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Organic and Heirloom Vegetables

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Search no more for healthy and environmentally friendly grown plants to jazz up your garden this year! Lake Kountry, Inc. is offering your favorite Organic and Heirloom Vegetables. We are continuing to offer locally grown vegetables and herbs from Rush Creek Growers. They employ only certified organic products in their pest control endeavors.  Alongside them, we also continue to offer our Neo-Nic free grown vegetables and herbs.

We have some new compact varieties of Vegetables perfect for small space gardeners, such as ‘Tiny Tim’ (Pictured Right) which produces Red Cherry Tomatoes in abundance on a 12” determinate bush. We also have “Cherry Cascade” in a Organic and Heirloom Vegetables - Tiny Timconvenient 12” hanging basket! Imagine walking out onto your deck or patio and popping these delicious ripe treats into your mouth! What about other Vegetables? How about zucchini grown in a container! Yes, it’s possible with the ‘Buckingham’ zucchini which produces tasty gold fruit best picked at 6”-10”. The container gardening trend was a big hit last year for our “Patio Snacker” cucumber grown in biodegradable rice pots and “Lunch Box Mix” sweet pepper plants, which are back again for this year. We thought you would appreciate a compact pickler to go with your slicer this year, so we will have the “Pick a Bushel” cucumber as well.

Organic and Heirloom Vegetables - Cucumber PlantAre you a dedicated canning gardener? Check out our new ‘Super Sauce’ tomato. It is a recent hybrid that produces giant meaty, Roma-type fruit with great flavor, disease resistance and long term fruit set. With sauce on the mind don’t forget to pick up a ‘Sriracha’ pepper plant so you can create that iconic spicy chili sauce. Tired of blight destroying your hard work? We are so excited to also offer you the first ever blight resistant hybrid rightly named ‘Defiant’.  With deep red medium sized fruits it has a firm texture and a flavorful balance of acid and sweetness. We also have some of your favorite, well known tomatoes like ‘Bonnie Best’, ‘Brandywine’, ‘Cherokee Purple’ heirlooms, ‘Sun gold’, ‘Early Girl’, ‘Better Boy’, ‘Big Boy’ and ‘Supersteak’ to name a few.

Life’s too short, pass the chocolate! I mean you really should try our ‘Sweet Chocolate’ Chocolate Pepperpepper (Pictured Right) and our ‘Chocolate Mint’ herb. If you’re not salivating yet, we can keep going with our ‘Berries and Cream’ or ‘Variegated Pineapple’ mints. Our ‘Golden Lemon’ thyme also smells amazing. What about ‘Cheddar’ cauliflower, an early cauliflower with good heat tolerance and a lovely orange-sherbet color?Last, but not least, some other hard to find veggies we will be offering for 2017 are Sweet potato ‘Beauregard’, Edamame soybeans ‘Chiba’, Pac Choi ‘Mei Qing Choi’, Tomatillos, Shallots and a ‘Red Genovese’ and ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ Basil.  You will also find ‘Goddess’ Cantaloupe, ‘Sugar Baby’ Watermelon, and many varieties of kale, lettuce and the colorful ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss Chard (Pictured Below).

Misc. VegetablesWith our thoughtful selection of Organic and Heirloom Vegetables, this season you are sure to find something unique and delectable. If you’re looking for what’s new in annuals, click the link below!

Click here

And if we don’t have what you are looking for, let one of our friendly staff members know and we will try our best to accommodate! Here’s to a tasty and healthy garden. Bon appetit!

 

LAKE KOUNTRY INC., HAS A COMPLETE NURSERY/GARDEN CENTER LOCATED JUST MINUTES FROM NEW RICHMOND, AMERY, SOMERSET AND OSCEOLA, WI.  WE CARRY A FULL SELECTION OF ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, SHRUBS, TREES, WATER PLANTS, TROPICALS PLUS EVERYTHING YOU’LL NEED FOR ALL YOUR GARDENING NEEDS IN NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN!

How to Store and Harvest Vegetables

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The advantage of learning how to store and harvest vegetables at home is that you can pick and savor them when they’re at their optimal flavor. But how can you tell when to harvest? And what are the best conditions to store your homegrown vegetables?

HARVESTING VEGETABLES

For fullest flavor and nutritional value, it is important to harvest your vegetables at the right time. Be careful not to break or bruise when picking and handle as little as possible. Harvest only high quality vegetables. The following fact sheet provides some basic information on storing and harvesting commonly grown vegetables.

STORING VEGETABLES

Practically every home has at least one spot where vegetables can be safely stored like an unheated basement, a garage, or the refrigerator. The area should be well ventilated, cool and dark. Ideal storage conditions for each specific vegetable are included in the chart below.

