Growing Ideas with Johnny's Selected Seeds

Johnny's Events Calendar - December 2009

2009-11-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

Johnny's December 2009 Events Calendar - click to enlarge:

Or download our PDF here.

Product spotlight - December 2009

2009-11-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

Product Spotlight: Red Pearl grape tomato

Red Pearl is a new grape tomato from Johnny's breeding program. It has been a standout among the dozens of grape tomato varieties we have trialed in the past few years. It has resistance to Fusarium and intermediate resistance to late blight.
Red Pearl is nearly seedless and has exceptionally tender skin. It is sweet like most grape tomatoes, but has a more complex tomato flavor than many varieties. Compared to Red Grape, the fruits are slightly larger, and yields are similar.
The fruits resist cracking and hold well on the vine, even when ripe, which reduces the need to harvest every day. Picking is easy, though, because the tomatoes are visible and accessible on the tall, open plants. Red Pearl is an indeterminate variety and a good choice for hoophouse and greenhouse production. 58 days to maturity.
Seed was produced on the JSS research farm and is certified organic.

Product spotlight: Echo Blue lisianthus

A new addition to our cut-flower seeds for 2010 is Lisianthus Echo Blue. The color is a rich, deep blue that is useful in bouquets and arrangements. Echo Blue is fully double, giving it a rose-like appearance that is a magnet for customers. Its vase life is extraordinary two weeks with proper care. Florists are accustomed to paying top dollar for lisianthus from the wholesalers and will be eager to buy them locally grown when they see the vibrant color of fresh-picked lisianthus. Grow Echo Blue along with Echo Champagne, a peachy pink color, and you will have an elegant flower for every floral design
Lisianthus is a great crop for the hoophouse because it can be planted when the weather is still cold, and it will tolerate extremely high summer temperatures under plastic. In windy areas, growing it under protection is essential to producing long stems. The plants can get to 3 feet tall and need to be supported; we recommend Hortanova mesh erected horizontally over the bed.
Because lisianthus is very slow growing, it needs to be started in a greenhouse at least 13 weeks before you want to plant it outside. The Echo series, one of the earliest varieties, will bloom 20 to 24 weeks from sowing. The seeds need light to germinate, so should be covered only with a light sprinkling of vermiculite to hold in moisture. Start the seed on a heating mat set to 75F and provide good air circulation. Applying T-22HC Plantshield is recommended to provide protection against root pathogens during the slow early growth of the seedlings. After emergence, the temperature should be reduced to 60-75F. Do not allow the plugs to become rootbound, as this can permanently stunt them. Plant on 4x6-inch spacing. Echo Blue petals show water spots, so avoid overhead watering and harvest when two or three of the flowers on a stem are beginning to open.

Product spotlight: Soil block makers

In his book The New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman writes: "Soil blocks constitute the best system I have yet found for growing seedlings."
We couldn't agree more. They produce a much better plant that establishes quickly with no transplant shock. Soil blocks also eliminate the expense, waste, and storage issues of plastic pots. Once you have purchased soil block makers and trays, your only annual cost for transplants will be for potting mix.
Johnny's soil block making system has everything you need to make soil blocks for all your vegetable, flower, and herb transplants. Johnny's 512 mix and Vermont Compost's Fort Vee mix are both good choices for soil blocks because they will hold together well when compressed into blocks.
We also have a new propagation tray with a flat mesh bottom that provides good drainage for soil blocks. It is a standard 10'x20" size, so it can be used with our leak-proof trays and acrylic domes.
Another new addition to the line is a potting tray that lends itself well to soil blocking, allowing you to compress the soil mix tightly by pushing down and twisting the blocker back and forth. It even has an optional shelf for holding seeds, markers, and other supplies.
The block makers themselves are available in several sizes, as hand-held or stand-up models. Many growers use a 3/4" mini blocker to maximize the number of seeds they can germinate on a heat mat. Then they transplant the mini blocks into larger blocks where they are grown on until it's time to transplant them outside. Optional square dibble inserts that make depressions the exact size of the mini blocks are available for all the larger blockers, allowing for easy transplanting.
The hand-held block makers are available in three sizes: the 3/4" square mini blocker for germinating seeds or for small transplants such as lettuces; a 2" square for all vegetables, large-seeded flowers, and herbs; and a 4" square for large plants or late transplanting.
Commercial stand-up models are easy on the back and make multiple blocks quickly. They are available in three sizes, and all make small depressions in the tops for seeds.

JSS Advantage - December 2009

2009-11-24T10:37:00.000-05:00

Choosing varieties

When your Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog arrives in the next few weeks, the first thing to catch your eye may be the varieties identified as "NEW!" Johnny's has more than 100 new seed varieties in the 2010 catalog. It may seem a bit overwhelming how do you sort through all the new varieties, compare them with old varieties, and make your selections? If you're a beginner or trying a completely new crop, where do you even begin? Here is a systematic way to go about choosing varieties:

First, make a list of everything you grew last season. Highlight the varieties that did well, and mark those for reordering. In the unlikely event that one of your varieties is missing from the catalog, start reading descriptions to see if anything is named as a replacement. If you don't see any mention of your star variety, give us a call. If seed is available, your sales rep can special order it for you. If there was a crop failure, however, and it's just not possible to get seed, you'll have to look for a replacement variety.

Next, think about the crops that didn't do well for you last season. Analyze the problems you had with each disease, low yield, too quick to bolt, sun scald on the fruits, and so on. Go back to the catalog and read descriptions carefully to find varieties with traits that may address your problem. Johnny's catalog descriptions use objective criteria to help you understand the differences among varieties, but if you are unsure about anything, call us. Pick at least two varieties to test.
At this point, you are well-positioned to repeat your successes and overcome your failures from the past. Now you can think about adding some new crops, whether they are new in the catalog or just new to you. We recommend that you make a cup of tea, find a comfortable chair, and start reading the catalog from start to finish. If a variety description appeals to you or stimulates marketing ideas, check it off for further consideration. Look at those identified as "NEW!" to see if you want to give them a try.

If you're like most growers, your wish list will be bigger than your garden and you will have to refine your selections. Check out a few forums online to see what other growers have said about varieties you are considering. Cornell University has an online vegetable variety-rating project with more than 5,000 varieties listed. Growers from all parts of the country contribute to the project, so you may find information about varieties that do well in your area.

