Crispy Kale

The Kale is coming on strong. I plucked this gorgeous bunch yesterday planning to try something new.

Kale Chips. Yes, I said chips. Crunchy, salty, and very snackable. Oh and just as good for you as dark leafy greens, because that's what they are. What could be better?

My friend Carolyn and I laugh about the list of unlimited items allowed in most diets, which always include kale and friends, but never include chips. Sure, live it up, enjoy all the cabbage, lettuce, celery, kale you want...

I think I first read about this culinary magic on the Yarn Harlot's blog.

This is the recipe I followed. But if you google "kale chips" you'll find many more recipes, and many more devotees of this kitchen trick.

It worked great, they were audibly crunchy, slightly salty, and very satisfying. I will definitely make this recipe again. Thank goodness I have plenty of kale on hand.

Big Doin's Down on the Little Old Farm

I've been shopping for dirt this week and finally settled on Grimm's Blended Soil. Here's hiow they describe it...

"The ideal alternative to top soil. Blended Soil is a mixture of Grimm's Garden Mulch, sand loam, top soil, and manure. Excellent for vegetable gardens, lawns, and native plants. Perfect for those jobs where you need more dirt, such as berms, raised beds, flower beds or lawn areas.

Recommended Use: This soil is ready for direct planting. Plant directly into this mix and fertilize according to the plants nutritional requirements."

Does that not sound delicious? And I'm getting 7 cubic yards of the stuff! Woohoo!

Why so much dirt you might justifiably ask? Well I've got 2 new raised beds in the area that is the de-paved driveway. And since that area was so poor for growing tomatoes last year I decided to cheat my way to abundance by adding the beds and some rich soil to fill them. These 2 beds are 4 x 8 x 1 foot deep, 32 cubic feet. A yard of dirt is 27 cubic feet, so they will each take a little more than a yard.

The rest of the dirt will be used to fill the new box planters we built last weekend to go across the front of the yard. Our front yard is the same level as the street so folks and their dogs sometimes need a subtle reminder as to which side is their side, and which side is my side. We thought about a low fence, but never got around to building it.

When we built the raised beds for the driveway, before we placed them we had them stacked one on top of the other. We liked the way they looked and thought it might be cool to place a row of 2 foot high boxes along the front of the yard, planted with ornamental plants that would offer some privacy screening and a psychological barrier.

And since the most of the farm is dormant during the winter months this plan will offer passersby something nicer to look at than the mud bog.

There will be 3 squares and 2 rectangles, with a gap in between where I may train some climbing vines. Above is a look at one of the boxes. We haven't placed them just yet.

Needless to say I am very excited at the prospect of a big dump truck pulling up on Thursday and delivering a big pile of dirt. And of course I'll follow up with some more photos once they are in place and filled.

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.

What Was I Thinking?

A few warm days, hinting at spring, can make some gardeners lose their minds, and their good judgment.

Last week I started some seeds on the heat mat in the house. I wanted to get a head start on some of the plants that take a longish time to germinate, or things I might have trouble with, so I would have time for a second try.

So I started some Shiso, which I couldn't get to germinate AT ALL last year, and some Celery, which is difficult and takes a long time to wake up. I started some Basil, which I had problems with last year. I think I put it outside too soon and I lost a lot of plants to damping off. I also started some Cilantro and Dill, just to give them a head start.

And I started 12 of the Red Rocoto Peppers that were my obsession last summer. I think they still might be this year too. You can read more here, if you wish, Rocoto. I planted 12 in the hopes that I will have some to share at the 2nd Annual Spring Garden Exchange. I anticipate that it will be a good chance to do some proselytizing.

Anyway, the problem is that somehow, along with these sensible choices, I planted cucumber and pumpkin seeds. 2 kinds of cucumber! egad. As evidence that the heat mat is great way to wake seeds up and get 'em going, the Basil has poked it's tiny heads above the surface of the soil. And the cukes and pumpkin sprouts are ALL up and pressing against the plastic lid of this seed starting contraption, which is matter-of-factly named Germination Station. And it's been less than a week!

I knew I'd have to transplants all of these seeds eventually. The germination station is just a compact place to get lots of seeds started. But now I've got to do something about these over achievers, and soon. I'll transplant them into small pots, but they'll have to stay indoors for a few weeks at least, since it's still too cold outside.

