Grow a Purple Food Garden

Purple Napa cabbage ‘Merlot’

If you thought that color-coordination was reserved for the flower garden, try expanding your palette (and your palate) this year. These purple-hued veggie and herb varieties combine to make a dramatic edible display, whether grown together or interspersed in the garden. In addition to being stunners in the garden, highly pigmented foods tend to contain high levels of antioxidant anthocyanins, elevating healthful eating from garden to plate.

Early in the season, tuck vivid purple alyssum alongside herbs and salad greens like ‘Red Batavia’ lettuce, one of our favorite head lettuces for its vibrant color and sweet tender leaves. The alyssum will continue to bloom even as spring lettuces are replaced by summer herbs. Purple basil and purple shiso are both grown in a similar manner- pinch back after transplanting to encourage bushier growth, harvest leaves for culinary use or allow them to flower for a more ornamental look. Purple basil is used just like green Genovese basil, and shiso is a popular Japanese herb with a flavor like cumin and clove. Use the leaves to make lettuce wraps or color radish pickles a vibrant red.

If you have the room and patience, cauliflower offers a fun payoff, and the ‘Graffiti’ variety boasts a wild purple head peeking out from blue-green leaves. Cauliflower can be sown in spring as long as they are kept watered through summer (and maybe offered some purple shade using ‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth); sow mid-summer for a fall harvest.

While traditional red cabbage always deserves a place in the garden, this year we are thrilled to be growing purple Napa cabbage, which offers all the versatility and crunch of green Napa in a stunning wine color. We can’t wait to chop it into colorful slaws and kimchi later this year.

Freshly dug garden potatoes are easy to grow and very rewarding, and digging up ‘Adirondack Blue’ potatoes really feels like unearthing buried jewels from the garden. The reddish-purple skin reveals violet flesh that holds its color even when cooked, making for stunning roasted or mashed potatoes.

Another unusual addition to the purple garden is the ‘Colorado Star’ artichoke, whose spiny 1-3’ tall plants produce a relatively high yield of buds in a range of purple hues. This artichoke variety matures earlier than others, making it a good option for our relatively short season. Grow them as an annual, and combine with purple-topped Verbena bonariensis and flavorful bronze fennel to create height and architectural interest in a garden that transcends the boundaries between edible and ornamental.

Verbena bonariensis

This blog post was written by Sophie Cassel, Red Wagon’s wholesale coordinator and community outreach team member. Sophie is an herbalist and educator. You can find her workshops here.

Many Marigolds

Giant African Marigolds in the garden of RWP friend Bob Furrer

Marigold: even the common name evokes a sense of radiance and joy, which is exactly what these plants bring to the garden. But not all members of the Tagetes genus are the same, and it can be confusing for the new gardener to know which type is best suited to which part of their planting plan. Read on to learn about some commonly confused species and a few other marigolds you’ll want to include in your garden. All marigold petals can be dried and used as a seasoning in winter time.

French Marigold

Tagetes patula, French Marigold. This cute, compact species is often planted as a companion in vegetable gardens, as it attracts beneficial insects and produces alpha-terthienyl, which helps deter nematodes and other pests. T. patula only reaches about a foot tall at most, and doesn’t have a spreading habit, so it’s easy to tuck in between tomato plants or around the edges of the garden bed. They come in a rich display of saturated sunset colors on 2” blooms, with many cultivars boasting variegation on the petals and a crested, double bloom.

Tagetes erecta, African Marigold, American Marigold, Mexican Marigold. Also known as Giant Marigold, which is a helpful reminder that this species can grow well above 3’ tall depending on the cultivar. T. erecta has large 3” blooms with dozens of petals packed tightly together, and come in single colors of vivid yellow and orange. Strategically placed, these tall flowers can provide afternoon shade for greens like arugula and cilantro, which tend to bolt in the hot summer sun. They provide the same beneficial insect and pest protection as T. patula in a larger, showy package. They also work beautifully in a cut flower garden alongside Benary’s Giant zinnias and tall snapdragons. Pick off flowers regularly to encourage blooming all summer. Giant marigolds are especially useful as dye plants and make gorgeous flower garlands, which are important elements in marriage and death rituals around the world. 

African Marigold, ‘Crackerjack’

Both of these species are technically edible, though not particularly delicious. The aromatic petals should be removed from the base of the flower, which tends to be quite bitter. Add to a pot of rice for a saffron-like effect, or include in baked goods for a splash of edible color. Read on for two more less common Tagetes species that are definitely must-haves for the edible flower garden.

Lemon Gem Marigold

Tagetes tenuifolia, Gem Marigold. These plants are a favorite at Red Wagon for their feathery foliage, compact clumping habit, and profuse blooms. Their petite flowers attract insects and keep blooming even without consistent harvest. Plant gem marigolds in their own containers or include in the herb and vegetable garden. Your imagination is the limit with how to include these flowers in your kitchen: top salads, pizzas or pastas with the bright petals, or decorate cupcakes for summer birthday celebrations. The green sepals and stems can be bitter, so remove those before eating.

Mexican Mint Marigold

Tagetes lucida, Mexican Mint Marigold, Mexican Tarragon. Easily the most delicious of all of the Tagetes species, Mexican Mint Marigold has small, yellow flowers that are primarily employed for their sweet licorice flavor, which can be added to beverages and salads. The Aztecs considered T. lucida sacred and used the plant in the preparation of their famous drinking chocolate. True to its native habitat, this compact plant thrives in heat and full sun, and will bloom from late summer through fall.

Calendula officinalis ‘Alpha’

An honorable mention goes to Calendula officinalis, often referred to as Pot Marigold. Although Calendula is not in the Tagetes genus, it does, like marigold, share a place in the Asteraceae or Daisy family. Calendula has oblong, waxy leaves and a flower that looks more similar to a tiny sunflower than a true marigold. Calendula has been similarly bred to display single and double blooms in a wide array of yellows, oranges and reds, and is held in high esteem as an herbal remedy (see our post about it here). Use the whole flower heads in fresh or dry tea blends, pluck the petals from the bitter center and sprinkle them on salads and cookies, or use as medieval folk did and throw a handful of the dried flowers into broths and stocks, where it lends rich color, flavor and medicinal benefit to soups all winter long. 

