July 28, 2010 Eating out of the Garden

We are trying to live out “Eat Local” and especially, “Eat out of our Garden”. Inspired by the economic crash, desiring tasty vegetables and a healthy lifestyle and further reinforced by Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

For lunch:

• Sliced fresh cucumber 
• Amy’s Vegan Zucchini Carrot Muffins from the recipe book Well Preserved by Joan Hassol

For supper last night:

• Grilled chicken with grilled Yum Yum Gold sweet peppers
• Disappearing Zucchini Orzo from Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle — from the garden: zucchini, thyme, onion
• Fresh Pole Beans

For supper tonight:

• Vegetable Chili — from the garden: carrots, zucchini, onion, celery, homemade salsa from 09, green pepper
• Bread Machine made Sourdough Bread

I can’t use Hassol’s jam recipes as she uses sugar in abundance. We are happy with the Sure-Jell Reduced Sugar Jam recipes from the direction sheet that comes right inside the pectin box. The muffins are delicious though, but only the adults like them thus far. The Disappearing Zucchini Orzo did not go over well and won’t be cooked again.

Harvested:

• 2 gallon bags of Renegade Bush Bean from just two 4′ rows
• 1 gallon bag of Hurricane Bush Bean from two 4′ rows
• Another gallon bag of Malibu Pole Bean
• Another 1/2 gallon bag of Sunset Pole Bean
• One large Tigress Zucchini
• 4 Yellow Crookneck Squash

All beans are to be blanched and laid on cookie baking sheets then bagged in Ziploc Freezer Bags and stored in freezer.

While picking bush beans I found four Monarch Butterfly caterpillars eating my Dill. Farmer Bob and I carefully carried them over to the Milkweed Plant I have left growing in the garden. I do need the Dill to make pickles and to make the most scrumptious Old English-style fried fish in winter.

The Gate to the Garden

 The Monarda or Bee Balm growing on the outside of the garden fence has been a constant buzz of action this summer. Without bees, there is no pollination. Yes, I overhead water. Same as rain falls. I water my garden between 4pm and 6pm in the evening, cooling plants down while not wasting water during a day of hot sun.

A Monarch Caterpillar ?

Ageratum

Hyssop on left and Peppers on right

 Pyrethrum is growing in the aisle between the beds above. You can also see some of my bush beans in the forefront and my pea bed in the rear where the trellis is. Pyrethrum repels bugs and Hyssop attracts bees.

Squash!

Painted Mountain Corn is growing in the rear amongst the winter squash. This rear wall of fence is where the woodchuck burrowed under this spring. He would come into my garden and only dig up and eat my zucchini and yellow squash seeds. He bothered nothing else. I had to lay flat stones along the fence after burying some upright alongside of it. Farmer Bob also put down some chicken wire against the dirt, weighed down with stones. No harm on our farm.

Tomatoes !!

I grew about 35 tomatoe plants from seed started in mid-March and look how big they are. I have never grown tomato plants this large. I planted them too closely together because usually my tomato plants are one third this size. In front of the tomatoes is a Yellow Crookneck Squash, and Baby Bear Pumpkins. In the rear corner, opposite the chicken coop, is Tansy I started from seed in ’09. My Tansy grew to 8′ tall this year and I’ve had to mostly cut it down. The best thing I did for myself was lay weed barrier fabric down and cut out holes for the plants and seeds to grow in.

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