Fall 2011 Update!

Ok, so it's been awhile since my last post.  I seem to get caught up in summer with work, and gardening and I forget about posting updates!   So here's a little update and what I hope to accomplish this winter on here!

Garden:  As you know my dad and I tried a new spot for our garden.  Due to a really wet spring we got a late planting start.  So we didn't get any peas at all.  The new spot worked out great!  We planted over 180 tomato plants, over 150 pumpkin seeds, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, potatoes and peppers.  I have over 50 canned pints of green beans, frozen corn, frozen squash, frozen hot peppers, tomato juice and crushed tomatoes!  I should have enough veggies for the whole winter!  The greens I planted didn't do well either.  I had a LOT of lettuce, most of which came up wild from the previous year!  So we had an entire row of FREE lettuce!  So we'll definitely be planting in that spot next year.  We expanded the size and we have around 5,000 square feet of planting space I believe.  Next season we'll be planting the veggies in different spots because of the way the sun hits that area we had pumpkin vines going everywhere.  The ground has already been prepared for spring.  We used a plough and tore up the whole spot and spread manure which we get free at the fairgrounds.  We also put leaves all over the original spot.  All of this will rot over the winter and be ready for planting in spring.  So stay tuned!  Before you know it I'll be posting my seed list (which I'll probably start making next month) and this time I SWEAR I'll post pictures!  I got a little discouraged last spring with it being so rainy that it just didn't get done.  I'll keep you posted!

Wintertime:  Ok, so I've got only one project this winter (so far).  I've done a bit of research on how to plant apple trees from seeds.  So I've got a bag of apples from the orchard here in town that I'm going to save the seeds from and try to start them here in the house this winter.   I've got both Fuji and Honeycrisp apples to try.  I think it would be great to get ALL of my fruit and veggies from what I've grown!  So I'll be posting soon on the process, and I'll take photos of what I'm doing.  Also if you have any other planting projects for me to try out, let me know!  I'll give it a shot if I can!  Thanks for reading!

Seeds Started!

Ok, I have definitely gotten a bit of a late start this year on starting my seeds!  I finally have gotten Supersteak Tomatoes and San Marzano Tomatoes started indoors as of 2 days ago.  I also just started today Swan Gourds.  This is a decorative gourd that has a long germination period.  I'm hoping that by starting them now, I should have some nice swan shaped gourds that can be painted once they've dried.

You should have already purchased your seeds!  Trust me, now things will get more difficult to find!  I had a hard time getting Kale seeds because I forgot to order them...luckily a new seed place opened in town and they've got a wide variety of things to choose from.

In the garden we've planted green onions, peas, and kale. We still need to plant the Bibb lettuce and spinach!  I will keep updating this as we go and hopefully post pics of some sprouts and the new garden location soon.  Get your plants started!!!

Spring Garden Update

Ok, its been awhile since my last post.  I have gotten a bit of a late start this spring with my indoor tomato seed starting.  My seeds should be here any day.  So far I've ordered these seeds:

Patty Pan Squash

Maxibel (Haricot Verts) style Green Beans - these are a long thin variety.  You'll see many recipes featuring this French style green bean.

Super Steak Tomatoes - Large sandwich tomatoes

San Marzano Tomatoes - Italian variety used for making sauce and in salads

Mexican Sour Gherkin - an heirloom cucumber variety that are the size of grapes, they look like mini watermelons and have a tart taste!

When my parents are back from Florida, we'll get peas, onions, more green beans, butternut squash, acorn squash, corn, kale, lettuce, zucchini and peppers.  There could be more I'm leaving out.  The garden will be expanded this year also!  Last year we had 2100 square feet of garden...I'm not sure of the exact measurements of the garden this year, but it will be in a different location!  I'm going to try and get my tomato seeds started indoors this week!  Once they've sprouted I'll post some pictures!

Gardening With Kids

Gardening with kids can have a great impact on their lives.  I know because I've been helping and growing vegetables since I was a small kid!  It might seem trivial but many lessons for kids can be learned by gardening with them.  Responsibility, math, science, problem solving, record keeping (for older kids), sustainability, environmental issues (again, older kids) are just a few things to be learned in the garden.  Another big lesson learned is healthy eating.  Kids are more likely to eat their vegetables if they helped grow them.

