Mad Hatter: A Hybrid Pepper

by Michelle L. Dauberman

Check out this fun 2017 AAS National winner called the mad hatter pepper (Capsicum baccatum).  First you'll notice its distinctive shape and then you'll be wowed and rewarded by its taste.  The consensus being that it's altogether sweet, citrusy and floral though there will be some mild heat as you nibble near the seeds.  This sounds perfectly divine to me if and when you are ready to take a break from the palate scorchers like the Bhut jolokia (aka, the ghost pepper).

These charming peppers were bred for varied North American conditions and the yields are high.  The habit of the plant itself is on the larger side and it is a vigorous grower.  You can expect a mounding, upright habit with a height of 36 – 48” and a width of 36 – 48.”  Like most other vegetables it likes to be exposed to full sun.

You can pick the peppers when they are a mature green or you can wait a bit and let them ripen to red.  If you wait you’ll be rewarded with a sweeter and richer flavor.  Generally speaking it takes 65 – 70 day to reach its mature green state and 85 – 90 days to reach its ripe red state.

Given this peppers unique shape and sweeter disposition it would be a fun addition to a children’s vegetable garden!

For more information on peppers check out these PSU Extension links:

Container Grown Peppers

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/vegetable-gardening/growing-great-container-vegetables/peppers

Penn State Extension – Growing Peppers

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/master-gardener/counties/chester/how-to-gardening-brochures/peppers

Bees & Germander

by Michelle L. Dauberman

The plight of the bee is getting more and more serious if you ask me.  I’ve been doing my best to support them in the vegetable garden and in the landscape by providing the plants, shrubs and trees that they love to visit but here’s a small shrubby plant/herb that I’ve overlooked:  Germander (Teucrium).

Germander is quite hardy and can handle a variety of garden/landscape situations including poor soils and drought like conditions.  It can tolerate part-sun but prefers full-sun.  The lavender flowers that the bees find so appealing form on spikes, July through September.  A bonus of this plant is that there are evergreen varieties so, if you’d rather use it in your landscape as a low laying hedge rather than in the herb or vegetable garden, have at it.  You’ll have something green to look at while everything else is dormant. 

These are tense days for the bees so think about using this non-native (yes, I said not native) small sub-shrub as a compliment to your other native pollinator friendly plants, shrubs and trees and bring on the bees!

If you’d like to take a look at this plant in action visit the PSU Edible Demonstration Garden at the Horticultural Center, in the beautiful Fairmont Park, right here in Philadelphia.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Your Garden for 2017: Pests and Bio-controls

by Michelle L. Dauberman

Spring is right around the corner but it’s not too late to start planning your garden.  Part of your plan for 2017 may include weaning your garden off chemical pest control and you may have heard that bio-controls can help you in this endeavor but you’re not sure where to start.

Predatory insects (aka. beneficial insects) are a great place to start.  Yes, that’s right, beneficial insects.  Once you get over the fact that you actually want these bio-controls/insects in your garden you’re on your way to a healthy garden, better yields and a thriving ecosystem.

So, that’s all well and good but how do I attract the good guys to my garden?  Let’s start by planting groups of host plants like Achillea filipendulina (yarrow), Cosmos bipinnatus (cosmos), Solidago virgaurea (goldenrod) and Aster alpinus (aster).

It’s a good idea to plant these hosts in groups since it increases your odds of attracting/hosting predatory flies, lacewings, ladybugs, hover flies and parasitic wasps to and in your garden.  Once these predators are in your garden they will begin to prey on the undesirables like aphids, mealy bugs and a variety of insect larvae.

There are several other plants that you can utilize to your garden’s benefit beyond what’s mentioned in this post so don’t limit yourself to these plants and always experiment.  Another tip about host plants:  Stager your plants by flowering season.  If you stager them by season you’ll experience more uninterrupted bio-control coverage throughout your growing season.

For more information about beneficial insects check out these PSU Extension links:

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/news/2015/attracting-beneficial-insects

http://extension.psu.edu/pests/ipm/pestproblemsolver/house/home-garden/soil-plant-health/companion-plants

The Parsnip

by Michelle L. Dauberman

Winter is the perfect time to start planning your garden and if you’re a seasoned gardener you’re probably thinking about your favorites like the flavorful heirloom tomato, spicy pepper, veritable squash, crispy lettuce, aromatic herbs and super-foods like kale and spinach.  So this year why not add parsnips to your garden.

Beyond their sweetness and relation to that other root vegetable, the carrot, it’s worth mentioning how long you can safely extend the parsnips’ harvesting season.  At a time when most of the garden has gone quiet you can dig your parsnips from unfrozen ground long into the winter months and even into early spring.

As you go from garden to table imagine how warm and tasty a side dish of roasted or fried parsnips would be on a cold winter’s day.

For more information on parsnips visit this PSU Extension page: http://extension.psu.edu/health/news/2014/parsnips-the-neglected-relative-of-the-carrot