Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Gardening: (2016– )


Recommended Posts

Here’s a garden update ! 
The veggie bed is going great after a weed and a feed, plus my handyman has installed a door to make it easier to get in and out.

8024AE56-61C1-43C9-8904-E682D749688E.jpeg.d264cde70eb5beeb9fc9f2aa76bd3d63.jpeg

 

A neighbour gave us a mature bunya pine cone. 
639D572C-5EEC-4CF6-AEE3-175E331733F5.jpeg.15efa13b49e2a620470498676431b764.jpeg

 

They’re easy to pull apart to remove the seeds.

2C942AC7-B6D3-4AEB-B933-08345BF4CAC6.jpeg.de0923f17e468fe3d43dedca9cfc95b9.jpegBA2533B9-EEB9-4835-AF0D-A227D5BE926A.jpeg.3eddd4b9d49c4ed5b1823252fe5f0fa5.jpeg
 

Apparently, the easiest way to prepare them is to boil for a couple hours. Said to taste like chestnuts....there will be a stir fry in the future.

 

Gratuitous mango shot here. I’ve made pickle, chutney and this lot are destined for the freezer. These are just the ones that have fallen off the tree. I’m giving them away as fast as I can, typically though, nearly everyone I know also has a tree.

This was yesterday’s pick up, there’s another eleven on the back deck from this morning :)

 

9F9ACD1F-EAD3-4265-B208-C93AF71EA9A0.jpeg.167801cc9899ebbb5e908a4fbe9c7d2a.jpeg
 

Happy days in paradise.

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

 I wasn't planning on any gardening until I moved into our new apartment, but it seems like that won't be happening for quite a while.  Our new building is currently not allowing renovations or workpeople in the building and I imagine that is going to last for at least 1-2 months.  Then I've got probably about 2months of renovations.  So, since I won't be going anywhere for a while, I figured now would be a good time to start up my indoor garden again... so far planned: herbs like cilantro, mint, lemongrass, rau ram (vietnamese coriander)...

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I won't dignify it by calling it gardening but we periodically harvest mache and sorrel from a galvanized stock water tank.    The mache is volunteer, year after year, while the sorrel, once started, just GROWS.    Also several clumps of chard which I hope will supply greens during these sketchy times.

Mache = salad material, and may become a cooked green

2033617314_photo1-2.thumb.JPG.10ae3cf8005687226dadd5743e2cde41.JPG

 

Sorrel

1201615216_photo2-2.thumb.JPG.22f6da4dd01138ab9e0a24046b5e7b88.JPG

 

Today's sorrel soup

photo-1.thumb.JPG.a75ecbe84f9aad085ddc6e29013109c4.JPG

 

I wish i had had better foresight several months ago in terms of a useful greens patch.

  • Like 6

eGullet member #80.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ordered my seeds, seed potatoes (red and Yukon Gold!) and onion sets a while back.  I was kind of worried I wouldn't get them due to being sold out or mailing problems because of how times are now, but they came Friday.  Ground is too wet to plant, but hoping to get in the garden the end of next week for the taters and onions.  Hoping I have some lettuce seeds somewhere.  I didn't order any because it bolts so soon here in hot Kansas.  Now, I don't care if it bolts soon because who knows if lettuce will be available in the store.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Hoping I have some lettuce seeds somewhere.  I didn't order any because it bolts so soon here in hot Kansas.  Now, I don't care if it bolts soon because who knows if lettuce will be available in the store.

 

The logistics are often hard to organize, but I always try to find a spot where my lettuce gets morning sun and afternoon shade. It seems to help (though NB certainly doesn't get as hot as Kansas, I'm sure...).

Also planting at frequent intervals, so you always have some coming along when the earlier batch bolts, is helpful.

  • Thanks 1

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not nearly as exciting, where I am. My "garden tour" would show the last couple inches of melting snow, with mud and a few green shoots beneath.

Here where I live (my garden is outside the city, about 40 minutes by hwy and ferry) the snow is gone and grass is starting to grow. Saw my first caterpillar and a couple of flies yesterday. It's rare that "real" spring arrives in close conjunction with "calendar" spring (usually March feels more like "late winter") but this year that's how it worked out.

