You'll see a lot of the usual suspects from my previous veggie gardens. I have, however, decided that eggplant aren't worth the space for me. I love them, but they don't love growing in my garden.
I have also decided that I don't really like Swiss chard. I know, I know: it's "delicious" sauteed with olive oil, garlic & a squeeze of lemon. I've tried, in vain, to like it. Really, I have. This feels like a huge confession because any time I tell someone that I don't like Swiss chard, it's as if I said I don't like rainbows or chocolate. Perhaps I need to turn in my crunchy yuppie card?
And, finally, hot peppers are more useful for our purposes than sweet, so sweet peppers are out.
Nightshades
Tomato (Sungold)
Tomato (Black Cherry)
Tomato (Eva Purple Ball)
Tomato (Amy's Sugar Gem)
Ground Cherry (Cossack Pineapple)
Hot Pepper (Cherry)
Hot Pepper (Jalapeno)
Hot Pepper (Banana)
Hot Pepper (Trinidad Spice)
Hot Pepper (Fish)
Gourds
Winter Squash (Delicata Zeppelin)
Summer Squash (Dark Green Zucchini)
Pickling Cucumber (Edmonson)
Pickling Cucumber, Diamante
Pickling Cucumber, Homemade Pickles
Lettuces & Legumes
Pole Bean (McCaslan)
Pole Bean (Louisiana Purple Pod)
Bush Bean (Provider)
Lettuce (Deer Tongue)
Lettuce (Red Velvet)
Lettuce (All Season Butterhead Mix)
Lettuce (Romaine Freckles)
Arugula
Arugula (Even' Star Winter Arugula)
Bok Choy (Tatsoi Rosette)
Corn Mache
Kale ("Dinosaur"/Nero Toscana)
Mustard Greens
Root Vegetables
Onion (Yellow Borettana)
Potato (going to try to use a sprouting 'Vivaldi' I got from the farmer's market. these are seriously the most delicious potatoes I have ever tasted & the only places for seed seem to be the UK)
Potato (Purple Sweet)
Kohlrabi
Turnips
Carrots
Annual Herbs & Flowers
Borage
Purple Opal Basil
Thai Basil
Sweet Basil
Opal Basil
Cilantro
Nasturtiums
Marigolds
Pansy
Viola
Perennials from seed
Rosa chinensis 'Angel Wings' (This is just an experiment. It's supposed to be a very dwarf rose shrub.)
Achillea
Agastache rupestris/Sunset Hyssop
Aquilegia 'McKana Giants'/Columbine
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
2012: The Year of the Early Spring
Let's just pretend that I haven't been missing in action for 6 months. I know we've all had periods of insanity that allow push you into survival mode. While I can't promise that won't happen again, I can talk about my 2012 garden which I've already started.
That's right folks: Already started.
In fact, I've even direct sowed some lettuce and mache/corn salad outside. I figure, seed is cheap, and with this warm winter, I'm just wasting time and space if the garden isn't planted. I sowed that seed on Wednesday and there aren't any sprouts yet. It might be too cold still but it's worth a shot.
I've also started some kale and perennials indoors. Kale does OK in colder temps, so I'm going to put that out as soon as it's ready and I've got a bunch of ornamental planting to get done on a very small budget so starting perennials from seed will help that stretch a little.
Usually I've already agonized over my planting plan, figured out how many of each veggie I need to grow, and artfully arrange them as to maximize form and function. This year, I'm going to fly by the seat of my pants. Mrs. OCD is going to go with the flow. It's going to be insanity itself. The truth is I rarely follow my planting plan anyways. I always find another packet of seeds that I simply must use which throws everything off. This year, I'm going to embrace my natural tendencies and see where it takes me.
If you're seed starting for the first time & are a bit nervous, feel free to visit my previous posts on the subject. And, if you need a planting/seed starting guide for your edibles, I'm a big fan of the one created by the blogger at Skippy's Vegetable Garden. Just plug in your last frost dates; I use 4/15 for spring crops & 5/15 for summer ones usually.
