Marconi Rosso

Peppers have really thrived in this summer’s high heat. I’ve had my best yields ever of Marconi Rosso, Lanterna Piccante, Alma Paprika and Habanada peppers., and they continue to produce more fruits.

Marconi Rosso, like other Italian ‘frying’ peppers make an easy and incredibly delicious side-dish for a Mediterranean-style dinner: simply remove seeds, cut into strips vertically, sprinkle with sea salt and saute in good olive oil over medium heat, turning occasionally until softened (about 7 minutes). Serve as-is, or garnish with toasted pine-nuts or shredded Pecorino cheese.

Lanterna picante

Lanterna Piccante is a unique pepper that you won’t find in stores or even at farmers Markets. The large plants are graceful and bear large numbers of stunning pendant scarlet fruits, 1.5” to 2.5” across, shaped like succulent nodding bells. These are thin-walled, with the flesh having a delicious fruity flavor, and the seeds and ribs packing significant heat. The heat dissipates very quickly and doesn’t linger long on the tongue. To avoid the heat, cut the peppers in half vertically and cut out the seed cluster and ribs. Save a few seeds to add a little spark back to dishes that contain the flesh. I love to chop Lanterna Piccante peppers into 1/4” ‘confetti’ and add to omelettes, stir-fries, chicken or tuna salad, for its flavor and beauty. With the seeds, or some of them, it makes a great salsa ingredient. Like other peppers, they freeze well.

Alma paprika

I love growing Alma Paprika for the fun of watching the fruits change color as they mature, starting out creamy white, becoming marbled and flushed with rosy shades, and finally ripening to vibrant solid red. The distinctive flavor is a little spicy but not hot, perfect for making your own sweet paprika seasoning. I but the fruits into ½” squares and slowly dry them in my dehydrator. I grind the pieces in an electric coffee grinder (that is only used for spices), and store in a glass jar.

This is the first time I’ve grown Habanada pepper, a newer hybrid that is supposed to have all the flavor of a classic Habanero pepper bit completely without heat. One fruit on my plant is approaching ripeness now, and I’m looking forward to trying it.

Because seeds are alive, they inevitably lose viability due to environmental factors. Leaving your seed packets outside in the sun on your potting bench, in your car, or on your kitchen table will negatively impact their viability. By keeping them in a steady environment, you will prolong their ability to grow successfully in your garden.

1. Maintain Cool Conditions. Store out of direct sunlight in a cool spot that maintains a fairly consistent temperature.

2. Maintain Dark Conditions. Sunlight is a signal that it is time to sprout, so it is important that they live in a dark room or a refrigerator.

3. Maintain Dry Conditions. Make sure that you don’t store them in a spot that is too humid where they may sprout or mold. If seeds are too wet, they can rot in the refrigerator. If you store seeds in the refrigerator or freezer, place the packets in an air-tight container and ensure the seeds are properly dried to begin with.

4. Protect the Seeds.  Critters, rodents and bugs may enjoy tasting your seeds so it is important to store them in proper containers.  This could be glass jars, ziplocks, metal containers, or plastic pill bottles. We store our seeds in paper envelopes or bags kept in critter-proof storage boxes.

Purchased seeds will store just fine in the envelope they came in, plus retail seed packets have all the information necessary for planting and caring for the seeds.

Seed saving class this weekend with Jess Harper will teach you to save your own home-grown seeds.  Sign up here!

Tabbouleh is one of my favorite summer dishes. When the tomatoes and cucumbers are coming in from the garden daily, there is no better time to enjoy this delightful dish that is bursting with the flavors of summer.  It can serve as the main dish or it can accompany falafel or baked chicken.  I have yet to find a better use for parsley as well!  This recipe is gluten-free and easy to adapt to your tastes, depending on what you like.

Ingredients:
1-2 bunches of parsley, washed and de-stemmed
1 bunch of peppermint
4-5 scallions, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2-3/4 cups EVOO
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2-4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 cup dry quinoa
salt and pepper to taste
(optional:  feta, kalamata olives, lightly toasted blanched slivered almonds)

Instructions:

Make quinoa according to package directions.
Add parsley, mint, green onions, and garlic, to a food processor (or chop by hand).  Chop until herbs are very fine.
In a bowl, first drizzle the olive oil over the cooled quinoa, mix well.  Follow with the lemon juice. Mix to combine. Then add herb mixture, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and optional additions.  Mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy summer in a bowl!
Serves 4 (Reduce Quinoa to 1/2 cup for 2 people)

Photo by Elias Rodriguez on Unsplash

Triple Crown Blackberry

Among the fruits we eat, berries are closer to wild foods and are therefore much higher in antioxidants and phytonutrients that strongly support our immune systems and general health. Berries are also kid-height and kids don’t need encouragement to pick them once they know when they are ripe!