  • Like 5

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess, since it seems to be intent on raining forever, I'll garden hydroponically. I think it'll be July before my yard dries out enough to get a garden spot ready.

 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
  • Sad 4

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/22/2020 at 10:05 AM, shain said:

A short garden tour.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_20200315_152753.jpg

 

 

Lupine are my childhood favorite. We had a big hillside above us. The odd juxtaposition of a radar station and a lush lupine field.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In an Uber Sunday I noticed the vines pruned way back on a road adjacent vineyard. Amazing how they shoot back. The windbreak is olives so that cool combo of dusty grey olives and bright green new growth of the grapes = stunning. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, heidih said:

 

Lupine are my childhood favorite. We had a big hillside above us. The odd juxtaposition of a radar station and a lush lupine field.

My ex-wife's grandmother grew lupine in her garden at the farm in northern BC (just outside Fort St. John), though it was always a struggle.

I vividly remember my ex's shock after we moved to NS, and she saw them growing wild along the highway embankments for several km at a stretch. They do so here in NB as well, though not as lavishly.

  • Like 1

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just came in from planting yellow, white and red onions along with red potatoes and Yukon gold taters.  Oh and some lettuce (old seeds we will see if they grow) and Pak Choi (experiment, never planted it before...might be too hot already here).

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just ordered some plant starts from Well Sweep herb garden for things that are either too slow to grow from seed, stuff I can't find seeds for, or stuff that's just plain hard to find in general...  I ordered a curry-leaf plant, lemongrass, sawtooth coriander (culantro), kaffir lime (I don't think it's a whole tree - probably a cutting from a tree, which is fine since I only want the leaves), and some rau ram (vietnamese coriander).  They're in NJ and I asked them to ship on the days that seemed like they'd be the warmest this week so they survive the day in transit

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We’re having a seedling and seed shortage here, probably due to panic buying by non gardeners. Heard someone walked out of a nursery with broccoli seedlings saying “yay, broccoli in 2 weeks” yeah right. 
 

The Tibouchina is flowering, a beautiful colour. Shame about the bare patch, a product of the recent drought, it will be pruned back heavily soon.

5FD742A3-1649-4C0B-A1A2-ECBFF6D889BA.thumb.jpeg.a3c1ea28e3976a2ae79ff63bb2f072a0.jpeg

 

We’re harvesting lots of mizuna for leafy green dishes.

937B0C83-FAF3-4200-B542-9D384C8A17C9.thumb.jpeg.6d1b93fab3486b133006cf622b9c88b8.jpeg

 

We’ve also got lettuce (cos and butter) sufficient for current needs, a large butternut squash patch, jap pumpkin, sweet potato and regular potatoes. These first little guys are destined to be steamed and slathered in butter. I will do this while husband is in his shed, there’s not enough to share, lol.

3DE00354-0828-4E86-BE56-F6C29A26F227.thumb.jpeg.c0c99b4af39a6a78cbf599644c32e380.jpeg

 

We have also picked okra and two types of green beans. 
This is a huegelkulture bed, I think we’ll plant cauliflower and broccoli (if we can get seeds somehow). Behind it the kumquat tree is full of fruit, they are slowly ripening. The brandy is waiting.

5D0F46EE-3EAC-4203-A26F-D0608C765454.thumb.jpeg.74c2de0f58a8d7fcd56c132d76df2d89.jpeg
 

A weird one - this is wild tobacco, should be pulled as it’s a weed. However, it’s also said to be a great substitute for toilet paper...keeping this one in the ground.

0133CBCF-CA57-4BE9-BF55-8A47A75C7D7A.thumb.jpeg.7e88b7a6ae8c306fa37c02f07cd144ad.jpeg

  • Like 8
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@sartoric That s an amazingly deeply colored "tib". We have lots but more  pink. Great assortment of vegetables. Unpredictable harvests inspire creativity. My old kumquat had younguns during drought with no supplemental water. Thus small fruit and very seedy. Fragrant though. This little bowl had this many seeds (a water issue - self preservation). I got the jam too dark so no image but it has a "deep" flavor,  We had a good bit of rain last 2 weeks and are expecting 10F jump in temps this week so the fruit should be juicier in a couple weeks. 

