November in the Veggie Garden

Goodness... November is nearly over, and I haven't done my garden post. Life has been busy, even with my gardening work greatly reduced. My November garden looks empty, compared with previous months, but there's actually lots growing now. This autumn's weather has been the nicest in the seven years I've lived in East Tennessee. The first light frost didn't hit my garden until Nov. 10th, with a heavy frost one week later… late for our zone. Day length is short, but the leaves are off the trees so the garden gets lots of warmth from the sun. The warm weather crops have been dug up and added to the compost bin, and I've covered tender plants when the temps dipped below 32. I'm not certain about  some new things I've planted surviving the cold, but they will be on their own from now on, I'm not going to bother covering them any more. Here are the details:

1. BEETS - The chioggia heirloom beets went to seed and replanted themselves, so I"ve been harvesting both the roots and the greens continually. The heirloom "bull's blood" beets which I planted from seeds didn't germinate real well, but I have about a dozen plants growing so I've been harvesting the leaves for salads. I'd like to let them reseed, but I'll need to be sure both varieties don't flower simultaneously or I won't get new plants true to the parent.
2. LEMON GRASS - I moved the biggest clump of lemon grass to this part of the garden, and I also planted a clump in my "surplus garden" where I can let it grow without restriction. I am not certain it is winter-hardy here, so I've also taken a pot inside and it's growing well enough for me to harvest leaves occasionally… this way I'll have some to replant outside in spring if necessary.
3. STRAWBERRIES - The main strawberry bed is still looking very healthy, and I bought some half-price Halloween straw to nestle around the plants, protecting them better from the winter cold. I loved my strawberries, and I want to be sure they produce next spring!
4. CALENDULA - Also known as "pot marigold", the pretty yellow and orange flowers of the calendula are medicinal as well as edible. My summer plants bloomed profusely and I must have been neglectful in removing spent blooms, since I discovered many seedlings at the end of the summer. I organized them in a small patch, surprised that they would grow in fall. Mother Nature has her own tools for keeping growth to specific seasons; some seeds can lay on the ground for months, needing the freezing and thawing process to prepare them for warm weather growth. I had thought of calendula as a summer plant, like french marigolds, but this self-seeding might prove me wrong. In the meantime, I have some color in the garden, and I can harvest the petals, extract their vital components in oil, and create some nice salves and lotions with the filtered oil.
5. BRUSSELS SPROUTS - The four seedlings planted a few months ago all have formed lovely little brussels sprouts at the intersections of the main stem and each leaf. A little cold is supposed to "sweeten" them, so I am anxious for harvesting soon! The plants I started from seed are still alive, but only a few inches tall, so I should have started them much earlier… next year I'll know better.
6. ROMAINE - All the lettuce I started from seed is doing well, although everything grows much more slowly this time of year. Our occasional salads have been wonderful. Most recently I mixed lettuce greens, the dark red bull's blood beet leaves, the last tomato which ripened on the kitchen window sill, the last of the sweet green/red peppers, some crunchy sliced raw jerusalem artichokes, and fresh sprouts (alfalfa, clover, broccoli) grown in a jar indoors. Topped with my homemade Olive Garden style dressing it was a great meal. Lettuces can generally withstand temperatures as low as the mid 20's. I've also planted some in the cold frame, along with a few bull's blood beets, spinach and parsley.
7. KALE - I haven't witnessed a return of the "woodchuck" type critter spotted eating my sweet potato vines in October, but something ate the gorgeous curly leaves off my kale plants. To protect them from further damage, I have covered them with the collapsable net hampers which I used last summer to ward off fleas from my eggplants. So far it's working, and I just pull up the stakes to harvest leaves.
8. SPINACH - I love spinach, and I've now got it growing well in many areas of the garden, some still too small to show up well in this photo. This is one plant I know grows continually all winter, although slowly, and then takes off fast once the days lengthen in February. Yum!
9. PARSLEY - The curly and flat leaf parsley will likely grow all winter too, and since the onions have strong green tops I can harvest and I still have mint in the herb garden I plan to try using dehydrated tomatoes to make some taboulli.

OTHER GARDEN NOTES:
SWEET POTATOES - I had only planted half as many sweet potato hills as last year, since I was overloaded, but my harvest this year was very disappointing. I am blaming it on the grasshoppers, zapping the energy from the plants to grow more leaves instead of roots.

WINTERING OVER PLANTS - Where I have empty space in the vegetable garden, I have submerged some potted outdoor plants in the soil. Plants in pots are more susceptible to freezing, but burying them gives added protection. I've done this with a lilac bush I had rooted during the summer as well as with some chrysanthemums. By spring the temperatures will be warm enough for me to dig them up and plant them in permanent locations.

