Many thanks to everyone who stopped by my SeedtoSpoon booth at the Boulder Farmers’ Market today. I really enjoyed talking with you and swapping tips about how to eat locally and seasonally. Thanks especially to Michele for helping me set up and the Hickman family for filling my hot Camelbak with ice water when I was wilting in the 92-plus heat!
If you happened to come by, you’ll know that I love it when folks share their favorite recipes. Many of you told me you love to cook, so please contribute. And if you’re the one who told me about that yummy-sounding curry with kohlrabi in place of potatoes, by all means send it in!
Here’s a great recipe idea for beets from a visitor from Grenada. She marinates chicken kebabs in garlic, chives, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and olive oil, then puts them on the grill with onion slices. When they’re done, she puts them in pocket bread and tops them with shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes and boiled-then-grated beets. Sounds delicious! If anyone tries it, please write in to tell us what you think.
Finally, if you picked up a packet of organic basil seeds, here’s some growing information:
Organic Genovese Basil (classic Italian Basil)
Planting depth: 1/8 to 1/4 inch
Plant spacing: 8-12 inches
Days to maturity: 65-75
Soil Temp for germination: 70-85 degrees
Days to germination: 6-12
Sun: Full sun
Water: Moderate water
Dorothy Eberhard, a longtime volunteer at the Denver Botanic Gardens, shared the following tips with me earlier this season:
Start the seeds indoors in a soil-less, seed-starting mix. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the mix, then cover with 1/8 of an inch of seed-starting mix. “If they float to the surface when you water them,” she said, “just push them down.” Keep the soil moist and when they have sprouted about an inch or so high, transplant them to potting soil.
Dorothy puts seedlings into plastic four-pack containers (the kind you get nursery plants in) and places them in a foil tray in a sunny, south-facing window. She puts water in the bottom of the tray and also feeds it from above to encourage strong growth. Keep the plants indoors until all threat of frost has passed, which in Denver is late May (so you’re safe now), then transplant them to your garden or to a container outside. Good luck, and thanks again for visiting SeedtoSpoon.com!
