Plant Some Goober Peas

You’re a Goober!

Ever wonder where that phrase comes from? It means common, ordinary, like a goober pea, also known as a peanut. We seldom hear the term, “goober” any more but that was once the common name for the peanut. Since peanuts and peanut butter prices continue to be on the high side, how about planting your own peanuts this  year?

You’ll need to buy peanut seed from a seed company, and the seed should still be in the shell in order to be fresh. Most peanuts require 120 to 140 days to mature from planting time. When you’re ready to plant the seed, remove the shell and plant 2-3 seeds in a pot indoors, about 3 or 4 weeks before the last date when frost is expected, to give the plants a head start. When the weather is warm enough, carefully transplant your peanuts to a prepared bed in the garden. Add a bit of lime to the soil as you are preparing it to keep the pH in balance. Be careful when transplanting so as to not disturb the roots. Plant the peanut plants about a foot apart in rows and thin to 1 plant per spot. Most people grow peanuts in hills or berns, but raised beds work well, too.

Ready for transplanting.

When the plants begin to bloom, they will put down what’s called, “pegs” from each flower. The pegs are like little rootlets that grow downward from the plant’s limbs into the soil, several per stem. Each peg will grow a peanut in the ground. Don’t cut those off and don’t till around the plant once the plant starts flowering. Each plant should produce from 30 to 50 peanuts per plant.

There are both vining and bush-type peanuts and most gardeners plant the “Virginia” or bush variety. If you have a lot of space, the vining types produce well, also. Those will take up about as much space as sweet potato vines. But most gardeners like the bush types to conserve space.

Water the plants like you would green beans or similar crops. When the peanuts are ready in the fall, the plant will begin to yellow and wilt. When that happens, pull up the entire plant and hang the plants in a warm, dry place for a couple of weeks to let the peanuts cure. You can pull the peanuts off the plant at that time and let them continue drying for another couple of weeks. They are then ready for roasting or boiling. Or you can leave the peanuts in their shells and keep in the refrigerator or freezer for about 6 months. You can make your own peanut butter or just eat them from the shell, after oven-roasting. If you grow a lot, you can store them raw, still in their shell, for about 3 months, in a well-ventilated place that is both dark and dry.

Several companies offer peanut seed. One is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Also Gurney’s,  Burpee and Local Harvest offer peanut seed.

You will find more facts and information at the Peanut Institute, too.

Quick & Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup butter or shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup Truvia sugar substitute (made from the stevia plant)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup favorite peanut butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup roasted peanuts


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cream shortening til fluffy. Gradually add sugar, mixing til creamy. Beat in eggs. Add peanut butter,  blending well. Add dry ingredients, mixing again. Shape dough into small teaspoon size balls and press flat with a fork on a cookie bake sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Prune It or Lose It

One year old lavender plant, 24 inches wide, 18 inches tall.

February is the month for pruning. Grape vines should be cut back to the main trunk in order to produce the new growth needed to produce grapes. Muscadines, those Southern grape cousins, can be treated just like regular grapes, cutting off all of last year’s vines back to the main trunk.

Peach and apple trees get their pruning this month, as well. One old gardener told me  years ago that a peach tree should be gleaned of all the interior limbs so that, “You can sail your hat right through the middle.” If sunlight can’t get into the interior of the tree, you’ll only have peaches on the outer branches.

Half the plant has been pruned. Notice how much of the plant I am removing.

Because I grow considerably more herbs than I do fruit, I’m keen on pruning those plants now, as well. Waiting too long can damage the plants, so most things are pruned while still dormant, like now. Sage, lavender, santolina (some call it “lavender cotton”), hyssop and thyme - especially the taller, French thymes, are all cousins in the same overall plant family. Natives of the Mediterranean, and left to their own devices, these plants like to wander over rocks and cliff faces. The sprangly limbs root in the soil and the old centers of the plants die off. It’s a normal thing for sage and lavender to do that, and the others in the list, as well. If you’ve wondered why your garden sage plants only last about 3 or 4 years in the garden before unexpectedly die, that’s the reason. They have to be pruned to keep them alive.

A small, one-year sage before pruning. It's about 20 inches wide and 16 inches tall.

The same sage, after pruning. I cut away two thirds of the plant.

I prune lavender, sage and santolina, all in February, just as the tiniest signs of new leaves are forming down deep in the plant. I cut back two thirds of the height and width of each plant. The first time you do it, you’ll likely think the plant won’t come back, but in the next month or so, you’ll see plenty of new growth from the base of the plant. Not only will these plants be more vigorous, they’ll bloom better and the flavor of the leaves will be much better than on old plants that weren’t pruned.