HORSERADISH - Two years ago I bought a big ugly horseradish root from the supermarket and planted it in the veggie garden. It grew! Beware: it can be very invasive. So this spring I replanted the major root elsewhere, where it can flourish, and I kept digging up all the little volunteers which popped up. It grew vigorously all summer and I've dug up some roots recently. I'll do a later blog post on how I've preserved some of this spicy condiment.

HERBS - Many of my herbs, besides the parsley and fennel still growing in the vegetable garden, can be continue to be harvested, such as mints, thyme, rosemary, and lemon balm. I discovered a few years ago that cilantro is a cold-weather plant, when I found it had reseeded and was growing strong in the fall. So this year I planted cilantro seeds directly in the veggie garden. They are very slow to germinate, but I have a two foot bed of seedlings growing now. I'd rather have it when the tomatoes are ripe, to use in fresh salsa, but I have other recipes for which there is no substitute for the taste of cilantro.

October in the Veggie Garden

If you think this gardening season is over, you have to see my veggie garden. It's filled with plants still growing from summer and those planted for fall and winter harvests. I love gardening this time of year - everything grows slower with the shorter days, longer shadows, and cooler temperatures. There are no bugs bothering my plants (or biting me) and plant diseases seem non-existent. Hardly any weeds germinate, so that cuts back on the maintenance. This is extra-good, since work and life have been keeping me very occupied lately, and my gardening time has been very limited.

Plants which like cooler weather are primarily leafy vegetables, since there aren't bees around to pollinate fruit. Some, like brussels sprouts, won't grow in hot weather and supposedly taste better after a light frost. Others, like lettuces, will survive in temperatures down to the 20s F, even though they won't grow noticeable when it's really cold. Still others, like spinach, will continue to grow throughout our winter here in Zone 7. We've passed our average annual first frost date of October 24th without frost on my garden, and the next ten days don't show temperatures changing much, so the fall crops are in for great growing weather.

Here's what's growing for me now:

1. AUTUMN - Notice how the leaves have turned color in the last month; our fall weather has been gorgeous this year, and the garden loves it.
2. JALAPENOS - Everyone I know who has grown peppers this year has a bumper crop. My two jalapenos have produced over 200 pods each and are still going. The one in the red Kozy Koat was earlier to ripen, but production seems equal in both.
3. SWEET POTATOES - I dug a couple of plants and was disappointed to find very few small potatoes had formed. Now I suspect the plants kept putting energy into regrowing the vines which were eaten by grasshoppers continually all summer, and the energy didn't go into creating roots. I am leaving the remaining plants in the ground for as long as possible, hoping more time will allow potatoes to form.
4. ONIONS & GARLIC - The onion sets and starter garlic cloves I planted in September have come up great (see closeup photo). Both of these seem to pop up in the garden randomly if you have grown them in the past, so I've also dug and moved some volunteers around. I won't harvest the bulbs until next summer, but I can cut the green tops continually.
5. BRUSSELS SPROUTS - These plants which I bought as seedlings are now beginning to form their little sprouts at the junction of each leaf with the central stem. The ones I started from seed are only about 2" tall, so I might not have enough growing weather to get them to maturity before winter.
6. ROMAINE & LETTUCE - I set out seedlings I started indoors for baby romaine and black seeded simpson lettuce, and the Little Gem lettuce I grew last spring and let go to seed has also reseeded itself. I've been picking leaves and am looking forward to good harvests of all these.
7. SWEET PEPPERS - For many nights when the temps were dipping below 40 degrees I have covered the pimento pepper and Chinese giant pepper plants with heavy black trash bags, since they don't like cold weather, so I am still picking lots of sweet red peppers.
8. KALE - The kale seedlings are growing strong and I've harvested lots, in addition to the collard plants just below the pointer line. Both are highly nutritious and I am primarily using them raw in my green smoothies.
9. COLD FRAME - I replaced the cold frame covers when the nighttime temps began to drop below 50 degrees. In the cold frame now are one tomato plant (all curled up on the ground), several parsley plants I will continue to pick from all winter, and one sweet potato plant in a pot (I'm hoping to be able to pick its leaves; might need to move the plant indoors when it gets really cold). I also have potted tiny CELERIAC seedlings in the cold frame, and they are extremely slow growers. I have to watch the temperatures, raising the cold frame tops when it's sunny and warm, and lowering or closing them when the temperature drops.

