Now is the perfect time to plant your second crop of spinach, lettuce and carrots for a fall harvest.

• Spinach is easy to grow, and so good for you!  Throw a handful of spinach in a smoothie…it will darken the color, but it won’t affect the flavor.  An effortless way to get a serving of veggies!
• Lettuce is usually ready to eat in about a month.  For warmer weather, such as now, try varieties that tolerate heat and resist bolting, such as crisphead varieties (also known as Iceberg).  Crispino is glossy green with a firm head and a mild flavor.  Red Iceberg is compact, medium-sized, and has a good flavor.
• Carrot seeds are tiny and difficult to space evenly.  If your seedlings are close together, try thinning them so they won’t be stunted, very slender, or deformed.  There are many varieties of carrots, try something new this time!

Spinach Smoothie

juice of one orange
juice of one lime (optional)
½ – 1 cup water (depending on desired thickness)
1 packet Truvia or about 1 Tbsp Stevia
Handful of clean spinach (about 1 cup, loosely packed)
½ banana
8 med-large frozen strawberries
Handful of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Place all ingredients in blender in order listed.  Blend until smooth.  This is healthy and delicious for breakfast or a snack!

If you’re thinking about planting potatoes, now is the time! Potatoes are delicious, nutritious, and easy to grow. There are also many more varieties that you can grow in your garden than you can find in the grocery store. In the past we have grown Red Pontiac potatoes and Yukon Gold in our backyard garden. This year we are planting All Blue potatoes and Red Pontiacs. If you want to have a very patriotic potato salad this summer, try growing red, yellow and blue varieties of potatoes!

All Blue potatoes, cut and healed and ready for planting!

It’s important to start with “seed potatoes” if you want to grow them in your garden. These are potatoes grown specifically for planting and are free of diseases. Supermarket potatoes can carry diseases and are often treated with a chemical to inhibit sprouting.

Just like potatoes from the grocery store, seed potatoes vary in size. If they are golf ball size tubers, plant them directly into the ground without any advance preparation. Cut larger potatoes into pieces about 1 ½ inches thick. Make sure each piece contains two “eyes” which should be just beginning to sprout. After they are cut, heal them by placing them in a well-ventilated area at about 55 degrees for one or two days.

Plant potatoes about 1 foot apart in a shallow trench about 3 inches deep. Potatoes like fertile, well-drained soil in full sun. When the plants are about a foot tall, “hill” them by drawing soil up around them with a hoe until just the top few inches of plant poke out of the soil. Hilling keeps the potatoes from turning green, which happens if they are exposed to sunlight.

Potatoes are ready to harvest when the foliage dies back. Using a garden fork, gently and carefully loosen the soil (which is easier if you let it dry out a bit), and feel around for your potatoes. Pull them out, but after harvesting, leave them on the ground until the soil on the potatoes dries. Brush the dry soil off, but don’t wash them. Cure for about two weeks at around 55 degrees in humid conditions. Store them at about 40 degrees in a root cellar, if you have one.

All of our varieties are 79 cents per pound. We carry:
Dark Red Norland
Red Pontiac
Cal White
All Blue
Purple Viking
Russet Burbank
Yukon Gold

One of our family’s favorite potato recipes is for potato wedges! They are delicious, healthy, and are perfect for any backyard barbecue!

Potato Wedges

4 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
2 garlic cloves, minced
garlic salt to taste

Wash potatoes and cut into wedges. Put in a gallon ziploc bag, drizzle with olive oil. Add rosemary and garlic, and shake well to coat. Pour out onto foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Spread into a single layer, and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until browned.

Tonight’s low will be 29 degrees, be sure to cover your tender plants tonight!

Be sure to cover your tender plants tonight! Near freezing temperatures and possible snow overnight.

Hard Freeze Warning! Be sure to cover sensitive plants tonight!
The record cold is 25 degrees, the forecast predicts 28 degrees.

Get the snow off any of your cold hardy plants that you have in the garden. The temps are fine for them, but they can be trampled by this heavy snow that we have. Also potatoes are in the store, and I am planning to get mine planted on Wednesday!

This is a Great Article about some of the common mistakes that people make with home veggie gardens. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704784904575111680463669658.html

It’s the first Saturday of Fall! Fortunately it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day for pulling out the Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist. This is a great list I found about a year ago, let’s start with the first half of the checklist items today:

1. Clean Your Rain-gutters: Now is a good time to clear leaves and debris from your gutters. Ensure proper drainage of your roof to avoid costly leaks before the cooler wet weather hits. Use a small garden trowel to scoop out the gunk. If the dirt is solidified, soak it first to loosen it, then use a garden hose to rinse it out through the downspouts. If there’s a clog, use a plumber’s auger to free it.
2. Prune Overgrown Trees and Hedges: We talked about the trees and shrubs that need a haircut in the Fall a couple of weeks ago, today would be a great time to trim overgrown areas and remove dead limbs before they weaken and fall under winter snows . Thinning your trees now may save you a roof-repair bill in the future.
3. Protect Your Deck From the Coming Utah Winter: With summer traffic in your backyard slowing, now is a great time to use a pressure washer to clean the mold, mildew and grime from your deck before sealing it. Once your deck is clean and dry, protect it from costly moisture damage with weather-proof wood stain.
4. Start the Compost Pile You’ve Been Thinking About: We talked about composting earlier this summer. If you’ve been putting it off, it might be a great time to start with all the garden cleanup going on.
5. Till Your Vegetable Garden: It’s time to clean and clear your vegetable garden. Dig out old vegetable plants and add them to your compost pile. Till the plot thoroughly, then add several inches of compost to nurture the soil for spring planting. Work the compost into the soil to help it breathe and allow rainwater to pass through more easily.

I’m headed out the door now to start on my list, I’ll share the rest of the list next time. If you have any questions about getting your landscape or vegetable garden ready for winter, stop by any Western Garden Center and talk to one of our expert gardeners, we’ll be happy to help. Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook.

This week we’ve talked a lot about getting ready for fall. Every morning I’ve noticed a slight nip in the air as the cooler months of October and November approach. The summer seemed to zip by much too fast.

Starting your preparations for the coming fall and winter months about six weeks ahead is a good idea. We’ve talked about getting your lawn ready, however don’t overlook your containers, container plants are an overlooked group this time of year. Here are a few suggestions for your containers:

1. Annuals: You can extend the life of your annuals by rooting them in either water or a potting mix such as vermiculite, perlite, or soil-less potting mix. You’ll need to strip all but the top few leaves off the stem, keep the potting medium moist at all times, and keep the plants out of direct sunlight. After a few weeks you should have a dense mass of roots that you can pot and grow as houseplants. Although this doesn’t work with all annuals, it’s a fun experiment during the winter months.
2. Tropical Plants: Many tropical plants make great houseplants throughout the winter months. It’s a good idea to get ready now, because in Utah the temperatures can drop suddenly. Woody tropical plants can easily winter indoors—or in the garage if it doesn’t drop below freezing.
3. Perennials: You may want to consider transplanting perennials from your containers directly into your garden. Trim the roots a bit to stimulate the growth of new feeder roots and trim the top growth a little once you’ve planted them in the garden.

Feel free to stop by any of our Western Garden Centers if you have any questions about getting your container plants ready for winter.