Garden thread
Replies
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I've mentioned this before but I've never eaten a fresh artichoke (only the ones in the can to make spinach and artichoke dip) before as some things are more/less popular in different regions. I was raised in PA. I remember one year when I was very young, my aunt baked a rhubarb pie one Thanksgiving and I didn't eat it, still have yet to try that one also. We did eat potatoes and onions, radishes, cucumbers, and Butternut Squash most of the time.
Anyway, I never ate okra until I moved to Texas. People I know fry it here; at least that seems to be a popular way to cook it. My ex-husband's mother cooked every single green vegetable she ever had in bacon grease, super delicious, very good country cooking. Anyway, Bush's Chicken has the best deep fried okra and most local country cooking restaurants serve it like that. Anyway, my fifteen-year-old daughter asked me if I would grow okra for her because she wants to pickle it.
So I'm going to order some seeds, because I love her, and she can pickle it. Next time my husband cooks bacon, I'll save the grease. Maybe we'll have some fried okra this fall and some pickled, too.
Here's delicious Anaheim Peppers cut straight off the plant for my nachos tonight:
Personally, I think roasted okra is also good, or lightly steamed. People cook it long, like in gumbo, as a thickener, and that can be OK. There's an in-between stage where - to my taste, which I'm sure is idiosyncratic - it's just slimy. Fried, especially battered or breaded and fried, can be good.
Here in Michigan, okra is marginal: Variety matters, because our season is short. If you're in a warmer/long-season climate, that's great. They have a bit of richness/umami to them that's lovely, to my taste.
BTW: I envy your Anaheims!
P.S. Really nice fresh artichokes, with a dip (I like roasted red pepper, pureed, with seasonings) is delightful, IMO. It's slow to eat, which is nice - lets satiation sink in. Sybaritic! I've had lovely artichokes out on the California coast, but they're hard to get, here. The thick leaves, not dried-out, very green (or maybe a little purple-ish) and lush looking, are ideal. @mtaratoot's look delish! Here, in stores, they're often depleted-looking, thin, dried out, spotted. If good looking, I snap them up, steam them, and enjoy.2 -
The artichokes in jars are just the heart. You have to do some pulling and eating work through the petals of the flower before you "eat the heart out."
Pickled okra is awesome. In Texas, you can grow it. I can't. I've heard rumors of people finding ways to get enough growing degree days to make it work, but it's tough here. That's OK.
One thing I miss from the south is boiled peanuts. Maybe this October I'll get someone to ship me a bushel bag of green peanuts (not dried). I'll boil 'em all and have a big party.
Johnny's Selected Seeds has some shorter-season okra varieties. I've had luck, here, with those - under very iffy conditions. In general, Johnny's niche is not your niche . . . but maybe the okras might work?
Tasty!
I've never had boiled peanuts. We can grow peanuts here (the idea that they're Southern is more about subsidies - my dad did great with them, if he could protect them from the deer/rabbits) . . . but I haven't grown them myself, or tried them boiled elsewhere. They're a bit rare to find raw (not roasted) here.1 -
I enjoy eating okra roasted, fried, steamed, and raw straight off the plant, but the bonus is its majestic presence in the garden, especially the older, really tall varieties (Cow Horn, Long Pod). The hibiscus-like flowers have an amazing ornamental wow factor. The okra also seems less bothered by the rabbits, ground squirrels, birds and insects that decimate my vegetable garden here in rural southern Nevada.2
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I know it wasn't QUITE ripe yet, but I ate my first blueberry for the season. Even not quite ripe, it was so full of flavor! I just have to keep chasing the Scrub Jays away....
Also had a few raspberries. They will be going totally nuts soon. Both the blonde and the red ones taste really good, but I've really started to love the blonde ones more. Used to be the other way around. Maybe it's just the varieties that I've got out there.
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Those look great @mtaratoot! Berries are my favourite fruits, especially raspberries and blackberries. Have to wait a bit longer for mine though. Raspberries that is - I don't have a good spot for blackberries.
