I haven't posted a thing since last August. I just got busy and decided I didn't know enough to be talking about growing stuff. Then the last 8 months I have been talking to people about gardens, growing food, living green, etc. Evidently last year was a horrible growing year, mainly because we had little sun. It was not a good year.
Last year was my first attempt at gardening seriously. I was going to talk about preserving the abundance of food I was growing, but I didn't have enough to preserve. I gave up on composting to get any amount of soil, and I now just do it to not fill up the garbage with foodstuff that can be naturally recycled and decomposed.
Last year, only because of encouragement from my dear man did I decide to have another go this year. But before I get started, I want to pass on my lessons.
1. Ground prep is critical. We covered the ground with tarps last Dec. so that weeds and grass would not spring up during the winter. We also tilled 3 times before we planted anything.
2. Start the cool crops in the greenhouse as early as Jan or Feb. I also figured out that things like radishes, lettuce, green onions, and crops that don't have vines that crawl around, can grow to maturity very nicely in the greenhouse.
3. Fertilizing is a must.
4. Slug bait in the Pacific Northwest is a must.
5. Raised beds are fantastic!! It helps the soil stay warmer. Put some landscape fabric down under the bed so that critters such as moles cannot come up under the bed.
6. Wander through the garden talking to yourself, pulling stray weeds, and admiring the beauty of the plants, and they will respond by growing several inches overnight. (Did I really even utter those words?)
7. Peppers make lovely decoration growing in pots on your porch or patio.
8. At the end of the season it turned out that the experts were right (imagine that), the upside down hanging tomato plants did not produce but one or two tomatoes.
Gardening has a way of changing you and the way you look at your world. I have already harvested some radishes and some lettuce. It was such an empowering feeling to eat something that I had produced myself. It also tasted so much better than any produce I could buy in the store. That sounds so cliche, but there is something validating about the sweat of your brow.
Ok, so this year I started everything earlier. I am growing sugar snap peas, corn, potatoes, summer squash, cantaloupe (we'll see how it grows), tons of tomatoes, carrots, green beans, garlic, green onions, radishes, and lettuce.
There is no rhyme or reason to what I put in the raised beds. I just threw the packages of seeds in the air and wherever they landed, they got planted. But seriously, this is all a test. I put the garlic, onions, radishes, lettuce and carrots in the raised beds. I was curious as to how the root veggies (carrots, radishes and garlic) would grow in the raised beds. Radishes and garlic are doing well. Haven't harvested garlic or carrots yet, but the garlic is getting big, so that must be good, right?
I began planting mid-May, I just planted the peppers last week. I could have done that earlier, but I forgot to get pepper seeds and just got around to getting them a couple weeks back, and started them in the greenhouse. As you can tell, for me this whole process is very scientific, based on all the test data available. I figure mixing things up a little bit will give me good experience and information. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Basil grows beautifully indoors in a window. It is a beautiful green plant with a delicious smell. You can just reach up and pick some basil, add it to your food, and voila! Fabulous flavor!
Tomorrow I plan to go out and hoe some weeds, and sing a little bit to the carrots to get them growing faster.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Place as many cherry tomatoes as you want to eat on a roasting pan. Pour OLIVE oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with generous amounts of salt and fresh ground pepper. Roll the tomatoes around in the oil and the seasonings so that the tomatoes are coated all over. Put in a 325 degree oven for about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh-cut basil. You will have a warm, delicious tomato that is still firm enough to burst juice into your mouth when you bite into it.
Cherry tomatoes are very sweet and are perfect for this recipe. I think that you could probably also do this with a large tomato if you cut it in half and took out the seeds and then placed it cut side down on the roasting pan. But seriously, cherry tomatoes are like a bit of candy and this is just succulent and sweet as a side dish with chicken or fish.
Hint: Fresh basil can be stored in the fridge in a glass of water like a bouquet of flowers.
Last year was my first attempt at gardening seriously. I was going to talk about preserving the abundance of food I was growing, but I didn't have enough to preserve. I gave up on composting to get any amount of soil, and I now just do it to not fill up the garbage with foodstuff that can be naturally recycled and decomposed.
Last year, only because of encouragement from my dear man did I decide to have another go this year. But before I get started, I want to pass on my lessons.
1. Ground prep is critical. We covered the ground with tarps last Dec. so that weeds and grass would not spring up during the winter. We also tilled 3 times before we planted anything.
2. Start the cool crops in the greenhouse as early as Jan or Feb. I also figured out that things like radishes, lettuce, green onions, and crops that don't have vines that crawl around, can grow to maturity very nicely in the greenhouse.
3. Fertilizing is a must.
4. Slug bait in the Pacific Northwest is a must.
5. Raised beds are fantastic!! It helps the soil stay warmer. Put some landscape fabric down under the bed so that critters such as moles cannot come up under the bed.
6. Wander through the garden talking to yourself, pulling stray weeds, and admiring the beauty of the plants, and they will respond by growing several inches overnight. (Did I really even utter those words?)
7. Peppers make lovely decoration growing in pots on your porch or patio.
8. At the end of the season it turned out that the experts were right (imagine that), the upside down hanging tomato plants did not produce but one or two tomatoes.
Gardening has a way of changing you and the way you look at your world. I have already harvested some radishes and some lettuce. It was such an empowering feeling to eat something that I had produced myself. It also tasted so much better than any produce I could buy in the store. That sounds so cliche, but there is something validating about the sweat of your brow.
Ok, so this year I started everything earlier. I am growing sugar snap peas, corn, potatoes, summer squash, cantaloupe (we'll see how it grows), tons of tomatoes, carrots, green beans, garlic, green onions, radishes, and lettuce.
There is no rhyme or reason to what I put in the raised beds. I just threw the packages of seeds in the air and wherever they landed, they got planted. But seriously, this is all a test. I put the garlic, onions, radishes, lettuce and carrots in the raised beds. I was curious as to how the root veggies (carrots, radishes and garlic) would grow in the raised beds. Radishes and garlic are doing well. Haven't harvested garlic or carrots yet, but the garlic is getting big, so that must be good, right?
I began planting mid-May, I just planted the peppers last week. I could have done that earlier, but I forgot to get pepper seeds and just got around to getting them a couple weeks back, and started them in the greenhouse. As you can tell, for me this whole process is very scientific, based on all the test data available. I figure mixing things up a little bit will give me good experience and information. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Basil grows beautifully indoors in a window. It is a beautiful green plant with a delicious smell. You can just reach up and pick some basil, add it to your food, and voila! Fabulous flavor!
Tomorrow I plan to go out and hoe some weeds, and sing a little bit to the carrots to get them growing faster.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Place as many cherry tomatoes as you want to eat on a roasting pan. Pour OLIVE oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with generous amounts of salt and fresh ground pepper. Roll the tomatoes around in the oil and the seasonings so that the tomatoes are coated all over. Put in a 325 degree oven for about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh-cut basil. You will have a warm, delicious tomato that is still firm enough to burst juice into your mouth when you bite into it.
Cherry tomatoes are very sweet and are perfect for this recipe. I think that you could probably also do this with a large tomato if you cut it in half and took out the seeds and then placed it cut side down on the roasting pan. But seriously, cherry tomatoes are like a bit of candy and this is just succulent and sweet as a side dish with chicken or fish.
Hint: Fresh basil can be stored in the fridge in a glass of water like a bouquet of flowers.
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