September 2007

Sponsored by:

Welcome

Welcome to the Edible Landscaping with Charlie Nardozzi newsletter. I've been fruit, herb, and vegetable gardening since I was a child, and I love food. My motto is "if I can't eat it, why grow it." Well, maybe I'm not that strict about all my plantings, but I do try to plant edible shrubs whenever possible. You'll find edible shrubs in the foundation plantings around my home, edible flowers in the flower garden and attractive vegetables mixed in the perennial border or in containers.

I know you love to grow plants too. And many of you love to grow fruits, herbs, and vegetables as well. Some of you may be looking for a little guidance. This monthly newsletter can help. It will feature information that will give you the best of both worlds; edible plants that double as attractive landscape plantings for your yard. Not only will you reap the benefits of a beautiful landscape, but the fruits, herbs, and vegetables you harvest will amaze you. Even if you don't want to integrate edibles into your ornamental plantings, you'll learn about the best ways to grow fruits, herbs, and vegetables in any setting in your yard. Plus, each month I'll feature an edible along with a recipe. You can even submit questions -- I'll select a few to answer each issue.

Edible landscaping can provide food for your family, neighbors and community, and it also can help with energy conservation, reducing rainwater runoff and pollution, and creating wildlife habitat to help birds, butterflies, pollinating insects and other wild creatures survive. By nurturing edibles you'll create a landscape of beauty, functionality and food. So stay tuned, and enjoy the bounty of your edible landscape.

The Fall Greens Garden

While the vegetables and fruits have been pouring in from my garden, I always have to remind myself this time of year not to stop planting. The temptation is to think the harvest will last forever, but I know that eventually the warm-season crops, such as peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, and eggplants, will slow down. In a few months the garden will be bare unless I think about planting cool-season crops now for a second harvest. Planting peas, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, and other cool-weather crops now will reap dividends in October and November when all the heat lovers have faded..... >>more

Edible of the Month: Apple

Apples are the quintessential all-American fruit. Who could resist a fall apple pie or the crisp sweet/tart flavor of a freshly picked fruit? While the apple trees I remember growing near my grandfather's farm were nearly 30 feet tall and we needed trucks and ladders to harvest, modern favorites are perfectly sized for small edible landscapes. Many varieties are dwarfs, which grow less than 10 feet tall. Some varieties are even small enough for container growing. If you want to get fancy, you can try espaliering apple trees to a fence or wall.... >>more

Send Your Ideas!

Do you have any tips to share? Are there topics you'd like me to address?
E-mail me at ediblelandscaping@garden.org

September Q and A

Question: The leaves of my blueberry bushes have turned yellow, with green lines in them. What's wrong?

Answer: Blueberries need a low pH to grow properly. If the pH is above 5, the plant can't take up enough iron and the result is yellowing of the leaves between the leaf veins. The remedy is simple. This fall add 1 to 2 cups of sulfur around the drip line of the blueberry shrubs and scratch it in with a rake. Add lower amounts of sulfur on sandy soils and higher amounts on clay soils. Keep the shrub well watered this fall. By next year the pH should be lowered and the leaves should be darker green and the plant more productive.

Question: My tomatoes have loads of green fruits that are just starting to ripen. We live in a cold climate and frost can happen anytime in September. How can I speed up the ripening process?

Answer: Tomatoes need maturity and warmth to ripen. You can help the fruits mature faster by pruning off any flowers and new fruits that are forming now. These won't have enough time to mature before frost. Also, prune off any new shoots and top growth so the plant puts more energy into ripening the existing fruits. To create more warmth, cover the plant with a floating row cover to keep the fruits warmer at night. As soon as the fruits show some color they can be picked and brought indoors to ripen in a warm room out of the direct sun. Place the ripening tomatoes on a flat surface, not touching, and cover with newspaper to keep bugs off. Check every few days and dispose of any rotting fruits.