Garden MVP 2014

I know it’s a little early to start thinking about next year, but I can’t help it.  I always say my garden is a work in progress; each year I seek to improve it, change it, shape it into a landscape. I also recognize what I like, what I don’t want to change.  Garlic, sungold tomatoes, zinnias, kale, fava beans are on this favorites list.  My new favorite thing to grow: lunchbox peppers.  

This year I bought several lunchbox pepper seedlings at our farmers market.  They come in yellow, orange and red, and yield precious little peppers, perfect for 1.  Their walls are crisp and lush, with juice practically spurting forth when you slice them with a knife.  These peppers are so good I have eaten one whole, right out of the garden.  Perhaps due to their small size, they are relatively quick to develop color, unlike some larger bell peppers which seem to take awhile to develop reds, oranges and yellows.  Anyhow, if you like peppers, consider adding these to your garden roster in 2015.

Maximizing the End of the Season

The time has come to pick the rest of the basil and every tomato with color.  Our temperatures have been dipping dangerously low, which some vegetables don’t appreciate.  Generally speaking, the more heat a vegetable needs to grow, the more sensitive it is at the end of the season to frost.  With this in mind, I just picked lots of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil.

Dinner Tonight

Dinner tonight: pesto potato salad over arugula with salmon.  Thanks Cucina Nicolina, you inspire yet again!   

Inspired by Nicole’s Roasted Potato-Pesto Salad:

10 red or new potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half

olive oil

1 clove garlic

small handful of walnuts (about a ¼ cup)

Bunch of basil, stems removed

large handful grated parmesan (about ½ cup)

salt and pepper

bunch of arugula

Bounty

August and September are the peak of Maine’s growing season.  One can go to the farmers market/into the garden and pick such variety of vegetables (and fruits!).  This time of year, I love eggplant.

I have loved eggplant since childhood celebration suppers of eggplant parmesan served alongside heaps of round tubes of spaghetti at Anthony’s Italian Restaurant.  Now I love eggplant because of my husband, K.  He lived in Greece for a year, and I joined him for a summer.  We ate Eggplant in the Oven whenever we could get it.  Tavernas routinely had large menus, of which generally a handful of items were actually available.  When Eggplant in the Oven was offered, we always accepted.  Slow cooked eggplant with tomatoes, oregano and chunks of salty feta, best after hours in a low oven.  

On Mulching and Micromovements

Well, my ambitious to-do list backfired.  Generally I feel peaceful while gardening.  I am connected to the system of life, part of something bigger.  Things don’t work out, it’s a learning experience.  Not today.  I was mad at the cabbage worms, mad at the irregular fall crop germination (due to cats and groundhogs), and overwhelmed by how to deal with my compost system.  

    So, I did what a good friend and mentor calls, “take micromovements.”

Garden To-Do’s

A dear friend (and inspiration for starting this blog) occasionally asks me what she should be doing in her garden.  Here’s what’s on my garden to-do list this September Saturday:

1. Take pictures of my garden beds for reference during winter planning.  Every year I mean to do this.  Every year I don’t and regret it in the middle of winter or early spring, when I’m trying to figure out what was there, and if that green growth is a beloved bulb, sprouts from a perennial root ball, or weeds.  

2. Research cabbage worms.  These pests are decimating my kale, (my blood boils just to write this) and are beginning to take bites out of turnip leaves.  (See evidence below)  After some preliminary research, it seems I must remove and destroy all plant matter as these troublesome caterpillars overwinter.  More coming on this matter.  If you have any suggestions, please share.

3. Weed and mulch fall vegetable beds.  A month ago I planted beets, spinach, chard, radishes, kale and mustard.  This bed desperately needs weeding and mulching.

Small Pleasures

Eating outside elevates any meal (one of the reasons I love camping).  Greens/rice/egg/turkey/tomato/cheddar/salsa-skillet + sunshine + ice water with lemon = rejuvenation.  How nice to take time to appreciate, to taste, to breathe, to give thanks (even if you’re not camping).