Whether planted for their beauty, defensive strategies, or edible petals, marigolds will provide a dash of sunshine well after the garden has been put to bed. With a variety of cultivars in each species, you could be forgiven for filling up your entire garden in Tagetes (and Calendula) flowers this year. You can find a list of all the marigolds we grow here.

Turning Towards the Garden

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

As always, the garden has been a refuge during difficult times for many of us. And the fresh snow that just came through does not have to hinder that practice. We can retreat into planning mode, escape into the creative process and find solace in what is to come. The garden is a place for hope and renewal.

Chad Donovan, Red Wagon horticulturist and all around great human, showed me some pictures he took earlier this winter after he stomped around in the snow to map our 2022 display gardens. He is reworking the layout so that it is well suited to classes, tours and work parties. I just loved his process and had never seen that before and am eager to share it with you. What a creative way to map out the garden in real space, and to see just how it fits into the landscape. And it is a fun thing to do with kids or grandkids. Speaking of those, have yours been on school vacation this week? Maybe you would you like to plan your veggie garden with them in mind. Some of our favorite ways to do that can be found here, in a blog post Sophie wrote about some of our favorite vegetable varieties to grow for little helpers who want to snack while they “work”.

Every garden should be built with use and practicality in mind, with beauty not far behind. The month of March is a great time to work on garden plans and designs. We are here to help, and have lots of resources to offer you in that vein.

Ellen Ecker Ogden, who designed the beautiful garden in the middle image above (illustration by Ramsay Gourd, from Ellen’s book The Complete Kitchen Garden), will be teaching an online course for us on The Art of Kitchen Garden Design. She will highlight some of her favorite ways to approach the vegetable garden with an artistic eye so that you can create a space that is welcoming and special. You can register for her class and see our 2022 curriculum by clicking the button below.

If you are just starting out with vegetable gardening, our owner, Julie Rubaud, will be teaching an in-person class geared towards first time gardeners on March 19th. You can find out more here.

We also have our complete 2022 plant list up on the website. You can find that here. Making a plant list is a great place to start with garden planning, and Sarah M. has been very diligent in updating our website so that it reflects all of the 1200+ varieties we are growing. Please take a look and tell us about your favorites! We love feedback on varieties, so also tell us which ones are duds in your experience.

Veggie Gardening with Kids

If you’re planning to do a lot of gardening with young ones this year, consider some of our most popular “kid’s sized” vegetables. These varieties are easy to grow and crank out prolific, tasty produce that take well to consistent harvesting by eager garden helpers. With this list, you’ll have something snackable  in the garden every month of the growing season.

Mexican sour gherkin

If your family loves cucumbers, both Picolino cucumbers and Mexican sour gherkins should find a spot in your garden this year. Picolino are a prolific and crisp cocktail cucumber, harvested at just 4-5” long for maximum sweetness and crunch. Mexican sour gherkins are also known as “mouse melons” and their inch-long fruits resemble something out of a fairy tale. They have a tart, lemony flavor and firm bite that kids love. Both varieties produce long vines and tendrils, so offer plenty of support with a trellis and watch them climb up, up, and away. They could even grow on a little teepee. Remember that they also benefit from consistent harvesting, which make them perfect for a daily scavenger hunt to find the ripe fruits.

Lunchbox peppers are so named for their snackable size, maturing at just 2-3” long and coming in shades of yellow, orange and red. These peppers are super sweet, and their small size also encourages more prolific fruiting per sturdy plant. While perfect for fresh eating, lunchbox peppers do equally well sauteéd and stuffed.

There’s no better seed to sow with kids than radishes. Sown directly in the garden early in the spring and carefully thinned to 1-2”, radishes offer a relatively quick payoff of bright pink roots with a sweet, pleasantly peppery flavor. Watered adequately and harvested early, radishes can be seeded in the veggie garden all season long. Try a mix of French breakfast and cherry red varieties for a range of harvest times and colors. 

Alongside your radish patch, set in some sprouting broccoli (also known as broccolini). It’s well known that broccoli is a favorite green with kiddos, and these sprouting types offer a “cut and come again” approach that is much more consistent and satisfying than waiting half the season for one full-sized crown. Broccolini are also more heat tolerant, although they’ll want plenty of water and decent soil. The sweet stems and florets are easily incorporated into mixed grills, crudité platters, and mixed into classic mac n’ cheese. These broccoli shoots are so sweet, they are also perfect to eat out of hand in the garden.

Baby Bear pumpkins mature to about half the size of a typical pie pumpkin, late in the season. They have very sturdy handles that make them appealing to children because they are easy to hold and don’t risk losing their stems. While they make excellent decorative pumpkins, Baby Bear has a sweet flesh that is perfect for pie making, and semi-hulless seeds that make a tasty roasted snack.

Of course, no children’s garden would be complete without cherry tomatoes, and Sungolds continue to win out with their bright orange color and candy-sweet flavor that kids can’t get enough of. Be sure to provide trellising and harvest consistently to prevent fruits from cracking. One plant will provide enough for snacks, but plant more for drying, freezing, canning, roasting or adding to salsa and sauces.

This blog post was written by Sophie Cassel, Red Wagon’s wholesale coordinator and community outreach team member. Sophie is an herbalist and educator. You can find her workshops here.

Our New Look!

You may have noticed we have a new look! We are excited to share it with you and hope you love it as much as we do. When I started this business, in 2005, my daughter was 8. She had a hand in coming up with our first logo - the sweet girl pulling the wagon. Louissa is now 25 (gulp!), out on her own big adventure and fully adulting.  As a team and business , we have grown up too.  While we still love these memories and that image, we have felt ready for a little makeover. Our new look better represents the abundance that surrounds us and embraces the community we’ve grown into today.  To us, it feels fresh and reflects our optimism for the future, yet remains grounded here in Hinesburg and in the 15+ year journey that has brought us to this moment. 

