Jealous Monday a.k.a Harvest Monday

Welcome to Harvest Monday hosted graciously by Daphne's Dandelions. The past few weeks I have been looking in sheer awe at the amazing harvest's of all of my fellow gardener's. This week though I really found my mouth watering for all of the yummy tomatoes and melons coming out of your gardens. We had a rather late plant out date this year, by three weeks, in Northeast Florida due to an unusually long and cold winter met with an extra early and hot summer. These weather woe's made for a very short growing season, so I have lived vicariously through you all.

The good news is that fall is just around the corner. I chose some of my favorite tomatoes from spring, Sungold and Mr Stripey, and cut them back to just above where the first "new" plant was forming near the bottom. They should really begin to take off growing in a week or two as we get a break in the heat, and with any luck will produce all the way through the holidays like they did last year.

Growing now, I still have eggplant that will grow through October or so, and peppers that will also continue to grow through the holidays.





I've started my purple peacock broccoli and broccoli raab under the lights. It was so awesome to have fresh broccoli last year that I plan on successively planting every two to three weeks through February.



Other planned fall crops:

Carrots - started my first bucket 4 days ago and will continue to sew every two weeks through March
Pumpkins - this may only be a dream, but the vine is looking good. Planted 4 "Casper" seeds and only one germinated.
Sweet Potato Squash - a winter squash variety, mostly an after thought. They just sprouted and I will be pushing mother nature' limits to get them to maturity.
Beets, onions, lettuce, dwarf pak choy - all will sew directly around sep 15 and will continue to sew every few weeks through spring.
Onions and Artichokes - plant out in October for a spring harvest

Urban Gardening Hotlanta Style....

Summer is in full swing here in zone 8/9. The only thing surviving right now, aside from the weeds, are eggplants and peppers, and even they seem to struggle. Even after a deep watering the droopy leaves just seem to be begging for cooler weather.

So while the garden is almost empty I will relish in the bounty of others.
This past weekend I visited some friends in Atlanta. One of my favorite things to do while on vacation is to eat, and visit other gardens and see what’s going on. I inevitably learn something new every time.

This trip was all about tracking down The King of Pops. We are talking yummy, homemade, gourmet popsicles from a street corner vendor. This guy is the real deal. These pops are made from as many local as possible and always fresh ingredients. The Arnold Palmer was so refreshing. The perfect southern treat for a 100+ degree day.

Another noteworthy addition to the Atlanta restaurant scene is Farm Burger. Truly farm to table.
“Farm Burger is defined by its mission, its farms, its team, and its community. We depend on local farmers, ranchers and land stewards to make your burger as good as it is. From our beef to our tomatoes to our compostable containers to our owners, Farm Burger is sustainable, local, humane, and helping to reroute our food system to function more like an ecosystem than a corporation. Our goal is to connect soil, animal, plant, rancher, butcher, chef & you…all in a simple wire basket.”
And though we chose not to wait it out, the enormous line out the door said it all. It is a must the next time I am there.

But truly the highlight was getting to see my friend Robins garden. It was a small 3x8 raised bed, but it was prolific. Over flowing with cucumbers, tomatoes, beans and herbs. It was seemingly disease free, just a few beginning signs of powdery mildew. But I really was left with a strong admiration for what has always seemed to be the perfectness of zone 7 gardening.

To do this week:
Finish cleaning up after last weeks storms
Put together new raised beds (HELLO - half price at Lowes!)
Start fall seeds (broccoli, broccoli and more broccoli) inside
Finish spreading out all of the free mulch that my friend Samantha delivered after having some trees taken down and the stumps ground up. (I LOVE FREE!)

Read new Fall 2010 Edition of URBAN FARM magazine (make sure to check out the list of notable blogs on page 106!!!)

Squirrel Wars

So I’ve finally gotten a little motivation to take on a few of my garden chores. The temperature has dropped to a mere 90 degrees, and there is even a bit of a, though balmy and thick, somewhat refreshing breeze.

I won’t bother you with the details of the clean up. I did harvest the first of my snow white eggplant yesterday, and the peppers are finally turning color. I also threw a few pumpkin seeds in the ground last week just to see what may be. I’ve had a big problem with powdery mildew this year, so I’m not expecting much.