French thyme plants. This one is 24 inches or more across and about 15 inches tall.

The thymes have been cut back by half and the lower hanging limbs removed, too.

Green santolina, partially pruned.

French thyme and hyssop both get cut back by about half, again in height and width. Those, like the other plants I mentioned, will die out in the center. All of these herbs will live for many years if renewed each year by pruning. February is also a good time to add an application of garden lime to the top of the soil in the beds where these specific plants are growing. All thrive in soil with lime and even though we think of the Ozarks as being full of limestone, it’s not in a form that plants can use.

I hope you'll vsit my regular garden blog, too: http://jimlongsgarden.blogspot.com

The Truth About Marigolds

French marigolds (Tagetes petula)

I’ve been hearing tales for years about how one should always plant marigolds in the garden to keep away inspect pests. Never quite believing the stories, I decided to search for the truth. Like many stories and myths, there is a grain of truth inside this one. Fortunately lots of research has been conducted on the subject. I looked at research from the Universities of Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, Arizona and California. Here’s what I learned.

First, companion planting, meaning scattering marigold plants among vegetables, has no proven beneficial effects. Second, what marigolds truly are useful for, is combating root nematodes. Root nematodes are microscopic, not seen by the human eye and whether you have them or not can only be confirmed by a soil nematode analysis from a University Extension Office.

All soil has nematodes and some of them perform good soil-building functions while. others will attack the roots of vegetables. The symptoms are excessive wilting, with stunting or weakness in a plant. (Once that is observed, provided the cause is root nematodes, there is no treatment other than to remove the plant and destroy it).

What is true and proven about planting marigolds is this. First determine that you have nematodes with a soil analysis. Next, devote the entire bed or that part of the garden to growing marigolds as a cover crop for one season. Nematodes don’t thrive when soil temperatures are below 64 degrees F., so you could potentially grow a spring crop of peas, radishes, lettuce, etc. As soon as those are done, plant that entire bed in a variety of marigolds that are proven to combat root-knot nematodes. It’s recommended you plant a marigold every 7 inches, in all directions and keep the area weeded. Weeds attract destructive nematodes, so keep them pulled.

You can follow the total-bed marigold planting with vegetable crops the next season. However, to be effective, you will have to alternate planting marigolds then vegetables, season to season. Fortunately, most gardeners in the Ozarks aren’t severely bothered by nematode infestations.

Calendula flowers on the left, French marigolds on right, they're not the same plant.

If you do plan to do this crop rotation with marigolds this year, here are the varieties that work best and some to avoid. (Keep in mind, we are talking about the little French marigolds (Tagetes patula) we plant in the flower bed and not the “pot marigold” (Calendula officianalis) some people confuse with marigolds).

Bolero is a good one to use for nematode control.

Red Sophie is another good one.

Bonita mixed, another excellent choice for nematode control.

Best varieties for combating root-nematodes: Bolero, Bonita mixed, Goldie, Gypsy Sunshine, Petite Harmony, Petite Gold, Scarlet Sophie, Single Gold, Petite Blanc, Sophia and Tangerine. Avoid “signet” marigolds (Tagetes signata or tenufolia) IF you have nematodes, because nematodes feed and reproduce on those and will make the problem worse. Included in the signet series are: Lemon Gem, Red Gem and Tangerine Gem varieties.

For controlling nematodes, avoid any in the Signet series.

February is the month to prune grape vines, clean beds and dispose of old garden debris. Turning the soil now is a useful, to help expose grasshopper and cucumber beetle larvae where the sun and cold weather will destroy them. Happy gardening!

Move Over Corn, the Peas are Coming

Early ancestors on their homestead.

I think most people aren’t interested in learning where their ancestors came from, the study of genealogy, until they’re in their 40s or beyond. That was the age when I started wondering where all the Longs came from and started my searching. What I learned was we date back pretty far, 1640 to be exact, and that the various parts of the family moved Westward, every 20 years.

Puzzled by why the whole family would pack up and move with such regularity, first to Pennsylvania, to Indiana, then Illinois, Iowa, Kansas Territory and finally Missouri, I thought they must simply be wanderers. A few years ago I was eating lunch with several other conference speakers at a conference in North Carolina and the subject turned to genealogy. I expressed my concern about my family’s habit of up and moving with such regularity. One of the people at the table said she wasn’t surprised at all, that most families did that. Why, I asked? It’s simple, she said. Corn. It turned out she was a sociologist, one who studies population movements. She went on to explain the method of gardening back then, was to move into an area, girdle or cut the trees and till the land for corn. Corn was the main crop to sustain farm and family. Once the land was exhausted of all of the soil nutrients, the family had no choice but to move on and start all over.

