What’s in Bloom at Johnny’s Research Farm - July 4th

     Almost everything is starting to bloom this week and we are all sensing the excitement as yet another wonderful growing season ramps up. Truthfully, there’s always a little anxiety about keeping up with it all, in our short growing season, but we always seem to manage to get the work done and have a little fun too.

     While walking the farm today and checking on how the trials are progressing, I thought it would be fun to collect some of the edible flowers in bloom.

All the edible flowers in bloom!

Flowers; violas, snapdragons, marigolds. Herbs; lavender, sage, chive, chamomile, thyme. Vegetables and fruit; strawberry and peas and field peas.

Lavender, sage, marigold, chamomile and pea flowers

     These edible beauties would make a perfect dessert garnish; strawberry, lavender, pea, and field pea flowers.

 Photo – herb flowers, lavender- useful in baking, deserts and garnish, chamomile for tea and garnish, thyme, sage and chives are great for incorporating into all kinds of dishes. 

    These herb flowers make a great addition to pizza. After pizza is cooked and while still warm, pull the flowers from their stems and sprinkle on pizza or most any savory dish for a beautiful and flavorful topping.

 Photo – Chive, thyme and sage flowers

     Other useful edible herb flowers (not yet in bloom here are basil, oregano, dill, rosemary and fennel.

Check out our edible flower techsheets at Johnnyseeds.com for a whole list of edible flowers with flavor descriptions and tips on how to use them:
- Flavors and Suggested Uses
- Recipes
- Additional Information 

An Update From Albion - July, 2014

The past several days at Johnny’s Research Farm in Albion have been quite the contrast to each other. Last Thursday was overcast with rain in the morning. Even though the first day of summer was only a week prior, it felt more like the typical, damp spring in Maine. Hillary Alger, the Product Manager for flowers, snapped a wonderful photograph of the delphiniums that were cut at the farm that morning before it began raining. The cool color tones of the flowers truly reflected the slight chill in the air.

Delphiniums at the Farm

Alternatively, the next day, Friday, the temperatures hit 80°F. Birdhouses are scattered throughout the farm and the birds could be seen zipping through the air, glad to have clear skies and sun. As with any open field in Maine, the killdeer were also active, protecting their nests. Walking through the fields, it was easy to see the rain from the previous day had done its work. Everything was lush with color. Bunch a couple of stands of spinach and, not only could you see the sunlight reflecting off the leaves, you could see how rich with green the leaves were.

Spinach

If you could only choose one type of weather to have, it would be a difficult decision. Early in our lives, aren't we all told the simplified version of what basic needs of a plant are? It’s really simple, but it holds true: Beside soil, it’s water and sun.

Grow a Gardener this Spring

Shop Sunflowers

At last, spring has come back to the northern hemisphere. Most gardeners spend the better part of a winter leafing through seed catalogs, planning out their garden row by row, and dreaming of warmer weather. Seed catalogs are inspirational, but no seed catalog - not even one as comprehensive as Johnny’s - lists the most important thing that can be grown.

Whether it is remembered or long forgotten, every gardener had a first garden - their first attempt at planting a seed to harvest a meal or pick a flower. For some this happens in adolescence or later in life, but for the lucky, their first garden was during childhood. Once the seeds are planted, an entire host of emotions are usually felt; at first apprehension, then impatience, usually followed by excitement, and satisfaction. When the first seeds begin to germinate and break the soil, an indelible mark is made on the gardener.

Spring is the time that transplanted crops are sown. Peppers and tomatoes, perhaps onions, are being sown in trays to await planting alongside direct-seeded crops like squash and pumpkins. This spring, invite a child to help with the gardening. Have him or her help plant and transplant, weed, and harvest the garden. It can be your child, your grandchild, or a neighbor’s child; the relation is fairly unimportant. The entire process will teach the child foresight and patience, the satisfaction of a job well done, the pleasure of success, and unfortunately in some cases, the bitter taste of defeat. Either way, you’ll be passing on a priceless gift. 

This spring, grow a gardener.

-Anthony Stevenson

Anthony joined Johnny's International Sales Department in 2007 and is the Sales Representative for all countries excluding the U.S.A and Canada. Every spring he looks forward to starting his own garden — something he has done nearly ever year since childhood.
Email: astevenson@johnnyseeds.com
Toll-Free: 877-564-6697, ext. 5310

An Introduction to Flower Sprouts™

Kaleidoscope Mix (F1)

What are Flower Sprouts™?

Flower Sprouts™ are the result of a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts. The resulting plants produce beautiful, open, florets that have a mild kale-like flavor which only improves with the colder days of the fall.  

