Chapter 11: Sweet Corn and an A to T of Other Worthy Veggies

In This Chapter

Planting, growing, and harvesting corn and its relatives

Adding variety to your plot and your plate by planting some unusual vegetables

The preceding seven chapters cover the most popular and widely grown vegetables. But part of the fun of vegetable gardening is trying new and unusual crops. These "experiments" can be as commonplace as corn or as exotic as mizuna.

This chapter starts with one of the most popular vegetables of summer: corn. Corn isn't related to any of the vegetables mentioned in Chapters 4 through 10, so I give it a special place in this chapter. Although corn is as traditional as apple pie, any vegetable that's closely related to lawn grass has some unique qualities!

In this chapter, I also include an alphabetical listing of other fun and unusual vegetables to help you decide which ones to try and how to grow them. Each listing provides a description of the vegetable, a list of sample varieties to look for, and some basic growing tips. (Note: The planting times for each of these vegetables depend on the weather in your area. Refer to seed packages for planting times. See the appendix for information about hardiness zones and first and last frost dates.)

As a bonus, I include cooking tips with many of the vegetables. Like my mom used to say, "You'll never know if you like it unless you try it." Happy gardening, and bon appétit!

Sweet Corn and Its Relatives

Corn (Zea mays) has a reputation of being grown only in large fields, but you also can grow a great crop of corn in a small garden in your backyard. The satisfaction of harvesting your own fresh-picked corn and steaming it for dinner is one of the joys of summer. In the following sections, I discuss sweet corn along with popcorn.

Sweet corn

If all you've ever eaten is sweet corn from the supermarket, you're missing one of summer's true delights. Fresh-picked, steamed sweet corn has a sweet flavor that brings a smile to old and young faces alike. You also can roast corn on an open fire or grill to give it a woodsy flavor.

By selecting the right varieties to grow, you can have sweet corn maturing all summer long. And you don't need a 10-acre field to grow it. Five to six short rows are all you need to get plenty of ears for your family.

Varieties

The kernels of the sweet corn plant are actually seeds. Most sweet corn varieties come with white, yellow, or bicolor (yellow and white mixed) kernels. Some heirloom varieties that are mostly used for corn flour and roasting feature red and blue kernels, which is where the red- and blue-colored corn tortilla chips come from. The color of corn that you choose depends on what flavor you like and what varieties grow well where you live. Varieties mature in 65 to 100 days, so choose a sampling that will mature over time in your garden. Gardeners in cold climates should stick with quick-maturing varieties, such as ‘Quickie' and ‘Early Sunglow'.

As with many vegetables, corn has open-pollinated heirloom varieties as well as many modern hybrids (see Chapter 3 for more about open pollination and hybrids). The following two newer hybrid groups, which hold their sweetness and tenderness, are now commonly found in grocery stores, and their seeds are available in garden centers and seed catalogs:

Sugar-enhanced (se) varieties have a special gene in their makeup that increases the tenderness and sweetness of the ears.

Supersweet (sh2) varieties have a gene bred into the variety that makes the ears even sweeter than sugar-enhanced, and they can be stored for a week in the refrigerator without losing their sweetness. However, many feel that what supersweets gain in sweetness, they lose in "real corn" flavor.

Even though these newer, sweeter varieties are a bit more finicky about growing, especially the sh2 varieties, they do allow you to eat your corn over time without worrying about it getting starchy. Still, for best flavor, eat your sweet corn as soon as possible after harvest.

Following are some sweet corn varieties you may want to try:

Some standard heirloom yellow varieties to grow are ‘Golden Bantam' and ‘Ashworth'. White-kerneled standard heirloom varieties include ‘Country Gentleman' and ‘Stowell's Evergreen'. One uniquely colored heirloom variety is ‘Black Aztec' (black).

A few standard sugary hybrids include ‘Early Sunglow' (yellow), ‘Honey and Cream' (bicolor), and ‘Silver Queen' (white).

If you're interested in sugar-enhanced varieties, try ‘Quickie' (bicolor), ‘Sugar Buns' (yellow), ‘Sugar Pearl' (white), and ‘Ruby Queen' (red).

For some good supersweet varieties, grow ‘Early Xtra Sweet' (yellow), ‘Honey N' Pearl' (bicolor), and ‘Xtra Tender' (white).

Whew, that's a lot of choices! This list is actually only the tip of the iceberg, so don't be afraid to try other varieties to see which grow best in your area.

Growing guidelines

Sweet corn is a warm-weather crop, so don't rush to plant it. The soil temperature should be at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit for the best germination.

You may notice that some companies coat their seeds with a brightly colored fungicide to prevent rotting while the seed germinates — rotting during germination is a big problem in wet, cool weather with heavy clay soil. If you're a strict organic gardener, select corn from companies that sell untreated or organic seed. You also can plant in slightly raised beds to hasten the soil in drying out and the seeds in germinating. (See Chapter 14 for more on raised beds.)

Corn is in the grass family, so, like your lawn, it needs plenty of nitrogen fertilizer to grow best. Before planting, amend the soil with composted manure, and then side-dress the patch with a 5-5-5 fertilizer when the plants are knee-high and again when silks (fine hairs on the ears) appear.

Corn was traditionally planted in hills following the Native American technique, but for the best production, plant corn in groups of short rows called blocks. Blocks consist of at least four straight rows of corn about 10 to 20 feet long. Rows should be 2 feet apart, with walkways 2 to 4 feet wide between blocks so you can easily harvest. Plant the seeds 6 inches apart in a full-sun location in 2-inch-deep furrows. After germination, thin the plants to 12 inches apart.

Each corn kernel needs to be pollinated by pollen from the tassel (the antennae-like flower at the top of the corn plant). If corn plants are grouped together, the wind blows the pollen down to the silks on the ears, and the pollen moves along the silks to pollinate the kernels. If you plant only one or two long rows, chances are some kernels won't get pollinated, and your ears will look like mouths that are missing a few teeth. Plant only one variety in each block to ensure that the tassels drop pollen when the silks are ready. If you mix varieties within a block, you may not get proper pollination, because the pollen may drop when the ears aren't ready. You can stagger the planting dates of your varieties by 2 weeks or plant other blocks of early-, mid, or late-season varieties to extend the harvest season.

Don't plant supersweet varieties within 250 feet of any other corn variety. If non-supersweet pollen pollinates the corn, the supersweet corn will lose its extra sweetness.

When the corn plants are about 8 inches tall, hill them (mounding soil up to the lower leaves) to help kill weeds and reduce the likelihood of the tall stalks blowing over when older. (You can see this technique illustrated in Chapter 6.) Keep the corn well-watered, and watch for leaf-yellowing. Yellowing leaves are a sign of nitrogen deficiency, so you should add more nitrogen fertilizer, such as fish emulsion or blood meal, to correct it.

When the husks are bright green and the silks turn brown, your ears are ready to check. Feel the ears to ensure they're filled to the tips; you can even pull back the husk at the tip to check the kernels. If you can pinch the kernels and the juice is a milky color, the ear is ready to pick. For the best flavor, right after picking, remove the leaves and the silks and steam or boil the corn in water for about 5 minutes (for the whole pot); then chomp away for a true taste of summer.

Corn is notorious for attracting certain pests. Caterpillars such as the corn earworm and corn borer can devastate a patch, and animals such as raccoons and birds love sweet corn. Check Chapter 17 for tips on thwarting insects and animals that thrive in the corn patch.

