tend

Getting started

2012-03-08T15:19:00.002-08:00

seed starts, week one

Two weeks ago today I had a couple wisdom teeth pulled and while I lay dozing with a gauze filled mouth, my husband sat beside the bed with seed trays and planted the first seed starts for our garden. He's been so eager to get our garden going this year; he began buying seeds back in December. Since then we have amassed quite a collection of vegetable and flower seeds.

seed starts, week two

Currently he has started seeds for everything from kohlrabi to strawberries to snapdragons and cockscomb. The trays are on a wire rack in a south facing window waiting for their turn outside.

kale, cilantro, and onions in the background

collards

Without a proper winter I am baffled that it's really time for spring. But the robins are busy, our fruit trees are showing tiny green and pink tips, the yellow petals are slowly unfolding on the forsythia, the daffodils are blooming, and even a few dandelions have been spotted. Our kale, spinach, cilantro, and collards wintered over. And now I am about to gather a handful of kale and collards to make for soup tonight. This recipe by Amy Chaplin for creamy cauliflower soup with greens is very good. I made it once in January, except without the dill.

But before I go, one goal I want to consider over the growing season is this: I want to be more observant. While I have always been an observer, sometimes in my daily life I get busy in the doing and by the end of the day I'm like, uh, what happened? So I would like to take notice of what is growing in the garden, be a little more aware of the changes and growth, and in turn hopefully be more appreciative.

new beginnings

2012-03-07T05:47:00.003-08:00

on tuesday, i spent most of my afternoon outside in the garden. pulling up weeds, sinking my hands into the cool soil, looking up at cheerful birds greeting me in the trees, & staring in amazement at the tiny seedlings popping up in our raised beds. our little plot of land is waking up from it's winter slumber as am i. i treasure the beginning of the gardening season.

this year's garden will be our first to tend for an entire year. we have always moved from one home to another throughout the summer months, carrying our many container plants with us. this year is very different- it is a beginning! i want to share some of our goals for this year's garden.

:: expand our garden by adding a field garden! we hope to till up most of our backyard (except for the plot where our chicken tractor moves) & amend the soil with local compost. we will grow tomatoes, zucchini, corn, cucumber & squash in that space.

:: sell starts! the local health foods market where i work is encouraging me to sell my garden starts this spring. i plan to sell two varieties of basil, chamomile, thyme, oregano, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers & more. they are already so healthy & will be ready in about a month.

:: save more! i hope to preserve even more from our garden this year. less jam, more vegetables. those frozen bell peppers came in such handy this year so we plan to add a deep freezer to our garage for more space.

:: educate! we hope to have garden parties & hands-on lessons at our home this year. i am also teaching a series on green living at the university & some canning classes at local churches. today, i have an appointment for gardening consultation & plan to add many more to our schedule. luke & i are excited to serve our community as others begin their gardens & thankful for the extra income from sharing our skill.

& so it begins.

2012 garden plans

2012-03-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

in typical fashion, it's only the beginning of march, and i'm already feeling a little behind here. without a real winter, i'm having trouble realizing that it finally is almost springtime. i'm hoping to sit down and start working on my real garden plan and seed inventory (and ordering!) in the next week or so, but in the meantime, i have started thinking about a few bigger goals for this season...

:: set up our rain barrels. it's ridiculous, i know, but we purchased some beautiful repurposed wine barrels two years ago and still haven't set them up! they even came with a spigot and filters (a rain barrel kit) and we just haven't gotten to it. this year's the year, after such a dry fall and winter, i'm hoping for a wet summer and i want to best use all that rain water.

:: expand my front yard garden. i'm hoping to plant more perennial herbs and maybe some greens. it's a partially shady spot on a little hill, but i'll be happy to not have to mow that spot and make the front of our home even more beautiful (and functional).

:: i want to plant more medicinal herbs, plants to use for dyes, and flowers. this is a continual goal of mine. last year i planted some herbs and flowers to use for dyes, but never had the time to actually use them. i'm hoping to learn how to make more body care products (especially soap) soon and hopefully i can grow more medicinals to use in these projects. last summer i came to love having freshly cut flowers in my kitchen and i'm planning on planting more of these as well.

:: put in a patio in our backyard. this isn't exactly garden related, but i want to make our backyard more of a living space. i want to spend more time outside just hanging out in our garden and putting in a patio in the shady section of our yard will help with this. i'd love to plant some creeping thyme in between the pavers too, kind of like this or this.

:: my last big goal for this season is to plant less variety. i know that might seem weird, but last year i planted so many different things, i felt like i couldn't focus on anything. last year i planted tomatoes, peppers, dry beans, fresh beans, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, chard, radishes, peas, garlic, onions, strawberries, raspberries, and potatoes. not to mention all the herbs and flowers. i'm the first to admit that some of these were more successful than others and year i think i'll focus on the more successful plants, plus a few new ones i'd like to try. i'm happy to rely on the farmers market and our csa (i think we're signing up for the first time ever this year!) for the rest.

i'm so happy to be posting here again and look forward to sharing my gardens and yours over the next season. what are your goals as you start planning your garden this season?

welcoming a new season

2012-03-02T07:27:00.001-08:00

hello and a happy belated new year!
i have missed documenting the happenings in my garden each week
and am eager for a new season.
it's good to be back.

with the mild winter we had, things are definitely beginning to wake up around these parts.
the snowdrops are in full bloom.
the (100) daffodil bulbs hannah and i planted in the fall are beginning to peek up.
and the hens are laying daily now.

we have started to pre-sprout our pea seeds. i used to do this on the farm with quite a bit of success.
you can find a tutorial here.
we hope to get the first succession in sometime next week.
i am going to try 'tom thumb' which is a heirloom dwarf shelling pea variety perfect for containers.
also wanting to try 'Golden India'.
i am craving fresh pea shoots!

because of our shady conditions we are planning on growing more edibles in our community garden plot this year.
we pretty much abandoned it last season but are determined to be more on top of things.
the girls want to focus on melons, beans, tomatoes and cucumbers.
i also want to try growing loofah gourds and peanuts.

what are you planning for the garden this year?

my 2012 garden plans

2012-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
I don't know about you, but I'm dreaming about this year's garden. Thought I would share some of my garden plans with you.

1. The first thing my husband and I did this month was to take an inventory of the seeds we already have. It's easy to get all starry-eyed looking at the seed catalogs and want to scoop up every variety in sight so we needed a game plan. Plus, some seeds last longer than others and we needed to take stock and see just exactly what was in our shoebox in our fridge.

If you're curious to know if your old seeds are worth planting, Fedco has a great chart in their catalog. Also, Margaret Roach has a nice post about seed viability over at her blog, A Way to Garden.

We created a simple spreadsheet that listed the varieties we had and whether we had a little or lot. We put a star by seeds that may not sprout due to age.

2. This year I bought most of my new seeds from a local source. I'm lucky to live in a town with a local seed company! Maybe you have a local seed company in your town, too. Check with your local co-op or garden club. I like supporting a local business and knowing that this grower did well with these varieties in my climate. In addition, this seed company grows varieties that are really hard to find in seed catalogs. I like that.

3. One of our big goals for this year is to improve soil fertility. We planted cover crops in the fall and added aged horse manure when we put the beds to sleep for the winter. In the spring, we'll need to add lime to our beds as our soil is acidic but we are also going to add tons of organic matter.

4. We keep a very simple garden journal and revisited it at the beginning of this year. We brainstormed ideas for the vegetables that really don't do well in the field garden and made notes on our spreadsheet about initial plans for where to plant each variety. For example, beans never do well in our field garden so they are going in the backyard garden this year.

5. We plant many many different vegetables and herbs and often try to squeeze more plants into a space than is wise. I'm going to grow some varieties in pots this year and see how they do.

6. On my wishlist are a cold frame and rain barrels. Don't miss Natalie's post from last year about cold frames.

7. I'm starting an herbalism program this spring so I'm hoping to add more herbs to our beds this year.

8. One new variety I'm excited to try is 'Musquee de Provence', a French heirloom winter squash. At our winter farmer's market, I had the most delicious soup made from this squash, pear, and garlic. So good and the variety is a good keeper. Over the course of the season, I'll write more about other new varieties we're trying in 2012.

Tell us your 2012 garden plans in the comments.

raising broilers

2011-11-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

we love having so much life right in our backyard. recently we added a flock of eight chickens to our small plot in a suburban neighborhood. we enjoy studying their unique personalities as they scratch at the dirt & eat fresh kale from our hands.

sometimes i wonder, though, why we do it all. in between the busyness of work & the hustle of life, we also add the daily chores of tending to the garden & feeding our animals. once the chores are finished (for the moment at least), i find refuge in the process of preparing a slow meal from the bounty of our home.

when we chose our flock, we made the decision to add broilers, or meat birds, along with our layers. it can be difficult to raise an animal so intimately & then take it's life so soon after. for our family, the choice to consume meat has been a conscious one. we only purchase ethically-raised meats from nearby farmers & their families. additionally, we believe the responsibility of eating meat includes slaughtering animals, if possible, on our own.

in food & faith, wendell berry is quoted in writing,

"we can [not] live harmlessly or strictly at our own expense; we depend upon other creatures and survive by their deaths. to live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of creation. the point is, when we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament..."

we hope that raising, tending to & taking the life of our chickens will serve as a sacrament. as we feast with friends & family, there is confidence in knowing what's on our table & the sanctity of life this animal lived.

my go-to salad for autumn: a recipe

2011-11-16T06:16:00.000-08:00

Each season I like to work on a seasonal salad, one that can be made over and over again with the ingredients in my pantry and in my crisper. I try to keep things simple but I always tend to include fresh fruit, dried fruit, and nuts. The dressing I've made for this salad is garlicky and delicious and stands up nicely against the greens.

The best thing about salads is that you can tweak them to suit your own tastes and your stash of produce. However, if you're like me, when you find one combination that you love, you'll make it over and over again. This is the salad that I've been making all autumn.

Shari's Autumn Salad

a mix of greens (I used baby kale, baby chard, frisee, radicchio, spinach and some hardier lettuces)
an apple (Use your favorite variety)
golden raisins
pecans
two garlic gloves
Dijon mustard
white balsamic vinegar
1/4 lemon
3 T olive oil

Fill a medium salad bowl with your greens. If any of the leaves are large, tear them into smaller pieces. Cut the apple into matchsticks (Peel or leave unpeeled, your choice). Add to greens. Add in a few handfuls of golden raisins. Chop a large handful of pecans and add those as well.

Dressing (Adapted slightly from Hugh Acheson's A New Turn in the South)
Add 3 TB olive oil to a bowl. Squeeze in a 1/4 of a lemon. Add a splash of white balsamic vinegar. Stir in a heaping teaspoon of whole grain Dijon mustard. Add two pressed garlic cloves (If you don't love garlic, reduce this amount or omit). Whisk together.

Add dressing to the greens and toss.

Do you have a favorite salad combination for autumn?

weekend garden notes

2011-11-14T08:10:00.001-08:00

my garden has been a bit neglected lately. i was starting to think that i wouldn't even have the energy to get my garlic in (and i was trying to convince myself that i was okay with that). this weekend we continued to have unseasonably warm weather and i forced myself to head over to my community garden to harvest my potatoes. it was a bit disappointing (especially after i realized that i harvested fewer potatoes that i had planted in the first place!), but they will still be delicious. i planted all blue, german butterball, and rose finn apple. this year i tried a potato tower method, which was clearly not very successful. i think a few of my problems were that my towers were too big around (about 3 feet in diameter) and i didn't keep them watered well enough. if i try this again next year, i will definitely make them smaller. what's your favorite way to plant potatoes?

i also managed to get my garlic in, which i know i will be really happy about come summer. since i wasn't sure i was going to plant any, i hadn't purchased any new seed garlic. i just used the garlic i grew this summer- german extra hardy and georgian fire. i planted cloves from the largest bulbs and covered them with a pile of leaves, since i didn't have any hay or straw.

our kale is also still going strong, and now that whatever little bugs were munching on it all summer are gone, maybe we can actually enjoy some of it. after ignoring my garden for the last two months or so, it felt so fulfilling to get in one last garden day before winter sets in.

leaves

2011-11-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

our gardens have been covered in a beautiful multi-colored blanket.
the leaves seem to have come down all at once this week.
which is perfect timing for a weekend of leaf mulching i had planned.
unlike the rest of my neighbors you will not find me raking the leaves into the street
for the borough to take away.
you will find me however raking the leaves into piles from my own garden.
as well as stealing leaves from my neighbor's lawns and gathering them into huge piles to mow over and shred.
i then will spread the shredded leaves throughout our gardens as a mulch.
eventually the leaves break down and make a beautiful rich soil attracting worms and all sorts of micro-organisms.
i also throw a bunch of leaves in the chicken run.
the hens love to scratch away at them.
and the mixture of the broken down leaves and their manure makes an excellent compost.
but of course we save a big ole pile for some romping, throwing, and jumping in.
what fun would autumn be without leaves.

horseradish

2011-11-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

the temps have slowly been dropping each night.
when i first wake up i look out to see if another frost has hit.
not because i want to see how many layers of woolens should be applied.
but rather i have been waiting patiently for the right moment to unearth a very special root growing in our garden. horseradish.

an herb, a condiment, a stimulant, and an excellent source of vitamin C, horseradish is one of my favorite flavors.

i bought a horseradish plant at the farmers market this spring and immediately planted it as soon as i got home.
although it prefers full sun it can tolerate part shade. it grew beautifully all summer long, putting out huge dark green leaves.

it could easily be mistaken for a weed. i like it's secretiveness in the garden.
a passerby might glance over it's large plain leaves but little do they know the jewel growing below.

the roots should be dug only when the plant is not actively growing, i.e., early in the spring as the crown is just starting to show a bit of green growth or in the fall after the second hard frost where it is said to taste better.

i was anxious to dig it up today to see just how much root there was hiding under there.
i was happily surprised to find quite a bit and the earthy, spicy smell was divine.
i left a bit of root still in the ground for next year.

i washed and peeled the root and then ground it up in the food processor with a bit of water. i then added it to a jar with a pinch of salt and a few dashes of white vinegar.

i am so excited about our homegrown horseradish.
i keep opening my fridge just to look at that jar.

maybe just because the secret has been revealed.