If a crop is completely new to you, find out if your state Cooperative Extension Service has any recommendations on varieties. Check with other states in your region, too. Varieties that have been tested and performed well, even if they are not the newest varieties, provide a good starting point and can be used as a basis for comparison.

Think about extending your season with hoophouses and row covers in winter or shade cloth in summer. Look for special symbols in the catalog that denote cold tolerance, heat tolerance, and greenhouse production. You will be more successful at season extension if you choose the right varieties.

Set up variety trials so that they produce useful data. See the Johnny's website for information on how to conduct a variety trial.
Finally, keep good records. Record information about planting dates, harvest dates, yield, insect and disease problems, appearance, and market acceptance. Next year, when it's time to start variety selection again, those records will make your work much easier.

What to plant where
Planning your field or garden layout is one of the most challenging aspects of vegetable production because multiple goals must be accommodated in the plan. Rotations, planting dates, time to maturity, duration of harvest, and microclimates all have to be considered. You also need to know recommended crop spacing so you can calculate how many plants will fit. It's a complicated exercise, especially considering that it should change every year, so you need to design your next planting plan with an eye to the future. Experienced growers find it helpful to divide their farms into "management units" as a way of reducing the complexity. A management unit on a large farm might be an entire field. On a small farm, it could be a block of beds. In a garden, each bed might be considered its own unit. The overall goal of your design is to reduce work and waste while providing the best possible growing conditions for each crop. Here are some considerations that should guide your planning:

Figure out how much you want to grow of each crop, based on your market expectations and past experience. Then calculate how many plants you need to produce that quantity and how much space you need for that number of plants. Johnny's has several resources to expedite these calculations, such as the yield chart in the catalog and a new seed calculator online.

Crop rotations over time are extremely important in vegetable production success. Rotating crops breaks up insect, weed, and disease cycles and helps to balance nutrients across the farm. The first element of crop rotation should be based on the botanical families of your crops. Don't grow plants in the same family on the same piece of land for at least three years; four or five years is better. Ideally, crops can be rotated through your management units, so the best system is to have four or five units for a long rotation.

Group crops by production practices such as cultivation practices, row covering, days to maturity, lines of drip tape needed, nutrient and water demand, and pest control. Keeping crops with similar requirements together will expedite tasks and give the field a neater appearance later in the season. For example, it might be quickest to plant lettuce and onions in the same bed because they can be planted at the same time in spring. But lettuce will be harvested within 45 days, whereas storage onions might be in the field for 100 days or more. The bed for the onions will need to be weeded and watered long after the lettuce is gone. Try to group crops that are planted and harvested at approximately the same time.

Locate crops according to harvest requirements. Some crops such as watermelons and sweet corn are so heavy you'll need a tractor or vehicle to move them out of the field. Others such as salad mix can be carried in a tub. Think about these and other access issues in planning your fields. With all these nuances in mind, you can start mapping. Some growers use spreadsheets. Others use index cards, with one crop on each card. Others map out the next season on graph paper, then cut the units apart and reassemble them for the following season. However you do it, it takes considerable skill and vision to create a multiyear planting plan. But once accomplished, your plan will be a tremendous asset to your farm.

Plan for next year's holidays
In this season of gift-giving, you'll find stores stocked with food baskets, herbal gifts, and other products from the garden. If you're like most gardeners, you'll think, "I could have made that!" And you know your friends and family would much rather have homegrown, homemade gifts than something mass-produced in a factory far away. So make a resolution to plan for next year's gift-giving. Now is the time to survey stores for product ideas that you can incorporate into your 2010 growing plans. Pick one or two specific products and decide what you will need for ingredients and containers. Remember that presentation is important with food gifts, so keep your eyes open for attractive bottles, baskets, or other containers. With a little planning, and perhaps a little extra planting, you can have everything you need to create memorable, personal gifts. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about gifts to grow next year:

A winter vegetable basket. Set aside onions, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, and winter squash as you harvest them, and assemble mixtures into brand-new baskets. Tuck in a few of your favorite recipes for inspiration.
Garlic braids. Grow more than enough garlic for your markets, and be sure to cure the bulbs sufficiently to provide the best shelf life. Softneck varieties are easiest to braid. Weave in some bunches of fresh herbs, and tie on a raffia bow.

Herbal vinegars are pretty as well as useful. Here's a detailed instruction sheet on making herb vinegars.

Hot pepper jellies require time at the stove, but their jewel-like colors make them perfect gifts. Attach a tag suggesting an easy appetizer of cream cheese smothered with hot pepper jelly, served with thin slices of bread or crackers.

Herb mixes. Dry culinary herbs thoroughly, then crush them with a rolling pin between sheets of wax paper. Mixtures of herbs can be used in all kinds of products. You can put them in small cellophane or plastic bags (check in the candy-making section of hobby stores for supplies) and staple them closed with a tag suggesting the herbs as a rub for chicken or fish, a dip mix, or to sprinkle over roasting vegetables. Add them to dried beans for a soup mix. Or mix up the dry ingredients for biscuits, attach a recipe for herb biscuits, and decorate the package with a biscuit cutter.

Herb salts and sugars. Wash fresh herbs such as sage, thyme, rosemary, and basil, and dry completely on a towel. Put a 1-inch layer of kosher salt or sea salt in an airtight container, and then make several layers of salts and herbs. The salt will absorb the flavors of the herbs, and can be packaged into small, decorative jars for gift-giving. Sugar can be used the same way, though you might want to use herbs such as lavender, mint, and lemon balm, and attach a scone or sugar cookie recipe.

Winter study

As your outside work winds down, you may want to spend some time learning about a new growing practice, investigating a new crop, or just catching up on what's new in the world of market gardening. We invite you to visit Johnny's website and explore the videos, articles, and technical sheets that are waiting for you. Go to johnnyseeds.com and follow the links to the video library for short videos of the tools and techniques we use at the JSS research farm. For technical information sheets, go to a product detail and click on the "More Product Information" tab for a list of related resources.

Food safety issues are heating up

Market growers may soon be affected by federal food safety legislation and regulation. Some wholesale buyers are already requiring food safety certification for vendors. These are issues that could change the way you farm and market your produce. Growing for Market, the magazine for market farmers, is following food safety issues closely and publishing regular updates on its website.

