Garden, Plant, Cook!

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Last Minute Cookie Idea

Dear Folks,

I have been challenged by time and creativity - I've been helping out with two loved ones with injured arms and I NEEDED to get more cookies made for an exchange.

Sooooo - I remember a good friend turning a basic brownie batter into cookies and voila! I decided my Jam Bread recipe would be perfect for this AND I had all the ingredients on hand.

If you have a favorite quick bread/fruit bread recipe you can make the cookies too.

I used some of my homemade fig and apricot jams (mixed) for this and I threw in some chopped up Roselle Petals and Pumpkin Seeds for a Christmasy look.

I love the way they turned out and I did not have to change the batter recipe at all - win/win/YUM!

Just used scoop - they "dome" and do not spread, so you can put as many as you want on the cookie sheet

Oven 350, parchment lined cookie sheet, bake for 15 minutes, cool on tray for 5 minutes and then move to cooling rack.

My Jam Bread Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar (may need less or more depending on sweetness of jams)
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups jam
1 cup chopped walnuts  (or nut / seed of choice)
Optional: Chopped fruit

Pre-heat oven to 350
Prepare cookie sheet(s) lined with parchment paper
Have cooling racks handy

In one bowl sift flour salt and baking powder.

In another bowl whip eggs to frothy, add sugar and oil and mix very well. Add jam and mix well.

Mix in flour until batter is well mixed, stir in nuts and optional fruit.

Using scoop or two spoons place mounds on sheets (can be close together batter does not spread).

Bake 15 minutes.  Cool on trays for 5 minutes then move to cooling racks.
 



Wishing you a Wonderful, Safe and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Monday, December 10, 2018

January Planting Tips, In the Garden and A New "Visitor".

Dear Folks,

My Sugar Peas - variety Magnolia Blossom - are coming along nicely. I tucked more seed in around this area for continuous production.  With so many flowers coming on, I expect pods soon - Yum!

From the beautiful to the simple -Purslane volunteering - they do that - in a pot containing an apple tree seedling (more on that below).  I am showing you this edible along with my I'itoi Onions and Roselle leaves for a really fun reason.

Our wonderful food writer at the Arizona Republic, Dominic Armato, created a food challenge, featuring local foods, and one segment in particular sung to me as I grow most of what Chef Kraus (known for his crepes and now this great salad) chose to use in his salad (and YOU can grow these too!)-- I'itoi Onions, Roselle Leaves, Purslane, Arugula, and small tomatoes
Read the article here.      And watch the video here.

My I'itoi onions which I need to separate and re-plant for bigger bulbs.  You will see Chef Kraus in the article and video use hese "shallot" like onions raw, fried and charred.  I have decided to grow only this onion variety (plus garlic chives and garlic), because of their versatility.

Roselle leaves are tangy cranberry flavored much like the "fruit" and are wonderful additions to salads and more all through the summer when traditional lettuces/greens are not happy with the heat. 

We had rare fog yesterday morning (December 8th) which presented a challenge for our typical laundry day as we hang our clothes outside - love the fresh aroma of outside garden air.

That challenge aside, our Johnny Jump-up Lawn is coming along and enjoyed the FOG - the insert shows what it will look like later this coming Spring. 


My Apple tree seedlings are now joined by a new sprout - middle pot.  The larger ones I'm written about before - I was able to get Wild Montana Landrace apple seeds and will be transplanting to larger pots soon.  The middle one is either a Golden Delicious or one of the Green Apple varieties.  I had some apples in the frig crisper and forgot about them.  When I cut open one I discovered most of the seeds were sprouting!!! - Well, never one to let a unique volunteer seed go to waste, I soaked over night and spread in a pot on November 2nd and literally 30 days later this one popped up.  Fun stuff.

One last thing before I get to what to plant/sow in January - yes I know you are deep into your Holidays doings, but you can look forward to breathing a sigh of satisfaction and relief with the major holidays behind you and get your hands dirty again - because we desert gardeners can do that - right away.  My New Year's Day tradition is to plant potatoes if I do no other gardening that day.  Find a fun garden tradition for you and your family to start the New Year off to a good food start :-)


Okay - I've been sharing about critter visitors to our gardens off and on.  Recently it was apparent we have a falcon or hawk giving our doves etc. fits.  Finally one landed, as casual as you please, and we were able to catch 1 or 2 good pictures.  I have ID'd this beautiful predator as an Immature Cooper's Hawk - I do not know if it is female or male.  The picture with "Bouregard" our art rooster, almost seems like the hawk is wondering what it is.