Our Billy, eating corn stalks.

Unfortunately I haven’t applied that lesson to my own garden. I have been raising sweet corn in the same 2 spots in my garden for over 30 years. Sure, I’ve added compost, bags of peat moss, even small applications of vegetable fertilizer over the years, but by and large, my 2 corn plots are severely exhausted. It’s not good to keep growing the same thing in the same place year in and year out. Every year my sweet corn has produced fewer ears of corn, on increasingly shorter stalks.

Cooking corn.

One option, of course, would be applications of chemical fertilizers, which do nothing for building up the soil and only support corn for that one year. I prefer to use more organic methods if possible. While I am not completely opposed to fertilizers, if I can use something like compost and cover crops, it is overall, better for my soil and my own health.

Peas of any kind help rebuild tired soil.

This year I’m doing something different. First, I’ve made new beds for the corn in “new” soil - soil I moved from another location. It has a lot of composted straw and manure and has never had corn planted in it before. Second, my old corn patches are getting planted with peas, lots and lots of peas. I bought several pounds of bulk peas, sugar peas and shelling peas. Peas are good at fixing nitrogen in the soil, so I’m planting them with the sole purpose of building up the soil. When they’re through, I’ll till them under and plant a crop of another cover crop, probably hairy vetch or wheat, which will also be tilled under to help build the soil. The corn beds will get a rest from corn for at least 3 years and during that time, I will work on building the soil.

Peas, by tradition in the Ozarks, are to be planted by Valentine’s Day, so I have mine ready. Onions, peas, lettuce and potatoes are all fair game now, as well. To see links to more information about cover crops as well as earlier Ozarks Gardening columns from this newspaper, go to ozarksgardening.blogspot.com. Happy gardening!

Gardening in February

Copyright 2012, Jim Long

A mild January has gotten a lot of gardeners thinking about spring planting, even though the likelihood of going through February and March with continuing mild weather is pretty low. Most likely we’ll have the late winter snowstorms the Ozarks is known for. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of the current mild weather, either.

Onion plants from Dixondale Farms.

My onions arrived from Dixondale Farms the first week of January they were planted within days. You may recall that last season I had a race between onion plants and onion sets (bulbs). I wanted to see just which method netted the fastest onions. The onion plants won the race by producing good-sized bulbs almost 2 weeks ahead of the sets. Of course I planted only onion plants this year.

So what can one safely plant right now? Onions, certainly because they’re very cold hardy. First plantings of lettuce can be sown now, as well. An old gardener in the town where I grew up in Central Missouri, always scattered her lettuce seed on the south side of her wash house, on top of a snow drift and she always had the first and most productive lettuce of anyone in town.

Potatoes, which I’ve written about before, are always planted in my garden in early February. By Ozarks tradition, peas should be planted by Valentine’s Day and I have mine ready. If you like leeks, you can plant those now. As soon as they’re a couple of inches tall, transplant them into rows, spacing about every 8-10 inches apart.

Larkspur do best when planted in very early spring.

Larkspur, poppies and bachelor’s buttons do well if planted this month. Scratch the soil slightly, scatter the seeds and lightly rake the area and they will come up as the weather warms. I scatter radish seed with the flowers to mark where I planted the flowers and I pull the radishes as they mature.

February is the time to prune grape vines. Don’t prune roses yet, wait until new growth appears in late March, but this month is the time to prune fruit trees. Once trees such as peaches and apples are pruned, you can give them their first spraying of dormant oil to prevent insect problems later.

This is also an excellent time to till the garden. You can till under all the old mulch but more important, the tilling process exposes insect eggs that over-winter in your garden. Grasshopper eggs, larvae of cucumber beetles, cut worms and Japanese beetle grubs, all can be thinned by tilling early. Birds eat some of the eggs and grubs and even better, nights that dip well below freezing will kill the eggs and larvae. Besides, just tilling the garden will get you in the mood for planting.

You will find more gardening information on my other blog: http://jimlongsgarden.blogspot.com
Happy gardening, even this early!

Add Some Berries to Your Garden

Blackberries begin ripening the first week of June.

There was a time when berry-picking was as ordinary as going to the grocery store is now. Come summer, families drove out into the countryside and picked blackberries along the roadside. People who had wild black raspberries or gooseberries, looked forward to picking fruit for pies, jams and canning. Now the roadsides are mowed and sprayed and most of the berries are gone. Store-bought berries, when available, are expensive and with few exceptions, shipped from South America. So why not grow your own berries?