Become a fan of Johnny's on Facebook

2009-11-23T16:01:00.006-05:00

If you're into social networking, check out the new Johnny's page on Facebook.

We look forward to making new friends on Facebook. We plan to use the new page to communicate with customers and share photos, videos, and promotions. You'll need a free Facebook account to participate.

Prevent pie peril: Grow your own pumpkins

2009-11-20T12:08:00.013-05:00

Yet another reason to grow your own pumpkins.

Rain May Put Pumpkin Pie in Peril, Nestle Says - NYTimes.com

Johnny's has dozens of pumpkin seed varieties, including four that are good for pies:

What's New At The Farm? 11/18/2009

2009-11-18T18:34:00.000-05:00

The week before Thanksgiving and the fieldwork is nearly done. 99% of the plastic has been pulled and the fields have been laid to rest for the winter. No more weeds, diseases and insect pests to be concerned about. Now is an excellent time to reflect upon what worked and what didn't; this, the end of the season. I'll call this "Lessons learned in 2009."

2009 will definitely go down as a very difficult growing season. We started out so well with May temperatures in April allowing us to work most of the fields quite early. Then came May with cool and wet weather; then, as I'm sure you know all too well, came a cold and wet summer followed by an absolutely gorgeous fall. And a warm fall too so we got a lot of field work done that otherwise might not have gotten accomplished.

We had to juggle the planting locations of some crops because of where they were scheduled to go was under water, or at least very wet. I didn't want to plant the ornamental pumpkins down next to the woods but it was either there or they weren't going to get planted at all. Where I was going to plant them - well, let's just say it was a bit too wet then, and most of the summer was as well. The squirrels really enjoyed my choice of planting area as did the woodchucks and quill pigs. Lesson learned for this year, although there really wasn't much anyone could have done.

Lesson 2 involved trapping and relocating pests around the farm. Yes, they're all cute early in the season but once they start eating our crops they tend not to be quite as cute as they once were. Next year we'll start trapping and relocating much earlier in the season, pretty much as soon as we see them out in the spring; whilst they're hungry. Trapping them is only a temporary solution as I walked the fields this week, I don't think we affected the population at all; more critters move in as soon as there is an opening.

Lesson 3: Just because, in 27 seasons, we've never had late blight, doesn't mean we won't get it. Be prepared! Have plenty of fungicides on hand, leave spray rows in case you need them, make sure your equipment is up to par and have an aggressive plan just in case you need it. Be ready to jump on a problem like this at all times; be vigilant in field scouting. Have several people trained to spot diseases in the field - more eyes are always better. Set up a schedule so our crops can be scouted three times a week during the month of July.

And finally lesson 4 - There are good people out there that want to farm! I've had the opportunity to work with the best farm crew I can remember since starting here. All have worked hard, in less than ideal conditions, to make our research farm better than in any previous year. We had many challenges this season but the crew all attacked them head on and the results were favorable. Without the hard work, dedication and passion for farming we wouldn't have had the successful year we had. Thanks to all.

Until next week, Brian

Johnny's helps purchase two farms

2009-11-17T13:48:00.014-05:00

Johnny's Selected Seeds donated $40,000 to the Maine Farmland Trust in May. The money was split between two of Maine Farmland Trust's buy/sell/protect projects.

• River Road Farm (now named Stonecipher Farm) in Bowdoinham: The Maine Farmland Trust bought and preserved 100 acres. About 60 acres (including all the farmland) was resold to a young couple (Ian and Tabitha Jerolmack), who are raising vegetables there. MFT raised $100,000 to cover the difference between the property's purchase price and what would be recouped from the sale price. $20,000 came from Johnny’s.

Learn more about Stonecipher Farm.

Article on Stonecipher Farm from the Brunswick Times Record.

• Charleston dairy farm: MFT bought a 580-acre farm (with 220 tillable acres) in Charleston, which will be leased to a local dairy farmer. The farmer, who recently lost access to other leased land, will use the land for crops and pasture. This property is critical to the farmer’s operation. The farmer will likely buy the land from MFT (as preserved land) in a few years. When all is said and done, MFT will recoup what it paid for this farm, but will accrue costs in the intervening period. Johnny’s remaining $20,000 will cover a portion of those costs. Johnny’s gift made the project possible.

Watch TV news show about Johnny's $40,000 donation.

Read about Johnny's Selected Seeds Charitable Giving program.

What's New At The Farm? 11/11/2009

2009-11-11T18:32:00.001-05:00

Last week I talked about pulling black plastic; that's about all done now. This week I'm going to be writing about managing organic matter (OM).

As we head into late fall, early winter I pause to give thoughts to how we can improve things for next year. One thing we'll do next year, and have done every year since time began, is to try to increase the organic matter in our fields. Organic matter management begins with a yearly soil test; we prefer to take ours in the fall as the lab has more time and we have ample time to plan for the coming season.

From the home gardeners' standpoint it's a pretty easy solution; add compost, leaves and/or peat moss and you have increased your level of organic matter. I add bedding from the henhouse, ashes from the furnace, leaves from the lawn and crop residues once harvesting has been completed. I've been known to pick up bags of leaves from the curb in local towns. Most anything that will break down in a year or so will do. I divide my garden into two plots; one for the garden next year and one I'll work on for the year after. The plot for next year will get the compost and the other plot will get everything else and a cover crop to boot.

When it comes to having acres and acres and you're trying not to break the budget too bad, well, that's a different story. Keeping up with the addition of organic matter on an acreage basis is more of a challenge; something you must think about as you plan your fields for the season. Growing a crop and plowing it under is often the most cost effective way of adding OM and nutrients on a large scale. If you're going to take a field out of production for a full season, you're going to want the most bang for your buck you can get; that's why it's important to manage it like any cash crop. Let's see: a one or two year crop that's going to add organic matter, bring nutrients up from deep in the soil, add nitrogen for the subsequent cash crop, compete with the weeds and be relatively easy to work with. And the answer is:

Hmmmmmmmmm. What a choice! Should I have two or three crops in one year, should there be one, should I plant a mixture; choices, choices. I need to plant something as early as the ground can be worked that will do everything I want it to do, that will be low maintenance and will perform well in almost any weather conditions that can and will happen. I need to make sure it can compete with early season weeds and grow vigorously throughout the growing season to make the most out of the one year it's going to get to grow unchecked. How much maintenance will it require? Will it perform better if it's mowed once or twice? So picking a cover crop to plant is more than just breezing through our selection and picking one out. It's determining what exactly I want to accomplish, how much time and money I want to invest and what my expected results are at the end of the season and for the next season.