Leaves from the autumn garden

2011-11-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why exactly, but I absolutely love walking among the autumn leaves, looking at their shapes and colors, and gathering a few to take home. Sometimes they simply dry and curl up on my table, or I'll press one into my sketchbook, as I did earlier this week with a gingko. Other times I will draw and paint them. They are such inspiration to me. Perhaps my childhood in the mountains plays a role in this.

Anyway, this afternoon while walking through the garden I gathered a few. The grape leaves are falling from the vines, the red crab apples too. Some of the nasturtiums have frozen yet others remain strong. The spinach, lettuces, arugula, and radishes are flourishing right now, and the turnips, carrots, beets, broccoli, kale are doing well too. Soon the temperatures will remain low enough that we will need to build the cold frames. This winter we hope we can extend the growing season of the fall garden with the cold frames.

Do you use cold frames in the fall/winter?

a snow bouquet

2011-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

we are bundled up here and ready for the snow.
yes you read right, SNOW!
i know for some of you this is no big deal.
but where we are snow in october is rare.
and possibly 10 inches, well that now is unheard of.
to say the little people around here are excited would be an understatement.
and the big people, well they are excited too.
we have brought in the potted plants,
harvested what was left,
stuffed the chicken coop with straw,
and put the walls on the rabbit hutch
to give the bunnies a bit more insulation.
but a little gnomey in our garden thought it most important to pick "a vase" as she calls it or a bouquet before the snow comes.
she chose a nasturtium (hard to believe nasturtiums are still growing when snow is on it's way),
a small chard leaf,
a sedum,
an anise hyssop flower
and a begonia.
so sweet, and quite beautiful
as it sits there on our windowsill
waiting for the first flake to fall.

late october in the garden

2011-10-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. we keep having false alarms in the frost department, but we felt it was time to harvest our tomatillos. did you know that we didn't think we planted tomatillos this year? we were sent tomatillo seeds instead of the husk cherry seeds that we ordered. i'm not complaining. more salsa verde in our very near future. we also pulled out our matt's wild cherry tomato plants (finally!) and have an entire colander full of various shades of cherry tomatoes sitting by the sink.

it's time to plant garlic. many of you wrote to tell me that you are a bit intimidated by garlic. don't be! it's super easy to grow and doesn't have many pests. just simply break the bulb into cloves. don't peel them.

and plant them with the tip pointing up. i've read different opinions about spacing. 4-6 inches sounds good to me. at the farm, we plant them 8 inches apart because we have the room to do so. push the entire clove into the soil and cover. pat the soil down when you finish planting.

if you have a chance, enhance your soil with some aged manure or compost. at the farm, we add cheep cheep, which is supposed to be good for any plants in the allium family.

our hives are wrapped and ready for winter weather should it truly arrive tomorrow. mouse guards are in place, too. we're all set whether it snows or not.

quiet in the garden

2011-10-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

a quiet evening in the garden.

an accidental abundance of gourds

2011-10-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

so here i am, with a pile of gourds. i didn't intend to plant these, you see. this plant was supposed to be a crazy productive zucchini grown from seeds that my coworker saved from his crazy productive zucchini last year. but, apparently it was some sort of hybrid and got cross-pollinated because this is what we both ended up with this year, instead of a boatload of zucchini.

so i ask you, gardening friends, what in the world am i supposed to do with all of these gourds? just put them in a bowl and let them look pretty? i'm gathering that's pretty much all gourds are good for, but i'm open to any and all suggestions.

(alternatively, i could feed them to my dog, because apparently he thinks they look mighty tasty!)

backyard chicken workshop

2011-10-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

chris and i have taught several different kinds of workshops, all related to our backyard.
but one of our favorites is backyard chickens.
we taught one on tuesday night at a local high school through a community class program.
we give a really fun slide presentation with all of our own photos.
we talk about coop designs, breed selection, chicken care basics and the wonderful benefits of keeping a small-scale backyard chicken coop.
this time we thought it would be fun to give a two part workshop,the second part being in our backyard.
we wanted people to see how small our space really is and what you can do in such a tiny space.
today participants came for the second part.
some brought their kids (who got the biggest kick out of petting the girls and feeding them sunflower seeds) as well as partners and spouses.
two women even went home to get their husbands and bring them back to talk to chris more about how to build themselves a coop like ours:)
it was such fun showing every one around
and sending them all off to come up with their own little backyard operation.

Pepper harvest

2011-10-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

Last night in anticipation of autumn's first frost, we covered tomato plants, brought in the potted plants, and harvested all the peppers. There are five bags of sweet and hot peppers! So now I am on the hunt for pepper recipes. Do you know of any to add to the list?

Roasted Tomato Soup
Cream of Red Pepper Soup
Sweet Pepper and Lentil Soup and Romesco Sauce (also on that page)
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Fusilli with Sweet and Hot Peppers, Fava Beans, Lemon, and Olives
Bell Pepper Egg-in-a-Hole

autumn garden notes

2011-10-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

I took a walk down to our field garden today. It's the garden that's so far away that we often go a full week without checking in. We have some gilfeather turnips that are ready whenever we are, but i'm waiting for Thanksgiving. I love looking around our gardens and seeing things that will end up on our thanksgiving table: tiny brussels sprouts, leeks, sage, and kale.

The winter rye cover crop we planted is doing well. You can see it in this photo growing all around the turnips. I have to say that the morton oats we broadcast on the left side of the garden did not germinate as well.

Next week, we'll plant our garlic. We've been holding out because it's been warmer than usual and we don't want the cloves to germinate and grow too much before the winter snow cover. I recently came across this article on garlic and really enjoyed it. Everything you need to know right in one place. Our seed garlic from Fedco arrived recently too. We're planting five different varieties as we want to do a taste test and find our favorites. And we really would love to be garlic farmers one day. Here's what we're planting:

Georgian Fire
German Extra-Hardy
Music
Phillips
Russian Red

How about you? Are you planting garlic this year?

I couldn't leave the garden without taking back a snack. three pretty little cherry belle radishes. a nice treat.

Matt's squash boats

2011-10-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

When my husband cooks he gets creative, and never tells me what he's making. It's always a surprise. :) Last night he grilled these squashes, filled with an array of garden goodness. When I asked him what he did (since I was going to report it here today!) he said he sauteed onion, garlic, shitake mushrooms till tender. Then added fresh tomatoes and spinach till the spinach cooked down, just a few minutes. I did see him splash a bit of wine into the pan. Then he spread the sauteed veggies into the halved and hollowed out delicata squashes, sprinkling on Vermont cheddar and fresh dill. Or I think thyme would also taste good. He said he was going for a spinach pie kind of flavor. Then he wrapped them in foil, putting two halves together, and grilled them about 30-40 minutes and I can tell you they were yummy!

cherry tomatoes

2011-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

when planning our garden this year, we knew that we only needed one type of cherry tomato, matt's wild. it is a sprawling, unruly tomato that's so prolific it's almost ridiculous. the tomatoes are tiny but flavorful, and the plant is a little more resistant to blight and other tomato diseases than most.

we've had two frost warnings so far this autumn but neither really amounted to anything, so the matt's wild cherry tomatoes keep coming. this is not a bad thing.

last summer i was obsessed with local kitchen's cherry tomato confit. i made the recipe numerous times over the course of the summer and the fall of 2010. this year, however, i had not made it once. this past weekend i set out to remedy that.

i had plenty of tomatoes so i doubled the recipe.

our italian parsley is still going strong, sprawling everywhere in fact, so i was happy to snip a large bunch for this recipe. as for the other herbs in the recipe, i substituted our own dried oregano for the basil.

you need to set aside time for this recipe as the tomatoes are cooked at a low temperature for around two hours. my husband and i were getting hungry so i pulled mine out a little on the early side.

as i'm a southern girl, i spooned the cherry tomato confit on top of grits and added plenty of cracked pepper. i also love the confit spread onto a slice of warm homemade bread or as a filling in a grilled cheese sandwich. this time, i threw the leftover confit into a broccoli and cheddar quiche. also amazing. so many uses!

thanks local kitchen!

bok choy in the autumn garden

2011-10-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

i believe that just about anyone, black thumb & all, can grow lettuce greens & radishes. in my opinion, those two are perfect for beginning gardeners & even the most skeptical. well, there's a third kid on the block & his name's bok choy. this is my first year to grow bok choy & i cannot believe how empty my life was before this vegetable & my garden became one. i think it had something to do with the name bok choy or its mysterious uses in the kitchen, but let me tell you, now i'm a believer. it is super easy to grow & in no time at all, you will have big beautiful bouquets of green, leafy stalks to enjoy.

i even have a killer recipe for tomorrow night's dinner.

thai coconut bok choy & salmon soup // serves 6

heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. add one chopped leek, half a large onion, 4 cloves minced garlic, & 1 small, diced thai or chili pepper. cook until fragrant, around 3 minutes.

once fragrant, add your spices- 2 teaspoons cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, & a pinch of freshly ground pepper. add one can of skinless, boneless salmon or two small, chopped fillets. combine & add two large, chopped bok choy. stir in 1.5 cups of coconut milk & 4 cups of water. combine all ingredients & bring to a simmer for fifteen minutes. add salt to taste. serve with an autumn salad & enjoy.

rabbit friends

2011-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

so i know i have mentioned and even shared some glimpses of our two little friends that have made a new home in our backyard.
well today i am happy to make a more formal introduction.

meet...
titch, a chocolate, orange tri mini rex named after a favorite book of hannah's by pat hutchins
and harley, a blue fawn harlequin mini rex, nicknamed by norah simply after it's variety harlequin.

sadly, we lost hopper, our sweet french lop ear rabbit this summer.
we loved him dearly, as did the whole neighborhood.
we all knew however that he was not to be our last
and chris and the girls began to do some research on a new rabbit.

which quickly turned into rabbit(s)!
and not to mention a boy and a girl rabbit.
yes there will be baby bunnies at some point around here.

they decided on the mini rex.
their small size, plush coat and friendly personalities make them one of the most popular rabbit breeds in the united states.
and boy are they cute!
we just can't stop snuggling them.

they do add such warmth to our garden space
and the new hutch that chris built to match the coop is quite lovely if i do say so myself.
he made sliding wooden doors for easy access and lots of hugs.
and hand carved name tags to remind everyone who stops by just who is who.
and of course there is a living roof to grow succulents, herbs and greens.

it's hard to believe sometimes we have four chickens and two rabbits living in our tiny little backyard.
next year? definitely some bees.

and maybe,just maybe a dwarf nubian goat!

an autumn bouquet

2011-10-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

just yesterday i took a quick walk around the yard surveying what was available for an autumn bouquet: fading ferns, pokeweed, asters, zinnias. three of these not cultivated by me. only the zinnia seed was scattered by hand, planted in memory of my grandfather. he loved them so and i will always have them in my garden.

also enjoying this interview/garden tour with andrea of heavy petal. love the whole idea of lawns to loaves!

autumn changes

2011-10-04T16:30:00.001-07:00

autumn is finally here & with it brings much welcomed busyness & big changes. ornamental cabbage & mums are decorating our yard in pots & perennial beds. pansies are added to fresh greens from the garden.

beans, kale, turnips, sugar snaps & radishes are bursting in our raised beds.

& we have even added a flock to our home! eight sweet ladies all with their own unique personalities. happy birthday to our one week old pretties!

meet violet. she's a buff orpington with such a calm soul. she'll fall asleep in your hand & perch on your finger as you put her down with the others.

i just adore these big autumn changes!

an autumn walk

2011-09-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

i thought another walk was in order.
quite a bit has changed since then.

Signs of autumn

2011-09-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

mornings are cool and dewy again, optimistic, orange and red marigolds nestled with pink zinnias and gomphrena, the mint trails with one last blooming, the delicata squash have all been harvested, the last of the green beans are picked, we are beginning to gather the first leaves of arugula, spinach, and radishes from the fall garden, peppers are abundant, green tomatoes hang on the vine and we wonder if they will ripen, ash seeds cover the stairs, a few yellow leaves fall, squirrels busily bury walnuts, windows are open and the skies are bright blue, night arrives at 7:30.

nearing the end

2011-09-28T05:32:00.000-07:00

Not too much happening in my garden these days. We've got Red Russian kale and collards (a second planting) that are going strong. Those prolific Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes and Mexican Sour Gherkins, still as prolific as ever. Our husk cherries are in a race with the frost. We were spared recently but for how long?

I like the end of the season. Not too much to worry about other than the harvest. There's the surprise of a final dahlia bloom, going outside to pick greens for dinner, the pure joy of cooking with your own produce in late September and possibly even into October. And if the frost comes, the knowledge that I'm just fine with fried green tomatoes or green tomato pickles.

Our harvest hasn't been a good one for preserving. We just didn't have the quantity this year. Lucky for us, we have friends who are also gardeners, and we've been gifted a store of carrots and tomatillos (for salsa verde, which I hope to can this weekend). Nothing beats walking down to the basement and pulling out a jar of homemade salsa verde to serve with chips in the winter. If you're wondering I like the recipe from Canning For a New Generation by Liana Krissoff.