Big thanks to designer Tara Lynn Clayton, who has been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with. And to Lily Belisle, Sophie Cassel, April Howard, FM Muñoz, and Dan Kirk who have been busy guiding this process and making all new materials that you will see around the greenhouses, online and at our plant stands around town.

Fun fact: we have 1088 new plant signs in the works!

I am incredibly grateful to this team, and everyone on the Red Wagon crew (past, present and future) for taking this plant growing venture from a card table at the Burlington farmers market in 1996 to what it is today - a bustling oasis of plants, people, greenhouses and an herb farm. Dreams do come true. 

We are Hiring!

Open Positions for the 2022 season……

Red Wagon Plants is known for high-quality organic plants, an efficient, system-based work flow, and stellar customer service. We have a fun work atmosphere with fellow plant lovers, a paid lunch break, free plants for your own garden, and a beautiful work environment.

Want to join our team?

Red Wagon’s RETAIL TEAM in Hinesburg, VT has openings.

Our retail crew is the face of the operation and we count on our staff to be knowledgeable, courteous, and confident. Since 2020 we now have multiple ways of shopping at Red Wagon, in person and online (limited). When not helping customers, people on the retail crew are moving plants all day long, restocking, and keeping the greenhouses clean and tidy. We are continuously making room in the retail greenhouses for new plants from the production greenhouses, creating displays and filling our space with color. We expect our retail crew to have a strong memory so they can recognize our regular customers, remember plant names and also know where all the plants are located. Our retail crew is responsible for watering and maintaining plant health within the retail greenhouses.

Interested in being a Retail Crew Member? 

Requirements: 

• You are a gardener and plant lover with a strong background of gardening in Vermont. 

• You have a growing interest in perennials, annuals, container gardening, vegetable gardening, you have the confidence to give advice to beginner and more advanced gardeners. 

• You are physically fit to work outdoors in all weather and lift heavy plants repeatedly. 

• You are friendly, kind, and patient. 

• You enjoy working in a team. 

• You are able to keep your calm in a busy and crowded retail setting. 

• You can work independently and have a sense of responsibility. 

• You have already worked in either a retail garden center, a vegetable or flower farm, for a landscaper or a nursery OR you have at least 5 years of experience gardening in a climate like Vermont's. 

When? 

• Seasonal Position, Mid April to June/July/August - end date varies case by case. 

• Full time and part time positions are available.

• Daily schedule varies. We’re looking for both opening shifts, beginning at 7:30am and closing shifts, ending at 6:30pm.

• 3 to 5 days a week, and must be available for at least 1 weekend shift per week. 

If you would like to apply, please Contact Retail Manager, Lily Belisle, lily@redwagonplants.com with a resume, 3 references, and a cover letter describing why you’d like to work with plants and with Red Wagon. Tell us what you love most about gardening! Show us why you want to share your love of gardening with others.

A year for growing and learning

Welcome to a new year, friends. We are putting together our workshops and classes for the 2022 season and would love your help. Would you let us know more about your garden learning goals for this year and what type of events you would like to attend, virtually or in person? We cannot wait to hear your thoughts, and we have created a quick survey for you to fill out. It should take less than 5 minutes, and to thank you we will enter you in a raffle to win a complete set of our homegrown and handmade herb salts and vinegars. Thank you so much for your time and help. We cannot wait to see you all soon.

Cheers from Julie, Sophie, and Sarah - the Red Wagon Community Outreach Team

Simple Gifts

I have been drying orange slices and making all sorts of simple holiday decorations this past week. It is a fun and uplifting way to get into the holiday spirit or to honor the return of the light at solstice.

Hello and warm wishes from all of us at Red Wagon. I just wanted to pop in and give you a little reminder that this coming Friday, December 17th, will be our last order pick up for any purchases you make in our online store. If you would like any gifts for the gardener or the cook on your list, or you want to treat yourself to a little something, here is your chance!

Our suggestions:

Our cute new gift packs of herb salts are the perfect hostess gift, all ready to go. You can find those here. Each package is lovingly packed and dressed up with a cotton ribbon and includes a wooden miniature salt cellar and salt spoon.

How cute is this?

This sickle weeder is easily everyone’s favorite hand tool at Red Wagon Plants. I never step into the garden without it if there is weeding to do.

The Hori Hori knife is also a staple in my garden tool box. It is so handy for making a planting hole, digging out tough roots, or cutting back fibrous stems.

While this won’t win “Most Romantic Gift”, we think that any serious houseplant owner would be thrilled to receive a bag of potting soil or Compost Plus made by our friends at VT Compost Company.

And these gardening gloves are a sweet little gift that will fit into a stocking or parcel just fine. They are another favorite of mine that I stash in my tool box, car, and garden shed. You never know when you might want to get your hands in dirt!

Finally, thank you for making 2021 another amazing season for us. We are excited for our future with you, and have lots of new developments that we will be sharing soon. Your love of plants, nature, and people is what fuels us.

With love from our gardens to yours,

Julie and the crew

November Catch Up

Our fall weather has been so good and I hope you have all had a few bonus hours in the garden. In the vegetable garden, I am still harvesting greens, carrots, leeks and herbs. I have also gotten to more garden clean up than usual - things such as turning the compost pile, taking copious notes about adjustments I want to make next spring, and even raking a few leaves and cutting back some dead plants. Honestly, this is more than I usually do because I get a strange pleasure out of watching the garden die and decompose. I know that is not everyone’s cup of tea, the garden is the place we get to do what we want. No rules, no judgement.

Have you planted garlic yet? If not there is still time. Same with bulbs. This mild weather is really perfect for it.

Sarah B, Sophie, Chad, Sarah M and Lily planted garlic a couple of weeks ago for our herb farm.

New to garlic planting? Read all about it here. It is one of the key rituals of the season, and such a great way to put some closure on the year and look forward to the next. Optimism is at hand.

November Garden Chores

• Turn the compost pile, and get set up a new one for winter. I use wire panels like these. But I use plastic zip ties instead of the little clips .