Popcorn

Popcorn is an educational and tasty vegetable to grow. Sure it's easier to go to the local store and buy popcorn seed (kernels), but with unusual varieties and the opportunity to show your kids where popcorn really comes from, I think it's worth growing. If you can grow sweet corn, you can grow popcorn. Newer varieties have unusual-colored kernels that are good in crafts as well as in your tummy. However, they all still pop into white kernels. Some varieties to try are ‘Robust 128YH', ‘Tom Thumb', and ‘Japanese Hulless'. All are 4- to 8-feet tall and need 85 to 120 days to mature.

The only difference between growing sweet corn and popcorn occurs at harvest time. Leave popcorn ears on the stalk until the stalks and husks are brown and dry. Before the first frost, harvest and strip away the husks. Hang the ears in mesh bags in a warm, airy, indoor location to continue drying for 4 to 6 weeks. Twist the kernels off the cob and store them in glass jars. You can do a sample pop to see if they're dry enough. You pop them as you would store-bought corn — but home-grown popcorn has a fresher taste. Your kids will never look at movie popcorn the same way.

A Variety of Other Great Vegetables

Whether you're interested in the tame or the exotic, the following sections give you information for growing a cornucopia of other great vegetables in your garden.

Arugula

Arugula (Eruca vesicaria) is also known as roquette or rocket salad. It's one of the main greens found in mesclun mixes (refer to Chapter 10 for more about mesclun). Arugula is one of the easiest, most cold-tolerant, and quickest-to-mature greens you can grow. The plant is small, with an open habit (it doesn't form a head-like lettuce), and its dark green leaves have a slight peppery and nutty flavor. Arugula adds an interesting zip to everyday salads and is a nice addition to soups and stir-fries.

Most gardeners buy arugula without a named variety. However, with its increased popularity, a number of named varieties are now available. ‘Astro' is an early, heat-tolerant selection. ‘Sylvetta', or wild arugula, is slower growing with smaller, more pungent leaves.

Arugula, like most greens, grows best in cool weather. When growing it, follow the guidelines for growing greens in Chapter 10. In mild-winter climates, you can plant arugula seeds in fall, winter, and spring. In cold-winter climates, start arugula in spring as soon as you can work the soil; take the summer off and then begin sowing again in fall. Arugula will overwinter in a cold frame very well — even in cold climates. (See Chapter 21 for more on cold frames.)

Seed small patches every 2 weeks, and in 30 to 40 days, you can harvest the 4- to 6-inch-long leaves. In the heat, arugula quickly bolts (forms a flower head with bitter leaves), but you can eat the flowers if you like a strong, peppery flavor. The only major pest to bother arugula is the flea beetle. Flip to Chapter 17 for tips on controlling this insect.

Asparagus

One of the joys of spring is picking fresh asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) spears from the garden. I give you the scoop on varieties and growing guidelines in the following sections.

Unlike most of the vegetables mentioned in this book, asparagus is a perennial plant: It comes back year after year from the crown (the short stem near the roots) and the roots. In fact, the crown actually expands with age, producing more spears each year. After the spring harvest, let the spears grow into towering ferns that feed the roots for next year's crop.

Varieties

Asparagus has male and female plants. Female plants produce spears that eventually grow to produce flowers and seeds that not only take extra energy to produce, reducing spear production, but also sow seeds that create a jungle of little asparagus plants. Unfortunately, these young seedlings aren't productive and are mostly just weeds. Male plants don't have flowers and seeds and are therefore more productive than the female plants.

Older varieties of asparagus such as ‘Martha Washington', which has both male and female spears, were the standards for years. In the past 20 years, breeders have developed new varieties that are more productive and better adapted to tough soil conditions. Many of these varieties are in the "Jersey" series from a breeding program in New Jersey. These are touted as all-male varieties even though they may have a few female plants mixed in. These male varieties are superior for production and growth:

‘Jersey Giant' is one of the first Jersey introductions. It's well adapted to most gardens, but it thrives in cool-temperature locations. It's disease resistant and frost tolerant.

‘Jersey Knight' has high-quality spears produced on disease-resistant plants. It's particularly well adapted to growing in heavy soils.

‘Jersey Supreme' is a new variety that matures earlier than the other Jersey series varieties. It's also higher yielding and has fewer female plants.

For a little extra color, try ‘Purple Passion'. This variety produces sweet-tasting purple spears that turn green when cooked. For California and warm-weather gardeners, the University of California has a variety called ‘UC 157' that was born and raised in warm soils and performs very well.

Growing guidelines

Asparagus crowns are generally available for purchase in late winter and spring at garden centers or through the mail. Because asparagus is a perennial, you need to pay particular attention to it when planting and take special care when preparing the planting site. You'll find it easier to amend the soil before planting rather than trying to alter it after you plant the crowns. To ensure planting success, follow these steps:

1. Choose a location with full sun, and then pay special attention to removing all the weeds.

2. Dig a trench that's 1 foot deep and as long as you like.

3. Backfill the trench with 6 to 8 inches of finished compost and soil mixed together.

4. Using the added compost form volcano-like mounds (4 to 6 inches high) every 18 inches and lay the spiderlike crowns and roots of the asparagus on top of the mounds so the roots drape over the sides of the mounds and the crowns sit on top (see Figure 11-1).

5. Cover the crowns with soil and periodically backfill the trench as the asparagus spears grow, until the crowns are about 3 inches below the soil surface.

Keep the bed well watered, and fertilize each year with manure or a complete organic fertilizer such as 5-5-5 after harvest each year. Because asparagus is a perennial, you start harvesting in spring when the spears emerge and stop 6 to 8 weeks later. Here's how to handle the harvest in the first couple of years:

The first year: Let all the spears grow into ferns.

The second year: Harvest only those spears whose diameters are larger than a pencil; your harvest window is about 2 weeks in the spring. Snap off the spears by hand at the soil line when they're 6 to 8 inches tall.

The third year: Begin harvesting only the pencil-diameter-sized spears for 4 to 6 weeks each spring. Stop after that and let the spears grow into ferns to replenish the crown and roots.

The ferns may be cut down after a hard frost in fall or winter. Weeds are the number-one downfall of most asparagus beds. If you keep the beds well weeded each year and use a light mulch, you'll lessen the chances of disease and insects reducing your yields.

If you've ever been served white asparagus tips in a restaurant and loved the flavor, you can easily grow your own. All you need to do is blanch the spears (block light from the plant, stopping chlorophyll from forming and leaving that part of the plant white) by covering the bed with black plastic after the spears begin to break ground. Check them every day or so and harvest as usual. The blanched spears are more tender and have a milder flavor.

Beets

Beets (Beta vulgaris) are best known for their deep-red-colored roots and sweet flavor. However, their leaves (called greens) also are very tasty and can be used as a substitute for Swiss chard or spinach (see Chapter 10 for more about these greens). Try slicing beet roots or greens in salads or cooking the roots in classic beet dishes such as borscht (beet soup). In the following sections, I describe different beet varieties to try and provide pointers on growing beets.

Varieties

Beets tend to mature about 50 to 65 days from seeding. Some good varieties to try are ‘Red Ace', ‘Detroit Dark Red', and ‘Lutz Green Leaf'. For a long, thin, red root, try ‘Cylindra' or ‘Forono'. These varieties are consistent producers and widely adapted to various growing conditions.