A few standout recipes we've made lately:

creamed kale
ginger roasted carrots with miso dressing

How about your own gardens? What's still going strong? Do you enjoy the end of the gardening season?

home preserving workshop

2011-09-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

this week i am preparing for a home preserving & canning workshop that i will teach this saturday in northwest arkansas. ozark folkways is an incredible little place that focuses on most skills forgotten in this age of consumerism & quick fixes. i cannot wait to get all of the students together for a morning of preserving apple butter.

the photo above shows my kitchen table in its current state- little scribbles of to do lists & ideas for the big day. i finally perfected my recipe & i am looking forward to sharing it. i hope to make the kitchen a cozy little space for working, jamming & canning. the students will take home a jar of their own jam & a bag filled with supplies for decorating their jars for the holidays. (i wish you all, each & everyone of you, could be there).

i also plan to pass out a packet of information on my favorite blogs, books & publications.

here are just a few sources i dig:
- putting by
- put 'em up!
- canning for a new generation
- the latest issue of natural home & garden

i must ask- please do share any tips, blogs, books, publications that you find helpful in preserving & canning. i'd love to add them to my growing list of resources! thank you!

herbal tea, from the garden

2011-09-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

as fall arrives, and the cold air makes its way into our bones, i find myself turning to a pot of tea in the evenings to warm myself up. here is one of my favorite herbal tea recipes, that can be made almost entirely from things you might grow in your garden or find around your neighborhood:

1 part peppermint
2 parts lemon balm
2 parts red clover
2 parts nettle

not only is this a deliciously tasty combination, but has many medicinal properties to keep you healthy through this transition of seasons. Peppermint helps with digestion and eases nausea and stomach cramps. Lemon Balm also helps soothe the stomach, as well as helping with insomnia. Red Clover is really good for respiratory problems, such as colds coughs and bronchitis, it is also high in calcium and iron. Nettle is pretty much the super herb; it is high in many vitamin and mineral and helps with a variety of health issues, from the reproductive system, to metabolism, to the liver.

this year i grew lemon balm and peppermint in my garden, and i foraged almost a half a gallon of red clover from around the neighborhood. i purchase my nettle in bulk at our local food co-op, and I'm pretty sure you could find it (and any of these herbs) at most health food stores, or at Mountain Rose Herbs.

do you have any favorite herbal recipes from your garden?

weekend plans

2011-09-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

our fall schedule is a busy one.

it has been days since i have had time to take a picture in the garden.
and today it was pouring buckets which didn't allow for much of a photo post today.

i did however manage to clean and de-clutter the pantry this week
to make room for some canned goods in the works such as applesauce and tomatoes.

i found an old crock at the thrift today and we plan on making some sauerkraut
this weekend from the cabbage that we have begun to get in our CSA share.

a pot of farm beets and carrots have been chopped up to make borscht.

and loads of swiss chard is waiting to be frozen.

speaking of canning and preserving have you seen this great site?

what are your garden/pantry/kitchen plans for the weekend?

Freezing

2011-09-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

According to the calendar, today is the last day of summer. Sigh. And today I finished the last of our garden strawberries that we had frozen from early in the season. Sigh again. They were so good. We used them mostly in smoothies and today I blended strawberries with some of our frozen peaches, a bit of vanilla greek yogurt, frozen banana, a dash of milk, about three ice cubes, and a splash of lemon juice for jazziness. Yum.

I think freezing is so easy. Last year we had a surplus of tomatoes and decided to freeze them for use in spaghetti sauce, chili, etc. If you've never tried freezing, simply wash the whole fruit well and remove any mushy spots. Then lay them out to dry on a towel. Once dry, spread the fruit onto a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. When they are frozen through, you can store them in containers or gallon zip top bags. We didn't even bother to remove the skins prior to freezing. I find it just as easy to remove the skins when I am ready to cook with them. All you have to do is dunk the whole frozen tomatoes into hot water for about a minute then off slide the skins.

Do you freeze some of your garden produce?

in the garden

2011-09-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

take a moment to pause & savor
the work that has been & yet to be done.
take a walk in the garden
eat lunch in the garden
as summer transitions to fall.

this is my favorite time of year.
the harvest is plentiful
my pantry is full
& there is still so much to be.

early fall harvests

2011-09-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

okay, i'll admit it. i am guilty of neglecting my gardens. i know i'm not alone, which is why i feel comfortable admitting this here. clearly taking on my most ambitious gardening efforts the same summer that i was planning a wedding [mine] and that my full-time job was extremely demanding was not the best idea. but still, i do not regret it. i know i could have actually pulled out the peas once they dried up back in july. and i know i could have planted some fall crops in their place, and in the place of the garlic i harvested months ago. but i didn't. and you know what? it's okay.

as much as i may have neglected my gardens these past two months, it is still producing. still making me happy every time i pick a tiny little cherry tomato off those volunteer plants wedged between the chard and beans. still surprising me when i pulled up over a dozen small onions that i thought were dead and shriveled [even if they're not much larger than the starts i planted back in the early spring, i will still eat them with pride].

so. even though my garden could have been better, more productive, more lush, more organized. it's not. and i am still so very grateful for what it produces. because of my efforts, or in spite of them.

almost

2011-09-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

although it is not quite officially fall yet, i can feel it coming.

this time of year always brings a new flurry of activity into our lives.
and i find myself stepping back and observing more than doing in the garden.

some observations:
-the song of the cricket
-sedums in bloom
-the changing light
-seed heads, and pods
-the rustling of grass heads
-ripe crab apples soon to be eaten by the squirrels and the birds
-beautiful brown eggs
-the slowing down of the harvest

some additions:
-two new critters
-and a rock wall

i hope to finish a few more tasks and projects in the garden before the cold weather really hits.

but i too find myself slowing down a bit and going to seed.

yes fall is coming.

Delicata squash

2011-09-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is the first year my husband and I have planted delicata squash. Last year we bought a couple regionally grown squashes from the grocery store and really liked them. They reminded me so much of sweet potatoes which are one of my favorite autumn foods. So this spring, we planted two mounds at the back edge of the garden with about three plants (from seed) in each mound. Thankfully, the plants spread and flourished all through the hot summer. Now that some of the older leaves are dying back we have just begun to harvest them. (I believe M. said he counted about forty squash out there!) Two nights ago we ate one that he stuffed and grilled, so good. Today I picked these three, along with zinnias and gomphrena. (I'm still all about the gomphrena.)

Anyway, the little research I've done on harvesting and storing delicata squash suggest a few things:

Use a serrated knife to remove the squash from the plant. Leave part of the stem attached to the squash, it is supposed to store longer that way. The stems do snap off easily so if this happens as it did on one I picked, eat that squash first.
To cure or not to cure: I have read different views on this. What's your take on it? Are the squashes sweeter tasting if kept at room temperature a few days after picking?
For the long term, store the squash in a cool dry place, around 50 degrees.

Have you grown delicata squash before? What have you learned?

cover cropping

2011-09-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

we had such issues with soil fertility this year that we decided cover crops were a must for us. if we're lucky, the cover crops will help take care of our weed problem, too.

i love organic grower's supply handy dandy chart, which tells you all about the cover crops available. we selected two for our two gardens.

winter rye

and morton oats.

we simply sprinkled the seeds in all of our raised beds, even if there were still vegetables growing. a great place to use a cover crop is in your garlic bed, as soon as you harvest. broadcast your seeds, watch them grow, and then turn the cover crop under the soil before planting your garlic in october. cover crops definitely give your soil a boost, which in turn gives your vegetables a boost. win-win.

do you have any experience with cover cropping?

speaking of pickles

2011-09-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

after amy's post about pickled peppers on friday, i've been thinking i'd share with you some of my favorite pickle recipes. let me just start by saying that i love pickles. seriously love. give me a jar of sour pickles and i'm set. in my few years of making pickles, i've mostly stuck with cucumbers, with a slight [and delicious] foray into dilly green beans last year.

my stand-by recipe is for spicy polish dill pickles. these are the perfect sour dill pickles with the added bonus of a nice spicy kick. i discovered this recipe a couple of years ago and have adapted it a bit.

spicy polish dills
[adapted from that's my home]

3 1/2 lbs small to medium cucumbers, sliced in quarters [the long way] will make approximately 5 pint jars. i prefer wide mouth for pickles so the jars are easy to pack.

while you are sterilizing your jars, make the brine. for 3 1/2 lbs cucumbers, heat up 3 cups water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup canning/pickling salt. heat until just before boiling [so it's bubbling around the edges]

once the jars are sterilized, pack each jar with:
1 grape leaf [this is key to keeping your pickles crunchy]
1 fresh dill head
1 whole jalapeno pepper
1 whole garlic clove
1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
cucumber slices

pour hot brine over packed jars, leaving 1/2" headspace at the top of the jars. put on lids and bands and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

since i had so many cucumbers this year, [after making 3 batches of these pickles] i wanted to try something new. last week, i made 2 new pickle recipes. the first was these quick refrigerator pickles. i'd always avoided refrigerator pickles, thinking they wouldn't be sour enough for me. i put these together on friday [almost 36 hours ago] and tried one today. while not as sour as i prefer, they are quite tasty, and definitely not sweet. i think they'll only get better with time. [side note: that jar in the top is the only thing i could find to weigh down the cucumbers that would fit within the opening of this half gallon jar. looks weird, but it works!]

the third batch of pickles i'm currently experimenting with this year are these kosher dills. i started these on friday evening as well and haven't tried any yet. i'm going to put them in the fridge tonight and see how they progress.

so, any other favorite pickle recipes out there we should be trying?

pickled hot peppers

2011-09-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago we made nachos.
as we were munching away, we all agreed that they needed a little something.
a little heat maybe?
yes. some pickled hot peppers.
the next day we picked some jalepenos and serranos and got pickling.
we are all set now for our next batch of nachos.

pickled hot peppers

jalepanos or serranos whole or sliced
1 sweet red pepper sliced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbsp peppercorns
3 cloves of garlic, lightly pounded
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp sugar

pack the peppers in a glass jar.
in a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes.
pour the hot pickling liquid over the peppers and let it rest for a few hours. shake it up a bit so that the peppercorns are evenly distributed.
for a crunchy bite, you can start nibbling on them within a few hours. for a softer texture, let sit for 4-5 days.
keep refrigerated for up to two months or can it according to jar manufacturer’s instructions.

Tomatoes

2011-09-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

This has not been the best year for tomatoes. In fact, most of our tomatoes (with the exception of Cherokee Purple) have experienced some serious cracking due to a dry July followed by heavy rains. We've also been contending with septoria leaf spot, watching as it crawls up the base of our plants. After reading up on septoria, I think we are partially to blame. We often plant our tomatoes a little closer together than is ideal, due to lack of space and our desire to plant many varieties. Have any of you been dealing with this fungus? It is quite common.

Still, the tomatoes are coming in (finally!) and I have my eye on a few ways to preserve them for winter eating:

Tomato Jam Food in Jars

DIY sun-dried tomatoes Todd Porter and Diane Cu

Salsa Rojo Local Kitchen

Do you have any favorite recipes for preserving tomatoes?

seasonal eating: stuffed acorn squash

2011-09-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

i love following the palate of the season. there is a real connection made with farmers & the landscape when enjoying in-season foods. tonight's dinner was just that & delicious, too- acorn squash stuffed with sausage from the farm, carrots, yellow squash & garlic. paired with frozen peas, this meal was quick, which allowed for a few more hours spent outside enjoying this cool relief.

stuffed acorn squash
adapted slightly from simply in season
serves 4

2 medium acorn squash
cut squash in half. remove seeds with a spoon. place cut side down on a greased baking sheet. bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes until soft. remove from oven & set aside.

1 lb. sausage
3 cloves garlic (minced)
4 carrots (shredded)
2 yellow squash (cubed)
1 stale slice of bread
3 tbsp. brown sugar

saute sausage until cooked through. mix garlic, carrots, & yellow squash in bowl. add to pan with sausage, cover & simmer for 15 minutes. stuff filling into acorn squash. tear up bread & place on top. sprinkle brown sugar on top. bake at 375F for 10 minutes. add a dab of butter on top when serving.

delicious.

kale

2011-09-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

i adore kale.
i can honestly say it is one of my favorite vegetables.
i enjoy red russian, and curly but i have a extra fondness for dinosaur or lacianato kale.
i love it's blue-green color and it's towering stature in the garden.
i used to always cook kale but was once at a picnic where a friend had brought a raw kale salad that was absolutely delicious.
i could not stop eating it to the point that i was a bit embarrassed after the third helping.
of course i jumped at the offering of bringing home the leftovers that night and found that it tasted even better the next day.
i have since altered the recipe to our liking.

kale salad
1 large bunch kale rinsed, de-stemmed and chopped up fine (curly or lacianato)
2 or 3 carrots shredded
1 red pepper diced
1 cup sliced almonds

dressing
3/4 cup olive oil
1 small shallot minced
3 tbs fresh ginger root, peeled then minced
1 clove garlic sliced
3 tbs fresh lime juice
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs toasted sesame oil
3 tbs chopped cilantro
zest of 1 lime
black pepper and salt to taste

combine ingredients and dress.
it tastes best if it can sit for an hour before eating
but i have been impatient and have also enjoyed it right away.

