Spring Care for Hostas!

Spring Care for Hosta Plants

After a long, dreary winter, Springtime in the hosta garden seems like a magical time.  The hostas are sprouting their gorgeous green tips signaling the beginning of another great gardening season!

Keep your hostas looking happy and healthy with these seasonal reminders and care tips for Spring! 

Sun's Effect on Blue-Leafed Hostas

The Sun's Effect on Blue Hostas

Blue hostas require the most protection from the sun because the blue color is actually a waxy coating on the top and or bottom side of the leaves. The leaves are actually a shade of green, but the waxy coating makes them appear those great shades of blue.

Too much sun can cause the waxy coating on blue hosta leaves to melt off and expose the green leaf underneath. This is the reason it is recommended that blue hostas are planted in more shade than other hostas.

The blue hostas are always very popular and there are several shades of blue-leaved hostas. Blue hosta leaves will become bluer and bluer each year as they move to maturity, usually about four to five years. 

Growing Mustard Greens - Homesteading 101

Mustard greens are fast growing, nutritious leafy greens. They're perfect for gardens and containers in both spring and fall. They are a high biomass, nitrogen lifter for growing over the summer. It is one of the quickest growing, green manuring species and is very good at suppressing weeds. Used for creating short term green cover and game cover.

Mustard Greens

aka Mizuna, Mustard Spinach, Indian Mustard
Annual plant
Height:  6"       Width:  Up to 2'

Mustard Greens are a leafy plant with a zesty mustard flavor that is a fiber and nutrient-rich addition to salads and stir-fries.

Types:
Curly Leaf.  Curled or frilled leaf edges resembling Kale.  It's a very spicy tender green used in salads.

Flat Leaf.  Broad delicately flavored leaves are good for steaming or in soups.
Mustard Spinach.  Smooth leaves.  This plant is more tolerant of heat, making it a good choice in warmer climates.

Starting Seeds of Mustard Greens

Seed Depth:                Lightly cover the seed and tamp down on the soil.
Seed Spacing:            6" apart, and thin to 19" apart.
Germination Temp:     45-85 degrees.
Days to Germinate:    4-7 days.
Days to Harvest:         30-40 days or 60-70 days depending on the variety.
Seed Longevity:          2-3 years.

Sowing Indoors:

Spring:  Sow 6 weeks before your average last frost date.  Plant out 3 weeks before your average last frost date.

Sowing Outdoors:

Spring:  Direct sow 3-4 weeks before your average last frost date.

                                                       

Winter Sowing:

If you haven't tried winter sowing, you're in for a treat.  This method is especially good for sowing herbs and greens.  Winter sowing is basically sowing seeds in the bottom of a milk jug during the winter, setting the milk jugs outside for the winter and leaving them there until the seeds germinate in Spring.

For more detailed information about Winter Sowing, click here.

To watch our 30 minute video on how to winter sow, click here.


 

Growing Mustard Green Plants

Growing Temperature:      Tolerates light frosts which make leaves sweeter.
Plant Spacing:                   12"
Container Size:                  8" deep.
Sun/Shade:                        Sun is ideal.  It also tolerates shade.
Soil:                                    Moist, rich, well-draining.
Watering:                            Evenly moist for best flavor.  2" water per week.



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Fertilizing

Since greens are such a fast-growing crop, as long as they are grown in rich soil there may be little need for further fertilization. That said, a liquid balanced fertilizer when the seedlings are 4" tall will give your greens a boost and carry them through their short season. After the temperatures warm, though, the leaves of Arugula will turn bitter and no amount of fertilizer will help at that point.

Growing Tips

Sow Mustard Greens in succession every 2-3 weeks for a steady supply.

Harvesting Mustard Greens

Begin harvesting outer leaves in about 4 weeks when the leaves are 6-8" long, or treat as cut-and-come-again and harvest the whole plant 3" above ground level.

Using Mustard Greens

• Use smaller Mustard Green leaves in salads or on sandwiches for a peppery zing.
• Use steamed, braised, cooked in broth.
• 
  

Storing Mustard Greens For Later Use

Although tender green leaves, like lettuce, cannot be preserved well, the thicker leaved greens can be preserved.

Fresh

• Clean and pat dry.  Bundle stems lightly, place on a paper towel (to absorb moisture) and wrap in a plastic bag.  Keeps in refrigerator for 10 days.

Freezing for Later Use in Chilis, Soups, Sauces, and Casseroles.

• Steam or saute' leaves, chop them and store in freezer bags.
• Puree with water and freeze into ice cube trays.
• Clean and dry the leaves and store in quart size freezer bags.
• Frozen leaves will keep for 6 months.
• Blanching the leaves first for two minutes will extend freezer storage to 14 months.
  
  
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Mustard greens are fast growing, nutritious leafy greens. They're perfect for gardens and containers in both spring and fall. Although not quite as cold hardy as collards or kale but  mustard greens do tolerate a light frost, which makes their leaves sweeter. 