Most berries are unavailable in grocery stores and are very seldom found at farmer’s markets. The few berries that can be found, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, are picked unripe, shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, and are most often lacking in the flavor and freshness of homegrown fruits. These days, many are even grown in greenhouses, or even hydroponically, where the fruits don’t receive the natural stimuli for producing phytonutrients.

Most berries are pretty easy to grow. Currants and gooseberries are moderate-sized shrubs, and grow best in partial shade in Colorado, with soil improved with one third compost to two thirds your regular clay soil. Water deeply twice a week the first year, and usually once a week deeply once the plants are mature. The fruits of our native currants (Ribes aureum and Ribes odoratum), particularly the selections ‘Crandall’ and ‘Gwen’s Buffalo’, are sweet and flavorful when fully ripe, and relished by children of all ages. European currants and gooseberries are favorites for making pies and preserves, with the addition of sugar.

Elderberries have been grown for their medicinal and culinary uses, as well as their beauty and rapid growth, for centuries. They grow to 8-10 feet tall and wide and need two different varieties of the same species for pollination (for example: plant one Sambucus nigra ‘Mikl’s’ and one S. nigra ‘Marge’ near one another to get fruit. They can even be planted together in one hole if you have a small space. Elderberries also thrive in part shade or morning sun and afternoon shade, and soil and watering recommendations are the same as for currants. In addition to elderberry syrup, you can
make elderberry brandy with the flowers or the berries, as well as elderberry flower pancakes, and all kinds of baked goods and preserves.

Raspberries are suckering plants that make colonies and can be planted in rows and staked to wires between free posts. Ours are either ever-bearing varieties, bearing in summer on old canes and again in fall on new canes, or Primocane varieties, bearing fruit on the current year’s canes in the fall. They have prickly stems, but the berries are easy to reach for harvest without injury. There is nothing like a fully ripe, fresh raspberry! Our varieties are ‘primocane’, meaning that they bear fruit on new (the current year’s) growth. We recommend mowing them down in autumn, even if the variety is “everbearing”. Part shade is ideal for raspberries, but full sun is okay, too. All are best fertilized with half to one cup of organic fertilizer every September, and mulched to make good crops.

Our varieties are ‘primocane’, meaning that they bear fruit on new (the current year’s) growth. We recommend mowing them down in autumn, even if the variety is “everbearing”. Part shade is ideal for raspberries. All are best fertilized with half to one cup of organic fertilizer every September, and mulched to make good crops.

Our Blackberries are thornless (and you wouldn’t want them any other way!). The canes can be tied to a trellis or fence, and soil and fertilizer recommendations are the same as those for raspberries.’ Triple Crown’ produces large, delicious berries that begin ripening in late July or early August on second-year canes. We have never found store-bought blackberries that were worth paying for.

Currently in stock: 

‘Triple Crown’ Blackberry – This productive plant yields large, juicy, black berries that offers copious crops on vigorous canes. Named for its three attributes: flavor, productivity, and vigor. Thornless semi-erect canes need support, especially under heavy fruit load. Self pollinating and disease resistant. Ripens begins in late July/early August. Hands-down winner of a public taste-test conducted by Boulder County extension service at Longmont Farmer’s Market. Hardy to USDA zone 5.

‘Pixwell Gooseberry’ – Prolific large oval berries that are light green, turning rosy pink when ripe. Fruit is prized for pies and preserves, more than for fresh eating. Best in part shade if summers are hot. Mildew and drought resistant. Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Hinnomaki’ Red Gooseberry – A medium-sized red gooseberry with outstanding flavor. The skin is tangy and the flesh is sweet. Great for fresh eating or pies. This very productive, upright bush has good resistance to mildew. Hardy to zone 2. Does well in sun to part shade.

