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 

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

Johnny’s Visits Hawaii (continues)

Johnny’s Commercial Sales Representative, Lainie Kertesz, recently traveled to Hawaii to visit commercial farmers and farmers markets on the islands. She documented her travels, which we have turned into a three-part Blog series. Below is part two of this series:

Oahu, Hawaii

My time spent at the Oahu Farmers’ Markets:

I was introduced to Pamela Boyar and Annie Suite by another Hawaiian contact who described them as "...amazing women who helped make Hawaii's underground/direct sales for small farmers possible…and I suspect at some time in the future they will be made saints." These two women manage five farmers' markets around Oahu for vendors selling their own, locally produced products.  I was quite surprised to find out most of the other "Farmers' Markets" around the islands are often re-sellers of products 'from away' rather than locally produced. 

Pamela and Annie took time out of their busy days to take me around to visit at least 10 farmers who sold at their markets. The farmers they introduced me to were quite diverse, both large and small farms growing either aquaponically, hydroponically, or in the field. I was fortunate to experience the Hale'iwa market where there are over 40 vendors at this bustling market.

After spending time on Oahu, I had limited time to make many visits, but did get to see two of Johnny’s the largest customers on Kauai; one hydroponic and one field operation.

Kauai, HI

Stay tuned for part three of Lainie's Hawaii Blog series- coming soon!

Product spotlight: Fruit Plants, Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cranberries, and Rhubarb

Fruit plants

This year, why not add fruit to your market garden or home orchard? Johnny's has a good selection of healthy berry and rhubarb plants available only for a limited time.

Sparkle

Prime Jim

Killarney

Strawberry Sparkle is an old-fashioned June-bearing variety renowned for its delicious flavor. It is considered one of the best varieties for jam making and freezing. Plants are vigorous and productive, with medium-size, dark red berries. Strawberry plants are shipped in March through April.

Blackberry Prime Jim is a primocane fruiting variety with large berries. It has a good flavor and sweetness, like other thorny varieties, but it is not as thorny as wild blackberries. Fruits are not recommended for shipping. Summer temperatures above 85˚F can greatly reduce yield. Plants are shipped March through April.

Raspberry Killarney is an early/midseason variety that produces bright red, medium-size fruits that are considered extremely sweet for a raspberry. It was developed in Manitoba and is very cold hardy. One-year-old dormant canes are shipped March through April.

Stevens

Collection

Victoria

Cranberry Stevens is a hybrid from USDA's cranberry breeding program. It has good yields of round to oval fruits that keep well. 4-year-old plants are shipped in 6" pots. Cranberry plants are shipped mid April to mid June for spring planting or early August through September for fall planting.
Blueberries require more than one variety for pollination, so Johnny's Blueberry Collection includes one plant each of Patriot, Northland, and Jersey. The three varieties mature in sequence, providing a long season of tasty blueberries. 18-month-old plants are shipped March through April.
Rhubarb is the earliest fruit plant to produce in spring, and essential for strawberry-rhubarb pie. We have certified-organic plants of Victoria, a sweet and mild variety, available for shipping from late March through April. Victoria also can be grown from seed. Rhubarb should not be harvested the first year and only lightly harvested the second year. If it's in a suitable location, with well-drained soil, it will produce for a decade or more.

March Product Spotlight: Grapes

Grapes

Plant now for the future. Increase your food independence by starting your own vineyard. Johnny's has high-quality plants of the most popular cold-hardy varieties.

Marechal Foch wine grape

A vigorous, early ripening wine grape with good winter hardiness, Marechal Foch is widely grown in Canada, the Northeast, and the Upper Midwest. It is also found in some vineyards in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Wine made from this French-American hybrid is often compared to Burgundy wines, because of its deep purple color and berry flavor. The grapes are very small, which makes them attractive to birds, so netting is recommended.

Brianna grape

A very cold-hardy hybrid grape, Brianna is used both as a seeded table grape and for juice and white wine. It is becoming very popular in the Upper Midwest. Grapes are medium-large and round, thick-skinned and gold when fully ripe. Clusters are medium. Wine from Brianna grapes is described as having an aroma of pineapple.

Seedless table grape collection

Get started in grape growing with this collection of flavorful, seedless varieties. You'll get one vine each of Concord for blue, Himrod for white, and Vanessa for red. This is a great way to start researching the varieties that will grow and taste best for you.