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

A kitchen gardener's blog

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

Garden Party

November 15, 2008 - Who has a garden party in November, you ask? Well let me clarify, it was not a party in the garden, but rather, from the garden. Almost all the food I served came from my garden, or other local sources.

Feeding the family from the garden is easy; see what needs to be picked and build a meal around that. Some nights it is just soup and bread or salad, or a simple tofu stir-fry with some sort of a green vegetable. Feeding guests however, is a little more complicated. It often means a trip to the farmers market and grocery store.

That is what makes this meal so special.... MORE

Turnips, Sweet Turnips

November 09, 2008 - The last time I ate a turnip I was a child, and the memory was not a good one. So I don't know what possessed me to plant turnips in my garden a few years ago. I guess it was an experiment to see what vegetables I could grow in the winter in my zone 6 garden. Or maybe it was the picture of the pretty purple turnip on the seed packet, purchased on an impulse. Whatever the reason, I am glad I tried turnips again.

When my first turnip quickly matured to the size of a golf ball, I harvested it and used it raw in a salad. I was pleasantly surprised at its sweet earthy flavor. Since I... MORE

Confessions of a Leaf Thief

November 07, 2008 - Yes I am one of those crazy people who breaks for bags of leaves on the curb. Maybe you've seen us, we jump out of our cars, shove as many bags as will fit in our trunk, and drive off quickly, hoping no one saw us. Or possibly you have been a victim of leaf snapping. On a Saturday evening as you close the curtains, you see the bags of leaves you spent all day raking, lined up on the curb. On Sunday morning you look out and the leaves are gone. You wonder where they went, because you know the city does not make weekend collections.

This morning, on my way to a meeting I noticed the f... MORE

Got Nematodes, Grow Marigolds

November 01, 2008 - I have never been much of a marigold fan. I always considered them a little on the gaudy side. I don't like they way they smell, and until recently, did not like the colors they came in. However my taste have changed, and I now love those cherry colors so much, that I have painted my kitchen yellow and my entry hall orange. And I now believe marigolds are essential in any organic kitchen garden.

It turns out marigolds help control nematodes. Plant a solid block of marigolds in a nematode infested area, at flowering chop the plants and till the entire crop under, to rid the soil o... MORE