After dealing with the tree that came down, the guys were cutting some large branches that might cause an issue later. Someone not only dropped one right on top of my potted veggies, but didn't try to move it, or even say anything. I found it the next morning when I went to toss the cat litter scoopings in the dumpster. Thanks to weightlifting I was able to move it... more awkward than anything... but he definitely got... spoken to! Miraculously somehow no damage. It's amazing how resilient plants can be!1 -
Hello gardeners I just wanted to introduce myself. I am 38 living at the Jersey Shore and have a vegetable garden, my garden is 24 x 10 and is alot of work to weed it. Hope everyone has a great day!6
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Sigh.
Well, the ants are back. Apparently they have never left. It's a super-colony I've been fighting for a few years. Two years ago I bought a GALLON of Terro. I had tried many kinds of home-made baits using peanut butter & bacon grease plus borax. They just kept coming.
I never EVER thought I'd be concerned about ants outside. Well, that changed. These ants destroy my artichokes. I had sort of been wondering if they had anything to do with my plants falling over. They may not have, but I think they have. I know they were growing fast and tall this year, then we had extended very rainy weather. Between the soil being super saturated and the artichokes being full of water, I figured the weight, and wind, might have been the culprit.
I did another round of weeding out there this morning. Some of the fallen-over stems were barely attached to the main clump. They just pulled off. I salvaged the artichokes that were remotely edible. I may go out and cut the stems off soon so they can re-grow. I usually leave them so that the sugars can migrate back into the roots after the fall. This year there's already some regrowth, so I may take advantage of that.
Anyway, the plants are COVERED with ants. The ants are using the root clumps as part of their homes, and as far as I know, they may be using the stems themselves. There are a few artichokes left in the main garden, and I have three small plants in another location that ripen a bit later since they're in the shade. But alas - my artichoke season is coming to a halt faster than I had hoped. The good news is that I've been able to harvest a LOT of them. I've eaten many many of them myself, and I've been able to share with other people who are VERY appreciative. I enjoy sharing.
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Another sigh when I looked up into the cherry tree.
I used the string trimmer yesterday to knock down the "meadow" in the orchard. I noticed red fruit on the ground. Those Scrub Jays.... I looked up into the tree, and there are big clusters of fruit. Unfortunately, many (even most) of them are covered in rot from the long wet and cold spell we've had. So maybe no (or very few) cherries this year. There still should be figs, plums, pears, Asian pears, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries. We shall see.
Looks like the garlic is also all lost for the season.
Time to get clear plastic and nuke the soil anywhere things aren't growing. I'm still optimistic for the tomatoes.5 -
I really love my neighborhood and my neighbors.
I've probably written before about sharing things. Well, I just had a nice windfall. My next-door neighbor was on vacation for a couple weeks. I sent a text to ask if she was back this week, and if not if I could fill her green waste cart because mine was overflowing. She said go for it. She also said she was in another location indefinitely taking care of a family member who had a debilitating injury. No bueno!
Then she sent a request the next day. Some folks are staying in her house for a few weeks after moving out of their previous place in preparation to move out of state. It's been raining, and the lawn had grown very thick. There was an issue with the neighbor's rotary mower, and the folks staying there tried to get through it with the non-motorized reel mower. No bueno. My neighbor asked if they could borrow my mower. I just went over and mowed it, I had to mow it three times - once to knock it down, and then twice with the bag to get up the THICK layer of trimmings. I usually just use the mulching feature, but that just wasn't going to work. A bonus for the folks staying there is their last few nights they can sit outside and enjoy the yard. They are already doing that.... My windfall from that is maybe she will mow my lawn when I'm off on a month long river trip....
The other request was if I could keep the garden watered. Also no problem. It is a truly amazing garden. It's her hobby and her love. She also earns money from farms and orchards. She asked me to pick all the produce I want. The garden has interplantings of lettuces among so many other things.
So this morning I went over and picked two pints of strawberries, three pints of sugar peas, and a half pint of snow peas. I'll be eating well. There will be zucchini soon. I'll keep that picked so the plant keeps putting on new flowers. I'll try to do the same with the peas, but we're about to get some unseasonably hot weather, and that will be the end of the peas and lettuce. All that after all the cold rain we've had this month. Crazy weather.
So even though my garden is kind of a big zero (except the perennials) this year, I get to go play in my neighbor's garden for a while.