Compared with all the variables, the money is the inexpensive part of the whole process. Anything you do will cost money. If your land stays fallow, it costs to keep the weeds from coming up, if you cover crop it; it costs in seed and expenses, if you seed it down for a couple of years it costs for seed and etc. And just taking it out of production for a year will cost money, so it's something to think about this winter and something to plan on for next spring.

So no matter what you do it's going to cost something. If you do nothing, that also costs as the ground will come up to weeds and become more of a problem down the line. Organic nitrogen is an added bonus if you're looking to add OM. Think about this for a second; once all that OM has been tilled in it's going to take some nitrogen to break it down so, unless you add some supplemental N, it's going to tie up what N you have in the soil breaking down all that carbon so we might as well add some N in the mix. Alas, where does this bring us to now? Picking a crop to seed and a timeline to do it: I think I'll use oats and clover or oats and annual alfalfa and seed it as early in the spring as I can get on the ground. The oats will be a nurse crop - to help the legume to get established. The red clover or alfalfa to add nitrogen, and the reason to plant it early - this mix likes cool weather, in fact it thrives in the cool, spring weather. Once thoroughly established it can take the heat and dryness of a typical Maine summer.

I'll probably wind up planting oats and red clover; it's one of my favorite mixtures. The oats will help the clover get established, the red clover will thrive just about anywhere; it will also vigorously regrow next spring and it will provide quite a lot of nitrogen to next year's crops. The only maintenance that this crop needs in a mowing once the oats reach maturity; this will kill the oats allowing the clover to come up now that it's established.

Until next week, Brian

Johnny's in the news: Cold frames reviewed; leeks and kale touted

2009-11-10T13:28:00.014-05:00

A few Johnny's products were mentioned in a couple of recent gardening articles. It's nice to get your name in print, er make that pixels. This is the web after all. Here are the links:

Winners and losers in a soggy season
Tom Atwell, the Portland (Maine) Press Herald gardening columnist, wrote about the success he enjoyed with our King Richard leeks.

In the Garden: Frames can stretch growing season
This is an interesting article on cold frames from the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal by Richard Poffenbaugh. The story touts our Maine-built cedar cold frame and the automatic cold frame opener.

We also were mentioned for our selection of kale in the Evansville (Indiana) Courier and Press: Yardsmart: Delectable winter greens.

Photos from Johnny's Farm: Early snow in Albion

2009-11-06T16:54:00.005-05:00

We were hit with a surprise snowstorm here Thursday evening. Well, not really a storm by Maine standards. More like a dusting. About 3 or 4 inches of wet snow covers the fields at our farm in Albion, Maine. It will probably be gone by Monday as we're due for a warm and sunny weekend.

One of the many fringe benefits of working here is that we get to glean leftover vegetables from the trial fields. I spent my lunch break picking spinach -- a cold endeavor without gloves on. Spinach is another one of those cold-hardy vegetables that seems to taste a little better after a blast of frost, or in this, snow.

Here is a slideshow from the farm today. Enjoy.

What's New At The Farm? 11/4/09

2009-11-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

This week we've been involved in pulling miles and miles of plastic. What more can I say? Well, I suppose I can elaborate on this subject somewhat. Over the years we have increased our use of plastic to the point that most of our crops are grown on it. This means we have lots to pull in the fall, before the ground freezes. Peppers, tomatoes, melons, squash and pumpkins get planted on plastic as well as cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant and okra. The crops do better and weeding is generally reduced by using plastic. This also means we have to buy, install and pull up more poly than ever before. It's important to get all the poly; often strips are left in the field which clog up cultivators and other field equipment in subsequent years.

Pulling plastic up is never a fun job. If I had my druthers I would prefer to pull it in the spring. The weather is warm as is the soil. Add a gentle breeze and you have the recipe for a good day in the spring when you'd rather be nowhere else. However, if the spring is wet and cold and field work may be late, pulling plastic is just one more task we don't really have time for. In the fall it is the final task that is accomplished after a long and tough growing season.

Over the years we've tried many different methods of pulling plastic; to speed up the project while getting all the poly out of the field. The first method was pulling by hand; this method basically sucks. It's fine if you have only a few hundred feet but we're talking thousands of feet. The next method was to use the rockpicker with the gate open. The rockpicker will pull up the poly, run it up the conveyor and deposit it out the back. Better than pulling by hand but it had its drawbacks too. Often it wouldn't go up the conveyor smoothly and instead land in a big bunch of plastic, soil, weeds and plant matter in the field - lots of fun pulling that apart.

Next we bought a plastic puller. This was a three point hitch apparatus which operated by pulling two shears through the soil lifting the poly up and depositing on top of the soil; that was the theory anyways. More often than not it would leave large amounts of soil and plant material on the plastic as well so it wasn't much better than the first method.

While in Aroostook several years ago, talking with a grower, he mentioned he used a potato digger to pull plastic. I had always wanted one for digging potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes. I found one locally for the right price and purchased it. After installing a new bed chain, we're off and pulling poly. We can now pull 5-6 acres (that's upwards of 45,000 feet) of poly a day without too much of a problem. The digger pulls all the poly up, including the strips and the drip tape, and lays it on the soil surface where the field crews simply walks along and gather it up. Once the poly is pulled and piled up on the ends of the field, it is picked up with the loader and dumped into the dumpster. Much better! The only issue is the occasional breakage of the bed chain but we've become experts at fixing this in a hurry.

After pulling plastic our last task of the year is chisel plowing the fields. It's too late to plant cover corps now so we chisel plow following the contours of the fields. Chisel plowing makes deep furrows in the soil preventing winter erosion. The field is left with these deep ridges until next spring. Once they freeze they won't allow water to run down the hills, but rather hold the water allowing it to permeate the soil. It's not as good as having a lush cover crop planted there but does keep erosion to a minimum.

