A kitchen gardener's blog

Chickens: Livestock or Pets?

March 09, 2010 -
I have been pondering this question for days now. Are chickens, like Sunflower (pictured here), livestock or pets? Until recently, I had not given it much thought. But when suddenly, I had to give my four hens away, I realized just how attached I was too them. This got me to thinking... most governing bodies consider chickens livestock, but I have a hunch that most chicken keepers, with small flocks, think of them as pets.



When I first acquired the girls, as one day old chicks, I did not really think of th... MORE

Death, Decay, Dinner

March 04, 2010 -
Our maple tree is dead.

The maple who's flaming red leaves,
against the blue autumn sky,
looked so beautiful from the kitchen window.

The maple over who's roots,
I've patiently cultivated a moss garden.

The maple who's canopy
my son played in.

The maple who's branches
my daughter adorned with trinkets.

We loved that tree.
We'll miss that tree.

But from decay comes new life.

I don't want just any life.
I want fungi, Shiitake mushroom fungi.

So I order spawn.
I drill holes in stump and felled logs.
I... MORE

First Flower of 2010

February 19, 2010 -
It was 56 and sunny today.

After three snow events that resulted in seven snow days from school, this was a welcome change. So I headed out to prune my fruit trees. On the way I noticed this hellebore blooming.


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Garden Planning

January 29, 2010 - I just received my first seed order for 2010 from Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds, currently my favorite seed source. In addition to seeds I ordered this handy garden planner. It charts planting and harvesting for the most popular vegetables according to first and last frost dates. The chart consists of two sliding parts so you can adjust the planting schedule based on your frost free dates.

This year I had decided to be really organized about my planting, maximizing my garden space with succession planting and interplanting. To accomplish this I created a scaled drawing of my garden be... MORE

Urban Farmer

November 10, 2009 - No I am not raising turkey, but I feel like I could. This flock wondered into my garden last fall.

I picked up the premier issue of a new magazine recently. The young man at Borders, who took my money, mentioned how thrilled he was to see so many people buying "Urban Farm". I was surprised to even find a copy at that Borders, given its location, and even more shocked to hear his comment. Wow, maybe these trends to eat local, know the source of ones food, and live more sustainably are really catching on. While I know tons of people interested in these ideas, I realize that we are in... MORE

Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

November 05, 2009 - The three red stamens of this fall blooming crocus make saffron. I will carefully remove the stamens and dry them for later use. This tedious harvesting process is one of the reasons this spice is so expensive. But since I only use saffron a few times a year, I can painlessly harvest what I need. I have read that Saffron Crocus is only hardy to zone 6, but I successfully grew them in Illinois, zone 5.... MORE

Rain Makes Great Cubrits

November 04, 2009 - Here in Nashville we had the second wettest September on record; I recorded 8.8 inches in my garden. This follows a very wet July and Spring. Due to all this rain, this is the first time, in my 20 years of growing tomatoes, that they died before the first frost. I lost all my paste tomatoes in August, and my slicers in September. I had one lonely hybrid cherry that held on until October.

While tomatoes and peppers have not liked this wet summer, my cubrits have loved it. In July I had so many cucumbers, that I have enough pickles to last for years. While still not the yields I wo... MORE

I Picked a Peck of Peppers

October 16, 2009 - I am not Petter Pipper, and I have not idea how much a peck is. But if it is a lot, then that is what I just picked. Near freezing temps are predicted for tomorrow night, and my garden always gets colder, so I harvested all my peppers today. Guess what will be appearing in every meal at my house for a while?... MORE

Lemon Verbena for Tea

October 08, 2009 - I am drying these Lemon Verbena leaves to use in teas this winter. Lemon Verbena is only hardy to zones 8 and higher, so I grow it as an annual. I plant it in full sun right outside my front door where it is easy to snip a few leaves when needed.
... MORE

Give Me Fruit, Lots More Fruit

September 11, 2009 - There is a growing stack of fruit tree catalogues on my desk. And for the first time in years, they are getting much more attention then the catalogues filled with gorgeous spring bulbs.

I have been reading about Forest Gardening lately. And while I am not about to forsake annual vegetables, like most of the hardcore proponents of this sustainable food producing system, I would like to incorporate some of their principles into my garden. So I took a long look at every spot in my garden, noting places where I had room to plant fruiting trees, shrubs, vines and canes. It turns out, I h... MORE

Early Morning Garden Scents

September 08, 2009 - I wish there was a way to send scent over the internet, because to truly appreciate this Flower called, Datura Ballerina Purple, you have to smell it. One of the best rewards about being out in the garden early in the morning is getting to enjoy this beauty. It's a night bloomer, closing up as soon as the sun hits it in the morning.... MORE

Garlic Chives: Late Season Insect Lure

September 01, 2009 - Most of the flowers I grow that attract beneficial insects are done flowering or dying at this point in the season. But yesterday afternoon I noticed this garlic chive swarming with insects, most of them I recognized as beneficial. Since I started it from seed last year, this is the first year it bloomed. My intended purpose was not to attract insects, but to use the leaves in cooking where they add a nice garlicky flavor to dishes. Oh, and the plants looks pretty too.... MORE

Getting a Good Buzz from Cosmos

August 28, 2009 - According to the most recent issue of "Organic Gardening", gardens full of flowers such as cosmos, sunflowers, borage, cilantro, zinnias and clovers have fewer problems with leaf-eating caterpillars. This summer I have all of these intermingled with my veggie plants. I planted the flowers to attract bees which help with pollination. Well it turns out the bees do more than pollinate, they scare caterpillars. The caterpillars confuse the vibrations caused my the bees with hunting wasp. Fearing for their lives the caterpillars stop eating or even drop to the ground. Wow, and to think I have... MORE

To Catch a Cantaloupe Thief

August 25, 2009 - I have only once, successfully grown cantaloupes, that was about four years ago. Despite a cool rainy summer, this year was looking promising. That is, until a few days ago, when I found one of my two young Emerald Gem melons separated from the vine. And then this morning I found the remains of the other one. Since the suspect is nocturnal, I am guessing raccoon or opossum.





I still have another chance at home grown cantaloupes. I have two Old Time Tennessee melons on the vine, and I am not taking any chances. To... MORE

A Fort for the Boc Choy

August 11, 2009 - While this may look like a fort that my kids would have built when they were younger, it's not. I constructed this to protect my boc choy transplants. Even thought it's hot here, it's time to start the fall and winter garden. Several weeks ago, I started seeding root crops like, scallions, leeks, carrots and beets. And I have been starting flats of transplants, like raab, kale, collards, cabbage, lettuce and the boc choy that is tucked under this "fort". The green is shade cloth, it will be removed in a day or two once the plant roots have settled in. The white is floating row cover. It ... MORE