Summer Butterflies

It’s winter, even if it’s a mild one, and I’m thinking about summer:

Shopping Trip on a Dreary January Day

This morning I went out to do some grocery shopping.   First stop was one of the locally owned local food stores.  I had hoped to get some decent looking greens, preferably dinosaur or lacinato kale or at least some collards.  No luck, even with the relatively mild winter and a number of local market growers having hoop houses, all that was available were some very small bunches of red russian kale, arugula and beet greens, the leaves of which probably did not exceed  4″.  I passed on those, then headed to the frozen meat case, wanting to stock up on local pastured no added anything beef and some bison burger.  (Another of my 2012 goals is to 100% swear off  industrially produced meat, have been about 80% there.)  I got a selection of beef stew meat, pastrami, ground 90/10, german bratwurst and liver.  These are mostly the less expensive options, I can stretch them into quite a few meals.  

The pastrami is amazingly super good, a bit pricey but I consider it a real treat.  I guess liver has gotten such a bad name hardly anyone buys it anymore ($2 a lb.)  It is, however, one of our favorite meals, served with lots of golden sautéed onions and mashed potatoes, green beans on the side.   I also picked up a pound of bison burger, I like to mix it with either lamb or beef burger to make meatloaves, which again, can go a long way. 

Growing up one of  my favorite meals was “hoppel-poppel”, ground meat or roast leftovers cooked with potatoes, onions and sometimes peppers.  It is still on my menu.   I was extremely fortunate to spend a good portion of my early years growing up on a traditional diversified  farm where we  had a house cow for milk,  beef cattle, sheep, hogs, a variety of poultry: chicken, ducks, geese.  For a while my dad even raised pea fowl and pheasants.   We also enjoyed venison,  abundant fish from the lakes and fruit and veggies galore!  We ate very well.

Polled Herefords

After my folks sold the farm and a brief “retirement” in Florida which they quickly tired of, they bought another smaller farm and soon had a new house cow, sheep, milk goats, chickens, a huge garden and a new orchard planted. They loved that life and worked the farm for another 25 years until both their deaths during a four-month period in 1994, only slowing down the last year or two. As I  lived within about 50 miles of them my family & I also benefited from the bounty / surplus. After their deaths I went vegetarian for well over a decade.  In the past few years I’ve come back to a more “Nourishing Traditions” style of eating, and have bought local pastured beef, bison, lamb and chicken for several years. The price has slowly crept up, which I can fully understand.  The bison burger, however, did include some sticker shock. When I started buying buffalo the burger was $5 / lb. The last time I purchased some at the Farmer’s Market it was $7.95 /lb., today the price was $9.23 / lb. 

Second leg of shopping trip: Went to another market, this one more of a “natural” and bulk foods establishment with a dab of local thrown in. I checked the price of bison burger there – $9.63 / lb.   My husband told me he’d heard a piece on the radio driving to work about bison ranching being a good gig these days.  There are three bison ranches in our region that I know of.  More power to them, it takes sturdy infrastructure and a brave soul to raise bison, they earn every penny I’m sure!  Also noted that several of the items I buy there regularly had also jumped in cost.  I’m quite unhappy that I have felt priced out of the raw pumpkin seed market for a while ($7.95 / lb.)

Next stop:  the $ Market (not the real name) , where I bought a couple of cheap dish towels and hot pads (yes indeed, they were $1 a piece and made in China, and I’m feeling somewhat guilty, slave or near slave labor seems  the only way that price is possible, another goal: gotta 100% swear off the Chinese made stuff.)  The $ Market is located in what is considered the poorer side of town, (where I live.)  It had been several months since I had been there, and several changes jumped out:  They had never before accepted MasterCard, today there was a large sign on the front door: “We now accept MasterCard!”. Upon entering I saw they had added a new section:  cheap wino type wines, Gallo, Boone’s Farm, etc. in a prominent location in the front of the food section.   At the check out the woman in back of me was purchasing a gallon of milk and asked the cashier if she could please double bag it as she was riding the bus.  The cashier replied, “Sorry, we are not allowed to do that any more.”  I did not need the flimsy plastic bag my cheap slave made dish towels were in (should have carried my cloth bag, more guilt) so I gave it to her.  To me those changes indicated that the $ Market Corp. was refining its marketing strategy and focusing in on a slowly downward sliding clientele, making it easier for them to purchase (addition of MCard), providing  new items that would appeal (cheap wine) and cutting costs (absolutely no more double flimsy plastic bags.)

