Bing! Beets are up!

Well those seeds are finally sprouting and first on the scene: beets!

Now I'll have to face the difficult task of thinning ...hmm...

Which among these sprouts will be the ones to take it to the finish?

Definitely - this has to be my least favorite part of gardening...pulling up wee sproutlets.

Part of me reeeealllly wants them to all have a chance -

duke it out!

may the best seed win! 

wait!

you're *ALL* winners!!!

*sigh*

But one of my favorite parts of gardening?  Chowing down on its bounty!

It's a comin!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Snap!

pisum sativum

This pretty little flower is a promise. 

A promise of sugar snap peas. 

That's a pretty sweet promise.

I made mention of them in an earlier post.  It's nothing short of a miracle (the miracle of mother nature) that these guys made it past the strawberries.  But they did.  And they are now growing quite rapidly.  I've strung up hemp line to help them skyward. 

Actually, truth be told, I originally put up the line to keep Maya out of those beds and away from the strawberries.  Last year I ate only one berry, and really only a handful of them grew.  But those remaining four were 'picked' by Maya.  She was as good as she could be about it - she brought each and every one of them in to me to share. 

Aw.  So sweet.

She really is sweet.

Like sugar snap peas! 

Mangetout!

D'oh

I was sowing seeds a spell ago.  More chard and beet and lettuce. 

I had the proper number of pots for the job but I quickly realized that I didn't have enough markers on hand.   (More on markers later.)

Since I planned to line them all along the side of the garage, I decided to make do with what I had (as I was feeling terribly lazy) and those without markers would run along after pots potted with the same plant, until you ran into a different veggie (with its marker) so that they all ran along the outside wall in order.

Planter marked 'chard'...two planters to the right with chard but no marker...Planter marked 'beets'...three planters to the right with beets with no marker...and so on...and so on...and so on...

This worked like a charm and I was pleased with what I'd done.

Fast forward a week - the rains came.  (By-the-way, they haven't left.  grrrr...)  And I thought, "Oh! Well, best get those pots watered!  Move them out from under the shelter of the garage roof and save the effort of having to water them myself!" 

So clever.

(pat pat pat on the back)

Out I ran and moved those pots.

In no particular order.

Darnit.

Guess I'll find out what those unmarked pots contain when they sprout.

Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti

Vicia faba

I'll spare you the full quote.  But really, how many of us out there don't think of fava beans without thinking of Silence of the Lambs?  

...unfortunately my mind can't help but go there.  Though quite contrarily: Silence of the Lambs tends to give me a case of the heebie jeebies while fava beans make me pretty happy.

Why?

Well, the plant itself is really quite lovely.  If you are sure to plant the beans (after you've innoculated them) 3 inches or so below the soil, you'll give your plants a good base from which to grow (and remain) upright.  These beasties can reach 6' tall!  (woof!)  And the flowers.  Oh, the flowers!  They really are quite delightful and, to me, seem a bit ~sophisticated~.  Maybe it's the black and white thing - like how we tend to think that penguins are all running around in tuxes. 

taken 5/8/10 - they are about two feet tall

Anyway...looking past 'pretty', fava beans (also known as broad beans or field beans) are a great cover crop as they create a whole lot of biomass (that's 'plant material' to us laymen) and are excellent nitrogen fixers (they take nitrogen from the air and deliver it down the plant to the roots and soil where the nitrogen is stored - this is very good for your soil's health).  I'll get into cover crops later - as in towards the end of summer later - because it's spring time and it seems far too far away to be thinking of that quite yet. 

awww...Maya and the favas...

...a week later (5/14) and they are at least six inches taller!

The favas I planted six or seven weeks ago (which, anyone will tell you, is late - but *I'll* quickly respond 'better late than never!') are no cover crop - I have every intention of enjoying the favas that are surely (hopefully...) soon (eventually...) to arrive.  But like planting for cover crop, they will still provide a good bit of biomass for my compost and definitely will amend the soil in my planter box with greatly appreciated nitrogen. 

today - the growth has slowed down - now these favas are busy pushing out flowers!

I am willing to concede that there are way too many favas planted in this container...and I have little defense. 

They look pretty and I am greedy. 

I'll be sure to post a photo when those bean pods begin to form.  They are quite large and the fuzzy, fat pod contains a half dozen or so beans.  Each bean is wrapped in its own membrane that needs to be removed before you enjoy them.

(Oh, and you will enjoy them.) 