The last of the crops are being harvested now. Leeks, Brussels sprouts and the last of the onions are being evaluated and harvested. The Kale and Collards will stay in place for harvesting through the winter. The poly tunnel has been planted with lettuces and mixed greens and will sprout and grow some this fall, then really take off next spring; nothing better than fresh greens in March and April to get the season off to an early start.

Until next week, Brian

Johnny's retail store garden still growing strong in November

2009-11-02T16:25:00.009-05:00

Thanks to an easy-to-build low tunnel, our raised bed garden in front of the catalog store is full of vegetables (Swiss chart, chives, radishes) that thrive in the colder temperatures. We used the Quick Hoops Bender to construct the hoops from ordinary half-inch conduit and covered them with Agribon row cover. We used sandbags and miscellaneous clips to secure the fabric, which helps protect the plants from both frost and pests. See photos below.

If you're interested in learning more about extending your growing season, check out Eliot Coleman's new book – 'The Winter Harvest Handbook'.
Visit the catalog store in Winslow for a first-hand look at the Quick Hoops low tunnel.
Store hours: Monday through Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Store Phone: 207-861-3999
Map and directions

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Product Spotlight - November 2009

2009-11-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

Product spotlight: Early potatoes

With Johnny's Early Potato program, seed potatoes can be shipped in early February in insulated cartons to protect them from cold. Early potatoes are available for 25-pound orders, and must be booked by January 15. You can reserve on the website right now, and your credit card won't be charged until we ship in February. If you don't need potatoes that early, you can order under the regular potato program for shipment in March and April.

These varieties are available for early shipment: Dark Red Norland and Dark Red Norland Organic; Superior; Red Gold; Yukon Gold and Yukon Gold Organic; Gold Rush; French Fingerling; Russian Banana; Kennebec and Kennebec Organic. (Additional varieties will be available for later shipping.)

Growers in the South will appreciate the early shipping date because potatoes can be planted outside in February. In colder areas, many growers want to get their potatoes a month ahead of planting so they can greensprout them. Greensprouting, also known as chitting or pre-sprouting, is a technique that gives potatoes an early start in spring and can advance harvest by two weeks - which helps avoid late blight, summer drought, and all the other potential hazards that can befall a potato crop late in the season. Greensprouted potatoes will emerge faster, and fewer pieces will die before emergence, which will increase your overall yield.

To greensprout potatoes, bring them into warmth (65-70°F/18-21°C) and light for two to four weeks to break dormancy. Store them in shallow crates or boxes so that air and light reach all the potatoes. In about two weeks, the potatoes will break dormancy and small sprouts will emerge. If you have never tried greensprouting, there's an article on our website that explains the procedure step by step.

Product spotlight: Harvest broadfork

Johnny's 920 Broadfork is designed for quick and easy harvesting of potatoes and other root crops. This broadfork has nine closely spaced tines spanning 20" to loosen the soil around the roots so they can be lifted quickly and with little or no damage. The 920 is one of four models of broadforks designed by Johnny's. With all broadforks, you use your entire body weight, rather than just your back and arms, to push the tines into the soil. When harvesting root crops, you can pull the broadfork handles toward you and lift up one side, then the other, to unearth the crop. With 48" long oiled ash handles, the Harvest Broadfork provides the leverage you need to lift a lot of root crops quickly. It also can be used for general tillage, like Johnny's other broadfork models, to aerate soil deeply without damaging soil structure or mixing layers. This well-designed, well-made tool will be a pleasure to work with for years to come.

Product spotlight: Bouquet dill

If you're growing potatoes, be sure to grow the perfect herbal compliment for them - dill. Fresh dill leaf is a traditional accompaniment to tender new potatoes, salmon and other fish, yogurt-based sauces, and cucumbers fresh or pickled. Dill leaf also is a popular ingredient in salad mix.

Our most popular dill variety for culinary purposes is 'Bouquet'. It provides high yields of leaf and seeds with a good flavor and fragrance. It is available as both organic and non-organic seeds.

'Bouquet' can be direct seeded or started in the greenhouse and transplanted, with plants spaced 2 to 4 inches apart. At the Johnny's research farm in Maine, we find that direct seeding works best. Dill seed can take up to three weeks to germinate, so be patient with it. It will be ready for leaf harvest in 40 to 55 days; to seed harvest in 85 to 105 days.

Product spotlight: Larkspur Johnny's Sublime Formula Mix

Larkspur is one of the earliest and most dramatic cut flowers of spring, and Johnny's 'Sublime' Formula Mix is a superior strain of larkspur with a wide color range. The mix includes all of the individual colors in this 'Giant Imperial' type larkspur: Azure Blue, Bicolor, Bright Carmine, Brilliant Salmon, Dark Blue, Dark Pink, Lilac, Pale Pink and White. 'Sublime' produces 36-48" stems that are excellent as both fresh and dried cut flowers.

Larkspur can be direct-seeded now in most parts of the country. Most growers find that fall seeding produces the longest stems. The seed can be planted with an Earthway push seeder with the radish plate. In mild winter areas, the seed will germinate and grow during the winter, then shoot up as the days lengthen in spring. In cold winter areas, the seed may or may not germinate in fall, depending on temperatures, but will usually come up in late winter. In the North, it can be direct-seeded in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. At the Johnny's research farm in Maine, we find that we get better results from spring direct seeding because we have too much weed pressure if we seed in fall.

Larkspur also can be started in the greenhouse in late winter and transplanted to the field. This generally results in shorter, weaker stems than direct seeding, and is most successful in Zone 4 and north. The plant has a tap root so should not be left in a cell for long, but should be transplanted as soon as the seedlings have a few sets of leaves. Seed should be prechilled for one to two weeks at 35°F/2°C for best germination.

Larkspur is harvested for fresh use when as few as 2-3 florets or as many as 1/3 of the florets are open. If the flowers are to be dried, they should be harvested when all the florets are open but before petals start to fall. They should be bundled and hung upside down to dry in a warm, dark place with good air circulation.

JSS Advantage - November 2009

2009-11-01T17:22:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the local foods movement, many people want to buy locally-grown vegetables long after the first frost, even after farmers markets close for the winter. In response, many market farmers are finding ways to sell produce throughout the winter. CSA winter shares, home delivery, and indoor winter markets are potential venues for cold-season sales.

