From the Ground Up Blog

Flowers are not just for admiring their beauty and fragrance, they can also be used to add flavor, color, and texture to your meals. Edible flowers are a popular addition to many culinary dishes, and they can be grown right in your own backyard. Let’s explore the benefits of planting edible flowers and provide tips for incorporating them into your cooking.

Why plant edible flowers? 

There are numerous reasons to plant edible flowers in your garden. Here are a few of the benefits:

1. Enhance Flavor: Edible flowers can add a unique flavor to your dishes. For example, the spicy and slightly sweet taste of nasturtium flowers can be a terrific addition to salads, while the citrusy flavor of marigolds can be used to flavor tea.
2. Add Visual Appeal: Edible flowers can add a drop of color to your dishes, making them more visually appealing. For example, the bright yellow petals of calendula flowers can be used to decorate cakes or cupcakes.
3. Nutritional Value: Edible flowers are often packed with nutrients, such as antioxidants and vitamins.  For example, the bright red petals of hibiscus flowers are a good source of vitamin C.
4. Easy to Grow: Many edible flowers, like nasturtiums, are easy to grow and require minimal maintenance.  This makes them a great choice for beginner gardeners.
   
   

Tips for planting edible flowers

If you are interested in growing edible flowers, here are five tips for getting you started:

1. Choose the Right Flowers: Not all flowers are edible, so it is important to do your research before planting. Some common edible flowers include nasturtiums, calendula, lavender, marigolds, and violas.
2. Consider Growing Conditions: Different flowers have different growing requirements, so it is important to consider the growing conditions in your garden before planting. For example, some flowers prefer full sun, while other prefer to have some shade.
3. Start from Seed: While you can buy pre-grown plants, starting your flowers from seed is a more cost-effective option. Many edible flowers can be started by planting directly in the ground, making them an easy choice for beginning gardeners.
4. Be Mindful of Pesticides: If you plan to eat your edible flowers, it’s important to avoid using pesticides or other chemicals on them.  Consider using natural pest control methods, such as companion plants or handpicking pests.
5. Harvest Properly: To ensure that your edible flowers are safe to eat, it’s important to harvest them properly.  Only use petals that are in good condition and avoid using flowers that have treated with chemicals.

Incorporating Edible Flowers into Your Cooking

Once you have planted your edible flowers, it’s time to start incorporating them into your cooking. Here are four suggestions to get your started:

1. Add to Salads: Edible flowers can be a fantastic addition to salads, adding color and flavor. Nasturtiums, pansies, and calendula are all good choices.
2. Use as Garnish: Use edible flowers to decorate cakes, cocktails, or other dishes. Roses, violets, and hibiscus flowers can all be used for this purpose.
3. Infuse into Tea: Many edible flowers, such as chamomile and lavender, can used to make tea. Simply steep the flowers in hot water for a few minutes and enjoy.
4. Candy the Petals: You can candy the petals of some edible flowers, such as violets or rose petals, to use as a sweet treat or to decorate desserts.

In conclusion, planting edible flowers is a fun and easy way to add flavor, color, and nutrition to your meals.  By following these tips, you will be able to enjoy the beauty and benefits of edible flowers.

Below are some of our bestselling products with late arrival or short supply for the 2023 season, along with our suggested alternatives for your consideration. We appreciate your understanding and adaptability and welcome you to contact us for any other recommendations or questions.

What Are Short Crops?

Like all aspects of agriculture, seed production is subject to the same pressures of weather, pests and diseases, logistics, and perishable products. Unfortunately, this can result in situations where new seed crops are delayed, the supply is less than anticipated, or the seed is unable to be sold. These situations are what the industry refers to as late crops, short crops, or crop failures, respectively.

Why Do Crops Fail?

