April in the Garden – What’s Up?

April in the Garden – What’s Up?

I haven’t been able to get out into the garden these last few weeks (my goodness, it’s been over a month since I spent any serious time there!). It’s due to a combination of factors including one that should be a warning to all gardeners and sun lovers. My dermatologist discovered a small carcinoma near the tip of my nose and I had surgery to remove it (successful), then plastic surgery to do some necessary reconstruction. My plastic surgeon cautioned me to avoid all heavy lifting and exercise for at least four weeks after the surgery. It seems that blood flow to my face could hinder healing of the incision sites.

All is well and my nose just looks like I forgot my sun screen on the ski slopes. So, wear your sunscreen and a big hat all of you gardeners. And, don’t do what I did as a young woman and use baby oil to get a sun tan. What we didn’t know in those days!

Amazingly, the garden proceeds to do its “thing” without me and chugs (mostly happily) along. Alas, not necessarily the veggie garden, where everything is bolting due to the warm weather. But much of the rest of my garden has self-sown itself from seeds planted years ago. Every year they come back in a place they like and I enjoy finding a poppy, or other flower, growing in an unexpected place. Sometimes they even skip a year, how does that happen? Spring is the most amazing time because plants are responding to winter rain and spring sunshine.

I am continually amazed by the resilience of nature and its beauty.

Chives

Chives

Thyme

Thyme

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Here’s a snapshot of the more ornamental part of the garden. The artichokes and cardoon tower in the back among the dahlias, butterfly bush, shrub roses, and Matilija poppies (also called fried egg flowers).

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I’m hopeful that I will have more time next month, the tomatoes and beans need to go in before it is too late and will likely come from seedlings purchased at the farmer’s market. With water restrictions, I need to develop a new strategy for water-loving plants in my raised beds. I’m considering removing some of the “used” soil and building a modified hugelkultur bed to conserve water and nutrients. Stay tuned for pictures.

The other reason for my neglected garden is a class I am taking at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, “Sustainable Vegetable Gardening”. We’ve been spending time at our cabin up on the North coast so I can attend the class. This is a three-month hands-on workshop program which takes place every other Saturday until the end of June. There is always more to learn and Jamie Jenson, who teaches the class, is a very talented gardener.

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Last weekend we learned how to build a raised bed and the class actually built two. I had fun with the electric screw driver, my education with power tools has been sadly lacking. My Dad taught both my brothers wood working skills, and I learned to cook.

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If you ever get up to the North coast of California, make sure you make time to visit the gardens. It’s a fabulous place and well worth spending a day. Look for some pictures in future posts.

Thank you for visiting. What’s happening in your garden? Do you have any good strategies for cutting down on water use in the vegetable garden? I’d love to hear them.

 

February in the Kitchen – Grilled Artichokes with Preserved Lemon Sauce

February in the Kitchen – Grilled Artichokes with Preserved Lemon Sauce

Artichokes and lemons go together, and I am lucky to live in Northern California where both are common. Backyard Meyer lemon trees are everywhere, and artichokes are found in the ornamental garden as well as the vegetable garden. They are tough plants, survivors, members of the thistle family. I once came upon a large stand of them in a long abandoned garden, unwatered and uncared for, but thriving.

Artichoke plants

Artichoke plant growing through a crack in the sidewalk

artichoke plants

My front garden with artichoke plants

In my garden, artichokes will re-seed themselves if I leave the flowers to mature (the bees love them and they make striking cut flowers). I once watched a native bumblebee rolling in sheer bliss over and over in the purple florets; covering itself in pollen. I know how it felt, the flowers are gorgeous; you might want to brush them the same way you did a boyfriend’s new “flat top” hair cut (I date myself here).

artichoke flower

Artichoke Flower

The part we eat is the immature flower bud, sometimes called a head. Although we refer to peeling off the “leaves” of the artichoke to prepare it, they aren’t really the leaves of the plant itself but the bracts that protect the flower.

Young Artichoke

Young Artichoke

For years I ate artichokes boiled, the leaves dipped in melted butter or mayonnaise. They are good that way. Then, I discovered the pleasure of grilling and serving them with a mayonnaise “spiked” with preserved lemon. Grilling adds a lovely smokey dimension. As I said, lemons and artichokes go together.

Grilled Artichoke with Preserved Lemon Manyonnaise

Grilled Artichoke with Preserved Lemon Manyonnaise

To make the dipping sauce combine ½ cup of good quality mayonnaise, the chopped peel of one preserved lemon, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Chill until ready to use, this can be made ahead and keeps for a couple of days in the fridge.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemons

Note: It is easy to make preserved lemons yourself and a lot cheaper than buying them at the store. They keep for long time and once you have a jar in the fridge you will find lots of uses. Preserved lemons add an intense lemon flavor (without the sour tartness) and a lovely citrus perfume to anything they are added to. I use just the peel. To prepare them soak the whole lemon for an hour in cool water (change the water once or twice), then rinse and cut into quarters. You can easily separate the peel from the flesh so you are left with strips of peel. Use as directed in your recipe, gently scraping the clear pith from the peel with a small paring knife first.

