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Fall Garden Crops
On this week’s episode, the guys discuss their favorite fall garden varieties that they're growing this year. The crops include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, lettuce, collards, beets, kohlrabi, cabbage, and mixed Asian greens. Their favorite variety of broccoli is called
Green Magic and they like it because it is very heat-tolerant and does well planted early in the fall. They do mention that broccoli should be harvested before it gets too "seedy", as it is not very palatable once that happens. They mention Kale as being one of those "superfood" crops because it is loaded with antioxidants. Greg and Travis discuss three different fall garden varieties of Kale --
Lacinato, Winter Borer, and Red Borer. The guys recommend growing Kohlrabi in the fall garden as well. They are great for stir-frying or making slaw. For cauliflower, their preferred fall garden varieties include the Denali variety for a white cauliflower. Last year they tried the purple cauliflower variety called "
Graffiti" and it did really well up until the first frost. The reason behind growing your own fall garden varieties is the ability to control what is being sprayed on the crops. Greg explains that most people do not know, but nitrates are not regulated on any type of green in the United States. Therefore, there are not any rules that farmers have to follow when it comes to spraying nitrate to their crops. So sometimes if you go buy some greens from the grocery store and you have stomach problems this could be caused by nitrate poisoning.
Show and Tell Segment
On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about the
Christmas Lima Beans that Travis has growing on a panel trellis in his garden. These are a speckled, running butterbean variety that has been very prolific when grown in previous years. The seed has a red and white variegated color that turns grey when cooked. These beans preserve well, dry well, and are also great for cooking fresh. Compared to a traditional green butterbean, these have a nuttier flavor that is great in soups. They also discuss a little bit about their potato situation in the vegetable garden. Travis has corm that is growing about a foot and half tall getting ready to hill. He believes it will be ready to harvest in 55 to 60 days. They hope to start planting sweet corn at the SunBelt Expo this week and get some other crops growing soon. The tool of the week is a Garden Knife combo which includes our
Cabbage Knife,
California Knife, and
Farmers File. These are excellent knives to use for some of the fall crop harvests in the vegetable garden.
Viewer Questions Segment
On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about nut grass and choosing between the
High Arch and
Double Wheel Hoe. Nutgrass can be one of the most persistent and annoying weeds in a vegetable garden. Travis mentions that it can be controlled by "aggravating it to death," which simply means frequently cultivating a few times a week. He prefers to alternate between the cultivator teeth and the
sweeps on the Wheel Hoe. Greg distinguishes between the High Arch Wheel Hoe and the Double Wheel Hoe. He mentions that the High Arch Wheel Hoe would be his preferred choice because of the versatility it offers with cultivating and weeding attachments. However, if you want to use some of the other wheel hoe attachments like the drip tape layer attachment the double wheel hoe would be the better option.
Tool of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcjbrASaad8
