On The Table Tonight

Here's what came out of the garden today for dinner. The first real tomato, an Ox Heart. So far this year we've only had a few Sungold cherry tomatoes. Some basil and oregano to go with it. A couple of yellow summer squash, some green beans, and a couple of spiny cucumbers.



And maybe on the menu in a few months will be this beauty, a Fairy Tale Pumpkin. It's about the diameter of a plate right now. I also took a photo of the leaves, which I find particularly beautiful. They have splotches of silvery coloring on the leaves and they actually do seem to reflect light. And when they are in shadow they look almost like moonlight. But maybe I've just been out in the sun too long.

Speaking of sun, there is a rumor afoot that we may be heading into 4-5 days of 90 degree plus weather. Maybe that will help with some of the green tomatoes.

Sprouts Abound

The Peas and Spinach I planted last weekend have begun to sprout. We're having below average temps this week and plenty of rain, but it's encouraging to see the sprouts coming up.

Best Bang for the Botanical Buck

Oh sure I love the luscious fruits and vegetables as much as anybody; the blowzy, plump, colorful tomatoes, melons, corn, and peaches. But I get the most satisfaction from growing plants that have a longer season and hang around when there is not much in the garden to eat. Greens and some of the heartier herbs are the plants I value most.

This bed of mixed lettuces has been providing crunchy salads for a couple of months now, and some of the varieties will survive through the winter. It is planted with a seed mix from Territorial Seeds, my favorite seed source. Here is how they describe the mix.

"Provencal Winter Mix

32 days. This famous mesclun salad blend is composed of 3 colorful, winter-hardy French lettuces-Continuity, Salad Bowl, and Brunia-as well as Roquette, Corn Salad, Treviso radicchio, Broadleaf Batavian endive, Dark Green Italian parsley, and Chervil. This makes a colorful salad mix as well as a wonderful summer garden landscape planting. Add pansies or violas for a celestial treat." And it's all true.

Also in this salad bed is celery that I started from seed in the spring. 2 plants provide me with leaves that are great in salads and plenty of stalks for soup stocks.

Parsley, chives and oregano have made it through the winters in my garden most years. I just loved being able to go out and grab just a handful or 2 of something, without having to go to the store and buy an amount that may be more than I need.

And then, of course there are my beloved greens, rapini, Chinese broccoli, and mustard greens. Mustard greens are on the menu tonight, along with

Yukon Gold potatoes, and Peruvian Purple potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, and garlic, all from the garden. I intend to roast them in the oven and serve with polenta. But I can't decide whether to call it
Small Batch, Artisan, Oven Roasted, Heirloom Root Vegetables, with Braised Mustard Greens, or Grits, Greens, and Spuds.

Making Room For Flowers

In past seasons I haven't made much room for flowers, I was much more interested in growing things to eat. But this year I made sure to include flowers in the mix and I'm so glad I did. Not only have they provided added interest and visual pleasure, they have attracted loads of bees and hummingbirds.

Artificial looking zinnia.


Texas Hummingbird Sage. This is a lovely plant and really does attract hummingbirds. It reseeds itself pretty aggressively, so once you plant it you will most likely enjoy it in subsequent years.


Fall blooming crocus. I remember planting these, but they appeared last fall and have returned this year. Delicate and beautiful.


More zinnias. I love the punch of bold color, and they last forever.


This is the path through our front yard, lined with cosmos on the left and zinnias on the right.


Cosmos provide gorgeous color and movement in the garden. They sway in the breeze as if dancing.

Thank Goodness For Farmers

Since we can't grow EVERYTHING on our Backyard Farm we are lucky to have a terrific farmers market really close by, 2 blocks away. It occupies a large parking lot, generously donated each week during the summer by the Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Mortuary. Lots of great growers and food vendors brave the cool days of early spring and the scorching days of mid-summer to bring us their offerings.



Musicians serenade the shoppers each week. This bluegrass band was especially good, so good I should have made a note of their name.



Here are a few things I leave to the experts. The corn this year was sweet and tender and crunchy, everything you'd want in an ear. And cheap at 3 for a dollar.



The peaches were superb as well. These are Fancy Lady peaches from just over the river in Washington. I don't think I've ever enjoyed peaches more than I enjoyed these.



A little color from my garden. These Fairytale Eggplant didn't get much bigger than 3-4 inches long, but they're still terribly photogenic, with their spicy pepper friends.

It's A Great Idea By Any Name

Urban Homesteaders

Here's a story from the Denver Post about some folks doing what I'm striving to do.
It make sense, it's good for you and your community and it's fun. I love running into like minded folks at the nursery or farmers market. Usually they are so enthusiastic and so willing to share information

Still No Eggs...

Keeping hope alive, but the girls have not begun to pay me back. I even let them out in the backyard, which they are methodically destroying. I shoo them from one bedraggled plant to the next as they do their dastardly work. I can't help it though, it's so much fun to have them out and they are so much happier out of the coop pen. I especially love it when my Little Red Hen chases the cat. Wouldn't you run if this was charging you? I try not to laugh out loud.
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Farm or Garden? Or Both

Here's a great article from the Energy Bulletin about how important gardening may become.
A farm is a large garden (or a garden is a small farm)

I should disclose that much of my interest in growing my own food is motivated by what I have read about the problems associated with Peak Oil. Yeah, it's scary, but ignoring it doesn't make it go away.

The Energy Bulletin is a terrific source of information on all things Peak.

Are These Bees Italian?

Besides the Borage in my garden, the bees really seem to go for the oregano. I have a big oregano plant that keeps coming back every year bigger and bigger.

Once it goes to flower it is bee heaven, hundreds of them swarm on it all day.

Bees like small flowers, like the ones on dill and fennel and this oregano has tiiny white flowers in abundance. So I let it go to flower for the bees and then I let it go to seed to make sure it will come back next year by reseeding itself.

Before it flowers I harvest lots of the leaves and dry them so I will have oregano to cook with all through the winter.

So plant some herbs for yourself and for the bees they will undoubtedly attract.

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