- Lindsey T.
- Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Welcome to Ask a Flower, the Q/A blog series that answers the questions you want to know!
All questions are researched and answered by the St. Andrews Garden Team. Not all questions asked may appear on this blog.
Q: What are you growing now?
A: We planted our Fall/ Winter crop sometime in September. We always use the Clemson Extension Service’s Planting Chart as a guide. Here is an abridged list:
We have now started our new transplants for the Spring/Summer gardens indoors using grow lights and are about to harvest the remaining Fall/Winter garden items to make room for them.
Q: What do you do with the food you grow?
A: Each Tuesday, we assess which plants are ready for harvest. The plants we pick are cleaned and placed in the front vestibule by 11 AM. Customers are welcome to take what they want.
Q: Do ya'll have a seed library like Main?
A: No, the Richland Library St. Andrews does not have a seed library similar to the one at Richland Library Main. Information about that seed library can be found here.
Q: Does warm weather hurt winter crops? What does it mean when a plant "bolts?"
A: These were two different questions, but the answers are interconnected and similar enough that I’ll answer both here. Our current garden at St. Andrews is primarily composed of cool-season/winter-hardy vegetables. This means that the plants can withstand cold weather and actually need those low temperatures to properly germinate and produce. Warm weather can affect this process in two major ways: 1) the quality of vegetables and 2) it can cause some species to bolt.
By “quality of vegetables,” I am primarily talking about the plant’s structure and even its taste. For example, we were excited to plant radishes in our winter garden this year, but because of the warm weather, very few of our radishes germinated properly. Then the surviving radishes were small because the warmth threw off their harvest cycle. If we had left them in the ground to fill out to the size we're used to seeing in grocery stores, the resulting vegetables would turn fibrous and woody because they would be in the ground too long. Brussel sprouts are another vegetable that can be similarly affected because they need multiple frosts to help convert the plant’s starches to sugars—improving the taste. In other words, many winter vegetables may be bitter if the winter is mostly warm.
Secondly, many plants will “bolt” with warmer temperatures, which means that the plants start producing flowering stalks or stems before harvest. This process diverts resources from going to the edible parts of the plants like the roots or leaves, resulting in reduced production and changes in flavor. This happened to our spinach crop this year; the young plants starting bolting much too early, producing only a couple edible leaves. We had to replant a whole new crop after our initial attempt was ruined by the weather. So, basically, yes. Warm weather can definitely have a negative effect on winter crops.
Q: How do I know when my garlic is ready to harvest?
A: When the more than half the leaves on the top of the garlic plant turn yellow/brownish.
Q: How do you know when a dead plant is all dead, instead of mostly dead? I have a few unfortunate plants I'm hoping will revive with spring.
A: By checking the stems of the plant you will be able to tell. If the inside of the stem has a little bit of green color to it, it is still alive. If the stem is brittle or mushy, the plant is most likely dead.
Q: What fruit trees grow best in SC?
A: So this one was a new one for me too! Turns out, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides South Carolina into multiple zones based on hardiness--mostly regarding minimum and extreme temperature differences throughout the year. South Carolina falls under zones 7 and 8, but then there are further subcategories. For brevity's sake, this answer will focus on zones 7b and 8a, which correspond to Richland and Lexington counties. For these zones, peaches (surprise, surprise!), nectarines, persimmons, and figs seem to be the most popular candidates. Here’s an easy to understand list with more detail about specific species that would do well. As you can see, apples are another candidate, but because Richland and Lexington counties are primarily zone 8a, apple trees might need a little more TLC. On that note, before you run to your nearest nursery and purchase enough peach trees for an entire orchard simply because they’ll do well in your zone, stop! Like many growing things, fruit trees won’t grow perfectly without other processes. For example, peaches need to be sprayed at certain intervals to prevent fruit rot and worms.
Meet the Flowers!
The St. Andrews Garden Team is led by Marigold, our resident expert on all things plant. A life-long environmentalist at heart, she is one class away from her certification in Native Plant Studies through the South Carolina Botanical Garden hosted at Clemson University and the South Carolina Native Plant Society, and has been growing her own fresh food since she was 22. She established the St. Andrews Garden in a distant corner on the property with Rod in 2014. It is now a front-and-center showpiece with the recent library remodel. Jessica and Lindsey T. were added to the garden team in Feb. 2018 and have apprenticed with Marigold since then. Lindsay W. joined their ranks in Aug. 2018 along with Steve in Apr. 2019.
Richland Library St. Andrews harvests every Tuesday morning. Come by for fresh veggies or to ask us some questions that can appear on our website in a future blog post! Or, email your questions to ltaunton@richlandlibrary.com.