ELSEWHERE IN THE GARDEN:

COLLARDS - These greens have been phenomenal. I think I'd see the leaves grow if I sat a watched! I've only been eating them raw and in smoothies, but I'm getting such strong growth that I'll be trying them cooked soon.
SPINACH - I think I finally found a good way to insure germination of spinach seeds. First of all, they will not germinate in the garden until the temperatures are cool - all my efforts to plant them in August proved futile. I have tried cold stratification (putting seeds in and out of the freezer to simulate winter conditions) and don't know for sure if this helps. But I've had the best success by soaking the seeds in a cup of water for a day or two, then putting them on a damp paper towel and into a loosely closed zip bag on the top of the refrigerator (for warmth) for a few days. By then, nearly every seed has a tiny sprout started. When our daytime temperatures drop to the 70s, I plant these under about 1/4 inch of fertile garden soil, and keep them moist… They all seem to grow. Spinach is one plant which will actually continue to grow all winter here, and I usually have a huge harvest during early spring when their growth accelerates. I've already picked a few leaves to use fresh - takes a lot of spinach to make a serving of cooked greens.
BEETS - Some of my chioggia
SQUASH - One butternut squash is about 6" long, but I might not get more than that, due to my late planting and battles with insects. But my friend Susan was kind enough to share her harvest, so I won't go without!

CARROTS - The first bed of fall carrots I planted from seeds only grew one seedling. I'll blame it on bad seeds. So I've replanted a bed this month, with seeds that have grown well for me previously. I mulch the bed so the seeds stay moist since they are slow to germinate. I used old growth from my daylily bed as a mulch, so if this planting is not successful I'll be suspicious that the mulch was a problem, hindering growth.
CASABA - I only got one melon off this plant so I probably will not grow it again. The fruit was very tasty, perhaps would have been a bit sweeter if left on the vine longer.
MUMS - The pre-July cuttings have grown and flowered profusely, and I planted some elsewhere around the house. Most of those in the veggie garden I've cut for arrangements I bring when visiting friends. I'll move the rest of the plants early next spring, to permanent flower beds.
CALENDULA - This edible flower reseeded and it's growing strong. I didn't think it was a cool weather crop, but I've moved the volunteers into a bed and look forward to seeing how long they keep growing.
EGGPLANT - So delicious! Still getting a steady harvest to cook myself and share with friends too.
BASIL - The Thai basil will last until a freeze. It's purple flowers are lovely in my flower arrangements and the flavor of the leaves is very strong and delicious. I'll grow this again next year.
FENNEL - Reseeded itself and going strong. This plant should survive the winter here, as it did with two snowstorms last year.
CILANTRO - I struggled for several summers trying to grow cilantro and keep it from flowering. Then I discovered that some which had gone to seed began to grow again in October and survived all winter, without going to flower. So now I purposely plant it only in the fall. Just disappointed I don't have it fresh when tomatoes are ripening for salsa, but there are loads of other recipes for enjoying it.
CORN SALAD "MACHE" - This is a macro green for salads, and I tried sowing seeds for the first time. So far no sign of life.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES - I thought these were best dug after November, but my friend Judy was trying to move some in her gardens and discovered the tubers had formed already. So I dug up under one renegade stem I wanted to remove, and have been enjoying the handful of "chokes" I dug.

So if you live below the Mason-Dixon line and north of Florida and you've dug up your garden, go out and sow some spinach seeds for a bonus harvest with very little effort.

I'm Drinking Leaves!

Most of us eat leaves, although we think of them as lettuce or spinach, or perhaps as basil or parsley. Many Southerners eat vegetables I never heard of as a child in New England, like collards, kale, chard. But the typical modern diet - even for vegetarians and raw foodies - does not include a lot of "greens." Their bitterness is not real appealing, and our jaws, teeth, and digestive juices have changed so drastically from our prehistoric ancestors' that we are not even capable of extracting most of the nutrients from the greens we eat. I felt like I took a big step when I "learned" to love spinach, then did the same with kale when I discovered it was packed with lutein, so good for the health of our eyes. Now I've taken a mammoth leap forward and I'm eating a huge variety and large amounts of greens - actually, I'm drinking them!

I first learned of Green Smoothies several months ago, when my friend Gloria mentioned her new interest in making them. Blending fruits with spinach didn't sound too good, but I was intrigued. I googled it, and quickly realized I didn't have a blender with the power to chop up the leaves properly. I kept seeing mention of the Vitamix machine, a very powerful blender which can pulverize ingredients, break cell walls and create extra smooth consistencies - but with a huge price tag! I decided any blender which cost more than I paid a few years ago for my kitchen stove was not for me. So I continued using my food processor for our afternoon all-fruit smoothies.