The take away from my shopping trip was : #1 Motivation for doing a bigger/ better job of gardening.  I had been too lazy to go out and pick what was in my own garden, I knew there was some kale & mustard greens still growing under the light fluff of straw mulch, but expected to find something better at the local market.  Wrong.  #2 Make season extension projects a higher priority.  #3 The world is changing, even though it appears some sectors of the economy are perking up, others are definitely sliding south.  Things are not as they tell you on TV nightly news. (gasp! imagine that!) 

So, I came home, went out and picked kale, which we are having for dinner tonight.

Kale from the Garden

Looking Both Ways

Early on every child learns to look both ways before crossing the street.   To me the divide between the old and new year seems like a busy thoroughfare with everything from chemical laden trucks to cars carrying families with babies and grannys.  The potentials are wide open, best to look both ways - both reflection and planning seem appropriate.    2011 was a challenging gardening year, with difficult weather and more than usual hungry insect hordes.  The cycle of the seasons brings a new start,  an opportunity to implement whatever wisdom may have been gained, and new projects to take on.   

View across the garden

Our suburban garden, with cover crop on the first bed still green and growing. 

Mulched for the winter

Due to having way too much on our must be done lists taking priority, the hoop house for season extension did not go up this year.  Instead I planted fall greens very thickly, some of which are still viable under the loosely distributed straw mulch.  The two heaps of straw cover lavender plants.   Orange foliage in the middle section is the asparagus patch.  An updated hoop house will go up very early spring  for early planting season extension.  

New compost bin

Above is our gaudy new compost bin.  The plastic pallets came along with 275 gallon totes DH scored earlier this year for the water harvesting  projects.  It makes for a large contained area to throw in all sorts of compostables and helps keep both Toto and other critters out.    Most of my composting is done in windrows along the edges of the garden as a way to claim new space (glorified sheet mulching) .  This method takes a while and usually does not reach high temperatures.  I’m hoping that the more concentrated, taller pile within the blue confines will heat up better and provide compost to distribute where needed.

 

Totes for water harvesting

275 gallon totes that will be used for water harvesting from the roofs of  several buildings.  After a particularly bad wind storm several years ago that severely damaged the asphalt shingles on the house, we replaced it with a metal roof, a bit more expensive but should last longer, be more durable and great for water catching.   Last summer one tote was connected to one downspout that caught the rainfall from just a small portion of the roof, in the first 1/4″ rain event the tote was about 3/4 filled.   It was used as the experimental version to try different connection, pre flush and filtering options.  It is disconnected for the winter, the plan is to set up more this coming year, using what was learned from the first try.  Most possible locations are such that the water can be gravity fed to the gardens for irrigation. 

 

New garden area

This is an area that was covered in thick black plastic for much of 2011 in an effort to kill out the Bermuda grass.  Since we have several days of 50+ degree weather forecast, one of the things on tomorrow’s list is to remove the plastic and mulch with straw, hopefully giving the soil microorganisms a little better chance to repopulate before spring.  Solarizing with the plastic for a year does a good job of knocking out the Bermuda, but there is collateral damage to the micro life  in the soil.   It is located on a low spot on the property where there actually seems to be some fairly good soil, an unusual occurrence around here.  

 

My Dad's old garden spot

The other new project for 2012 is to begin helping with the garden on my folk’s old farm where my son now lives.  Last year it was worked for the first time in almost 20 years.  Despite the uncooperative weather a very successful cucumber crop and other veggies were grown. 

Old pond above the garden

Rehabilitation of the old pond above the garden is another planned project.

 

Other goals for 2012, some continously ongoing, not necessarily in order of importance:

• Good Health – maintain and encourage
• Learn every day, have an open mind, be teachable
• Spend as much time as possible outdoors
• Build soil
• Add to / diversify edible / medicinal plantings
• Produce as much food as possible
• Extend growing season
• Buy locally
• Reuse, recycle, repurpose
• Develop resiliency, minimize dependence on outside systems
• Breathe mindfully
• Love and value family and friends
• Forgive, let go, move on
• Be grateful for every day

 

A Happy New Year to All

 

Making Herbal Salves and Lip Balm

It’s time for last minute homemade Christmas gifts – last year the herbal salves seemed to go over quite well, so I decided to follow-up this year with more of the same and also give lip balm a try.  

