Comfort Food

My favorite food right now is roasted red potatoes, sweet potatoes, baby bella mushrooms and onions.  I have a Pampered Chef Large Bar pan on which I chunk the pealed sweet potatoes and unpeeled red potatoes.  (Russets are too dry).  I then add onion pieces (rings cut in half) and sliced mushrooms.  (Garlic cloves make a good addition.)  I use my hand to make sure the veggies are evenly coated with a liberal amount of olive oil.  Fresh rosemary or dried basil and/or oregano is also good.  Salt is not needed.  I roast this at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or so.  I stir the veggies every once in a while because the onions and mushrooms can burn.  

 

This is delicious served hot or cold. I have been known to eat it straight out of the fridge. :)  I cannot wait to have fresh potatoes to use from my garden!  

Tomatoes are Planted!

Yesterday my toddler and I planted tomato seeds. I recommend Jiffy Starter Greenhouses for their ease of use. The peat pellets are awesome (just remove the plastic before you plant the seedlings to help prevent root binding). Keeping the humidity high helps the seedlings start days earlier and they do not need to be watered until after the seedlings emerge. I have also used a black plastic high-sided container with Saran wrap on top. It worked but wasn't as convenient.

Last fall I used a plastic lidded container that was the perfect size for 12 peat pellets. My son and I planted two each of the tomato seeds I ordered with the exception of the Silvery Fir Tree Tomato (four of those). Each year I try a new marking system but I have yet to discover a fool-proof one. Do you have any suggestions?

I'm dreaming in seed catalogs...

I received my favorite seed company's catalog (downloadable) in December. Since then I have been dreaming, scheming and changing my mind about which seeds to buy. I finally ordered the seeds yesterday and I can't wait to open the package and start my 2010 garden! My parents ordered me the Seed Savers Exchange Membership so now I really feel like a kid in a candy shop having access to the members only section!

Here is what I bought:

Moonglow Tomatoes - We enjoyed our orange and yellow tomatoes last year (less acidic tasting) and these looked interesting. They are marketed as having a true heirloom flavor.

True Lemon Tomatoes - More proof that I don't grow anything "normal"!

Silvery Fir Tree Tomatoes - These have a short transplant time-58 days! They are determinate (grow to a certain height, produce and then are done) but the upside is that they do well in containers. I am going to also try them in my Topsy Turveys. My plan is that these will begin producing in May and will finish about the time my others begin around the 4th of July.

Japanese Black Trifele Tomatoes - I saw these in another catalog a year-and-a-half ago and have been dreaming of them ever since! I absolutely cannot wait to grow these!

Eva Purple Ball Tomato - It says that it does well in humid areas so I hope that means it can handle the mildews humidity brings!

Waltham's Butternut Squash - We had a volunteer Butternut Squash last year and it produced six or so squash before the powdery mildew took it out. I froze them for winter eating.

Cherokee Trail of Tears Pole Beans - The Cherokee lived here and it is neat to grow some plants that used to be here. We also use many black beans.

Fiskerby Soybeans - These are high in vitamins and minerals and fresh soybeans (edamame) are good on salads!

Listada de Gandia Eggplant - I had a hard time deciding between these and the Rosa Biancas. I enjoyed the Rosa Biancas the last time I grew them but I decided to try something new.

Potato Sampler - I am splitting the 20 lbs of potatoes with three other ladies. I, once again, liked the idea of a variety pack. Surprised? I couldn't decide which variety to choose so the variety pack sounds like a great idea, right? I loved my Adirondack Blues last year.

This is what I already have and will be replanting:

Tiger's Eye Dry Bush Beans - These dry beans were very productive and easy to grow. I didn't use them as a fresh eating bean since I already had bush green beans. I picked the plants as soon as the pods began to yellow and hung them in my pantry. A few weeks later the pods were dry and my toddler and I had fun shelling them. They cook up beautifully and taste awesome! I don't like beans but I was eating these straight out of the pot after boiling! I've saved beans from last year's crop so that I can grow more!

Romanesco Broccoli - I have yet to have a successful fall garden. Either it's too dry (Fall '08) or too wet (Fall '09). My broccoli was growing but the three snows we've had (yes, in Tennessee!!) and the 10 days or so that we barely went above freezing did the plants in, I think. Not to mention my toddler's hoe. :) I'm going to try them again this spring. I've read that this is quite the delicacy so I'm eager to try it!

SSE Lettuce Mixture - Since I am incapable of doing choosing any normal vegetable plant, I bought the mix. I also could not decide which one or two types to buy so I thought the mix would help me find a couple of favorites. They did well through early summer last year. I just noticed that one survived the crazy winter we've had so far so I am going to go pick some for our next salad. If you live in a hot climate you may want to grow Slobolt which will grow all summer, even in the heat!