If you're interested in beets of different colors, try growing white-fleshed ‘Blankoma', which is very sweet. Or try yellow-fleshed ‘Touchstone Gold' or red-and-white-striped ‘Chioggia', which are sweet, too, but are mostly grown for their looks.

If you're mostly interested in beet greens, try ‘Bull's Blood'. The blood-red leaves produce a baby beet. This variety is great in salads and beautiful in the garden.

Growing guidelines

Beets grow best in cool, moist conditions. Two weeks before the average date of your last frost, prepare a raised bed by working in a 2- to 3-inch layer of composted manure. Then sow seeds 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches apart. (Even though you eventually thin them to 4 inches apart, it's better to plant close in case the seeds don't geminate uniformly.) Cover the seeds with soil, and keep them well watered. Plant seeds again every 2 weeks into summer to ensure a continual supply of beets. (See Chapter 16 for more on this succession planting technique.)

Beet seeds are actually tiny dried up fruits with many seeds inside. For this reason, one seed produces many plants. These plants really need to be thinned early. After the seedlings stand 2 to 3 inches tall, thin them to 2 inches apart; thin the seedlings to 4 inches apart a month later. Because many beet plants grow in the same area, try snipping off the seedlings that you don't want with scissors instead of pulling them out and disturbing the roots. Use the thinned greens in salad mixes to add color and flavor. (Chapter 13 provides more information on thinning seedlings.)

Thinning root crops is essential if you want the roots to grow into beets, carrots, onions . . . whatever. If they don't have adequate space, you'll get a small vegetable or no vegetable forming in the roots.

Harvest the roots when they're golf-ball sized and the most tender. To see whether the beet is large enough to harvest, brush the soil off around the beet root; beets grow right at the surface of the soil, so it's easy to see the tops of the roots. But make sure you leave some beets, especially the ‘Lutz Green Leaf' variety, to experience the cool weather that produces the sweetest fruits.

Broccoli raab

Broccoli raab is one vegetable that I had to include in this book. My mother loves it, and of course she's going to read this book, so I better write about it. Actually I love broccoli raab, too, not only for its quick and easy growing habit but also for the mustardy, broccoli taste of the greens. Unlike regular broccoli, you can eat the whole shoot of broccoli raab (Brassica rapa): stems, leaves, head, and all. It matures in about 40 days, so you can grow many crops throughout the year. If you still aren't convinced about growing and eating broccoli raab, come visit my momma, and we'll sit down to a plate of cavatelli and broccoli raab.

Varieties of broccoli raab come in two forms: spring raab and fall raab. ‘Spring Raab' is a good spring and summer variety producing large plants that are slow to bolt. ‘Sessantina Grossa' is a good fall variety with thick, tender shoots and fat buds. Choose the variety that corresponds to your planting season.

Like broccoli, broccoli raab grows best in cool weather. In mild-winter areas, you can plant it in fall, winter, and spring. In cold-winter areas, plant in spring and fall. Plant every few weeks to ensure a continuous supply of these tasty greens. Direct seed broccoli raab in the garden and grow it as you would broccoli (see Chapter 9). Just before the small head containing flower buds opens, clip the whole plant and sauté away.

Celeriac

If you like the flavor of celery but have a difficult time growing it, try celery's cousin, celeriac (Apium graveolens). Instead of growing an edible stem, celeriac grows a large, round, white-fleshed root. Once harvested, cleaned, and peeled, it reveals a creamy-white flesh with pure celery flavor. Celeriac tastes great in soups, stir-fries, and salads. Some of the newer varieties that produce consistently good-sized roots include ‘Brilliant' and ‘Diamant'.

Celeriac likes cool weather and needs a long growing season (100+ days) to mature. In cold-winter climates, start seeds indoors 8 to 12 weeks before your last frost date. In mild-winter climates, start seeds in early summer indoors, and then transplant the seedlings in late summer. Plant the seedlings 8 inches apart in raised beds, and amend the soil with plenty of compost. Keep the plants mulched with hay or straw and water them well, especially during hot spells. When the roots are about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, you can start harvesting. Pull the whole plant, discard the tops, and peel and chop the root.

The roots develop the best flavor when they're left in the garden until after a few frosts.

Celery

Celery (Apium graveolens), although found in so many dishes, is rarely grown by home gardeners. It can be a challenge to grow because the young plants can die easily and the stems often get stringy. However, growing celery can be very rewarding. You can use the leaves and stalks in soups or in raw vegetable dips. If you're growing celery for leaves and stalks, you usually won't get the seeds. Check out some celery varieties and growing guidelines in the following sections.

Varieties

Like celeriac, celery needs a long-growing season (120+ days). For some widely adapted varieties of celery, try ‘Ventura', ‘Utah 52-70 Improved', and ‘Tango'.

For a uniquely colored type, try ‘Golden Self-Blanching' or ‘Giant Red Reselection'. These varieties produce either golden-yellow or red-colored stalks. Their flavor is more distinct than other varieties, but they aren't as mild as fully blanched varieties. These varieties make a great color addition to salads.

There's also a type of celery called "cutting celery" (Apium graveolens) that's grown for its leaves rather than its stems. This celery isn't common, but it's easier to grow than regular celery.

Growing guidelines

Celery grows best in areas with moderate summers or winters — it doesn't like extremes of heat or cold. Start celery seed indoors in winter in cold-winter areas and indoors in midsummer in mild-winter areas. Transplant the seedlings outdoors when they're 3 inches tall (about 10 weeks after seeding indoors), spacing them 6 inches apart.

Celery requires fertile soil and a constant water supply. Apply plenty of compost or a complete organic fertilizer, such as 5-5-5, at planting, and mulch the plants well. Side-dress bimonthly with the same fertilizers to ensure good-sized stalks (see Chapter 15 for more on side-dressing).

If temperatures get too cold (below 55 degrees) or too warm (above 80 degrees) for weeks, celery will suffer, causing the stalks to become tough and stringy. After 3 months or so, begin harvesting your celery stalks, either by pulling up the entire plant or just selecting outer stalks.

Gardeners may not know that the white stalks of celery are blanched. Home-grown, unblanched celery has a stronger flavor and better nutritional value than store-bought types, but if you like the white stalks, it's easy to blanch your celery, too. To blanch, place an empty metal can or milk carton with the ends removed over the stalks 10 days before harvesting. You don't need to cover the leaves.

Chinese cabbage

Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) combines the best of two worlds. It blends the mild, mustardy flavor of cabbage (see Chapter 9) with the texture of lettuce (see Chapter 10). Chinese cabbage tastes great in stir-fries, Asian soups, sukiyakis, and salads. It likes cool temperatures and is best grown as a fall or winter crop. Because it takes only 40 to 55 days to mature, it's easy to get a good crop of Chinese cabbage from your fall garden.

Chinese cabbage falls into two categories: heading and non-heading. The heading types can be tall and torpedo-shaped and called "Michihli," or they can be short and barrel-shaped and called "Napa." Some good Chinese cabbage varieties that mature in about 45 days include ‘Jade Pagoda' and ‘Monument' (which are both Michihli type) and ‘Minuet' and ‘China Express' (which are Napa type). (I discuss the non-heading types, known as pac choi, later in this chapter.)

In cold-winter areas, Chinese cabbage seed of the heading type is best sown indoors in spring for an early summer harvest or indoors in late summer for an early fall harvest. In warm-winter areas, sow the seed in late summer for a fall harvest. Transplant 6-week-old seedlings so they're spaced 1 foot apart, and fertilize them every 3 weeks with a complete fertilizer, such as 5-5-5. Mulch with hay or straw to keep the soil cool and moist. Start harvesting when the plants are 10 inches tall.

