and Recipe Corner
Peppers: Jimmy Nardello and College, Eggplant: Amethyst Potatoes: Bintje and unknown red variety grown from Trader Joe’s organic potatoes that started sprouting eyes Red onion: Red Crimson Jimmy Nardello is one of my favorite sweet peppers, and College is one of my favorite anaheim type peppers. This is the first year for me growing Amethyst, and they will certainly be… View Post
I have grown squash in earthboxes for a few years now, and I have not been entirely thrilled with the results. Using the earthbox quidelines of 4 per box, I always got anemic looking plants. They did produce squash, but not as much as I would hope for. This year, I put one plant per box, right in the middle… View Post
The eggplants are now coming on strong. Time to freeze! The way I do that is I cut them in slices, and layer them in single layers with parchment paper between each layer. Once they are frozen, I put them into freezer bags. The same method works great for squash and bell peppers (or any other pepper you might want to… View Post
Broccoli has been thriving this cool and temperate summer. We have been eating lots of it. Now that the heads have all been harvested, the harvesting of side shoots continues, and hopefully those will keep coming for some time still. Delicious!
I have been harvesting garlic scapes for a few weeks now. Today was the largest harvest to date. Two great reasons: 1: They are very delicious! 2: You will get larger bulbs of garlic come harvest time.
The reason for cutting off most of the branches is that it allows a strong root system to develop, as roots will form all along the buried stem. The reason for digging a long, shallow hole, and laying the seedling sideways is that the soil is warmer at the surface. It might seem counter-intuitive to cut off most of the… View Post
We planted this asparagus from crowns, three years ago. The first two years, we did not harvest at all, finally we are getting to enjoy it. The variety is Jersey Giant, and it is super delicious. I highly recommend it.
Today, finally, we had a day with no rain (so far anyways, it’s staring to look like rain might be coming any moment now). So I took the opportunity to plant out 8 lettuce seedlings to this spring’s first earthbox. Indoors, the pepper and eggplant seedlings were moved from under lights in the garage, but kept on their heatmat, since… View Post
Today I got a 60 plug Bio Dome flat planted with Hot Peppers, Sweet Peppers and Eggplants. They are now on the heat mat, at about 80ºF. On the 4th, I planted Tomatoes along with a just a few hot peppers. Many of the tomatoes have sprouted and have already been moved off the heat mat and under lights. A… View Post
I have planted 3 trays of flower seeds over the past couple of days, and I am amazed at the speed of germination of some of the seeds, and wondering if it has something to do with using ionized, alkaline water. (pH 8.5, micro-clustered, from my Kangen Water machine), or if it’s just the heat mat and the covered tray…. View Post
Spring season has started, if only indoors – with heat mats, and lamps. While it’s hailing and snowing outside, it sure is nice to have seedlings to watch, tend and care for. On February 12, I got one Bio Dome planted, with Broccoli, Cabbage, Mustard Greens and Parlsley. Today, 12 days later, I am hoping I did not allow them… View Post
I just discovered this excellent tool for planning your seed starting – spring or fall. http://www.chestnut-sw.com/growform.htm You need to know your first and last frost date. Once you know those dates, you are ready to start planning! Happy Planting!