There are two main types of blueberry plants:  rabbiteye and highbush.  rabbiteye are native to the southern US, do well with in drier, warmer temperatures and although the berries are slightly smaller they are sweeter, making them a good choice for our area.  Highbush are native to the Northern states and do well in the

higher elevations of TN but need irrigation in middle TN.

Blueberries require an acid soil with a pH in the 4.8 – 5.2 range, need excellent drainage and two or more varieties for cross-pollination.  If you like your fruit organic, you will love growing blueberries as they don’t have any kind of pest problems, the biggest pest you will have are family members and birds!

DeWayne Perry, UT fruit specialist in Williamson County recommends planting blueberry plants in the winter months, preferably in February.

He also suggests buying plants from a certified small fruit nursery like Johnson & Ford Nursery out of Georgia.  www.johnsonnursery.com

For more information on growing blueberries pick up a copy of UT publications SP 248-D Blueberries in Home Gardens and SP307-J Landscaping with Fruit & Nut Crops at your local county UT Extension office or check them out online at    http://www.utextension.utk.edu/

If you are looking for something new in the Blueberry World, check this out…..

Briggs Introduces the First Ever Pink Blueberry! 

(Olympia, WA) – The first-ever ground-breaking blueberry cultivar that is going to rock the garden world is being introduced by Briggs Nursery for 2010.  In a heavenly shade of pink, Vaccinium “Pink Lemonade is the first ever pink blueberry to be brought to market.

“When you think pink lemonade it usually brings to mind a crisp refreshing taste and long summer days,” says Dave Jarzynka, president of Briggs.

Not anymore. “Our latest introduction of our new pink blueberry highbush is right in step with the growing consumer demand for small fruit bushes,” Jarzynka says, adding the nursery has seen an incredible demand for small fruit-bearing shrubs – especially blueberries. This is in line with the growing consumer trend for edible landscapes.

This new blueberry may be pink, but it’s as rich in anti-oxidants as its blue cousins.  This deliciously fruity pink blueberry boasts mouth-watering flavor and good firmness, bearing fruit from May through October.

Pink Lemonade also offers four seasons of color, a must for today’s gardener.  The pinkish-white showy flowers are bell-shaped in spring. The fruit are pale greenish at first, then dappled pink, and finally turning to deep pink on ripening.

In fall, beautiful bright orange foliage fades to deep red fall, making this shrub a great choice for a colorful autumn garden. Wintertime twigs are dusky reddish-brown. Gardeners may choose to leave the fruit on the bush to encourage song birds and other wildlife in the garden.

Vaccinium ‘Pink Lemonade’ is a hexaploid highbush, with mid-late to late-season ripening, moderate yields, medium-sized, glossy fruit, bright pink fruit color, mild pleasant flavor and good firmness. The ‘Pink Lemonade’ bush is vigorous, upright, and full 5’ by 5’ (1.5m high x 1.6m wide) with leaves that are glossy green and lanceolate, with a serrated leaf margins. The leaf surface texture is smooth, similar to the V. ashei.

‘Pink Lemonade’ should perform equally well – or better – in milder climates, including areas where rabbiteye cultivars can be grown. It’s recommended that another rabbiteye cultivar be planted with ‘Pink Lemonade’ for good cross-pollination. USDA Zone 4.

So think “pink” – pink blueberry – and get in on the ground floor excitement of an industry “first, certain to be a winner for years to come.

# # #

For more information please visit: www.briggsnursery.com

The bell shaped bloom varies in color from cream to chartreuse to shades of pink to deep purple-black and combinations in between.  Hellebores are evergreen throughout the year and on average can be trimmed after the first of the New Year to make room for new leaves and emerging blooms.

You will want to start your seeds about 8 -10 weeks before it is time to plant them in the garden.  For Middle TN I count back from our last frost date of April 15th then for good measure I add 2 weeks.  So for me I usually start around the middle of February to the first of March.

 Starting seeds is an easy way to get a head start on the kitchen garden.  This mini greenhouse is easy to put together using materials that you may already have or can easily find.  It usually costs about $30 to build and less if you can rummage around and find parts in your garage.