Salve making ingredients

This past year the calendula produced beautifully and I was able to make over a quart of calendula infused oil.  Other oils from the garden used in the salve are comfrey, plantain and thyme.  All were infused using extra light olive oil.  Any number of oils can be used depending on the desired results and one’s pocketbook.  Avocado, jojoba, macadamia, coconut, almond and grape seed are all considered good skin oils.  For the salve I used approximately 50% calendula oil and 50% a combination of equal parts comfrey, plantain and thyme oil, all of which are traditionally considered to have soothing, healing, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial actions.    Beeswax was used to thicken the mixture and a few drops of lavender and tea tree essential oil for a pleasant scent and further healing qualities.

Double boiler setup

A double boiler works well to heat the oils and melt the beeswax.  I find a few canning jar rings helpful in the bottom pan to hold the top  pan level so water does not lap into the oil mixture. A chopstick is handy for stirring.

Warming ingredients

General proportions are 1 oz. oil to 1 tablespoon beeswax.  The hardness / softness of the finished product can be easily controlled by adjusting the proportions. 

Testing the thickness

To test the thickness of the salve I dipped a cooled knife in the heated oil and let it set up for a bit.  For a harder product add more beeswax, for a softer add more oil. 

Ready to fill containers

To pour the warm salve in containers I use a measuring cup with a spout.  A steady hand is helpful!  To add essential oils I’ve tried putting  a drop or two of the essential oil in the bottom of the container before filling or adding it to the warm oil just before pouring.   

Small tins for gift giving

The salve thickens as it cools.    I like small containers for gift giving.  I add a label to the side listing ingredients and glue a  decorative paper to the lid top.

Home use supply

For use at home (we go through a lot, especially in the winter) I use larger, usually 4 oz.,  recycled jars. 

Lip balm tubes

For lip balm the proportion of  beeswax is higher.   For the lemon coconut lip balm I used coconut oil, sunflower oil, beeswax and lemon essential oil.   For peppermint the ingredients were cocoa butter, almond oil, calendula infused oil, beeswax and peppermint essential oil.   The recipes and lip balm tubes were from Mountain Rose Herbs.  Since several of those on my Christmas list are self-declared commercial lip balm addicts I’ve very interested in their reaction and feedback on the herbal  home-grown / homemade variety. 

 

Fall Garden Review 2011

After a very challenging, hot and dry summer with multiple crop failures and disappointments, a  look at what’s happening around the garden this fall:

Cover Crop

One of the older beds, established 7 years ago and in need of rejuvenation.  After the addition of some compost and well aged horse manure it was planted with a cover crop of Austrian winter pea, hairy vetch and oats.  To the right is a row of comfrey, to the left the remains of asian long beans that grew on the fence.   In amongst the cover crop are some stray fennel plants that regrew after being cut down prior to the cover crop planting and at the far end echinacea is still blooming.    The raised bed edges are an assortment of boards in varying conditions.  The goal is to always use available at hand materials first.  Not glossy garden magazine fare, but certainly functional and at least to me has a certain charm.    

 

Asparagus bed

 

Asparagus bed, planted this spring.  They were watered with fair regularity and are one of the few plants that seemed to thrive through the incredibly hot and dry summer.   To the right almost out of view is a strawberry bed, a holding area for herbs to be transplanted next spring and a plot of the ayurvedic herb ashwaganda.  To the left kale, more mixed greens and behind the old “earth machine” composter given to us by my father-in-law.  It has been in use for over 15 years. The lid was actually lost for more than a year after a violent wind storm that blew the bin across the yard and into the woods.  Although the main parts were located fairly easily, I had given up on the lid until one winter day while poking around quite aways back in the woods – there it was.  I put  kitchen scraps not fit for the worm bins in it along with straw and  shredded newspaper.  Some years it develops quite a population of black soldier fly larvae.   It is relocated about once a year,  any finished compost distributed in the garden, unfinished put back in or in another pile.  The remaining soil underneath is then a prime planting spot.

