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Known as common garden chives, Allium schoenoprasum, can be grown indoors and out. Chives are rich in vitamins A and C, potassium, and calcium. They are grown for the flavour of their leaves, which is reminiscent of onion, although much milder. Both the stems and light purple flowers are used in cooking and the snipped leaves are an addition to many dishes. Chives lose their flavour with long cooking so it is best to add them to dishes at the last minute. For chopping stems, a pair of scissors is the best tool.

Chives can be frozen or dried. They are less flavourful when dried rather that frozen, so they are best used when fresh and snipped, or snipped and frozen. In both cases sort them carefully, removing any yellowing leaves and shoots, and keep only the plump green ones. It is possible to place chives in non-iodized salt, keep them there for several weeks, remove the leaves, and then bottle the chive salt for use in flavouring.

Chives are a perennial in the garden and grow approximately 12 inches (30 cm) tall. They are extremely easy to grow, are drought tolerant, rarely suffer from disease or pest problems, and dont require fertilizer. Cultivation requirements for growing chives: full sun, will tolerate light shade; grow best in well-drained, organic, fertile soil; keep soil moist use mulch, and water during periods of drought. Chives tend to get overcrowded so dig and divide every three to four years.

Chives are easily grown from seed or can be brought indoors at the end of the growing season. If you are bringing chives indoors, divide a clump, and pot up in good houseplant soil. Leave your chive plant outdoors for a month or so after the first frost to provide a short period of dormancy. Bring them indoors and provide the requirements needed for them to start growing again. To harvest, snip leaves 2 inches (5cm) from the base of the plant. Cut flower stalks off at the soil line once they have finished blooming. This prevents the plant form forming seed and keeps it more productive.

Chives require at least five to eight hours of sunlight a day. Grow them on a southern or eastern exposure to the light. If you are growing them on a windowsill, turn regularly to ensure every side receives light. If you are unable to provide this amount of light, they also grow well under fluorescent lights. Hang lights 6 inches above the plants and leave lights on for 14 hours per day.

In the garden, plant chives with carrots. They are good companion plantings for tomatoes and fruit trees. Chives or garlic planted between rows of peas or lettuce control pashas and are reported to control the incidence of aphids when planted between roses. In the kitchen, use chives in omelets, scrambled eggs, casseroles, rice, dips, gravies, butter, meat, and seafood. Chives can be added to soft cheese, salads, sandwiches, sour cream, vinegar, and bake potatoes. Chive blossoms can be used for garnishing and are particularly attractive in salads. Chive stems can be used for tying up little bundles of vegetables for appetizers.

Author: Gwen Stewart
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Drying

What you need:

• Twine

• Pruning shears

• Opaque glass or ceramic jar

The best time to harvest herbs is in the morning. Sunlight and heat deteriorate the herb’s essential oils, so avoid harvesting at midday. Select only healthy undamaged shoots for harvesting.

Find a warm, dry place to hang the herbs. Tie the stalks together and hang the bundles upside down to dry.

After the herbs are sufficiently dry, strip the foliage from the stalks.

Exposure to light degrades the flavor and aroma of herbs, so it’s best store the dried herbs in opaque ceramic containers or dark glass jars.

Overwintering Tender Herbs

What you need:

• Shovel
• Hand pruners
• Pot and saucer
• Potting soil

When you hear a severe frost warning on the news, is it time to say good-bye to your lemon grass, lemon verbena, basil, or other tender herb garden plants? Not if you overwinter them in pots indoors. Start by cutting back the foliage as necessary to fit on a windowsill. Check closely for insects. No matter how much you want to keep the plant, you don’t want to introduce pests into your house.

Next, carefully dig up the herb and shake off the excess soil. If the roots are too extensive to fit into the pot you’ve selected, prune them as needed. Your herb garden plants may now look like a shadow of its former self, but it should recover quickly.

Moisten the potting mix and put a layer in the bottom of the pot. Set the herb garden plants in the pot and fill in with more potting mix. You want the crown, the point where roots and stems meet, to be level with the surface of the mix. Water thoroughly.

Place in a sunny window and treat as a houseplant. It may produce long, lanky growth, but it will survive the dark days of winter. After the danger of frost passes, prune the herb garden plants hard and set it outdoors, acclimating it slowly to wind and sun. In about a week, replant it in the garden. In a month or so, the herbs will be their beautiful selves again.