Trying something new, gomphrena

2011-09-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

This year we expanded our planting space to improve a strip of land behind my studio. It's by the alley, where the trash gets picked up and honestly has never been tended. We killed the weeds by covering the area with epdm rubber, (which we had leftover from construction projects) and leaving it there for several weeks. Old carpets could also have been used. Then we raked out the dead weeds and removed the gravel to prepare to plant. The soil isn't great back there but it's suitable for flowers. This season we got it partially planted and hope to completely fill it next year. For now a section is filled with zinnias and globe amaranth, or gomphrena. I had never grown globe amaranth before but really am enjoying them. And they are great for this spot, as it is very sunny and dry, and they tolerate drought and heat, which we have certainly had in abundance this summer. I want to harvest some to dry but for now will tuck a few into zinnia bouquets.

Another new plant we're trying this year is delicata squash. Which I hope to talk about here soon.

Did you try something new in the garden this season?

irene, cabbage worms and hornworms, and surprises

2011-08-31T04:27:00.000-07:00

last saturday before irene hit vermont, my husband and i checked in on our gardens and harvested what we could. dried dill seed, small ears of corn, zucchini, and a luffa sponge that we thought for a split-second was a zucchini. by the time we realized what it was, we had cut it and put it in our basket.

it's always good to inspect your gardens regularly, impending storm or not, as you might stumble upon something like a hornworm that can really wreak havoc. we've had a time with the hornworms this year, finding them on green peppers and potatoes as well as tomatoes.

we also found evidence of the dreaded cabbage worm.

can you see them? they blend in so well.

so, we stopped harvesting and made a hot pepper spray for our brassicas.

you can find a similar recipe here.

we also found some wonderful surprises while on our rounds.

after two years of trying, i finally have a peppermint stripe dahlia. isn't it a beauty?

we've had this orange tree for years. it's traveled with us to denver, north carolina, and then vermont and has never produced fruit until this year. talk about surprising!

even though our gardens made it through the storm fine, others in my community were not as lucky. one of my favorite farms lost everything due to five foot flood waters. the entire state has been affected. please keep vermonters in your thoughts. it's been a difficult week.

freezing greens

2011-08-30T08:36:00.001-07:00

swiss chard has been the biggest success in the garden this year. i started my chard from seed in the early spring months at our old home in missouri. i planted them in my spring garden & then dug them up & re-planted them in pots. after traveling across state lines & surviving 115 degree summers, i'd say my swiss chard plants are troopers.

we are still harvesting basket fulls of chard for our summer dinners, but the chard just seems to keep growing. for that reason, i decided it was necessary to preserve some of our chard for later. i always pinch myself in the grocery store, wishing i had saved some of my greens, when purchasing kale, swiss chard & spinach during the winter months.

after some research & experimenting, i found that blanching & freezing greens (swiss chard, collards, kale, spinach, etc.) is the easiest & quickest way to preserve your harvest:

1. gather your greens.

2. wash your greens.

3. cut off & remove stems & other blemishes from leaves.

4. bring large pot (3/4 full of water) to a full boil. submerge greens into pot & keep in pot for three minutes.

5. once those greens have been in the pot for three minutes, drain & add to a large bowl full of ice water for three minutes.

6. drain & add to plastic freezer bag. remove air from bag (tip: use a straw & suck out air). make sure to label bag with name of greens & date.

7. place in freezer for later use!

happy freezing, friends!

resilience

2011-08-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

i'm always amazed at how plants do what they need to do to survive... tomatoes growing in the cracks between bricks in my garden. beans climbing up anything that will hold them. they are so resilient. when there is not enough water, they conserve what they have. when the are stressed, there are scars, but they endure. there is a lot we can learn from the plants around us.

ps: i'm happy to be posting on mondays now, and shari will be here on wednesdays from now on. have a great week friends!

happenings

2011-08-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

hello!
it's so nice to be back.
what a great week of posts last week!
a big hug and a thanks to all of our guests.

we have had loads of rain here and more to come
so the garden is large and lush these days.
the hens are happy in their new home
and our banty has begun to lay sweet tiny eggs.
we have harvested our first pear of the season.
and watermelons are growing on our front stoop.
i have plans to start a new rock wall this weekend, if i don't get washed away.
i love this time of year.
fall is in the air
but there is still so much to come.

harvesting beans

2011-08-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

so here is the follow up post to the growing beans post from earlier this season. after all that work, i am reaping the benefits of my bean extravaganza. so far, i have harvested almost all of the tiger's eye beans (the orange/red ones), and less than half of the calypso beans (the black and white ones). i've also picked a couple of pounds of the purple pod pole and sultan's golden crescent fresh beans. i still have october beans and hutterite soup beans that i saved from last year as well.

growing dry beans is one of the easiest things to do in your garden, since they are so low maintenance. just make sure they are decently watered while they are growing, and just leave them on the plants until they are fully crispy. shell the beans, spread them out on a baking tray, and bake in the oven on the lowest setting for 10-15 minutes to make sure there are no weevils or other itty bitty critters enjoying your beans. one new technique that i tried this year was rolling the bean seeds in rhizobium powder prior to planting. this is supposed to increase yields by up to 100%, but honestly, i saw no difference [at least in the ones i've harvested so far]. i'd love to hear if anyone has different experience with this.

here are a few sources for heirloom bean recipes:
:: seed savers heritage farm bean salad (this is where i purchase my bean seeds)
:: rancho gordo (both rancho gordo and seed savers also sell heirloom beans for cooking if you don't want to grow your own). they also have a whole book of heirloom bean recipes!
:: 101 cookbooks heirloom beans and seitan recipe
:: becky and the beanstalk (i made this hutterite bean soup last winter)

do you have any favorite heirloom bean recipes or tips?

planning for the changing season

2011-08-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

hello! it feels so good to be back.
thank you to all of the wonderful guests last week! i really enjoyed it.

the month of august is so special in so many ways. days are growing cooler, summer is savored, fall is nearing & the harvest is plentiful. in our home, august also comes with many long days of preserving, freezing, working outside & preparing for the changing season. here's a little peek at our list:

home & garden list
- peach jam
- pickles
- watermelon rind preserves
-freeze tomatoes
-build chicken coop
-plan for fall garden

to manage it all, we make lists. lots of lists. we also (try to) keep things organized so as to not miss a date or forget to do something before it is too late.

for our fall garden, we keep a large chalkboard in our living room to remind us daily of what needs to be accomplished. we write down dates for transplanting or directly seeding & a map of where those seeds or starts need to be planted in the garden.

i also keep a journal of successes & failures from the season to keep, along with ideas to try next year. this is a place to keep favorite preserving recipes, too. this helps to keep me sane & not make the same mistake each year.

finally, it is equally important to be realistic about what can be accomplished on any given day in the garden. if those tomatoes are nearing their end & you do not have time to make some sauce for canning, make room for them in your dinner that night. don't worry, there are still tomatoes ripening on the vine for your winter canning.

(guest post) Cultivating gratitude

2011-08-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Every setting has its own gardening challenges. As someone who came to her city plot with a more rural perspective, the urban garden provided me with learning experiences that were previously unthinkable. June and July found me gently shaking my tomato plants and paint-brushing male squash pollen onto the female blossoms, because my walled-off city garden lacks the wind exposure and critical mass of bees necessary to set very much fruit. Arable space is at a premium, so if your one-hundred-year-old row house is built, as was the custom for “terraced” homes in the early 20th-century, on a raised bank of earth that provides perfect conditions for erosion, such is your plight.The real kick of humility stems from the sheer nature of city life. That is to say, most people don’t come to the city to live off of the land. We are likely to be renting houses or apartments, where the owner may or may not allow us to do our own gardening. We have non-garden-, non-farm-related jobs. In my case, that job takes me to faraway places for weeks. It’s a privilege that anyone who grows food for their livelihood cannot afford. We possess no delusions of self-sufficiency, nor even of a steady stream of supplementary food.Which brings me to the point: that knock-down, humbling experience of growing (or trying to grow) things in an urban setting frequently gives way to gratitude. Gratitude for what does grow, for the surprise successes and the feeling of putting it on the table. And, moreover, immense gratitude for what others tend and provide. I’ve been going to farmers’ markets for years in rural, rolling-green-hills Virginia, without giving them too much thought. Now that I live in a city, they seem nothing short of miraculous. I mean, farmers’ markets! How brilliant are those places? People grow beautiful food, bring it to your city, and sell it at affordable prices in pleasant open-air markets. Gardening in city circumstances has made me celebrate their harvests to a degree I never did before.This week, I’m cultivating gratefulness for some party-dress-ruffled collards my garden is putting out. It’s technically past the time for these collards to be harvested, but they had a strange year. I planted them in a spot with too much shade, so they grew too little early in the season. Then I had problems with pests. And only finally, when I had all but given up on them, they straightened their shoulders and turned into vibrant, unexpected grey-green beauties. I’ve been appreciating them in the mornings, tossed simply in oil and wilted, on a garlic-rubbed piece of toast.

The act of growing plants amazes me with the humility it inspires. Gardening in an urban setting, though, goes above and beyond any previous experience I’ve had. Beyond utter humility, to self-pitying, “the earth and the ground are all-knowing and I am useless” kind of days, where you hover between crying and feverishly concocting plans for the flagship chapter of the Society Against the Evils of Non-Native Slugs (Wanna join? Email me. Just kidding. Sort of).Consider: Modern cities, in general, were often conceived with the plan to keep flourishing green things at bay as best as possible. Washington, DC, where I live, was built on top of a swamp that was drained to the best of Jeffersonian-era abilities. Beautiful species of water flora were virtually eradicated, tidal marshes were filled in, and we logged the heck outta this little space. And now, years later, in some bizarre circle of history, home and community gardeners are trying to reclaim those green spaces, ushering in food and flower where they can.

Collards on toast

You will need:
A bunch of collard greens (or any bitter green, like kale or chard), sliced into 1-inch ribbons, tough stems removed if necessary
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Your favorite crusty loaf of bread, sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut through the middle
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced collards, tossing to lightly distribute oil. Add salt and pepper (and crushed red pepper, for a little kick) to taste. Allow them to wilt for 3-5 minutes, tossing occasionally. Meanwhile, start toasting the slices of bread. Remove the collards from heat when they are not quite as wilted as you would like, as they will continue to cook for a few minutes. When bread has finished toasting, rub it with the cut side of the garlic. Top toast with collards, and taste for salt and pepper. This simple dish is good as is, but is elevated to greatness when topped with a poached or over-easy egg.

Sarah is the voice behind The Yellow House, a journal focusing on the life lived around homemade, seasonally- and garden-driven food.

(guest post) little ones in the garden

2011-08-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you Amy and friends for inviting me to guest post on Tend. Your space here is an inspiration and I love checking in daily! So honored to be a part of it...

My parents had a garden when I was growing up that all the neighbors envied. I remember impatiently waiting for the first ripe cucumber that I would pick and my mother would slice and salt it with some tomatoes on a plate. I think that is the best memory of food I have. I don't remember how involved I was in the whole process, but I do remember harvesting what we grew. I was amazed that we could grow food! It seemed so magical to me.

I knew as soon as my daughter was born that I wanted her to be connected with her food sources. The first year I direct seeded some veggies...beans, peas, and cucumbers. I didn't buy any seedlings and our results were not terrific and definitely made me yearn for more of a "green thumb." But when we moved to a half acre lot in town, my garden ambitions just went crazy! It seemed that this tiny lot (so different from the previous 8 acres) had much more to offer. I could get more creative with my gardening and really loved finding out unique ways to use the space we had. So the first spring, we tested out the soil in the big backyard...no good. Too wet and swampy. We were crushed! But we had a tiny square of grass next to the driveway out front which was much higher and dry, so we put in four raised beds there. It was a success! The little one and I poured over the local seed catalog and ordered (what turned out as) way too many seeds! But we put most of them to good use...starting our own seeds indoors when there was still snow covering the ground. She loved this process, and at two years old played a big role in getting our garden going. I could see the amazement in her eyes when the seeds sprouted, when they got so big we had to move them outdoors into the now frost free garden, and I knew how proud she was when the veggies were ready to harvest. I still remember when she sat down on the grass, chomping on freshly picked green beans. I remember feeling so pleased that she was learning how much work goes into our food, and how much we appreciate everything that we are able to eat.

At age four, she is just as big of a help in the garden as anyone else. Our four raised beds have increased to eighteen! We have winter crops going already, fruit trees, berries, herbs, and an incredible amount of vegetables that keep us well fed all season long. She plants, she weeds, she harvests, she eats...I love seeing her run out there at the first sign of anything ready to pick. This summer she is eating more than ever, her favorites being strawberries, "crunchy" lettuce, green beans, and carrots. Tons of carrots. If I need anything while prepping dinner, she is the first to say, "I'll go get it!" running out the door before anyone else has a chance.

Tonight while I was making dinner (a potato, summer squash, zucchini, purple tomato, and herb torte. yum!), I announced I needed to run outside to get some basil. She stopped her playing and quickly joined me, helping me pick in the garden. She turned to me and said, "Mama, isn't it so neat that we don't have to buy any vegetables at the store? And that we can make a whole dinner from things from our garden?!" I think it was the sweetest thing ever. I knew everything that she had been learning from watching us was really sinking in. She gets it. And she appreciates it.

Growing our own food is definitely my favorite thing to do with her. And she inspires me constantly in gardening, in life, and everything else. I have learned so much because of her and her curiosities. She would probably tell you I taught her everything she knows, but I beg to differ. She has definitely shown me what gardening is all about.

....................................................