Reaching into berry vines to pick isn't the painful thing it used to be, now with thornless vines.

The University of Arkansas has been developing hardy, thornless blackberry varieties for several decades and several licensed nurseries grow and sell them. These new strains of blackberries grow two to three times the size of wild ones and don’t carry the disease that many wild blackberries have. Wild blackberries are often deformed or shrivel before fully ripe from a berry disease. These new thornless varieties are resistant to those diseases. The thornless berries are big, the seeds are very small, the flavor is excellent and the vines are completely thornless. Add to that, they’re easy to grow. My favorites are ‘Arapaho’ and ‘Apache,’ both thornless berries that are great tasting.

Smooth vines, no thorns at all means no scratches, no pain when picking.

Both red and black raspberries do well all across the Ozarks region but don’t plant them together. Growers recommend keeping black and red raspberries at least 60 feet apart but both can certainly be grown on the same property. I keep my red raspberries in rows beside the blackberries and the black raspberries off to themselves. My favorite red raspberries are Heritage, which you mow down at the end of the year since they produce berries on new canes, and Lauren, which, for me, produces an early crop and another one in late summer.

Red raspberries produce for a month or more in summer. Some varieties produce 2 crops a year.

I’ve ordered berries from Pence Nurseries in northwest Arkansas many times over the years and they’re always very helpful in making recommendations. Find them here: www.alcasoft.com/pense/ They are a family business and you’ll need to call and leave a message that you want to order. They’re very prompt and will call you back at the end of the day to take your order. They sell grape, tayberry, gooseberries, currants, many varieties of black and red raspberries and several kinds of thornless blackberries.

The Pence family, from their website.

Berries require full to mostly-full sun, average garden soil and will benefit from being on a fence although it’s not necessary. Some, like Heritage red raspberries, often produce a few berries the first year but will produce a full crop the second year. Other berries produce a small crop the second year then are bountiful every year after that. Happy gardening!

Grow your own blackberry pie this year!

Time to Order Onions and Potatoes

Ozarks Gardening

Jim Long

You probably have your garden tools put away and think that planting time is a long way off but seed catalogs are arriving daily and garden planting isn’t far away. If you’ve followed my columns over the past 20 years, you know that I’ll be encouraging onion planting at the end of January. And I’ll start recommending, as I do each year, getting peas in the ground by Valentine’s Day, and potatoes planted before the end of February.

Part of my garden's raised beds.

This is my 32nd year of gardening on my farm and during that time I’ve learned the earlier I plant onions, peas and potatoes, the fewer pests I have and the better those crops do. All three are winter hardy, especially if you apply some loose straw over the bed at the time of planting. My method is to put about 8 inches of loose straw over the entire bed, then I make a row and plant through the straw.

A Dixondale customer with his onions. No, that's not me.

The difficulty I had for many years was finding onions early enough to plant in our mild Ozarks climate. Many seed companies are located in more northerly states and if you order potatoes and onions, they will ship them only,  “ at the proper planting time for your area.” That means they decide when they think you should plant, and if you wait on them, you’ll be planting too late for the Ozarks season.

Red Candy Apple onions.

Over the years I’ve found two companies that are happy to ship my onion plants and seed potatoes at the time I want them, rather than on their whims. The first is Dixondale Farms in Texas; www.dixondalefarms.com. I have found that the Intermediate Day varieties do the best for me. By planting early (late January for me) and planting the Intermediate Day varieties, I have little problem with the onions flowering before the bulbs are made. Also, the earlier you plant, the larger the bulbs will be. Often the varieties you find in grocery or feed stores are just generic onions that may or may not be varieties best suited for the Ozarks region. I order the Intermediate Day Sampler, which includes Candy, Red Candy Apple and Super Star varieties. 

You may also remember last spring I did a test trial, planting both onion sets (bulbs) and  onion plants. I planted at the same time, side by side. The plants produced bulbs faster and I had onions almost 10 days earlier than with the sets.

Potatoes used to be an even bigger problem to find for my early garden. I’ve had seed companies simply refuse to ship my seed potatoes before mid-March, which they deem “correct” for my area. If I plant potatoes that late, I am assured a good crop of potato beetles. Plant early and you avoid those completely! I found Wood Prairie Farm a few years back. Even though they’re located in Maine, they will ship seed potatoes as early as I want. They have a large selection to choose from and I always try to get my seed potatoes shipped the first week of February. Wood Prairie Farm is a family-run farm and they also offer some garden seed as well as maple syrup from their area.

Happy gardening in 2012!