Crop failures can be caused by delays in seed processing due to poor weather conditions or logistical issues like transportation and labor shortages, poor crop yields due to weather or pest pressures, or low-quality products that cannot be sold due to low germination rates or the presence of viruses. Typically these situations are not anticipated and require an industry-wide shift to alternative products with good supply and seed quality.

Harris Seeds recognizes that our growers depend on the quality and reliability of the products they choose, and we want to help ease any concerns about selecting the best substitutes for items that are unavailable.

Review some of our most popular pumpkin and corn short crops below along with our recommended alternatives:

Short Crop: Pumpkin Kratos

100 day 20-30 lb. Jack-o-lantern with Powdery Mildew Protection

Recommended Substitutes:

Gladiator >

The same classic Harris Moran stem, color, and appearance with reliable uniformity and Powdery Mildew Protection. Gladiator matures around 15 days later than Kratos and can be slightly smaller at 20-25 lbs.

Big Doris >

Justify >

 

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Short Crop: Sweet Corn Kate

77 day bicolor supersweet with large ear and high sweetness, resistance to Rust

Recommended Substitutes:

Flagler >

A supersweet bicolor with the same maturity, agronomic performance, and Rust resistance as Kate, Flagler has a slightly longer ear and a similar husk and kernel appearance. It will be slightly less sweet, but comparable in tenderness, quality, and field-holding ability.

Troubadour XR >

A high-quality supersweet bicolor from the IFSI Reserve^TM line-up, Troubadour XR has the same maturity and Rust resistance as Kate. Troubadour XR will have a longer, more slender ear, more tender and refined kernel than Kate, and excellent flavor with a balanced sweetness.

Crave >

Crave is a supersweet bicolor with later maturity and comparable ear appearance to Kate. It does not carry resistance to Rust, but offers a good husk package and high eating quality for the late season slot. It will be slightly less sweet than Kate with a similar kernel quality and appearance.

Epiphany >

Epiphany is two days earlier than Kate and has a stronger disease package that includes Rust, NCLB, and MDMV. The ear is more slender with more refined kernel appearance and comparable texture and eating quality, though a more balanced sweetness.

 

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Short Crop: Sweet Corn Vision MXR

73 day yellow supersweet with high eating quality, resistance to Rust and MDMV

Recommended Substitutes:

Icon XR >

Maturing at 72 days and offering Rust resistance, Icon XR has comparable agronomic traits as Vision MXR. Both are part of the IFSI Reserve^TM line-up with excellent eating quality, tenderness and sweetness.

XTH1273 >

XTH1273 matches Vision MXR in maturity and quality with IFSI Reserve^TM tenderness and sweetness. While it does not carry disease resistance, it offers an attractive husk package and reliable agronomics.

Summer Celebration >

Maturing slightly later than Vision MXR at 74 days, Summer Celebration has a slightly shorter and wider ear, and resistance to MDMV only. It has excellent eating quality and sweetness with slightly less tenderness than Vision MXR.

Candice >

A high quality yellow supersweet that matures just after Vision MXR at 74 days, Candice has a slightly shorter and wider ear and excellent eating quality with slightly less tenderness. While it does not carry disease resistance, it offers an attractive husk package and reliable agronomics.

 

It is garden planning time! Gardeners are always excited to try new things and there is always room for the newest striped hot pepper or chocolate colored cherry tomato, but it is important to remember the common garden staple crops that are important to have and enjoy in your garden. 

Planting staple crops for you and your family is what will save you the most money in the grocery store and add the value of freshness and flavor you can’t find in a store.  

What makes a staple crop?  

1. You should like them enough to eat them on a regular basis. For example, I don’t like dried beans. I will plant multiple varieties of green beans and pole beans, but not dried beans. 
   
   
2. The plants should have good yield. It’s great to try new things, but if I plant Lewis beans every year because I know I can pick beans every few days in the summer and always get a bumper crop. 
   
   
3. They should be easy for you to plant and grow without a lot of trouble. Some parts of the country have different issues. If moisture is an issue in your area, you won’t want to grow crops that are susceptible to downy mildew. 
   