• Take notes for the spring and label plants that you want to move, remove, or divide. I use metal stakes with a pencil. It works pretty well, and I just keep a look out for the stakes while doing spring clean up.

• Keep a running list of what worked well, and what you don’t want to repeat.

• Empty out all the annuals containers and cut back annual plants that are in the ground.

• Clean up the garden shed; clean and organize all the tools. Set up a note taking zone so that you don’t have to remember where you left your garden notebook in the fall.

• Cut back dormant perennials however much you want to cut them back. Remember that the more you leave, the more you are helping pollinators and birds by creating winter habitat and forage.

• Rake up leaves, however much you like to do it.

• Give the houseplants a thorough bath, and wipe them down with Neem oil.

Last Week of the 2021 Season

Our last week of the season!

Thank you for gardening this year, and for supporting us in all the incredible ways that you do. .

Thank you for gardening this year, and for supporting us in all the incredible ways that you do. Without all of your interest in gardening and plants, we would not be here. Our work is fun, and meaningful in every way, and attracts such a great team of people, both as workers and as customers. I am so grateful to each of you for another wonderful season. July and August have been a little more quiet than normal, and I am guessing it is because of the rain and the ability to travel and visit. I know my own garden has suffered its share of neglect due to its absentee owner. But this week, I am vowing to turn that around and spend 3 early morning sessions cleaning up, cutting back, and putting in a few new plants. Maybe you are feeling a little need to tame the jungle too? I welcome you to follow along and help keep me accountable in this late August push. I am happy to help you do the same. Share your goals and projects with us. You can tag us on social media, or send us an email, or even better, come in this week and give us an update. We love to hear from you.

In the Garden

My 4 projects this week in the home garden:

• Redo my herb planters for fall. I am ripping out old basil, cilantro, dill and planting fresh for fall.

• Cut back some very tired looking perennials that melted in the rain.

• Pull out some thugs, and replant with some better behaved plants.

• Rein in some of the plants along my gravel path - mainly Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (Cranesbill) and Stachys ‘Helen von Stein’ (Lambsear)

I will take some photos before and after each session. Feel free to follow along on Instagram or Facebook.

In the vegetable gardens at work, I will continue to lay in successions of greens for the fall. I am harvesting tomatoes, eggplants (finally) and peppers non-stop.

In the Kitchen

I have been making lots of yummy things with all the produce:

• Refrigerator pickles with the hot peppers. I use them in everything! The pickling mellows out the heat, and I take out a whole pepper, chop it fine, and add it to morning eggs, tacos, ricotta for stuffing other veggies, etc.

• Bread and butter pickles with cucumbers

• Eggplant parmesan

• Baba Ganoush

• Roasted eggplant, fennel, sweet onion, tomatoes, herbs and garlic for the freezer

• Peach Jam

• Plum Jam

• Peach Bourbon BBQ Sauce

• Brandied peaches

• Frozen blueberries

• Blueberry tart

• Blueberry sauce

Full disclosure - I have purchased eggplant and cucumbers and blueberries. Thank you, Old Road Farm, Steph, Adams Berry Farm and Sweet Roots Farm! I did not have great success with the eggplant in our heavy clay soils this year due to all of the rain. And our cucumbers all died due to a virus early in the season. Yes, these things happen to everyone and I we are fortunate to have fabulous farms in this area who work magic with soil and seeds no matter the weather. And a giant thank you to my friends Amy, Matt and Yvan for the peaches and plums. I am very lucky to have exceedingly generous friends with thriving home orchards.

I am happy to share recipes if you would like any.

In the Greenhouses

Our “Plant of the Week” deal is once again a whole group of plants, not just one. Here is the scoop: you buy 3 perennials and or shrubs, and we give you a fourth 1 free. It is ok to mix and match, and the lowest priced item will be the freebie. It is a great time to stock up on plants for the future planting projects (keep them watered until you get to them) that can happen a little later. Maybe once the kids are back in school, you can steal away into the garden for a few hours and pop in your new plants.

We are cleaning up, and starting the maintenance projects that keep our crew busy into the fall and winter. The herb farm continues to produce beautiful and fragrant harvests twice a week, and the indoor herbs are doing really well in their new beds.

Mid-August News, Shuffling Priorities and Plant of the Week

Heliopsis - one of our quart sized perennials that we are giving away with every purchase this week.

The days are numbered for drinking coffee in the garden while the sun comes up. If you enjoy that kind of thing, I hope that you are getting plenty of it. I find myself doing a mental inventory much of the day, re-organizing the list of things I have to make time for while summer lasts. Lots of swimming, lots of outdoor meals, and that precious early morning coffee in the garden.

The fall garden calls, and I continue to plant more veggies each week for late season harvest. This week: spinach, scallions, lettuce. I was at the Shelburne Farmers’ Market this week, and bought 2 heads of lettuce for my mom. I had failed to plant lettuce a while back and am now in between generations. I am vowing to have every green thing I want ready in the garden between now and December. It is possible. This Succession Planting article is helpful if you want to learn more about working the edges of the season to your advantage.

New in the greenhouse this week: spinach, chard, cabbages, sprouting broccoli, kohlrabi, kales, and lots of new chicories and lettuces. All are cold hardy, and all will create bounty in the fall garden.

Our Plant of the Week is really a Deal of the Week. It is mid-August and we are closing on August 29th, so highlighting just one plant doesn’t seem fair. This week, with every purchase of $25 or more, we will offer you a free quart sized perennial. There are lots to choose from: yarrow, salvia, coral bells, catmint, heliopsis (pictured above), rattlesnake master, boneset, and more. I hope you take advantage of this deal and pop in a few new perennials when you stock up on those fall veggies.

We have had a few requests for a recipe I have been making for years, slow roasted tomatoes for the freezer. if you are curious, you can read about it here. This is one of the main ways I preserve tomatoes. Super easy - just roast tomatoes, garlic, herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper overnight at a very low temperature, and then, in the morning, slide the mix into freezer bags for good winter eating. I also do a version with eggplant, peppers, onions, tomatoes etc as a roasted, deconstructed ratatouille. That also freezes quite well.