When do you plant them?

You may ask why we are talking about a fall vegetable well before spring. Well, when growing Flower Sprouts™ patience is definitely a virtue. This crop requires at least 110 days to maturity from time of transplanting. So the total time to produce this crop from seed to edible floret is close to 22 weeks… that’s why we’re talking about Flower Sprouts™ in February!

What’s the best way to grow them?

In order to produce the sweet kale-like florets, attention to detail and, as previously stated, patience is required. Flower Sprouts™ are grown in a similar fashion as Brussels sprouts; provide a very fertile, well-drained soil, with a pH range of 6.0-7.5.

The seedlings should be started early enough to be ready to be set out in mid to late spring. Growers should provide sufficient irrigation throughout the growing season to help produce tall, strong plants. The sprouts should begin to form by early fall and be ready to harvest starting in mid to late fall.

Like other crops in the Brassica family, such as broccoli and cabbage, the flavor of Flower Sprouts™ will become sweeter and milder when the weather cools in the fall. Flower Sprouts™ are very cold hardy, similar to Brussels sprouts and kale. If you grow in a short-season area, be sure to top the plants about 4-5 weeks prior to the intended harvest season. The tops can be sold and used just like kale.

Red Russian Kale (OG)

How can they be prepared?

Flower Sprouts™ are suited to diverse cooking methods such as lightly steaming, sautéing, stir frying, and roasting. When lightly cooked they will hold their color. The tender, mildly flavored spouts have a taste and texture similar to Red Russian Kale.

When growing Flower Sprouts™ remember to be patient and enjoy! 

Growing Edible Flowers

Organic Gardening: Sunflower Power Article

Organic Gardening Magazine recently ran a detailed article on sunflowers. The article offers insight on which areas are most successful at growing the flowers, as well as light requirements and the best way to prepare the seeds.  

"Varieties thrive largely as annuals in all USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, from Alaska to Hawaii. After all, this plant, made iconic by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, was first cultivated in the American Southwest around 1000 B.C. and developed for commercial use in the mid-1800s in Russia... Today, Russia, Ukraine, and below-the-equator Argentina are among the largest growers of sunflowers in the world."

Johnny's Ring of Fire

"Despite their bright collars of petals, sunflowers, which come in single- and multistem varieties, aren't really single flowers but 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers. The ray petals around the circumference have no stamens or pistils. Their function is to attract pollinators to the landing pad or "disk," since sunflowers rely heavily on bees and other pollinators to reproduce..." 

Read this entire article here at the Organic Gardening website

See all of Johnny's varieties of sunflowers at our website

Product spotlight: Multi-Seeded Flower Pellets

New Fuseables™ Perfect for Mixed Containers

Blueberry Lime Jam

Key Lime Parfait

Under the Sun

Fuseables™ are a new product for growing uniform, compatible flowers for mixed containers. Two or three varieties are combined in a single pellet to ensure the proper color mix. Blueberry Lime Jam (#1755P) is a mix of purple and lime green petunias; Key Lime Parfait (#3848P) combines red, lime green, and white petunias; and Under the Sun (#1756P) includes Versa Crimson Gold and Versa Lime sun-tolerant coleus. The pellets are made only to hold the different varieties together and are not sturdy enough for mechanical seeding.
For summer sales, try these New Guinea Impatiens that grow well in partial sun. Divine Mix Improved (#1407) consists of eight long-blooming colors. The mix is perfect for window boxes, hanging baskets, and mixed containers. The orange is especially impressive, as it has bronze foliage that really stands out in the mix.

Customer photos: Amaranth, Zinnias in Snohomish, Washington

Dale Kolbe, of the Snohomish County (WA) Parks and Recreation Department, sent us a beautiful shot of a flower garden planted with Johnny's seeds at the county fairgrounds.

"The Emerald Tassels and Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth seeds we purchased from you have generated a lot of interest this year," Dale said. "We have them planted at our Main Gate in a 3-tier culvert planter with Zowie!™ and Queen Red Lime zinnias, also from Johnny’s!! Thanks!"

 

Customer photos: Sunflowers in Maine

Rob Anderson, of Yarmouth, Maine, sent us some photos of his sunflower crop. Rob used Johnny's sunflower seeds to plant a 60-foot bed along the fence on the side of his yard. Beautiful!