JANUARY PLANTING:

SEED Selection:  Where possible choose short maturity (75 days or less) for maximum production.  Plant short rows in succession of veggies like carrots ( 2 feet at a time) to provide continuous harvest potential (can you really use 12 feet of carrots all at once?).  Also, start seeds like tomato, basil, eggplant and peppers  indoors under lights or in a greenhouse to set out February 1st (with frost protection)

Anise
Asparagus
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chamomile
Chervil
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit, Bare Root
Fruit Trees
Garlic, Green (planting cloves for use as scallions through spring - they will NOT produce heads)
Greens (lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach etc.) 
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lettuce
Marjoram
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Oregano, Greek
Ornamental Cabbage/Kale (Brassica Oleracea)
Parsley
Peppers (seed)
Potatoes
Radishes
Sage
Savory
Shungiku Chrysanthemum
Spinach
Strawberry
Thyme
Turnips
Watermelon

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Carnation (Dianthus)
English Daisy
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums (with protection)
Snapdragons
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Sweet Alyssum

GARDEN TIPS for January
As we are nearing the end of the primary perennial planting season, I like to celebrate the start of the new year by planting at least one new plant on January 1st.
Celebrate New Year's Day by planting potatoes. (I like the purple ones because they are unusual and have more anti-oxidants.)
November through January can be a ‘rainy' season for the desert. You can usually hold off on regular watering if you have received a half inch or more of rain within 2 days of normal watering days.  Make good use of your water meter to determine soil moisture.
If rains are heavy this month, in addition to foregoing some water days, you may need to put down Ironite or green sand to compensate for mineral bonding (which makes iron unavailable to the plants) due to both the excess water and the cold soil.
Prune citrus and deciduous fruit trees no later than early January before flowering starts.  Shrub trees such as pineapple guava which bloom in late spring, need to be pruned later -- in April approximately.

WHY Edible Flowers? To attract pollinators to your fruit, herbs and veggies year round and to use as safe garnishes and additions to your dining table.

FROST damage:  Do not prune until danger of frost is over - the damaged plant protects the lower growth.

FROST/FREEZE NOTE: Have protective covers ready anytime the overnight forecast is 40 or lower.

FORCING BRANCHES

One of the delights of spring is the peach and apricot bloom time - clouds of light to dark pink flowers cover the ends of the tree branches with the bees busily doing their work.

Just as the tree's flower buds are starting open you can select a few branches to 'force' into bloom inside for a lovely arrangement.  I emphasize 'a few' because you will loose that potential fruit.

Select a branch and clip off 12-18 inches - arrange in a vase of room temperature water or slightly warmer, after re-cutting the branches under water.  You will be treated to a spring display as one another the flower buds are 'forced' to open in the warmth of your home.  Change or freshen the water each day - if you need to, re-cut the branch, under water, every several days to keep the moisture flowing up to the buds.

At the end of the display, add to the compost pile, or dry and use as kindling for the grill or fire pit.


Have a safe and peaceful Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Find my Calendar for all your monthly planting tips and books at Amazon.

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Monday, December 03, 2018

Around The Garden - And a HUGE radish!

Dear Folks,

I was away with a relative following their surgery and found these big radishes when I got to harvesting the other day.  Part of the root broke when I harvested it so I could tell they were still nice and crisp. What to do?  Roast!  See my use of them in one of my "Made Over" soups using fried chicken, below.

One of the very few non-edible plants I have are Poinsettias - red and white, which I purchased as seedlings last holiday season and transplanted into the garden his past spring.  They need some "dark" or shade to color according to my prior readings and I found the right spot for them.  This collage shows 23 days of coloring (top to bottom) and I could not be more pleased. This red is on track to be gorgeous by Christmas!

I also have a white and it is coloring very nicely.  The white is harder to capture with the camera, but it is showy in the garden.