This design has a frame so it can be set up anywhere you have an electrical outlet. In the garden shed or kitchen or garage.  You could forego the frame and use long chains to hang shop light from ceiling.

Material list for  frame

1   ten foot section of 1/2” PVC pipe

4   ½” PVC T connectors

4   ½” PVC couplings

1   48” inexpensive shop light

1   48” cool white florescent light  –     comes in package of two

1   48” warm white florescent light – comes in package of two

Material list for seed starting accessories

3) 28 quart plastic storage container with lids (Sterlite is one brand) – 2 for the mini greenhouse and 1 container for soaking pans of seeds.

2) 100 Christmas light string

4)  ½ aluminum disposable baking pans or comparable containers.

1) Bag of seed starter, grow mix or fine textured potting soil

1) Thermometer

1) Electric Timer

3) Plastic clothes covers from dry cleaners or other type plastic to go over the top of mini greenhouse frame

Packages of seeds

Put the seed starter greenhouse frame together:

1.  With a PVC pipe cutter or a small toothed type hack saw cut the 10 foot section into the following lengths:  one 48”, two 16” and four 6” pieces.

2.  Push a coupling on one end of each of the four 6” pipes, a T connector on both ends of the two 16” pipes which will connect to the 48” pipe at the top and the four 6” pipes (feet) at the bottom.  A rubber mallet can be used to make sure the connections are snug.  It should look like this:

3.  Remove shop light fixture from box, hook the chains through the holes at each end.  Wrap the other end of the chain over the top of the frame and attach to any chain link.  You may have to open the end chain link up a little to make it easy to hook and unhook as you will have to adjust light fixture height now and then.

4.  Insert one cool white and one warm white fluorescent tube in the shop light fixture.  When you plug the shop light in one tube should look pink and other one blue.

Complete the greenhouse with the seed starting accessories:

1.  Lay the cover (lid) of the 28 qt container top side down.

2.  Place the 100 light string on top (actually underside of cover).

3.  Put the plastic 28 qt container on top of lights with two ½ size aluminum pans in each (or other containers of your choice).

4.  Have plastic ready to provide a cover.

Now for the fun part, making the seed starter greenhouse operational:

1. With a large nail or sharp pencil poke drainage holes in bottom of the ½ size pans.

2. Fill the pans with 3-4” inches of seed starter, grow mix or fine potting soil.

3. Broadcast seeds on top of soil, don’t worry if you have too many…you can always thin later.  Dividing the aluminum pans into halves or quarters is fine as long as you choose seeds that have similar germination times (this information is usually on the back of the seed packet).  Sprinkle a light coating of soil mix on top –planting depth is generally 2-3 times the thickness of the seed.  With a dry hand palm or a small block of wood about the same size lightly tamp the top layer.  This insures good soil contact with the seed.

4. Label the seeds!  (masking tape)

5.  Place seeded pans in the third 28qt plastic container filled part way with water to soak the seeds from the bottom.  Should the mix dry out before seeds germinate, simply re-soak.

6.  Put a layer of dampened newspaper (blanket) on the top to keep seeds warm and moist.   Most seeds germinate in the dark but for those

that need light like petunias use clear plastic.

7.  After putting the ½ size pans back in the 28 qt plastic containers set them on the cover with the light strings (plugged in) to provide consistent warmth for the seed germination.

8.  After a couple of days, check under the newspaper daily until you see some sprouts poking their little heads up.  Now remove the

blanket altogether, unplug the light strings, be sure the plastic greenhouse cover is in place and turn on the shop light.  For healthy sturdy seedlings the light needs to be close to

the seedlings  (within 2-4” of the top of the plants).  The light intensity is strongest near the center of the lights so rotate the pans every now and then so seedlings are uniform and sturdy.

9.  Seedlings will need about 12 -14 hours of light per day.  Set the timer.  Use the thermometer to monitor temperatures.  Try to keep them consistent with no more than a 10 degree drop at night. (i.e. 70/day, 60/night)

10.  Gently water seedlings from the top, keep moist but don’t over water. Overcrowding can lead to problems so thin seedlings anytime after they have produced their first set of true leaves (these leaves come out after the little round cotyledon leaves usually in a couple of weeks).  Snip at the base rather then pulling out so as not to disturb neighboring roots.  For an added measure of protection and to provide humidity keep a spray bottle filled with chamomile tea to mist seedlings.