That's right folks: Already started.
In fact, I've even direct sowed some lettuce and mache/corn salad outside. I figure, seed is cheap, and with this warm winter, I'm just wasting time and space if the garden isn't planted. I sowed that seed on Wednesday and there aren't any sprouts yet. It might be too cold still but it's worth a shot.
I've also started some kale and perennials indoors. Kale does OK in colder temps, so I'm going to put that out as soon as it's ready and I've got a bunch of ornamental planting to get done on a very small budget so starting perennials from seed will help that stretch a little.
Usually I've already agonized over my planting plan, figured out how many of each veggie I need to grow, and artfully arrange them as to maximize form and function. This year, I'm going to fly by the seat of my pants. Mrs. OCD is going to go with the flow. It's going to be insanity itself. The truth is I rarely follow my planting plan anyways. I always find another packet of seeds that I simply must use which throws everything off. This year, I'm going to embrace my natural tendencies and see where it takes me.
If you're seed starting for the first time & are a bit nervous, feel free to visit my previous posts on the subject. And, if you need a planting/seed starting guide for your edibles, I'm a big fan of the one created by the blogger at Skippy's Vegetable Garden. Just plug in your last frost dates; I use 4/15 for spring crops & 5/15 for summer ones usually.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Vermin 1, Me 0
I've been really sad about the garden. We're still getting masses of cukes and have had several tomatoes.
However, a bunny has found it's way into the garden & eaten my radicchio and some of the bean plants. This actually happened over a week ago & I'm just now able to talk about it without feeling simultaneously furious and sad. (Pathetic? Probably.) I've surrounded the lettuces with a barrier of marigolds & plan to replace the mesh upper with wood that can't be chewed through.
It's so sad when you lose living things that you've nurtured over months & months, ya know?
However, a bunny has found it's way into the garden & eaten my radicchio and some of the bean plants. This actually happened over a week ago & I'm just now able to talk about it without feeling simultaneously furious and sad. (Pathetic? Probably.) I've surrounded the lettuces with a barrier of marigolds & plan to replace the mesh upper with wood that can't be chewed through.
It's so sad when you lose living things that you've nurtured over months & months, ya know?
What a Rotten Day, So I Made Jam & Booze
Know what's not fun? Getting your purse stolen at your neighborhood grocery store while you're strapping your baby into their car seat. It's just unnerving when something like that takes a place you felt safe, ya know? I'm trying to think of this thief as someone that really needs the money and not someone targeting a mother distracted by her child which would just be heartless.
This trip to the grocery was to buy almond extract for Blue Chair Jam's Brandied Cherry Conserve. After all the required calls to credit card companies, filing a police report, and reporting my license stolen, I found comfort in the familiar and repetitive movements of making jam. (And, the Blanquette I had bought to celebrate overcoming an obstacle certainly helped as well, although this instead became a night of celebrating my blessings.)
Do you have the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook? If you've mastered basic jam making, I highly recommend it. The jams are a bit more time consuming and the ingredients are a bit more expensive but the result is a very interesting combination of flavors that turns the most ordinary morning toast a special treat.
My variation of her Brandied Red Cherry Conserve is meant to slap you in the face with cherry flavor. And, it certainly does! Besides being awesome on toast, try swirling this into your morning yogurt, top a bowl of vanilla ice cream or top a pound cake (especially a chocolate one!).
Brandied Cherry Conserve (makes about 6 half pints)
My variation of a Blue Chair Jam recipe
3 lb pitted and stemmed sweet cherries
1 1/4 lb sugar (make sure it's cane sugar...the cheap stuff is usually GMO beet sugar)
3 1/2 oz lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
2 oz dried currants
1/2 lb dried tart cherries, chopped
2 1/2 oz cherry brandy
3-4 drops of almond extract
3 cloves
Directions
1. Prepare your canner & jars (wash & sterilize them in 10 minutes of boiling water). Keep them in simmering water to stay warm.
