Value of harvest as of 7/20/10: $563

A kitchen gardener's blog

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

Mobil Winter Garden

January 28, 2009 - It seems like everyone around me is growing food inside this winter. There was a discussion at KitchenGardens.org and a post at Homesteading in a condo. Should I be doing this? I knew the veggies would have little crunch or texture due to the lack of wind or harsh outdoor conditions. Limp veggies do not appeal to me. But then I started thinking... on most days the temps go above freezing. What if I put these plants outside whenever it was above freezing?MORE

Lady Godiva Squash

January 26, 2009 - The order I placed with Seeds of Change last Thursday came today. I am really excited about the Lady Godiva squash. Each squash yields up to 1/2 lb. of nutritious seeds that need no shelling. I also got:

sunflower, supermane--old Turkish polypetalled variety
bergamont, lemon
chia
Sweet Annie
arugula, sputnik
huazontle--I learned to cook this in Mexico
beet, pronto
carrot scarlet nantes
Chinese cabbage, Tai Sai
lettuce, iceberg-- my son loves the crunchiness
pepper, ancho
onion, mini-purplette... MORE

Espalier Pruning

January 23, 2009 - The thing I like most about winter in Tennessee is the occasional warm sunny day. Whenever this happens, I clear as much from my schedule as I can, to allow for a few hours of gardening. Although rain was in the forecast for today, we woke to sun. So I decided today was the perfect day to prune my pear and apple trees while taking in a little vitamin D. I am training these six trees as an espalier fence along the southern border of my vegetable garden. The means frequent summer shoot pruning.

Well this past summer, my trees sent up so many new shoots that I could not keep up with ... MORE

Taking Stock of my Seeds

January 16, 2009 - I have a 10"x16" plastic box that I store my seeds in. Since it is stuffed full, I thought I should take inventory of what I have before placing any new seed orders. You would think with this many seeds on hand I would not need any more. HA, HA, HA!!!!

I used this as an opportunity to get rid of seed that did have not preformed well or I have not like. I also sorted the seeds by planting date. Beginning in mid February I will start sowing seeds every two weeks. Some will be sown in flats under lights in my garage, others will go directly in the ground. The piles shown here are l... MORE

My Love Affair With Turnips Continues

January 13, 2009 - You have to love a plants that is this hardy. The tops of these turnips got beat back pretty bad about three weeks, when we had colder than normal weather. But look at all the new green leaves!

I picked these this morning because it was above freezing. I plan to stir fry the bottoms and tops with tofu and hot chili oil for dinner tonight. If I had waited and pulled the plants after the temps dropped below 32, the frozen tops would not be useable.... MORE

Support Your Local Farmers

January 13, 2009 -
Often in my postings I mention using something that I purchased from a local farmer. Well here they are, Tallahassee May of Turnbull Creek Farm and John Drury, of Drury Family Farm. These two small family farms near Nashville, TN make up Fresh Harvest, LLC.
When I buy from Fresh Harvest, I are buying directly from the farmers who grew my food. Their food is fresher, healthier, and better tasting than anything I can get in a store, and I am supporting local, sustainable agriculture.

If you live in Nashville I highly recommend y... MORE

Why is there a bucket hanging on the tree in the front yard, mom?

January 12, 2009 - This question was asked by both my kids as they came home from school this afternoon. Well of course the answer is, I am tapping the tree for maple syrup. "Don't all the other kid's moms do this sort of thing?"

Ok, maybe this is a little strange, especially down here in Tennessee. And the tree I tapped is not a Sugar Maple, it's a Silver Maple. Recently a member of KitchenGardeners.org asked the question: "Any urban tappers out there?" From the discussing that ensued, I discovered that any variety of maple can be tapped even those gro... MORE

Merida Carrots

January 09, 2009 - I have never really been successful with carrots. I know my heavy clay soil is part of the problem, so I work in lots of compost and grow green manures. I also know that in the past, technique has been the problem. I have learned that carrots left in the ground once summer heat sets in, become woody and bitter. And then last spring there was the mole who was eating my carrots from below. Everyday I would go to the garden to find a wilted carrot top. I would pull it up and the whole carrot would be missing. This guy was moving down the row, eating the next carrot in line each day.
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My Favorite Seed Sources

January 04, 2009 - Seed catalogs are sprouting in my mail box faster than chickweed in my garden. Anyone who has ever lived in the south knows that chickweed is a very prolific winter weed that is almost impossible to control. To date I have received 12 catalogs and three of my favorites have yet to arrive. This makes me feel glutenous, especially since several of these will not even be looked at. So this week I will be requesting to be removed from many of these mailing lists. While deciding which mailing list to remain on, I realized how my seed purchasing habits over the years reflects my growth as a gard... MORE

Best Tasting Kale

January 29, 2008 - Last fall I planted the three varieties of kale pictured above: Red Winter, Dinosaur, & Redbor. I was looking for the best tasting, most cold hardy variety. Well, the results are in, Red Winter wins. While all three stood up to single digit temperatures, in a cold frame, the Redbor was tough, and not very tasty. The Dinosaur was good, but not as tender or sweet as Red Winter. With it's dusty green leaves and purple stems, this kale not only looks great, but it was tender with a slightly sweet flavor. This fall Red Winter will be the only variety of kale I plant. And since it is so pretty, ... MORE