Veggie Garden-June Update

Well, almost everything is in. I still want to get some eggplant, onions, and some more herbs, but as of right now we have planted:

Pickling Cucumber

Burpless Cucumber

Butternut Squash

New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin

Baby Blue Hubbard Squash

Watermelon

Sugar Snap Peas

Red Bell Pepper

Green Bell Pepper

Yellow Banana Pepper

Zucchini

Parsley

Basil

and 7 varieties of tomato

Steven wondered if it's a little overkill on the tomatoes, but since all but one of the varieties were started at home from heirloom seeds, I wasn't quite sure how many would germinate or how well they'll produce.

While there's plenty more work to be done, it's nice to see the improvements since we moved in almost TWO YEARS AGO. (Where has the time gone???)

Changes/additions since last year include rototilling the remaining jungle-esque portion of the bed, removing an errant Norway maple tree, and adding a compost tumbler. We also split the bed up into 4'x4' mini beds (a la Square Foot Gardening) with a straw lined center aisle, and will be adding some trellising along the northern perimeter to try and grow the cucurbits vertically. We added a significant amount of organic matter by tilling in last year's mulched leaves and compost purchased in bulk, but I still think the soil is a little..bleh...so we plan to do this yearly.

I'm happy to report that there are already quite a few veggie plants blooming and/or sporting little baby veggies, so I'm hoping this year brings a bountiful harvest. (All I'm asking for is improvement over last year...and some fun, funky tomatoes!)

2011 Garden Planning

One peek at the mountain of snow outside and this post might seem a little premature. But spring will be here before we know it (seriously, how is it already the end of January???) and I'm already starting to think about this year's veggie garden.

I've been flipping through the seed catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I just can't get over all of the amazing varieties of vegetables. So far I've picked out a couple types of tomato seeds to order.

The "Egg Yolk" tomato...

...reportedly a great producer, with a rich fruity flavor.

The Black Cherry Tomato...

...with that super flavor unique to "black" tomatoes.

And the Pineapple Tomato...

...which grows up to 2 lbs in size and tastes awesome! (I had one of these last summer, and I couldn't believe how juicy and fruity it was.)

I've also checked out a couple books on intensive gardening since last year, and discovered that my plan to "improve" my garden by making better rows is actually counterproductive. From what I've gathered so far, this book is the bible of intensive gardening:

Essentially, it proposes that designing a garden in rows is not only a poor use of space, but also requires more weeding and more water. Basically, it's inefficient. The logic is pretty compelling (as are the supporting stats), so I think we're going to try and split the garden up into quadrants this year and also follow the suggestion to use more vertical space by planting more climbing plants (such as vine green beans and indeterminate tomatoes).

I definitely need to look into it more, but that's where we're leaning right now.

And just for some fun, take a look at these awesome/funky varieties of veggies I found in the seed catalog:

*Shamrock Squash*

*Plum Lemon Tomato*

*Ananas Noir Tomato*

*Japanese White Egg Eggplant*

*Cannibal Tomato EGGPLANT*

Aren't they cool?

*All images via Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds*

Grape Harvest

Last year, Steven discovered a grapevine hidden in all the weeds of the then neglected veggie garden and just threw it up and over a nearby bridal wreath spirea to get it out of the way. This spring, we were delighted to see that it had set fruit! (Apparently this will never happen if the vine is lying on the ground, regardless of how healthy it is.) All summer I've been checking, checking, checking the progress...and yesterday, when I approached the vine and inhaled that sweet ripe grape scent, I knew it was time to grab a bowl, some clippers, and Steven.

I figured we wouldn't actually get enough grapes to make anything significant, maybe just a grape syrup to use in spritzers or something, but we ended up with a total of ~4 lbs! Most grape jelly recipes I've seen call for 5 lbs, so it would be totally feasible to make jelly out of our own backyard grapes! How adorable is that?

BTW, not sure what kind they are. Any guesses? Of course Concord is the go-to answer, but I think they seem a bit sweeter...

Anyways, we were downright charmed by this harvesting process, and kept the momentum going in the veggie garden, where things are winding down...just as they got going. (Note to self: start earlier next year!)

We ended up picking most of the acorn squash (6), even though they could have hung out for a bit. Powdery mildew had become an issue about 1 month ago, and although it supposedly only damages leaves, I was paranoid about losing the fruits that I had lovingly nestled in straw, and creepily stalked for months, LOL!

So hopefully I'll get a chance to play in the kitchen this weekend, in between coats of paint. I'm shooting for just one of the following: grape jelly, tomato sauce, eggplant bruschetta, or acorn squash risotto...

Veggie Garden Today

I wanted to share the most recent pictures of our first veggie garden.

It's looking pretty good, I'd say. There are a bunch of green tomatoes (not so much as a *hint* of red on any of them)...hurry up!!!! :)

The eggplants have really started blooming & producing, and the acorn squash...well, it's taking over the lawn.