Then I happened to watch a very interesting movie (which I highly recommend) called "Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead" with my husband. For the first 10 minutes, Rick was not real taken with the message of juicing vegetables for improving health, weight loss, and "rebouting" your system, but I wanted to continue watching so he agreed. Fast forward to the end, and Rick was the one saying "I want to try this." I already owned a well-used Braun juicer, the centrifuge type which sends the juice out one slot and the pulp/skin/seeds out the other slot. Years ago I was making so much carrot juice that Rick's feet turned orange! My juicer is a basic, less powerful juicer than the one used in the movie to juice various combinations of vegetables and fruit, which also disposed of the pulp. Then I remembered the Vitamix, and started researching the pluses and minuses of it versus a juicer, particularly because the Vitamix doesn't remove the pulp, it pulverizes it to make it edible. Lots more fiber (which most of us need), and much added nutrition. I could tell from the recipes that making smoothies in a high speed blender required a smaller volume of raw ingredients than juicing in a juicer requires. Juicing one cup of carrot juice takes a lot of carrots. And a juicer can't extract from non-juicy fruits like bananas, while those are good smoothie ingredients. Green smoothie blenders break down whole foods to the cellular level and beyond, making the huge amount of nutrients readily available for your body. Juicers have their advantages for some, but talking with friends who own Vitamix machines convinced me that this was the best way for me to make veggie/fruit smoothies - as well as lots of other foods.

Introducing my newest, most favorite, kitchen appliance - the Vitamix 5200, a high speed blender, reaching speeds of up to 240 miles per hour. The Vitamix brand has been around for decades, and owners rave about them. I discovered I had two friends who had Vitamix machines "somewhere" in storage units, unreachable for various reasons, so those were not options for me to purchase. I watched used ones go for nearly the cost of new on eBay, so I decided to return to the Vitamix web site. Then I saw a link to "Factory Reconditioned" models. Still pricey ($349), but less than a perfect model, and included full warranty of a new machine. I had bought a reduced-price "blemished" Excalibar dehydrator from its manufacturer two years ago, and had to search for anything wrong, but saved money. I justified the purchase of the Vitamix by reminding myself of the $300+ monthly cost of our Blue Cross catastrophic health insurance (with a $7000 deductible) and figured I'd rather have something tangible and valuable for that same amount of money, so I dove it and made my purchase, with a dealer's voucher which saved the $25 shipping charge. I have not regretted it once.

Since it arrived about two months ago, my Vitamix has been used at least once daily except for maybe two days. I love it! It is easy to use, easy to clean, comes with a big recipe book and CD, and has recipes online. For someone like me, who makes meals from scratch, Vitamix smoothies are a very easy, filling, satisfying, healthy, and fast meal… with no dishes. Rick and I are increasing the amount of living, raw, whole food in our diets, thus upping our intake of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients, omega 3s, and loads of other nutrients. I was surprised to learn that greens are a source of protein also. We are consuming a great deal of fruits and veggies, in place of meals. Smoothies from fruits and vegetables are ideal for anyone who gardens, like me, for both fresh and frozen ingredients. I had chopped and frozen spinach and kale last spring when they were growing in abundance, and now I can break up frozen pieces, adding concentrated amounts to smoothies. This is holding me until I can harvest cool-weather greens in my garden again this fall and winter, which I've already begun to plant in abundance.

I just finished reading two books given to me by my friend Judi, written by Victoria Boutenko, the pioneer and inventor of Green Smoothies and author of the Green Smoothies Blog. If you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend her book Green Smoothie Revolution. I have absorbed loads of info from the author's extensive research and experimentation, on why greens are so nutritious and beneficial to our health, and have become even more convinced that buying the Vitamix is a lifestyle changing event for me. The book includes testimonials from those who have lost lots of weight, nourished and healed their bodies, and reversed signs of aging... things most everyone I know would like to do!