I hope to see some of you in the next couple of weeks. I will be working in the greenhouse this Friday afternoon - come say hi!

Thank you for your support and your garden enthusiasm,

Julie

Herb Salts, Plant of the Week, Garden and Kitchen Update

YUM. We are very excited to share this week’s Plant of the Week deal. Any remaining berry plants we have, are available for the Buy One, Get One Free promotion. This includes the following:

• Strawberries - Alpine strawberries in 4-packs that can be used for edible landscaping, and as a perennial ground cover in sun to part-shade; and ‘Mara des Bois’, French ever-bearing strawberries that are in hanging baskets, but can be planted in the ground for years of enjoyment.

• Raspberries- a few varieties, including summer bearing and fall bearing

• Elderberries- hardy, easy to grow native plants that are good for making plant medicine as well as attracting wildlife, creating a hedgerow, and for their fragrant flowers that can be eaten or turned into tea or cordials.

• Blackberries - a hardy, thornless variety that produces huge blackberries

• Gooseberries - an old-fasihoned fruit that is great for jams and preserves

August is a great time to plant berries of all kinds, and leaves them plenty of warm days to establish healthy root systems so that will support them for years to come. Our “Plant of the Week” promotion lasts until Sunday, or while supplies last, whichever comes first. Quantities are limited.

In the Garden

The next few weeks are the funnest part of the gardening calendar in my mind. The weeds are under control, we are in harvest mode, and there are lots of empty spots to fill in with plants for the autumn bounty. Going in this week: more escarole, radicchio, lettuce, scallions, spinach, cabbage, broccoli and sprouting broccoli.

I have harvested garlic, shallots and sweet onions. If you haven’t done it yet, you probably should this week. The storage onions - yellow, red, and cipollini - look almost ready in our garden. I will check them later in the week, and if I see that lots of the tops are laying down, I will pull them all out of the soil. I usually wait for about half of them to be fallen over as a sign that they are mature enough to cure well and develop those papery skins that allow them to stay firm in storage all winter long. If you are not sure if your onions are ready, send a photo and we can help you decide.

In the flower garden, Lily has been deadheading her zinnias and recommends making a bouquet to give to someone. It feels good. She has a new baby niece who turned one week old today, and was the lucky recipient of said bouquet. So adorable.

Sara says to check for hornworms in the tomato patch. The earlier you catch and destroy them, the less chance of a full on invasion. Good luck.

In the Kitchen

I have started freezing and canning in earnest, with a big batch of Roma beans taking center stage this weekend. If you have not grown these or eaten them, I encourage you to put them on your list for next year’s garden, or stop by a farmers’ market or farm stand to stock up while summer is still with us. Trillium Hill Farm in Hinesburg has them currently.

Eggplants and peppers are finally abundant in the garden (the rain slowed them down) and I just made a simple dinner with roughly chopped peeled eggplant, shallots, peppers of all kinds, halved cherry tomatoes, torn herbs, minced garlic, a glug of olive oil, and chunks of feta. I laid everything out on a sheet pan and roasted it for about 45 minutes at 375F. What an easy summer dinner, served warm on the deck, or at room temperature for a picnic by the lake. Preferably with an icy cold rosé and a baguette from O’bread or this easy recipe for pita from King Arthur. I spent a good part of the pandemic winter making pita, and I am not mad about that new skill.

Our herb salts and vinegars are now available! We have been busy harvesting and chopping herbs, and curing them in salt for maximum flavor and fragrance. I recommend them all right now, especially to elevate simple garden meals of cucumbers, tomatoes, greens, and grains into something special every night of the week. They are also great for the grilling and entertaining you might be doing outdoors while the getting is good. You can find them at our Hinesburg greenhouses, at City Market, Hunger Mountain Coop, Farmers to You, Intervale Food Hub, Sweet Roots Farm, Trillium Hill Farm, and Philo Ridge Farm. And here online. We are set up to ship herb salts and vinegars. Maybe you would like to make someone’s day by sending some as a gift?

Enjoy the week, enjoy each other.

Julie

Plant of the Week: All annuals.

This week, we are featuring all annual flowers and annual foliage plants as our Plant(s) of the Week. That means they are all buy one, get one free. Why annuals in the first week of August? Because we still have 9 weeks left before our average first frost. Because it has been raining every day, and maybe you need a splash or two of brightness. And, if we get a late frost, or if you protect tender plants during those initial cold nights, we could be enjoying annual flowers for another 3 months. That is a long time! Our summers are short, and we want to help you make the most of it.

In the garden

The rain has done a number on our gardens. How about you? Diseases are starting to set in, a few plants are rotting in place, and the tomatoes are slow to ripen. Gardening is not for the faint of heart. I feel hopeful that it will all even out in the end and we will have a good tomato harvest, but in the meantime, I will be spending some time doing some garden clean up.

• If you are growing sweet onions (Walla Walla or Ailsa Craig are the varieties we offered in the spring), I recommend you harvest those soon. They don’t do as well with lots of moisture. If your other onion plants look good, you can likely leave them in the ground a little longer.

• The celery is nicer than ever, loving all this rain. If you have big celery plants, it is ok to harvest just the outside branches and let the rest of the plant continue growing.

• The cut flowers are cheery and full, and I have started to take home buckets of flowers to make arrangements around the house. It is a nice way to spend a rainy evening, especially while listening to this.

• I am leaving some bolting cilantro in the garden so that I can harvest the blossoms for salads and later, the green seeds for little flavor bombs. Bolting herbs and herb flowers are one of my favorite additions to meats and veggies hot off the grill.