Cutleaf Black Elderberry – Sambucus nigra v laciniata- A fast growing deciduous shrub known for its fern-like green foliage and white, citrus-scented flowers. It offers high wildlife value, providing edible black berries in late summer.  It thrives in full sun to part shade.  Plant with another S. nigra variety for successful fruiting.  Makes great elderberry syrup.  Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Marge’ Black Elderberry – Sambucus nigra- A cross of the American black elderberry with the European black elderberry which gives us large berries and all of the characteristics of the European varieties. ‘Marge’ is said to be self-pollinating so only one plant is needed for fruit production.  Flowers form on the previous year’s woody growth so fruit will begin to form the second year after planting. Very productive.  Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Mikl’s’ Black Elderberry – Sambucus nigra – Highly regarded as a medicinal plant for immune system support, Mikl’s has large showy clusters of white flowers followed by clusters of small, purple-black berries that can be used for jams and jellies or in tinctures and syrups. Plant another black elderberry for pollination. This one comes from a plant in Mikl’s garden. Hardy in Boulder the last 35 years.

‘Johns’ Elderberry – Sambucus canadensis – Produces more fruit and earlier than other elderberries. Very large clusters of medium sized berries which are especially good for pies, jellies and elixirs.  Needs a pollenizer, any other sambucus canadensis selection.  Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Imperial White’ Currant – Ribes sativum – Pearly white translucent fruit has a pink blush with a flavor that is milder and sweeter than its red counterparts. Delicious fresh or for jams and jellies. Vigorous and hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Heritage’ Red Raspberry – Rubus idaeus – Fall-fruiting heirloom. A tough and easy variety that is productive and good flavored. Mow to the ground in late Fall or February-mid March and remove all debris. Bushy habit requires no staking.  Hardy to USDA zone 4.

‘Anne’ Raspberry – Rubus idaeus – Tested in Colorado.  Produces large, super sweet berries, and considered the best tasting among the yellow varieties. Canes are long and vigorous. Mow to the ground in late fall or February – mid-March and remove the debris. Ripens from August to frost.

Black-fruiting Nanking Cherry – Prunus tomentosa ‘Nigra’ – A beautiful shrub that has both ornamental and edible qualities. The deep purple fruits have a sweet taste and a juicy texture. Plant with another Nanking Cherry selection for successful fruiting. Hardy to USDA zone 3.

 

When you buy fresh strawberries at the grocery store, are they ripe? No. Delicious? No. Expensive? Yes. Enough said.

Earliglow: Many people miss out on the best-tasting strawberries because they are “June bearing.” Why buy ‘Earliglow’ Strawberry when it only fruits in June? Because the flavor is fabulous and because it produces a lot all through the month, so even a small patch can produce enough berries for bowls or strawberry shortcakes you will remember. A bigger patch yields enough for preserves, too. “Earliglow is prized for its rich, classic heirloom sweetness, glossy red skin and firm texture. Highly vigorous and cold-hardy, this variety is exceptionally beginner-friendly and renowned for producing abundant runners (more plants). It is perfect for fresh eating, freezing and jams. It is also disease resistant.

Ogallala: A vigorous, very cold-hardy, ‘everbearing’ strawberry that “combines the sweet, intense flavor of the Rocky Mt. wild strawberry with the large size of traditional garden varieties.” (McKay Nursery) It was bred at the Cheyenne Horticultural Station to withstand drought, zone 3 cold, heat and exposure. It has a long season and is high yielding. A small patch can provide delicious grazing, offering a few ripe fruits just about
every day from June to September.

For a limited time, these two strawberry varieties are available at 20% off the regular price. ENJOY!

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” This famous quote, often attributed to Martin Luther, symbolizes hope, faith, and the importance of stewardship. It highlights that planting a tree is a proactive, hopeful act for the future, regardless of current circumstances.

If you are wondering what the best fruit trees are to plant in your yard, join Mikl Brawner’s class this coming Saturday, Best Fruit Trees for Colorado  REGISTER HERE

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butternut squash

Butternut Squash

We’ve tried a number of ways to store squash, and we’ve been informed over the years by our friends at Seed Savers. If you’ve been canning, chopping and freezing, and cooking things down into sauce this harvest season, you’ll love the ease of storing winter squash whole.