You can get your children involved with gardening at any age! Whether they are not yet crawling and strapped in an Ergo while you weed, or they are curious two year old's who want to do "everything myself!" Here's a little list of things the little one was involved in at various ages:

Around 9 months old

playing in the soil (I loved giving her a little space to just dig and mess around in the dirt while I gardened, and she loved it too!)
sorting veggies (I would pick a big basket of cucumbers and beans, she loved to take out all the beans and put them in her own bowl)
tasting (she loved sucking on big green beans and carrots)

2 years old

helped with seedlings inside (we started them in leftover egg shells like this)
transplanted them to beds outside once frost free
helped weed (she had her own mini wheelbarrow that she would put them in and dump in the compost with me)

3 years old (all of the above, plus...)

started her own seedlings (she was in charge of flowers...cosmos, sunflowers, zinnias, and nasturtiums)
got her own mini shovel and started shoveling manure onto the beds in early spring (we use alpaca...it's the best!)
started learning when to harvest the veggies and fruit
helped direct seed the seeds into the beds
helped can 32 jars of jam, 16 jars of salsa, 20 jars of pickles, and 8 jars of pasta sauce

4 years old (all of the above, plus...)

was in charge of her own window box (herbs)
had her own raised bed (strawberries and carrots)
watered the gardens
harvested the veggies and fruits on her own (she now can tell when they are ready)
helped prepare the things we picked for lunch or dinner
is in charge of egg collecting for our backyard flock of chickens (she also lets them out in the evening to roam the yard)
helps pick through, clean, and freeze berries

Hope that gives you some ideas of what the little ones can do! As shown above, they can be tremendous helpers! Happy gardening!!

erin is a 20-something mama who loves to sew, read, cook, write, and live simply. she is the author & photographer of bluebirdbaby. thank you so much, erin!

(guest post) The Unbumper Crops

2011-08-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for the honor to write with you lovely gals here on Tend. I love checking in and seeing what's going on, reading similar philosophies and approaches to my own way of living. Every post emits a shared coziness and warmth; a breath of fresh air.

See, sometimes my green thumb turns into a green and jealous meanie when I see the many finely edited gardens dotting the internet. I have a hard time keeping my garden envy in check when I see others with bumper crops of vine ripened tomatoes. I immediately compare them to my own Better Boys, split and scarred from the recent onslaught of thunderstorms.

Then, sometimes, I watch my daughter play in the plants. I made up my mind early in my pregnancy that I would embrace her curiosity and teach her to respect the natural world around us. But also, as a mom I devote most of my energy to Mabel, and the gardens don't get the same amount of attention they used to. I plant things and don't mark them, forgetting about them until they produce something discernible. This year that something is beans. I've grown beans before: favas, limas, green beans, cow peas...but this year they came up, started forming beans and I had one of those new gardener moments where I ran inside and showed Charlie and Mabel that I. grew. beans. I had 2 beans in my hand, each bulging with the black eyed peas hidden inside. There were more out in the garden, not quite ready for picking, and definitely not a bumper crop by any stretch of the imagination. Those 2 beans in my hand, though, produced a swell of gardening pride.

I can't really pinpoint the source of pride. I suspect it's a residual effect of motherhood: I can choose to obsess over aphids and soil fertility, or I can choose to celebrate the small wonders that make Mabel ooohh and ahhh over a flower or an interesting rock. Being present in those moments has taught me to appreciate everything I grow, including my 2 pods of black eyed peas--my own amazing unbumper crop.

Thank you so much Renee for being our guest here today, we're honored! Renee lives in North Carolina and authored the Petals & Pedals series at Modish. Please visit her blog and website, Wolfie + the Sneak for more of her creative endeavors.

(guest post) kitchen gardening

2011-08-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

First off a thank you to the Tend team – and especially Julia – for the invitation to join in over here this week. I am currently up in the woods of western Canada – without dependable internet - and her patience and understanding has been most appreciated! When she asked me to write about gardening in California I immediately thought of the challenges of my kitchen garden. I then entertained thoughts of writing on the transformation of our yard from lawn to California native garden; gardening with kids; or the soon-to-open 8000sq ft edibles garden we built at our neighborhood elementary school this summer. I came back to the kitchen garden – where I have struggled the most – and have found some great rewards.

A kitchen garden was a constant of my childhood. I grew up in small-city / big-town Brandon, Manitoba. The seasons are distinct there – and could be defined by our work in the garden. . Our summers would be filled with days at our large community plot, falls of harvesting and canning and winters fetching root vegetables from our cold storage and feasting of canned tomatoes and homemade pickles. We ate seasonally and locally and I didn’t know anything different.

After graduate school I moved to Los Angeles. I surprised myself and ended up liking it here – and 14 years into it I call it home. Gardening here is a completely different experience. And it took me a good long while to figure it all out. As I moved around the city I was overwhelmed with the variety at the local farmer’s markets and itched to be growing my own. Once we bought our own home we dug right in. Our particular community is considered desert – with triple digit days in the summer, and freezing nights in the winter. My Manitoba garden experiences could not be transposed – as I soon learned. I turned to experienced friends to guide me – and finally feel that we have found what works for us. Greens dominate our winter garden; strawberries, potatoes and peas in the spring; and heirloom tomatoes and green beans for our summer crops. Having small space has also dictated our strategy. I am grateful for a CSA subscription that brings us a variety of organic produce throughout the year – grown in the milder coastal climes of nearby Oxnard – and a friend and neighbor with an enviable greener thumb than mine – and a yard dedicated to edibles.

We start from seed each season – in hand-made newspaper pots produced by my daughters. When the seedlings are ready – they move out to our three raised beds – built by my husband David of 2 x 6 redwood. This year, two beds have been dedicated to edibles and the third to a cut-flower garden for the girls to plant as they wish (Queen Anne’s Lace, cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers and a mix of herbs are favourites).

Aside from the raised beds, we have included a few edibles within the landscape of our backyard.

I had never tasted a fresh artichoke (or avocado!) until I moved to Southern California. They are now a staple in our kitchen – and avocados in our garden. I made an attempt to integrate cooking greens as well, but my pest-management team made short order of them.

We don’t use any pesticides or fertilizers in our garden – aside from compost and a manure tea a friend brings me with the changing seasons. Pests are to a minimum in our yard – with the help of our chickens – who at this point in time have the run of the yard. (A rodent has moved in to the garden this year – and has been feasting on our summer crop. The chooks haven’t been able to manage this pest – and we will have to explore options for its removal. Any suggestions for rodent control?!)

My learning curve in our garden has been steep – and I have relied on advice from friends and books. My favourite reads:

Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles
Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening
Rosalind Creasy's Edible Landscaping

I have to add The Garden That You Are– that is not geared to Southern California gardening, but is a beautiful book, and reminds me that growing our own food is an extension of who we are – and the successes, and failures are to be savoured.

Happy Gardening!

tracy is a canadian prairie girl living in suburban los angeles with her husband, two girls, three chickens a couple of turtles and fish named "rainbow". she fills her days with her time in the garden (any garden), working on their mid-century modern home, and taking too many pictures of it all. when she is not digging in the dirt, she manages an artist's estate. she is a great believer in public eduction and the power of community. and is trying to build a stronger bond with her sewing machine. she blogs at jumilla stories and you can find her on flickr.

(guest post) Saving Seeds

2011-08-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to be here today, I'm honored (and a little overwhelmed) to be visiting.

cilantro gone to seed

With many of my crops reaching the harvest stage, I naturally think about preserving and making them last as long as possible. In addition to canning, preserving, dehydrating, and freezing, saving seeds to plant the following year has been a skill of preserving that I have tried experimenting with over the past few years. Saving seeds to me represents the full circle of life. It's spiritual, meditative, natural, and a way to live providently and mindfully.

storing dried seeds

In the years past, I've had success with growing crops from seeds I've saved from tomatoes, sugar snap peas, several varieties of pumpkins and squash, spinach, Swiss chard and beans. This year I plan to try my hand at carrots, basil and several herbs.

allowing a sugar snap pea to dry on the vine

sugar snap pea seeds

I'm certainly not an expert on the subject, so I'll leave you with two of my favorite references:

Organic Seed Alliance
Seed to Seed, which you're likely to find in your local library.

And there are of course countless sources to turn to on the internet.

I encourage you to give it a try. The links above have wonderful information on how to get started. It really isn't as difficult as it may first seem, and once you're successful, it can be such a rewarding hobby!

various gourds grown from last year's seeds

pumpkin seeds

various tomato and tomatillo seeds fermenting

amber shares little bits of her life over at her blog & is the maker behind the beautiful etsy shop, oakmoss. she is a wonderful gardener, artist & mama! thank you so much, amber!

(guest post) Operation Deliberate Neglect: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2011-08-14T11:38:00.001-07:00

Operation Deliberate Neglect: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Hi! Shari asked me to guest post, so welcome to my garden! It's basically a front-yard garden (where it gets the most sun) with four very long raised beds, native perennials, fruit trees, berry bushes, and herbs. My zone is 7b, in the North Carolina Piedmont area.

I'm going to confess that I haven't been tending to my garden diligently as I have done in the past. I hurt my back earlier this year and our area has been suffering from a mild drought and record high temperatures. There really hasn't been any watering, weeding, or regular harvesting. So I'm calling our summer garden season "operation deliberate neglect" and in spirit of experimentation, I thought I'd share the results. By the way, I do not recommend this method, especially if you have a hard time growing -- it's just that I live in the South, and practically everything grows like a weed or an invasive here.

Let's start with the Ugly:

1- Stressed trees. They're not really ugly, just mildly fascinating and sad. I don't think consistent watering would have helped the tree, though. This is a dogwood, which was planted two years ago, and is still trying to find its footing (rooting)? Hopefully the stresses will make it stronger over time.

2-The weeds are taking over. This used to be a gravel pathway. To be fair, I was expecting this, because weeding is one of these things that require, in the immortal words of Mad-Eye Moody, constant vigilance.

The Bad:

1-Overripe cucumbers. I like to tell our younger neighbors that they are dinosaur eggs, and generally toss them in the backyard in hopes that rabbits will eat them and that the vines will overcome much-hated English ivy or poison ivy next year. (Note: if you find cucumbers that are just slightly yellow, they are still very edible- just deseed and peel the tough skin).

2-Our tomatoes are literally bursting. However, it also means next year we are going to find volunteer tomato plants all over the raised beds, which is sort of not a bad thing (unless you end up with 50+ of them).

3-I don't think it would be a summer without overgrown, thick, hard-as-a-rock okra. Even when we harvested everyday, we still ended up with a couple of these pods. I've used them as Halloween decorations (they vaguely resemble dragon teeth) and dried them to re-use the seeds for next year. I think I'm going to roast them and use the seeds for a salad or succotash dish.

4- I'm not sure if this is a terrible thing, but there are still a lot of vegetables that are waiting to be harvested, and sometimes they are easier to detect when overgrown. For example, red peppers and dried butterbeans.

(if you look very closely in this photo, you also can find green butterbeans.)

And now, the part you were probably waiting for: The Good.

1-We still got a lot of tomatoes.They are still growing strong! Some people even say that tomatoes taste better when you stop watering them because the flavor will concentrate in the fruit.

Imagine what would happen if we actually paid attention to the plants.

2-We got pumpkins, to my surprise. I expected squash borers and powdery mildew to overcome our plants, but I haven't found any. We also planted acorn squash and butternut squash and haven't found anything yet, but it's nice to have pumpkins without much of an effort. These are the sugar baby variety.

3-The arugula that we planted in the spring reseeded itself. I love it when that happens to the right plants.

4- My back is healing nicely, and the sight of brown/dead plants is making me want to clear the beds and start fall planting. Normally, I hate removing perfectly viable plants to prepare for another season.

Lessons Learned:

1-The south can be a wonderful and terrible place for gardening, depending on what you want to grow and how much effort you want to put into it.

2-"Natives" or varieties that grow well in your region will require very little care. For example, okra, butterbeans, southern peas, and sweet potatoes thrive on neglect and extreme heat/humidity.

3-Planting different varieties of one vegetable can be a good thing, as is planting them at different times to ensure a continuous harvest all season (or one big harvest in the end).

4-Not watering constantly, but relying on one big initial watering and mulch and the weather, can be a boon to plants, because it helps with formation of strong roots, which in turn makes for healthier plants.

5-Adding compost or fixing nitrogen in your soil every year is always a good idea. Sometimes that is all you really need to ensure a good crop.

6-Mulch is a lazy Southern gardener's best friend. It holds water in, keeps weeds out, and disintegrates into a lovely soil amendment.

7-There really is no way getting around weeding except weeding.

8-Don't worry if you won't be able to take care of everything. Nature eventually finds a way to take care of it all. And you can use this as part of your ever-growing gardening experience!

Eunice lives in Durham, NC where she walks and trains dogs, goes on bike rides, and chases food trucks. She is long overdue posting at The Accidental Southerner (where you can find seasonal and local recipes) and A Dream of Eu (where she talks more about her garden and books and life ), but in the meantime, you can find her on her Flickr photostream.

ground cherries

2011-08-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

have you ever tried a ground cherry? if not you are in for a treat. a sweet treat!

a relative of the tomatillo, they are a little bit smaller than a cherry tomato and when ripe are a pale golden yellow. they have a hint of tomato but are much sweeter and quite fruity.

when i first tried them i was surprised with the taste and couldn’t quite describe it. and then realized how tropical they tasted. they taste a little like a pineapple with a touch of vanilla. i have grown to like them very much and there is something about pulling away that little paper skin, just like a candy wrapper.

harvesting ground cherries is fun and easy. just shake the plant and the ripe ones fall into puddles onto the ground.

today I made a simple salsa with them.

1 large handful of ground cherries cut in half
2 large handfuls of 2 different kinds of cherry tomatoes
1 clove of garlic minced
1 cup of roasted corn
3 or 4 sprigs of cilantro or basil chopped (my cilantro is petering out so I used basil)

combine ingredients.
squeeze juice of one lime over mixture along with ¼ cup olive oil.
Salt to taste.

enjoy!

p.s. i am excited to announce that next week will be a week of guests here at tend.

