Fruition Seed Walk at Remembrance Farm

Fruition Seeds is a brand-new seed company in Naples, NY whose mission is to grow regionally-adapted, certified organic seed for Finger Lakes farmers and gardeners. The enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners of this exciting new venture, Petra Page-Mann and Matthew Goldfarb, are also coordinating with other local organic farmers to grow out some of their seed crops.

On June 10 a group of us gathered to tour the Fruition seed crops at Remembrance Farm in Trumansburg. Farmer-owner Nathanial Thompson told us that since he supplies a huge amount of greens for the Full Plate Farm Collective CSA he spends a lot of money on these seeds and was interested in learning produce his own. Now with direction and assistance from Petra and Matthew he is growing enough seed for several crops to supply his own needs as well as some for Fruition.

On the right side of the photo are Red Russian kale plants going to seed - the plants are loaded with seed pods and very close to ripening. The kale was direct-seeded last fall and stood through the winter, uncovered, in a wind-swept location, thus the survivors have been selected for winter hardiness in our region. Most seed production now takes place in the Pacific northwest which has much milder winters so seed from there isn't as winter-hardy.

 In spring Petra removed any remaining weak or crowded plants, leaving a healthy stand of seed-bearing plants. Brassica plants are incredibly generous with their seeds so there should be many pounds harvested from these rows.

 We saw long rows of mixed salad greens going to seed - mustard, tatsoi, arugula and lettuce. All of these plantings are ones that Nathaniel and Emily were cutting for salad greens, then they stopped cutting and allowed them to go to seed rather than taking them out and replanting with something else. With 25 acres under cultivation, they can afford to use this space for seed production and they know it will save them money on their seed bill next year. 

A group of seedy people contemplating lettuce plants going to seed.  

A mixed planting of red and green lettuce. They are going to allow these different varieties to cross with each other. Nathanial isn't concerned with maintaining varietal purity since he wants to end up with a mix of lettuce types anyway for replanting. He likes a lot of red lettuce in his salad bags so it will be interesting to see if one color is dominant over the other.

If you want to learn more about commercial seed production in the Finger Lakes, there will be a Field Day at Fruition Seeds on Saturday July 27 from 3 to 5 pm. There will be a farm tour and demonstrations of seed cleaning techniques, and the event is free and open to the public.

Fruition Seeds is located at 7970 Hickory Bottom Road, Naples NY.  From Naples, take County Road 36 up the hill a mile or so and take a right on Gulick Road.  In another half mile, take a left on Hickory Bottom Road and the farm will be on the right after a quarter mile, adjacent the large white barns, at 7970.

If you're interested in learning more about seed-saving in a typical home vegetable garden, come to a class on seed saving techniques at CCE-Tompkins, Ithaca NY on Wednesday July 3 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Topics covered will include hand-pollination, isolation techniques, flower types and rogueing out off-types. Part of the class will be held outside in the seed-saving garden so dress for the weather. The cost is $5 to $10 (sliding scale fee) and you can register by calling the CCE-Tompkins reception at 272-2292 or send an email to cab69@cornell.edu.

Come learn about seed production and saving for vegetables, herbs and flowers on two organic acres of seed, from arugula to zucchini, tucked in the heart of the Bristol Hills!  We'll have a farm tour and discuss of strategies and challenges in the Finger Lakes. We will also demonstrate simple cleaning techniques with hands-on demonstrations. Come with lots of questions and come away with inspiration, know-how and fresh seed for your summer/fall plantings. - See more at: http://ccetompkins.org/calendar/13/06/07/fruition-seeds-field-day#sthash.T78RJH3G.dpuf

Free Yard Mapping Session at CCE-Tompkins

Wednesday June 26, 6:30-8:30 pm

at CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca

Are you interested in helping to create more bird-friendly habitat in your neighborhood? Come to a free session on how to use an online program called YardMap, hosted by Professor Josh Cerra of the Cornell University Department of Landscape Architecture.
  
Professor Cerra will talk about the goals of YardWorks and how to get involved in the project.  He will demonstrate how to use the YardMap program, and laptop computers will be available for participants to map their own yards at the session, or you can bring your own. The YardWorks project is a project partnership between the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's YardMap program and Cornell Landscape Architecture, and in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension.  