One of the delights for me, as I love the holidays and growing citrus, is the citrus trees "decorating" the garden with ripening fruit.

One of our Navel oranges is coming along nicely.

We recently purchased a Mandarin Tangerine and I have chosen not to remove the fruit, just can't resist the possibility of enjoying one or more of these ripening fruits.  There is new growth on the branches and we are monitoring the tree to ensure it remains stable.

Our Limequat blooms and fruits multiple times of the year and right now is no exception.  If you look closely you can see a baby fruit on the left of the photo.

I took several of these photos, including the bottom Red Poinsettia, after our rain the other day.

More color in the form of Magnolia Blossom Sugar Pea flowers.  I LOVE sugar peas and grow them every year.  They are all delicious, but I am choosing to grow more of this variety just because of the stunning flower.  We can eat the flowers, but then I would miss out on the sugar pea pods which won't be far behind now that the plants are blooming.  I need to get more seed sown to continue being able to harvest as long as possible into the warm spring.

Nasturtiums are starting to bloom too.  I am thinking about drying various of the flower petals of edibles, in the refrigerator to keep the color better, and use them as a garnish for meals later on.  I will update as I have something to show you later on.

Fall in the garden is an amusing time, because there is fall, as in the temperatures dropping, the day light hours shortening, "some" leaves coloring and falling . . . and then there is FALL!!!! in our garden which generally occurs after a first winter storm/rain and the next morning the heretofore clear ground, is covered in leaves.  FALL!

Roasted Radish

Although I love to eat the skin of radishes, in the case of those big ones, it was too knarly to enjoy.  So I peeled most of the skin off, diced them, tossed them with a tiny bit of mixed and melted uncured bacon fat, avocado oil and butter, seasoned with salt and some of my dried dill and roasted at 400 degrees (stirring half way through) for about 40 minutes.  Nice, sweet, slightly spicy crunch.

Next - soup.

Made Over Fried Chicken Soup

Made over is an old fashioned term and I like to use it - it means using left overs and I was in the mood for soup yesterday, so far one of the coolest days this season.

I had homemade broth, some left over fried chicken (including breading), fresh harvested salad greens from the garden, broken linguine pasta and the roasted radishes.

Bring the broth to boil, cook the pasta, add the chicken to heat through, shred the greens and divide into soup bowls, ladle in the soup and top with the roasted radishes.  So many flavors and textures in this warming and satisfying soup.  Give it a try!

I hope you have a lovely week in the garden and kitchen with your bounty!

You can still purchase one of my books or calendar for in time for gifting.  Click here for my publisher site, OR here for Amazon.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Time to get Frost Covers Ready - Artic Express Coming Soon Near You.

Dear Folks,

Friday will bring some rain to the Valley and then dropping temperatures, over the weekend and into next week, down into highs of 50s and low 60s with overnight temperatures dipping into 30s and 40s depending on where you live in the Valley.  The map shows projected below normal temperature forecasts into the following weekend.

This cooling and some rain is arriving from Alaska via the Pacific Northwest.

Whenever the overnight forecasts indicate 40 or lower, freeze, even light short term (soft) freeze is possible.  Any heat retention from the day dissipates by dawn, dropping as much as 8 degrees +/- from late night into predawn hours.

Any frost tender plants need overnight protection.

Frost protection consists of blankets, sheets, newspaper, cardboard boxes or sheets, or similar.  Plastic should NEVER be used if it will touch the plants as it transmits the cold directly to the plant you are trying to protect.

Folks have even used lawn chairs positioned over the tender plant.

At this point this weather pattern does not look like it will bring killing (hard) freeze, as the ground is still warm, but will begin its winter cooling trends.

Best to have your frost protection handy.

Meanwhile, here are my planting and sowing tips for December


. . .

A fun entertaining idea - fold your napkins like Christmas Trees!!


I hope you enjoy your garden and its bounty.

Have a best day, be kind, be safe and have fun,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Friday, November 23, 2018

My Gardening Calendar and Garden and Cookbooks Make Great Gifts!

Dear Folks,

I am making turkey stock as I type - our family get together yesterday was fun and satisfying and I hope yours was lovely too.

My gardening calendar and beginner's gardening book are great gifts for the desert southwest and USDA Zone 9b and above gardeners.

