Garden Fuss

I couldn't resist making this hearty dish. The leeks had begun going to seed and the potato's were on sale. This is a great combination from garden to plate that the big and little people of our home have jumped on pirahna style. This spring I made sure to sow the leeks successively in a couple places.
I plan on saving money and adding more classic bold flavoring to our meals one stalk at a time. Besides harvesting the leeks we've been enjoying the sweetest peas, abundant chard, greens, kale, and even the tat tsoi. Soon we will have abundat tomatoes [I hope]. So far there are two actual fruit on the vine that I've spotted. I have yet to do an inspection today but as my fellow gardeners can attest a day can make a whole lot of difference. Already I can see from the window a host of ripe raspberries ready for the picking. We made a dent in the picking yesterday but I can see there is more to do. With that being said I will update you on my results later. Happy Planting or

Just when I thought the pepper plants were too tiny to make anyting but the smallest blooms; they surprise me with not so tiny hot delights. Check them out below! Our Kimchi garden is coming along quite well I must say.

Today's update is one I discuss with family and friends who garden; while we huddle up under blankets in our respective homes sharing memories of summers past over the phone while sipping hot cocoa in the long winter months. Today's inspection of the garden is just the conversation starter I needed!Seeing the first baby tomatoes forming on the plants (pictures later today), and the first asiatic lilly blooms. It does not get much better than this, and it's not even officially summer. This particular group of flowers were hiding behind the roses I deadheaded with my little assistant. The couldn't really be admired there so I clipped them and brought them in to enjoy. I'll get back out later and give you more updates, but for now Happy Planting!

My Fussy Garden Early June 2012 There are so many things to report this week with all the rain and then super warm sunny days the past couple of weeks. I decided to make a numbered list because there is just too much to keep track of as I've been busy with online training classes. We completed the patio summer seating area. The strawberries are ripening. The 6 Haogen Melon Plants didn't make it. The Table Squash plants are flourishing. There are roughly 4 red noodle long bean plants left. The Sugar Snap and English Peas pods are abundant and making like crazy. The Tomato and Hot Pepper plants are small but flowering way early. The Rhubarb is taking to it's new home in the garden. The greens are just about ready to harvest. Including: Collards, Dino Kale, Tat Tsoi, and Swiss Chard. The cabbage plants are doing very well. Can't wait to make Kimchi! The leeks I sowed last year are tall and thick just like you find at the grocery store. The Purple Tomatill

If you saw my previous post today you know that I was preparing to do battle with some little nibblers. The reason why I have so many so early this year is because it has been an unseasonably warm winter and transition into spring. With the warmth there has been an abundance of rain which slugs love. Add to this my planting their favorite snacks and you have a recipe for disaster. As  you will see from the pics I try to be as "green" as possible. Re-purposing old plastic Easter eggs and citrus pith/peels I started planning my gastropod assassination attempts. I started with taping over the holes in the bottom of the plastic Easter eggs, I then proceeded to grease the inside tops of the eggs with shortening to make them even more slippery. With the eggs prepped post shopping trip to the local nursery and the local liquor store it was time to set my traps. Let me pause for a moment to tell you I hate to have to kill bugs and I am trying hard to make multiple meals a day more

Yes you read it correctly the war has begun and I am taking no prisoners.  Well, scratch that I will take prisoners directly to the nearest lake or river and water-board them to catch someones dinner. I'm talking Walleye, Bass, Catfish! What ever is in the mood for fresh caught slug or grasshopper meat? It is on!!!! [fyi... I really don't like fish either only fishing] This morning I went out after Neeming the whole garden yesterday and noticed even more damage. Not just damage, but the entire loss of my Ruby Wallace Old Time White Cucumber that I received from Baker Creek Heirloom as part of the Grow It Forward Heirloom Seed Contest . I am so heated right now because what I thought was possibly one last remaining cucumber sprout to "make it" through some kind of bug/ultra sun attack has passed on with its brethren. So I am now debating on either starting again by directly sowing seed in a well guarded and watched pot; or buying something new and already well into

3rd and 4th graders can be pretty busy little people. But chaperoning them in a  torrential  down pour over a couple nights can be down right nerve wrecking to the faint of heart. LOL Anyway, I made it through this adventure only to return to a different kind of adventure at home. First off I was more than thrilled to see that the vegetable garden was still intact after I heard of the storms in the city and all the hail.  As soon as I walked into the back-yard my neighbor says "Hey Tina look at your beautiful rose bushes". [ It's taken me 5 years to get more than one bloom on either of the two rose bushes ] The vibrant and abundant red blooms are so amazing! My constant doting with fertilizer, bug spray, water, pruning, picking off critters, and constantly threatening/talking to the things has finally yielded great results. I could have been happy all day about just the blooms on the rose bushes. However, I continued to the veggie garden where I noticed some chew marks