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Gardening: 2012 Season


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Or, anything much you can do with a bunch of not-yet-full-sized green tomatoes?

Mjx, don't see why you could not pickle them, brine time should soften them to edibility

and kill off any nasties. Maybe add rosemary for a resinious zip, like a caper berry? Just a thought...

Mjx, I have a *KILLER* green tomato refrigerator pickle recipe. I just made 4 quarts-plus of them over the weekend (a windfall from my CSA, be careful what you ask for !). Let me know if you'd like it. They are very, very tasty.

--Roberta--

"Let's slip out of these wet clothes, and into a dry Martini" - Robert Benchley

Pierogi's eG Foodblog

My *outside* blog, "A Pound Of Yeast"

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Mjx, don't see why you could not pickle them, brine time should soften them to edibility

and kill off any nasties. Maybe add rosemary for a resinious zip, like a caper berry? Just a thought...

I was wondering whether when they're still this small they would be okay to eat, or whether they'd be really harsh tasting (possibly even mildly toxic?).

Mjx, I have a *KILLER* green tomato refrigerator pickle recipe. I just made 4 quarts-plus of them over the weekend (a windfall from my CSA, be careful what you ask for !). Let me know if you'd like it. They are very, very tasty.

Yes, please!

Michaela, aka "Mjx"
Manager, eG Forums
mscioscia@egstaff.org

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So yesterday friend Ruth, DH Ed and I picked wild grapes. Then I spent most of the afternoon washing, picking over, etc the grapes. (My hands and wrists complained last night.) First cooking. Drained all night. Purple/blue stains everywhere.

Today I took half the grape pulp juice and made jelly. The other half I froze so that when Ruth comes back, we can make jelly together. And get more purple/blue stains everywhere.

Delicious jelly. Very grapey.

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Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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well I cut the flowers off of the basil today(dont need to waste thegrowing energy on them, but were they ever smelley,tried to get wife tto let me find something to do with em, to no avail,but the rest of the plants are really great,so I dont feel bad getting rid of them,,,

Bud

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Ask your wife if any of her friends make pot pourri at home. They'd probably love to have them! I love thr scent, so I'd probably dry them in the sun, gently, and put them in a mesh bag with my unmentionables.

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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I harvested the bulk of tomatillos from the three plants in my garden yesterday, or 7-1/2 pounds worth. In the next couple of days, I will make a double batch of enchiladas verdes, half of which will be frozen, and jar the rest as salsa. Pretty decent production in total (about ten pounds), considering these plants were at the back of a garden which received maybe six hours a day of afternoon sun.

tomatillos 9-16-12.jpg

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well I cut the flowers off of the basil today(dont need to waste thegrowing energy on them, but were they ever smelley,tried to get wife tto let me find something to do with em, to no avail,but the rest of the plants are really great,so I dont feel bad getting rid of them,,,

Bud

I cover them with olive oil and set over a low flame or in a low oven till oil is nicely infused. Disappears in an instant with good crusty bread for dipping. Also nice to have in the fridge for salads and as a finishing oil.

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well I cut the flowers off of the basil today(dont need to waste thegrowing energy on them, but were they ever smelley,tried to get wife tto let me find something to do with em, to no avail,but the rest of the plants are really great,so I dont feel bad getting rid of them,,,

Bud

I cover them with olive oil and set over a low flame or in a low oven till oil is nicely infused. Disappears in an instant with good crusty bread for dipping. Also nice to have in the fridge for salads and as a finishing oil.

that was a great idea....I did it and have the bottle in the refrig,and it tastes great..I put it on low on the gas stove for an hour or so, and then put the pan on top of the gas grill for about 4 hours,(its about 110deg)(pilot light)

and then put it in the refrig,and it is gonna be really great!! Thanks again for the idea...

Bud

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I was able to grow shishito peppers in abundance this year.

We took a three week excursion to Italy which meant that some of the fruits were allowed to get pretty big over that time, Many were too thick skinned and carboard seeded for the traditional prep. I found that if I removed the seeds and cut them up they fry up into nice additions to salads.

The bottom line is that they are way easy to grow and growing them offers a huge savings over the $10 a pound premium charged while they gain popularity. I encourage anybody with a bit of garden space to go for it.