2. Combine half the cherries with 10 oz of the sugar & half the lemon juice in a non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often, and cook until the cherries are softened (about 5 minutes). Turn off heat & let the cherries rest for 5 minutes. Using blender/food processor/food mill/immersion blender, puree the mixture & put through a fine mesh sieve, discarding (or eating!) any solids that won't pass through.
3. In a large bowl, mix your cherry puree, the rest of the cherries, the rest of the sugar, the rest of the lemon juice, the dried fruit, lemon zest, brandy and almond extract (so, everything remaining except the cloves). Let sit for 45 minutes at room temperature.
4. Put the macerated mixture back into your non-reactive pot & add cloves (preferable in a tea ball that you can easily get them out). Boil mixture, stirring to prevent sticking. Cook until jam reaches gel point (testing either checking temperature to see if it's 220*F or using frozen spoons/plate). This will be about 20 minutes. When jam has gelled, remove cloves.
5. Fill jars leaving 1/4" head space, wipe rims, screw on lids & process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let sit in bath for 5 minutes, off heat, afterwards & then remove. Check seal after jars have cooled.
Boozy Cherries/Cherry-Infused Brandy (makes 1 quart)
After making above jam, I still had oodles of cherries left over, thanks to Whole Foods' wonderful $2.99/lb organic cherries sale! After the day I had, more booze was necessary. Cherry-infused brandy it is! This will be great to drink as a cordial, spoon over ice cream, use in baking, give as gifts, etc. Plus, it's significantly easier than making jam.
1 lb stemmed cherries (you can pit too, but then you'd need more)
1 3/4c brandy (get mid-grade)
1/4 c sugar
1 thin strip of lemon peel (optional)
Amaretto (optional)
1. Clean & sterilize jar. Wash cherries.
2. Put cherries in jar. Pour over sugar & brandy. If using, add lemon peel and a splash of amaretto (note: Amaretto doesn't, according to my research, have enough alcohol to preserve the cherries, so just use a splash & do not replace the brandy with it). Make sure cherries are completely covered; if not, add more brandy.
3. Place lid & shake to dissolve sugar.
4. Set in a cool dark place for at least 3 months to mature.
This trip to the grocery was to buy almond extract for Blue Chair Jam's Brandied Cherry Conserve. After all the required calls to credit card companies, filing a police report, and reporting my license stolen, I found comfort in the familiar and repetitive movements of making jam. (And, the Blanquette I had bought to celebrate overcoming an obstacle certainly helped as well, although this instead became a night of celebrating my blessings.)
Do you have the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook? If you've mastered basic jam making, I highly recommend it. The jams are a bit more time consuming and the ingredients are a bit more expensive but the result is a very interesting combination of flavors that turns the most ordinary morning toast a special treat.
My variation of her Brandied Red Cherry Conserve is meant to slap you in the face with cherry flavor. And, it certainly does! Besides being awesome on toast, try swirling this into your morning yogurt, top a bowl of vanilla ice cream or top a pound cake (especially a chocolate one!).
Brandied Cherry Conserve (makes about 6 half pints)
My variation of a Blue Chair Jam recipe
3 lb pitted and stemmed sweet cherries
1 1/4 lb sugar (make sure it's cane sugar...the cheap stuff is usually GMO beet sugar)
3 1/2 oz lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
2 oz dried currants
1/2 lb dried tart cherries, chopped
2 1/2 oz cherry brandy
3-4 drops of almond extract
3 cloves
Directions
1. Prepare your canner & jars (wash & sterilize them in 10 minutes of boiling water). Keep them in simmering water to stay warm.
2. Combine half the cherries with 10 oz of the sugar & half the lemon juice in a non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often, and cook until the cherries are softened (about 5 minutes). Turn off heat & let the cherries rest for 5 minutes. Using blender/food processor/food mill/immersion blender, puree the mixture & put through a fine mesh sieve, discarding (or eating!) any solids that won't pass through.