You can follow the links below to individual books or the calendar at my publisher's site.

The Amazon link is to my author's page showing all of my books and the current and prior calendars

After you check out the links, enjoy one of my favorite "flash mob" youtube videos - just fun and you can see the happy smiles of those folks - dealing with holiday travel times.

My Perpetual Gardening Calendar has month-by-month planting and sowing tips, seasonal maintenance and some recipes to inspire you.

Edible Landscaping a Month-By-Month Calendar Desert Southwest & USDA Zone 9b

My beginner's guide to gardening in the Desert Southwest has edible alternative planting suggestions to ornamental plant types, month-by-month planting and maintenance tips and a few recipes to get you started.

Edible Landscaping in the Desert Southwest: Wheelbarrow to Plate


My Amazon Author's page lists all of my publications.

Denver Airport 2011 - a Flash Mob entertained travelers with a fun retro dance routine.

. . .

After getting your early shopping done, hop out into your garden and get more of your sowing and growing on.  My December Planting Tips are here.

Are you growing edible flowers, whether dedicated plants or herbs with flowers?   Why not try drying petals in the refrigerator (on paper towels - loose not clustered) to create the ultimate flower garnish for your meals.  Start with however many flower petals you have, at one end of your towel and add to, as the flowers reach perfect bloom.  When all are completely dried store in glass or plastic containers in the dark.

Have a great weekend!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Thursday, November 15, 2018

December Planting Tips

Dear Folks,

My chocolate flowers (Berlandiera Lyrata) have a lovely cocoa scent along with these happy little yellow daisy flowers. The dried seed heads, used by Native Americans, added flavoring to sausage like foods.

My Mexican Oregano is blooming. One of three Oreganos I grow (Syrian aka Zatar, and Greek Oregano) has the loveliest little white flowers and a wonderful aroma and flavor.

My Sugar Peas are growing along nicely.  Different heights, planted in succession, which I will keep doing.  Love my sugar peas!   If you have not started planting yours, begin now, and sow more every 2-3 weeks for a continuous harvest through spring.

Not an edible but one I am so pleased to see coloring up!  Poinsettia beginning to turn red on the brackets!  I got this and a white one as small 4 inch plants last Christmas time and transplanted into the garden where they get shade in the afternoon.  I chose the right spot, as they need shade beginning in the fall to produce the color. I think the white one is beginning to do the same thing only not as showy yet.  Yippee!  Just fun for the holiday.



PLANTING:

Anise
Asparagus
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chamomile
Chervil
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel, Leaf
Fruit, Bare Root
Fruit Trees
Greens
Kohlrabi
Lavender
Lettuce
Marjoram
Mustard
Myrtle
Onions, Green
Oregano, Greek
Ornamental Cabbage/Kale (Brassica Oleracea)
Parsley
Peppers (seed)
Primrose (Primula Vulgaris)
Radishes
Sage
Savory
Spinach
Strawberry
Thyme
Turnips
Watermelon (by seed December 15 and after)

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Carnation (Dianthus)
Chamomile
English Daisy
Jasmine Sambac (Arabian)
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Primrose
Scented Geraniums
Snapdragons              
Stocks (Matthiola)
Sweet William (Dianthus)
Sweet Alyssum

GARDEN TIPS for December
    Holiday time can be stressful. Your edible garden can be an oasis from stress.  With citrus fruit ripening like yellow and orange ornaments, pansies blooming, and dill waving in the breeze, winter is only a state of mind here in the Desert Southwest.
    November through January can be a ‘rainy’ season for the desert. You can usually hold off on regular watering if you have received a half inch or more of rain within 2 days of normal watering days (except for trees unless you receive 1 inch or more).  Make good use of your water meter to determine soil moisture.
    If rains are heavy this month, in addition to foregoing some water days, you may need to put down Ironite or Green Sand to compensate for mineral bonding (which makes iron unavailable to the plants) due to both the excess water and the cold soil.  Ironite is not a fertilizer so it will not burn plants -- apply to the drip line (edge) of tree canopy.