In areas where there are no killing freezes, gardeners enjoy growing mustard greens all winter long. The mustard patch is a pretty sight in the cool season garden. The leafy plants are easy to care for and good companions to fall flowers such as pansies. Mustard greens grow in a rosette of leaves up to about a foot-and-a-half tall. You can simmer the big peppery greens or pick smaller, young leaves to eat raw in salads and sandwiches.

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Using Baking Soda in your Garden

Uses for Baking Soda in the Garden

We all know that Baking Soda is great for indoor use as a mild abrasive cleaner and also to neutralize those fridge odors, but what about its uses in the garden?

Baking Soda is made up entirely of sodium bicarbonate which is a highly alkaline substance making it great for the following uses in the garden:

Growing Endive - Homesteading 101

aka Frisee

Annual Plant related to Chickory

Height:  6-12"       Width:  6-12"

Endive and Escarole are different forms of the same plant.  Endive has curly or crinkly-edged leaves and a sharp, somewhat bitter taste.  Escarole is a type of Endive which is hardier with flat, somewhat thicker leaves and a less bitter flavor.

Types:

- Curled Endive with pointy leaves.

- Smoother-leafed Escarole

Starting Seeds of Endive/Escarole

Seed Depth:                   1/4" deep.
Seed Spacing:                3 seeds per inch.
Days to Germinate:         5-7 days.
Days to Harvest:             45 days as baby greens.  60-100 days as mature heads.
Seed Longevity:              4-6 years.

Sowing Indoors:
Spring:  Sow 8 weeks before your average last frost date.

Sowing Outdoors:

Spring:  Direct sow as soon as the ground can be worked.
Fall:  Direct sow 15 weeks before the first expected frost date.


Salad Spinner

Winter Sowing:

If you haven't tried winter sowing, you're in for a treat.  This method is especially good for sowing herbs and greens.  Winter sowing is basically sowing seeds in the bottom of a milk jug during the winter, setting the milk jugs outside for the winter and leaving them there until the seeds germinate in Spring.
For our detailed article about winter sowing, click here.


Salad Tongs

Growing Endive/Escarole Plants

Growing Temperature:       Can take temperatures as low as 20 degrees.
Plant Spacing:                   8-12".
Container Size:                  12" deep.
Sun/Shade:                        Full sun to part shade.
Soil:                                   In poorer soils, add fish emulsion or seaweed.
Watering:                          Consistent moisture for best flavor.
                                          Light moisture when grown in a cold frame.



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Fertilizing:

Since greens are such a fast-growing crop, as long as they are grown in rich soil there may be little need for further fertilization. That said, a liquid balanced fertilizer when the seedlings are 4" tall will give your greens a boost and carry them through their short season. After the temperatures warm, though, the leaves of Endive will turn bitter and no amount of fertilizer will help at that point.


Salad Lunch Container

Growing Tips

Looseleaf varieties can survive winter if given some sort of protection like an unheated greenhouse.  If you leave undamaged roots and 1 inch of stem, new growth may appear in warmer weather.
Fall plants that are subjected to a few light touches of frost have a richer, less bitter flavor than spring-grown plants.

Harvesting Endive/Escarole

Harvest as soon as the outer leaves are of usable size.  Gather leaves as needed or cut the whole plant at the soil level.   Harvest all before the first frost.

Using Endive/Escarole

• Leaves are best used fresh.
• Endive begins to turn pale green and taste bitter when exposed to light.

Storing Endive/Escarole For Later Use

Although tender green leaves, like Lettuce, can't be preserved well, the thicker leaved greens can be.

Fresh

• Clean and pat dry.  Bundle stems lightly, place on a paper towel (to absorb moisture) and wrap in a plastic bag.  Keeps in refrigerator for 10 days.

Freezing for Later Use in Chilis, Soups, Sauces, and Casseroles.

• Steam or saute' leaves, chop them and store in freezer bags.
• Puree with water and freeze into ice cube trays.
• Clean and dry the leaves and store in quart size freezer bags.
• Frozen leaves will keep for 6 months.
• Blanching the leaves first will extend freezer storage to 14 months.

To read the other articles in our Growing Your Greens series, click on the name below:

Arugula

Kale

Lettuce

Mustard Greens

Radicchio

Spinach

Swiss Chard

Where to go next!

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Growing Hostas From Seed

So you're wondering, can I grow a hosta from seed? Growing hostas from seed is a tricky endeavor, but if you have patience and keep a few things in mind, it can be worth your time.

Why Hostas Die Back Early in the Season

Why Hostas Drop Leaves Early in the Season

Hostas are known as one of the most resilient and care-free perennials you can buy.  And that's only a few of the reasons hostas continue to be so popular in shady or semi-sunny gardens.

But when hosta leaves die back early in the season, the culprit is almost always lack of water.