In his previous blog, our culinary gardener, Tucker Taylor wrote, “Spring is a gorgeous time in the garden. Right now the culinary garden at KJWE&G looks like a beautiful patchwork of colors contrasted by the deep, dark, fertile soil.”

Well Spring is definitely in the air and as we begin to see hints of summer, we decided to sit down and catch up with Tucker to see what are the latest happenings in the garden:

With summer right around the corner, what plants are you starting to plant now?

Tucker: We have just planted our crops for summer such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, cucumbers, squash and basil to name a few.

How does the spring weather affect the plants?

Tucker: Plant growth is a dynamic process. With the increasing temperatures, plants are transpiring or sweating more and as a result, we are irrigating a bit more. With the longer days we are seeing an increase in plant growth as well. All of this, combined with our healthy soil fertility and tilth provides for perfect conditions for our summer crops, which translates into healthy plants.

How is the 18^th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival planning going?

Tucker: We are in the throws of planning for another amazing tomato festival this year. We’re going to have more than 175 heritage varieties of tomatoes at this years’ event along with garden tours, exceptional wine and food pairings, wine and garden seminars, the popular Chef’s Challenge and more!

Are Chef Justin Wrangler and his team requesting any specific foods from the garden?

Tucker: We have just seeded our oyster leaf. The chefs and I are really excited about this crop! It originates in the Moors of Scotland and tasted just like oysters. I sourced the seeds from a company in France. We will also be growing more ficoide galciale, or ice lettuce, and more celtuce.

Tucker Taylor is the culinary gardener at Kendall-Jackson’s Wine Estate and Gardens. He was recently listed as making Forbes’ ‘Best Of Instagram Food Photography’ list.