The plant I thought was a cantaloupe has itsy bitsy little babies on it and it turns out it's actually a CUKE. (upgrade!) There are 2 leeks and 1 green bean plant that managed to make it through a rather rough start, and the celery root looks good.

In general, it's been mostly a SUMMER SQUASH harvest so far, with a green pepper here, eggplant there...

But I did just pick this honker of a kohlrabi!

So all in all, we're pretty happy with the garden. I already know I'll do a bunch of things differently next year (MORE compost, do a better job hardening off the seedlings, more green beans, fewer squash*, better rows, etc.)...but it's been fun this year and I'm just glad we have anything growing! I can't wait for some tomatoes!

*The majority of the squash was given to us by "the garden fairy". For a couple of weeks in the early summer, I'd go out to the garden and find pots of seedlings left on the edge of the veggie patch...no note, no indication of who left them, nothing. Just offerings. My mom and MIL both denied dropping them off. Despite the mysterious nature of their origins, I planted *almost* all of these mystery plants, not knowing what they were, just that they looked like a squash/melon/maybe cuke? I said to Steven "I sure hope we like whatever I just planted 12 of...."

Then one day our neighbor in the back, whom I don't know, stopped by as I was checking out the garden (and yammering on my cell) and told me that HE was the garden fairy. well, he didn't use that term...He told me what they were (summer squash and acorn squash), didn't say much else, and I haven't seen him again. It was kinda funny...such an overtly friendly gesture from a rather reserved person. Anyways, he'll be finding a basket of squash on his porch any day now...

Eggs Benedict

A couple of weeks ago, a froworker (friend+coworker=froworker!) offered me her Siena Farms CSA share as she was going to be out of the country and wouldn't be able to use it. I was happy to help her out. :)

Of course the first thing I thought when I rifled through the box of produce I received was "What am I going to do with all this stuff?" Then I remembered that Gesine Bullock Prado of Confections of a Closet Master Baker, had just posted a recipe for eggs benedict featuring sauteed swiss chard on her other blog, Living in Freegrace.

We love us some benedict and had some lovely rainbow chard in the CSA box, so...no brainer.This was my first time making hollandaise from scratch, and I was actually really surprised at how simple it was. Egg yolks, butter, salt, lemon juice, pepper...and blend.

A perfect weekend brunch!

Veggie Garden

One of the things that I immediately loved about our house was the yard and all of its possibilities....particularly the possibility of taking a stab at a legitimate vegetable garden. (Though at first viewing, that "possibility" was more accurately described as a wildly overgrown rectangular patch of yard, with some rhubarb peeking through the jungle leaves.)

Both my mother and grandmother are avid gardeners, so I grew up eating lots of fresh from the garden produce, which we all know blows anything from the grocery store clear out of the water. Now I want that sun-ripened goodness in MY backyard.

Side note: last year was one of the first years that the two of them collaborated on the same veggie garden. Saying it was on a whole new level is an understatement. Exhibit A:

A parsnip from their garden...yes, a PARSNIP...the thing that usually looks like a white carrot. It took me 4 meals to use it up!

Anyways, in late May, Steven and I grabbed some machetes (okay,okay, we rented a rototiller) and attacked our weed patch, mixed in some composted horse manure, and got ready for some planting.

*In the beginning...*

*Digging In*

*Final product*

We initially left that bush there in the middle because we were hoping that it was something exciting...maybe a currant, or gooseberry, or even hazelnut? But then I saw the very same bush, growing very weedlike and haphazardly on the periphery of a gas station lot. I nixed it about a week ago.

Also, you can see that we didn't touch the last quarter of the veggie patch this year. It's full of Siberian iris that we hope to transplant, as well as home to a haphazardly growing, but productive, grapevine. We're going to address that last section in the fall.

I'll update soon with a current picture of the garden, but here's the current roll call:

-3 varieties of tomato

-eggplant

-bell peppers

-italian peppers

-hot peppers*

-leeks

-kohlrabi

-celeriac

-parsley

-lovage

-yellow summer squash

-acorn squash

-green beans

-cantaloupe

-rhubarb, strawberries, mint, and a grapevine leftover from the previous owners

*I picked these babies up at the garden center because I thought they looked "cute". Turns out that this type of hot pepper--Scotch Bonnets--are among the hottest chili peppers in the world. So much for my quaint little visions of fresh salsa...

Till next time, (get it? get it? ha!)

LT

P.S. A grateful shout out to my mom and grandmother, who supplied the vast majority of the seedlings for this year's garden, as well as numerous other cuttings, and my brother for the horse manure...Muchas gracias!

Leftover Pizza

One of my favorite ways to "resource manage" is to make Leftover Pizza. It's a great way to use up any any odds and ends of veggies, cheese, and (pizza-appropriate) meats. I generally roast the vegetables with some salt and olive oil first (not only does it make the veggies taste extra good, but it keeps the pizza from being too wet), and we try to always have some pizza dough stashed in the freezer, ready to go. Our favorite is Portland Pie Company's whole wheat dough, made in Portland, ME and carried by our local Hannie's (Hannaford).