Mixed greens

The lack of success with most summer crops was so disastrous and since fall crops were mostly planted when it was still hot and dry, I doubted they would fare much better so I sowed mixed greens very thick hoping for something, anything.  Miraculously – the results were beyond expectations and I’m considering the thick luscious greens as a glorious array of picking choices and bonus cover crop.

Rhubarb, hyssop and more greens

Calendula, chives, parsley, celery and sage in the second row, beyond that a row of mixed daikon and winter white radishes.  There were also french breakfast radishes interspersed and harvested during the early thinning process.  Currently I’m pulling a few white winter and diakon.  The radish row is  definitely  a cover crop and soil conditioner.  Most will stay in place through the winter to be harvested a few at a time as long as the weather permits.  The remainder will decompose in place, loosening soil and building biomass.

EMLA-26 apple rootstock with greens in background

Two years ago I attended a grafting workshop sponsored by the local Extension and came home with two apple trees, (Ozark Gold and Whetstone)  that were my first grafting practice.  They are on semi-dwarf  rootstock and the scion wood was from varieties developed by the State Fruit Experiment Station.   Amazingly both survived and even thrived and are now planted in our orchard.  

Last fall I ordered five EMLA-26 dwarf rootstock from Raintree Nursery and planted them on the lower edge of the garden.  Trees grown on  EMLA-26 will grow 8 to 14 feet tall, (depending on soil, climate and pruning), are hardy to -26 and should start producing in 2 to 3 years.   They have grown well, I now need to prune them back rather severely so they will develop suckers which can later be separated and harvested for grafting rootstock.   I’m really looking forward to working on grafting skills and being able to produce a variety of trees.  I hope to add to the types of rootstock I’m growing this coming year so experimenting with semi-dwarf and standard size trees will also be possible.  My dad said many times “you plant fruit trees for your grandchildren”, a statement that may be interpreted metaphorically as well as quite literally.   In the early / mid 70′s he planted 5 apple, 1 crabapple, 1 cherry and some plums on his small farm.  They were never sprayed or received much special care but produced abundantly for many years.    Unfortunately a tornado passed over the property (thankfully did not touch down) about 4 years ago and toppled all but one of the apple trees.  

 

Last remaining apple tree

 

My son now lives on the farm.    This one remaining tree produced a bumper crop this year,  my son’s girlfriend canned many many quarts of apple  products and I put up 13 pints of spicy chunky applesauce.   Being able to have access to and enjoy these apples engenders a tremendous gratitude for my dad’s efforts and a profound connection with him and the land.  

 

Establishing a Guild with the Pines

A small stand of short leaf pine which were purchased as seedlings from the Conservation Department  about 12 years ago.  They were about 6″ tall when received, spent their first year in pots, another two years planted in a friend’s backyard  before being relocated to their current location.   They are now a little over 20 feet tall.   Last fall we sheet mulched under them with newspaper, cardboard, compost  and a lot of leaves from the yard.  Since then I’ve been working to establish a guild of plants around them.  So far there is comfrey, yarrow, sage, mullein, 2 blueberries, lemon balm, echinacea, hyssop and daffodils.  I know, the challenges of acidity under pine trees, the blueberries should like it, as for everything else I guess I’m an experimenter and willing to just try and see what works.  

Calendula

The calendula, calendula officinalis, are at their best this time of year.   They do fairly well early in the year, barely hang on during the heat of the summer and jump back to life with huge  prolific blooms when it cools.   To me the calendula actually look like little suns come to earth, a good reminder that all plants are mainly embodied sunshine.   They’re tremendous pollinator attractors, and have many beneficial uses.  I’ve used the fresh petals in salads,  made infused oil, tinctures, and salves from the blossoms, added dried flowers to tea blends and spent way too much time just watching and enjoying them.    

Greens up Close

 The mixed green beds contain lettuces; mostly bibb types, also collards, kale, red korean mustard, turnips, beets, bok-choy, minzuna, tatsoi, arugula, curly cress, chard, and radishes.

 

 

Salad Ingredients

Garlic surrounded by greens

Garlic patch with parsnips on both sides and yet more greens.

 

Sheet mulching of orchard

Sheet mulching of the orchard area where the five oldest trees are located.  Newspaper, cardboard and straw laid down in the ongoing effort to squelch the bermuda grass, help retain moisture and build soil. 

