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Food garden specialist growing tips for this Mediterranean native. This cool-weather perennial can be grown as an annual from seed or bareroot for Sonoma County home food gardeners. Learn how, what varieties do well in our climate and get growing tips.
Parsley, a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), is a hardy biennial grown as an annual. This versatile herb is used in cooking or as a garnish and may be harvested in Sonoma County year-round.
Radishes are usually thought of as a root vegetable of the Brassicaceae (cabbage) family although tops are equally as edible when treated like collard or mustard greens.
Kale and collards, a type of kale, share the same species, Brassica oleracea, and are considered non-heading or loose-leaf members of the cabbage family. Both grow best in the cool season, sweetened by frost.
Broccoli, a member of the Brassicaceae (cabbage) family, has been under cultivation in Europe for centuries, but it wasnt until It was the 1920s that it was planted as a commercial crop in California where it is now grown nearly exclusively. In home gardens, broccoli is grown as a cool weather crop.
Pungent basil leaves fresh from the summer herb garden offer aroma and taste in a myriad of dishes. Normally thought of as Italian or Mediterranean, basil originated in Africa and southern AsiaIndia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Ancient corn known as maize from areas near the Andes eventually hybridized with other grasses to become the field corn grown world-wide today. Succulent sweet corn was a spontaneous mutation in field corn and continues to be hybridized by commercial breeders.
Leeks are a member of the same family that includes onions, chives and garlic, but they do not form bulbs and have a milder flavor. Lower parts of stems, 3-10 inches, are white, tender, and 1-3 in. in diameter. Leeks are a welcome fall and winter crop but may be grown year round near the coast.