The biggest pest of heading-type Chinese cabbage is the flea beetle. You can read up on controlling these insects in Chapter 17.

Collards

Collards (Brassica oleracea) are an ancient cabbage-family crop that's a stalwart in many Southern gardens. Unlike cabbages, they don't form heads and can withstand heat and still grow well. The whole plant can be eaten at any stage, and the large, smooth oval leaves, in particular, taste great steamed or mixed in soups. Healthwise, they're one of the best greens you can eat; they're high in vitamin A, iron, and calcium. Some good varieties for production and vigor include ‘Champion', ‘Georgia', and ‘Flash'.

Collards like cool weather and mature quickly within 60 to 80 days after seeding. Sow seeds directly in the garden 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date for a spring harvest, and again in mid to late summer for a fall harvest. Thin the seedlings to 10 inches apart. Use the thinnings in soups and casseroles. Fertilize, water, and mulch collards as you would cabbage, which I discuss in detail in Chapter 9.

Endive

Endive (Cichorium endivia), a French cool-season green from the chicory family, has a reputation for being bitter, but if you grow it yourself, the flavor is mild, and the texture is crunchy. Endive is distinguished from its sister escarole (discussed in the following section) by its deeply cut and curled leaves. Both mature in 45 to 55 days. You'll find endive in many mesclun seed mixes (see Chapter 10 for more on mesclun) and blended with lettuce at restaurant salad bars. Some varieties to try are ‘Rhodos', ‘Galia', and ‘Neos'.

Growing endive is similar to growing lettuce, and endive matures in the same time frame (see Chapter 10). As an added benefit, if you let the heads become large, the centers naturally blanch, resulting in tender, mild-flavored, creamy-white leaves. If the weather is heating up, harvest the greens young (when they're about 6 inches in diameter) before the flavor becomes bitter and the texture becomes tough.

Escarole

Escarole (Cichorium endivia) is endive's sister, with the only true distinguishing feature being the larger heads with broad, thin, smooth leaves of the escarole. It's grown like endive and has the same uses, but it's sweeter and crunchier than endive. Some Italian cooks, like my mom, use escarole in soups, creating a flavorful, sweet, and slightly bitter broth. Escarole also can be blanched by covering the leaves 5 days before harvest to create an even milder flavor and texture. Escarole matures in 45 to 50 days. A good variety to look for is ‘Full Heart Batavian'. For growing instructions, see the previous section on endive.

Florence fennel

Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) produces a bulging area at the stem near the soil line called a bulb (technically it isn't a bulb but an enlarged stem). There's also a leaf-type herb called sweet fennel that's grown for its ferny leaves and doesn't produce a bulb. If you like anise flavor, you'll love fennel.

This cool-season crop produces bulbs 80 days after sowing and can be grown as a spring or fall crop. The crunchy bulbs are great sliced in salads, marinated in oil and balsamic vinegar, grilled, or just eaten raw. (My fennel crop never makes it into the house because my daughter Elena likes to pick and eat it while wandering around the yard.)

Even though Florence fennel is grown mostly for its bulbs, you also can use its ferny leaves to add a licorice flavor to salads and casseroles. If you let the plant bolt, the flowers that form produce anise-flavored fennel seeds; you can then eat or cook with these great-tasting seeds. The flower heads also are beautiful in the garden and attract beneficial insects that can protect your plants from pests (more on that in Chapter 17). The best varieties are the newer ones, which are slower to bolt in the heat and more productive. ‘Orion', ‘Perfection', and ‘Zefa Fino' are good choices.

Fennel likes cool weather to mature the largest and sweetest-tasting bulbs. Prepare the soil, fertilize, and water as you would for lettuce (see Chapter 10). Start fennel indoors in early spring for transplanting outdoors a month later, just before your last frost date. For fall planting, start seeds indoors in late summer. Space transplants 6 to 8 inches apart; harvest a few months later — when the fennel bulbs are 3 to 4 inches in diameter — by pulling the plants out of the ground, cleaning off the soil, and removing the roots and tops.

Garlic

If any vegetable has experienced a renaissance lately, it has to be garlic (Allium sativum). In recent history, garlic was poo-pooed as a low-class herb that needed to be masked on your breath, or you'd risk social embarrassment. Now it's the chic ingredient in many gourmet restaurants and touted as a major medicinal herb to cure everything from earaches to high cholesterol. Garlic also is a key ingredient in some insect and animal repellents and is very effective at repelling vampires (just kidding, I think). These uses come as no surprise to anyone who knows the history of garlic. It has been used medically for centuries, but only recently did people rediscover its benefits.

For some unknown reason, many also believe that garlic is difficult to grow. That isn't true. I describe some popular garlic varieties and explain how to grow garlic in the following sections.

Varieties

Even though you could grow your own garlic from bulbs bought in grocery stores, most of those varieties are adapted to a California climate. Unless you live in central California where most garlic is commercially grown, it's best to select varieties from catalogs and local garden centers.

The beauty of growing your own garlic is being able to sample the selection of varieties now available. Choosing the variety adapted for your area is the first step, but then you also can try varieties from around the world. The flavors of these different varieties can vary from mild to spicy hot.

Garlic comes in two basic types:

Softneck: This type of garlic produces 12 to 18 cloves per bulb in several layers around a main stem. Softneck varieties tend not to produce a flower stalk and are the best types for long-term storage and braiding (twisting the garlic tops in a braid so they're easy to hang in the kitchen). Some varieties include ‘New York White', ‘Inchelium Red', ‘Silverskin', and ‘Early Red Italian'. ‘Susanville' is a good variety for hot-summer areas.

Hardneck: This type produces fewer cloves per stem than softneck garlic (6 to 12), but the cloves are larger. They grow in a single circle around a woody stem. The hardneck varieties also produce an attractive flower stalk called a scape that forms small bulblets at the end. The bulblets and scape are edible (see Figure 11-2). Hardneck varieties don't store as long as softneck varieties, but I've never had any trouble getting the bulbs to last through winter.

The hardneck group has more diversity in clove flavor and color. Varieties to try include ‘German Extra Hardy', ‘Russian Red', ‘Ajo Roja', and ‘Persian Star'. ‘German Extra Hardy' is particularly cold hardy and good for severe-winter areas. ‘Ajo Roja' is particularly well adapted to growing in California and the South.

You may come across a third type of garlic that's more closely related to leeks than garlic. Called ‘Elephant' garlic (Allium ampeloprasum), this type is grown like other garlics but isn't as winter hardy. ‘Elephant' garlic plants produce huge white bulbs weighing up to a half pound, with large, easy-to-peel cloves. The flavor is milder than regular garlic, and you can store the bulbs for up to 1 year.

Growing guidelines

The key to a good crop of garlic is planting at the right time for your area. Garlic likes cool weather conditions and requires a long time to mature its bulbs. For gardeners in cold areas or areas with hot summers, fall is the best time to plant garlic. For gardeners with mild summers and winters, garlic also can be planted in spring.

Prepare the soil as you would for onions, forming raised beds and adding composted manures (see Chapter 6 for details on onions). Garlic needs well-drained soil — if the crop fails, it's usually due to the cloves rotting in wet, cool soil. Fertilize the beds as you would for onions.