That whole bean-from-jacket-extraction is a bit of a pain but I push past it.  Just take a moment to boil some water, drop the beans in for a minute, then run them under cold water (or drop them in an ice water bath) to stop the cooking. 

Then remove the membrane: I usually pinch off the tip of one the end of the bean's little 'wrapper' and then squeeze the membrane (and bean) so that the bean pushes its way out through the wee tear I've created. 

Once I've got some favas to eat (oh! what a treat!) I'll try to take a photo or two of the process.

I usually add them to stir fried veggies - or saute them with some onion and ginger if I've got a whole lot of them.  But sometimes they don't make it that far - I gobble them up plenty as I'm prepping them and they are good just as is with a little salt and pepper. 

Don't be discouraged from preparing these - they really are quite good and are worth a little extra effort!

And I will tell you that I did enjoy some favas last night (courtesy of Organics to You, thanks again, Momma!)

With lamb burgers.

:)  Really.

They Bee Buggin': Mason Bees

Mason bee (family Osmia)

Okay, to start, I gotta tell you, I'd been itchin' to make a bee box for many, many moons.  I got a bee in my bonnet (so to speak) about it last year but never did a thing about it but think on it.  A couple weekends ago I got to talking about it (*again*) and then just quit talking and up and made one.

If you don't know what a bee box is, you might be impressed. 

That's about to end.  Because it really is quite simple...

You get yourself a drill, a drill bit (5/16-inch), a block of wood, a couple nails and some screws and *voila* -- you've got yourself a bee box.

Mason bees are solitary bees who lay their eggs in holes.  If they can't find holes, they lay fewer eggs...so if you build yourself a bee box, you'll likely find mason bees quickly on the scene.  And that is a good thing because mason bees are pollinators...so they'll help your garden grow.  And since they don't have a hive to protect, they aren't pushy - unless you squeeze or step on one, you aren't likely to get stung.

What these bees do is, they lay an egg and then go get some mud and build a wall around the egg and then lay another egg, mud wall it, and so on...and so on...until the hole is packed shut with mud (and eggs!)

The bee box I built ten days ago is just about ready for the 'no vacancy' sign so I drilled up another one Monday.  I seriously giggled - well, I mean to say, I'm serious about the fact that I giggled - when I saw that almost all of those holes from the first unit were filled. As I stood there smiling with extreme satisfaction, a fuzzy wee bee peered out of one of the holes - like she was saying hello.  She caught me by surprise.  And then she flew away. 

I ran and got the camera and then stood sentry in front of that box...with my hands held over my head, my camera at the ready should another bee appear.

It took a while and my arms went numb more than a few times...but I did get some fun photos. 

 

I am *so* delighted by this.

The Dilemma: Featuring Fennel

Disclaimer: no fennel grows in my garden.  But it could some day.  And with that in mind, I write...

My Organics to You box arrived today and inside was a fennel bulb.  Hm.  I've never prepared fennel before.  In fact, I've eaten it only a handful of times.

I wasn't sure what I'd do with it so started perusing my cookbooks in search of something that might grab me. 

America's Test Kitchen had plenty of fennel recipes: fennel braised with kale sauce (kale sauce? um, yummy) and linguine...fennel in bread stuffing with ham, mushrooms and pine nuts...on pizza with sun dried tomatoes and asiago...roasted with red onions and carrots...  Well, there were a lot of options there that sounded tasty, but they also sounded a bit heavier than I was after.  I had a pretty rich weekend full of excellent friends, good food and celebration so I was looking for something a little more fresh and light.  (And quite honestly, I wasn't in the mood for a major endeavour in the kitchen.)

I took a gander at my Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals book next and learned that it's a member of the parsley family (ha!) and is native to the Mediterranean.  And so they say,the bulb has a crunchy texture like celery and has a mild licorice taste...hmmm...what to do, what to do...

Looked online a bit and flipped through more books and learned that fennel is rich in vitamins A, B complex, phosphorus, potassium (which we in the NW get plenty of) and sulfur.  It provides relief from abdominal cramping and nausea and stimulates the appetite.  I also learned that it is best eaten raw..and so that's where I landed.
I found a recipe for Jicama, Orange and Fennel salad in one of my Moosewood books.  It fit perfectly as my box came with oranges...as well as radishes - so I swapped out the jicama for radish and went to work.

I didn't have a clue as to how to clean and cut the fennel but found plenty of info online.  This video was my favorite resource.  (Plus I love the Australian accent.)

