Really Big Veg

now that's a head of cabbage

Apparently, we have the knack.

Really big veg.

Seriously, REALLY big veg.

Cabbage this year weighing in at:
Head One: 3.5 lbs
Head Two: 5.0 lbs
Head Three: 4.5 lbs
Head Four: 5.5 lbs
Head Five: Waiting for harvest but the biggest of the bunch

Cauliflower ~
Head One: 2.5 lbs
Head Two 3.0 lbs

lillie's broccoli

Broccoli ~
Lillie planned and planted her first garden this year and the girl can grow BROCCOLI. I have never, ever, in my many years of gardening seen a head of broccoli this big, weighing in at just under 3 lbs. I’m so proud of her.

And the greens keep coming, and the peas won’t stop, and the herbs just produce and produce and produce. At the end of strawberries and neck deep in first-year raspberries. It’s a beautiful thing really.

Hey, friends! REMEMBER to water consistently this time of year so you don’t shock your plants. They’ll produce better and longer if you water them on a regular basis.

Year of the . . . Placenta?

lemons, lemons, lemons!

The annual limoncello party was a regular laugh riot and somehow the conversation kept coming around to placentas and their various uses; don’t ask me how it happened but I haven’t laughed that hard for that long in a very, very long time.

let the zesting commence!

The 2009 limoncello is in the pantry, the lemonade base, lemon curd, and lemon juice are in the freezer and we have officially begun the summer preserving season!

The menu was a hit as follows:
Appetizer:
grilled quesadilla with cucumber salsa
almonds three ways
lemon/strawberry mojitos
strawberry lemonade
limoncello lemonade

Dinner:
black bean enchiladas with matt’s salsa, cilantro, & sour cream
spinach salad with strawberried, baby peas, & mustard/cilantro vinaigrette
grilled asparagus with lime and salt

Dessert:
lemon curd tart with whipping cream
coffee and tea

naked lemons

cheers! Here is to a wonderful summer, a bountiful harvest, and good friends to you all!

confessions

i just love this sign.

there are things i don’t like or do that i feel somewhat guilty about. last night while perusing my brassicas for cabbage loopers i thought of the level of guilt i find in pleasures that aren’t that pleasurable for all involved . . . and so a short list of confessions came to mind so i can cleanse my soiled gardeners soul.

i like squishing cabbage loopers or better yet watching my chickens devour them.

cutting a slug in half and watching the two ends ooze squishy grey goo brings joy to my heart and a little song of “die, sluggy, die” to the voice inside my head.

watching robins play tug-o-war with a worm in moist soil brings never-ending entertainment value . . . pull, rest, pull, rest, pull, pull, pull, yank, tug, fly away with limp worm in beak.

hearing the crunch of snail shells makes me giddy.

feeling the “pop!” of aphids under my fingers and finding the residual exoskeletons on the rose bushes assures justness in my little world.

watching a living plant wither and die in the sun, it’s root exposed to air and light, so it doesn’t invade and choke out the things i purposely planted and will eat, brings a happy little sigh to the lips.

sending my dog after the neighbor’s cats and the chaos that follows provides such pure satisfaction that cleaning out the garden beds of cat POOP almost makes it worth it. Almost.

witnessing the battle royale of hummingbirds as they knock, jab, poke, scream at, and otherwise are CRUEL to one another to get to the human-made nectar makes for a pleasant evening’s entertainment on the porch.

and so it is with great solace that i confess these transgressions and wander off now to absolve my sins in beds of weeding, soaker hose dragging, and garden path maintaining.

a quote

fresh, tender, glowing spinach

“He who controls your breadbasket controls your destiny.”

~ Abu Talib, Bronx Taqwa Community Farm

it’s all coming together

hayrake tines, my grandfather is rolling in the grave

i finally don’t hate my garden.

YEAH!

for mother’s day my family dedicated themselves to whatever tasks i wanted. and they made breakfast and dinner.

no fancy mother’s day brunch in stuffy clothes
no trip
no traffic congestion, waiting in line, or being polite to strangers
no fussy packages
no over-the-top gifts or expenditures

just soil, sun, a nice breeze, and nowhere to be.

it was glorious.

and the garden is taking shape; as my daughter said “it used to just look like yuck, now it looks yummy.”

broccoli, oh, broccoli

i put in the new hayrake tines i got at the camas sale this weekend, cleaned a garden bed i haven’t touched since we moved in (that’s 18 months gone by people), and planted a whole assortment of thises and thats that i have been sitting along the back fence. lillie planted her sunflowers, sweet peas, and lettuce and transplanted her broccoli and cauliflower (”i can do it myself, mom”) and the big guy moved, cut, tilled, edged, lifted, and acted as chef for the day.

chives under the blueberries

it couldn’t have been better if i planned it myself. and i really like to plan things.

sometimes you just have to look

there are days when i am so overwhelmed by the structure and finiteness of time that i can barely function. i feel the world pressing in on me, watching my daughter grow and change into a human being instead of a snuggle bunny. i think of my dad, who at my age, was just entering the last 10 years of his life. i think of all the events that have happened unnoticed and uncelebrated although they were monumental in their time for those people. i think of all the hidden stories. the hidden moments. the hidden heartbreaks, joys, and secrets of my ancestors that i will never know and never experience. i think that my daughter and granddaughters and great-granddaughters (girls run in the family) will never know the smells i love, the colors that make my heart soar, the pet peeves, and allergies. and it all becomes too much.

and then . . .

i look at a tree. i love looking at trees and wondering what they have seen, what their stories are. i love their gracefulness, their power, their beauty, patience, and quiet strength. they are at the whim of the world, weather, fire, cars, pollution, and treeptopping utility workers. i have a glorious chestnut that has experienced all four owners of my 1909 home. it is host to a rope swing that my daughter loves more than any manmade toy structure created on earth. i love this tree because when i round the corner i know i’m home. whether the dog has died, the hail has destroyed my cabbage, or the jackass on the freeway cut me off to save 20 seconds.

i’m home.

and my stories will live along with this tree just as three other generations have.

rhubarb is good

the rhubarb is ready!

i love rhubarb.

not only because it tastes good

not only because and it looks cool

not only because it has prehistoric-sized leaves

not only because it is the most fabulous red

but because it is the first BIG provider in my garden each spring and it reminds me that patience does pay off.

i love
rhubarb jam
rhubarb crisp
rhubarb bars
rhubarb pie
stewed rhubarb
and rhubarb sauce

and the word rhubarb ain’t bad either.
just say it once, slowly, like sweet honey savored on the tonque, r-h-u-b-a-r-b

it is a wonderful thing my friends.

so i’m sharing one of my favourite recipes so we can all rejoice in rhubarb together.

Rhubarb Crisp
1 c. flour
2 tbl sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 c. butter
6 c. chopped rhubarb (1/4 inch-ish pieces)
1 1/4 c. honey
4 tsp. cornstarch or flour
1/4 c. water
1 egg
1/4 c. milk

Filling: Combine rhubarb, honey, cornstarch, and water in saucepan. cook in saucepan until thickened and bubbling. taste for desired sweetness. add more honey if too tart. keep hot while preparing topping.

Topping: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and ginger together. cut in butter until crumbles form. make well in center. stir in beaten egg and milk. incorporate until just moist. will look like biscuit batter.

Put filling in 2-quart baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of topping to form loose crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-ish minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

. . . remember, it’s great for breakfast too!

finally

it seems as i get older that winter lasts longer. it may be global warming ~ geologic or otherwise. it may be my patience is thinning, the growing season beckons louder each year, or i am just plain ‘ol tired of being cold 6 months out of the year. but in my world, when the turtle awakens from her winter slumber, spring officially begins. and my friends, the turtle is out and cruisin’ the house as we speak, the garden is prepped, the early starts are thriving, and it smells so darn good outside i could just about weep in my ICED tea. spring at last, spring at last thank all in nature it’s spring at last.

helen, jojo, momo, and daisy the dog romping in the yard

everyone in our little urban lot is happier, the chickens, the rabbit, cat, dog and kid and the garden, oh, the garden is starting to take shape after 18 months of trial, lots of error, and wistfulness.

prepped and ready to go!

the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts are 9 inches tall, the carrots, beets, and parsnips (thanks Glen!) are a haze of green and the peas have poked their little heads through. i’m not a fan of spring, never have been, never will be but i do love that first rush of growth, warm soil, and warmer weather each year. here is to a wonderful growing season my friends, large harvests, and plenty of bounty to share with friends, family and those in need.

the big chill

the freeze continues

I’ve had it with the freezing, the snow, the 65 degree day followed by a hard freeze. the chickens are confused, the rabbit is in denial, and the garden is struggling through it all. i don’t mind the rain, the wind, a little chill but mark my words, if it snows again, i’ll need some very serious garden therapy my friends, and it isn’t going to be cheap.

i’m looking forward to Home and Garden Idea Fair the last week in april this year as i do every year. this will be my first year since 2003 that i have not served as a volunteer during this event. instead, toree and i will be womaning our own booth full of fruits and veg, books, garden info, and T-SHIRTS! That’s right my friends, you asked we’ve answered. You too can have your very own Urban Farm School t-shirt, organic cotton and all. we hope to see you all at HGIF, a great place to find some good deals, listen to free lectures, and just TALK to other gardeners; the place is crawling with ‘em!

i love ‘em

mom and pop feed stores that is. i love the cement floors and the big open doors, the dust, the smell of hay and feed, and the casual nature of those that work in them. i love the fair ribbons on the walls and the pictures of local kids with their cow, sheep, pig, or goat at the sell barn. i love a lot of things about feed stores but what i love most is that they remain unfussy. no fancy lights or big banners (other than those for feed), no uniforms, or specialized personal. the girl that sells me feed is the girl that loads the feed, puts chicks in a box for the family behind me and advises the guy at the counter about starter feed for pigs. i love that. i love the simplicity of the mom and pop feed store and frequent the one near me as often as i can. the selection isn’t as big, they don’t have nursery stock, or fancy shirts but they sure do have my business day in and day out because they are plain ‘ol NICE, friendly, customer-focused and working their arses off in and for their local community.

if you’re ever in the duluth/ridgefield area check out Pioneer Feed. they’re great people with a good solid selection of merchandise for small and large breed animal needs. and they are plain ‘ol nice.