Plant individual cloves a few inches deep and 3 to 4 inches apart about 4 to 6 weeks before the ground freezes for fall planting or as soon as the ground can be worked for spring planting. For fall planting in cold-winter areas, wait for a few hard freezes and then mulch the beds with a 2- to 4-inch-thick layer of hay or straw to protect the cloves over winter. As the cloves start growing in spring, remove the mulch. Once the soil warms, apply a side-dressing of a soluble high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as blood meal or fish emulsion (see Chapter 15 for more on side-dressing). In spring- or fall-sown beds, keep the patch well weeded and watered; you may want to mulch in between plants for weed control and moisture retention. Harvest starts when most of the leaves have yellowed, but before the cloves begin to separate from each other in the bulb.

After harvest, let the bulbs cure (toughen their skins) in a warm, dry, airy place for a few weeks. Then braid (just like you do hair) the softneck varieties or remove the tops of the hardneck bulbs, and store them in a cool, slightly damp basement for use as needed. The bulbs last longest in a slightly damp area, but you can store them in a cool, dry place — they just don't stay hard as long.

Garlic flavor is enhanced in storage; cloves often taste best after stored for a few months.

Globe artichokes

You don't have to live in California (the artichoke capital of the world) to grow globe artichokes, which are a thistle relative. Globe artichokes are beautiful, bushy perennial plants that produce baseball-sized, edible flower buds. I love eating them steamed and dipped in melted butter. They're a gourmet treat.

Globe artichokes are only hardy in warm climates, but you now can grow varieties that mature in one growing season (annuals), allowing northern gardeners a chance to grow and enjoy fresh "chokes" from the garden. Most varieties mature about 90 days from transplanting. ‘Green Globe Improved' is a standard, widely adapted variety. ‘Imperial Star' has been bred for annual production and is good for northern growers. ‘Violetto' features violet-colored buds.

To plant globe artichokes, amend the soil with a 2-inch-thick layer of compost. Start transplants indoors from seed 6 to 8 weeks before setting outdoors. In mild-winter areas, set out transplants in fall to grow through winter and mature next spring. Everywhere else transplant seedlings in spring. In cold areas, the transplants need 10 days of temperatures between 32 degrees and 50 degrees to induce flower buds to form. Space plants in mild areas 6 to 8 feet apart. In cold areas, space them closer, at 2 to 3 feet apart. Keep the soil consistently moist, but not soggy.

Fertilize with an organic product such as 5-5-5 after harvest in mild areas. In cold areas, fertilize when planting in spring. Always keep plants well watered and mulched.

Harvest the buds with a sharp knife before they open. Plants grown as perennials will yield two crops (spring and fall) and up to 20 buds per plant. Annual plants yield 6 to 8 buds from midsummer to fall. Cut back perennial plant stalks to the ground in fall after harvest.

Gourds

Certain vegetables, such as gourds, are grown not for eating — because they taste like cardboard — but for crafts, decorations, and fun. Gourds are great to grow with kids because of all the fanciful creations they can make after the gourds are dried.

Gourds come in two general types:

Small-fruited gourds (Cucurbita pepo): These come in a variety of shapes — egg, pear, apple, turban — mature in 96 days, and are used for decorating and crafts. Unlike large-fruited gourds, you don't have to follow special drying instructions; you can use small-fruited gourds right after harvest.

Large-fruited gourds: These gourds are not only decorative but functional as well. Some examples of functional gourds are the birdhouse gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), dipper gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), and luffa gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca). In some countries these gourds are used for making musical instruments! Large-fruited gourds require longer growing seasons (140 to 150 days) than the small-fruited gourds, and you must follow special drying instructions before you can use them.

Most gourds are ornamental, but some can be eaten when young and have unique flavors. Asian gourds grow like cucumbers (see Chapter 8) and feature strong flavors that are often used in Indian, Chinese, and Southeast Asian soups and stews. Some types to try in your garden include the bitter gourd and calabash gourd.

Grow gourds as you would winter squash (see Chapter 8). The seeds have particularly thick skins, so nicking them with a file helps water penetrate them and hastens germination. Because gourds love to vine, consider growing them on a trellis or at the edge of your garden to roam the lawn. If you're growing large-fruited gourds in a cold-winter climate, start the plants indoors 4 weeks before the last frost date to get a jump on the season.

Wait until the fruit skins are hard and the stems are brown (but before a frost) to harvest. Large-fruited gourds can survive a light frost, but small-fruited ones can't. When harvesting, cut the vines, leaving 1 inch of stem on the fruit, and clean the skin.

Small-fruited gourds can be used as decorations immediately after harvest, but large-fruited gourds need to dry in a warm, dry, airy room for a few weeks. When you can shake the gourds and hear the seeds rattling around inside, they're ready to carve, paint, and decorate. If you want to accelerate the drying process, try drilling a hole in the bottom of the large-fruited gourd.

Horseradish

Of the few commonly grown perennial vegetables, horseradish is probably the easiest to grow. These roots are hardy in northern climates, last for years in your garden, and actually can become a nuisance as they spread over time. The spicy-sweet flavor of horseradish is a favorite condiment. It can be grated and combined with vinegar to make a condiment sauce, which can be stored for months in the refrigerator. A good variety to try is ‘Bohemian'. It's hardy and produces high-quality roots a year after planting.

Choose a location for planting that has partial to full sun, and then amend the soil with compost, digging the soil deeply since these roots grow best in loose soil. Plant horseradish roots 3 inches deep and 12 inches apart in spring after danger of frost has passed.

In spring, fertilize the plants with compost and mulch with hay or straw to keep the soil weed free and moist. Then in the fall, dig up roots taking the largest (6- to 12-inches long) for eating and replanting smaller roots to grow new plants. Roots taste sweetest if harvested after a few frosts, but they may take two seasons to grow large enough to eat. The dark green leaves make an attractive ornamental. Mulch the plants after harvest for winter protection in cold areas.

Kale

If there's one vegetable to grow for purely the health benefits alone, kale (Brassica oleracea) is it. Kale offers the highest amount of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, and antioxidants (cancer-fighting compounds) of any cultivated vegetable. Luckily, it tastes good too! Lightly steamed or added to soups and casseroles, kale adds a crunch and a mild cabbage flavor to dishes.

Like its cousin, collards (which I describe earlier in this chapter), kale is technically a non-heading cabbage. It's grown like collards, matures in 50 to 60 days, but has smaller and more fringed leaves. Some new varieties with red and purple leaf coloration are now available. Just imagine: a vegetable that tastes good, is good for you, and looks good in the garden, too! Here are a few popular varieties:

Some standard curly-leafed varieties are ‘Siberian', ‘Winterbor Hybrid', and ‘Starbor Hybrid'.

Some of the newer flat-leafed varieties are ‘Red Russian', with oak-shaped, reddish-purple leaves, and ‘White Russian', a white version of ‘Red Russian'.

For curly-leafed varieties with different colored leaves, try ‘Lacinato' with curly, dark, blue-green leaves. It's often called dinosaur kale. ‘Redbor Hybrid' has curly, reddish-purple leaves with deep purple veins. The color gets deeper as the weather cools.

Grow kale as you would collards, planting in late summer for a fall harvest. The flavor and sweetness of the leaves improve after exposure to near-freezing temperatures, so I often grow it as a fall crop by planting in late summer, picking and eating the plants into the winter.

Kohlrabi

Now here's something different: a vegetable that looks like a flying object from War of the Worlds. It's kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea), a cabbage relative that's also called a "stem turnip" because the stem near the soil line forms a round, turniplike globe, which you eat. Once you get over kohlrabi's odd appearance, you may be won over by its taste and crunchiness. Peeled and sliced, it's excellent in dips and stir-fries.