Author: Michael Gooden
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Tomato Seeds Vs. Tomato Seedlings?

Whether you start your own tomato seeds or buy tomato seedlings, growing them organically will produce healthier plants and better tasting tomatoes.

Tomatoes are one of the most popular summer crops grown in the U.S. High in vitamins and minerals, tomatoes are a healthy and delicious addition to any back yard garden.

Tomatoes are native to the tropical areas of Central and South America, where they grow as perennials. However, in most of the United States tomatoes are grown as annuals. In the southern states they can be grown directly from seeds planted in the ground, but in the north they must be started indoors seven to ten weeks before the last frost in your area, and then transplanted to the garden as seedlings. If you dont have the time or space to start your own tomatoes indoors, tomato seedlings are available almost everywhere at planting time. Tomato seedlings should not be transplanted outside until nighttime temperatures are above 50F, unless you have a means of protecting them if the temperature drops.

Determinate Tomatoes Vs. Indeterminate Tomatoes

Determinate tomatoes are the bush type. They need less staking and are the better choice for growing in containers. I have had great success growing bush type tomatoes in containers of straight organic compost with just some PH adjustment. All tomatoes prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil (6.0 7.0). Determinate tomatoes set all their fruit and then ripen all at once. For this reason determinate tomatoes are also a good choice for canning, especially if you have a small crop.

Indeterminate Tomatoes are the vine type. This type of tomato continues to make new fruit right up until the first frost, and is a good choice if you want fresh tomatoes for the entire season (I suggest growing some of both types).

Indeterminate tomatoes can be left to sprawl on the ground, but this makes them harder to harvest and more susceptible to rotting from contact with the ground. For this reason most gardeners use some method of support to keep their tomatoes growing in a more orderly fashion. Wire cages are the simplest method of supporting tomato plants. They come pre-made in varying sizes or can be made from fencing and can contain a plant without the need for training (pinching back the suckers that occur between each leaf and stem junction. These turn into additional stems.) Hint: If you make you own cages, use a mesh large enough to get your hand through.

Indeterminate tomatoes may also be staked and trained to have only one stem, or they can be grown along a trellis and trained to have two or three stems. These two methods also require that you tie the tomato stems to the supports as they continue to grow. While training tomatoes is more work, by limiting the number of stems and therefore the number of tomatoes, the resulting fruit will be bigger and juicer (for that one slice tomato sandwich). Caging however will save you time and produce ample amounts of tomatoes that are superior to what youll find in the supermarket.

Hybrid Tomatoes Vs. Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes have not been altered and will produce fertile seeds that can be saved and grown to produce the same fruit in following years. Hybrid tomatoes will have sterile seeds or seeds that will produce one of the original varieties that made up the hybrid in the first place. I personally believe it is important to preserve heirloom varieties. Also, by saving seeds and replanting them, the resulting plants will become more adapted to your specific climate and soil type.

Hybrid tomatoes are acceptable to the organic gardener, provided they have not been genetically altered. Many hybrid types of tomato are resistant to disease and or insects. The VFN indication on plant labels refers to resistance to Verticillium Wilt, Fusarium Wilt and Nematodes respectively.

Whether you choose to grow heirloom varieties or hybrids, good organic gardening practices, will lessen the chances your plants will succumb to insects or disease. The use of plenty of rich organic compost, companion planting with herbs and flowers, generous mulching and regular watering, will all enhances your plants overall health and productivity.

Tips on Growing Organic Tomatoes

As with all plants, tomatoes benefit from the generous use of organic compost added to the soil.

Use plenty of mulch, not only to conserve water and hold down weeds, but also to minimize contact with soil born disease. (I prefer natural mulch to plastic. I use seaweed but leaves and glass clippings work well also)

When planting seedlings, dont loosen roots as you would with some transplants. Remove lower leaves and plant so only the top leaves are above the ground. If plants are very leggy, they can be planted on their side with the top turned gently upright to protrude from the soil.

Water plants regularly in early morning preferably. Watering should be done at ground level rather than spraying the leaves.

Apply fish emulsion periodically to organically supply trace minerals that contribute to healthy plants.

Top dress with more compost midway through the season

Companion plant with basil, dill or borage to attract beneficial wasps whose parasitic larvae feed on hornworms.

Good luck with your organic tomatoes. If you havent grown them before your in for a treat!

Author: Chip Phelan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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