3. In a large bowl, mix your cherry puree, the rest of the cherries, the rest of the sugar, the rest of the lemon juice, the dried fruit, lemon zest, brandy and almond extract (so, everything remaining except the cloves). Let sit for 45 minutes at room temperature.
4. Put the macerated mixture back into your non-reactive pot & add cloves (preferable in a tea ball that you can easily get them out). Boil mixture, stirring to prevent sticking. Cook until jam reaches gel point (testing either checking temperature to see if it's 220*F or using frozen spoons/plate). This will be about 20 minutes. When jam has gelled, remove cloves.
5. Fill jars leaving 1/4" head space, wipe rims, screw on lids & process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let sit in bath for 5 minutes, off heat, afterwards & then remove. Check seal after jars have cooled.
Boozy Cherries/Cherry-Infused Brandy (makes 1 quart)
After making above jam, I still had oodles of cherries left over, thanks to Whole Foods' wonderful $2.99/lb organic cherries sale! After the day I had, more booze was necessary. Cherry-infused brandy it is! This will be great to drink as a cordial, spoon over ice cream, use in baking, give as gifts, etc. Plus, it's significantly easier than making jam.
1 lb stemmed cherries (you can pit too, but then you'd need more)
1 3/4c brandy (get mid-grade)
1/4 c sugar
1 thin strip of lemon peel (optional)
Amaretto (optional)
1. Clean & sterilize jar. Wash cherries.
2. Put cherries in jar. Pour over sugar & brandy. If using, add lemon peel and a splash of amaretto (note: Amaretto doesn't, according to my research, have enough alcohol to preserve the cherries, so just use a splash & do not replace the brandy with it). Make sure cherries are completely covered; if not, add more brandy.
3. Place lid & shake to dissolve sugar.
4. Set in a cool dark place for at least 3 months to mature.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Under $2/lb!
After harvesting 4.75 oz of beans, 15 oz of lettuce and 2 lbs of cucumbers I'm at 41.66 lb harvested for the year and $1.97 cost/lb!
Those beans are sitting in the fridge waiting for inspiration, the lettuce is for lunch & dinner side dishes and the cucumbers are destined for pickles.
Those beans are sitting in the fridge waiting for inspiration, the lettuce is for lunch & dinner side dishes and the cucumbers are destined for pickles.
Recipe: Dill Bean Pickle
I'm a lover of all things vinegary and salty. If it's a bit garlicky and a tad spicy, all the better! Thus, I've been really wanting to try pickled green beans for awhile now. When I was faced with a pound of unneeded green beans from the garden, pickles it was!
For me, these are the perfect pickle, but you can add/subtract any dried spice (remember, though, it will get stronger as it sits) or leave out the garlic. Just make sure to keep the water/vinegar/salt ratio the same (this recipe is tried & true from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving). You can also just store these in the fridge instead of doing a boiling water bath if you're going to eat these relatively quickly.
Dilled Bean Pickle (makes 6 pints)
3 tbsp pickling or canning salt (*not* kosher or table salt)
3 c distilled white vinegar
3 c water
4.5 lb of green and/or yellow wax beans trimmed & cut into jar-length pieces
18 whole black peppercorns
6 cloves of garlic
dill seed
crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
1. Prepare jars & lids.
2. In non-reactive pot combine salt, vinegar & water. Bring to a boil over medium, stirring to dissolve salt.
3. Add green/yellow beans. Return to a boil & then immediately remove from heat.
4. In each jar put 1 clove of garlic, 3 peppercorns, a scant 1/2 tsp of dill seed and 1/4-1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. Pack in beans, leaving 1/2 in headspace at the top. Pour in liquid (keeping the headspace).
5. Wipe rim, place lid and ring and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. They are best if they are let to sit for at least a week (ideally more) to absorb the flavors.
