salad greens

Janurary in the Garden – Garden Share Collective
by

Janurary in the Garden – Garden Share Collective

Happy New Year! This post is part of the Garden Share Collective. Each month a group of dedicated bloggers and gardeners share the stories of the vegetable gardens. I’m adding mine to the group although I am definitely off-season to the gardeners in Australia and New Zealand! My mouth waters at their tomatoes. I try to avoid them until our season opens in July. My garden doesn’t usually produce the first tomato until August or September. But, I can look and enjoy and enjoy the pictures. Click on the link to take a look at gardens around the world.

TheGardenShareCollective300pix1I haven’t done much gardening in the past few weeks; some harvesting but we’ve had rain, cold weather (for Northern California), and frost. All growth in the vegetable garden has slowed. I’ll be seeding lettuce and arugula later this month.

Frost bitten Nasturtiums

Frost bitten Nasturtiums

And, the seed catalogs are coming! I received the first ones in the mail last week. Time to dream of spring and summer.

I had some carrots seeded in containers on my deck which were going well until I noticed that something (squirrels?) had eaten the greens entirely off! Frustration!!! It’s too late to try seeding again for a month. Do squirrels like carrot greens? Hopefully it’s not mice.

Carrots eaten by????

Carrots eaten by????

What is on the garden schedule for January?

HARVESTING: salad greens, chard, beets, kale, fava leaves, herbs, and sprouting broccoli.

Lettuce

Lettuce

Chard

Chard

Beets

Beets

Baby Cauliflower

Baby Cauliflower

Thyme

Thyme

Parsley

Parsley

PLANTING: more salad greens

TO DO: Continue clean up, watch for snails and slugs, add compost to beds. I’m considering the purchase of an indoor grow light to start seeds. I’ll have to figure out a way to keep the cat from eating the greens.

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

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

 

October in the kitchen – Basic Vinaigrette
by

October in the kitchen – Basic Vinaigrette

Salad pickings from the garden

Those beautiful greens from your garden need a dressing that is just as special but simple. I don’t like to overwhelm the flavor of the greens. The following recipe is a favorite; it can be easily modified to go with the ingredients in your salad. See the suggestions at the end.

3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar (unflavored)

1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

1/2 of a shallot, chopped fine

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Kosher salt to taste, a good pinch

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegars, mustard, salt and shallot together in a small jar. Shake well and let sit it for 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator, this will soften the shallot. Add the olive oil and shake again to emulsify. The vinaigrette will keep for a week in the refrigerator. My favorite way to use the dressing is to put a few tablespoons in the bottom of your bowl, then add the greens on top. Mix it gently with 2 large spoons or your clean hands making sure to coat all the leaves. Don’t overdress the salad!

  • If you have fruit in the salad (halved grapes, apple, berries), use raspberry vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar. Toss in some candied nuts at the end.
  • If you are having wine with it, use lemon juice in place of the vinegar.

The secret is the mildness of the rice wine vinegar.

IMG_0057

10 Kitchen basics to grow in pots
by

10 Kitchen basics to grow in pots

If you have a deck or terrace with some sun, you can grow the following 10 herbs and vegetables. Having a pot of these herbs near your kitchen will encourage you to use them regularly. The fresh ones are infinitely better than the dried.

Many of them are actually easier to grow in containers. The first four are Mediterranean plants often found growing wild beside a road or path in the warmer parts of Europe. They will grow without any attention on your part other than a slug of water every now and then. In fact, withholding water concentrates the oils and makes them more flavorful.

The mint is best grown in a container; given a chance it will take over your garden.

Herbs:

  1. Thyme
  2. Rosemary
  3. Sage
  4. Oregano
  5. Mint
  6. Parsley – will need to be periodically replanted, not too often if you keep it sniped
Thyme and mint

Thyme and mint

Veggies:

  1. Arugula
  2. Salad greens
  3. Radishes
  4. Scallions or chives

Yes, you can grow arugula and other salad greens in pots. They will need regular water to taste their best. Without it they will wilt, become bitter and generally unappealing. If you have to be away for a period of time, I have some ideas that will help keep your garden healthy until you return. Look for another post coming soon.

Having lettuce near your kitchen will encourage you to snip the leaves for wonderful salads. You can either pinch off the outer leaves when they are of the size you want, or cut the entire plant back about an inch above the soil line. The plant will come back for a second or even third time, it’s called cut-and-come-again. The salads from these greens are infinitely better than those from even the finest grocery store. Plus, you can grow exactly the type of lettuce you want. Those commercial mesclun mixes always have too many spinach leaves for my taste. Seed catalogs are full of beautiful lettuces and lettuce mixes. Cooks Garden is famous for their mesclun; take a peak at the varieties available in their on-line catalog.

Radishes are easy to grow, too easy! I find that I forget about them unless they are front and center. My first gardening failure was in my grandparent’s garden when I was 9. I was excited when my grandfather gave me some radish seeds to plant. However, I immediately forgot about them until they were overgrown, woody, and way too hot to eat. Believe me I’ve had lots of failures since! So, put them in a container where you can watch them every time you pass by and pull them up when ready. In France radishes are a favorite starter with a crisp baguette, unsalted butter, and flaked sea salt on the side. I particularly like the French breakfast variety.

Scallions or chives will grow well in a pot. Having them close to the kitchen will encourage you to snip a bit to use with eggs, or salads, or as a fancy garnish. You can grow chives from a transplant, or from seeds. Your plant may die back in the winter but will come back in the spring. The flowers, pulled apart, are beautiful added to a salad. Scallions grow from seed, or even easier, a bunch from the grocery store. Put a bunch, with the rubber band still around them, into a glass with about an inch of water. Change the water every day or two. Once you see the roots growing and new greens on the top, you can plant them into soil. Simply snip off the green portion as needed or pull one up.

Parsley and basil

Parsley and basil

If you have herbs planted further away from the kitchen, cut a few sprigs while you are out in the garden.  Put them close by in a glass of water (change it every day). If you are sure you won’t forget them (I would), you can cover the glass or jar with a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator. I like to see them and they add a really nice herby scent to the kitchen, much better than those fancy infusers. I often have glasses of parsley, basil (in season), oregano, and rosemary on my kitchen table; ready to use when I feel creative.