Still here....

Whew, has life been moving by in a flash these last couple of weeks.  The weather has much improved, and the garden is growing taller and greener by the day.  I am still trying to catch up with the weeding!  I have a few friends looking over my shoulder while I am out there with hose and weed bucket:

There is no vacancy in that robin's nest!  I found an egg in my garden under a tall oak tree a number of weeks ago, and I relocated it to the eggs in the nest pictured above in hopes it would be viable.  It felt warm and heavy so I was hopeful.  (I know birds sometimes kick out an egg on purpose, and that is what I figured Mama Robin would do if the one I added was dud.)  I checked under the magnolia tree that holds this nest daily for any 'discards' and never saw any.   There are 5 babes in that nest so I have a feeling the egg transfer was a success.  Baby birds are just so darn cute, and I must say that these chicks are much quieter than the house wrens in the bird house out back.  What a racket they make!

I have been terrible about posting updates on the garden.  The tomatoes are full of fruit and are stretching towards the sun (pictured below).  Cucumbers and zucchini are growing on the vines, while the winter squash, beans, and eggplant are just beginning to flower.  (A varietal note - Magda are winning the squash race and almost ready to harvest, with Partenon not far behind.  Black Beauty is slow to go compared to it's squash mates.)  I was surprised to see a few small peppers on the bushes while watering today, the last time I noticed them they were just setting fruit.

My potato onions have fallen and are dying back quickly, so early compared to a standard variety onion.  Some of the garlic is coming close to maturity as well, I am anxious to harvest and gain some bed space for fall greens.

The fruit season is progressing nicely as well.  The apples are sizing up, blueberries & currants are starting to turn,  and brambles are flowering and setting fruit, though strawberries are of coarse the current stars.  We went picking on Father's Day and there is some jam cooling on the counter, and about 20 more pounds of berries waiting for me in the fridge.  Yikes!

Off to finish putting together the potato salad for dinner, 

can't wait for those new potatoes to start coming in.  

Happy gardening everyone!

Whats Cookin'

It has been another day tethered to the kitchen range.  But again, I don't quite mind.  Luckily the weather is gray and cool.  It was a perfect day to oven-dry tomatoes, and simmer some vegetable soup on the stove-top.  The soup has tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, green beans, onions, and garlic from the garden.  WOO-HOO!  I will also be using some veggies from the freezer to make some Spinach & Artichoke Dip to go along with the Vegetable Soup for dinner this week.  Mmm- Mmm, good.  Good eats, and good for my freezers, cause I am running out of room folks!

Yesterday was a baking day.  Ground Cherry Squares, and Zucchini Brownies.  The squares are OK, nothing to write home about, though once brushed/glazed with a bit of Peach Butter, and topped with some cinnamon sprinkles, they are Mom, and kid approved.  Here they are before going in the oven, and again just after coming out.  (This is before my additions.)  They just seem to be lacking something....but they are unusual, check them out:

Then there are those brownies.  We have put quite a dent in them already, though that is not unusual in this house.  Baked goods just don't last long, especially when there is chocolate involved.

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

from Simply in Season

1 C flour

3/4 C whole wheat flour
(I used King Arthur's "white whole wheat")

1/3 C baking cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Combine in large bowl.

2-3 C shredded zucchini

Stir in to flour mix.

1 egg

3/4 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C plain yogurt 

(I used full fat sour cream)

1/2 C oil

1 tsp vanilla

Combine in a separate bowl and beat with fork.  Stir in zucchini mixture.  

Spread evenly into greased 9 x 13-inch pan.

1/2- 1 C semisweet or mint chcoclate chips

1/2 C nuts (chopped; optional)

Sprinkle on top of batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350F 35-40 minutes.

** My notes:  I did not bake this nearly as long as the recipe called for, I would say start checking after 20 minutes if your oven runs like mine.  Secondly, I used a bar of semi-sweet chocolate that I chopped up in place of chips.  No nuts.  Now, I am going to show you a picture of what I used for "baking cocoa", it is sweetened.  Not sure if this is exactly what the recipe called for, but when made with it, the results are good so I am going to go with it on all future z.b. bakes.

Also, I should plug this Simply in Season book.  I love it.  If you have room for one more cookbook on your shelf, run out and buy this one.  

Downhill From Here

I realized today that sadly, my garden has peaked.  The big heirlooms are practically non-existent in 'Tomato Alley'.  The beans are overgrown, and the beetles have discovered them.  The dang rabbits continue to eat my seedlings, and the dog hair is unfortunately doing little to discourage the little beasts.

