Gardening season isn't over 'til the last veggie's picked

Lee and John Radigans are native Staten Islanders living in Rosebank in the house John built more than 35 years ago. The couple have a simple arrangement where gardening is concerned: She’s in charge of indoor plants, he’s in charge of the outdoor plantings.

John’s gardening chores may be winding down, but he said there’s still plenty for him to do. Early this month he planted some spinach seed in the tiny greenhouse he’s constructed in the back yard. (The greenhouse is so low he has to get down on his knees to work in it.) The spinach sprouted within five days, and John said he expects to harvest both it and some Swiss chard at the end of November.

COLORFUL PEPPERS

Although the greenhouse is unheated, the ground beneath it never freezes, with the result his red and green peppers are as luscious-looking inside, as if it were August instead of October. Beyond red and green, John’s pepper bounty also inclues varieties in shades of purple, yellow and black.

Staten Island Advance Photos/Anthony DePrimo

Ready for picking in John Radigan’s garden are deep purple peppers, a lush crop of curly parsley, and eggplants.

The Radigan outdoor vegetable garden is still producing some tomatoes, stringbeans, peppers, lettuce, parsley, basil, eggplant and zucchini. John explained that his Italian tomatoes are very different from ordinary tomatoes; very dense and “pulpy” inside and with an elongated, rather than round shape.

When he first moved to Rosebank he was a novice gardener who learned vegetable gardening from his neighbors, John said. Now, although he has become an expert, he, like all of us who love to work in the garden, admits he is still learning.

For instance, to keep the soil moist around his parsley John places wet newspaper around the base of the plants, which also serves to prevent weeds from sprouting. He said he used this technique to eliminate a grassy area of his lawn recently, saving himself the bother of digging out the grass by hand. A square raised bed of marigolds, New Guinea impatiens and forget-me-nots now surround a crepe myrtle bush replacing the piece of lawn.

A lush crop of curly parsley adds texture to the garden.

CREPE MYRTLE

I always thought of the crepe myrtle as being a tree, but have recently learned of the crepe myrtle bush. The difference between a crepe myrtle bush and a crepe myrtle tree is the “trunk;” a tree has a single trunk, while a bush has multiple trunks. If you neglect to remove the suckers, your crepe myrtle tree will begin looking like a crepe myrtle bush. It’s up to the individual to decide whether to prune or not. There also are miniature crepe myrtles that are bred to be self branching and never need to be pruned.

John pointed out the many “volunteers” that have appeared in his garden. A window box at the corner of his property holding a variety of marigolds has suddenly developed a lush growth of parsley, and nasturtiums have both invaded a border area and appeared in another raised bed.

COMMITTED COMPOSTER

John maintains a compost pile, utilizing a shredder and roto tiller to help convert yard waste into renewable, enriched garden soil. The gardener said he is a fan of the “Compost Give Back” program and even though he maintains his own compost pile, hopes recent funding cutbacks will be reinstated so that we’ll all once again be able to obtain some more of the compost known as “black gold.”

In a sunny corner of the back yard several varieties of zinnias are thriving. His wife appreciates the little bouquets of fresh flowers that he brings her and says they brighten up her kitchen window when her houseplants are not in full bloom.


An area of 6-foot-tall sunflowers in shades of yellow, rust and brown brighten up a nearby area. His Montauk daisies are in full bloom along the walk and a planting of “Knock Out Roses” continues its endless show of red flowers.

GARDEN NOTES

Continue weeding and add compost to your soil in preparation for next year’s garden. This is a good time to plant evergreens, making sure to water them in well. Plant spring bulbs now, before the ground freezes.