I should have waited. These are fast growing, heat loving plants, and it's just too early. But that's what spring does to those of us with "the affliction".

Peas Please

Today I put some peas in the ground. Snap peas to eat whole, and shelling peas, well to shell. Peas are great because after a long winter of greens and root vegetables, peas are the first vegetable that reminds me of the succulent treats of summer. They're crunchy and juicy and so much fun to eat as you garden. The plants grow quickly, especially as the weather warms. The vines are vigorous and almost creature like as their tendrils reach out to climb onto anything in their paths. And the flowers are beautiful.

I soaked the pea seeds overnight to give them a little head start, and I coated them with inoculant, which helps the peas get nitrogen from the atmosphere. The inoculant contains a bacteria that aids this process. It comes in a powder and you can coat the moistened peas with it, or add it to the soil in which they will be planted.

You can also pre sprout the peas on a paper towel and once they have a root you can plant them in the ground or in a container. This method helps if your soil is still pretty cold.

Good companion plants for peas include Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Corn Cucumber, Radish, Turnips. But keep them away from Onion, Garlic, Leeks. These are not good neighbors for peas.

They will definitely need something to support them as they grow; to keep the pea pods off the ground and so the peas can be harvested at a comfortable height. So building a trellis or teepee will be on my list of chores.

Tomatoes Fresh Frozen On The Vine

Cold weather in Florida hurts tomato Crop

So 70% of the Florida tomato crop was lost in the recent blast of cold weather on the east coast. Do I care? Not really. I wasn't going to eat any of those tomatoes anyway. I try not to eat or buy food that has traveled from one end of the country to the diagonally opposite corner, let alone from a different hemisphere. I still have plenty of dried tomatoes and some in the freezer too, so I should make it until tomaotes are ripe in Oregon.

But if I buy any tomatoes, fresh or canned, it might have an impact on the price I have to pay.

And so I will strive for a bumper tomato harvest this summer, just like I do every year. Some years it works out. Last year it didn't. I planted in the newly exposed soil where we de-paved half of the driveway. And although I loosened the soil and amended a lot, it was poor, and the tomatoes didn't do well.

Since then we have added raised beds in that area and will fill them with rich, luscious soil, so whatever ends up there should fare better. I think I'll go back to the south facing beds on the side of the house for the tomatoes this year, and make lavish offerings to the tomato gods.

Here Kitty Kitty, No Not There...Here

For folks who tend food producing gardens, and who are also owned by cats, the following may be of intense interest.

People who garden without the assistance of felines may just want to look away at this point. This will also probably not be of any interest to people who are able to keep their cats indoors.

I have 2 cats, my neighbors on all 3 sides have a cat each and there are probably 3 or 4 cats from the neighborhood that visit regularly. So this means that my planted areas need to be protected from... ahem... unpleasantness. The reason is that feline feces may contain a parasitic disease called toxoplasmosis. It is transmitted by eating infected meat or by eating the feces of an infected animal. It can also be transmitted form mother to fetus, which is why pregnant women aren't supposed to clean cat litter boxes. Although it seems unlikely that one would ingest feces by scraping down the box, especially if you hold your breath, like I do.

Anyway, you can read lots more about toxoplasmosis if you like. For me, this is only 1 of the reasons I don't want cat feces in my garden.

Cats like to dig, and digging usually leads to, well, you know. I express my displeasure with this activity be shouting, clapping, scolding, cajoling, etc, all of which are only slightly and temporarily effective. I've been more successful with barriers.

Lots of chicken wire, which is great over bare dirt or seedlings. But once the plants start to grow through the wire you have to make a decision; either let the plants grow through it or remove it and find another barrier. Sometimes it's possible to place smaller pieces of wire around established plants.

Floating row cover works too, unless the animals find a way inside and then they just think you have made a tent for them to play camping in.

Since cats seldom respond to expressions of what you don't want them to do with anything other than more of the unwanted activity and defiant stares, I like to try to sell them something else. Enter the genius idea from my friend Martina, whom I consider a genius in many things besides feline lavatorial deterrence. Her idea is simple, ingeniously simple; provide a more inviting out door cat litter box than your garden. Et Voila.

It took a while before I got my first customer, but now I get at least 1 deposit per day, and that's 1 less poop in some other part of the garden. I have plans to make it even more inviting by filling it with sand and occasionally sprinkling catnip in it. Wish me luck.