July Product Spotlight: Flowers and Herbs

Flowers

Antares Flashback

Sunny Smile

Little Becka

There is still time to plant more flowers to add vibrant color to your fall market offerings.
#1795G Antares Flashback calendula adds brilliant colors in shades of orange, peach, apricot, yellow, and cream with red and maroon undersides. Organically grown.
#1815 Sunny Smile (F1) is a "miniature" pollenless sunflower with golden orange petals surround a black disc. Sunny Smile is good for containers.
#1897 Little Becka (F1) is an unusual new brown dwarf sunflower. Little Becka is an early flowering full plant with large quantities of flowers.

Herbs

Extend your season into the fall with these essential herbs.
#2576 Caribe cilantro/coriander is new and our recommended substitute for Calypso. Caribe has good bulk and is great for salsa and other tomato dishes.
#529 Forest Green is our favorite, curled parsley. Its long upright stems allow for easy bunching. Forest Green has good flavor and appearance and is high yielding.

Photos: Early June at Farm

June is shaping up as busy month here in Albion. There is plenty of work to be done at Johnny's Research Farm after an extended period of wet weather in May. The rainy conditions delayed some of the planting and field prep. Now we're playing catch up.

Here are a few photos from recent activities at the farm.

Product Spotlight: Zinnias

Sunbow Mix

Zinnias

Zinnias are the backbone of the cutting garden, and they should be succession planted several times during the summer to ensure a steady supply of fresh, large blooms. You can direct seed them beginning at your last frost date, continuing every 2-3 weeks until 70 days before your first fall frost date. You can even seed them with an Earthway Seeder, using the beet plate. You can never have too many zinnias! Johnny's has a wide selection of tall varieties for cutting:
Benary's Giants are the premium zinnia with a yellow, food-based coating for ease of sowing. Available as a mix or separate colors so you can increase your supply of specific colors for special events. Grow more whites for summer weddings, more orange and gold for autumn-themed bouquets. 40-50" tall stems and 4-6" fully double blooms.
The Giant Dahlia Flowered Series is less expensive because the seed is not coated, but with more singles and semi-doubles than in the Benary's Giants. Available as a mix or separate colors, including an unusual creamy yellow. 40-50" tall stems and 4-6" blooms.
State Fair Mix has 4" single and double blooms in bright colors. 36" tall.

Zowie!

Zowie! Yellow Flame has semi-double, 3-4" blossoms of magenta and orange. An eye-catching combination! 24-36" tall.
Uproar Rose has intense, dark pink, fully double blooms 4-5" across. 28-36" tall.
Oklahoma Formula Mix Improved has 1-2" fully double and semi-double blooms in brilliant shades of yellow, red, gold, pink, and white. The smaller flowers provide a nice contrast in a bouquet or can be mixed with basil or other greens for an attractive bunch. 30-40" tall.
Sunbow Mix is the smallest of the cutting zinnias, with blooms 1-2" wide in a full range of colors rose, purple, golden yellow, scarlet, orange, pink, and white. 24-30" tall.
Persian Carpet has full and semi-double 2" blooms in bicolor combinations of red, mahogany, gold, purple, chocolate, and cream. 24-28" tall.

March Product Spotlight: Flowers and Herbs

Magic Fountains Mix delphinium

Magic Fountain Mix, a dwarf Pacific type, is perennial in Zones 3-7. Flowers have white or dark bees on cherry, lilac, lavender, dark blue, sky blue, and white. Great for windy areas.

Camelot Mix digitalis (foxglove)

Camelot Mix blooms the first year from seed. This combination of colors includes cream, lavender, rose, and white. Center spikes are large and full, and side shoots fill out the plant. Perennial in Zones 5-9.

Single Mix hollyhock

These elegant 3-4" flowers come in shades of creamy white to yellow and pink to dark maroon. This biennial is hardy in Zones 3-10.

Echinacea

Coneflowers are one of the most useful groups of flowers. Their roots have strong medicinal properties, and their flowers are beautiful both fresh and dried. We have five species of Echinacea for every purpose. Plant a patch this spring and enjoy the benefits for many years to come.

Video: Edible Flowers

Many flowers have edible blossoms. Among the most popular types are nasturtiums, calendula, bachelor's button, marigold, and viola. Edible flowers may be added to a salad mix, used as garnishes, or as edible decorations. The key is to pick the fresh blossoms early in the morning and use them promptly. Watch our video to learn more about edible flowers.



Johnny's offers 40 flowers that are edible. Shop »

Edible Flowers Recipes. Download .pdf

Crop walk video: Sunflower and Aster trials

This week's morning crop walk focuses on a couple of our flower trials -- Sunflowers and Asters.



See Johnny's Sunflower and Aster selections.