The plant is easy to grow and very hardy. Some standard varieties are ‘Early White Vienna' and ‘Kolibri', which has attractive purple skin and coloring in the leaves. If you fall in love with kohlrabi and can't get enough, try growing ‘Superschmelz', a football-sized variety that stays tender and doesn't get woody (tough) even though it's large. The other varieties that I mention get woody if they grow too large or they're exposed to excessive heat.

Like all cabbage-family vegetables, kohlrabi likes cool weather. It's best grown as a spring or fall crop, avoiding the heat of summer that causes the globes to get woody. Start seeds indoors as you would broccoli and cabbage (see Chapter 9), and kohlrabi will mature 50 to 60 days after transplanting in the garden. The fertilizing, watering, and pest control are similar for cabbages. Harvest the globes when they're about 2 to 3 inches in diameter (unless, of course, you're growing the football-sized variety).

Leeks

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum) haven't received a lot of press in North America, but they're considered a staple in every vegetable garden in England and Europe. I love them because you transplant the seedlings in spring, as you would onions, keep them weed-free and watered, and then forget about the crop until fall. They grow slowly all summer, and by the time cool temperatures arrive, they've formed thick stalks that can be harvested and sautéed in butter or added to soups, such as potato-leek. The flavor is milder than that of onions and takes on a slightly sweeter flavor after a few cold nights.

Some leek varieties are very cold-tolerant, so you can harvest right through the winter in many areas. Varieties such as ‘Bandit' are winter hardy and have attractive blue-green-colored foliage that makes leeks a beautiful ornamental as well. Some other good varieties to try are ‘King Richard', ‘Lancelot Hybrid', and ‘Giant Musselburg'.

Leeks need a long season to mature — nearly 100 days for many varieties. For cold-winter areas, start seeds in early spring as you would for onions — about 8 to 12 weeks before your last frost date. For mild-winter areas, start seeds in late summer for a fall planting and winter harvest. Transplant the seedlings 6 inches apart into 6-inch-deep trenches filled halfway with compost. Fill in the rest of the trench with garden soil as the leeks grow.

Leeks are commonly purchased as plants, allowing you to skip the step of seeding them so early.

Like onions, leeks don't compete well with weeds, so be diligent about weeding. Water and fertilize as you would onions (see Chapter 6). When the stalks have thickened and after a few cool nights, begin harvesting. Certain hardy varieties such as ‘Bandit' can withstand temperatures below 20 degrees and can be harvested and eaten all winter in mild-winter areas. Other varieties can be mulched with hay to allow you to keep harvesting into the winter, even in cold areas. Even if leeks freeze, they can still be eaten as long as they're cooked right away.

Hilling the stalks two to three times during the growing season will blanch the bottom of the stems white (see Chapter 6 for more on hilling). The flavor of the blanched stems is milder, and the texture is more tender than the green stems.

Mizuna

Mizuna (Brassica rapa) is a leafy-type, Oriental green that's often found in mesclun mixes. Mizuna has a small white stem and deeply cut leaves with a mild, mustardy flavor. ‘Kyoto' is a deeply fringed, white-stemmed variety. A purple-fringed variety, ‘Purple Mizuna', is now available as well.

Mizuna matures from direct seeding in about 40 days. As with lettuce, you can plant successive crops of mizuna to add zip to salads and stir-fries. It also can be cut and allowed to regrow many times. Treat it like any green (see Chapter 10) as far as seeding, watering, and fertilizing, and watch out for flea beetles eating the leaves.

Okra

Okra (Ablemoschus esculentus) is a classic southern vegetable that loves the heat. In fact, it's one of the few vegetables that keeps producing during the dog days of summer in the South. This tall (4 to 10 feet), stalky plant produces attractive, trumpetlike flowers along the main stem that mature into okra pods, making it a beautiful addition to a flower garden. Some varieties, such as ‘Red Burgundy', have colorful leaves to boot! Each flower potentially produces one pod. The pods can be fried, pickled, baked, boiled, and eaten on their own or used in soups and stews such as gumbo. Some people don't like the sticky nature of the insides of the pod, but I love them broiled with a little oil.

The standard okra variety is ‘Clemson Spineless', which matures in 60 days. But for gardeners with a short growing season, better choices are ‘Annie Oakley II' and ‘Cajun Delight Hybrid', which mature about 50 days from seeding.

‘Little Lucy' is a small variety that has burgundy-colored leaves, pods, and stems and only grows 2 feet tall. The yellow flowers have red throats, making them a beautiful contrast to the red foliage. Because of its size, ‘Little Lucy' is a great container plant.

Okra needs heat! Don't direct seed or transplant okra until the soil temperature is at least 65 degrees, usually in early summer. Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your average last frost date. In cold-winter areas, lay black plastic mulch to preheat the soil and choose quick-maturing varieties. Thin plants to 1 to 2 feet apart. Fertilize at planting, again when the first pods form, and then finally in midsummer with compost or a complete organic fertilizer such as 5-5-5.

Use a knife to harvest the pods just above the cap (where the base of the pod attaches to the stem) when pods are 2 to 3 inches long and still tender. Check the plants every few days. The more you harvest, the more the plants will produce. Because okra seed doesn't save well, buy fresh seed every year.

Okra stems and leaves have spines that can irritate your skin. Wear gloves and long-sleeved shirts when working and harvesting in the okra patch.

Pac choi

No Oriental stir-fry is complete without some juicy, crunchy stalks of pac choi (Brassica rapa) tossed in. If you see the words bok choy, pac choi, and pak choi, they're all referring to the same vegetable. These greens feature sturdy, white, crunchy stalks and lush, large, green, flat leaves. They produce their vase-shaped, very open heads about 40 to 50 days after transplanting and, like other greens, love cool weather. Judging from their sweet, almost nutty taste, it's difficult to imagine that these plants belong to the cabbage family.

Two great varieties are ‘Mei Qing Choi', a baby-size head that only reaches 6 to 8 inches tall, and ‘Joi Choi', a standard 12- to 15-inch-tall head that tolerates hot and cold weather without bolting. ‘Violetta' and ‘Red Choi' are two varieties with attractive red coloring on their leaves.

To try your hand at pac choi, see the growing instructions for Chinese cabbage earlier in this chapter. Because it matures so quickly, pac choi can be succession planted in spring, summer, or fall in most areas (see Chapter 16 for details). However, avoid summer planting in hot climates.

Parsnips

Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is the quintessential fall root crop. I love to grow these white, carrotlike roots because, like gardeners, parsnips get sweeter with age.

As with leeks (which I discuss earlier in this chapter), you plant parsnip roots in spring and forget about them until fall. Then, after a few hard frosts, you're ready to start digging. The cold weather helps the carbohydrates in the roots turn to sugar, and boy do they get sweet! But don't yank them all in fall. In all but the extremely cold areas of the United States, parsnips can be harvested all winter right into spring (as long as the ground hasn't frozen) for a sweet spring treat. Some standard varieties to try are ‘Cobham Improved Marrow', ‘Harris Model', and ‘Andover'.

Parsnips take a long time to germinate and mature. Most varieties take 2 weeks or more to germinate and 100 to 120 days to produce roots. Luckily, they grow well in cold weather. Grow parsnips as you would carrots (see Chapter 6), but with one exception: When planting, place pairs of seeds in small holes that are 1/2 inch deep and spaced 1 inch apart, and then fill the holes with potting soil. Because parsnips may not germinate well, the second seed ensures a better germination rate. When the seedlings are 3 to 4 inches tall, thin them to one seedling per hole.