HC

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We have just a tiny urban patio that doesn't get much sun but this year I decided to try a few containers. We have a healthy herb pot garden and the tomatoes have actually done pretty well considering the few hours of direct sun they get... Except, the squirrels have harvested nearly every tomato without us being able to get any, the little buggers. I tried bringing the tomatoes in when they were still green and letting them ripen in the window, but the squirrels apparently learned what I was up to! and have been going after the green tomatoes now. Very discouraging. Maybe next year I'll try hot chilies instead... :cool:

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The '12 season has just opened round these southern parts. In the past couple weeks I've planted

-- salisfy

-- beetroot (random selection of heirloom varieties)

-- jerusalem artichokes

-- carrots (random selection of heirloom varieties)

-- radishes (ditto)

-- couple kinds of strawberry

-- couple kinds of lime

-- half dozen varieties of chilli

-- ditto, plus a couple, for tomatoes

-- tomatillos! never seen these sold in australia in grocers, aside from the (rare) can on the shelf at a specialist grocery store. currently nerding out over this.

-- standard selection of herbs: parsley, three kinds of basil (sweet, purple, Thai), couple kinds of mint, coriander, chervil, thyme (couple kinds), rosemary, dill, tarragon, oregano, sage

-- bay

Over the next few days--school holidays, nice weather--I want to rip up some of the shit around the side of the house and install some parsnips, maybe some capsicums, possibly some other berries. Just ordered some wasabi and Mexican coriander, too.

Edited by ChrisTaylor (log)

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

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Unsure if I should plant in soil or a pot (at least initially). Thoughts?

EDIT

I should add that I have a seedling and a bag of seeds. So I guess, really, I can do both and hope at least one batch is successful.

Too, just ordered some more seeds. Fennel, padron peppers and ancho chilli.

Edited by ChrisTaylor (log)

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

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So yesterday friend Ruth, DH Ed and I picked wild grapes. Then I spent most of the afternoon washing, picking over, etc the grapes. (My hands and wrists complained last night.) First cooking. Drained all night. Purple/blue stains everywhere.

Today I took half the grape pulp juice and made jelly. The other half I froze so that when Ruth comes back, we can make jelly together. And get more purple/blue stains everywhere.

Delicious jelly. Very grapey.

PB070003_01.JPG

PB070001_01.JPG

I have an easy way to get the grape juice out without the skin, seeds and branches. I will need to make a video to show, one of these days.

dcarch

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I have an easy way to get the grape juice out without the skin, seeds and branches. I will need to make a video to show, one of these days.

dcarch

Next fall will do quite nicely thanks. And then we hope for a bountiful grape season...although not likely. :raz:

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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Unsure if I should plant in soil or a pot (at least initially). Thoughts?

It depends on the plant. Mint should always go in a pot. If it's planted in the ground it will take over the entire garden.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sweet Potatos 001.JPGSweet Potatos 002.JPGSweet Potatos 003.JPGSweet Potatos 004.JPG

It is Fall now so we dug up the sweet potatos. Over 100 lbs. of sweet potatos from 1 1/2 sq. meters of dirt all started from a sprouted sweet potato from the store that we stuck in the dirt. Amazing.

The Philip Mahl Community teaching kitchen is now open. Check it out. "Philip Mahl Memorial Kitchen" on Facebook. Website coming soon.

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Just pulled out 10 lbs. more. Unbelievable.

The Philip Mahl Community teaching kitchen is now open. Check it out. "Philip Mahl Memorial Kitchen" on Facebook. Website coming soon.

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WOW Jmahl -- that's amazing. I had no idea sweet potatoes were so prolific! I just harvested the rest of my radishes today... We have a huge amount of them, and unfortunately I discovered i'm not a fan of roasted radishes, so I'm at a loss for what to do with them. Maybe I'll try a stir fry?

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WOW Jmahl -- that's amazing. I had no idea sweet potatoes were so prolific! I just harvested the rest of my radishes today... We have a huge amount of them, and unfortunately I discovered i'm not a fan of roasted radishes, so I'm at a loss for what to do with them. Maybe I'll try a stir fry?

Too bad about your lack of love for roasted radishes. We had a bumper crop of huge radishes a few years ago and discovered that we both loved them cooked. They change so much in the cooking. ...which may be what you don't like a lot....

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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I didn't do much in the garden this year - just some parsley, oregano and chives - but our local Master Gardeners group held their Fall plant sale last month and I brought home a chile pequin. The plant was loaded with green chiles when I bought it and now they are ripening and turning red. I can't wait to try these hot little chiles in my cooking.

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I just put my garlic out this weekend. I couldn't start the tiller :hmmm: so I spaded up a 6 by 6 bed and planted the cloves about 4 inches apart, in rows 6 inches apart. Covered them in a chicken litter and a layer of straw--the same method I used last fall. I got a good crop this spring--made some pints of pickled garlic and lots of garlicky salsa.

If you are peeling pints and pints of fresh garlic, an easy way to peel is to break up the heads and put the cloves in boiling water for a minute. Most of the cloves will pop right out of the peel if you squeeze them with your fingers.

sparrowgrass
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