And my garden is now providing blueberries and raspberries at a quickening pace.7 -
Part of mine. I'm finishing up woodchipping the walkways, putting up a log arbor in the back right corner for grapes and hardy kiwis and theres another 1500sq ft to the left to clear next year for more beds and a chicken coop. The very back will be cleared next year too for dwarf fruit trees.
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Help me with an ongoing seasonal issue - Grazing.
One of my favorite things to do, and something I'll have more time to do now that I don't have to go to the office anymore, is to take some of my garden "chore" time to just graze. It's starting now. Blueberries and raspberries. Soon there will be marionberries. The cherries... well, if the birds leave any for me. And now with me helping the neighbor, strawberries and peas.
I just like to go graze.
The taste of a just-picked berry or sugar pea isn't even matched by one that was picked three hours ago. I obviously don't use a food scale. I don't even use any kind of measuring utensil like a bowl. I just pick and eat, pick and eat. I'm not going to stop.
If you're like me, what is your strategy when you log this free-for-all in your food diary?1 -
Help me with an ongoing seasonal issue - Grazing.
One of my favorite things to do, and something I'll have more time to do now that I don't have to go to the office anymore, is to take some of my garden "chore" time to just graze. It's starting now. Blueberries and raspberries. Soon there will be marionberries. The cherries... well, if the birds leave any for me. And now with me helping the neighbor, strawberries and peas.
I just like to go graze.
The taste of a just-picked berry or sugar pea isn't even matched by one that was picked three hours ago. I obviously don't use a food scale. I don't even use any kind of measuring utensil like a bowl. I just pick and eat, pick and eat. I'm not going to stop.
If you're like me, what is your strategy when you log this free-for-all in your food diary?
I'm an avid garden grazer, too. Mostly I pretend my gardening activity cancels out the munching, but with fruit I take a wild guess and log that.1 -
Help me with an ongoing seasonal issue - Grazing.
One of my favorite things to do, and something I'll have more time to do now that I don't have to go to the office anymore, is to take some of my garden "chore" time to just graze. It's starting now. Blueberries and raspberries. Soon there will be marionberries. The cherries... well, if the birds leave any for me. And now with me helping the neighbor, strawberries and peas.
I just like to go graze.
The taste of a just-picked berry or sugar pea isn't even matched by one that was picked three hours ago. I obviously don't use a food scale. I don't even use any kind of measuring utensil like a bowl. I just pick and eat, pick and eat. I'm not going to stop.
If you're like me, what is your strategy when you log this free-for-all in your food diary?
If you find the true USDA entries*, they often have a count option for the serving size (e.g., one berry). I'd be approximating the count, though. 😉
*"Raspberries, raw" (1 C is default quantity, 10 berries is on the list)
"Blueberries, raw" (1 C is default, 50 berries is on the list)
etc.
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I think I would be better off doing a "seven minutes of eating berries" as an option....
I probably will just estimate or put in an adjustment or... just not worry about it. It's not like I'm out there for an hour. Just something that's hard to estimate.
Today's strawberries should be easier. I picked two pints and ate one of them.3 -
Could you simply allow it as "medicinal", I've been reading antioxidants are good for chemical sensitivity, (there are other things for me to try as well). I'm thinking, you could be protecting yourself, ensuring you do not develop this situation.1
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@Fuzzipeg
Medicinal? You mean like Fried Chicken?
Blueberries are very high in antioxidents. So are raspberries. Both also have other purported benefits beyond other fruits. Tasty too! I can call them medicine. All food is medicine in some respect. It's just that this time of year I tend to.... go nuts in the garden. Berry berry nuts. And I'm not going to stop.
I'll just add an adjustment.
I usually freeze some on cookie trays then vacuum seal for later in the year. I would sometimes add them to my yogurt and oats for my work-day breakfast. They hardly had any calories, so probably no big deal. I do still want to be honest with myself, that's all.2 -
@maratoot, (I don't know how to do the fancy thing.)
I commend your requirement for honesty. I was offering a possible escape. (My chemical sensitivity is driving me mad, its no joke. I can have issues in our garden!)