Watering Guide:
As the temperatures rise or decrease, a guide (this is only a guide! make use of your moisture meter to check moisture content of soil) For mature gardens would be:
    70s water every 5-6 days for all but trees
    80s water every 4-5 days for all but trees
    90s water every 3-4 days for all but trees
    100s water every 2-3 days for all but trees

Garden Design tip - if you are considering laying out a new garden, use Ironite to 'draw' the garden layout on the soil, easy and safe.

FROST damage:  Do not prune until danger of frost is over - the damaged plant protects the lower growth.

PRUNING:

Prune citrus and deciduous fruit trees in December, or no later than early January before flowering starts.

Occasionally our crazy peach trees drive Deane nuts because they still have leaves on them when they start to flower in late December or early January.

The idea with pruning deciduous trees is to get it done before the 'sap starts running' in the warming spring weather.  Because we do not usually have extended cold spells some of the stone fruit trees may not actually go into full dormancy.

The commercial growers like Schnepf Farms have simply adopted the practice of prunning their peach etc. trees after December 15th. This ensures that flower buds will not be pruned off later on.

There is always the challenge of a cold spell coming in January or February while the stone fruit trees are coming into bloom, which in other areas of the country might mean the severe limiting of fruit production.  Here we have not generally found that a short cold period has killed off the flower bloom/fruit production.

If you feel you are in a colder area, you can cover the blooming peaches, apricots, plums and apples with cloth covers if you can reach high enough to make it worth the effort.

FRUIT TREE PESTS

Peach tree borers are a problem here in the valley as the special hybrid stone fruit trees are more vulnerable to borers because the pests are not killed off as readily as in very cold areas of the country.

Winter 'dormancy' of the trees is the time to consider treating the trees to an oil spray to discourage the darn pests

Generally called "dormant oil" or "horticulture oil" this is a heavy oil based control which is designed to smother the pests, and therefore can't be applied to the active growing parts of any plants.  It is sprayed on the trunks of stone fruit (not evergreen like citrus) from the soil-base line up.  Make sure you read the instructions carefully.

If peach and other stone fruit trees are new to you and your garden, look for swelling on the buds/edges of each branch which indicates the tree is going into active growth and DO NOT use the spray on those areas.

START your spring seeds in a greenhouse or VERY sunny window around December 1-15th.  This will give plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and basil a jump-start for planting out on February 1st (with frost protection like the poor man's cloche show here).  I like to use the jiffy pellets which reduces transplant shock.  They just go straight into the ground.

I hope you have a wonderful time in the garden and the kitchen with your bounty.          

You can find my calendars to give you all the monthly planting information at your finger tips on my sidebar here on the blog.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Rose and Celery

Dear Folks,

I have a beautiful Wild Rose that I just love and it flowers several times a year for me.  This wild form is not frilly or filled with multiple petals - just a simple 6 petal open face with a lovely fragrance.

While rose petals are edible I do not often use them, I just admire them on the plant.  Occasionally I will bring an unopened bud in to enjoy on the kitchen table.

*** Planting Tips For December ***

I will be posting my monthly Planting Tips and more about mid-November.  I am leaving shortly to stay with a relative who is having surgery.  I won't be available while I am away from my computer, so I will answer questions when I return.

Celery -- a couple of weeks ago I posted about my favorite habit - kitchen trash recycling - where I take a 2 inch root cut from the bottom of a celery bunch and transplant out into the garden.

I also have sprinkled celery seeds starting about 4 weeks ago and repeated 2 weeks ago.  I am happy to show the seeds sprouting - yum - I use a lot of celery for low-cal crunch and fiber in my salads and soups.

You may wish to like my facebook page.  My blog posts are added to my FB page.  However, I also add other fun and helpful posts and links on the my facebook page when I find facebook links I think my readers will like.

Have a great day in the garden and kitchen with your bounty.



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Thursday, November 01, 2018

Garden & Kitchen - Amazing Greens and Fruits and "Fruits".

Dear Folks,

The other day I harvested the most amazing mix of greens and some veggies.  More on that below.

First I was so pleased to find new Barbados Cherries (aka Acerola Malpighia emarginata) on my tree and I got to them before the birds.  The lovely thing about these high Vitamin C and antioxidant fruits is they continue to ripen when you pull them off the tree, so if I think the birds are going to swoop in, I can beat them to them :-)  The tree flowers and fruits multiple times through the year, but these cherries are the biggest I've seen in many months.  The tree must like the weather we have been having.