   
4. They should be easy to store and last in storage. That means easy to freeze, can, dehydrate or store in a cool dark basement. 
   
   
5. They should be dense with calories and nutrition. Lettuce is great, but by itself, it isn’t the best crop to keep your belly full and satisfied. 

 Here is a list of 10 common garden staples: 

1. Potatoes
   Potatoes are one of the most versatile crops you can grow in your garden. Potatoes give you the greatest number of calories in the least amount of space. They are easy to plant and harvesting them is like going on treasure hunt. Kids always love to dig potatoes, so make it a family affair. Sweet Potatoes are one of the healthiest foods you can grow in your garden. They are frequently thought of as a southern plant, but they can be grown in the north, you just have to do a little more research to find the right varieties. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Corn
   Most of us know that corn was grown by Native Americans who depended on it as a staple crop. It is one of the easiest crops to grow, but you need to make sure you have ample room and plant enough seeds to pollinate. To grow enough to freeze or can, and to increase your chance of full ear success, consider planting at least 100 seeds in a block of rows. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Beans
   Both dried beans and green beans are a staple in most gardens. With vertical gardening, you can get a lot of yield out of a small space of dried pole beans. And green beans can be harvested every few days for several weeks once the beans have set on the plants. And beans come in so many great colors and styles. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Cabbage
   Nothing beats a hearty cabbage soup in the dead of winter. Cabbage grows well into the fall months and has incredible storage capabilities. Don’t forget making sauerkraut, that’s one of the traditional ways to store cabbage long term. You can also freeze whole cabbage heads or make up your cabbage rolls and freeze them for winter eating. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Garlic
   The best gardens take a lot of planning and included in that plan should be garlic. It is easy to grow, harvest, and dry and it does not take up a lot of room in the garden or in storage.  It is versatile for cooking and for medicinal purposes, so why not add it to your own garden? 
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Greens
   Some type of greens should be on your list of garden staples. Kale and collards belong to the cabbage family, so they can handle growing into the later, cooler months and can even stay in your garden past the frost date if you can cover them when the temperatures dip. Greens as a staple crop should also be a variety that you can cut and come back again for more. Greens are great as season extenders both in early spring and late season as well. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Carrots
   Although they can be tricky to grow for inexperienced gardeners, once you get the hang of keeping the soil moist for germination, they will become a garden staple. Extend your harvest by planting more every 2-3 weeks and store them with your other long term storage crops after harvesting if you aren’t freezing or preserving them otherwise.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Onions
   Onions are a must grow if you want to be a self-sufficient gardener. Onions may not be considered a staple crop by some because they are not eaten alone but consider how bland your food would be without onions. Growing onions is far easier than you may think, and they store well without too much difficulty, just be sure to grow the types that are listed for storing. 
   
   
   
   
   
9. Tomatoes
   Tomatoes may not be considered a staple crop by some because they don’t have the long-term storage aspect, but look at the options for preserving them, and you can grow a lot of tomatoes in a small space. Homemade soups, sauces, paste and just diced and canned are all amazing options for excess tomatoes. 
   
   
   
   
   
10. Winter Squash
    Last, but certainly not least, winter squash is a favorite staple. So many options here, how could you go wrong? Winter squash is hearty, stores well, and is rich in fiber and vitamins A and C. In a root cellar, winter squashes have been known to last up to a year without going bad, but it is not recommended to store them that long. The most popular squashes are pumpkin, butternut, acorn, Hubbard, and some kabocha varieties.  Summer squash does not store well but can be processed and preserved but that requires a little more work.  Growing winter squash also requires more space in your garden, but some can be trellised, and you can look for varieties that grow on bush type plants instead of vining types. 
    
    
    

If you have not started planning your garden, be sure to remember these options in yours or add your own depending on your personal list of favorites.  

Now let’s get growing!