Yum.

We have Create TV!

The other day, I sent Steven an email with the following subject line:

I'm so happy, I could weep.

The cause of my excitement? I discovered that we DO have the Create TV channel as part of our cable service. I used to watch this channel all the time when we had free digital TV in Salem, but couldn't find it when we moved. Now I'm catching up on all my favorite travel, cooking, gardening, and home improvement shows, such as:

*Cultivating Life is a great (Rhode Island based--woot, woot!) show that focuses on outdoor living, gardening, cooking and entertaining*

*EQUITREKKING. Traveling the world on horseback...need I say more?*

*Everyday Food. Part of the Martha Stewart empire, this show shares simple and fresh recipes for everyday cooking.*

I can't get enough!

Garden Updates

I'd be lying if I said that I don't spend a lot of time fantasizing about our garden plans for next year. Hopefully we do the fantasies justice, but for now, I've got visions of gorgeous ripe heirloom veggies, fresh cut flowers, and well-shaped flowering bushes dancing around in my head. Here's a little bit of what I'm thinking...

Veggie Garden. The weather was just too nice last weekend for me not to put in some time in the yard, so I spent a couple hours turning over our giant weed patch. Word is, it was once a prolific veggie garden...and our goal is to revive it next summer. I managed to completely weed and turn over about 1/3 of the area, something like a 4'x8' patch. My hamstrings were none too happy about the task, but I was very pleased to see beautiful, dark, rich soil--full of earthworms--when I turned over that first fork full of earth. In fact, it was so rich that I suspect it needs to be lightened up a bit...the fresh dirt was pretty densely packed again after only being stepped on a couple of times.

And speaking of footprints...

On Sunday, I went out to do some more manual labor in the (future) veggie garden, and what do I see, but dainty little hoof prints tracked right through the middle of the section I had turned over the day before. Seriously? Out of the entire 1/2 acre yard, the little darlings prance right through the one tiny area that reflects my intentions for next year, the night after I work on it? Obviously, these are mafia deer, and this is my warning. Which brings me to the...

Raspberries. After finding irrefutable evidence that there are evil deer lurking about, I went to check on the raspberry plants I planted during our September staycation. Sure enough, all of the leaves on the top 1/2 of the plants were gone. Anyone know any good deer repellents? This is NOT something I thought I'd have to worry about in such a suburban/urban environment!

The Greenhouse. I went spelunking in the greenhouse for the first time a couple weeks ago, as it was finally cold enough for me to expect zero interference from angry wasps. I thought it was so cool! Upon opening the door, you go down 3 steps to the recessed lane between the actual dirt beds, which are at ground level. This makes it possible to work the beds standing up, and I found some perfectly-proportioned tools lying around in there. I also discovered that it has 3 pop up windows, presumably for air quality control (?). The only glaring negative about it is that the corrugated plastic sheets that make up the walls are in pretty shabby condition. Sure, they're translucent, but just barely. Anyways, I love it and I think it would be an awesome way to grow a nearly year round supply of greens...arugula, romaine, boston lettuce, mesclun mix, spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc. Wouldn't that be sweet?

The Mystery Plant that I blogged about here has been loosely ID'd, based on a similar plant seen at a garden center. We now believe it to be a Rose Mallow, a type of Hibiscus. While our bush did develop a bunch of flower buds, it had a late start this year, and the cold weather came before they bloomed. Can't wait to see what they look like next year!

The Master Plan. I've convinced Steven that we (well, HE, being the landscape architect and all) should make a full on, professional grade master plan of our yard next year. As it stands right now, we're not sure what is growing where, but we've been told that the yard is full of blooms in the spring. The idea is that we'll enter plants into the master plan as we discover them. That way, we can work in the yard without fear of accidentally digging something up, and we can identify spots to plant more plants (I'm dying to put in some snowball white hydrangeas!). So far, I know we have peonies, roses, lupine, yarrow, phlox (both garden and creeping), poppies, rhododendrons, azaleas, the rose mallow, lilies, siberian iris, day lilies, foxglove, columbine, and these mums, which bloomed recently:

Winter Plans. Among all of the other things we found in the house when we moved in was an Amaryllis. I'm determined to get this puppy to bloom this winter, so I'm following the forcing procedure I found on this website. I'm also going to attempt to propagate the impatiens my grandmother gave me this summer, so that I'll have several of them to plant next summer. This is allegedly very easy to do--just take cuttings, place them in water until they sprout roots, and then pot them. Yeah, we'll see.

Lastly, I'm in desperate want of a compost tumbler, but I have cold feet when it comes to choosing one. I'm thinking this one, simply because of the positive reviews. I'll need to decide soon, though...I want to compost all the fallen leaves in the yard.

Okay, that's it...feel free to share any gardening tips or product recs!