We refer to the swollen calyx of the Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) as "fruit" because that is how it is used.  This tangy cranberry flavored fruit is outstanding for its Vitamin C and other antioxidant properties. It is a stunning plant in the garden and LOVES our summer heat.  While most folks grow the bush for its "fruit" I use the leaves through the summer as part of my summer "lettuce" aka greens mix for salads and on sandwiches.  I also shred the leaves along with other greens for soups.

***Don't Forget My Free Seed Share This Saturday***

Free Seed Share
Saturday, November 3, 2018
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Mesa Urban Garden (MUG)
212 East 1st Avenue (NE corner of Hibbert and 1st Avenue)
Mesa, AZ  85210
602-370-4459

I was sitting at the kitchen table looking out the window (aka "Garden TV" because we just enjoy watching the goings on while having a meal), when I spotted "red" near the top of the cherry tree.  Grabbing the binoculars we keep handy, I saw cherries!!.  So I went out to harvest. 

As I mentioned above, it is important to keep one step ahead of the birds!

While touring the garden, I took a really close look at our Roselle and the "fruits" are HUGE.  I have not been harvesting, and plan on sharing some of the branches this Saturday (first come, first served).  Many folks may have enjoyed tea with something called "Hibiscus" or "Red Hibiscus" and THIS is the "fruit" used.

If you have a nice sized spot in your garden (the bush can get 6+ feet wide), in full sun, I would encourage you to grow this wonderful edible.

I harvested a wonderful mix of greens and two different sweet peppers the other day.

Sweet potato and nasturtium leaves, celery, I'itoi onion tops, purple and sweet basil, roselle leaves, mesclum mix of romaine, arugula, red sails, Paradicsom and Lipstick sweet peppers.  I like the color mix of yellow and green.

I sowed a small area with a mix of lettuces and got that bunch of mixed colors and textures (lower left of picture) - LOVE it!  I add more seeds to keep the mix growing along, while treating the growing greens as cut-and-come-again. The bit of celery - below the nasturtium leaves is from the recycled celery roots which are growing nicely.

I am trying to perfect my egg poaching skill. Still in training!  I read about a new way of poaching and I just need to tweak it a bit and then I can tell you what worked. But this meal was great tasting if not quite as pretty as I was hoping.

I took the peppers and finely diced with some celery and carrots.  I tossed with a bit of one of my lime dressings, sprinkled some of the dressing over the avocado slices.  I shredded my lovely greens mix and used as a bed for everything.  As I noted it was delicious!

I hope you enjoyed this visit to my garden and how I use some of our bounty.

You can have my monthly planting plus more tips at YOUR finger tips with my wall calendar.

Click here to see - there is a preview available (click on "preview" below the picture).

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Have a best day in your garden and kitchen,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Sunday, October 28, 2018

Free Seed Share Coming Up - and Garden and Kitchen Fun

Dear Folks,

My Free Seed Share is this coming Saturday, November 3rd, 1 pm at Mesa Urban Garden.

Free Seed Share
Saturday, November 3, 2018
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Mesa Urban Garden (MUG)
212 East 1st Avenue (NE corner of Hibbert and 1st Avenue)
Mesa, AZ  85210
602-370-4459

I hope to see you there!

My Elephant Garlic is finally sprouting.  I was looking for it sooner as the regular garlic began sprouting just days after I planted them.  But these are coming along nicely now too.

More eggplant fruiting!  I love both the Casper and the Listarda, but I think I am beginning to favor the Listarda more - the color, the flavor, few seeds and it can get quite a bit larger than the Casper without over-aging* too soon.   Leaving on the plants until sometime next week.  Not quite sure what I am going to do with them - maybe more "bacon"!

*Over-aging means the fruit starts to turn bitter.

I thought you might like to see a collage of my garden critters.  Daisy Mae the Flying Pig, Annabelle the Goat and Beauregard the Rooster.



