Drycreek Blog

Abundant, Happy and Beautiful Potato Plants

2012-06-23T15:11:00-04:00

This is the second year we've grown potatoes in the Reno garden. After reading several stories on the sorry plight of the commercial potato, we decided to improve our health by organically growing some varieties. So, early this past spring, after hearing that the potatoes had arrived, we stopped by Dry Creek and picked up a couple bags of potato starts.

After talking to John Strickland about last year's harvest, he suggested that we plant the potatoes in trenches. Since they are nightshades, like tomatoes, you can bury the main stem deeper than intuition tells you, which helps grow more roots, and with the potatoes, helps grow more potatoes.

So, we dug trenches in the raised bed two feet or so apart, placed the potato starts at the bottom, covering them with a few inches of top soil. Once growing, as the stems emerged, we kept filling the trench, little by little until they were completely filled in to regular ground level. Since then the main stems have grown several feet. We added bamboo cane tripod supports to help the plants stand tall.

The flowers have been developing through June and should start to open in the next week or so. The greenery and the delicate white flowers make potatoes a nice ornamental feature for the garden, as well as a good producer of food for the table.

In the photo you might be able to pick out some collard leaves. The collards this year have been wonderful, too. There has been very little insect damage, and the leaves grew broad and tender and delicious. We've been sautéing them with turkey bacon and onions. Delicious!

Easy and Beautiful Remedies

2012-06-09T18:42:00-04:00

Quick color solutions are easy. There are many different types of plants, both annual and perennial, that can be planted in June for immediate color and texture. Plants planted now can be full and in crazy bloom by July.

Annuals mixed with perennials can insure color all summer long. Annuals and perennials in containers, too, allow you to move color to different places in the garden for changing accents, adding interest, and setting the stage for every summer dinner party.

Growing Cabbage And Other Greens

2011-05-25T12:16:00-04:00

In spring and autumn Drycreek offers six packs of vegetable greens for cool weather gardening. Several varieties of cabbage and lettuce are available, plus mustard greens, kale, collard greens and others. These foods are easy to grow and good for you. The plants don't mind the late cool weather snaps, and in fact, thrive on them. Just give them good soil, lots of sun and plenty of water and you'll be eating some of nature's super foods grown from your own garden.

This hardy purple cabbage along with kale and collard greens was planted last fall and spent much of the winter under a layer of snow. The collards and kale have been recently harvested, cooked and deliciously eaten. The cabbage remains and is now beginning to form heads. This spring, another set of cabbage has been planted to replace these as they mature. The spring planted cabbage will form large, firm heads, hopefully by late June, as they did last year.

It's exciting to grow your own food. Plus, not only is cabbage beautiful, but it contains substantial amounts of vitamin B2, vitamin C, glutamine, and amino acid, all of which are essential for human health. Cabbage is also a great diet food since it is very low in calories and can be prepared in a variety of interesting ways. You can eat it raw or cook it, ferment it, can it, freeze it. Even the outer leaves and stems can be used as an ingredient in soup stocks. Try making sauerkraut and coleslaw. Your friends and neighbors will be amazed. More than once someone will say, "You grew that in the desert?"

Note: Be sure to prepare the soil. Make it rich and well-drained with lots of organic material. If you can, grow your garden vegetables in a raised bed for better protection from typical garden insects. They can also be grown in containers. Just make sure the pots are large enough to allow for proper root growth.

Aubrieta

2011-05-07T11:20:00-04:00

Aubrieta, sometimes spelled 'Aubrietta,' also called Rock Cress and Alyssum deltoideum, is a hardy evergreen perennial with soft green foliage. This plant is prolific in providing long lasting springtime color. As a low growing ground cover, Aubrieta brings alpine and woodland fantasies to life in the desert. In full sun to partial shade, butterflies regularly flit to and fro touching thick patches of red, scarlet, violet, white, purple and blue. Once the flowers fade, to everyone's delight, the plants can be cut back to stimulate a second mid-summer display. Cutting back after blooming also encourages mounding and a dense production of its interesting foliage.

Aubrieta is a good choice for sunny, well-drained areas in rock gardens, borders and raised planters. Once established, offer light, but regular watering. If yellowing of the leaves occurs, simply cut back a bit on water. Certainly, if you're looking for color, Aubrieta has much to offer. With names like purple cascade and royal red, Aubrieta will fill your empty spaces with lasting color.