We hope you come by for our Thursday garden walk. You will have a chance to walk around the gardens with Chad and with me. We will show you what is working well, what is not (this is Real Talk), and we will share strategies for pest / disease control and how to harvest for best results. You can ask all the questions you want such as “when is a cantaloupe ready?” or “how do I deal with Colorado Potato Beetle?” You get the picture. We will meet at 6 pm, and walk around the gardens, herb farm, and behind the scenes in the greenhouses. If you prefer riding in a golf cart, let us know. We are happy to help anyone who needs the mobility assist. Sign up with this button so that we know how many people to expect:

Wishing you a dry and sunny week,

Julie

P.S. Our Hinesburg greenhouses are open for in person shopping every day from 8 am to 6 pm. No appointment needed.

• Our online store is available for Friday afternoon curbside pick up. Please have your orders in by midnight Wednesday. The full array of our plants is available only at our Hinesburg greenhouses. The online store just carries tools, seed, and a fresh herbs for pre-ordering.

• Sara and Sophie have been bringing plants to our wholesale partners. You can find a list of those stores here.

Plant of the Week: Buckets and Baskets and Crates, Oh My!

This week we’re featuring one of our best deals yet: Buy one large planter, get one free! If you need some late season color for the porch or patio, we’ve got you covered with vining hanging baskets, gorgeous sap bucket planters, and locally made apple crates from our neighbors at Clifford Lumber that are overflowing with blooms.

Our friend and retail staff member Hope Johnson is to thank for designing many of our annual combinations. Hope brings a keen eye and a mastery of color and form to everything she does, whether it’s arranging planters or designing her stunning bee quilts. We’re lucky to have an artist like Hope on our team.

Below is a list of the many containers we have available. Prices range between $15.99 and $60, so finding symmetry in your patio garden is particularly economical this week!

• Thunbergia: Also known as Black-eyed Susan Vine, with pops of butter yellow and orange flowers that peek out from draping foliage. Place in a hot, sunny spot where it can trellis along a fence or drape down from the hanging basket.

• Mandevilla: A tropical plant with bold pink blooms that we eagerly anticipate every summer. These plants love the heat, but can also be brought indoors to overwinter.

• Passionflower: We have two varieties of this stunning vine- “Aphrodite’s Nightie'‘ + “Blue Bahama”. Both will produce lush climbing foliage and totally unique blooms through the summer and fall. And did you know it has a calming effect when used as a tea herb?

• Lophospermum: This year we are finally carrying this sweet flowering vine in “Wine Red” and it could not be easier to grow. Just place the basket in part to full sun and enjoy the burgundy flowers all season long.

• Nasturtium: A kid favorite! Edible flowers and leaves cascade out of these sweet baskets. Infuse into vinegar for a spicy salad dressing, or pickle the seed pods for a highly local take on capers.

• Herb Trios: 12” oval pots that feature mixed basil varieties and classic culinary herbs. Bring to your next potluck and place in the center of the table for on-demand garnishes.

• Tomato Buckets: Trellised in 3 gallon pots, these tomatoes are great for patio snacking or adding some additional cherry tomato varieties to your collection. For folks who are summering in Vermont, they also offer a late planting opportunity.

• Shade Baskets: If you’re working with part to full shade, fear not. Our fiber baskets are full of sturdy foliage and flowers that look good through the season. Our friends at Stone Soup fill their awning with them every year for long-lasting color and texture.

• Sap Buckets and Apple Crates: These make wonderful gifts, as they come ready to display and provide cut flower options close by when placed near an entrance or by the kitchen door. This week, you can find the perfect one for a friend- and get one free to keep for yourself.

Passionflower “Blue Bahama”

In the Garden

Have you been cutting back your annual flowers? While it’s important to leave some blossoms for the pollinators to enjoy, cutting annual flowers prolongs their bloom time and provides you with fresh backyard bouquets every day. Additionally, flowers that have been pollinated tend not to last nearly as long in a vase as those that are cut before the insects find them. Now is a good time to scan your cutting garden and prune back any spent flower heads or those that have gone to seed- think of it as a haircut for your garden.

With all the rain we’ve been getting, it’s a good idea to add fertility to your flowers and vegetables now, especially if you have loamy or sandy soil. We like to use Vermont Compost Company’s Compost Plus for gentle, long-lasting feedings that will keep the produce and flowers in peak production.

As always, our retail greenhouses are open from 8-6 every day, and we’re happy to answer questions and help you find your new favorite plants. You can join us in person on August 5th for our free First Thursday event; this month Chad will be talking about pests and diseases of the home garden.

Happy gardening,

Sophie

P.S. If your kitchen ambitions are larger than what your garden can provide, we have bulk fresh herbs available to purchase: Use the secret code BASIL for $5 off your order of Sweet Genovese Basil.

Plant of the Week: 3 Native perennials

In our attempt to reduce plastic, we have been growing a few plants in fiber pots. They are not perfect, but they have been good for a few things. One of our experiments was with native perennials. We wanted to give you an option that feels ecological for those extra-eco plantings, so this week’s Plant(s) of the Week are a trio of power house perennials for the native / pollinator garden:

Asclepias tuberosa, a.k.a. Butterfly Weed - a little slow to get established, but once it takes off, it provides a bright pop of orange all summer long.

Eupatorium maculatum, a.k.a. Joe Pye Weed - a tall meadow plant that looks so striking in the landscape and is always covered in bees and butterflies

Schizachrium scoparum, a.k.a. Little Bluestem - the Audubon calls this a living bird feeder.

You can buy one ($5.99), get one free of any of the plants in this power trio. It is okay to mix and match, and we encourage you to bring home all three so that you can create a little pollinator habitat with three plants that bloom at different times, at three different heights, and create a perfect little haven for our smallest friends.

In addition, we have lots of great perennials in smaller sizes this year so that you can add to your existing garden or create a new flower bed without breaking the bank. Quarts are $9.99, 4” pots are $4.99.