Okra

2011-08-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

This week we've been eating okra almost daily. It is tasty cooked on its own or added to other dishes. A few of our favorite ways to prepare okra are:
* Saute chopped okra in a little canola oil until tender and sprinkle it with sea salt and pepper.
* Dip chopped okra in a beaten egg and then bread it in cornmeal. Lightly fry it in a little canola oil until browned and crisp on the outside. It will be tender inside.
* Add okra to beans, rice, squash and tomatoes.
* Add okra to gumbo.
* And I just came across a recipe for okra curry I want to try soon.

Yet okra grows fast and if it gets over mature it is too tough to eat. If it makes a hard, crunchy sound when you cut into it, then you know it's going to be fibrous. At this point you can either leave other ones you suspect are too mature on the plant to dry and collect the seeds for next year, compost the okra, or use them to make art.

Okra has a beautiful shape and children and adults alike may enjoy printing with them. I use watercolor paint and brush a little color on the flat cut side. Then press it firmly to paper. You can talk about pattern making and counting with young children as they make their prints. Try it!

first tomatoes!

2011-08-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

there's really not much else to say besides that. these are three of my four first full-sized tomatoes this year [we ate the other one before i could get a photo. i might have been the most delicious thing i've ever tasted].

i have never been very successful with full-sized tomatoes [cherry tomatoes, especially amy's favorite sungolds have always been great!]. in fact, last year i only harvested one single tomato from nine plants, so i already know this year is better! i'm already on track for a bit of a bumper crop and i could not be more proud.

whether you grow them yourself, from seed or seedling, or sample some from a local farmer, the first tomatoes of the season are always cause for celebration.

trellising melons

2011-08-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

as a gardener with a small backyard, i believe in trellises. instead of sprawling cantaloupe & watermelon vines throughout the yard, my melons grow up a homemade trellis made from bamboo & thick twine.

at first i was hesitant, though. i thought that maybe the melons would grow to be too heavy for the trellis, hanging in mid air & snapping from the vine before fully ripening. this has not been the case for this year's melons.

they are growing healthfully & happily. using what i had, (in this case a thin, stained kitchen towel did the trick) i tied the watermelon to the trellis. this allows for more support for the vine & trellis. i have also used plastic produce bags & have heard of others using old panty hoses.

whatever you might choose to use, i think you will really enjoying this space-saving trick. i am convinced that this will be my only way of growing melons in my little backyard, and perhaps pumpkins, too.

Summer Panzanella, a recipe

2011-08-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's the best feeling to step outside, head straight to the garden, pick a few tomatoes and some basil tips, dig up a small red onion and start to work on a summer panzanella.

Panzanella--slightly adapted from Gourmet.com

Ingredients:
tomatoes-1.5 pounds, chopped into small pieces (I used a mix of Paul Robeson, Japanese Black Trifle, Orange Short Vine, and Orange Banana but you can use up cherry tomatoes or whatever you have that is ripe and ready.)
3/4 cup of chopped basil (I used Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil and Genovese)
1-2 garlic cloves ( I used this year's green garlic)
salt
pepper
day old bread (in this case, 3/4 of a loaf of golden flax bread)
fresh mozzarella (or feta)--optional
white balsamic vinegar (I like the Trader Joe's brand)
a good quality olive oil

For this panzanella, you'll want to use your favorite loaf of bread. It needs to be a day or two old to soak up the dressing so prepare in advance if you are planning to bake your own. I used 3/4 of a loaf of golden flax seed bread that I picked up at our local farmer's market. Chop the bread into cubes and place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with 2 TB of olive oil and add some freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Stir and bake for 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

While your croutons are baking, chop your tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Chop your fresh mozzarella into cubes. Chop your basil. Thinly slice a red onion. Set these aside.

To make the dressing, mince a garlic clove (or two) and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to make a paste. A mortar and pestle works great here. Next, add 1/3 cup of olive oil and 3 TB of white balsamic vinegar. Whisk together.

When croutons are ready, toss them into the dressing and give them a stir. Add tomatoes, cheese, onion slices, and basil. Season to taste. For best flavor, let the flavors meld for 30 minutes or a little less if you're really hungry. :)

I wish I had a photograph of this beautiful summer salad in our handmade pottery bowl but I made it after nightfall and we ate most of it. Hope you understand.

Enjoy!

sungolds

2011-08-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

so let's talk cherry tomatoes shall we.

or should i say cherry tomato. because in my book there really is only one.

don't get me wrong i do love other varieties like "matt's wild cherry", "sweet olive" and "black cherry". they really are very tasty and beautiful too.

but when i spy that first orange "sungold" on the vine and pop the sun warmed fruit into my mouth, i remember why i love summer so much.

my girls think they taste like candy and i couldn't agree more. once i pop one into my mouth i just can't stop.

they hardly make their way into a salad or salsa before the basket is emptied.

but i don't mind. for once it's nice to say to the girls "go ahead, eat as much candy as you like!"

Inviting Pollinators

2011-08-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Usually when August hits, I look around the garden and want more flowers. Most of the ones we planted have naturally run their course. We just don't have many late summer bloomers. Also, this year we planted an area of the garden which we had never sown before. Without much planning we planted cosmos, bachelor buttons, chammomile, sedum, catnip, and basil. It is part spillover herb patch and flowers. All summer I've been looking at this spot and imagining it as a bird and butterfly garden, full of native plants, as a place to encourage more pollinators.

So the question is, what variety of flowers do we plant that bloom throughout the season and also attract pollinators?

Answer: This site, Pollinator Partnership has exactly what I am looking for. On their planting guide page, you type in your zip code, and it gives you a free PDF to download, specific to your ecoregion. We are in the Prairie Parkland ecoregion. In addition to lots of information about the importance of supporting pollinators, understanding your ecoregion and pollinator traits, how to set up your landscape, etc., towards the end of the PDF there are charts showing trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, and vines to plant that attract pollinators. The charts also list the plant color, when it blooms, the size, soil and sun needs, and the pollinators it attracts. Bingo! Now I'm a kid in a candy shop, looking through and picking out ideas for next year. I'm glad to see we have some already on the list and hope to combine those with other native varieties to prolong the season. The pollinator.org website is a great resource, whether your garden consists of one or more potted plants or takes up your entire yard, check it out if you haven't already!

growing garlic

2011-08-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

this is my first year growing garlic and having just harvested the two varieties i planted last fall, i would definitely chalk this up to one of my garden successes for the season. as shari wrote last week, it's so easy to get caught up in all the things going wrong in the garden (and there are always things going wrong) that it's easy to forget your successes. each year, i try to make a list of my successes, and there are always more than i expected once i list them out. garlic is definitely on that list this year.

i planted two varieties: german extra hardy and georgian fire, last fall (i think it was late october or early november) at my community garden and at home, respectively. immediately after planting, i thought the cloves had been dug up by squirrels because there were holes in the soil around where i had planted them, so come springtime i was not expecting anything to happen. but then, one by one, sprouts began popping up, and i ended up with seven of each variety. i guess the squirrels took one sniff and turned around!

in late june/early july, scapes can (and should) be harvested from garlic plants and used in cooking wherever you would use garlic. i threw a handful in some hummus, and ultimately chopped up the rest and stuck it in a jar in the freezer. i'm looking forward to throwing them in stir fries and soups over the winter. garlic bulbs should be harvested when 1/4 to 1/3 of the leaves turn brown. loosen the soil around each plant and pull up the bulbs. do not wash the garlic, gently brush the dirt off (if you have a mushroom brush, this works perfectly).

i was really looking forward to braiding my garlic, but apparently that only works with the soft-necked varieties and i conveniently planted two hard-neck varieties. oh well! instead of braiding, i wrapped the plants in garden twine and have just hung them to cure, which will take a few weeks. once cured, cut the roots and stems off and store in a cool, dark place.

i ordered my garlic from seed savers last summer for fall planting, but i think this year i'll purchase new varieties from a local farmer who grows heirloom garlic. i plan to save a couple of the bulbs i grew this year for replanting in addition to the new varieties i add.

have you grown garlic in the past? any tips or ideas to add?

preserving the harvest

2011-08-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

over the last couple of months i have spent hours in the kitchen preserving the harvests of our garden & surrounding farms. freezing pesto, pickling vegetables, making jam & canning tomatoes are among the many tasks on my to do list during the summer months. i particularly enjoy the act of preserving food; i feel a strong connection to the generations before me when i save food for the winter months.

above are several jars of herbed seasoned tomatoes made last night. my recipe came from ball's complete book of home preserving, by far the most helpful source i have found. do you have any sources for home preserving that are particularly helpful (& delicious)? i would really love to hear about your adventures in home preserving.

comfrey tea

2011-07-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

at this time of year my plants seem to need a little boost, especially my container plants.

i planted comfrey last year after I read that is was a good source of nitrogen and potash and could be made into a valuable plant food that is ideal for potatoes and fruiting plants like tomatoes and peppers. it can also be used as a foliar feed.

comfrey also works as a compost activator, and if added to a compost heap it will help speed up the composting process as well as adding its nutrients to the compost.

comfrey tea

1.harvest your comfrey. comfrey is a very vigorous plant. once it has established in your garden, you will be able to harvest the leaves several times throughout the growing season. simply cut the leaves right back and gather them up.
2.put the comfrey in a container. to make liquid feed from your comfrey, you will need a container with a lid. if it has a tap as well, that makes life easier later on. stuff your comfrey leaves into the container -- cram in as many as you can.
3.put a stone on top of the leaves to weigh them down.
4.don't add water. many recipes for making comfrey tea advise adding water, but when comfrey leaves rot down in water, they make a horrible smell. if you don't add water, the leaves will still rot down
5.put the lid on to keep rain and bugs out.
6.wait 6 weeks. comfrey leaves will take a few weeks to rot down -- you can keep checking on the progress, but expect it to be about 6 weeks before they're finished decomposing.
7.drain off the liquid. it will look a little like a dark brown syrup and have very little odor.
8.add the remains of the rotted comfrey leaves to the compost.
9.start again. if your comfrey plant has grown a new crop of leaves, then you can start the process over.
10.use your feed. your comfrey liquid needs to be watered down 15:1 before use. it is high in potassium, and makes an excellent feed for flowers, tomatoes, peppers, or any fruiting plant. water plants directly with the diluted tea or place in a spray bottle and give plants a foliar feed. i look forward to trying this with my house plants this winter.

Savoring the fruits

2011-07-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that the sweltering temperatures in recent weeks have greatly diminished my garden time to actually, well, almost nothing. Except for strolls about the garden and general looking around. No, my husband has been the diligent one, enduring the heat, checking the tomatoes, removing the bugs, pulling weeds, and bearing the patient task of watering. And I have felt somewhat guilty in my lack of attention.
But then the other night in "The Shape of a Year" (a book Shari gave me) I read how this time is "the season of savoring the fruits." Jean Hersey goes on to say that our hurried springtime race to get things in the ground has relaxed. The garden "rolls along" now, and for better or worse it's pretty much what it is going to be.
So I think maybe the garden doesn't really need us busying ourselves as much right now, (other than watering, and checking, and harvesting.) Maybe our gardens just want the attention of our gaze. Maybe for a while we simply savor and appreciate the successful harvests (and perhaps even those that failed) and be very grateful.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things in the garden, here as we find ourselves already at the end of July.

One of our edamame patches. Last year was the first year we planted edamame and really enjoyed them so this year we planted three patches, at different times so hopefully we'll have steady picking. The plants have proven to be very heat tolerant.

edamame pods growing

One of our green bean patches, with pepper plants behind it. We're growing two bush bean varieties, including flat Italian. When the plants were just popping up from the ground there were a few rabbits that plowed them down. So the fence is to keep out those munchers!

I think these lilac peppers are so pretty.

To me, it just isn't summer without okra.

Nor do flower bouquets seem as cheery without zinnias. I love having them and they seem to love me picking them, because they just keep blooming.

Last night's supper with yellow squash, okra, peperoncinis, roma tomatoes, and basil from the garden. Yum!

What are you savoring from your garden?

basil lime soda and a half-eaten tomato

2011-07-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

when it's too hot to cook, one of my favorite ways to enjoy the season's bounty is homemade soda. i think i got the idea a few years ago when i first heard of rhubarb soda. since then, i've tried my hand at mint, raspberry, ginger, and sour cherry sodas. they have all been delicious and i highly recommend making yourself some soda to enjoy on a hot summer afternoon. last summer at our local farmer's market, one of my favorite food vendors was serving a basil lime soda. after getting over the initial weirdness of drinking basil, i tried it and was hooked for the rest of the summer.

like amy, my basil is growing wild these days and i thought i'd try to make my own basil lime soda. this spring i planted seeds from the "dolce vita blend" by botanical interests, so i currently have a variety of lime, lemon, cinnamon, purple petra, genovese, and mammoth basils. i used a combination in this syrup recipe (though, i think the lime flavor is so overpowering that it's hard to tell which basils i used). once you've made the syrup, add as much as you like (approximately one tablespoon) to a glass and fill with soda water. in the fridge, the syrup should keep for at least a few weeks.