Vegetables that show any sign of decay or bruising should be used immediately and not placed in storage. Decay can very rapidly spread to your healthy vegetables, spoiling them also.

It should be pointed out that this is only one way to keep vegetables for an extended time, and not all vegetables should be kept in this way. Many vegetables can be specially treated to help retain a higher percentage of their natural flavor and food value. Blanching, freezing, canning, and drying are some of the techniques you can use to accomplish this. Refer to a reliable cookbook or the homemaking section of your newspaper, or obtain information from the Cooperative Extension Service for exact processing procedures.

Lake Kountry Inc. has all your garden seed needs for next year! We offer a wide variety of OLDS SEED including organically grown and heirloom varieties. Contact us to inquire about placing your seed order for next year. We welcome suggestions on what products we can carry to better suit your needs.

Specific harvest and storage information for some commonly-grown vegetables. Expected shelf-life times are only estimates. Chart courtesy of: Cindy Tong, Extension post-harvest horticulturist

 

Vegetable When to Harvest How to Store Expected Shelf-life Comments
asparagus third year after planting when spears are 6-9 inches long cold and moist 2 weeks keep upright
basil when leaves are still tender at room temperature 5 days keep stems in water; will discolor if kept in refrigerator for 10 days
beans, snap about 2-3 weeks after bloom when seeds still immature cold and moist 1 week develop pitting if stored below 40°
beets when 1.25-3 inches in diameter cold and moist 5 months store without tops
broccoli while flower buds still tight and green cold and moist 2 weeks –
brussels sprouts when heads 1 inch in diameter cold and moist 1 month –
cabbage when heads compact and firm cold and moist 5 months –
carrots when tops 1 inch in diameter cold and moist 8 months store without tops
cauliflower while heads still white, before curds “ricey” cold and moist 3 weeks –
corn, sweet when silks dry and brown, kernels should be milky when cut with a thumbnail cold and moist 5 days –
cucumbers for slicing, when 6 inches long cool spot in kitchen 55°F in perforated plastic bags; storage in refrigerator for a few days okay 1 week develops pitting and water-soaked areas if chilled below 40°F; do not store with apples or tomatoes
eggplant before color dulls like cucumbers 1 week develops pitting, bronzing, pulp browning if stored for long period below 50°F
kohlrabi when 2-3 inches in diameter cold and moist 2 months store without tops
lettuce while leaves are tender cold and moist 1 week –
muskmelons (cantaloupe) when fruits slip off vine easily, while netting even, fruit firm cold and moist 1 week develops pitting surface decay with slight freezing
onions when necks are tight, scales dry cold and dry 4 months cure at room temperature 2-4 weeks before storage, do not freeze
parsnips when roots reach desired size, possibly after light frost cold and moist 4 months do not wax or allow roots to freeze; sweetens after 2 weeks storage at 32°F
peas when pods still tender cold and moist 1 week –
peppers when fruits reach desired size or color like cucumbers 2 weeks develops pitting below 45°F
potatoes when vine dies back cold and moist; keep away from light 6 months cure at 50-60°F or 14 days before storage, will sweeten below 38°F
pumpkins when shells harden, before frost cool and dry 2 months very sensitive to temperatures below 45°F
radishes when roots up to 1.25 inches in diameter cold and moist 1 month store without tops
rutabagas when roots reach desired size cold and moist 4 months do not wax
spinach while leaves still tender cold and moist 10 days –
squash, summer when fruit 4-6 inches long like cucumbers 1 week do not store in refrigerator for more than 4 days
squash, winter when shells hard, before frost cool and dry 2-6 months, depending on variety curing unnecessary; do not cure Table Queen
tomatoes, red when color uniformly pink or red like cucumbers 5 days loses color, firmness and flavor if stored below 40°F; do not refrigerate!
turnips when roots reach desired size, possibly after light frost cold and moist 4 months can be waxed
watermelons when underside turns yellow or produces dull sound when slapped like cucumbers 2 weeks will decay if stored below 50°F for more than a few days

 

LAKE KOUNTRY INC. IS YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN HEADQUARTERS. WE OFFERS A COMPLETE NURSERY/GARDEN CENTER LOCATED JUST MINUTES FROM NEW RICHMOND, WI , OSCEOLA, WI , AMERY, WI AND SOMERSET, WI . WE ALSO CARRY A FULL SELECTION OF ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, SHRUBS, TREES, WATER PLANTS, TROPICALS PLUS EVERYTHING YOU’LL NEED FOR ALL YOUR GARDENING NEEDS IN NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN!