Gardening: (2016– )

[Shelby]

10 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Radish already!  Totally jealous.  It has been so cold here mine haven't changed in size for two weeks.

Do you cook radish?  They are delicious grilled with the green tops on then tossed in a vinaigrette.

I couldn't believe how fast they grew this year.  

 

I'll be honest, radishes are not at the top of my favorite veggie list.  I probably wouldn't even plant them, but Ronnie likes them.  These, however, are very sweet and good.  I was sad we only had 4 to eat last night.  I am intrigued by cooking them.  I will try that.  Thank you!

[Smithy]

I'll try that grilling trick too. I'm not crazy about radishes, but once in a while they can taste good to me. My husband loves them.

 

When my parents bought their first house after WWII, they planted a garden. It included a row or two of radishes. The radishes came up quickly and abundantly, and only then did they learn that neither one liked radishes. Each said, "But I thought YOU liked them!" The gift of the magi. They never planted radishes again.

[kayb]

I LOVE radishes. Will eat them with a bit of butter and some salt. Crackers or toast are nice, but not required.

 

They are also a key element, along with leaf lettuce and green onions, in a wilted lettuce salad (chopped up bacon fried and stirred with its fat into the lettuce/radish/green onion mixture while it's still hot, and then a spritz of wine vinegar). 

 

Radishes are what get me through the spring before tomatoes get ripe. And about now is when I start wanting a ripe tomato so badly I just...can't....stand...it...

 

[chromedome]

I grow them for the greens. They're the first thing I get from my garden in the spring (well...after the chives, anyway).

 

For cooking purposes, think of the roots as delicate young white turnips and treat them accordingly. They're pretty much interchangeable.

[chromedome]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/24/farmers-save-earths-soil-conservation-agriculture?utm_source=pocket-newtab

[heidih]

7 hours ago, chromedome said:

I grow them for the greens. They're the first thing I get from my garden in the spring (well...after the chives, anyway).

 

For cooking purposes, think of the roots as delicate young white turnips and treat them accordingly. They're pretty much interchangeable.

 

Exactly why I have grown them. I was always stricken by the photo in the Time Life Foods of the World France showing adoranble kids eating the buttered bread with radish and salt but maybe mine back then were not fresh enough. Greens are my preference. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by heidih (log)

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

 

Exactly why I have grown them. I was always stricken by the photo in the Time Life Foods of the World France showing adoranble kids eating the buttered bread with radish and salt but maybe mine back then were not fresh enough. Greens are my preference. 

 

I have the same book. It's a cute pic.

 

[Okanagancook]

It was tempting...breakfast anyone!

California Quail are all over the place here...we fed them all winter.  DH was stacking some wood and found this stash.

They need that many eggs for enough to survive.  Hopefully no other bird will find this.

[Okanagancook]

Isn't nature grand....March 29 and today.  A good chunk of that lovage on the left will be used today along with some of those beautiful chives.

[Okanagancook]

My greens patch is coming along.  Now that the weather has warmed up they will really take off...haven't grown much in about two weeks.

[Okanagancook]

The garlic is doing very well.  For the first time in years quite a few of them did not come up.

[Okanagancook]

Somewhere in there are carrots and beets trying to start their life. They are too small to weed just yet.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Okanagancook (log)

[kayb]

I am having withdrawal at the prospect of no garden this year. As we are looking to move June 3, I can at least get a few late tomatoes out, and maybe get the asparagus bed planted so it can get a head start. And of course the herbs, which I am contemplating moving back to pots, so it will be easier to keep them closer to the kitchen.

 

But look out next year!

[Okanagancook]

On 5/3/2019 at 8:36 AM, Okanagancook said:

It was tempting...breakfast anyone!

California Quail are all over the place here...we fed them all winter.  DH was stacking some wood and found this stash.

They need that many eggs for enough to survive.  Hopefully no other bird will find this.

Sad to report ALL the eggs are gone...raccoons probably.  Not a shell piece to be seen.  There is plenty of time so she can try again.

[Shelby]

More radishes were ready to pick yesterday

 

[Okanagancook]

My radishes are ready.

I found a Madhur Jaffery recipe in A Taste of India for curried radish to go with dinner last night.

Basically one chops the leaves and body; sauté with a little salt, ground pepper, cumin, coriander crushed garlic, shredded ginger and turmeric until the radish is cooked.  Very fresh tasting.

[TicTac]

Love seeing nature come to life through everyone's posts.