-------------------------------------------
on an unrelated note, i found this on my balcony monday morning:

it seems to the work of a certain four-legged bushy-tailed critter. last summer i lost almost all of the few tomatoes i had to squirrels and i was hoping to avoid that fate again this year. any tips? i've tried sprinkling cayenne pepper to deter rabbits, does it work for squirrels too? help!

controlling pests

2011-07-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

i might be the only gardener out there that sinks into a deep, dark hole when pests begin taking control of the garden. thoughts like, "why do i even spend my time doing this?!" and "i hate my life!" are pretty common when i find holes in leaves or shriveled fruit on the vine. thankfully, the garden is a team-effort & my husband is much more level-headed.

well, a similar episode occurred in the garden this weekend. we left for a family reunion & returned only two days later to an aphid & caterpillar attack! usually, aphids (pictured above) are not so bad. in our case, we were not so lucky. thousands of aphids took cover under our lush pumpkin leaves & began their trek of multiplication toward our butternut & acorn squash plants. after a minor panic attack on my part, my husband & i took action.

making a clean cut with our pocket knife, we removed every leaf & blossom within contact of the aphids. i noticed two pumpkins that were beginning to shrivel on the vine. after much research on aphids, i found that aphids can carry viruses that will stunt the growth of various fruits, especially squash & melon. another interesting observation was the pack of ants hovered around the aphids. although at the time we believed the ants were on our side, they actually act as a protector for aphids. aphids & ants have a working partnership... how frustrating! a great way to prevent aphids is actually to rid your garden of ants, too. creating an insecticidal soap or garlic spray will do the job, too.

unfortunately, our pest issues were not over. after our episode with aphids, we soon noticed caterpillar droppings on the leaves of our tomato plants. we took action immediately, checking each leaf & stem of our tomatoes.

we found five caterpillars & squished them relentlessly as they cried, "mercy!"

the moral of the story is, of course, keeping a close eye on your garden as a key to controlling pests. that, & keeping an insecticidal soap close by just in case aphids begin taking refuge under your beautiful pumpkin leaves.

recipe for insecticidal soap
1 to 2 tablespoons liquid soap
1 to 2 heads of garlic
1 quart of water

mix & add to a spray bottle clearly labeled.

around the garden: successes

2011-07-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

it's so easy for something to go wrong in the garden. there's the weather, first and foremost. some days it seems like if we need rain we get unrelenting sunshine and even if it does rain, we get hail instead of a nice summer shower. the early spring had me doubting whether anything would grow, but i'm back to share with you some of our garden successes. i hope you'll share a few of yours with me, too.

so let's talk peppers for a moment. we haven't really had any luck growing green peppers here in vermont. i think the growing season is too short. this year, we decided to focus most of our energy on hot peppers. our hot portugal peppers (pictured above) and our hungarian hot wax are both doing beautifully.

garden lesson: to save on disappointment and seed costs, plant what does well in your area. take notes. if green peppers don't want to grow after several seasons, adapt your garden plan.

and now, i'm going to contradict myself because while i'm completely happy to let my local farmers grow green peppers, i will never give up on growing tomatoes. to me, it wouldn't be summer without tomatoes in my backyard. we've had mixed luck with them in vermont (including one brutal season of late blight), but i'm happy to report that this year, we have strong, healthy tomato plants.

garden lesson: grow what you love. try blight resistant varieties (read those seed catalogs!) and be vigilant. a daily walk through your garden may help to avert a disaster.

okay, now this is my favorite success story. sure, we've grown broccoli in the past but usually it's been nothing but a battle with cabbage worms. this year, not the case. i'm not even sure what we did differently. i am in LOVE with this variety, and of course, i want to share it with you. this, my friends, is an organic hybrid called fiesta. it can tolerate cold and heat, produces gorgeous heads, and i've heard it produces plentiful side shoots. the only downside to this variety is that you can't save seed because it's a hybrid. however, it's the best broccoli we've ever grown so i'm making notes to buy more seeds next year.

garden lesson: try new varieties. take notes to remember what performed well. celebrate the harvest by making a special supper with your homegrown produce.

i think i'm the most excited right now by this new variety of cucumber we're growing. this is the mexican sour gherkin that i first read about over at you grow girl. they are tiny cucumbers with a beautiful pattern on their skin much like a watermelon. the vines are thin and fragile but they seem to be producing a ton of cucumbers. we're excited to try these.

evening in the garden

2011-07-22T05:01:00.000-07:00

these past few days have been hot.
really hot!

i haven’t been spending too much time in the garden for fear I just might melt.
in this kind of heat i like to save time in the evening for the garden.

as the sun goes down it’s hard not to admire the light, and the shadows.

in the evening everything seems to have a magical hue. petals and leaves seem to glow.

i pick a bouquet for the table to enjoy at breakfast.

and grab a bedtime snack.

good night!

scenes from my community garden

2011-07-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

i'll admit that i haven't been the best at keeping up with both of my gardens. i've been extremely busy these past few weeks, and it's been particularly hot and rainy (meaning that i don't have to get over there to water and that it's been extremely unpleasant to be outdoors these past few days). so this afternoon, with a slight break in the heat, i decided i'd better go check on how things were progressing over there. i clearly need to weed badly, but otherwise, i am really excited about all the growth that's taken place over the past week and a half since i was over there last. beans are growing, cucumbers and squash and melons are flowering, potato towers are towering, tomatoes are exploding with blossoms and big green tomatoes, peppers are emerging, and lettuce is going to seed. i am beyond excited that it truly does look like this is going to be my best tomato year yet (heck, i'm pretty sure it's going to be my best garden year yet!).

despite how well things are growing, i definitely will need to make some time over the next few days for a little bit of maintenance.

do you have more than one garden? how do you balance your time between them?

soaker hose for the garden

2011-07-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

we just recently added soaker hoses to our garden. after spending every day watering our garden for an hour, making sure not to water any of the foliage as to prevent certain plant diseases, it was a huge relief to add this time-saving system to our day.

do you have a soaker hose or drip tape in your garden? we opted for the soaker hose because it allows for the hose to wrap around plants, unlike drip tape which is better for large-scale agriculture & production farms. both are wonderful ways of irrigating, though. they both are fairly affordable, prevent most of foliage from getting wet & save water.

we purchased two hoses for $10 each. we used our gardening hose & a 2-way hose connector to connect the soakers.

then, we wrapped the soaker hose around each base of the plant. we made sure it was secure by adding soil around some sides of the hose.

the areas that were hanging between the two beds were covered in duct tape & electrical tape to keep them from leaking. although not as aesthetically pleasing as i would like, it works well by not watering the grass.

this system is working so well for our small garden. the time that we spent watering is now spent weeding, pruning & enjoying our hard work.

three sisters and a few thoughts on weeding

2011-07-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

about 1/4 of our field garden is set aside for a three sisters planting. my husband is a bit obsessed with this idea. the three sisters garden is an old native american concept where corn, squash, and beans are grown together. the beans twine themselves up and around the corn and the squash provides a lovely but prickly ground covering underneath to help the soil retain moisture and also to deter raccoons from going after your ears of corn. beans add nitrogen to the soil and help nourish the other plantings. the three sisters are planted in mounds with corn in the center and beans planted in a circle around the corn. squash, zukes, or pumpkins are planted on the sides of the corn mounds.

this is our second year planting a three sisters garden. last year we had poor soil and because of this we had trouble growing anything other than a few zucchini. it's working beautifully this year due to our soil amendments. this photo is about two weeks old, and the corn is really towering over the beans now and the squash/zukes/pumpkins are filling in nicely. i can't wait to see what this area of our garden looks like in just a few weeks.

i wanted to briefly talk about weeding. as you may notice in some of my photographs, our weed problem is a bit out of control. this field garden is constantly trying to return itself to its former state, and we don't have the time to keep the weeds under control. recently, i had a bit of an epiphany. i'm trying a little experiment by weeding only the tops of the raised beds and letting the pathways and sides of the beds go wild. i decided to do this because i noticed that the plants in the field garden look really strong and don't have much insect damage. i have a suspicion that the weeds are creating a little ecosystem with beneficial insects that are taking care of the garden pests. plus, i love that we have daisies, st. john's wort (!) and other wild meadow plants growing in and around our garden beds. i'll be sure to let you know what i think of this approach to weeding at the end of the season.

are you familiar with the three sisters?

summer snack

2011-07-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

the basil is really bushing out in the garden these days. to help encourage the basil to form new branches and leaves and to continue growing throughout the summer, i cut back to the top two leaves and try to remove flower buds immediately.

the basil prunings have been being put to good use around here to make a favorite summer snack.

basil popcorn

1/2 cup popcorn
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup basil leaves
parmesean cheese
sea salt
cracked black pepper

in a food processor mix the oil and basil leaves and set aside.
pop the corn.

pour basil-oil over popcorn and mix thoroughly.
sprinkle with parmesean, salt and pepper to your liking.
we like ours on the cheesy side.

pour yourself a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade and enjoy!

Gardening as parallel practice

2011-07-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Recently a fellow artist friend gave me the May '11 issue of Art in America to share an article on parallel practices called, "Artists in a Parallel Universe." In it, a panel of artists were asked (in February at the College Art Association conference) to discuss their non-art related activities when they aren't making art, those that feed their art practices. One of the artists, Vija Celmins, turns to gardening and calls herself an "avid weed-puller." While reading this I thought, hey I do that too, I pull weeds as a respite from studio work. However, this summer rather than being in a dry spell as the article addressed, I am thankfully making art. Perhaps I find pulling weeds to be even more informative during this busy time. It is a practice in which I don't have to make decisions. I know what stays in the ground and what goes into the compost, there's no second-guessing. With weeding there is a set task to do, and once it is done something has been accomplished. This is a great encouragement when minute and large artistic decisions leave my mind feeling like soup.

From this parallel practice I also bring back to the studio the recognition that having a drawing going at all times is vital for me. The above drawing is one I am working on this summer. On the table it waits, so I add a group of lines first thing of a morning or paint on at the end of the day. A little bit at a time. Not all at once. Like weeding, one plot at a time.

medicinal honey

2011-07-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

in my quest to try more and more herbal remedies, last summer i discovered medicinal honey. i tried a batch with some of my bee balm plants (which i was so happy to discover in my yard last year- as it was our first year living here) and we've been using it to soothe our sore throats all year long. last year, i only tried making this with bee balm (mondarda), but other good herbs for medicinal honey that you may have in your garden are lavender (for good sleep), lemon balm (for upset stomachs), and chamomile (for headaches). we add a little to some tea, or just eat it by the spoonful.

start by picking a bunch of stalks and chopping up aerial parts--this includes stems, leaves, and flowers. for one pint of honey, you'll want about 1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs (for dried herbs, use about half that amount). warm up one pint of honey in a saucepan over low heat. when it is fully warmed through, add the herbs and continue over low heat for another 15-20 minutes. store in a food safe jar. (this recipe is adapted from growing 101 herbs that heal by tammi hartung. one of my favorite herbal remedy books).

i'd love to hear if you try this, or if you have any of your own medicinal herbal recipes!

a trip to the farmers' market

2011-07-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

i love a good farmers' market. there is just something about a saturday morning, local foods & farmers that really gets me. i'm sure you have similar feelings.

this weekend, we made a trip to the fayetteville farmers' market. this market is an hour north of us & the best in the area. although the trip to the farmers' market is very different from the bike ride to the market in our old town, it is exciting to know that an abundance of fresh food is so close, especially in this area of the country.

i was charmed by the pale white onions covered under the shade of a tent.

& the fennel stacked neatly for the taking. i purchased one & look forward to roasting it alongside a whole chicken tonight.

the textured leaves of this gourmet-variety cabbage are beautiful.

while we are still waiting for our bounty from the garden in our own backyard, we can thankfully rely on our farmers & their hard work.

----

in other news, i wanted to share something interesting happening around here. deep into the month of july, arkansas is usually brimming with fresh tomatoes of all varieties. at the farmers' market in fayetteville, though, we noticed only a handful of farmers selling green tomatoes & only a couple with small, ripe tomatoes. this is also happening at the research & education farm, the kerr center for sustainable agriculture, where luke works. due to the high heats of 105 degrees lasting most of the day, our tomato plants are suffering & unable to produce. the knowledge that cold temperatures can damage tomato plants is also applied to very hot temperatures, too. flowers may bloom on the plants, but fruit never sets. in extreme conditions, blossom drop can occur.

thankfully, in our own garden, we have spotted two tomatoes. our nine plants are still holding onto their blossoms & growing by the day. it will be interesting to see what happens as this drought continues in the south.

little garden scenes

2011-07-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

first tomato on the vine. it's a glacier, which is a determinate variety that fruits early and can tolerate cooler temperatures.

i have a thing for garden twine. so rustic and pretty.

tools and daisies.

the mesmerizing curl of a corn leaf.

harvested oregano tips to put into jars of pickled garlic scapes.

wild blackberries spotted around the farm.

harvesting garlic scapes=garlic scape bracelets just for the afternoon.

our gigantic ruby perfection cabbage. i wish i could enter it into the fair. it's crazy big as you can see. more on our weed problem later.

walking back home after visiting the field garden.

hi.
just wanted to share a few things that have been happening in our garden lately. what's new in yours?

around town

2011-07-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

although our garden is in full swing with fruit, leaves, roots and flowers, it is nice to know that not too far away there is even more variety for us to enjoy. let’s go on a little tour of a few of our favorite spots around town. all just a few blocks from our home, where we can always find a few more things to nibble on.

on our way to the library we have the pleasure of snacking on sweet figs from a tree that lives at a lawyers office. it is the most beautiful, healthy fig tree that i have ever seen. we visit the tree all year long watching it turn from bare brown sticks to lush green foliage dripping with fruit. last week we had our first taste. three ripe figs were hanging there waiting for us. we have recently planted a "brown turkey" fig at our house and look forward to next year's harvest

last year i helped to start up a farmers market in town. it is just a few blocks away from our house and provides us with an array of local foods. our favorites right now are fresh corn and homemade caneles.

we also have a plum tree just a few blocks away at a nearby office building that provides the most delicious fruit. (i forgot to take photos of the fruit this year). no one seems to want them as they fall on the sidewalk to rot. we help by gleaning. one year when the sun went down (and no one could see us) i climbed up on chris’s shoulders, picked handfuls of plums and dropped the fruit down to the girls to fill up an entire basket. we walked home giggling as we nibbled on our stash.

i had the pleasure in helping to start up a school garden and after school garden club at the local elementary school two years ago. throughout the school year the students help with preparing the soil, planting, seeding, weeding, harvesting, watering, and cooking up the harvest. now that summer is here and school is out, there is quite a bit of food that needs to be eaten. it is just a hop, skip and a jump away for us to grab a few stems of swiss chard leaves, and a handful of “sungold” cherry tomatoes.

and soon the watermelons will be ready!

we are always looking for new finds as we walk and pedal around town.

do you have a favorite spot around your town?