In my last blog post I shared the Sweet Potatoes "Molokai" I harvested.  They are in my water heater shed where they can cure and be available for when I need them.  Two were HUGE, so I decided to make a couple of different side dishes with one of them.  I actually still have a piece of this one and will think about how to use (maybe sweet potato "Bacon"?), but I have to say I really liked the way these two sides turned out.  Usually I leave skin on all potatoes when I cook them, even when mashing.  However, with sweet potatoes this size then can be 'woody' and the skin tough so I peel them.

I harvested my I'itoi onions, which have a shallot like flavored bulb and mild onion top.  I used my mandolin to cut a section of the Molokai into slices.  Because the Molokai is more dense at this size, I zapped the slices in the microwave for 2 minutes and cooled them. cleaned and cut the I'itoi into sections.  I melted about a teaspoon each of butter, avocado oil and uncured bacon fat.  I added about a teaspoon of my dried thyme, coarse salt and cracked black pepper and tossed the potato and onion to coat.  I pre-heated my toaster oven to 350, stacked the potato and onion horizontally and baked for about 60 minutes.  Topped each serving with some shredded Parmesan cheese. Yum.  I was trying for a "pretty" presentation with this side.  It "sort of" worked out.

Who does not love some form of potatoes and onions!

I also had to do something similar with more of the Molokai.  I had a lovely bag of organic baby potatoes from the store and a red onion. 

I preheated the toaster oven to 325.

I cut the Molokai into pieces and again zapped in the microwave for 2 minutes.

I cut the regular potatoes into pieces and placed in water to keep from browning. Cut about 1/3 of the onion into chunks (saving the peels in my freezer "stock" bucket).

I melted a mix of butter and uncured bacon fat (about 1 1/2 tablespoons total)  Added the drained potatoes, Molokai and onion and tossed to coat.  I find tossing the veggies IN the pot I melted the fat in did a much better job coating than trying to pour over and stir while in the pan.

Poured into my pan, sprinkled about 2 tablespoons of my crushed dried celery leaves and 1 teaspoon of my dried thyme and roasted for 70 minutes, approximately.  I stirred the mix once about half way through.  Topped with Parmesan Cheese and served.  We LOVED this one.  I think I will do this one more often and alternate the red onion with my wonderful I'itoi onions.  I really like the contrast of colors of the regular potato, the Molokai and the red onion.  The flavor marriage was outstanding.

FYI - I use my toaster oven regularly rather than turn on the big oven, since it is usually just the two of us.

It also fits right into the idea of growing your own and harvesting as needed.

We should have lovely weather for the Free Seed Share this coming Saturday.  I hope to see you there.

Meanwhile, you can find my books and calendars for sale at Amazon or my publisher's site.

Have a Great time in your garden and kitchen!

--Catherine, The Herb Lady

My Calendar and Book Links

Wall Calendar
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1387385798/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Publisher Direct
http://www.lulu.com/shop/catherine-crowley/edible-landscaping-a-month-by-month-calendar-desert-southwest-usda-zone-9b/paperback/product-23433329.html


Beginner's Southwest Gardening Book
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141164039X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Publisher Direct
http://www.lulu.com/shop/catherine-crowley/edible-landscaping-in-the-desert-southwest-wheelbarrow-to-plate/paperback/product-176297.html





-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Around The Garden, Post Rains, What is New and Sprouting!

Dear Folks,

Our gardens responded so well to the extra rain (that last storm brought us 2+ inches) and we benefited economically as we were able to turn off most of the auto watering for at least 3 weeks - win/win!

Shown are the celery roots I replanted - I love "recycling" celery bottoms to grow MORE celery for use.  As I write this post I put the smaller ones in yesterday, and the larger ones in 14 days ago. With the right conditions celery roots just "want" to grow!  I soak for 1-3 days and look for the center to begin regrowing and then plant level with the surrounding soil or just a tad lower.

My Sweet Basil Patch is huge and time for a bit of pruning to keep the leaves growing larger. I always leave a portion in flower for the bees and beneficial insects and I am hoping for some additional harvesting before the soil cools which impacts the flavor of the herb.  When I prune I cut and drop and the seeds will emerge later or next spring.

Speaking of seeds . . .

My next FREE SEED SHARE is November 3rd!
Saturday, November 3, 2018
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Mesa Urban Garden (MUG)
212 E 1st Ave (NE Corner of Hibbert and 1st Avenue)
Mesa, AZ 85210

602-370-4459

I hope to see you there!

My Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is ready to harvest the "fruit" (the calyx of the flower) and still putting out flowers.  If you come to the Free Seed Share, you may be able to take home a branch. I plan on cutting some the morning of the event and will give out first-come-first-serve.  I can answer your questions on what to do with them too!  Few plants are as stunning and totally usable as this wonderful edible - which, by the way, LOVES our summer heat. Think about it - to get this beautiful at this point it had to be growing all-summer-long!

A couple of other beautiful flowers in the garden right now are my eggplant, which hopefully means more fruit to harvest before the cold comes in (although the weather -wonks are indicating a milder but wetter (HURRAH) winter).


My Society Garlic is blooming so prettily in its happy spot.  It is sometimes hard for me to catch the lovely lavender color, this picture is not bad.  I have the variegated variety with stripped leaves.

My Dark Opal Basil in another area of the garden is really dark purple right now.  I keep basil varieties separated so the seeds will stay true.  Basil loves to mix and the results can be rather grand or disappointing.

My garlic is UP!  I planted 15 days ago and they are coming along nicely.  This is the "regular" type of garlic.  I have another bed of Elephant Garlic which has not shown themselves yet. 


I am digging out the main sweet potato bed and it had some monsters in it.  The big ones are still quite usable they just take longer to 1) cut and 2) cook.  This is the purple Molikai variety.  I want to swap out this big bed for something else - have not decided yet but meanwhile I am storing this in our water heater shed which will help cure them for long-term storage and I can use as needed.


I also have a couple of plants of sweet peppers, "Lipstick" variety and they are all coming along nicely now that the weather cooled off a bit.  Peppers grow very well here, but tend to produce less in the intense mid-summer heat.  They also like a bit of afternoon shade. This plant is an example of some interesting facts about it.  Location - it is in full sun most of the year and is on a once a week watering. It shares space with Greek Oregano which keeps the soil surface cooler during the summer.  It is about 18 months old!


I have a lettuce patch - an area I decided to try out so I could have access to it and a place to grow a nice continuing mix of leaf greens.  I am treating this as cut-and-come-again, snipping off the tops when I need them and adding a few more seeds every couple of weeks to help keep it going nicely for the next 6 or so months.

My wonderful I'itoi onions are in need of harvesting and separating - which is a joy for me to do.  I get to use of the shallot-like bulbs and green tops and I transplant some to increase the bed.  I have basically stopped growing other onions because this variety is just so great both as a bulb and green top.

A couple of new to the garden:

"Beauregard" is the latest addition of garden art.

After a friend gifted us with a Flying Pig, which I named Daisy Mae and I found it so appropriate to a garden in the desert that so many believe can not be enjoyed (when "Pigs Fly"), we were then gifted with a goat (Annabelle) and then we just had to find a chicken.  We looked for several months and a family member suggested this delightful rooster.  It took me a couple of days looking at him to have him "name" himself - he just looks southern-grand.

The other new to the garden is not actually IN the garden yet.

I had an opportunity to purchase some Land Race wild apple seeds from Baker Creek (I just discovered they are no longer available - so they must have run out of the seeds*see my note below) this past spring and after some fits and starts two sprouted!!  Here is one of them.  I just transplanted to a 6 inch pots the other day.  So far so good.  I am not sure where I am going to put them or even if I should put them in the ground (they are not grafted and our soil can be dangerous to non-disease resistant roots).  "Land Race" essentially means survival of the fittest and these pioneer age apples could be anything from a crab apple to a well know heritage variety.  Kind of fun to learn as they grow.

NOTE:  In the Mission Valley of Montana, there is an incredible diversity of naturalized apples. Apples in this area range from bright orange to subtle pinks in riotousstripes of colors, and the flavor is outstanding. The apples here surreptitiously sprouted from seeds deposited by pioneers of the 1800s.

One last critter in the garden - a Gopher Snake.  Spotted in the front yard we relocated to the back yard.  They are beneficial to gardens also.  While we really do encourage live and let live, we have had a surprise problem with gophers a year ago, so this helper can control the population.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of our gardens.

Don't forget my calendar and books for gifts or if you are in need of helpful information.

Have a best day in the garden!



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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