First, be sure the squash are ripe. Each variety differs regarding color and sheen as indicators of ripeness, but as a rule we harvest when the thick stem connecting the fruit to the vine has dried. Cut the stem, leaving at least 1″ and up to 3″ of the stem attached. Be sure to harvest before the first hard frost – if you can’t harvest until after a frost, don’t try to cure and store the squash. Rather, either dice and freeze for later, or bake or make soup and freeze that for later.

Curing is a process that sets up the squash for several months’ of storage by allowing the skin, or shell, to harden.  After harvest, elevate the squash off the ground, keeping room between fruits for air to circulate, and leave in a bright, sunny space that isn’t warm or hot for approximately two weeks. You’ll know when they are cured when they pass the ‘fingernail test’ – press your fingernail gently into the shell, and if the skin bruises or breaks, it’s not cured yet! A fully cured squash won’t even dent.

Storage instructions do sound a bit like the porridge in the Goldilocks story – the place you store the squash can’t be too hot or too cold. It needs to be just right! That means not colder than 50 degrees and not warmer than about 65 degrees.  The warmer the temperature, the sooner you’ll need to use the squash. Find a cool spot in a closet, the back of a cupboard, a basement, or a garage (if it is temperature controlled). Wrap each squash in paper or straw and place in a box or on a shelf, leaving room for airflow. The paper or straw protects the squash and absorbs any moisture. If the squash does freeze, keep it frozen until you’re ready to use it. Inspect once a week, and use any damaged squash first. Here’s advice from Seed Savers:

  1. “Any damaged squash should be used as soon as possible. 
  2. Delicatas, Acorns, and Buttercups should be used within a month or two.
  3. Hubbards, Pie squash, and pumpkins can last up to four months.
  4. Butternuts last the longest in storage and can take you right into spring.”

And if you don’t have the appropriate space, you can always preserve your squash by dicing and freezing the flesh.

Seed Saving – Seeds last up to a year in your squash – so whenever you use your squash you can scrape out the seeds, rinse and dry, and plant in the spring. Just be aware that squash is a notorious cross-pollinator, and if you grew several kinds you will not necessarily grow a fruit exactly like the one you harvested!

And yes, pumpkins ARE winter squashes. Save them using these same instructions.

Sorghastrum nutans

Instead of maintaining a Kentucky Bluegrass lawn, why not try an area of Natural Meadow, combining well-adapted grasses, wildflowers and perhaps some shrubs too. Such a Meadow can conserve water and fertilizers and should not require pesticides or herbicides. Like all gardens, the first 2-3 years will require more weeding, then less after plants grow together. It can be beautiful, provide habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects, while taking water into the ground, preventing erosion and capturing carbon. [Read More]

We just received word that our onion plants were shipped today and should arrive and be ready for sale by Friday or Saturday! We’ll be offering onion plants in bundles of approximately 60 to 70 plants, and half-bundles of approximately 30-35 plants.

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Buttercup winter squash

Buttercup, one of the sweetest squash with dry, golden flesh.

This past season Harlequin’s offered several delicious varieties of pumpkin and winter squash, from arguably the finest tasting pie pumpkin, Winter Luxury, to Buttercup, Butternut and Kabocha.. With cold weather on the way, this week is the perfect time to try a nourishing recipe with your harvests (just in time for Thanksgiving!).

Here’s a recipe from Boulder’s Mitten Lowe and Journey to Wellness for Apple Cider-Glazed Butternut Squash. It’s sure to keep you warm from the inside out. [Read More]

Okay, you prepared your soil and planted your vegetable garden with all kinds of wonderfully flavorful, nutritious foods, you’re watering and watching them grow, and wondering ….. When can I start to eat them, how do I harvest them, and how do I get the most out of these plantings? Here are some tips on vegetable crops harvest timing and techniques that may not be self-evident. Even if you’re a seasoned gardener, you may not be aware of some of these procedures! [Read More]

This year’s tomato tasting was a great success, with a total of 41 tomato varieties present over the 3-hour event!

Participants brought in some wonderful new varieties this year, including Pink Bumble Bee Cherry, Gajo de Melon, and Blue Cream Berries. We always take people’s votes into account when deciding which tomato varieties to carry, so look for the most popular varieties from this year and previous years when you come to buy your organic tomato starts next spring at Harlequin’s Gardens. Every year we grow 80+ great varieties for all kinds of uses and growing conditions! A huge thank-you to Growing Gardens for providing our the location, helping us publicize the event, and for bringing us some fabulous volunteers. Thank you also to the volunteers of Slow Food Boulder County. We couldn’t have done it without you!