How do you get kids interested in gardening?  Its not very difficult at all.  First of all most small kids want to be wherever you're at to begin with. Second most kids like being outside, playing in dirt and with bugs.  All of which are in the garden!  Small kids can also be enticed to gardening by planting theme based gardens.  What I mean by this is planting a garden with a defined purpose.  Plant a "Pizza Garden" with basil, tomatoes, peppers, and onions!  When you harvest your veggies you can make a pizza with them!  Try out a "Stir Fry Garden" with onions, peppers, pea pods, beans, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower!  Another option is to use kids books as a way to plant a theme based garden.  Peter Rabbit for instance had a garden of beets, radishes, rhubarb, mint, lemon balm, tansy, lavender, chamomile, hyssop, sage, rosemary and strawberries!  You don't have to plant everything on the list but kids will enjoy having a garden like Peter Rabbit.   If a theme based garden isn't for you, there are all sorts of "odd colored" veggies that might spark interest, such as orange cauliflower, and purple carrots!

Older kids will enjoy planting pumpkins for Halloween and keeping a journal of their growth.  Once pumpkins appear on the vine, its a great idea to use a tape measure to measure them every couple of days to see how much they grow and how fast!   At the end of their growing season they get to carve what they've grown and help toast the seeds!  Older kids will like the Pizza Garden ideas too, because I don't think I've ever met a kid who didn't love pizza!

So, what are you waiting for?  Now is the time to be planning out your spring and summer garden!  Get a plan together and make a list of seeds to try out!  Here are a few places I've ordered seeds from that have great seeds and great service.

Johnny's Selected Seeds
Nichol's Nursery
Burpee Seeds

How to Grow Garlic

Many people cook with garlic but never consider growing it.  Buying a single bulb of garlic at the store is around $.50.  Unless you want Elephant Garlic...which is a very large variety and that will run you around $6.00 a pound.  Growing garlic is probably the easiest, lowest maintenance crops I can think of!  Garlic takes around 10 or 11 months to be ready for harvest.  Fall planting is generally what is recommended and what I do.  I usually pick a day that's going to be relatively nice toward the end of October.  Choose a spot in your yard or garden that gets a lot of sunlight, and has good drainage.  You don't want to plant your garlic in an area that's too damp, or the cloves will rot.  Once you have your spot picked, you'll want to order garlic from a seed company.  You could attempt to buy a bulb of garlic at the grocery store, separate the cloves and plant them.  I don't recommend this because you could be getting a hybrid of garlic that won't produce.  Also the bigger cloves you'll get at a seed company will produce large bulbs of garlic when you harvest.  The next step is to separate the cloves from the bulb if they're not already separated.  Plant each clove upright and around an inch under the surface of the soil.  Each clove should be 4 inches apart.  If you're planting rows the rows should be 18 inches apart.  You'll know its time to harvest the garlic when the leaves begin to yellow and brown and die.  If you wait too long the bulbs will split apart, and if you try to harvest too soon the cloves will be too small.  Most varieties if planted in October will be ready around September of the following year.  If you get an "early" variety then you'll be ready to harvest sometime around August.  The leaves will tell you when its time!  Good luck!! This is a great "starter" plant that requires little care.  Try it out and you'll have garlic for the whole year for yourself!

Could Gardening Become a Felony?

This could be one of the most important informational blogs I ever write.  A friend of mine emailed me a link to this article.  Its difficult to even believe this could be possible.  I'm going to just post the article link and have you all read it.  There are petitions to sign, emails to send.....and people to contact.  Please read this and pass it along to everyone you know!  CLICK HERE.

Freezing Vegetables

Someone initially suggested I write a blog on storing your harvested vegetables.  I decided to write one on freezing instead.  Here's why.  A lot of raw storage methods require a cellar.  Most of the people I know in the California area either have no cellar due to living in an apartment or they don't have an extra room that the temperature can be below 40 degrees to store them in!  Raw storage can be a bit complicated, as temperatures and relative humidity need to be controlled.  So I'm going to suggest freezing your vegetables.  I will cover both water bath canning and pressure canning at a later date.  Here's a list of vegetables and the process of freezing them!

Water and Steam Blanching means : scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time and placing them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.

Asparagus

Wash, sort by size. Snap off tough ends. Cut stalks in 2-inch lengths or leave in spears.