When growing root crops, especially parsnips, don't spread high-nitrogen fertilizer on the beds before planting. Soils rich in nitrogen produce hairy, forked roots.

Peanuts

The peanut is a crop you can grow that will taste good and amaze your kids (who may have thought that peanuts only grew in ball parks and circuses). The peanut (Arachis hypogaea), a warm-season crop, isn't really a nut; it's actually a legume similar to peas and beans. They grow where okra and sweet potatoes thrive. They like heat and a long growing season. However, even gardeners in cold areas can have some success with peanuts, provided they start early and choose short-season varieties such as ‘Early Spanish'.

Unless you grow a field of peanuts, you probably won't get enough to make a year's supply of peanut butter, but boiled in salt water, roasted, or eaten green, fresh peanuts are a tasty and healthy snack food. (I still remember when my daughter Elena and I ate almost nothing but hot, boiled peanuts on a vacation in Georgia one winter.) Some other varieties that have big pods and more seeds per pod include ‘Tennessee Red Valencia' and ‘Virginia Jumbo'. They all need 100 to 120 days of warm weather to mature.

There are actually four different types of peanuts (runner, Virginia, Spanish, and Valencia). The first two are runner types with 2 large seeds per pod. The second two are bush types with 2 to 6 seeds per pod. Growing techniques are the same for each type.

Peanuts like well-drained soil and can tolerate some drought. Plant the seeds, with the shells removed, directly in the soil after all danger of frost has passed. Space plants 1 foot apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. The young plant looks like a bush clover plant. Fertilize and water the plants as you would beans (see Chapter 7), but side-dress with 5-5-5 organic fertilizer when flowers appear to help with the nut formation. Yellow flowers appear within 6 weeks after planting. Hill the plants to kill weeds (see Chapter 6 for more on hilling), mulch with straw, and then watch in amazement as the fun part begins.

After the flowers wither, stalklike pegs emerge from the flowers and curve downward, eventually drilling 3 inches into the soil (see Figure 11-3). At the ends of these pegs, peanut shells containing the peanuts form. When the plants start yellowing, the peanuts growing underground are mature and ready to harvest. Pull the whole plant up and dry it in a warm, airy place out of direct sun; then crack open the peanut shells for a tasty treat. Most kids are fascinated by things that grow underground, and peanuts are pretty amazing in their own right, so watch your kids get wide-eyed at this underground treasure.

Radicchio

Radicchio (Cichorum intybus) is a type of leaf chicory that can be eaten as a lettuce or allowed to form a small, red, cabbagelike head. It's the latter form that people are most familiar with in salad bars and restaurants. The heads form white veins and grow to the size of grapefruits. Radicchio has a slightly bitter, tart, and tangy flavor and adds culinary and visual pizazz to salads.

For some home gardeners, radicchio isn't the easiest crop to grow, because it often doesn't form heads. Radicchio likes it cool, and it sometimes grows best in spring and sometimes in fall, depending on the variety. The following four modern varieties more consistently form heads than older varieties: ‘Palla Rossa', ‘Chioggia Red Preco No. 1', ‘Early Treviso', and ‘Indigo Hybrid'. The latter two varieties are good fall and winter selections. If you grow these four varieties at the right time, they should form heads.

In cold-winter climates, start radicchio indoors, similar to lettuce transplants, and grow it as a spring or fall crop. In mild-winter climates, it's best grown as a fall crop. Grow radicchio as you would lettuce (see Chapter 10). Most modern varieties, including those previously mentioned, form heads on their own (without being cut back) 80 to 90 days from seeding. Harvest the heads when they're solid, like small cabbages. The heads are crunchy, colorful, and good for cooking.

If plants don't start forming heads about 50 days after setting them out in the garden, cut the plants back to within 1 inch of the ground and enjoy the lettucelike greens. The new sprouts that grow will form heads.

Radishes

If you're looking for quick satisfaction, grow radishes (Raphanus sativus). The seeds germinate within days of planting, and most varieties mature their tasty roots within 30 days. Daikon, Spanish, Chinese, and rat-tail radishes take 50 days to mature. When grown in cool weather and not stressed, radishes will have a juicy, slightly hot flavor. Of course, anyone who's grown radishes knows that if radishes are stressed by lack of water, too much heat, or competition from weeds or each other, you end up with a fire-breathing dragon that people won't tolerate. I list some popular varieties and provide tips for growing radishes in the following sections.

Varieties

Most gardeners are familiar with the spring-planted red globes or white elongated roots found in grocery stores, but exotic-looking international radishes are now showing up in specialty food stores and restaurants. These radishes require a longer season and are often planted to mature in fall or winter. (They're often called winter radishes for that reason.) Here are some you can try:

Japanese radishes called daikons can grow up to 2-foot-long white roots.

Spicy-hot Spanish black radishes look like round black balls or cylinders and can be kept in a root cellar for 6 months.

Chinese radishes look like turnips but are red, green, or white on the inside. They taste similar to the Japanese radishes.

Rat-tail radishes are grown for the spicy-tasting seed pods that form after flowering.

The following varieties work well for the beginning gardener:

For the classic red or white round radishes, try ‘Cherriette Hybrid', ‘Easter Egg II' (a mix of red and white), and ‘Amethyst' (purple skin, white flesh).

For the elongated white or red roots, try ‘French Breakfast' (a mix of red and white), ‘White Icicle', or ‘D'Avignon' (the top of the root is red and the bottom is white).

For daikons, try ‘Minowase Summer Cross #3', ‘Miyashige', and ‘April Cross'.

Some good black Spanish radish varieties are ‘Nero Tondo' (round shape) and ‘Long Black Spanish'.

Some Chinese varieties are ‘Red Meat' (green outside, red inside), ‘China Rose' (red outside and red inside), and ‘Misato Green' (green all the way through).

Growing guidelines

The round or elongated "traditional" radishes are normally planted in early spring to mature while the temperatures are still cool. Daikons can be planted in spring or summer, depending on the variety. Chinese and black radishes, however, are best planted in late summer or early fall for a fall or winter harvest. Rat-tail radishes are planted in spring.

For all types of radishes, form raised beds, fertilize, and sow both spring and fall plantings as you would carrots (see Chapter 6). The keys to success with any radish crop are loosening the soil well, weeding, thinning the plants to give the roots enough room to expand (usually 6 inches apart), keeping the plants well watered, and growing them when it's cool.

You can harvest spring-planted radish roots as soon as they start to form. Harvest daikon, Chinese, and black radishes when you need them (although they're most tender when eaten on the small side); they can withstand light frosts in the fall. Harvest rat-tail radish pods once they form.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb (Rheum rhubarbarum), like asparagus and horseradish, is an exception in the vegetable world. It's a perennial plant (except in zones 8 and warmer, where it's treated as an annual), so once established, it will come back faithfully year after year. It will even spread, allowing you to dig, divide, and share plants with friends. Hopefully, you have many friends, because you'll only need a few healthy rhubarb plants to produce plenty for pies, jams, and jellies.

The part of the rhubarb plant you eat is the leaf stalk that grows from the crown of the plant. Don't eat the leaf itself, unless you want an upset stomach.