The recipe was incredibly simple and it turned out quite lovely.  I'd make it again!

They Be Buggin': Spittlebugs

Spittlebugs (family Cercopidae)

The collection of 'spit' resting on the chamomile shown here is actually a mix of liquid waste and mucosal secretions that are whipped up into tiny air bubbles by finger-like appendages on this wee feller:

This is the nymphal stage of, I'm guessing here, a meadow spittlebug.  That foamy spit protects its soft-bodied self from drying out, insulates from heat and cold, and also keeps him safe from predators and parasites. 

Eggs are laid at the end of summer, they overwinter and in May they begin to hatch and look for a place to grow.  Their favorite nesting place is a pine tree but they find many a home within a garden.  A few weeks of feeding and they go from spittlebug to 'frog hopper' -- in their adult form they can jump over 100 times their length. (whoa)

Personally (and despite the fact that these guys like to whip up a hut of foamy waste to live and grow in), I find the little wee green guys to be pretty cute.  But they are considered pests. 

These babies pierce plants and suck sap which causes damage to the plants. The liquid they glean from our plants helps to make that foamy home.  How much damage they cause isn't really that significant unless you have a serious infestation.  You can blast your plants with a hose and that will remove them...but I don't have too many and am of the opinion of 'live and let live' so I let them stay.  They'll be gone in a couple weeks anyway. 

(I did put this little guy that I photo'd into a massive pile of lemon balm growing near the chamomile.  'Spreading the wealth', I suppose.)

Mind you, if my spittlebug infestation got out of control, I'd definitely take to removing them from my plants by any force deemed necessary.  But it's not an issue now...so they stay.

Strawberry Fields Forev-uh

I'm discovering something about myself while writing these postings:  I am a completely haphazard gardener.  With much to learn, much to learn.

But boy, what a classroom!

Last year I purchased two strawberry plants.  I was clever enough to figure out how to divide those two plants into many, which I planted in containers about the yard.  My friend, Pat, gave me a few more which I planted in more containers.  In all, I probably had near a dozen plants in pots.  But then, much to my surprise (as I'd never grown strawberries before), they began to scout their surroundings, sending out runners which then found a place to nestle in the dirt and then up sprouts another strawberry plant. 

Strawberries get around.

This is one (of two) raised beds.  Last year two pots with a strawberry plant in each, hugged the two south-facing corners of this plot. 

This year the bed is covered in strawberry plants (which I sincerely hope means soon to be covered in strawberries) -- save for the champ of chard towering to the north east corner and the few lone sugar snap peas that managed to see the light of day before the strawberry canopy could envelope them.

But it is such a treat to fold back a leaf or two to see what lies beneath:

Too sweet.

Happy Birthday, Ted!!!

The Parsley Code

If you Wiki parsley, it'll tell you that the produce code is 4899. 

Hm.

Ohhhhhkay.

Wiki is a funny (and often times entirely informative) place.  But the produce code?  If I had more time I'd wiki all the produce I could think of...just to see if they list the produce codes for most of our fruits and veggies.

I digress.

Parsley.

I really love parsley.  My favorite application of the herb: herby eggs. 

Yum.

And it's rather astonishing that I enjoy this carrot kin as I do.  Take a stroll with me down memory lane for a moment, won't you?

There was a family that cared for my sister and I during the week while Mom and Dad were off to work -- Mr. Pete and Mrs. Liz.  They were awesome.  I loved my time there.  But when Mrs. Liz gave birth to their fourth child, we stayed with a new sitter's family for a month or so (maybe it was less, but it felt like an eternity to me).  Pat.  Her name was Pat.  She had a husband who never spoke - I have just the haziest recollection of him.  And she had two boys, Einer and Bret.  And I am not kidding, they looked like Bert and Ernie.

Einer was short with a round face and an olive complexion and was a bit a spaz - he was constantly caught with his finger in the butter dish, which always grossed me out.  Bret was older, taller, with a long face and fairer skin.  He was quieter, more reserved. 

Anyway, Pat had a green house...and as far as I could tell, the only thing she grew in that green house was parsley.  Lots and lots of curly leaf parsley.  And a big, ol' pile of it always sat perched on our plate at meal time.  And this wasn't garnish.  This was a critical part of the meal and we were expected to eat it all.

I hated it. And she made me eat it. 

So, up until about four years ago, I entirely avoided the stuff.  Flat leaf, curly leaf, I didn't discriminate.  Nor did I touch the stuff (except maybe to flick it off my plate). 