 

View across the garden

 

Chickweed

The cooler weather has brought on a tremendous sprouting of chickweed in a newly disturbed area behind the house where a tree was cut down earlier this year.   Chickweed is one of my favorite wild edibles.  Chickweed pesto is one of the dinner ingredients tonight.   It is a cooling, soothing, healing herb and a tasty salad green. 

After all the extra watering,  insect damage, disease identification, angst, struggle and visions of famine that this summer’s growing season provided,  the fall bounty has brought with it much thankfulness and restored hope.  

Herbal Honeys

Assortment of herbal honeys

Thankfully we are able to buy honey from a local beekeeper / friend.  Raw unheated honeys are full of healing enzymes and are antibacterial and antioxidant.  The addition of herbal honeys to food and drink helps deliver the medicinal quailities of herbs.  Concern about the proliferation of adulterated or contaminated honey  is now wide spread. By having your own hives or buying from a trusted local source that worry is gone. 

For the first time I recently experimented with mixing up some herbal honeys.  My main source of  inspiration, information and recipes for this project is a favorite book,  The Herbal Kitchen by Kami McBride.   

A general guideline for proportions is 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dried herbs to 1 cup of honey.  Measure herbs on the low side if using for culinary purposes, more for theraputic.  Finely powdered herbs seem to work best.  If you use whole herbs they can either be left in the honey or strained out after gently heating the honey.  The method recommended in the book calls for heating the honey in a double boiler in a sterilized jar prior to stirring in the herbs. I omitted this step as I prefer to not heat the honey in order to preserve as many of the beneficial qualities as possible.  This is my first try at herbal honeys so my experience is limited, however so far I’m enthusastically pleased with the results.  Our favorite is the chai blend which contains cinnamon, coriander, clove, cardamom, ginger and black pepper.  A teaspoon or so in a cup of tea = instant chai.   The tumeric, ginger and cardamom blend is very heavy on tumeric.  I really like tumeric for its anti-inflamatory properties and have  found it to be very helpful with the sometimes problematic swollen and painful joints in my hands.  Previously I’d just stirred tumeric in honey to form a very stiff paste and taken it in that manner, which actually works fine.  Now I have a tasty blend that can easily be stirred in tea or added to yogurt.  The vanilla bean and rose petal honeys are not in regular use as yet.  I believe they need some time for the flavor to develop.

Herbal honeys can also be used on hot cereals, toast, waffles, anywhere one would use jam or syrup, as a baking ingredient, in salad dressings and sauces. 

This post appears on Frugal Ways Sustainable Days Wednesday Blog Hop – check it out – lots of great posts from a variety of blogs.

A Cheap DIY Greenhouse on the Wish List

One of my favorite podcasters, Jason, also known as The Self-sufficient Gardener, has started a new website – DIY Cheap Greenhouse  

 This is information I need, especially after recently looking at several locally made greenhouses. One was 8×15, built on skids, so portable, with single layer poycarbonate,  nothing fancy, but nice, at a discounted, not cheap,  price of $2200.  The other was smaller, with double wall polycarbonate, price $2800.   And also  having last years hoop house demolished by winter weather!   Jason will be adding content regulary on all kinds of cheap do it yourself season extending projects. 

Years ago we built a small 5 x 10 addition onto the end of my pottery studio using an assortment of old windows.  I was able to grow an incredible number of plants in that small space.    Now that we’re in a different location plant starting takes place in front of south facing windows with a little help from three grow lights.  An inordinate amount of time is spent turning and shifting plant trays so seedlings grow evenly.  The available southern exposure is limited in size and as plants grow and it warms a bit the task of shuffling them outside and in can be labor intensive and also risky when unexpected cold or rain hits.   A new cheap build it ourselves greenhouse is hovering close to the top of my wish list so I’ll be checking DIY Cheap Greenhouse often for ideas and inspiration.

Growing and Harvesting Amaranth

Amaranth is an ancient crop, originating in the Americas,  that has been cultivated  for millenia.  The largest acreage grown was during the height of the Aztec civilization in Mexico in the 1400′s.   Research on grain amaranth began in the U.S. in the 1970′s.  Robert Rodale saw the enormous nutritional potential of  amaranth and made it a  priority research subject at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania.  The National Academy of Sciences also evaluated it, and in 1989 published “Lost Crops of the Incas”. 