Rick and I did a 4-day smoothie fast when I began using the new Vitamix, and since then we have been substituting a smoothie for one meal per day. In addition to the green leaves, I sometimes add other vegetables, always mixed with fruit. I've found that frozen banana chunks (which have always been the mainstay in my fruit smoothies) really helps sweeten smoothies made with vegetables, to the point where you barely taste the vegetable ingredients. In addition to the bananas, I use one or more other fresh (preferably seasonal, which has been easy this summer) or frozen fruit, like berries, cherries, peaches, apples, pears, grapes, and plums, as well as citrus (lemon, orange, lime), fresh pineapple (shell cut away, but the core is easily chopped). I've recently been gathering wild passion fruit from my meadow and adding its pulpy seeds to smoothies. I do about a 40/60 mix of vegetables to fruit, using stronger flavored fruit (like blueberries) with stronger flavored veggies (like beet greens). It is important to vary the greens you use, rather than always using spinach, for example. For greens I've used spinach, kale, beet greens, romaine lettuce, parsley, and the green leaves of my sweet potato vines. For other veggies, I've added summer squash or zucchini; cucumbers, carrots, celery, yellow snap beans, tomatoes, and cooked sweet potatoes or winter squash or beets. (Note: Victoria Boutenko, the "inventor" of green smoothies mentioned above, recommends only non-starchy vegetables with greens.) I sometimes add fresh herbs, such as basil, fennel, mint, parsley, and lemon grass, and I will continue experimenting with others from my herb garden. If I find my combination a little bitter, usually just a few drops of diluted stevia are enough for me, but you can add agave or honey. I have grown stevia in the past, and plan to do so again - then I can just use the green leaves from it. The Vitamix easily grinds nutritious nuts, seeds, and soft grains, so I might add whole flax seeds, chia seeds, shelled hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, or raw rolled oats. Added flavorings I've used include cinnamon, fresh ginger root, dried coconut, carob powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, Roma (a roasted barley/chicory powder which tastes like coffee), spices like cloves and cardamon, vanilla and other extracts, and zest from organic citrus fruit. An avocado makes the smoothie very creamy, without altering the flavor, and tofu would also work. The blender needs some liquid to work properly, and I've used water, lemon juice, fruit juice, soy milk, homemade kefir, aloe juice, and also almond milk which I made in the Vitamix from raw nuts. I've read that dairy products will interfere with digestion of the greens, so I don't use milk or yogurt in the green smoothies. You can add lecithin or protein powders also. Rick prefers frozen smoothies, and the Vitamix has no trouble grinding ice cubes in with the smoothie ingredients… some frozen smoothies we've eaten with a spoon.

When I grow sprouts again this winter, I'll add those to smoothies. Harvesting wild foods from my land has fascinated me, and I continually try to educate myself with field guides and online references. I look forward to harvesting wild plants for my smoothies next spring, like dandelion, trillium leaves, chickweed, watercress, lambsquarters, purslane, wood sorrel, wild mustards, grape leaves, and daisy leaves. Many wildflowers which grow here are also edible, such as daylilies, violets, red bud, yucca, chicory, dandelions, and clover. If you know someone who's land is overrun with kudzu, they have an excellent source of edilble greens! Even now, in September, I am picking tender young leaves on the ends of the branches of sassafras and muscadine as I walk my trails, and adding these to my smoothies. Boutenko says wild green are more nutritious than cultivated vegetables. The possibilities for different combinations are endless, as you can see, and I am enjoying experimenting and creating different tastes and textures. Caution, many wild plants are very poisonous to eat, so be sure you know what you are using if you harvest them.

Beyond smoothies, I've been using my new Vitamix for many other dishes. I made delicious fresh marinara sauce so fast, since the organic tomatoes from my garden went into the blender whole (no peeling or seeding). A combo of my recipe and one in the Vitamix book produced the smoothest hummus ever, using whole toasted sesame seeds instead of tahini, and a peeled whole lemon vs. juice. Chocolate mousse is my favorite Vitamix indulgence so far, with curious ingredients including avocados and a touch of balsamic vinegar. I've also made salsa, dips, salad dressings, wonderful applesauce, and batter for my favorite gingerbread (it came out the best ever). The Vitamix can be purchased with a dry blender for grinding grains, but I have both a manual and electric flour mill so I didn't get that container option. But I ground dehydrated red hot chili peppers into a powder in seconds in my Vitamix, since the peppers are brittle not hard. Now you understand how I've put the Vitamix to so much use. The Vitamix can also make vegetables soups; running the motor for 3-5 minutes heats the contents, so the soup goes right from the blender to the serving bowl. I am anxious to try soups when the weather cools, as well as other recipes I've earmarked such as black bean brownies.

I promise not to fill this blog with green smoothie information and Vitamix recipes - there are others doing this much better than I can, plus I have loads to write about with gardening and food you chew! However, I highly recommend green smoothies, even to my friends who are long-time vegetarians. And if you have your own favorite green smoothies or Vitamix recipes, please share in my comments box.

I hope I've intrigued you enough to make you want to try a green smoothie yourself - or ask me for a taste test when you visit - and I'll be happy to share what I am learning with you.

May in the Vegetable Garden

My May vegetable garden attests to the long growing season here and to the favorable conditions this spring has presented… although 45 degrees felt very chilly this morning, just a week after we sweated at 90 degrees. I've never had such a variety of crops at one time, and I've already harvested a great deal. Since my garden only feeds two, I can get by with just a few plants of many vegetables, unless I plan to preserve excess harvests.

Miraculously, the garden was spared damage from the tornado which hit us 3 weeks ago. The garden photo reveals some of the tornado damage beyond the garden - a huge uprooted shagbark hickory on the left and a dogwood which was partially uprooted so we trimmed, uprighted, and staked it to see if it will survive.