We have the following in smaller sizes:

Eupatorium perfoliatum, a.k.a. Boneset

Saponaria ocymoides, a.k.a. Rock Soapwort

Heuchera a.k.a. Coral Bells in lots of different varieties

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Indian Summer’, ‘Goldilocks’, and ‘Cherokee Sunset’

Allium cernuum, a.k.a. Nodding Onion

Centranthus ruber a.k.a. Rosy Red Valerian or Jupiter’s Beard

Anise Hyssop

Molina Grass ‘Windspiel’

Chasmanthium latifolium, a.k.a. Northern Sea Oats

Hibiscus moscheutos, a.k.a. Hardy hisbiscus ‘Luna Swirl’

Dianthus - lots of varieties

Monarda bradburiana - a favorite native plant of mine. It makes a great ground cover and grows well in all sorts of conditions

Monarda didyma, a.k.a. Scarlet Beebalm

Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’

Eryngium planum ‘Blaukappe’

Eryngium yuccifolium - another favorite native plant of mine. It’s got great architecture in the summer garden.

Echinacea angustifolia

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Achillea millefolium ‘Moonshine’ and ‘Sassy Summer Sangria’

Nepeta x faassenii ‘Junior Walker’

Heliopsis helianthiodes ‘Summer Night’ - this won’t stay at this size / price point for long. It is a fast growing, big plant, and will get bumped up to a gallon or two gallon pot soon. It is a great filler for the back of the border where you want late July (yellow) color and height. It would look great with this week’s power trio Plant(s) of the Week!

In the Garden

It is time to harvest garlic. While the rains have made it hard to find a good time to pick, we want to encourage you to do it sooner rather than later. The longer the garlic sits in wet soil, the less success you will have to cure it properly. Harvest now so that the skins don’t rot and leave all the cloves exposed all winter long. To learn more about harvesting and curing garlic, you can read these blog posts from the way back machine.

Now is a great time to assess the perennial gardens and take notes about changes you would like to make. It is often a time of year with less color in the garden. The early bloomers are done, and the late season flowers haven’t started quite yet. Some great additions: salvias, echinacea, flowering shrubs such as smooth leaf hydrangea, Russian sage, geranium, Eryngium, and lots more. We can help you out with your selection if you tell us what you are looking for in terms of height, color and exposure.

I am ripping out the old peas and planting more greens of all sorts. I have been harvesting lettuce, beets, kohlrabi, cucumbers, greens of all sorts, and radicchios of all sorts. Take a look at anything that is sub-par in the garden, and turn that space into something productive. We have lots of new 4-pack veggies each week and can help you make the most of the summer and fall with succession plantings that you will harvest until the ground freezes.

I have to admit that there is a pile of bark mulch in my driveway that doesn’t seem to magically go away. I bought it to add to my arsenal of murder weapons in my attempt to eradicate the Bishop’s Weed at our house. But it is still there, and so is the Bishop’s Weed. Do you have any projects that you can never make time for? We all do, right? I am hoping to wrap up some of those danglers this week. And no, I don’t think bark mulch will really help to kill the Bishop’s Weed. But it will hide the ugly black plastic that I will smother it with first. Wish me luck.

Happy gardening,

Julie

Plants of the Week: It's all about the HERBS!

Welcome to the basil forest!

It’s official- harvesting plant medicine has begun in earnest and, depending on who’s in your garden, won’t stop until first frost. This time of year it’s all about the Aster and Mint families.

Blossoms like calendula, chamomile, echinacea and yarrow all benefit from regular deadheading, and create small consistent harvests that lend themselves well to infusions in oil or apple cider vinegar to create soothing topical applications for all manner of skin ailments. Infuse a pint of oil (local sunflower, olive or jojoba are lovely) with freshly-wilted chamomile, calendula and yarrow, then blend with local beeswax for tins of salve. You’ll be the hero of every chapped lip and dry hand you know!

Mint family plants like lemon balm, tulsi, basil, peppermint and spearmint should be harvested when the bottommost flowers on their spikes have begun blooming, or slightly before. Cutting at this time encourages bushy regrowth, and gives you the highest quantity of aromatic leaves and flowers without a lot of stem or seed. Be sure to make yourself a half gallon of fresh mint tea to have on hand in the fridge- plants with high volatile oil content (read: nice and smelly) will last the longest in the fridge, as the volatile oils do double duty inhibiting fermentation. This also clues us in to their amazing ability as general support for our immune system. Harvest on a hot, sunny day and dry quickly in a breezy, warm spot to get the highest volatile oil content from your plants.

Tulsi drying on racks in our greenhouse

We are doing a big sale this week- buy one herb pot, get one free! Culinary staples, perennials, and tea herbs are all available and will continue to produce well into early fall. Come by the greenhouses between 8-6 every day to stock up on herbaceous joy this week!

This is a great time to bulk up your herb garden with a new-to-you plant or more of your favorites. Include a couple of lemon verbena and rosemary plants to make Sophie’s favorite “lazy tea”: Just add a few whole leaves of lemon verbena and a sprig of rosemary to the bottom of your cup, then cover with hot water and steep five minutes. It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up, and is even better when steeped overnight and served on ice.

No more room for herbs in the garden? We’ve got you covered! We are now offering bulk fresh herbs for pickup at our greenhouse. Dry sage and thyme for holiday gifts, brew tulsi and anise hyssop tea for your whole cookout, make a cool mint bath for your sunburn… the possibilities are endless!

Building mesh screens to sift dried herbs

We have some upcoming classes for the herbal enthusiast (registration required):

July 20th: Know and Grow your Chicory. Julie and I are teaming up to talk all things chicory- from its use as an ancient medicinal herb, to coffee substitute, to revered Italian vegetable and everything in between. Taste tests included!

August 5th: First Thursdays in the Garden: Chad will be talking integrated pest management this month- how we do it at RWP and how you can at home. Julie will offer a behind-the-scenes tour of our greenhouses. I’ll also be hosting our September 2nd edition to talk about fall herbs!

August 21st: Harvesting and Processing Medicinal Herbs. We’ll dive deep into the different ways to preserve and use the herbal bounty in this hands-on three-hour class, so bring your questions and jars!

Let us know what you’re making from the season’s bounty, and of course come by any day 8-6 with questions, concerns, and success stories. We’re happy to help and love hearing about your garden journeys.