YardWorks offers an opportunity to work with multiple landowners on coordinating larger networks of bird-friendly habitat at the scales of both their neighborhood and their yards.  The session is free but space is limited so please call (607) 272-2292  or email cab69@cornell.edu to pre-register.

Enter to win free landscaping plans for your neighborhood!

YardWorks is currently looking for two communities within the state of New York to work with our landscape design studios to develop goals and plans for more habitat-friendly communities, and are hosting a competition for interested neighborhoods. It is very easy to submit! Each neighborhood must have at least five participants willing to work with a professor-student team to create schematic plans and design concepts for their property and the surrounding area. The contest deadline has been extended to Monday July 22.- See more at: http://ccetompkins.org/calendar/13/06/14/free-yardmapping-session#sthash.ofdFT0fi.dpuf

http://content.yardmap.org/ 

Sweet Potato .... Greens??

Earth 100, Wikipedia

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)- it's got great roots and leaves!  Who knew this flavorful root veggie, famous for sharing casserole space with marshmallows and walnuts, also has incredibly vitamin rich leaves?  Who knew you could even eat the greens? 

Greens are fabulous for our bodies.  Nutritionists encourage us to eat greens each day.  One of the most popular greens I eat is spinach.  I do like spinach if I eat it hot, quickly, and with a lot of butter.  Or buried with other greens in my salad so I don't notice it.  Even better, in soups where it totally disintegrates.  Okay, okay: I don't really like spinach, I just eat it because it's good for me.  I'm hitting, well, have HIT the half century mark and have been told I need foods high in iron and calcium for bone and overall health.  Is there something else I can eat that I may actually *like* to eat?

Enter sweet potato greens.  Below is a nutritional comparison of spinach verses sweet potato leaves.  There is three times the iron (21% verses 7%) and slightly more calcium (10% verses 8%) in spinach greens verse sweet potato greens.  However, there's twice as much fiber in sweet potato greens and frankly, they don't taste as bitter to me.  As an added benefit (and those who have had issues with kidney stones should take note) sweet potato greens lack oxalic acid.  Spinach has a lot of it and oxalic acid leaves a weird taste in my mouth.  Okay, I'm sold!

How to cook them, you ask?  Just like any green: sauté with garlic and olive oil; steam and dress with butter, salt and pepper; sauté with soy and vinegar.  Anywhere you can cook spinach you can try to substitute sweet potato greens.  Mix them half and half ~ why not??!!

Give sweet potato greens a try and let me know what you think.  I have four slips planted in a pot on my deck which should keep supplied in greens this summer.  My plan is to grow these on the window sill in the kitchen during the winter as well.  Pretty and good for me - now that's a SWEET deal!

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)	Spinach Greens	Sweet Potato Greens
Energy	97 kJ (23 kcal)	175 (42kcal)
Carbohydrates	3.6 g	8.82g
- Sugars	0.4 g
- Dietary fiber	2.2 g	5.3g
Fat	0.4 g	0.51 g
Protein	2.9 g	2.49 g
Water	91.4 g	86.81 g
Vitamin A equiv.	469 μg (59%)	189 μg (24%)
Vitamin A	9377 IU
- beta-carotene	5626 μg (52%)	2217 μg (21%)
- lutein and zeaxanthin	12198 μg	14720 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1)	0.078 mg (7%)	0.156 mg (14%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2)	0.189 mg (16%)	0.345 mg (29%)
Niacin (vit. B3)	0.724 mg (5%)	1.13 mg (8%)
Vitamin B6	0.195 mg (15%)	0.19 mg (15%)
Folate (vit. B9)	194 μg (49%)	1 μg
Vitamin C	28 mg (34%)	11 mg (13%)
Vitamin E	2 mg (13%)
Vitamin K	483 μg (460%)	302.2 μg (288%)
Calcium	99 mg (10%)	78 mg (8%)
Iron	2.7 mg (21%)	0.97 mg (7%)
Magnesium	79 mg (22%)	70 mg (20%)
Manganese	0.897 mg (43%)
Phosphorus	49 mg (7%)	81 mg (12%)
Potassium	558 mg (12%)	508 mg (11%)
Sodium	79 mg (5%)	6 mg
Zinc	0.53 mg (6%)
Link to USDA Database entry Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Gardener's Weekend in Tompkins County!