WEEDS - Visitors ask why there are no weeds in my vegetable garden and I say "I don't plant any." I'm not trying to be a wise guy, it's true. If you continually keep weeds from the garden, they don't have the chance to grow tall, flower, and drop seeds for new plants. This is especially true in the springtime. If you keep up with the weeding early in the season, you'll have fewer and fewer weeds growing as the garden matures through the summer. My largest source of weeds is from the composted cow manure I use which came from free-ranging cows - evidently the cow digestive system does not destroy seeds in their pasture. My own compost also sprouts lots of tomato seeds, which appear to be strong enough to remain viable through the heat process of breaking the plant material into compost.

1. PEA PODS are now being harvested by the bucketful! In late February I planted seven 15 foot rows, with two "bush" varieties: heirloom Oregon Sugar Snap II and hybrid Burpee Sugar Sprint. I didn't mail order these seeds because planting pea pods was an afterthought, so I bought these locally. Both types are sweet, stringless and delicious raw or lightly cooked. I've frozen 12 bags and I might try using some of the fatter latter variety as refrigerator pickles soon.
2. EGGPLANT - As in past years, I am fighting a pest which is eating holes in the leaves on the two seedlings I've planted. Next step will be to cover them with netting which I can remove when they flower, which won't be for quite a while.
3. STRAWBERRIES - My previous post extols the fabulous strawberries I've harvested for the last 4 weeks.
4. GARLIC - If you've planted garlic and it sends up a thick center stem with a small bulb shape at the top, then it is attempting to flower. Cut the stalk off as low as possible. I then take this piece and cut it into 1/2" pieces and scatter it as a repellent around plants which are most susceptible to bug attacks. These "scapes" also look exotic in a flower arrangement. Onions send up a similar flower stalk, so cut it also, to avoid a thick tough center to your harvested onions.
5. PEPPERS - One jalapeno has been in a red "Kozy Koat" for many weeks, staying warm and healthy, and I'll transplant one more jalapeno seedling from the cold frame in early June. I've also planted heirloom seedlings of one sweet California Giant and one Pimento sweet pepper into short tomato cages.
6. TOMATOES - All six plants are doing well, with very different growth characteristics for each of the 4 heirloom varieties. All the plants are flowering and there are green tomatoes on 4 plants. I've been at war with white flies on one plant, but I'm winning so far.
7. BRUSSELS SPROUTS - I think I see the little "sprouts" beginning to form at each leaf branch, and the pest that was eating holes in the leaves initially is no longer around…. yeah!
8. BEETS - I am thinning my beet plantings as I pick greens for salads and sauteing, and I'll allow some to remain in the growth to harvest later for the beet roots.
9. PARSLEY - I'm harvesting both flat Italian parsley and curly parsley now, from seedlings I set in the garden in early March.

Also in the garden:

• MELON - One "casaba" melon seedling has been planted and is thriving. I also planted seeds of Hale's Best cantaloupe in one hill, which have not germinated yet (planted a backup in a pot and three little sprouts have emerged from the potting soil).
• ZUCCHINI - When I planted my one strongest seedling it already had tiny flowers starting, and is looking healthy now. I'll be on the watch for the squash vine borer.
• LEEKS - When my seedlings got to 9" tall, I planted them in the garden, 8" deep. Most seem to be growing.
• AMARANTH - You might know this as a grain, which I would get as seeds if the plants reach 9 feet and grew a showy flowering plume, but I've direct seeded a 2' x 3' area thickly as a salad green… or I should say a salad "red", since that's the leaf color.
• CUCUMBERS - One seedling each of two heirloom pickling varieties is now planted and I am experimenting with growing vertically, training the vines up a twisted pole set inside a tall tomato cage.
• LETTUCE - We've been eating and sharing a great harvest of Black Seeded Simpson and mixed Romaine. I direct sowed seeds of the heirloom "Little Gem" which is supposed to tolerate heat better than other lettuces. I pulled out all the Amish Deer Tongue and donated it to my compost bin, since I didn't like the flavor or texture as well as the others I had available to eat.
• CARROTS - I've thinned the carrot bed so none are closer than 1", replanting those I pulled. Growing carrots is slow, but hopefully my patience will be rewarded at harvest time. I just planted a few rows of the Scarlet Nantes variety, next to the Red Chanterey and Danvers already growing.
• SPINACH - I harvested the fall planting of spinach and chopped and froze many bags. I am now harvesting leaves from seeds I direct sowed in March. If your spinach sends up a center stem with a triangle growth on top, it is beginning to "bolt" and go to seed. Three factors make this happen: length of day, heat, and crowding. You can't control the first two, but avoid the overcrowding by harvesting every other plant.
• GREEN BEANS - I've direct sowed three areas with rows of my favorite Blue Lake bush bean, which grows about 2' tall and doesn't need trellising. Hopefully I can avoid the pest which ate holes in the leaves and beans last year and have a bountiful harvest for fresh eating and freezing.
• KALE - as with the spinach, I harvested and froze the fall planting of kale and now I am ready to start harvesting a small square of kale I direct seeded in March. Like spinach and many lettuces, kale will "bolt" in hot weather.
• BOK CHOY - I'm throwing in the towel on chinese vegetables until next winter's plantings, since I can't ward off the bugs that are eating the leaves.
• CHRYSANTHEMUMS - These lovely garden flowers are edible, so they are justified to be mentioned in this blog. In oriental countries they also eat the leaves of some varieties as salad greens. If you've planted the potted flowering chrysanthemums from last fall, you'll discover they are quite winter-hardy and have sent up new growth. To keep your plants from flowering in August versus October, and to create beautiful nursery-type fullness, you need to keep pinching off the top growth now. I once read to cut the tops back "3 times before the fourth of July" for my area (zone 7), so you can adjust for your location. Basically, I keep pinching off the branches to about 3" tall, then let them grow untouched after early July. My fall flowering is fabulous, with flowers so thick in October and November that you can't see the green leaves below. Also, if those green tops you snip off are a few inches long, you can strip the bottom leaves, dip in rooting hormone, and plant your cuttings. They re-root very easily. I only have one white mum, lots of purples, so the first time I pinched back the white one I re-planted 30 little cuttings - and they are all growing! I could easily start a mum farm at this rate. I always plant cuttings in my vegetable garden, knowing they won't get ignored there. Once the cutting show new growth, pinch them as necessary too. Replant in permanent locations in late summer - or pot to give as gifts!
• ONIONS - Still growing strong. A friend told me last year that onions like being continually fertilized up until one month before harvest. This year I am fertilizing the entire garden with organic fertilizers every 2 weeks. Each green "scallion" from the onion indicates a layer of growth on the onion root. I harvest the greens for salads and recipes, one from this onion, one from another, and it doesn't disturb the onion growth.

