Vegetable Gardening (74 page)

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.