Storage vegetables are an important component of winter marketing. More than a dozen types of vegetables can be held for 30 days or longer - some as long as six months - given appropriate conditions. Four factors contribute to storage life:

Variety selection. In every vegetable category, some varieties are best for fresh eating, and some are best for storage. Pay attention to catalog descriptions when ordering seed and grow some varieties to use at harvest and others to hold and use throughout fall and winter. For example, among the cabbages, 'Tendersweet' is best for fresh eating; 'Kaitlin' is recommended for mid-term storage until December or January; and 'Storage No. 4' is recommended for long-term storage into spring.

Quality. Only the very best vegetables should be put into storage. A damaged vegetable won't hold up, and the injured tissue may produce ethylene that will spoil other items in the storage space. As you pack vegetables for storage, check each one for bruises, splits, insect damage or other signs of problems that will only get worse.

Temperature. Some vegetables like cold storage, around 32°F/0°C but others are damaged by cold and should be kept warmer.

Humidity. Vegetables, even those we think of as dry storage vegetables, need some moisture in the air to keep from getting dried out.

The best storage conditions

Environmental conditions for storage vegetables fall into four categories: cold and moist, cold and dry, cool and moist, or cool and dry. Here's a chart summarizing which vegetables go in each type of storage:

Optimum conditions for vegetables with 30+ days storage life
32°F/0°C and 90-100% humidity	32°F/0°C and 65-70% humidity	40-50°F/ 4-10°C and 90% humidity	55-60°F/13-15°C and 85-90% humidity	50-55°F/10-13°C and 50-70% humidity
Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Leeks, Rutabagas, Turnips	Garlic, Onions	Potatoes	Sweet Potatoes	Winter Squash

Storage facilities

Commercial coolers are the first choice for long-term cold vegetable storage (below 50°F/10°C) because the temperature can be adjusted for the specific crops that are being stored. Coolers dehumidify the air, so it's important to add moisture to the storage area regularly. This can be accomplished by spraying the cooler if it has a concrete floor and a drain, or by placing buckets or trays of water near the fans. Some growers put wet newspapers above crates of produce, or hang wet towels.

Root cellars are a good choice for cool storage vegetables because they maintain stable temperatures. Root cellars can be dug outdoors into a hillside or they can be in the basement of a house.

A third option is to use an insulated room in a garage or other outbuilding. Depending on the weather outside, a single light bulb burning may produce enough heat to keep the temperature inside above freezing. Small electric heaters also can be used to keep the space at 50°F/10°C.

It's important to note that potatoes will suffer chilling damage below 40°F/10°C, with the starches converting to sugars that give a bad flavor when the potato is cooked. Temperatures much above 40°F/10°C will reduce the storage life and cause the tubers to sprout sooner.

In all storage scenarios, it's important to monitor temperature and humidity as the weather changes over the winter. A digital thermometer/hygrometer can be purchased for less than $20.

"Storing" in the field

Carrots, leeks and spinach can be stored in the ground and harvested throughout the winter as needed. They should be covered with hoops and row covers to keep them from freezing solid. Although it's important to anchor the row cover securely to keep it from blowing off, think carefully about whether your anchoring system will allow access to the vegetables in the coldest weather. For example, it's not a good idea to bury the edges of row cover in a climate where the soil freezes because you won't be able to lift the row cover without tearing it. A better solution would be to hold down the row cover with bags of sand or rock, or even big rocks. T-posts or other poles laid along the edge of the row cover will work if the location is not extremely windy.

Pest of the Week: Tobacco and Tomato Hornworms

2009-11-01T09:50:00.000-05:00

Figure 1 Tobacco hornworm larva
Courtesy of University of Kentucky

Figure 2 Parasitized larva
Courtesy Clemson University - USDA Cooperative
Extension Slide Series, www.insectimages.org

Figure 3 Tomato hornworm larva
Courtesy of Colorado State University

Common name: Tobacco and Tomato Hornworms

Latin Name: Manduca sexta (Linneaus), Manduca quinquemaculata

Life Cycle: Two or more generations per year in warmer climates, one generation per year in cooler climates (check local extension information for specifics on life cycles by region); adult moths lay eggs mostly on undersides of leaves, eggs hatch within about five days, larvae generally move through five instars to reach full size, overwinter as pupae in the soil and emerge in the spring as adults who then mate and begin the process again.

Plants effected: Tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, other Solonaceous crops and weed species.

Insect Habit: Adults emerge in spring (first generation) or summer (second and subsequent generations, depending upon climate) to mate and feed on the nectar of deep throated flowers; larvae feed upon foliage of Solonaceous crops and weeds. As larvae mature, large frass is produced and quite evident under and around effected plants even though the actual pest may not be observed. Tobacco hornworm has seven white lines on both sides and curved red horn on last body segment, tomato hornworm has v-shaped white lines on both sides and a straighter, blue-black horn.
Control: Remove larvae as they are found, till soil just after crops are finished for the season (very effective in ridding the soil of overwintering pupae), natural populations of paper wasps and yellowjackets will kill and feed larvae to their larvae, lady beetles and green lacewings will eat eggs1, larvae of the Cotesia congregatus wasp will parasitize hornworm larvae and, if found, should be left alone to complete their life cycle to build up natural enemy populations1 (Fig. 2), Bt products are effective against smaller larval stages.

Johnny's giant pumpkin seeds a hit with Pennsylvanian

2009-10-30T13:06:00.012-04:00

Shelley Lipton grows gigantic pumpkins in her Sewickley Heights garden, and displays and decorates them, and also shares them with the school where her children are students. Lipton uses Johnny's Dill's Atlantic Giant seeds to grow massive pumpkins.
Photo by Joanne Braun/Tribune-Review News Service

Read story in Pittsburgh Tribune.

What's New At The Farm? 10/28/09

2009-10-28T19:10:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we received 2 inches of rain. Add that to all the water we pumped on the peppers the week before and you have the recipe for some pretty wet fields. On my Monday morning walk around the farm, there was standing water in some of the fields I had hoped to work this week. The weather looks good for this week so perhaps towards the end of the week we can get out there and get some field cleanup done.