When choosing an artichoke at the store pick the ones that seem heavy and firm with tightly closed petals, and a healthy green color. Since artichokes oxidize and turn brown when cut, have a couple of lemons close by. Squeeze one into a bowl of cool water; you’ll drop the artichokes in the water after trimming. Cut the other lemon in half and rub it on any cut surfaces.

Artichokes in acidified water

Artichokes in acidified water

Pull off any damaged outer leaves and trim the stem. The stem is edible so, unless it is tough, leave some on the choke. The tips of the artichoke petals will soften when it is cooked, it’s up to you if you trim the spiky tops. I usually snip them off but it’s not necessary.

Grilled Artichokes

Grilled Artichokes

I find grilling the artichokes brings out their natural sweetness. You will need to precook by steaming over boiling water. Put them stem side up in your steamer basket. They will take 30-40 minutes, depending on the size. You should be able to easily pull off a leaf. Test a couple before removing them from the steamer.

Once cooked, drain and let them cool. Then cut them in half and remove the choke in the middle. A grapefruit spoon or small paring knife works well. Brush them with olive oil, now they are ready for the BBQ, stovetop grill, or frying pan. Grill them cut side down until slightly charred on the edges, sprinkle with flaked sea salt and the juice of a lemon. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

Grilled Artichokes

Grilled Artichokes

Laying out a large platter of room temperature artichokes with lemon makes me feel like I am in sunny Italy.

 

 

November in the garden – salad greens, broccoli, peas, carrots, artichokes

November in the garden – salad greens, broccoli, peas, carrots, artichokes

Thank goodness we got some rain overnight. My garden has been getting along with occassional water from the hose but I don’t think veggies like it as much as rain water. Do you notice a difference after a rain? I do, they seem to perk up and go through a growth spurt.

The broccoli rabe is starting to form little heads. I may harvest a bit to add to pasta this weekend. Planting three varieties of broccoli is an experiment, in addition to the broccoli rabe I’ve planted purple sprouting broccoli and regular ones. We’ve had some warm weather during the day so they are getting a good start. In the past the cabbage worms and aphids got most of the harvest. I’m being diligent this year about picking off cabbage worm eggs and watching for aphids.

broccoli rabe

broccoli rabe

The cauliflower is standing tall, but there are no heads yet.

The lettuce is looking amazing! We had our first full salad from the garden last night. It was gorgeous with all those colors, textures and leaf shapes. I added fava leaves and trimmings from the pea plants.

fava beans and lettuce

fava beans and lettuce

I plan to scatter some more arugula seeds this weekend. We love it so, and it gets eaten quickly.

Arugula

Arugula

The watermelon radishes I planted seem to have become squirrel food! I’ll replant and cover them with a wire basket to keep the critters away. The radishes were purposely inter-planted with some spicy mixed greens, that usually keeps the furry pests away. Not this time, they selectively dug up all the young radishes.

The snap and snow peas are growing tall though.

nap peas, snow peas, and mesclun

snap peas, snow peas, and mesclun

That’s some spicy mesclun in the front, see the holes where the squirrels dug up the radishes? Grrrr…

carrots and radishes in containers

carrots and radishes in containers

Although I have many gardening failures over the years, the one that frustrates me the most are carrots. They should be easy to grow, right? Well, I have had terrible luck so far. Recently I decided to try another method, containers. I had some deep nursery containers that were sitting around waiting for me to stop being lazy and recycle back to the nursery. I thought I would use them, plant some radishes in the same container. So far, so good. I initially planted pelleted seeds (which are larger and supposed to make it easier to space the carrots), but the germination rate was terrible! So, I purchased several seed varieties and plan to thin the carrots when they are a couple of inches tall.

mini coldframe

mini coldframe – greenhouse

This mini-greenhouse is on the back deck, I’m hoping it will allow me to keep growing lettuces throughout the winter. It will get more sun once the magnolia tree looses the rest of it’s leaves.

artichoke plant

artichoke plant

The artichoke plants are coming back with the cooler wet weather. Last spring we had tons of them. This plant looks as if it could use separating out into at least 3 new ones. They grow like weeds here. Because my neighbor likes the flowers, I let some of them go to seed. Every since they have been self sowing themselves everywhere, even into cracks in the sidewalk.

artichoke plant growing from a crack in the sidewald

artichoke plant growing from a crack in the sidewald