A quick buzz...
Greetings from Bonnie and the whole Beier's Greenhouse team! Dahlias, lilies, peonies, and cannas are all nestled in their pots, slowly waking up...

Make your square-foot garden super-easy:

Order a complete kit, including seeds and bedding plants, from Beier's Greenhouse. We'll gather the lumber and materials for you, send you home with instructions, and you build it, plant it, and enjoy it all season long!

Kits must be pre-ordered, so we know how many to gather together. Please email early!

Getting Started on Your Square Foot Garden
Forget the snow, it'll be gone soon enough!

Nope, it's not too early to start a square foot garden. You have a little planning and prepping to do before you can actually put seeds in the nice, warm dirt.

We made some suggestions on which plants to choose in our November 16 newsletter (Getting Started) and our November 23 newsletter (Choosing Plants You Want).

We'd be happy to forward you copies if you let us know! Hit "Reply" to this email, or email us directly at beiersgreenhouse@beiersgreenhouse.com and we'll shoot them out to you.

For the Do-It-Yourselfer: Materials Needed

You'll be planting a different kind of plant in every square foot (1, 4, 9 or 16 plants per square foot). For the purposes of illustration, let's say you'll want:

four tomato plants
four sweet pepper plants
two hot pepper plants
1 square foot of cucumbers
1 square foot of zucchini
1 square foot of parsley
1 square foot of basil
1 square foot of oregano
1 square foot of rosemary

To build this garden, you will need:

(4) 2x8 boards, 4 feet long
(1) 4x4 piece of hardware cloth
(2) 2x4 pieces of hardware cloth
(4) 2x2 boards, 6 feet long
(48) 1-inch washers
3-inch long decking screws
1-inch long decking screws
  1. Screw the 2x8 boards together to form a square, using the 3-inch deck screws.
  2. Attach the 4x4 piece of hardware cloth to the square using 1-inch deck screws and washers.
  3. Flip over so the screen is on the bottom.
  4. Move the box to its final resting place.
  5. Screw the 2x4 pieces of hardware cloth to the 2x2 boards using 1-inch screws and washers. Place the cloth at the end of the boards, near the top.
  6. Screw the 2x2s in place, evenly spaced, on one side of the box. These are for your cukes and zucchini to climb, when they are big enough to vine.
  7. Fill the box with a mixture of bagged dirt from the greenhouse or 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat, and 1/3 pot dirt.
That's it. Now, you can place your plants, but more on that next week.

___________


Mel Bartholomew and Patti Moreno are the king and queen of square foot gardening, but neither one of them lives in Northern Minnesota. At Beier's Greenhouse, we always give advice based on where we live, so if you explore another website, keep in mind where the author is located.

Our "Getting Started" newsletter from November 16 talks all about why container and square-foot gardens are an easy alternative for the space challenged gardener. The "Choosing Plants" newsletter from November 23 gets you started thinking on which fruits and veggies your family would most like. We'll resend them just to you so you can have the whole series at your fingertips.

Next week: More on the square-foot garden.

Email us at beiersgreenhouse@beiersgreenhouse.com anytime. We appreciate our customers very much, and are looking forward to flinging open the doors to the greenhouse to invite you in.
Sopa de Tortilla y Acelgas
Tortilla Soup with Chard
Serves 4-6

For the Garnishes
4 corn tortillas
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups shredded melting cheese such as mozzarella or Jack
1 large lime cut into 6 wedges

For the Soup
4-5 dried chilies of your choice
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 medium-large ripe tomato
1 medium onion, sliced 1/8 inch thick
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups shredded chard leaves


Slice the tortillas into 1/8 inch wide strips. Heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add a handful of tortilla strips and fry, turning frequently, until they are crisp on all sides. Drain on paper towels and continue to fry the strips until you are finished.

Cut the dried chilies into pieces. Reduce the heat under the oil to medium-low, let cool a minute, then fry the chilies very briefly (3-4 seconds) just to toast. Drain on paper towels. Rehydrate 1/3 of the fried chilies in a little water for half an hour, stirring occasionally; reserve the remaining chilies for garnish.

Toast the garlic in a heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until blackened in spots and soft, about 15 minutes. Cool, then peel.

Roast the whole tomato under the broiler until blistered on all sides (about 8 minutes). Cool, peel, and collect any juices.

In a medium-sized pot, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil over medium low. Add the onion and fry until brown, about 10 minutes. Place the re-hydrated chilies in a food processor along with the garlic, tomato, and 1 cup of broth; puree until smooth. Add puree to the fried onion. Stir several minutes until the mixture thickens and darkens. Mix in the remaining 5 cups of broth and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Just before serving, add the chard and simmer 5-6 minutes until the chard is tender. Ladle into bowls and serve with the garnishes.

Recipe courtesy of Beier's Greenhouse. Adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen by Rick Bayless. Copyright 1996 by Richard Lane Bayless. New York: Scribner.
March 8, 2009
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(218) 326-5357
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(218) 244-2491
Extension Office
(218) 327-5958

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Thanks for your time! We appreciate our customers so much. We're always available via email, even if the greenhouse is closed for the season.
 
Sincerely,

Bonnie and the whole Beier's Greenhouse team
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