Depending on the variety, the stalks are green or red and taste sour. The most tender varieties have leaf stalks that are red all the way through, such as ‘Chipman' and ‘Valentine'. Because of its tart taste, rhubarb usually isn't eaten raw (even though I have fond memories of eating rhubarb as a child by dipping the stalks in a bowl of sugar!). It's best used as an ingredient in cooking. Can't you just smell that strawberry-rhubarb pie fresh from the oven?

Rhubarb is one of those "plant and forget" crops. It's a perennial, like asparagus, so it comes back year after year. If it has full sun, well-drained soil, water, and lots of compost and manure mixed in, it will grow like a weed. Rhubarb does best in cool climates, so gardeners in Florida and Arizona may have to rely on their northern friends for fresh rhubarb. You also can buy plants from a local garden center or online.

For best quality, harvest the leaf stalks as soon as the leaves completely unfold to a flat surface. Always leave at least two leaf stalks per plant so the plant can rejuvenate itself. If a seed stalk forms (usually from the center of the plant), cut it off to extend the leaf-stalk harvesting season. The plants die back in fall, but they reemerge in spring from the roots.

Rhubarb is easy to dig and divide. In spring, just as the new shoots are starting to emerge, dig up the whole plant with a sharp spade and divide the main crown into many 3- to 4-inch-diameter sections. Plant these sections; within 2 to 3 years, you can harvest from these new plants.

Rutabagas

Probably the only time anyone thinks of rutabagas (Brassica napus), if at all, is Thanksgiving, when they're traditionally served with turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. They also can be boiled, mashed, or used in hearty winter soups.

This Old World root crop is easy to grow, and any gardener can have a small patch to satisfy all her fall and winter rutabaga desires (once she knows enough about rutabagas to desire them). The flavor and growth are similar to those of turnips (which I cover later in this chapter). In fact, another name for the rutabaga is Swedish turnip, or "Swede" for short. Because the rutabaga is actually a cross between a cabbage and a turnip, if you like either of those vegetables, you may want to give rutabaga a try. The roots have either yellow or white flesh, depending on the variety.

Like turnips, rutabagas love cool weather, and you can eat the lush greens as well as the root. A few varieties to try are ‘American Purple Top' (yellow flesh), ‘Laurentian' (yellow flesh), and ‘Gilfeather' (white flesh).

Grow rutabagas the same way that you grow turnips, except rutabagas need about 100 days to mature from direct sowing; turnips mature in half that time. Rutabagas love the cold, and the roots can get as large as softballs and still remain tender. Leave them in the ground until just before the ground freezes; then harvest them as you need them. The longer rutabagas are in the ground, the sweeter they'll taste.

Shallots

If you like the taste of onions or garlic but have a hard time getting them to grow, consider growing shallots (Allium cepa). They look like small onions, but their flavor is milder than any of their allium cousins — and growing them is a snap.

Shallots are an indispensable part of many French dishes. Substitute three to four shallots for each onion in recipes. Minced, they can be sautéed in wine and herb butter or used in a béarnaise sauce (ooh-la-la). A little candlelight, a little champagne, and voilà: Shallots become romantic.

Varieties include the traditional ‘Gray' shallots with a yellow/gray skin and white, creamy-colored flesh, and red shallots such as ‘French Red' with red skin and pink flesh. Shallots are usually purchased as sets (similar to onion sets), but recently shallot seeds have become available in many varieties such as ‘Pikant' and ‘Ambition', allowing you to grow more shallots at a lower cost.

Plant shallot seed or sets as you would onion seed or sets (Chapter 6). They can be grown in spring or fall and will overwinter in all but the coldest winter climates. They require the same fertility and growing conditions as onions. About 90 days after planting in the garden, the tops will brown and die. Notice that 1 bulb sprouts 4 to 5 side bulbs around it. Separate the side bulbs and dry and store these as you would onions.

Save some of the largest shallots for a fall or spring planting, and you'll never have to buy shallots again — that is, if you can resist eating them all.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are all the rage as cut flowers in floral shops. To meet the need, breeders have created varieties with colored heads ranging from red to white and plants that are 2 feet tall to 10 feet tall. Because this book is concerned with things you eat, I focus on the giant snack varieties of sunflowers. Technically, all sunflowers can be eaten, but the snack varieties produce the largest heads containing the meatiest seeds.

Not only are the seeds good human food, but the birds love them, too. Why not store some seeds for your feathered friends this winter? Some of the best snacking varieties for both people and birds are ‘Mammoth' and ‘Grey Striped'.

This may sound obvious, but sunflowers really do like the sun. As a matter of fact, the more sun, the better. Plant seeds in well-drained soil, 10 to 18 inches apart in rows, after all danger of frost has passed. To get a jump on the season, you can start them indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost date. The eating varieties tend to produce a large, yellow-petaled head on a thick stalk with large, hairy leaves. Many of these plants can be huge (sometimes as tall as 15 feet), so the plant needs adequate fertility to grow and produce the best seeds. Before planting, amend the soil with plenty of compost or manure, and side-dress monthly with a complete organic fertilizer such as 5-5-5 (see Chapter 15 for details on side-dressing). In about 80 days, the heads will open.

Sunflowers don't like company. Their roots exude a chemical into the soil that inhibits the growth of other plants in the area. Therefore, plant sunflowers in their own section, against a fence, or as a background in your garden.

Once the sunflower head opens, you'll have to be quick to get the seeds before the birds do. A simple technique is to cover the heads with a paper bag until the petals naturally wilt and the seeds mature. When you can rub off the seeds with your hand, cut off the head, remove the seeds, and dry them. Lightly roasted, sunflower seeds are a great snack food for kids and grown-ups, and you can save some raw seeds for your bird feeder.

Most people are familiar with eating sunflower seeds, but did you know that you can actually eat the unopened flower bud? To do so, cut the flower bud a few inches from the head with a sharp knife. When steamed and dipped in butter, it tastes like a globe artichoke. Who would've thunk it!

Turnips

All right, turnips (Brassica rapa) aren't exactly America's favorite vegetable, but I think they've been given a bad rap. Turnips are easy to grow, and you can eat the greens as well as the roots. If grown in cool weather, they have a slightly sweet flavor.

Like rutabagas (which I describe earlier in this chapter), turnips can be eaten boiled, mashed, or added to soups and stews. I've even eaten young roots raw like an apple. Just peel away the outer skin and crunch down. It's juicy and refreshing!

The white or white-and-purple roots are smaller than rutabagas (tennis-ball size) and mature quicker (in less than 50 days from seeding). The greens are great steamed, and they walk hand in hand with collard greens as the favorite Southern leafy crop. Some varieties to try are ‘Purple Top White Globe', ‘Shogoin', and ‘Tokyo Cross'. The latter two produce excellent, mild-tasting greens.

Turnips love cool weather. In most areas, you can grow spring and fall crops. Here's how:

Start in spring a few weeks before your last frost date.

In early fall, wait until the hot summer weather has passed before planting.

Turnips are best directly seeded in the garden. Prepare the soil and fertilize as you would for any root crop (see Chapter 6). If you want roots, thin the young seedlings to 4 inches apart. If you're growing them for greens only, don't bother thinning them; just start clipping when the greens are 4 to 6 inches tall. Keep the plants well watered and mulched with hay or straw, which, in addition to holding in moisture and controlling weeds, helps prevent the roots from developing a strong flavor. Begin harvesting when the roots are 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Turnips can take a frost, so you can harvest right into winter until the ground freezes.