For me, these are the perfect pickle, but you can add/subtract any dried spice (remember, though, it will get stronger as it sits) or leave out the garlic. Just make sure to keep the water/vinegar/salt ratio the same (this recipe is tried & true from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving). You can also just store these in the fridge instead of doing a boiling water bath if you're going to eat these relatively quickly.
Dilled Bean Pickle (makes 6 pints)
3 tbsp pickling or canning salt (*not* kosher or table salt)
3 c distilled white vinegar
3 c water
4.5 lb of green and/or yellow wax beans trimmed & cut into jar-length pieces
18 whole black peppercorns
6 cloves of garlic
dill seed
crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
1. Prepare jars & lids.
2. In non-reactive pot combine salt, vinegar & water. Bring to a boil over medium, stirring to dissolve salt.
3. Add green/yellow beans. Return to a boil & then immediately remove from heat.
4. In each jar put 1 clove of garlic, 3 peppercorns, a scant 1/2 tsp of dill seed and 1/4-1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. Pack in beans, leaving 1/2 in headspace at the top. Pour in liquid (keeping the headspace).
5. Wipe rim, place lid and ring and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. They are best if they are let to sit for at least a week (ideally more) to absorb the flavors.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Lots of Basil (and More Beans!)
I really need to get better at using the garden produce. It always comes as a surprise to me when something needs to be used & it really shouldn't be. I vow from this point forward to take stock in what will likely be ready to harvest *before* I go grocery shopping and meal plan accordingly!
The big disappointment is my onions. I think it's a little too shady for them & I planted them too close. They haven't really bulbed much and the leaves are dying back. The same story with my garlic! Alliums, what's with the hate?!?
Luckily, I have basil, beans & cucumbers to cheer me up! My cukes are taking over despite having a 6' tall trellis. There are probably a dozen or more baby cukes just on the tee-pee trellis. Pickles here I come! The beans are also doing well. I can't believe how much they produce. Of course, the lettuce & Swiss chard makes it hard to find them which means they are often a little too mature (but still edible). Oh, well.
The real hero, though, is basil. Good gracious, the basil! It was like 2' tall and definitely time to do a hard harvest (taking 2/3 of the plant). It ended up being over 10oz! I'm freezing most of it for winter use as there's no way we could eat that much basil in a few days (I need a break from pesto).
Totals for the past week are:
Basil 10.75oz
Cukes 4oz (not all pictured)
Beans 7.25 oz (not all pictured)
Onions 7.5 oz (not pictured)
Lettuce 2 lbs (!!! and there's still more...not pictured)
Kohlrabi 3 lb (this is all of it. not pictured)
Grand total for the year: 37.55
Not too shabby!
The big disappointment is my onions. I think it's a little too shady for them & I planted them too close. They haven't really bulbed much and the leaves are dying back. The same story with my garlic! Alliums, what's with the hate?!?
Luckily, I have basil, beans & cucumbers to cheer me up! My cukes are taking over despite having a 6' tall trellis. There are probably a dozen or more baby cukes just on the tee-pee trellis. Pickles here I come! The beans are also doing well. I can't believe how much they produce. Of course, the lettuce & Swiss chard makes it hard to find them which means they are often a little too mature (but still edible). Oh, well.
The real hero, though, is basil. Good gracious, the basil! It was like 2' tall and definitely time to do a hard harvest (taking 2/3 of the plant). It ended up being over 10oz! I'm freezing most of it for winter use as there's no way we could eat that much basil in a few days (I need a break from pesto).
Totals for the past week are:
Cukes 4oz (not all pictured)
Beans 7.25 oz (not all pictured)
Onions 7.5 oz (not pictured)
Lettuce 2 lbs (!!! and there's still more...not pictured)
Kohlrabi 3 lb (this is all of it. not pictured)
Grand total for the year: 37.55
Not too shabby!
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