11.  You can thin the seedlings to allow room to stay in pan until they move to garden or you can transplant seedlings into other containers and start additional seeds.

12. About 10 days before plants go into their final destination slowly introduce them to the outdoor weather climate. (hardening off process) Move plants to a shady, protected area out of direct wind like a covered porch for a couple of hours the first day, increasing the time and sun exposure each day until they are outside all day and night.

In the kitchen garden, plant English peas and onion sets as soon as the ground can be worked.  Mid to late February plant spinach and seed potatoes.  Start salad greens, parsley, cilantro and dill in a cold frame or hoop house.

In a sunny window or greenhouse start herb, vegetable and flower seeds that will be transplanted into the garden in 8 – 10 weeks.

Take cuttings of scented geraniums, rosemary, sage, begonias and other plants you’ve been wintering over indoors.

Most shrubs and trees are still dormant and can be easily pruned.  It is a good time to spray with dormant oil to smother eggs of problem insects.

Cut back Monkey grass, liriope (with a line-trimmer) and ornamental grasses before new growth starts.  Try an electric hedge trimmer to save time.

Force blooms of Winter jasmine, Pussy willow, Forsythia, Quince and Spirea (when buds plump) by placing cuttings in a vase of water to bring a little garden inside.

Winter is a good time to re-organize the garden shed or garage.  Clean up tools if you didn’t have time in the fall. Throw out or repair broken tools, water wands, hoses and sprayers.

House plants keep you healthy by cleaning the air so don’t forget them as you daydream of spring.  Give your indoor plants some TLC with a gentle tepid shower to clean the leaves and avoid bug infestation, plenty of sunlight, fertilize when needed and preen away any dead or dying leaves.

 If your annual pots are made of terra cotta (or other material that may freeze and break) it is a good time to clean them out and put them away for winter.  Take out the soil and put it in the garden, compost, fill a hole in the yard that the dog dug, or save it in a large container or garbage bag for the spring.   Wash the pots out and dip them in a 9-1 bleach solution to kill any hitch-hiking critters or diseases.

 While you are at it why not empty any concrete or pottery bird baths and tip them upside down before they freeze and crack.

 Disinfect bird feeders and keep them full for our feathered friends.

 There is still time to plant edible containers of kale, chard (try Bright lights) or other spicy greens that are pretty and tasty.

 Collect seeds, put them in a paper envelope and label and date them; store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

 Dig mums that have finished their container life directly in the garden.

 Take a soil test and apply lime if needed.

 Remove leaves from the lawn, use a rake or a blower and put them in the compost or directly in the kitchen garden. I like to top off my raised beds with fall leaves, add water then cover the bed with plastic or landscape fabric to help generate heat to help the rotting process, keep weeds down and warm up the beds for early spring crops. Or, chop leaves up with a mulching mower to improve lawn.

 Plant or transplant trees and shrubs

 Don’t let up on weeds in the kitchen garden or perennial beds and borders.

Mulch (chopped up leaves work well) to protect plants and keep weeds down.

 Use a cold frame or hoop type house in the kitchen garden to start and extend cool season vegetables and herbs.

I always get confused about sweet potatoes and yams…Are they the same only with two names? Is there a difference between a casserole made from sweet potatoes versus one made from a can of yams? I know I’m not the brightest ‘bulb’ in the garden but every fall this burning question comes up. So, this year I decided to get to the bottom of this veggie poser.

You will be happy and very relieved to know that sweet potatoes and yams are two different animals. Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas produce a root (the part that we eat) in 90-150 days and are easy to grow here in the U.S. Yams, Dioscorea batatas produce a tuber in 180-360 days and grow only in tropical climates. Yes, that means those cans of yams are really sweet taters!

Even the appearance is different; the skin of the sweet potato is thin and smooth while the yam has a rough and scaly skin.

So why do folks call sweet potatoes yams? One theory is about 50 years ago commercial growers in Louisiana wanted to give their sweet potatoes a unique product advantage so they would outsell those grown elsewhere. They decided to market them as “Louisiana Yams”…makes sense now, right?