In the garden : Observing

2011-07-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

One morning recently I was particularly grumpy. Not sure why. So I stepped out into the garden with my camera and decided to look at things up close. Glass orbs of dew clung to the edges of fennel and grape leaves; nasturtium leaves cupped oceans. I watched a lady bug crawl around and held my breath. The radial pattern in the sturdy echinacea amazed me just as the sun shone through the delicate skin of the poppy petals. Underfoot the mulched ground was soft as I tip-toed about, looking, looking, looking. When I went back upstairs to the studio my outlook on the day had turned.

Recent garden notes:

' A pair of goldfinches visit the bachelor buttons in the mornings now. They're so tiny!

' A thumb-sized mouse darted out from the chocolate mint to the chamomile and back. zip zip.

' White butterflies flutter all across the garden, like white confetti caught in a breeze, weaving with untraceable threads.
' I realized this afternoon, while watching a honey bee perch in a pillow of purple petals, that I could sit here all day, observing the activity in the garden.

What is to be gained from this observing?
Much, I say.

backyard berries

2011-07-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

is there anything better than stepping out your back door* and returning with handfuls of fresh berries? i'm not quite sure there is.

at our old apartment, we had a huge raspberry patch in the backyard and driveway. enough to make multiple batches of jam and fill our freezer (with more than a few to spare for a tasty snack for a certain berry-loving dog of ours). in fact, that raspberry patch is one of the things i miss most about that place. our new home came with a very small patch of fall raspberries, but luckily our old landladies were kind enough to allow me to thin out their berry patch a bit last spring. so i've been working to fill ours in. slowly but surely transplanting about 10 plants last spring and another 10-15 volunteer raspberry canes that popped up in my community garden this spring and hoping, in a few years' time, to have enough for backyard jam. raspberries transplant very easily and they spread pretty quickly too. if you look hard enough, you probably have some friends or neighbors willing to thin out theirs come next spring.

until i have a great big raspberry crop, though, i'll be content with a few handfuls here and there to top of some ice cream or morning cereal. (or, just straight in my mouth, if we're being honest here!)

how do you enjoy your berries?

{*full disclosure: the strawberries are actually in my community garden, so i have to walk a couple of blocks to pick those. close enough, though, i think}

pruning tomatoes

2011-07-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

this season we have been very intentional about pruning our tomato plants. we have never gardened in such a small space so pruning is essential. this way our tomato plants are growing up rather than out & taking up more space than needed.

in order to encourage growth upward instead of outward, cut the side branches from the stem up to 3-6 inches from the soil line.

when doing this, make sure not to damage the stem & use a sharp tool to make a clean cut.

another way to prune your plant is by removing the "suckers" located in the joint connecting the side branch from the stem. if the suckers are allowed to grow, this will lead to a more dense, bushier tomato plant.

happy pruning of your happy, healthy tomato plants!

another note: make sure to prune only healthy tomato plants. weak plants will feel the shock of pruning & might not do well to the changes. also, prune gradually, making sure not to remove several branches at a time.

peas!

2011-07-04T15:34:00.001-07:00

in vermont, we get a pretty late pea crop. our peas are in top form right now. although i know most of my friends prefer snap peas, we like to plant green arrow, which we've found to be the most reliable english pea variety. have you tried them?

they are deliciously sweet right off the vine and just as wonderful cooked or in a pea puree. the best part about growing english peas is that you will have lots of leftover pods to use in making a simple vegetable stock. in fact, i made a batch last night. you'll find my recipe below. the idea for this stock comes from anna thomas' book, love soup, which i highly recommend.

pea pod stock

as many pea pods as you have available (we keep our pods in a large yogurt container in the freezer until we are ready to use them)

2 leeks (white and light green parts only, slightly chopped)

a bunch of celery

a half of an onion or more if you have it

a handful of rainbow peppercorns

a few twists of sea salt

garlic or garlic scapes

herbs (last night i used a combination of fresh oregano tips and dried thyme)

fill a stock pot with water and add the ingredients. feel free to substitute whatever you have that's been lingering in your fridge for a little too long. bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. simmer for about one hour. let cool and then transfer to a freezer container.

now you have a flavorful vegetable stock to use in your summer and fall soup recipes. enjoy!

minty

2011-07-01T05:41:00.001-07:00

if you are struggling to find that green thumb of yours, start with growing mint and watch it take off. mint is one of those plants that is hard to kill and boy does it grow. because of it’s prolific nature many people like to contain mints in pots and planters.

i also grow it around my chicken coop where i don’t mind if it takes over. it keeps the area smelling a bit more pleasant and the hens like to nibble on it. we joke that our eggs taste minty fresh.

there are many varieties of mint. we grow common spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint and orange mint.
this week we are...

drying it for tea.

making syrup to flavor sparkling water, lemonade, and cocktails.

making peppermint oil to try out concocting our own toothpaste.

and blending it with fruit for popsicles. (this one is simply watermelon and mint leaves)

what a tempting little plant. it is hard to walk by it without yearning for a sniff.

and it makes the perfect after dinner mint.

Pink salad

2011-06-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Recently I made put together this salad for a dinner gathering with friends. Now that it's too hot for lettuces, I used beets, kohlrabi and purple onions from our garden. Once you add beets to a recipe, everything it touches turns a beautiful ruby pink. The other day I made another salad using beets, with couscous and chick peas. I like having a cold salad ready to eat in the summertime, and should make more of them.

Pink salad

* 2-4 beets, peeled

* 6-8 kohlrabi, peeled, fibrous parts removed

* 1 small purple onion

* 1-2 small lemons, juice only

* agave nectar, or sweetener of your choice

* fresh salt and pepper

* fresh herbs of your choice, if desired

Combine the dressing ingredients in a measuring cup, gauging the amounts to suit your taste. Cut the onion very finely and add to the bowl. Next, grate the kohlrabi over top. Pour the dressing in and stir. Then grate the beets into the bowl, season with fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and stir all together.

This is so simple it's hardly a recipe. The only thing is the time it takes to grate the vegetables. As I was typing this post, I just thought perhaps sliced cucumbers would go nicely in this salad too. And oh, if you're wondering about the beet greens in the top photo, they dressed up some flower bouquets!

Before you go, will you share one of your favorite summer salads with us?

ode to lavender

2011-06-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

by far, my favorite plant of them all. lavendula. all varieties, really. it is beautiful, and hardy (mostly), and produces the most intoxicating and calming scent. i've always said that i believe that if a heaven exists, it would smell like freshly baked bread, but now i'm beginning to think it may be lavender after all. in these crazy busy runaround days of summer, all i need to do is run my hand through one of my (five!) lavender plants and inhale. calmness wraps around me like a gentle wave. {it's no wonder that a drawing of a lavender plant will be on our wedding invitation!}

i transplanted these lavender plants from our old apartment last spring after we moved into our house, and some of them are now in their third year, growing bigger and fuller each season. they are my little garden babies and i love watching them grow, snipping their blooms and drying them to put around my house, or use in body care recipes. to make a lavender infused oil, simply pick fresh blooms and place the flowers (either fresh or dried) only in a jar and cover with olive oil. allow the oil to steep for 2-6 weeks before straining out the flowers through a cheesecloth. you can use this oil as a massage oil, in the bath, as a moisturizer or headache reliever (simply rub a little bit on your temples) or in other body care recipes for lip balms or lotions.

[or you could use the blooms to make some of amy's hand scrub]

if you have any room left, i highly recommend adding a lavender plant to your garden. you won't regret it.

coming home to the garden

2011-06-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

happy tuesday, gardening friends! i almost cannot believe it is tuesday. for the past few days i have been driving up the oregon & washington coast, soaking in the lush landscapes, diversified gardens & bustling farmer's markets. it is always nice, though, to come home to my own handiwork- the garden in my own backyard.

walking around the garden, watering the plants & seeing their growth is so satisfying. oh, the goodness of tending to a garden!

family gardens

2011-06-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

ever since i was a little girl, i've been surrounded by adults who love to garden. because my grandfather had a wonderful vegetable garden every year, it really doesn't feel like summer to me without one.

this week i am visiting my mom. although my mom does not have enough room for a vegetable garden, she loves flowers and plants her tiny yard with a mix of annuals and perennials each year. whenever i visit, i like to look at her terra cotta pots and hanging baskets to see what color combinations she's loving at the moment. you can learn a good deal about someone by looking at their plants, i think.

my favorite part of her yard is her small, formal (and traditional) charleston garden in the backyard. it has a crushed oyster shell path that is flanked by boxwood hedges, a fountain with lily pads and bright orange goldfish, and a bench to provide a place for rest and contemplation. it's a peaceful oasis. also, on the property are some of the plants that i associate most with my childhood such as pampas grass and magnolia.

one of the most wonderful things to me about gardening is the knowledge that is passed down from family members and how often their favorite plants work their way into your heart. my mom has my grandfather's jade plant and a chinese evergreen plant that used to belong to my grandfather's mother. green family heirlooms. i love that.

do you have any plants that have been passed down through your family?

summer is here

2011-06-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

maybe it is the constant hum of the box fan. or maybe it’s the fireflies being whisked into ball jars each night.
but without even looking at the calender it’s my garden who just flat out told me that summer is finally here.

the bee balm and cone flower are beginning to flower.

the raspberries are slowly ripening.

the sunny yellow squash flowers will soon be fruit.

cilantro is finding it’s way into every salad we make.

the toscano kale is beginning to tower above it’s neighbors.

pesto has become a topping on everything and anything (roasted potatoes especially).

and herbs such as peppermint and anise hyssop are being made into iced teas.

we are headed out on a camping trip this weekend to celebrate the solstice. The cooler is packed with kale chips, pesto pasta, bean salad with cilantro and peppermint tea. oh yes and a few raspberries for banana boats over the campfire.

Banana Boats

peel back one piece of banana peel.
scoop out a channel and eat.
fill channel with chocolate chips, nuts, and fresh berries.
pull peel back over and wrap whole banana in tin foil.
roast over fire until warm and gooey.
grab a spoon and enjoy

happy summer !

garden pesto

2011-06-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

every year, i like to try my hand at growing a few new plants. this year, one of those was arugula. i planted these arugula seeds practically as soon as the snow melted outside, which here in minneapolis was not until the third week in april. we've been getting so much lettuce so far this year (including some that has volunteered for the second year in a row, after i let it go to seed in 2009!) that i practically forgot to pick the arugula for salads. as some of it was starting to bolt, and as i was starting to think about planting the rest of my beans in their place, i knew i needed a recipe that would use up my modest arugula crop. pesto it was! this arugula pesto was delicious and simple to whip up after a long day at work. i based the recipe on my standard basil pesto recipe (which is vegan), with a few adjustments. i hope you enjoy it!

and next up...garlic scape pesto!

spring arugula pesto

ingredients:
2 cups (packed) fresh arugula leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
fresh ground pepper to taste

heat a small skillet over medium heat and toast the walnuts, stirring occasionally to make sure they don't burn. this should take about 10 minutes, or until they begin to smell fragrant (alternatively, this can be done in the oven if you already have it turned on-for about 10-15 minutes). put the arugula, garlic, and walnuts in a blender or food processor and blend until finely chopped. while the blender/food processor is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. add the salt and ground pepper to taste. this recipe made about 7 ounces of pesto, or approximately enough for 2 pounds of pasta.

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i'll admit i've been terrible at keeping up with my garden journal, but here are a few notes from the past week or two:
::lots of strawberries and lettuce are ready to be picked, and a few peas are ripe too!
::the peacevine and sungold tomato plants each have a few small green tomatoes, and most of the others are beginning to flower
::garlic scapes are appearing, must remember to pick them soon.
::i pulled out all the arugula, and radishes (only got a handful) and need to plant the rest of my beans there.
::harvested a few green onions for black sesame otsu, so delicious.
::the lavender is beginning to flower. my absolute favorite.

adding livestock to the backyard

2011-06-21T07:37:00.001-07:00

there is a new addition to our backyard garden. his name is basil, a holland lop rabbit. i have wanted to add a rabbit to the mix of things for awhile. their poop is a perfect source of natural fertilizer that can be added directly to the garden beds & with this kind of soil, we need all the help we can get.

once i started talking about my rabbit ideas, a friend offered to give me her hutch that was no longer in use. i placed the hutch under the shade of a tree, painted it & added some handmade curtains for extra shade. we also attached a fan to the side of the hutch. i've read that any temperature above mid 80 can be difficult for rabbits. in our area, a typical summer day can get up to the high 90s with very high humidity.

i also keep a frozen water bottle in the hutch to keep the rabbit cool during extreme heat. by doing just a couple of extra steps, we hope to adapt our rabbit to its climate & ensure its health.

throughout the last couple of months, i have researched the care of rabbits. the most helpful books i have found are-
storey's guide to raising rabbits
country wisdom & know-how
barnyard in your backyard

are there any other sources you recommend? also, do you have experience with rabbits? i would love to learn more!