Happy gardening!

April in the Vegetable Garden

 

Take a tour of my vegetable garden! Starting with this post, I'll photograph it during the first week of each month, and describe what's growing. Keep in mind that I'm in Tennessee, USDA gardening zone 7, with an average last frost date of April 15th, and a frost-free growing season of nearly 200 days. My "birdseed view" is taken from my east porch.

This year I'm starting all my vegetable plants from seeds, either indoors to get a jump on the season or directly in the garden. Indoors, they move from the south-facing windows in our dining area to the south window in the walk-out basement, which is at about 55 degrees this time of year. From there they move into the cold frame to harden off with cooler nighttime temperatures.

The garden is about 20' x 40', running east-west. Big poplar logs hold the soil and I dig walking paths between raised beds which are about 3-4' wide. The garden is on a slight downhill slope.

Here is the April tour:

1. A thin red plastic mulch warms the soil and cuts down on weeds. I laid this down in mid-March, burying the ends with soil. I planted 3 tomato plants yesterday, cutting a 5" slot into the plastic, inserting the plant, and placing 4 rocks around the hole opening, to keep the wind from getting under the plastic. The south end has one tomato plant in a "Kozy Koat" - a red plastic sleeve with pockets filled with water to permit solar heating for the plant. I'll remove the Koat when the weather warms. (The other Kozy Koat shown with a white feed bag for mulching was planted in mid-March, to attempt a headstart on tomato harvests). The mulch is one of my attempts to prevent tomato blight.
2. The yellow flowers are on my Chinese cabbage, planted last fall along with the kale in this row. As soon as we got some early warm days, the cabbage set flowers. I've left them growing for several reasons: the flowers are pretty and attract bees; the flowers are edible, tasting like raw broccoli; the flowers produce tiny edible seed pods, which I have cooked in a stirfry. I just need to remove them before the pods ripen and drop hundreds of seeds into my soft garden soil!
3. Eight rows of snap peas were planted as soon as I could work the soil in February. This east end of the garden is where I have grown my sweet potatoes for the past 2 years, allowing the long vines to grow out the back end of the garden. I am growing the peas here not only to harvest their delicious pods, but also to utilize their ability to add nitrogen to the soil. I grow "bush" varieties, which grown only about 24" tall, and I push branches into the ground for the tendrils to wind up. By June, when it is warm enough to plant the sweet potatoes, the peas will be harvested.
4. My June-bearing strawberry bed runs along the north wall of the garden, and the plants are flowering profusely now. The big mass of greenery above the word "north" is an area where last year's strawberry babies congregated! I'll dig these up after my harvest; strawberries produce best when not too crowded. If anyone nearby wants to start a strawberry bed, please let me know and I'll provide loads of healthy plants. I think the variety was "Tennessee Beauty".
5. Next to the strawberry crowd I sowed seed beds in this row in March for black seeded simpson lettuce, kale, bok choy, and spinach - all cold-hardy plants. They have all sprouted and are growing slowly.
6. Nine brussel sprout plants, started indoors in January, are growing here. I have sprayed a few times with garlic spray, fighting an insect which is eating holes in the leaves. Otherwise the plants look good - this is my first try at growing this veggie. I never really liked it, but a friend prepares it in a very tasty way. I figured if I liked his store-bought brussel sprouts, I'd love home grown! The brussel sprouts are bordered by romaine lettuce and yellow onions (I put in about 150 onion sets in Feb). Along the south border are loads of spinach plants which I started directly in the garden by seed last fall. The little spinach plants didn't grown much in the winter, but they survived two snow storms and lots of freezes and are now growing strong… great raw and cooked!