When it comes to nutrition, sweet potatoes pack a punch that even Popeye would respect. Sweet potatoes have loads of beta carotene, Vitamin E and fiber without the fat, plus Vitamin B6, potassium and iron. The Nutrition Action Health Letter rates sweet potatoes as the number one best food to eat. A real super food! http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html

Bake, boil, steam, roast, fry or microwave sweet potatoes for a powerhouse of flavor and nutrition…check out http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/index.php  for lots of creative recipes.

Just think, this year you can be thankful for sweet potatoes and be able to share with others at the dinner table that cans of yams (grown in the US) aren’t really yams at all…I think there is a Dr. Seuss story in here somewhere!

For those of you who would like to know how to grow sweet potatoes stay tuned,
we will dig into that this winter.

Here are a couple of sweet potato recipes from my kitchen that I think you will enjoy.

Cindy Sue’s Sweet Potato Soup

Sauté in heavy steel pan with 1 tablespoon of butter on low heat until tender:

1 large onion, chopped
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tart apple, peeled, seeded and chopped
Add:
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon curry
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
½ Tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
Simmer on low until all is cooked (mushy)

Add 3 cups cream or milk, use a hand held blender to mix until desired creamy texture is achieved. Some small chunks are okay.

This is so good it is like having dessert first!

Combine, mix well, spoon into 9×11 baking dish:
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
½ cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Tablespoon butter, melted

Combine in mixing bowl, spread over sweet potato mixture
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoon butter, melted

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Yields 6 servings
Double recipe and use 11×14 baking dish for large gatherings.

 Artemisia annua has an unforgettable scent that most folks either love or hate.  Makes it easy to identify.  We named our Jack Russel terrorist (terrier) after this plant who I have had a love/hate relationship with for nearly 16 years!  If you love to make wreaths then you will need to become familiar with her plus even if you don’t have room or the inclination to grow Sweet Annie it is readily available probably not far from where you live.

Start harvesting Sweet Annie when it comes into bloom in early fall and continue right up to a hard frost for varing hues of greens and browns.

We used to fill our full size van with Artemisia annua that we would sacvenge for along county roads and in farmer’s fields (with permission of course) and spend the rest of the day out in the sunshine making wreaths to sell in our shop. Sweet Annie wreaths are beautiful as a stand alone wreath or as a base to which other dried herbs and flowers can be added.

Hang  a Sweet Annie wreath in the bathroom for sweet summer memories every time you shower

 A dehydrator that can sit most anywhere in the kitchen (anywhere there is an electrical plug) with adjustable temperature settings is a real plus but an oven can work well too, it may just take a little more experimenting to get the results you are looking for.

 Most dehydrators operate with a low temperature and a fan that lightly blows air over the drying materials.  Dehydrators can be expensive but are readily available at yard sales.  Often people have good intentions of drying food and herbs, buy one then it just sits in a closet until they finally decide to sell it in a yard sale.

 The key is to use a dehydrator; once you see the finished product of herbs (or fruits and veggies) you will be hooked!  I have a table in my family room away from the business of the kitchen where I can leave it and use it all during the harvest season.

 Set the oven on 100 degrees or less to dry leafy herbs, crack the door if you need more air circulation.  A cookie sheet works great, just keep an eye on them and remove when they are crispy dry.  Cool and place in a labeled jar.

 All dried herbs last longer when they are kept in a dry, cool, dark cupboard.  Although they will last a long time; it is best to use them up within the year…until the next harvest from the garden.

Freezing herbs is an excellent way to preserve seasonings for winter cooking. Freezing can offer better flavor and color retention for herbs that don’t do well with the hang dry method.

 Herbs like basil, chives, cilantro and parsley are excellent candidates for this method.  Simply stuff whole leaves into a small freezer bag until the bag is full.  Label and freeze until needed.  Later pull out frozen cake of herbs, chop off what you need and plop the rest back into the freezer.

 For bladed herbs like chives and lemon grass, snip into smaller pieces before stuffing into freezer bag. 

 Another freezing method is to place herbs in a blender with just enough water to whirl them about.  Pour into ice cube trays.  When they are frozen chuck them all into a freezer bag and label.  When you need to flavor soups or sauces in the winter, drop a cube or two in and viola!