But the wounds of my past have healed - hee - and I'm able to get beyond it now.  And bully for me because flat leaf parsley rocks!!!

And it loves to grow in my neck of the woods.  I'm willing to bet it loves to grow just about anywhere.  I've grown it successfully from seed in the past -- the key though is to soak the seeds for several hours before planting them.  Parsley doesn't much like full sun in summer's heyday --better to move them to a partially shady spot.  But in spring, parsley loves to soak up the sun.  They don't much like getting dried out - so be sure to keep the soil moist.

So I've got three pots of the stuff right now.  I had four but I was a bit overzealous in the harvesting of my over-wintered bunch and it's pretty tired.  I hope to coax it back. It's not the end of the world if it doesn't bounce back though - parsley plants aren't near as tasty (in my experience, anyway) the second time around.  I didn't have any parsley seed so I ended up buying two plants at (enter: angels singing on high) Portland Nursery and divided one into two so (calculating) now I have three.  And I feed off of them every day.

(You can see the pinched stems here.  I did that.  This morning!  Herby eggs. Mmmmmm)

So never mind the produce code -- I don't need to go to market for parsley. 

Like I said, I'm a rich girl.  :)

Ta Da!

Put on the water!

It's tea time!  :)

Chamomile to be Revealed

Chamomylle

is very agreeing unto

the nature of man,

and is good against weariness

-William Turner, 1551

Mr. Turner was an English naturalist and an early herbalist.  The guy is known as the father of English botony and he was keen to study plants in their native habitat.

Which isn't here.  But you wouldn't know it to look around my garden.

Last year I threw down some chamomile seed here and there among some of the bare spots in my planter boxes and pots.  It grew quite well and soon bare spots were no more.  It's a shame to say that I only made tea from one batch -- the rest of the plants just grew...and grew...and grew...and eventually went to seed.  I had every good intention (as all good gardeners do) of collecting all the seeds and storing them properly (more on that soon) to use judiciously the following year.

Enter 'following' year:

and

and

and

...well, you get the idea.  It's everywhere.  Those wee seeds were never collected and instead dispersed themselves quite thoroughly within my fence's borders.  In fact, I uprooted at least a dozen plants and moved them to the parking strip and front yard. (Some less fortunate seedlings took a swan dive into the compost bin.)  

I figured I had little to lose - and apparently a lot more chamomile to gain.  The herbs are doing just fine at their new locations.  And much of it will be ready to harvest in a very short while. 

And much like last year, I intend to use it. 

Did you know that just ONE home-dried flower can give more flavor than a tea bag of the commercial variety??? 

Hm. 

That's a lot of tea.

Chard Part Duh

Move over, Jack...

Mona and the Chard Stalk

Good grief.  This bad boy has to be 4' tall.  Love it!  Soooo pretty too!

This morning was an early one - I think I was puttering about in the garden by 7am.  I picked a mess of leaves and cooked up a VERY YUMMY BREAKFAST (if I do say so myself)...just look at this!

One word:  Yumma

I cooked up a couple slices of Whole Foods pepper bacon (caution: addicting) and then pulled the bacon out and sauteed a leek and then threw in some chopped carrot and yam, let that cook a spell under a lid and then threw in mushrooms...followed a bit later by some broccoli and *star performer* chard.  In a separate pan I fried eggs with gobs of chopped cilantro and ground black pepper and ~voila!~  One hearty breakfast. 

I love the weekends.

The broccoli and leek came from my biweekly CSA box from Organics to You.  Mom gave me a 'subscription' (is that what we call it?) for three months as a Happy Spring gift.  Happy indeed.

I love Mom.  She's so smart.

 

:)  Anyway, I can't figure out why *I* didn't do this sooner.  It's so awesome.  Every other Monday I've got a stellar box of goodies perched on my front porch.  It's like Christmas.  Every other week!  I really love it. And I'll definitely be continuing this once my gift period has expired.  It's such a deal too.  Everything has been perfect and yummy and I can't tell you how amazing it feels to eat such good food on a regular basis.  All of it is organic and the good majority of it is seasonal and local.  Organically grown, what's-in-season local. 

I'm in love.

It was a really good day.  Sunny and uncharacteristically warm for May - I swear it had to be 80 degrees.

A good day for the garden to grow. 

And me to sow! 

I planted a MESS of seeds. Chard, beets, and lettuce (mesclun) galore. Those things seem to grow really well in my yard and I really enjoy them so I'll stick with what works...for today anyway.