 

Up here in Southern Ontario, we are starting to see wild garlic mustard, dandelions (though I have yet to figure out a way to prepare these which agree with me!), chives of various varieties, ramps (my little patch in the back is up), fiddle heads, spring garlic, to name a few...

 

My indoor seed experiment is doing quite well, at least the tomatoes are.  I think my 18/6 light cycle for the peppers threw them into flower and might have fu$*eD them up and stunted their growth - its on 12/12 now and while the tomatoes are thriving, the peppers are healthy, but still trying to pop out flowers (which I keep picking off).

 

Arugula, snap peas, and lettuce seeds are all planted outdoors and starting to come out.

[KennethT]

44 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Love seeing nature come to life through everyone's posts.

 

Up here in Southern Ontario, we are starting to see wild garlic mustard, dandelions (though I have yet to figure out a way to prepare these which agree with me!), chives of various varieties, ramps (my little patch in the back is up), fiddle heads, spring garlic, to name a few...

 

My indoor seed experiment is doing quite well, at least the tomatoes are.  I think my 18/6 light cycle for the peppers threw them into flower and might have fu$*eD them up and stunted their growth - its on 12/12 now and while the tomatoes are thriving, the peppers are healthy, but still trying to pop out flowers (which I keep picking off).

 

Arugula, snap peas, and lettuce seeds are all planted outdoors and starting to come out.

For determinate plants, 18/6 is vegetative cycle, 12/12 is flower. I can't imagine 18/6 is causing your peppers to flower...  however, peppers can be indeterminate (are not light cycle sensitive) depending on the variety - just like some varieties of tomatoes, or some strawberries (and I'm sure other plants as well but I haven't looked into it).  They basically start to flower after a few weeks of growth.  For indeterminate tomatoes, I would pinch off flowers until the plant forms its 3rd truss of leaves... that will make sure the plant is strong enough to support fruiting.  I haven't grown indeterminate peppers (or any peppers for that matter) before so I never researched the point at which you can let them fruit.

[Okanagancook]

Put some of my larger tomatoes and a couple of tomatillos out under 'cosy coats'.

 

The pot is self rooted Cabernet Franc from our vines.  They are dipped in growth powder and stuck in the dirt...in the garage over a heating pad for a few weeks and then outside to harden off and sprout.  They are for a friend with a vineyard of Merlot...blending.

[KennethT]

3 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Put some of my larger tomatoes and a couple of tomatillos out under 'cosy coats'.

 

The pot is self rooted Cabernet Franc from our vines.  They are dipped in growth powder and stuck in the dirt...in the garage over a heating pad for a few weeks and then outside to harden off and sprout.  They are for a friend with a vineyard of Merlot...blending.

Do you need to use a phylloxera resistant rootstock for the cab franc?

[Okanagancook]

Yes, the root stock is phylloxera resistant.

[TicTac]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:25 PM, KennethT said:

For determinate plants, 18/6 is vegetative cycle, 12/12 is flower. I can't imagine 18/6 is causing your peppers to flower...  however, peppers can be indeterminate (are not light cycle sensitive) depending on the variety - just like some varieties of tomatoes, or some strawberries (and I'm sure other plants as well but I haven't looked into it).  They basically start to flower after a few weeks of growth.  For indeterminate tomatoes, I would pinch off flowers until the plant forms its 3rd truss of leaves... that will make sure the plant is strong enough to support fruiting.  I haven't grown indeterminate peppers (or any peppers for that matter) before so I never researched the point at which you can let them fruit.

 

Thanks Ken.  The peppers we are growing are Aurora and Poblano - will look into that a bit.

 

I am curious whether these stunted little guys will get some more legs and be able to produce any sizeable fruit.

 

 

[Martin Fisher]

Indeterminate and determinate peppers?

I've grown and bred chiles for decades and this is the first I've heard of such a thing, It must be something new.

I suppose it depends on how you define the terms.

[Martin Fisher]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

Thanks Ken.  The peppers we are growing are Aurora and Poblano - will look into that a bit.

 

I am curious whether these stunted little guys will get some more legs and be able to produce any sizeable fruit.

 

Pure Auroras are basically a dwarf.

Poblanos....plant size depends on the cultivar.

[KennethT]

6 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

Indeterminate and determinate peppers?

I've grown and bred chiles for decades and this is the first I've heard of such a thing, It must be something new.

I suppose it depends on how you define the terms.

I dont' know about indeterminate chilis, but bell peppers can be either depending on the cultivar. From what I can tell, most greenhouse production use the indeterminate variety- just like in greenhouse tomato production.  The determinate peppers are commonly called "field" peppers.