 Today there are several thousand acres in commercial production in this country.  It is also grown in China. Nepal, India, East Africa,  Mexico and Central America.    A traditional use of amaranth in Mexico is to mix popped amaranth with molasses or honey to make a  snack cake.  In China it is grown extensively for hog forage.

There are many different varieties of amaranth, some are popular ornamentals and others edible.  One popular variety is Hopi Red Dye, which was traditionally used by the Hopis as a ceremonial food dye to produce red cornbread. 

 The variety I chose to grow is Golden Giant (Amaranthus hypochondriacus).  Amaranth grain is an excellent source of high quality protein (14 to 17%).  It can be used as a leafy vegetable when picked in its early stages,  also as a forage crop.   It has not been tampered with genetically and is usually organically grown.  Amaranth has naturally high amounts of dietary fiber, iron and calcium as well as other vitamins and minerals and  is low in fats.  It is a good choice for people with gluten intolerance and grain allergies.   Amarnath can be popped making a very mini popped grain, ground into flour for use in baked goods or cooked much the same as rice or quoina.  My favorite use is to toast the grain in a dry cast iron skillet, bringing out the nutty flavor,  adding about a quarter cup to bread making recipes.

Giant Golden Amaranth

The picture above gives some scale to the height of the plants.  I’m a tad over 5 feet and my guess is the giant golden amaranth topped out at least twice that.      Amaranth is a widely adapted  and can be grown throughout the Midwestern and Western U.S.  It is somewhat drought-tolerant, but needs adequate moisture to get established. It is sown when danger of frost is past,  barely covering with soil due to the small size of the seeds.   To encourage large plants it’s best to eventually thin to about a foot or two apart.  Amaranth likes warm temperatures, a good amount of sunlight and requires a fairly long growing season, 100 to 110 days to maturity.  I’ve read it’s best to wait until after frost to begin harvest so that the plant material will be dry, however that needs to be balanced with the fact that the seed is not held tightly in the plants and will readily fall as it dries out.  

Stalks blown over by wind

Late in the summer as the plants became top-heavy it took only a moderate wind storm to topple the tall amaranth.  Even though it was weeks before the average first fall frost date I decided it was time to harvest.   There was  quite a bit of seed that appeared ready but also moisture content that required further drying.

 

Some of the seed heads hung to dry on a rack that was left in the sun during the day and brought in at night.

 

Alternate drying method

The remainder were laid on a hardware cloth table covered with a sheet (to catch any grain that fell but still allow some air circulation)   It took several weeks for the plants to reach what I considered dry enough to thresh.

 

Rubbing seed heads to remove amaranth grains

The first thing  tried was vigorous rubbing of the seed heads.  Gloves were required because the chaff  was quite rough and prickly at this stage.   Not really satisfied with this,  an alternate  method was tried.

 

Separation of grain from seed head

 Several large, low plastic containers were positioned under the hardware cloth and the seed heads agitated on it to loosen the grain.  This worked pretty well.

 

Sieving through colander

Next step was sieving with a colander to separate the grain and chaff. 

 

Putting the chaff and grain through a finer sieve

As there was still a fair amount of chaff left,  it was run through a finer kitchen sieve.

 

Winnowing

Lastly the grain was  poured from one to container to another, letting the breeze carry away the remaining chaff.  I did end up with very clean grain, but lost a fair amount in the process.  Over the next few weeks quite  a bit sprouted up in the area where I’d been working.  From about 14 plants the final tally was a little over 4 lbs. clean grain.  Different sources indicate that expected harvest is from several ounces to one pound per plant.  

 

 

 Golden Giant amaranth is a stately, beautiful plant. The late afternoon sun shining through the ripening seed heads is a lovely sight.  Especially with the benefits of high protein grain and good source of greens, it is a crop well worth growing.  