Water blanch: Small stalks: 1-1/2 min. Medium: 2 min Large: 3 min.

Steam blanch: Small: 2-1/2 min. Medium: 3 min. Large: 4 min.

Beans

Wash. Trim ends. Cut if desired.

Water blanch: Whole: 3 min. Cut: 2 min.

Steam blanch: Whole: 4 min. Cut: 3 min.

Beets

Wash. Remove tops leaving 1 inch of stem and root

Cook until tender: for small beets, 25–30 minutes; for medium beets, 45–50 minutes. Cool promptly, peel, trim tap root and stem. Cut into slices or cubes. Pack into freezer containers.

Broccoli

Wash. Trim leaves. Cut into pieces.

Water blanch 3 min. Steam blanch 3 min.

Brussels sprouts

Wash. Remove outer leaves.

Water blanch 4 min. Steam blanch 5 min. (medium-sized)

Cabbage

Wash. Discard course outer leaves. Cut into wedges or shred coarsely.

Water blanch: Wedges: 3 min. Shredded: 1-1/2 min.

Steam blanch: Wedges: 4 min. Shredded: 2 min.

Carrots

Wash, peel and trim. Cut if desired; leave small carrots whole.

Water blanch: Whole: 5 min. Sliced : 2 min.

Cauliflower

Discard leaves and stem, wash. Break into pieces or leave small heads whole (no more than 4-inch diameter).

Add 1 Tbsp. vinegar to water. Water blanch: Whole: 6 min. Cut: 3 min.

Add 1 Tbsp. vinegar to water. Steam blanch: Whole: 7 min. Cut: 4 min.

Corn

Remove husks and silks and trim ends. W ash.

Water blanch medium-sized ears, 3-4 ears at a time, 5 min. After blanching, cut kernels (about 2/3 depth) from cob, bag kernels, freeze.

Corn on the cob

Remove husks and silks and trim ends. Wash.

Water blanch medium-sized ears, 8 min. Cool. Drain. Wrap ears individually in plastic wrap. Pack wrapped ears in plastic freezer bags.

Eggplant

Wash, peel, slice 1/3 inch thick.

Water blanch 4 min. in 1 gallon of boiling water containing 1-1/2 Tbsp. citric acid or 1/2 c. lemon juice. Or, saute in oil and pack.

Greens

Select young, tender greens. Wash. Trim leaves.

Water blanch 2 min., or steam blanch 3 min. Avoid matting woody stems.

Herbs

Wash. Snip or leave on stalks.

For basil only, water or steam blanch 1 min. For other herbs, blanching is not necessary. Freeze in a single layer on cookie sheet.

Peas Garden/ Snow/Sugar

Shell garden peas. No need to shell snow or sugar peas.

Water blanch 1-1/2 min., or steam blanch 2-1/2 min.

Onions/ Green Onions/ Leeks

-For onions, remove peel and chop. -For green onions, trim and slice or

leave whole. -For leeks, make a cut through leaves

and bulb. Do not cut roots. Wash thoroughly. Trim tops. Leave whole or slice.

May be frozen without blanching. Bag and Freeze. (For best odor protection, wrap onions in plastic film before putting in bags.)

Peppers Green/Red/ Sweet/Hot

Wash, remove stems and seeds.

Freeze whole, or cut as desired. No heat treatment needed. (See Guide E-311, Freezing Green Chile.)

Potatoes

Peel, cut, or grate as desired.

Either cook in water or saute grated potatoes in oil. Grated potatoes for hashbrowns and mashed potatoes freeze well. For new potatoes, blanch whole potatoes 5 min., blanch pieces 2-3 min.

Sweet potatoes

Wash and dry.

Bake just until tender; cool. Peel and cut. Pack in flat layers or roll in lemon juice and brown sugar. Or, puree with orange juice.

Winter squash/ Spaghetti Squash/

Wash and remove seeds

Bake whole or cut in half. Place cut side down on baking sheet Cook until tender. Scrape pulp from rind, or remove rind and cube. Cool Pumpkin and freeze cubes, or mash pulp, cool, and pack.

Zuccini/ Summer squash/

Wash, trim ends. Cut into slices or strips.

Water blanch 3 min. or steam blanch 4 min. and freeze. also be breaded and sauteed in oil. Cool and freeze. For sauteed sqaush, place waxed paper between slices before freezing.