2019 Taste of Tomato Vote Tally

 

 

 

 

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Whoever heard of Goji Berry 20 years ago? Now, with the current interest in superfoods, phytonutrients and antioxidants, Goji Berry juice and dried fruits can be found in many urban grocery stores. The 70+ species of Lycium are found on most continents and one species, Lycium pallidum, is native to Colorado. But the best known and most grown Goji is Lycium barbarum, the Chinese Wolfberry, also known as Matrimony Vine, Desert Thorn and Boxthorn. What is not commonly known is that this exotic superfood can be easily grown in Colorado.[Read More]

This year’s Taste of Tomato was a blast! We love the new location at Growing Gardens’ Barn, with its’ beautiful view of the Flatirons, easy access, and wonderful staff. The tasting featured 44 different varieties of tomatoes, with Aunt Ruby’s German Green winning the greatest number of votes. Participants brought in some wonderful new varieties this year, including Brad’s Atomic Grape, Thornburn’s Terracotta, and Indigo Cherry. Look for the most popular varieties from this year and previous years when you come to buy your organic tomato starts next spring at Harlequin’s Gardens. Every year we grow 80+ great varieties for all kinds of uses and growing conditions![Read More]

Here are a few harvest guidelines for summer crops: 

Eggplants should be picked while they are still firm and glossy.  Once their skins have become dull, they will be softer and have dark seeds, which can spoil the flavor. Eggplants don’t keep long, so use them soon after harvest.

Bell peppers and sweet frying peppers are sweetest when allowed to ripen fully to their mature color, yellow, orange, red, purple or mahogany.  Bell peppers are often picked green, but their flavor will be a lot more pungent and they may be more challenging to digest.

Some of the hot peppers are traditionally enjoyed green – poblano, mulatto, jalapeno, Anaheim-type, while most of the rest are allowed to ripen to red (cherry, habanero, cayenne, lanterna, any chile dried for a ristra, etc.) orange (Bulgarian Carrot), or dark brown (Pasilla).[Read More]

Colorado is said to be the worst state in the US for fireblight, and 2018 was considered by many to be one of the worst years in Colorado. Fireblight is a serious disease affecting apples, crabapples, pears, Mountain Ash and hawthorn, and sometimes quince and pyracantha (supposedly up to 73 species of plants).[Read More]

Got a fence or a pergola waiting for a fast-growing vine? Grow your own table grapes or wine grapes! The grape vines we sell, both table and wine varieties, are the most cold-hardy you will find anywhere. Most of them come from the northern Wisconsin breeding program of the late Elmer Swenson. Remarkably, three of his selections are seedless! All of them have good flavor, all are proven successful in Colorado in Zone 4 and above, and also succeed in high summer heat.

Swenson Red Grape– Very hardy dessert grape with large red to blue fruit with a high sugar content; non slip-skin. Slow growing when young; vigor, crop, and size of fruit improves once established. Bears fruit 2-3 years after planting. Unique flavor with hints of strawberry. Ripens in August, 3-4 week earlier than Concord. Also makes an acceptable white wine. Self-fertile.

Concord Grape– Most common grape in Colorado, very vigorous, hardy and productive. Medium sized, slipskin, blue-black fruit with sweet flesh and tart skin with “Welch’s Grape Juice” flavor for table, pie, juice, jelly, and wine. Ripens late September.

Concord Seedless Grape- Concord Seedless shares the distinctive sweet to sweet-tart flavor of Concords, but ripens earlier and features smaller grape clusters with smaller grapes. This is a woody, deciduous, tendril-climbing vine with clusters of seedless grapes that ripen in September. Excellent grape for juice, jam, jelly, pie, and wine.

Flambeau Seedless Grape– This seedless pink grape has clusters of small to medium-sized berries with a very sweet, low-acid flavor. A great table grape for cold climates as they ripen in early September. It is best grown on a trellis instead of an arbor as the vine has low to medium vigor. Tolerant of alkaline soils.

Saint Theresa Seedless- A superb new table grape for the Rocky Mountain region. This very hardy and mostly seedless purple grape offers abundant large clusters of sweet fruit in early September. These grapes can be eaten out of hand but are best used in jam, jelly, pie, or wine.