Plant of the Week (POW)

This week’s plant of the week is actually a whole group of plants. We are offering flowering vines, and if you buy ONE, you will get THREE free! They’re a bit tangled together at this point, but they are healthy and dark green, and with a little patience can be untangled and turned into an almost instant trellised green wall. Or make a teepee out of bamboo and let them climb all over the structure. Cover an old fence, create a privacy screen, pull down the gone-by spring peas and replant with flower vines. You get the picture - there are lots of fun uses for flowering vines. Please note, that this is while supplies last. If we run out of vines, we will switch to something else for our Plant of the Week (POW). The selection includes

• Cypress VIne

• Morning Glories (3 different kinds)

• Hyacinth Bean Vine

• Sweet Peas

• Scarlet Runner Beans

IN THE GARDEN

Maintenance pruning and weeding in the perennial gardens

The rain has been such a blessing this past week. We are now seeing lots of weeds and quick new growth and jungle feeling is real! May I suggest our sickle weeder and our small snips as tools to help you in that endeavor? When the garden is growing so quickly, it becomes harder to get weeds with a hoe, so I turn to my hand tools for a quick cultivation run through when the weeds are small.

If your strawberries have finished producing fruit, it is time to renovate them

1. mow it down (the whole thing, with a line trimmer)

2. rototill the edges of the beds to keep the growth in the center of the bed, and out of the walking paths

3. fertilize the strip of stubble that will remain and become next year’s bed and water it well if we have another dry spell.

Check your garlic. It is ready to harvest when about ⅔ to ¾ of the leaves have turned brown. We will probably harvest ours next week.

Wash and prep your vegetables as soon as you harvest them. Lettuce greens store so much better when they have been washed and dried first. I try to prep everything I harvest as soon as I bring it into the kitchen. Bags of dirty, hot greens just wilt and get ignored, but if I trim, wash, and dry salad greens, I am much more likely to eat a salad with every meal. I have been blanching chard and kale as I bring it home too. I then have an easy cooked green to eat with eggs or add to a taco, or a grain bowl. It makes meal planning a lot easier.

Herbes Salées - a Traditional Quebequois Preservation Method

Recipe for Herbes Salées (adapted from Spruce Eats)

Here is a traditional Quebequois way to preserve large amounts of herbs to use all winter.

Suggested uses: A teaspoon in hot water makes a soothing and instant herbal broth. Stir into soups and stews, mix into salad dressings and tomato sauce, mix with cream cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese for dips, spreads and snacks….the uses are endless and a jar of these preserved herbs will be a welcome reminder of summer’s freshness during the depths of winter.

• 1 cup chives (fresh, chopped)

• 1 cup savory (fresh, chopped)

• 1 cup parsley (fresh, chopped)

• 1 cup chervil (fresh, chopped)

• 1 cup carrots (grated)

• 1 cup celery leaves or lovage or cutting celery (chopped)

• 1 cup green onions (chopped)

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup coarse salt

  In a large bowl, combine chopped chives, savory, parsley, chervil, carrots, celery leaves, and green onions.. Layer 1 inch of herb mixture in the bottom of a crock or glass bowl and sprinkle with some of the salt. Repeat layers until all of the herb mixture and salt is used.

  Cover and refrigerate for 2 weeks. Drain off accumulated liquid and pack herb mixture into sterilized jars. Refrigerate until ready to use. Can keep for up to a year in the refrigerator.

Herbes Salées photo by Kate Bentley

Plant(s) of the Week: A power trio

Tulsi with bee friend. Photo by Sophie Cassel

Happy Solstice! We are finally beginning to see the fruits of our early season labor, as the chamomile and calendula come into full flower, the mints begin to really take off, and the perennial valerian and angelica stand tall. I have been absolutely flabbergasted by the way my second-year lemon balm and catnip plants have bushed out, and have begun cutting them back to dry for winter teas. Any time I harvest plants for drying, I also make a batch of fresh herbal tea. This weekend I gathered

• the first calendula blossoms

• a handful of chamomile

• a few sprigs of bronze fennel

• a big bundle of lemon balm

I chopped them all into a half-gallon mason jar and let it steep in the sunshine for a few hours before straining over ice for a perfect “sun tea”. A tea like this only exists at a unique moment, and in a unique garden. This snapshot of the season is a great way to get to know your individual herbs.

This week, in our retail greenhouse, we are offering a trio of herbs as our “Plant(s) of the Week”

• Anise Hyssop

• Tulsi (which we have a blog post about)

• Chamomile.

These are a perfect sun tea trio. All three are plants that you’ll definitely want more than one of in your garden, and when you buy these three staple medicinal herbs, you get three free!

You can find me in the garden drinking sun tea, reading, and hanging out with the plants,

Sophie Cassel

Late June Garden Chores

Plant now for this look later in the summer.

IN THE GARDEN

—> Keeping up with the weeds after the rain is a priority. They will all bounce up and make a carpet in no time. For best results, cultivate when the weeds are young, once the soil has dried out.

—> Fertilize onions, leeks, and shallots because this is when they put on the most growth. I use Compost Plus and water once or twice with fish emulsion during the weeks of late June and early July.

—> Stake and prune tomatoes. Keep the suckers pinched off, and the foliage off the ground. Doing this now will keep the plants disease free for much longer. If you have not yet, I recommend mulching under the plants to keep the soil from splashing up on the leaves since this is one of the ways disease can spread. We will show you how to do this on our July 1st Plant Walk.

—> Now is a great time to put in a strawberry or asparagus patch. We have both available as bare root stock and our retail team can explain how to do it if you are not sure.

—> I have planted all the required staples such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc, and now I am ready to plant the electives. This week it is the cut flower garden. I have the following combos planned for different spots in the new display garden (which you can see on our First Thursday Plant Walks).

• -Marble Arch Mix Salvia, Cosmos, Zinnia ‘Benary’s Giant White’

• -Verbena bonariensis, Zinnias ‘Benary’s Giant Mix’ and ‘State Fair Mix’, Rudbeckia hirta

• -Statice, Strawflower, Gomphrena, Celosia, Amaranth (all for drying)

• -Sunflowers - a crazy mix of all of our varieties