As of today, all of the potato bags have been emptied.  (I still have fingerlings in the ground, and sweet potato vines.  I say vines because I have yet to find a tuber when nosing around in there, it has been so dry......wishing I could rewind and water that bed on a regular basis.)  The good news is there are still plenty of fruits and veggies to harvest over the coming months.  Cucurbits are behind for me this year, so they are just getting warmed up.  The cool nights of late may put a stop to all of that though.  Ground Cherries, Blackberries, and Raspberries are fruiting and ripening - good stuff there.  Chard is continuing to provide in this otherwise barren garden greens period. I finally smartened up and put some woven seed trays over my latest sowings, the stuff that is covered is still there, the stuff that is not is being eaten by the bun-buns.  I need more of those trays!!  Spinach and all but 2 head lettuce sowings are gone.   Some of the Chard has been eaten as well.  Carrots and loose-leaf lettuce are protected.

One of my melons is sizing up.  I am so afraid a dog, rabbit, mouse, or slug will get to it before it has a chance to ripen and be enjoyed by us.

I made an attempt to shield it from critters, but it certainly isn't perfect:

The little watermelon does not appear to be getting any larger,  hoping it will surprise me with it's girth one of these days.

Today's harvest, minus the potatoes.....I will save those for tomorrow.

The true potato yields aren't know yet, but the grow bags delivered a mediocre harvest.  If an ideal harvest is 10:1, I was hoping for a 5:1 out of the bags.  Purple Viking performed the best, giving me a 4:1 ratio; the Red Gold would have been right up there if hadn't robbed them so early in the season.   It came in at 3.5:1.  Keuka Gold was a real disappointment.  This potato is very similar in character to a Yukon, yet it is said to be a high yielder.  That was not my experience.  2.5 lbs of seed yielded 4 lbs of potatoes.  Overall I need to find a way to up my overall yields.  Better soil fertility and increased spacing is probably the answer.

 Stuffed Squash recipe for Annie's Granny, and anyone else who may enjoy it:
(recipe courtesy of The Victory Garden Cookbook)

6 med. Summer Squash

1 med. onion, chopped
1/4 pound munster, in 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 lb sweet sausage, casings removed*
3 T butter
1 C fresh bread crumbs
2 T fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
1 T fresh tarragon (optional)
1/2 C sour cream

Halve squash and hollow out seeds/center.  Reserve and chop this scooped out bit.
Blanch squash, about 5 minutes.  (Optional ice bath to follow)
Brown sausage, remove from pan.  Cook butter & onions until soft.  Combine with reserved squash, meat, and remaining ingredients.  Fill squash and bake @ 375 for approx. 20 minutes in a greased dish.

* We always use Chicken & Apple Sausage in this recipe.  Whatever cheese & bread I have on hand goes in as well.

Good Stuff

I guess I will start by sharing a new zucchini recipe I tried this week, it was wonderful and a nice deviation from the normal 'zucchini bread' fare. The recipe is for a savory zucchini-basil muffins, I made mini's and they disappeared very quickly. The recipe can be found here at Synergy Farms, they did a three zucchini bread recipe taste test, and this was the favorite, give it a try!

Next in line, today's CSA share. I am happy with the contents this week, but once again the condition of the produce was not good. Today's 1/2 share included the following:

• 2 pieces summer squash
• 2 cukes
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 apples
• 3 ears corn
• 1 lb. potatoes
• 1/2 lb. onions
• kale

The cold nights and mediocre days are doing a number on the garden.....the vegetables have not increased in size at all this week, and that is a bit worrisome. I have so many peppers and eggplants out on the vine, I would hate to lose them all to cold temps. Luckily a few things are still producing and don't seem to mind the evening's temperatures, here they are pictured below:

A Little Garden Housekeeping

Today has been a great day out in the garden. After the many inches of rain we received yesterday courtesy of Danny, it was a perfect time to rip out the weeds and the less than stellar performers. But most importantly I was a SVB serial killer, and proud of it! I squished at least twelve of these suckers. They had finally taken up residence in my zucchini. The plants are now destroyed, but I was happy to sacrifice a few developing squash for the pleasure of hunting those borers down. YUCK!


