EDIBLES

Early September is prime-time for cool season vegetable starts here at Sky Nursery. This year’s line-up of lettuces is particularly impressive. At this writing, we have over 15 different varieties, as well as some popular mixes. If you like leaf lettuces, choose from bright ‘Australian Yellow’, cut-and-come-again ‘Bronze Arrow’, ‘Key Lime’ (an heirloom), bright maroon ‘Revolution’, feathery ‘Mascara’, and several others. For romaine lovers, try ‘Trout’s Back’, an Austrian heirloom, or large-leafed ‘Barcarole’. If you prefer butterhead lettuce, we are currently offering tasty ‘Buttercrunch’ or ‘Butterking’, as well as ‘Tom Thumb’, a mini-head.

Other veggies available include spicy arugula, red and golden beets, plus some interesting broccoli choices: popular ‘Packman’, sweet and compact ‘Fiesta’, a unique purple-sprouting variety, and ‘Umpqua’, which is famous for its large heads and prolific side-shoots.

We also have Brussels sprouts, cabbage (‘Danish Ballhead’, ‘Gonzales’, ‘Melissa’, and ‘Red Ace’), cauliflower (‘Early Dawn’ and ‘Snow Crown’), collard greens, dandelion (no, it’s not the weedy variety found in your yard - this one’s a Mediterranean favorite), and endive.

Be sure to check out one of my favorite veggies: kale. It’s great when chopped up and added to salad; it’s wonderful when steamed, and topped with a little butter and lemon juice; and it’s just plain delicious when sautéed in olive oil. Our tasty assortment of kale includes Italian ‘Nero di Toscana’ (a.k.a. dinosaur kale), magenta-leafed ‘Redbor’, and both ‘Red’ and ‘White Russian’ varieties.

The rest of our veggie list includes kohlrabi, mustard greens (bolt resistant ‘Green Wave’ and mild-tasting ‘Tah Tsai’), spinach, pak choi (‘Ching Chiang’ and ‘Joi choi’) radicchio, and Swiss chard.

And, yes, we also offer a great assortment of starts from Rent’s Due Ranch, everyone’s favorite certified organic grower.

Your veggies will perform best when planted in full sun, in richly amended soil. And either beds or containers will do the trick when growing these cool-season edibles.

Planning the Home Orchard

Raspberries

New Strawberries

Planting a new vegetable garden

Best tomatoes

Plant Lists

Edibles

Organic Gardening

More . . .