Fried chicken is controversial, giggle. (I'm being light hearted) The fats/oils its cooked in can be inflammatory for many reasons from toxins some release at too high temperatures, how long the oils been about could be an issue. I've discovered what makes breakfast cereals any foods extrudable, lecithin's! They are something I've been aware of in the last few years. From something I was listening to the other evening, they are found in highly processed foods and can be the cause of weight gain. The object of the programme gained much weight living eating a months worth of highly processed meals. Yet having the same meals unprocessed over the same period, lost similarly or more weight.
This is a garden thread and my levity might not be appreciated here. I am serious in my mention of chemical sensitivity I'm looking for answers.
Might I ask what marionberries are please. Do they have another name I might know.
Time wise I've not been able to do much in our garden this year. Your 2lb of strawberries sound a wonderful luxury, all the other posters have wonderful crops too. Our Tay berries and Logan berries are doing better than in many years, only 8 ounces yesterday and less today between them! (They got their own back on me today, picking them I've aggravated my knee arthritis could hardly get back inside.)
I'm trying to decide if a veg plot is viable here. Even the improved clay goes from sodden to dried out so very quickly after the winter. Our winters are dryer now, our spring was also dry. I do collect water but moving it about is hard going. Not having a veg plot makes me sad. I love my own vegies.2 -
@Fuzzipeg
Marionberries are a type of blackberry. It was developed at Oregon State University in the '50s. I don't remember how I ended up with mine. It produces prolifically. It's not thornless, but the thorns are not nearly as nasty as the wild Armenian blackberries that grow around here (previously called Himalayan blackberry).
The strawberries are not from my garden. I'm taking care of the neighbor's garden while they are away tending to family. I was told pick as much as I can. There's enough to feed several people. Another friend has a CSA and has been giving me produce. I am going to be eating a LOT of produce the next several weeks. Breakfast was a stir-fry with onion, garlic, garlic scapes, zucchini, sugar snap peas, snow peas, some celery and some seafood. Mmmmm.
The fried chicken thing... that was a particularly hilarious episode of South Park that now is only available behind a paywall.
A co-worker's partner had bad chemical sensitivity. It sounds awful. I hope you are able to find a way to manage it so it is less impactful on the enjoyment of your one and only life!0 -
Thank you for the information. Thank you, deeply.0
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My pak choy has drowned 😢 It just Will. Not. Stop. RAINING here. Like downpours, every single day. Not a great year so far for the garden!3
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SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »My pak choy has drowned 😢 It just Will. Not. Stop. RAINING here. Like downpours, every single day. Not a great year so far for the garden!
I think my garlic drowned. It had been dealing with a bunch of weeds late winter, but it was too wet to pull them. And then.... the rain kept, and I think all that beautiful garlic just rotted in the ground. Very sad. I think my neighbor's garlic suffered the same fate.2 -
Please can you send you rain this way. I'm very sorry you both have had crop losses. I hope other things you have planted fare better.2
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Never planted pak choy before and thought it might regrow from kitchen scraps. The cores immediately bolted - but now I have many MANY seed pods. Will do some homework and try for a late fall crop.
Beans are about a week out and cukes maybe two. In the mean time, I'm enjoying Swiss chard, beet green and sweet pea pod salads every other day or so. I pick wild black raspberries every day at sun-up and sun-down. Debating about making preserves.
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I harvested my potatoes today. It's the first thing I've ever grown, I'm a complete novice at gardening and I am so pleased with them
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It's been a cold wet spring so everything is about 3 weeks behind. I'm currently harvesting lettuce, spinach, radishes, snap peas and a couple cherries. There will be no peaches or plums this year because of the weather, that makes me sad. But it looks like there will be a great crop of marionberries and looking forward to apples and crabapples late summer.2
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I just wanted to grow some basil since the kind in the store is always crunchy with dirt. Then I noticed that parsley was pretty cheap and easy to grow, then we added cilantro, dill, rosemary and sage.
Then we thought some flowers would add some color and then DH added a few bigger trees for eye interest. Then DD wanted to grow some vegetables to share with friends.
Now the whole porch is out of control!!!!5 -
@DiscoveringLisa That is very impressive! Yum...1
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@DiscoveringLisa That is very impressive! Yum...
Thank you, they are delicious as well !2
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