IMG_1270.JPG

IMG_1271.JPG

Edited by heidih (log)
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, heidih said:

@sartoric That s an amazingly deeply colored "tib". We have lots but more  pink. Great assortment of vegetables. Unpredictable harvests inspire creativity. My old kumquat had younguns during drought with no supplemental water. Thus small fruit and very seedy. Fragrant though. This little bowl had this many seeds (a water issue - self preservation). I got the jam too dark so no image but it has a "deep" flavor,  We had a good bit of rain last 2 weeks and are expecting 10F jump in temps this week so the fruit should be juicier in a couple weeks. 

IMG_1270.JPG

IMG_1271.JPG

 


Are your kumquats fruiting now ? Is my tree out of whack, or yours ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, sartoric said:


Are your kumquats fruiting now ? Is my tree out of whack, or yours ?

 

Usually December is start of prime citrus but our weather was so off track. Plus we had no water for a long time so who knows.  The oranges are very showy now. Here us 1.  

IMG_1272.JPG

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

Usually December is start of prime citrus but our weather was so off track. Plus we had no water for a long time so who knows.  The oranges are very showy now. Here us 1.  

IMG_1272.JPG


Wow, my orange tree is only a few weeks from looking exactly the same. We’ve had lots of mandarins from tree 1, and tree 2 is ripening now. Also had big drought of course. One theory is the trees all thought they’d die in the prolonged drought, so were desperate to reproduce. I reckon that’s how we got 90 odd mangos from a smallish tree. 

Edited by sartoric
Fix typo (log)
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/29/2020 at 11:19 PM, sartoric said:

A weird one - this is wild tobacco, should be pulled as it’s a weed. However, it’s also said to be a great substitute for toilet paper...keeping this one in the ground.

 

😂

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On Page 62, I posted my new way of winterizing fig tree using foam insulation borads.

 

Today, moment of truth. I opened the insulation to find out what's going on inside. 

 

1374485159_figgreenhouse2.thumb.jpg.86e9f5b7212bd43e83e617a497ce3ca6.jpg

 

2086906969_figgreenhouse3.thumb.jpg.1d3ba3c1141b1b02019b969bd8f5a1aa.jpg

 

2097371145_figgreenhouse4.thumb.jpg.cdfd5ffdc97c63a2c369ec7c72c06ecb.jpg

 

Very nice! not only the branches didn't die off like all the other winters, tthey actually starting to sprout.

 

So I did the  second phase of my experiment, turn the insulation foam boards into a vertical temporary green house , using also insulating clear Twinwall panels.

 

362469542_figgreenhouse5.thumb.jpg.084f6e9c51f14b70c45a85bf4d537119.jpg

 

Hoping for early figs.

 

dcarch

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

On Page 62, I posted my new way of winterizing fig tree using foam insulation borads.

Today, moment of truth. I opened the insulation to find out what's going on inside. 

Hoping for early figs.

 

dcarch

 

Good result! Always interesting to see what people strive for in a climate not suited to the desired plant. My north England friend just went along when his mum crowed about her jade overwintering. A weed to us. We always seem to want what we can't have like lilacs and blueberries  in S California - though Monrovia and other growers have created hybrids. We really have trouble with rhubarb and other veggies that like a very cold cycle. And I would love to experience a maple tapped and taste that first light dribble before boiling syrup. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Uncovered my parsley plants and they are good and healthy.  Just had to weed out the dead parts.

Want to put in some tarragon and sage.  The Greek oregano is going on as well.

  • Like 4

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I've made a start. The herbs are in the ground, with the exception of the mint, which is in a big kettle so it won't take over the world.20200406_184529.thumb.jpg.d07923dbccf030b798f3599bec0aac99.jpg

 

From left, dill (barely visible), lavender, marjoram, oregano, basil.

 

20200406_184553.thumb.jpg.4cde2a11bcc79e8214ffc4c840748409.jpg

 

From left, thyme, rosemary, sage, cilantro. Parsley will go just to the right, when I get some.

 

20200406_184620.thumb.jpg.4d97244ffaf78d63569a22d041066b90.jpg

 

The kettle of mint.

 

20200406_184451.thumb.jpg.e0deb8af0d98ac0986bcd0f0c234e105.jpg

 

And for good measure, two pots and two planters of petunias.

 

Edited by kayb (log)
  • Like 8

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...