Today's sowings:

1. Sugar Ann Peas - 55 days; I sowed these in the cucurbit bed where I had ripped out cukes and marigolds, mostly for their nitrogen fixing services. If I get peas out of it even better!
2. Bright Lights Swiss Chard - Chard can be harvested at 'baby' size about 5 weeks after germination and is somewhat cold tolerant.
3. Napoli Carrot - 58 days; A cold tolerant, early carrot variety. These will hopefully overwinter under a thick layer of hay and plastic or row cover.
4. Red Russian Kale - Overwinters easily, hardy to 14 degrees F; These should have ideally been sown in early August but I just didn't have the room. I will cover the seedlings with row cover before any frost is predicted, and keep them that way through the winter. May be harvested as early as 60 days after sowing; frosts improve flavor.
5. Rouge D'Hiver Lettuce - 28-58 days; Cold tolerant red romaine type lettuce, should germinate in soil temps as low as 40 degrees F.
6. Renegade Spinach - I have had no luck with direct sowing spinach all season, but since spinach seeds should used the same year they were purchased I figured I would give it another go!

(edit: Almost forgot, I took seeds from the nasturtiums and marigolds for next year. It was a rediculously easy thing to do (and free), so I hope they will germinate!)

Put Away For Another Day Zucchini Cakes with Gingered Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a recipe I have been using for some time to make zuke bread, but after Erin's catchy 'Put Away For Another Day' gadget over at Garden Now- Think Later, I officially coined the name 'Put Away For Another Day Zucchini Bread', thank-you Erin. It begins by freezing your portioned, grated, zucchini and oil in a quart size freezer bag.

Another Day it can be thawed and made into tasty bread (2 loaves), from which one can be wrapped and frozen to be enjoyed yet another day. The fat from the oil helps prevent freezer burn. This last recipe was made into giant cakes and topped with luscious Gingered Cream Cheese Frosting. (That recipe can be found here.) We like it only mildly sweet (2 C powdered sugar), and with a hint of ginger. I did maybe four sweeps over the zester, but more would be just as good if you love that ginger zing.

We normally enjoy this bread lightly toasted with a dab of butter. Feel free to add in some grated carrots or nuts to change things up a bit. Somebody is very happy that these little cakes are finished and ready to be sampled, and insisted on being in the picture!

PUT AWAY FOR ANOTHER DAY ZUCCHINI BREAD

2 C grated zucchini
1 C oil

Portion above amounts into 1 quart freezer bags or other storage container. Put away (in freezer) for another day.

Another day remove bag from freezer and thaw. Continue with recipe below:

Yield: 1 bunt pan, 4 mini, or 2 8x4 loaf pans

3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 T cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 C raisins
1 C walnuts
approx. ½ C applesauce (optional)
2 T diced candied ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour bunt (or 2 8x4 pans).

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and zucchini, then sugar and vanilla. Add applesauce and candied ginger if using.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, whisk to combine. Add raisins to flour mixture and stir in.

Stir dry into wet and pour batter into pans.

Bake loaves for approximately 45 min. - 1 hour. Check often, bake until toothpick/cake tester comes out clean. Cool.

Divide bunt loaf into quarters, keeping one for fresh eating, and freezer wrapping the other 3 to be put away for another day. (Or put away 1 8x4 loaf.)

Enjoy!

*Edit* Yet again Blogger is posting things all wrong and I am unable to correct the spacing, sorry! What is up with that anyway??

Garden Update

Here is a recent harvest of lettuce, peas, tomatoes, cukes, and squash. This is starting to be a typical day of picking for me which is very cool.

I am deliberating over whether or not to dig up the rest of my Yukon Gold potatoes yet. This will be my second dry day in a row, a rarity these days. Scattered T-Storms are in the forecast over the next week. If I have late blight and don't know it, leaving them in the ground for another week or two would be beneficial. Will all this wet weather encourage them to rot if I leave them be?

I think some of my peppers are ready for harvest. The Joe NuMex variety is to be picked while small and green I believe.....but I am not even positive that is the variety I am talking about. They have grown quite a bit since I took this picture. Maybe they are the Carmen Sweet Peppers?? Little fingers removed all my markers. Edit: Joe E. Parker is an Anaheim chili.

I have a few baby eggplant growing, very exciting stuff! (I think I now know why it is called an 'egg-plant'!)

The green beans and zucchini are there for picking every now and again. I ripped out most of the beans since they were ridden with blight (pictured below). Most of them were laying on the soil, not climbing the trellis as they should have been.....the heirloom varieties are just not holding up as well for me. The good news is the other bean patch is disease free so far (me knocking on wood).

Here is a close-up of the first dahlia to bloom. I put the tubers in the perimeter of the asparagus bed which seems to working out so far, the asparagus is holding them up!