7. Garden fresh carrots taste so good, that I am giving them another try this year. I planted 5 close rows and covered them with the tall grass I cut from my blue flax in the flower gardens - there were no seeds in the grass and it is fine and lightweight, so it has kept the carrot seeds moist and encouraged good germination. I started another 4 rows next the the first planting, and hand raked the grass clippings over them. Next to that tan mass are some garlic, planted last fall, with a row of Amish Deer Tongue lettuce. Along one side of the carrot bed is a late winter planting of Chinese cabbage, and along the opposite side is pak choy, a mini bok choy.
8. The front of the garden has been planted with loads of garlic since last fall, which will be harvested in June-July, in addition to more onion sets, Chioggia beet seeds set out for harvesting the greens as well as the roots (they are pink and white inside), flat and curly parsley, and fennel. 
9. My Juwel cold frame is permanently set in the corner, where I can easily adjust the lids according to the weather, harvest the red romaine and spinach that grew in it all winter, and move pots of seedlings in and out. Behind the cold frame I've planted some cilantro, hoping the shade will keep it cool enough so it won't bolt (cilantro likes cold weather, but I like it when the tomatoes are ripe for salsa!)

Have fun in your garden on these gorgeous days of spring.

Crabmeat Quiche

I've been making this delicious quiche for years, after receiving the original recipe from my Aunt Claire. Her version called for a pie crust, but my variation is a bit lighter.

• 1/4 c bread crumbs
• 1 T olive oil
• 4 scallions
• 8 oz Swiss cheese
• 2 T flour
• 1/2 c light mayonnaise
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 T dried parsley
• 1 small can of crabmeat*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In place of a pie crust, I hand mix bread crumbs and olive oil in the pie plate, then press them into a thin flat layer on the bottom and slightly up the sides. This is enough to make the quiche easy to remove from the plate, and give some added flavor and texture.

For the filling, a food processor makes this recipe easy. Pulse the scallions to chop. Cut the cheese into chunks then process into small pieces without removing the scallions from the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except the crabmeat, into the food processor bowl, then process until mixed. Open and drop in the crabmeat, breaking it up with your fingers as you add it, since sometimes there are pieces of shell or cartilage you'll want to discard. Stir the crabmeat in with a spatula, then pour the entire contents into the prepared pie plate.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is golden. Turn off the oven and leave the quiche in it for another 15 minutes to set the filling.

OPTIONS: For the cheese, you can use Swiss mixed with cheddar or feta for a flavor variation. Also, a vegetarian version is easily made by eliminating the crabmeat and adding 1 cup of mixed veggies, such as chopped fresh spinach, sundried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, sliced zucchini, etc.

* I had stopped buying canned crabmeat because of the additives but then I discovered Dungeness Crab from Sportsmens Cannery in Oregon. It is pricey, about $9-10 for a 5.5 oz can, but to me the quality, taste, and USA origin make it worth the extra cost.

Spinach Pie

Here's one of my favorite ways to use spinach from my garden - I clean and dry off the leaves, then pulse them in the food processor to chop coarsely. I have also substituted for the pie crust in this recipe; it's hard to get a flaky crust without using white flour and shortening, and the refrigerated and frozen prepared pie crusts contain other ingredients I don't want to eat (like food coloring), so this is an easy alternative which works when the contents of the pie are firm... tastes good and doesn't add unnecessary fat and carbs.

• 3/4 c bread crumbs
• 1/4 c melted butter
• 8 oz. of swiss cheese, grated
• 1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c mayonnaise
• 2 T flour
• 1-1/2 c chopped fresh spinach, or one 10-oz box of thawed and drained frozen spinach
• 1/2 c chopped scallions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the bread crumbs and butter; spread and press in an even layer on the bottom and sides of a pie plate. Set aside. I use the food processor for mixing the rest of the ingredients, but you can mix by hand, beating well. Pour the filling ingredients into the crumb-lined pie plate. Bake for about 45 minutes.