Herbs & Vegetables

 

FROST ALERT! This spring we have been on a roller coaster with temperatures! If you have recently planted new plants, please be sure to watch night-time temperatures and if/when they dip below 40, be sure to cover with frost blankets or, if possible, bring into the garage or other protected area for the night. You can also use trash cans, buckets, or baskets over turned on top of newly planted plants in the ground. For extra protection, put a frost blanket over the can/bucket/basket and secure with a rock if windy.

Cool season vegetable plant seeds and and plants should be able to handle the chilly temperatures if they have been planted a week or two ago. If you have just planted them, please see suggestions above.

 

Yes, you can plant vegetables this year! Most water restrictions allow hand-watering of annuals, vegetables and container gardens (with a hand-held watering device like a Dramm water wand, or drip irrigation). Here is a link to check your current watering restrictions

Vegetables!

Click here for information about Tomatoes!!

Tagawa Gardens carries seeds for selected vegetables all year round!  Vegetable seedlings are available from approx. early March through early July each year.  Choose from traditionally grown to sustainability grown our Tagawa Production Dept.) or Certified Organically Grown (by Desert Canyon Farms in Canon City, CO).

Heirloom tomatoes and other vegetables are one of our specialties. We also specialize in having some of the best traditional varieties that will be successful in our climate, all produced by local growers.  Burpee® vegetable plants are also available in your favorite Burpee® varieties!

TOMATOES!

Want to know how to plant tomatoes? See our "How to Plant Tomatoes" video on You Tube!

Having a concern about your tomatoes? Check out our "Problems with Tomatoes" video on You Tube!

During the planting season, we carry a great selection of tomatoes--conventionally grown, organically grown, heirloom and hertiage!


Click/Tap here for a list of tomato varieties* we will have for the 2013 spring growing season!

*please note that this list is for reference only and is not a live inventory, please call 303-690-4722 ext 136 or email Annuals@TagawaGardens.com to check on availability of a specific variety.

Helrloom and Heritage Tomatoes

These "old-fashioned" vegetable varieties have been passed down from generation to generation--they truly are "Your Grandmother's Vegetables!" They are "open-pollenated" which is the botanical way to say that seeds collected from these plants will have the exact same traits planting after planting. Most heirlooms date back at least 50 years!

Organic

Conventionally Grown

GARLIC!

...is a favorite here at Tagawa Gardens. As part of our commitment to Sustainability, all the seed garlic that we carry in the fall is Certified Organically Grown.

The 2012 seed garlic crop was impacted by the drought in our western regions, so we did not have quite the quanity of garlic available as we have in year's past. In fact, after our Ga Ga for Garlic event Sat., Oct. 6 we are nearly sold out of seed garlic due to the limited quanities available.

Click here for our Garlic Recipes Handout from our 2011 Garlic Fest! Due to health concerns we elected not to have samples of home-made recipes for 2012, instead we are sampling locally made specialty foods that we carry here at Tagawa's!

How to plant garlic:

Garlic needs full sun, at least 6 hours a day. Well-drained soil is a must as garlic do not like "wet feet." Add soil amendment such as compost and till into the area you wish to plant.

Split bulb into cloves, plant each clove individually, about 2-3 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart. Water well. Mulch the area to conserve moisture, keep temperatures even and prevent frost heave. There might be some leaf growth in the fall, but generally most of the fall growth will be root growth. A few waterings in the winter on a warm, sunny day will be helpful!

In the spring, tops will grow--hardneck varieties produce scapes--the center stalk of the garlic--and these can be harvested and used for cooking. Water well throughout spring and summer, until leaves start turning brown in June and July. Stop watering then and when tops are dried and fall over, it is time to harvest, usually about August. Remove the bullbs carefully from the ground and dry out of direct sun two to six weeks. Softnecks can be stored for approx one year, and Hardnecks four to six months.  Garlic can be cleaned and trimmed to store, but do not separate cloves from the bulb until ready to use.

Softneck vs. Hardneck

Most garlic you see at the grocery stores is California Early, an Artichoke Softneck garlic. It is mild and stores well. The neck of a Softneck (stalk that grows up from the garlic bulb) is soft, especially the Silver Skin type. Softnecks have several layers of cloves in one bulb. Garlic harvested for food sales has the neck trimmed and removed but if you grow your own garlic, you can leave the neck and braid the bulbs together.

Hardneck varieties are closer to wild garlic and have a wide varieties of flavors available. The neck on this type of garlic is hard, hence the name, and this type of garlic does not store as well as soft neck, so must be used with a few months of harvest. This type peels easily and grows well in cold climates. If you like to cook with garlic scapes (the young, tender tops of garlic) and want to grow your own, grow Hardneck varieties, as all types of Hard Necks grow scapes.

Here are garlic varieties we had for2011 and 2012 for reference, our site has been updated Oct 7 after our GaGa for Garlic event! The 2012 garlic crop has had some issues, so we were unable to restock on the SOLD OUT varieties, we apologize for the inconvenience!----

          Artichoke Softneck--12-20 cloves per bulb, stores well. Milder flavor.

Herbs!

 

Tagawa Garden Center has an excellent selection of culinary herbs available for you all year long!

Herbs are used everyday to enhance or complement the flavor of food and beverages, for their flavor or healing properties. They include plants used as flavorings, medicines, and fragrances as well as those that can be put to household or commercial use.

A stroll through any herb garden is sure to reveal the deep and enduring connection between plants and people throughout the ages. Who can resist the temptation of fresh basil, rosemary or even the relaxing scent of lavender?


Want to learn about growing herbs? Check out our 'How to Grow Herbs" video!

Want our recipe for Basil Pesto as seen on Channel 2/31?


Garlic is such an important part of our herb selection that we have an Annual Event each year, Garlic Festival! Click here for information about the varieties of garlic we generally carry at our garlic event each fall.  Please note that fall is the best time to plant garlic. Spring planting of garlic will result in heads of garlic that do not form cloves, only one small, solid head.

Indoor Herb Garden

Tagawa always keeps a good supply of culinary herbs on hand for indoor and outdoor gardening. Herbs can easily be grown indoors for year round enjoyment. You can start with fresh new plants or dig up the herbs from your garden.  Mint, Chives and Tarragon can handle a light frost, but herbs like Basil and Cilantro are tender and will not handle a freeze.

Choose herbs that you are familiar with and that you use often.  The most common herbs grown indoors are BASIL, Savory, Thyme, Chives, Parsley, Mint, Chervil, Tarragon and Chamomile.  Your herbs will need a sunny location and well drained soil.  We like to mix 50-50 Cactus mix and potting soil.  This soil blend will allow for the sharp drainage that herbs prefer.

You can easily MAINTAIN your herbs with light feedings, yearly repotting and watering only as needed.