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

A kitchen gardener's blog

A Chipmunk Under the China Cabinet

September 04, 2010 - Sharing my Sungold tomatoes with chipmunks is bad enough, but I draw the line at sharing my dining room with them. For the past 24 hours we have had a chipmunk living under the china cabinet.

I have been doing a lot of moaning this summer about all the garden damage done by these rodents. Seems everyone in Nashville has an abundance of the little creatures this year. Usually they only damage a few strawberries, but this year they have sampled everything. They seem to especially love the Sungold cherry tomatoes, which happen to be my favorite. I thought the three foot tall chicken wir... 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

Calendula

September 28, 2008 - I love these flowers. Not only are they cheery when in bloom, but the petals are very soothing to the skin. I make calendula oil by steeping the petals in warm oil for several hours. This oil can be used directly on the skin or as a base for lotions. Calendula attracts beneficial insects to the garden so I often plant it amongst my veggies.

Since it likes the cool temps of spring and fall, I usually plant it in mid March and give it a little protection on freezing nights. I start the seeds inside 4-6 weeks before I intend to transplant. By time July's heat sets in, the plants usual... MORE

Sweet Banana Peppers

September 21, 2008 - I have always preferred bell peppers to other types of sweet peppers, until this summer. I still love the the thick flesh of a bell pepper, but I have learned to appreciate the Sweet Banana Pepper. While the bells were still tiny I was already harvesting pale green bananas. The ones I left on the plant turned yellow and then orange. I assume, if left on the vine long enough, they would become red. They were pretty and tasty, no matter what color they were at harvest. Now, in late September, the plants are still going strong, while the bells are winding down.

Why I love this ... MORE

Last Chance to Plant Seeds

September 15, 2008 - Today I seeded the last of the fall veggies. I put out French Breakfast Radish and Red Beard Scallion seeds. Both plants will mature in 45 days, right at the time of my first frost and just as the sun gets too low in the sky to provide enough light for Photosynthesis. At this point plant growth will stop. As long as I keep the plants protected from hard freezes I can still harvest them all winter. After early February when the sun is higher in the sky, plant growth will resume.... MORE

Lemon Cucumbers

September 12, 2008 - It seems as though I have posted a lot about cucumbers this summer. This will be my last posting, since I pulled out the plants today. The squash bugs and cucumber beetles finally took their toll on these plants. However this is the longest I have ever had cuc plants, so these Lemon Cucumbers are a keeper, I will be planting them again in 2009.

Why I love this plant-
Never bitter
Prolific
Resistant to insect

Growing and harvesting tips-
Needs good support
Pick before yellow to avoid seeds

What I did with the harvest- MORE

Eat the Thinnings

September 09, 2008 - The turnips I direct seeded several weeks ago needed to be thinned out. Some people consider thinning to be a chore, but I just call it harvesting, and it doesn't seem as bad. As I sat there this morning pulling out the crowded seedlings. I thought about all the different ways I could prepare these tender young greens. ... MORE

Cooking or Gardening?

September 04, 2008 - I always thought spring was the busiest time for a gardener, but today I decided it is late summer. Yes, I only spent a few hours in the garden today, transplanting salad greens, Derby Day cabbage and broccoli leaf. And I know that in the Spring I can spend the whole day out there. But today, once all the new transplants were watered and the Roma tomatoes were harvested, I came in and spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen, making a gallon of pasta sauce and canning eight jars of sweet pickle relish.

A productive vegetable garden means a lot of time in the kitchen in late s... MORE

Tomato Thef Convicted

September 03, 2008 - Breaking News. Tina Turtle has been convicted of three counts of Roma tomato theft. She was apprehended at 7:55 this morning at the corner of Tomato Patch Pike and Zinnia Border Blvd. Ms. Turtle has been sentenced to 60 day of community service, performing slug eradication. Charlie Chipmunk was formerly charged with this crime; those charges have been dropped.... MORE

Garden Visitors

September 02, 2008 - This morning. while pruning a Mexican sunflower that was casting too much shade on my only watermelon, I was startled, when I removed a branch and saw these two staring at me. They have such unusual faces, that I find so interesting. This got me thinking about how diverse my vegetable garden is and about all the different creatures that visit it. As an organic gardener, who embraces many permaculture principals, I have worked hard to cultivate this diversity.

Planting flowers amongst food producing plants is an important element in my plan. The flowers. that call my vegetable pl... MORE