After all the rain (our gardens needed rain so it was a blessing!) the sun is shining again and it's going to be a nice weekend, so get out to one or all of these great gardening events in Ithaca and Tompkins County this weekend!

On Saturday, June 15 from 10 am to 4 pm it's the Garden Conservancy's Open Days garden tours. Three unique, quirky and gorgeous gardens will be open for one day only!  For more information, garden descriptions and directions, go to the Open Days information page.

Bedlam Gardens, King Ferry

Bedlam Gardens

          

Lion Garden, Lansing

On Sunday, June 16 from 10 am to 4 pm hop on The Gardener's Trail! Ten locally-owned, unique  specialty nurseries and garden centers will be running free special activities. Hear talks and demonstrations on growing roses and citrus fruits, sample local beer and salsa, take a wagon ride around a farm and orchard, and more! There is also a different raffle prize at each location - no cost to enter, just fill out the entry form at each nursery or garden center that you visit that day!  For more information, activity descriptions and a map of locations, go to the Gardener's Trail information page.

 Earlybird Farm

The Plantsmen Nursery

Baker's Acres

Also on Sunday June 16 from 11 am to 3 pm is the Fall Creek Garden Tour. Private city gardens in downtown Ithaca are open for one day only. This can be a nice walking tour. Pick up a map and garden descriptions at the information table in Thompson Park on Cayuga Street on Sunday morning.

What's Eating My Plants?

Your little vegetable plants are finally all planted out in the garden when all of a sudden you start noticing holes in the leaves.

You're wondering, "What's eating my plants? How much damage is ok? Should I do something about it? I don't want to spray anything toxic on my food!"

Flea beetle damage on broccoli leaf

 Photo credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

Come to a class at Tompkins County Cooperative Extension this Thursday, June 13 from 6:30-8:30 pm for a workshop on Vegetable Insect Pests. You'll learn to identify stages of common garden pests and their damage, how much damage is acceptable and when you need to take action, plus a range of non-toxic, organic solutions that you can use.

Ladybug larvae, a beneficial insect, eating aphids

Photo credit: Winston Beck, Iowa State University, Bugwood.org

Call (607)272-2292 to register for the workshop on Vegetable Insect Pests this Thursday, June 13 from 6:30-8:30 pm, or send an email to Chrys Gardener at cab69@cornell.edu.  The cost is a sliding scale fee from $5-$10 - you decide how much to pay and no-one will be turned away for inability to pay. 

The workshop will be held at the CCE-Tompkins office, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca (near the Sciencenter and Neighborhood Pride grocery store).

Remember the Gardener's Trail this Sunday, June 16! Ten local nurseries will have FREE special activities, tastings, giveaways, wagon rides, tours and more! Go to The Gardener's Trail for event details and a map of nursery locations.

What to do in the Garden this Month

Planting is in full swing!  Enjoy each day in your garden.  Take time to look and acknowledge the new life sprouting and growing all around you. 

What to do in the garden this month:

• Weed, weed, weed.
• Avoid overcrowding your plants. Good air circulation helps keep fungal disease at a minimum so pull and thin plants growing too closely together.
• Plant new batches of bush beans every few weeks to ensure a steady supply of beans to harvest over the growing season.
• Plant your tomatoes and stake them early. Other cold sensitive plants should go in your garden now as well. If you have started plants from seed, be sure to harden them off before planting in your garden.
• Pinch back perennials like phlox, beebalm, echinacea and sedum to control height, promote bushiness and delay flowering.
• Cut fall blooming perennials back 1/2 to 1/3 to encourage fullness and good growth.
• Deadhead your perennials regularly. This promotes reblooming.
• Start slug control and scout for fourlined plant bug and tent caterpillar nests. Remove them promptly.
• Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs as they complete their bloom.
• Keep watering newly planted plants.
• Turn your compost.
• Thin out fruit trees if necessary to ensure fruit of reasonable size. Water the trees, if necessary.