 

 

Harvested amaranth grain

Fall garden – and some gourmet mixed baby salad greens

Gourmet mixed baby salad greens

After a very hot, dry and challenging summer growing season – a little bit of salad lovers delight – 15 minutes after harvesting.  Can’t get much fresher than that!  This was from plantings of mixed lettuces, spinach, minzuna, tatsoi and other asian greens, beets, kale, mustard and more that was broadcast thickly about 3 – 4 weeks ago.  Other than about 3 days of good rainfall, fairly frequent watering was required to get them eatablished.  The temperatures have been near perfect -  mid 70′s to mid 80′s during the day and  40′s – 50′s at night.  The scattered orange topping is calendula flower petals.   With this salad on the table I feel as though we’re dining in a fancy schmancy very expensive restaurant!

 

Baby greens growing in garden

The greens were harvested with scissors, cutting about 1″ above the ground.  If all goes well they will regrow and be a “cut and come again” crop good for several shearings.   As they continue to grow I will also do some selective thinning and hopefully end up with some well spaced larger plants that will survive into early winter.   In this climate (zone 6b) some years there has been harvestable spinach and other greens into early January with no added protection from the elements.

 

Row of greens

There are several  beds scattered throughout the garden planted with this or similar greens mixes, about 96 square feet total, so I’m hoping for a goodly salad supply  for a while.

 

Mixed radish row

 

Above is a row of mixed radishes, mostly daikon and white winter radishes planted as a cover crop and also to add biomass and  help loosen the soil in an area where it seemed somewhat compacted. My plan is to harvest a few radishes but allow most to decompose in the ground.  There are also some french breakfast radishes scattered throughout.  Picked a nice batch of them today as part of thinning the patch somewhat to encourage some giant size daikons.

 

Parsley

Lush parsley.  To the right is a volunteer redbud tree.  Several have sprung up this year, I’m  debating whether to leave a few to grow at least for a few years to provide some much-needed shade in the garden during the hot dry summer season.  There are several mature eastern redbuds on the property next door, however this is the first year to see volunteers in the garden.  Perhaps conditions were just right.  I understand they can occasionally reseed readily and become a nuisance,  requiring either  pulling out while very young or serious digging out of the roots.  Surprisingly, redbud is a member of the Fabaceae, (pea or legume family) and has the ability to fix nitrogen from the air to use as a nutrient.  

Redbud can also sometimes  be a valuable source of nectar for honey production.

Swallowtail larvae on parsnip greens

A late season swallowtail larvae on parsnip leaves.  I’m waiting until after frost to harvest the parsnips.  They are a favorite root vegetable, but somewhat hard (at least for me) to grow.  They take quite a while to germinate and seem to need a lot of tending and thinning early in the year.  If a stand gets established they are then very hardy.  

Given this summer was so harsh and the growing conditions so difficult it is a tremendous relief and blessing to see the fall garden coming on so well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garlic Planting

Garlic rows just planted

Just got the fall planting of garlic in the ground, it will start growing this fall, languish through the winter, complete its life cycle next year, and be ready to harvest in late July or August of 2012.    This is my second year to grow garlic.  One row is Elephant Garlic, large, mild cloves, my favorite.  This year’s harvest yielded enough to plant the row, use some fresh (still have a few cloves left) plus dehydrate enough to fill a quart jar.   Another 2/3 row is from a bag I purchased at Lowe’s, not labeled as to what kind, soft or hardneck, nothing beyond “garlic” but the cloves looked very plump and healthy so I’ll give it a try and see what happens.  The remainder is from garlic I grew last year, again not sure of the type, beyond “garlic”.  My understanding is that most supermarket garlic is softneck, due to its being easier to grow and keep longer.  Softneck garlic is used to make the familiar braids.  Hardneck garlic has a “scape” or stalk, which grows from the top,  often considered a gourmet delicacy. Hardneck garlic has fewer, larger cloves and less outer skin, which reduces their shelf life. Perhaps in the future I will become more of a garlic connoisseur and try some named varieties of both hard and soft necked garlic.  Even though I have looked over the offerings in garden catalogs the high cost has so far prevented purchase.  I’m pretty satisfied with the varieties I grew last year, and hope to be able to continue propagating them on an increasing scale.

Garlic cloves in red wine vinegar

After this years harvest, some of the regular (probably softneck) garlic did not exhibit good keeping qualities, so the good ones I peeled and put in red wine vinegar, keeping them in the fridge,  handy for easy access when a clove or two is needed.   

The herbal actions of garlic include antimicrobial and immune enhancing qualities, cardiovascular protectorant, and blood sugar regulator (increases insulin levels).