Healthy Peppers - I cannot praise this plant enough! It produced constantly all summer and fall. There were generally at least six fruits at any given time and they tasted awesome! I froze a lot for winter eating, too!

Napoleon Sweet Peppers - I was not as impressed with this pepper but it's hard to be unbiased when sharing the garden with Healthy Peppers. I did have an issue with curly top on most of my pepper plants. I cut off the damaged leaves and threw them away. This spring I am going to spray Neem Oil almost as soon as I plant to keep those pesky Leafhoppers away!

Early Fortune Cucumber - I bought these last fall and wasn't able to plant them. I'm looking forward to fresh cucumber!

Other suggested seeds:

Empress Bush Green Beans - They were delicious! My toddler would eat them raw in the garden and stuff them in his mouth first thing at dinner. They were also extremely productive. Forty to fifty plants supplied enough beans for dinner every other night plus extra to freeze for winter. I bought a huge bag of generic beans when I ran out of these so I'm going to use those first before I buy more.

Sutton's Harbinger Pea - These were very yummy! We would shell them and eat them raw in the garden or on the table! I bought a big bag of peas from a local nursery that I'm going to use up before I buy more of these.

Brown Berry Cherry (Chocolate Cherry) Tomatoes - I have grown these for the last two or three years. They are very productive and I am sure I will have some volunteers. They are sweet and fairly good sized. Once they begin to produce, they will continue until first frost!

Nyagous Tomato - This one was very tempting. I was so close to buying these but my garden space is limited.

What plants are you dreaming of planting this Spring? Any recommendations?

Fajitas!

Tonight we're having fajitas! I picked two ripe Healthy sweet peppers, a few sprigs of cilantro, one of our many cucumbers, Chocolate Cherry tomatoes, and added in mushrooms, water-packed tofu and mango. Yum! I can't wait to dig in! I love fresh meals from the garden. The peppers were so crisp when I cut in to them! They were crisp like a fresh green bell pepper but sweet like a red one. :) I can't wait for my Blue Jade sweet corn to begin producing so I can add in that too!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog on gardening in your very own backyard. I live in the South and have a yard full of red clay, rocks and no topsoil. My husband, N, built five 4'x4' raised beds for me plus we have a "tire patch" and various pots and tubs for growing. We also have a toddler, T, and an infant, S. T loves to help me water the garden and so far has only helped me pick one pepper way too early. :)

I like planting the odd and unusual varieties of "normal" vegetables. For example, I grew Adirondack Blue Potatoes this year and have Chocolate Cherry a.k.a. Brown Berry tomatoes. N isn't as fond of my wild tastes so last year I bought "good ole beefsteaks" with a fun twist for me - it was a pack of "rainbow" beefsteak tomato seeds. (A mix of pink, red, green, orange, yellow and purple beefsteak plants). I'd say it is a fun compromise! :) N just sighs and rolls his eyes. :)

We also grow some herbs with our emphasis on Sweet Basil. We devour Basil Pesto on anything and everything. As soon as T had his first taste of pesto last year he hasn't stopped eating it. He'll even eat it plain! :) I freeze raw leaves for pesto making in the winter because we eat so much of it.

I prefer growing my plants from seeds because I can pick exactly which variety I want and know what the seedlings have been exposed to (i.e. pests and pesticides) without paying the extra money or organic plants. I also love ordering heirlooms that have a fun history. What we may not realize is that many of these "odd" colored veggies are actually heirlooms. Potatoes are native to the Andes and there are many purple and blue potatoes which have been grown for centuries. The more colorful the potato, the higher the antioxidant level is and the health benefit. (I use that fact to help convince N that I am not too crazy for the wild colors).

N is my awesome composter. I am so blessed! I wouldn't have nearly the garden I have without him. You should see the size of the worms! I'm glad they are in my garden but I really don't like digging potatoes and discovering the worms!! Uck! They are the size of small snakes (my LEAST favorite animal in the world! I prefer Grizzlies!!). T laughs when he sees me jump! I try to be a good example and teach him to not be afraid of worms. :)

Gardening is relaxing for me. There's nothing like working with the soil when one is stressed. I love nurturing the plants I grew from seed. Weeding isn't so much fun but I have far fewer weeds thanks to raised beds. This year I did have a volunteer tomato (maybe a Chocolate Cherry) pop up by our mailbox. I can't wait for the fruit to ripen so I will know for sure. We also have a volunteer Butternut squash growing out of our strawberry patch. That is one giant squash plant! I don't thin seedlings...I know they don't have feelings but it is still hard. :)

My hope is that maybe some of my experiences will help you learn more about gardening and encourage young families to get out and garden together. It can be done with children around, just an extra dose of patience is sometimes needed for "helping". Gardening also also allows me to feed my family healthy and vine ripened produce. I also love saving money. :) Basil Pesto is so much more affordable when it is grown in your own yard!!