This week we'll continue processing winter squash and pumpkins. We did one last Thursday and hopefully will get two or three done this week. Between field clean up, processing for seed, seed cleaning and working on the pepper breeding project we've got plenty to do this week. We're also harvesting seed from the pumpkin breeding project and whatever else pops up.

Jeff caught three squirrels last weekend and relocated them to our neighborhood. I think they'll find the pickings down home to be somewhat slimmer than around the seed processing area at Johnny's. They can head over to my garden to help harvest the rest of the sunflowers I planted for the birds, although as of last Sunday the birds had pretty well cleaned them out. Last fall I rototilled the sunflowers before the birds had a chance to glean the field so this spring I had tons of volunteers; this year I'll leave the sunflowers through the winter and they can feed till the seeds are gone.

Leaving weeds gone to seed in the garden is a good practice I don't think many people know about. Studies have shown that predation by birds and mice will reduce approximately 75% of mature weed seed over the winter. A neatly rototilled garden looks a heck of a lot better than weeds gone by, but if you rototill the mature weeds under you're creating a perfect overwintering place for those weed seeds. As soon as the weather warms in the spring, those weed seeds are going to get a head start. If however the plants weren't tilled under, they can't get a head start.

Last year and this year I've had the largest garden I have ever had; roughly 50 by 130. That's 6500 square feet; or about 0.15 acres. Not a huge garden by any means but more than I can take care of and do right. The past couple of years I have grown all the veggies we need, plus many extras for the neighbors and friends. This year was especially challenging between all the rain we got and the late blight at Johnny's which consumed much of my time. I think for next year, I'll cut my garden space down by 65% and do a better job in a smaller space. My plan is to use the best third of the garden to do the necessary crops: onions, carrots, beets, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, summer squash and some flowers. And perhaps some potatoes for “new” potatoes. The other 2/3rds of the garden will get additions of organic matter and cover crops for the season; the soil really needs some work!

I've built a raised bed for the yard which is what I'll plant the greens and lettuce mixes in. I think I'll build a couple more this winter for use next spring and summer. I'd like to raise some sweet onions in one and some carrots in another. I designed them with two things in mind:

Use plenty of potting mix to eliminate weeds and provide ample moisture so watering is decreased.

User materials I have so cost can be kept down.

Each bed is four feet wide, 1 foot deep and eight feet long; a total; of 32 cubic feet of soilless mix for each one. I use soilless mix as there's no chance of weed seed popping up. I use 5 yards of a popular potting mix along with a couple of pounds of organic fertilizer. My design includes built in hoops for row covers to protect from insect and inclement weather and are easily worked on and reached by Peggy and (No Bending!).

I'll let you know how things go this winter; perhaps I'll put one or two raised beds in my greenhouse and really get things growing early. Or perhaps I'll just visit the Farmer's markets more next year and let them do the growing.

Until next week, Brian.

Kitchen Gardeners International leads drive to crush hunger

2009-10-28T14:26:00.006-04:00

A letter from our friends at Kitchen Gardeners International:

Dear Kitchen Gardener,

KGI is a 501c3 nonprofit community of over 18,000 people from 100 countries who are growing some of their own food and helping others to do the same. We have a rare opportunity to expand the number of people we are reaching and the number of gardening groups we are helping by winning America's Giving Challenge, a fundraising competition whose grand prize is $50,000. The prize winners are those nonprofits that generate the highest number of donations (not total dollar value) between now and November 6th, so even $10 is a big help.

We are currently in 30th place out of over 1800 nonprofits (not bad for a little nonprofit with one staff member!), but here's the really exciting news: all we need is for for 10% of our community to make a donation of $10 and we can zoom into second place! As I mentioned before, this is the one and only fundraising drive we're making this year so I hope you'll choose to get off the garden fence and make a secure online donation here and now.

To rouse you into action, I've just posted a fun, 2-minute video to YouTube called "Gardeners have the Power." The message of the video is the same as the message of this exceptional funding opportunity: we can do anything we set our mind to...when we work together. So, let's do just that and win this contest for the global gardening cause.

With over 1 billion people hungry in the world and global climate change screaming out for action, there's no time for us gardeners to waste.

Many thanks for being the change you want to see in the world,

Roger Doiron
Founding Director, KGI

PS: If you really want to help KGI, but do not wish to donate online you may fill out this form and send us a check. The donation will not be counted in the contest totals (because it doesn't pass through the contest counter), but will help support our work. Thanks.
PPS: We'll soon go back to our regularly scheduled kitchen gardening programming, so hang in there!

Crush Hunger website.
Kitchen Gardeners International website

Johnny's employees visit fall pumpkin festival in Machias

2009-10-27T10:52:00.011-04:00

A pair of Johnny's Selected Seeds employees visited the Jordan Gardens in Machias last weekend. Jordan Gardens, a Johnny's customer, is family-owned garden-center business, specializing in flower arrangement, landscaping and gardening. A fall harvest and pumpkin festival was held at the Jordan's greenhouse the weekend of October 24-25. Activities included pumpkin bowling, gourd fishing, the pumpkin handle ring toss, apple bobbing, and, or course, Jack-o-lantern carving.

Johnny's Events Calendar - November 2009

2009-10-22T15:27:00.012-04:00

Johnny's November 2009 Events Calendar - click to enlarge:

Or download our PDF here

What's New At The Farm? 10/21/09

2009-10-21T15:41:00.001-04:00

I'm back....................................

Last week's vacation in northern Maine has left me bone chilling cold. It's 43 degrees outside my office as I write this and that would have been warm last week. I was approximately 100 miles north of home and what a difference 100 miles makes. Daytime temps reached the lower thirties and nights were in the mid twenties. Add some wet snow and a camp that was marginally heated and you've got the perfect recipe for a vacation. Oh well, we had a good time anyways. Peggy told me the other day that she wanted to go somewhere tropical this year and I told her I'd take her north for a few days; then home would feel downright tropical. I don't think she liked that; probably won't work either.

This weather reminds me more of November than October. I thought October was warm days and cool night, not cold days and even colder nights. The woodstove at home has been getting quite a workout in the past month or so; for that matter we pretty much used in all summer except for September which was warm. Guess I'll have to think about firing up the furnace soon. Yippee...