Geranium and Pelargonium

2011-05-04T12:14:00-04:00

Geraniums and Pelargoniums are related. Palargoniums are the hardy type, usually called scented geraniums or storksbills. Even though there are biennial and perennial Geraniums, here in the high desert, Geraniums are often used as an annual for outdoor gardening. The family, Geraniaceae, which includes both Geraniums and Pelargoniums, make up over four hundred different species, most of which are indigenous to more temperate zones than what we have here in Nevada. With the hot summer sun, these beautiful plants with the fragrant leaves -- many of which are grown specifically for their scented oils -- seem to prefer more shade to sun without diminishing flower production. They do enjoy some cool morning sun. Flowers come in a variety of colors, including red, pink, blue, violet and pure white. They begin blooming in spring and continue all summer long.

To compensate for the winter chill that will kill many types of Geraniums, gardeners often grow them in containers that can be brought indoors once the cold weather threatens. They can also be planted in raised planter boxes and transplanted to pots as autumn arrives.

If planting outdoors, late May to early June is a good time, after the danger of frost has passed. Make sure your plants have well-draining soil. For the most part, Geraniums are care free. Just be sure to plant them high enough so that their stems are not buried. As the summer heat begins to bare down, don't let the roots dry out.

Progress on the Raised Bed Continues...

2010-03-22T12:05:00-04:00

It's just not true what some local gardeners will tell you about not planting anything until Peavine Peak is free of snow. It's a confused notion because while it might be true that tomatoes and eggplant and peppers should wait, nevertheless, there are lots of plants and starts that can go into the ground right now.

It all depends upon where you plant and the degree of protection you provide. Some plants will need to harden a bit before spending a chilly night out. With these starts, we hardened them by first letting them feel the cool evening air until bedtime, then we brought them in. Then we let them spend a few nights on an open air, though covered porch. Then we planted them in the raised bed, covering them at night with a clear plastic frame.

Lettuces, beets, cabbage, kale, collards, Brussels sprouts, brocolli spinach, onions, leeks, chives, parsley and other hardy herbs and vegetables can take some cold at night. We cover the box as a precaution until the roots have settled in and the leaves get used to the microclimate of the backyard. During the day we remove the plastic cover to let the sun shine in and to make sure they new plants don't overheat.

It's all fun. And in the high desert, each season is different; each planting is experimental. It gives for good writing in the garden journal.

Right now we have in stock all the vegetable and herb starts mentioned above. This week, too, we've received shipments of hardy perennials that can also be planted before the snow leaves Peavine Peak. Some are early flowering natives. This is also a great time to plant shade trees like the Norway maple and the honey locust. Certainly, if you're itching to start work on the garden, turn your back on Peavine Peak and drive down to the Reno nursery. We're in the gardening mode already; we'll show you what can be planted today.

Celebrating the Vernal Equinox

2010-03-21T11:06:00-04:00

Yesterday was the Vernal Equinox! And if we couldn't actually feel the intersection of the equinoctial points or the fact that night and day were almost equal in length and that the center of the sun passed vertically across an exact point on the Equator, it sure did feel like a day for planting!

This year, our plan for this raised bed is to grow salad vegetables. We will get a head start by planting some six packs of various lettuces, cabbage, beets, leeks and onions. We will at the same time plant seeds of lettuce, kale, spinach and carrot.

To stay organized, it's easy to mark the rows with a straight edge, then place a yardstick next to the line drawn for spacing the plants and seeds. The straight edge and ruler combination can also serve to draw the seed lines to their proper depth.

As we plant the seeds, of course the local song birds watch from nearby branches and ledges as if this yearly springtime ritual is for them. But, we will cover the frame to allow the seeds to sprout and to protect the starts from any sudden dips in nighttime temperatures.

Happy Spring!

Preparing the Soil

2010-03-20T10:33:00-04:00

Today in downtown Reno the daytime temperature is expected to reach 68 degrees. This is an iffy time for planting non-hardy plants, of course, since the city is actually perched on the edge of the Sierra. We're at an elevation of around 4500 feet, so night temperatures will dip and a cold snap won't come as much of a surprise. Plus, there is still snow on the mythic Peavine. Still, this is a good time to make sure the soil is ready for planting and soil work is a great excuse to get out in the garden with this welcomed daytime warmth.

The soil pictured here in this raised bed has been turned and mixed with last year's compost, which, thanks to the mighty earthworms, was dark, rich, luscious and sweet. In addition, Dry Creek recently received a new shipment of organic chicken manure, so we added a good dose of that as well. After raking and leveling, the box was treated to a nice deep watering.

At this time of year, this box acts as a cold frame for cold hardy vegetables like lettuce, onions, beets, cabbage, kale, spinach, leeks, garlic, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. In the upper right of the photo you can see the clear plastic covers we use to protect from any unexpected hard frosts. The cover intensifies the daytime temperatures, too. And it keeps out any wandering cottontails and the neighbor's sweet kitty that likes to use the freshly turned soil as its own private cat box.

Happy Spring!