The big news is what’s been going on while I’ve been cleaning up. This past spring the squirrels had a bumper crop of babies. Well the babies only stay at home for so long, and then it’s time to go. Squirrels are also very territorial. So as the young squirrels leave the nest, they of course would rather find a place that’s move in ready than one that needs to be renovated or dare they have to begin new construction. And so, the war begins.
It can be very entertaining to watch. All of the squirrels get in on the action. They usual leave the largest squirrel to guard the nest, but it can be a challenge when you have three or four juveniles running circles around you. Occasionally they even, if only for a moment, find victory.
But don’t let these cute little rodents fool you. They can be brutal to their enemies. Two years ago I was watching TV late at night when the squabbling, that usually ceases for the evening, started up. I lifted the window to get a better listen and was greeted with the loudest of all squeals and then a loud thud on the ground. I got out my flashlight and took a little walk outside. Lying there in the grass I found the sweetest eyes staring back at me. It really must have known that I was there to help. I went and put on a garden glove and gave it a little nudge. It didn’t move an inch, but continued to stare at me in desperation as I gave it a gentle petting.
I fretted over what to do. I mean it was a squirrel. So I found a bucket and scooped it up. It scrambled a bit, most likely from the pain of being moved. Further inspection revealed a large gash on its side. I had decided to leave the bucket on top of my car, and should the squirrel make it through the night I would see what I could do.
When I woke up the next morning the squirrel and the bucket were gone. On my way to work I found the empty bucket a half a block away.

A Gardener's Work Is Never Done

The time has arrived.... harvest season is over here in Florida.
The veggie patch in the driveway garden has been composted and mulched over. I used a simple “lasagna” layering technique. The only thing that remains are the Rosa Bianca eggplants that are just reaching peak season, and the small meadow of Susans and Cosmos at the bottom.

The patio is overflowing with herbs. I’ve had a lot of success this year starting plants from seed, including my all time favorite, basil. I have so much basil now that I haven’t even had a chance to get it all into pots. I also have a pot of peppers that has decided it also loves the heat. In the past if I didn’t have peppers by June, I would cut the plants back to about 8 inches and wait for fall when they will generally take off again and produce well into December.

The side garden is a mess. The tomatoes are ready to be cut out. The vines are sprawling everywhere and are over run with aphids and wilt. Any remaining tomatoes have rotted and are creating a huge mess. On the opposite side of the same bed is a cover crop of cow peas. I thought it would be fun to have fresh cow peas, but shelling them is not easy work. So for now I will just continue to stock up on fresh bags of $5 peas from the farmers market. I have a huge respect for anyone who takes on the task of shelling that many by hand and will gladly pay the steep asking price with gratitude. The vines are not a complete waist though. I will use the vines as a layer of compost when I begin my “lasagna” layering. Beans are unique in that they fix nitrogen into the soil at the root, so they are great to till in.

Harvest: No harvest this week.

Chores:
Remove tomatoes from side garden raised bed
Cut down cow peas and “lasagna” layer the raised bed
Pull vines from Azaleas in front yard
Cut back roses
Cut back any plants showing signs of heat stress - ok all of them
Clean out and mulch over remaining earthboxes
Discard any dead annuals and clean out pots
Start broccoli seeds inside for planting out at the end of August for November harvest

(did I mention that it’s been 98 degrees out everyday)

A Tribute to Alton Brown

(lemon) Tomato Sauce or Roasted (lemon) Tomatoes with Fresh Herbs, Sea Salt and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
20 or so (lemon) tomatoes halved
1 small onion quartered
2 big hand full of herbs (I prefer lots of basil, thyme, oregano and a few sprigs of tarragon) finely chopped
course sea salt
olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
goat cheese


Place halved tomatoes skin side down on a silpat lined baking sheet with onion quarters mixed in at 4 even points. Drizzle with olive oil. Spread herbs over tomatoes and onions evenly and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast in oven at 300 degrees for two hours. Remove from oven.

If making the second recipe stop here. Place a sliver of onion on each tomato halve along with a small dollop of goat cheese - I prefer Sweet Grass Dairy Chevre - and serve.

Moving on to the tomato sauce. Remove onions, chop finely and put into a sauce pot along with the garlic. Place a food mill over the sauce pot and begin milling tomatoes until all have been pressed through the mill. Stir sauce.

Serve over pasta, use as pizza sauce or serve as a soup with a dollop of softened chevre. Can’t possibly eat it all? Freeze in batches for a taste of spring when the season is long gone.


Garden update: Squash are gone and I spent a good portion of the day yesterday making garden lasagna and putting those beds to rest for a few months. Cucumbers are not far behind the squash. I have a few left to mature, but they are coming in smaller and smaller and the plants are not looking so healthy. The corn is puny, and will probably come out in a few weeks. I’ll have to do some research and try again next year.
The tomatoes are going crazy as you may have noticed from the above recipe. I am harvesting a dozen or so a day with no end in sight. Hard to believe that this time last year tomato season had already ended due to a horrible weekend rain storm.
Peppers and eggplants are coming in as well with fruit ready in the next week or so, and finally my neighbors get a little eye candy as the wild flowers in the bottom of the driveway go bananas.