Harvesting continues with the tomatoes done and the peppers progressing. We have been irrigating the peppers nearly every night for a week so we could finish harvesting and so employees could get plenty. Many people harvest, wash and freeze them for winter's use. There are tons of them still in the field but, by the looks of the weather, they won't last many more nights.

We've picking the last of the seed productions this week. We did two squashes, one summer squash and two pumpkins this year. We need to get them out of the field soon as, with the repeated frosts, they're looking better and better to the deer and squirrels. Turkeys also like them and if we want any seed at all we'd better get them harvested. Turkeys will bore a hole in them to gets the seeds, squirrels will do the same and deer will eat the whole fruit. If we see lumbering squirrels, bloated turkeys and waddling deer we know they're feeding on our crops.

Except for the cover crops we have planted, things are starting to look pretty dead around here. We've done much mowing this week and will start pulling plastic and taking down trellises this week. Although it's easier, and a lot more fun, to pull plastic in the spring, I prefer to get it done in the fall; nothing like pulling plastic out of the mud when it's 30 degrees. Or should I say frozen mud. Add some breeze and spitting snow and you're looking at a perfect day. Pulling plastic in the spring is by far easier, and much more pleasant. Most fields we'll get to this fall but a couple of the wetter ones will have to wait.

Amongst harvesting and pulling plastic, there's more than enough work to keep us busy through the fall. Processing squash and pumpkins for seed, cleaning seed, planting overwintering crops, harvesting the few trials left in the field and all the equipment needs to be washed and put away before winter. We're done with the grain drill so that can be vacuumed out, oiled and put away. The irrigation pump needs work; a pipe has worn through which needs to be fixed. The tractors will get their maintenance done before storage and so it goes...

Until next week, Brian

Photos: Fall crops at the farm

2009-10-21T09:39:00.014-04:00

We've just wrapped up irrigation of the peppers. Irrigation is done to protect the plants from frost. Watering helps raise the temperature of the plant and the air around the plant to the warmer temperature of the water. In addition, as the water freezes it actually releases heat, thus further protecting the plant from frost.

A little frost brings out the flavor and color of Kale, one of the most nutritious vegetables you can grow. This tasty brassica green is loaded with Iron and Vitamins A and C. It's great steamed with a squirt of lemon and can be used in a salad.

Leeks ready to pick: This onion cousin is a great late-season crop. Many Johnny's varieties can handle a heavy frost and are considered winter-hardy.

Photos: Johnny's at Common Ground Fair

2009-10-15T15:44:00.005-04:00

The Common Ground Country Fair, put on since 1977 by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, is always one of the most anticipated events on the fall calendar for many agriculturally-minded folks.

We were proud to be a part of the fair, which took place September 25 to 27 at the Unity Fairgrounds. The Johnny's display, the largest we've ever done, included a tent sale; a tools demonstration area; several vegetable and flower beds; the unveiling of two new pumpkin varieties (Racer Plus PMR and Champion) and a book signings by authors Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch.

Here are a few photos from the fair.

Mary, a Johnny's Inventory Manager, shows off the two new pumpkin varieties -- Racer Plus PMR (left) and Champion (right).

Our greens garden did pretty well in the Fairgrounds soil.

The tools display was popular with fair goers. We enjoyed meeting new folks and helping them try out some of our favorite gardening tools in the demonstration area.

The "Bright Lights" Swiss chard we planted at the fair thrived. It was so beautiful and tasty looking that someone (probably not a woodchuck) helped themselves to a bunch of it. We brought the gourds from our farm in Albion.

This little gardener tests the strength of a low tunnel we assembled using Agribon row cover and hoops fabricated with a cool new Johnny's tool -- the Quick Hoops Bender.

Johnny's International Sales representative Josh shows how easy it is to create your own hoops with the Quick Hoops Bender using ordinary conduit.

Johnny's annouces Summer of 2009 Photo Contest winner

2009-10-10T15:09:00.001-04:00

Tom O'Connor, of Lakeport, Calif., won the Johnny's Selected Seeds contest for best photo of summer 2009. O'Connor took this snapshot of his Butterfly Hummingbird Mix garden.

Grower's Notes: Planted way back in March flowering since late May and still going strong.They look great and the butterflies hummers and bees think they taste great as well and most importantly.First year gardening in this location.Planted along a chainlink fence with dark green plastic privacy inserts making for a serious heat sink given its southwest exposure in an already seriously hot sunny and dry environment not complaining. Plan to plant them extensively around perimeter next year now that I've seen how they've produced and held up in the heat and dry conditions.

Tips to Prevent Overwintering Late Blight

2009-10-08T17:04:00.002-04:00

Here are some tips for preventing late blight from coming back in your fields next year. The sheet can be found here as well: Tips to Prevent Overwintering Late Blight

Tips to Prevent Overwintering Late Blight

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) occurs commonly each year in many places around the United States and the world.

There are steps we, as home gardeners, market farmers and commercial growers alike, can take in order to reduce late blight inoculum surviving the winter.

The following tips for fall will help prevent the spread of late blight (Phytophthora infestans). They are different from summer management techniques:

» If possible, start with new seed potatoes in the spring that have been certified disease free.

» Cull any potatoes that are suspect before putting them into storage - potato tubers with late blight will have a dry, reddish brown rot in the flesh.

» Turn soil in garden or fields so that crop residues can readily decompose - late blight needs live tissue to survive. This includes tomato crop residue as well. As long as tissues decompose or die (no living plant tissue), then the late blight on that plant tissue will be killed as well.

» Cull potatoes in storage throughout fall and winter months that are suspect.

» Try to dig up all possible tubers - cull volunteer plants that emerge in the spring.

» Cull piles should be thin enough to freeze solid over the winter.

» Cull piles can also be managed so that they heat up significantly - this is achieved by adding the proper mix of brown and green ingredients to your compost pile and turning. A compost thermometer might be helpful.

» In the northeast US only one type of late blight is found so all measures outlined above will help prevent late blight from overwintering. In some parts of the United States and the world two different types of late blight can be found in the same location thus allowing the pathogen to ‘mate' and produce oospores, capable of
surviving temperature extremes - in this case crop rotation is very important in reducing oospore inoculum on possible plant hosts. Crop rotation is important in all growing areas, no matter the size of your garden/field.