's very colorful and, if all goes well, we should have plenty to share with family and friends for fall decorations.
Wright Gardens is going to become larger this year and I couldn't be more thrilled!
During the past two summers, the sprouts have never formed into compact heads. I suspect the summer and fall temperatures were not cold enough. Rather than sacrifice space in the garden this year, not to mention nutrients from the soil, I will leave the growing of Brussels sprouts to others with more acreage and experience with that particular Brassica oleracea.
Okra is tasty in jambalaya and gumbo, and the plant has beautiful flowers, but it will not be grown in the garden this year either. Beans will be grown instead. Beans for drying, to be exact! The beans we've selected are:
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Good Mother Stallard Pole
Hidatsa Red Indian
Brockton Horticultural
To grow these beans I'm going to plant them according to Iroquois 'Three Sisters' method. The three sisters are corn, beans, and winter squash. To sum up why these three plants work so well together, the corn stalks act as living supports for the beans; the beans pull nitrogen from the air that benefits all three plants; and as the squash leaves shade the ground surrounding all three plants, they help keep moisture in the soil as well as weeds at bay.
The following web sites expound upon this ancient philosophy-
The Old Farmer's Almanac
LeslieLand.com
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA): Download the free .pdf file.
The "Ancient Companions" section begins on page six; however, all of the information included in the document is interesting. This web site is also mentioned in the Leslie Land article. (I can't figure out how that acronym works either.)
The corn that will be grown in this trio of plantings is Seneca Red Stalker. It's very colorful and, if all goes well, we should have plenty to share with family and friends for fall decorations.
Wright Gardens is going to become larger this year and I couldn't be more thrilled!
