Cool fronts are finally working their way down to south Louisiana giving us some pretty chilly nights and beautiful days.  The love bugs are gone and the garden pest population is on the decline.  And isn’t it great not to have to mow the lawn every few days. There is a dazzling display of wildflowers along the highways and many landscape plants are blooming. 

Thanks to the beautiful weather, October is a month of nonstop festivals and fairs.  Already past is the St. Tammany Parish Fair, Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival, and Gretna Heritage Festival.  Still to come is the Washington Parish Fair this weekend in Franklinton and the ongoing Oktoberfest through Oct. 27^th at the Deutsches Haus in New Orleans.  School fairs abound this month and next.  Below is a list of some events that might be of interest to the avid gardener:

New Orleans Botanical Garden   

Fall Garden Show – Oct. 20 & 21, 10 – 5 Sat & 10 – 4 Sun.   Look at exhibits, and check out the plant sales, education programs, a plant health clinic and a children’s discovery area. Costs of admission are $6.00 adults, $2.00 children 5 to 12 and free to children under age 5 and Friends of City Park.

Permaculture - Oct. 23, 7pm. – a lecture presented by Dr. Charles Reith of Tulane University.  Cost is $10.00.

HolidayDecorating - Oct. 25, noon.  – presented by Mary Ellen Miller. Cost is $10.00.

Gardener’s Night Out – Friday, Oct. 19^th, 5-7pm.  At the Hammond Research Station (21549 Old Covington Highway), stroll through the gardens and listen to guest speaker Dan Gill.  Free admission.  A BBQ dinner will be available for $8.00 after the speaker.    

Home landscape:  October is a relatively dry month so be prepared to water the home garden as necessary.  Remember that deep watering less often is better than shallow watering every day.  Nurseries and stores now have many cool season bedding plants that can be planted now.  Keep an eye on these as they may require a little more watering.  If they look sad and droopy, give them a little extra water and they should perk right up.  Last month’s article had a long list of bedding plants that do well during our south Louisiana winters.  If you want fragrant cool-season bedding plants look for the following:  Stock ( Matthiola incana), Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), Dianthus ( Dianthus caryophyllus), Nicotiana or flowering tobacco, and sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus).  For a more in-depth description of the plants and fragrances log on to www.lsuagcenter.com and type in Horticulture Hints, Fall 2006. 

If you grow roses, these should be blooming now through November.  Wait to prune and fertilize until late January or early February. 

Loretta Boswell

Camellia Sasanqua

A great shrub to plant in your landscape for its pretty flowers is the Camellia sasanqua.   I have four in the back of my house that are now blooming and will continue to bloom until December.  The shrub requires acid soil, so it fits right in with all the other plants in the landscape.  It grows to between 8’ to 12’ and the flowers can be red, white, pink or variegated.  As you can see by the picture, mine are blooming pink.  Be aware that the flowers attract bees, so place them where they won’t bother you. 

Vegetable gardening:  The initial garden is in place for the fall.  The picture shows that most rows are full.  We have in the ground cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, chard, arugula, turnips, beets, kale, mustard, collards, spinach, cauliflower, radishes, pak choi. You can continue to plant most of these throughout October in addition to planting onions and garlic. The two beds you see that are mostly empty are being prepped for when my garlic and onions arrive.  Herbs that can be planted now include dill, catnip, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, tarragon, chives, garlic chives, borage, mint, lavender and burnet.  The row with what looks like lots of ferns is just that.  That is the asparagus bed that is now in the fern stage.  The plant is now redirecting its energy back to the crowns so that it is ready to send out shoots next spring.  Our job now is to clean it well, add lots of compost, mulch and when the ferns turn brown, cut them at ground level. 

Loretta Boswell

A full rainbow shines down on my fall garden

Our recent harvests have consisted of string beans, edamame (soy beans), lettuce, collard greens, Malabar spinach, tomatoes, green peppers, crookneck squash and okra.  Herbs include parsley, tarragon, basil, rosemary, oregano, cilantro, dill and chives.

Steamed edamame is my favorite appetizer when my daughters and I go out to eat sushi.  Below is how I make it at home and a second recipe I found on footnetwork.com that I would like to try. 

Steamed edamame:    Fill your steamer with water and add approximately 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Steam the edamame for 5 minutes and check to see if it’s done.  If the beans are still crunchy, let them steam a little longer.  When done, add a little butter to the water and let it melt.  I then pour this over the edamame so that the salt and butter stick to the pods.  Drain well and place in a serving bowl.   To eat, just pop the beans out with your teeth and enjoy.

Anytime Vegetable Salad: courtesy Giada De Laurentis

2 cups shelled edamame soy beans

8 ounces thin green beans, trimmed

8 ounces yellow wax beans, trimmed

1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil or tarragon leaves

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

¾teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the edamame in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water, then drain well and pat dry.  Repeat with the green beans and yellow beans.  Combine the vegetables in a bowl.

Add the vinegar, oil, herbs, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ¾ teaspoon pepper to a glass screw-top jar.  Seal the jar and shake vigorously to mix the vinaigrette. 

When you are ready to serve, shake the jar again to re-mix the vinaigrette and pour it over the vegetables.  Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Alternate Method:  Whisk the vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ¾ teaspoon of pepper in a large bowl to blend.  Gradually whisk in the oil.  Add all of the beans, tomatoes, basil, and thyme, and toss to coat.  Season the salad, to taste, with more salt and pepper, and serve.

Loretta Boswell

Wildflower arrangement

In the beginning of the article, I mentioned that the wildflowers are in full bloom now.  Our property is a sea of gold (goldenrod), purple (mist flowers and asters), yellow (various composites), silver (stink week – a misnomer as I think it smells just fine), and grasses of many varieties.  The picture displays this variety. 

November brings even more fairs and festivals but one that attracts thousands to Covington is the Three Rivers Art Festival.  This year it will be on November 10^th and 11^th so mark our calendars.

For any questions or comments, send an e-mail to lally@bellsouth.net.

Loretta B. Boswell

St. Tammany Master Gardener