Coming Back to Asparagus and Sugar Peas - but first - historic gardens

Dear Folks,

Returning from a week-long family visit, a WHOLE bunch of asparagus greeted us and what to do with the remaining usable sugar peas. More below - but first -

I hope you enjoy this artistic rendering of one of my Johnny Jump Up photos - why did I create this, you ask?  Because a note about Thomas Jefferson caught my eye and then the way my railroad train mind works it jumped to my "table books".

This is the original photo.

I think the Impressionism painting style has always intrigued me because of my love of flowers and the "muted" style of this art was what landscape and flowers looked to me with my "near-sighted" eyes when I did not have my glasses on. [A historic fact is Monet may have been near-sighted and his vision become more blurred later in life.]

. . .

The garden was a passion of famous people who influenced and stirred our imaginations and views of the world.

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." -- Thomas Jefferson (Birthday April 13th)

One of my favorite "Table of" cookbooks is the one of Thomas Jefferson's culinary curiosity.  It includes some history on his gardens, recipes and interest in kitchen "gadgets" to re-create dishes he enjoyed.

"Dining at Monticello " edited by Damo Lee Fowler

https://amzn.to/2FDPKIs

I have other "Table of" cookbooks featuring Monet, Toulouse Lautrec, Renoir and Van Gough.

"Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet" 

 https://amzn.to/2WLtJ1D

Monet's Table was my first "table of" book and I come back to it again and again.

More than just a cookbook (but it is that), it is also about Monet and his life preferences.  "...the kitchen-garden was a work of art, one of the things of which Monet was justifiably most proud."  "Monet's home breathed to the rhythm and pace of the ancient ritual of cultivating the soil."

Monet had a famously noted salad dressing - Imagine the size of a large serving spoon --

"...which he [Monet] would fill with freshly ground pepper and coarse salt and dip into olive oil, adding a drop or two of wine vinegar. .. then pour the contents of the spoon over the salad and toss it... inedible for anyone except Monet or Blanche...[Monet's step-daughter]"

One very good reason to start seasoning with herbs first before reaching for the salt!!  :-)

Asparagus!

We are looking forward to continuing to harvest our asparagus through the end of April - 6 weeks in total for our mature beds.  When you first plant asparagus, you learn right away why I call it the "patience" plant - you need to wait 2 years to harvest for 1 week, next year 3 weeks, and by the 4-5th year you can harvest for 6 weeks then STOP however tempting it may be to let the plant grow to what I call feathers so it feeds back into the roots all summer and fall long to be cut down in December and get ready to grow again.

I wound up doing one of those "sheet pan dinners" roasting the asparagus and some Chinese Broccoli (forgot to take a picture) with boneless pork steak seasoned with my rosemary and bit of salt, pepper and avocado oil - delicious!

Sugar Peas - nearing the end of the season and what a wonderful season we have had.  Because I intensely sowed the seeds and over a couple of months, I had a ton of peas to harvest whenever I wanted and sometimes they got away from me while I was helping family.

Now to letting the remainder dry on the vine to collect for sowing this coming fall. 

Right after we got back and before I took the drying photo above, I harvested the remainder of the now plump pods and came up with a plan to use all of them.

First I made like a farm gal and shucked the peas, saving the pods.  I did a bit of research to confirm my plan, making a pea pod broth to capture the flavor to cook with.  I added thyme, a bit of one of my garlic leaves, some I'itoi onions and fresh celery - all from the garden (don't you just love "shopping from the garden"!).

I brought to a boil, covered and simmer for 30 minutes and strained into mason jar and took to the compost pile since there was no salt in it).  BTW those are the 24 ounce jars and I love them for when I am "trying" to make 2 servings of something.  By the time I add everything I want to whatever, I have more than a pint, so the jars are just perfect for my "one more thing" cooking :-)

I made the broth, then using the broth I made a "risotto" with Orza pasta in place of rice, the peas and served up with a bit of bacon and an avocado section - it was great.  I have more of the broth, which has a great mild flavor and almost sweet - perfect for cooking pastas.

Two last fun things in the garden.

Our bananas are coming along nicely, getting a bit bigger but not near ripening.  I am SO looking forward to real banana pudding and I may make a simple banana ice cream.  I have posted about this particular fruiting time.  These started in late November, the plant was hit hard by the freezes we had and then the flower, which had "stalled" began growing again.  Amazing!  BTW the picture background was the sun shining through and around it while I was taking the picture, so the lens was not directly aimed at the sun - effectively "whiting out" the background - kind of cool!

And the quail are back!  We love watching them.  They start coming back through now because our gardens offer a safe haven for nesting, although we seldom see where (and we have to discourage them from nesting in our dump trailer and it would break our hearts to find them at the dump - we use the Reservation dump as they compost it all).

Anyway - we should soon see "eggs with legs" - My Deane's description of the newly hatched babies. Nature decrees they need to be able to run shortly after hatching - and those LONG legs get them moving - and fast.

One last "garden" thing as I finish this blog Saturday morning (April 6th)  . . .

"Passing Shower" - New Meaning!

About 6:05 a.m. I heard pitter-patter on our metal patio awning - and it did not sound like the doves stomping around waiting for their morning seed.

Nope -- RAIN! - Not in the forecast - and lasted about 60 seconds - just enough to put some drops on the ground, tiny bit of runoff from the roof and the aroma of rain in the air. 

It is NOW bright sunshine!

I Love Arizona weather! -- Catherine

I will be posting the May planting tips next week.  In the meantime if you want my monthly planting at your fingertips, consider my calendar and book.

 Have a great day in the garden and kitchen.  And pay attention to the weather forecasts.  With the weather heating up this coming week, you may need to harden off new purchased plants before sticking them in the sunny ground (where they need to be for best growth and production).

 


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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April Planting Tips

Dear Folks,

Spring is just a day or so away.  Here in the Valley of the Sun we don't meander into spring - temperature wise - as much do a standing broad jump - right over the moderate temperatures (70s to 80s), but more like 70s to 90s - in about 2 weeks.

I mention this because whatever you want to plant that is not a high heat-lover needs to go in NOW!  Asking your young plants to manage both putting down roots and high air temperatures is stressful to the plants.

Meanwhile my garden is just lovely to sit out and enjoy.  Pictured above is the gorgeous and edible purple Stock Flower (Matthiola incana), a member of the broccoli family this flower has a lovely scent, is edible and you can add the young tender leaves to salads.

The Nasturtiums are all over the place and I particularly enjoy this variegated variety.

My Johnny JumpUp Lawn is filling in.  We can sit on the patio and these happy faces "smile" back at us.

And our orange trees are covered in blossoms.

This winter for all of its cold and wet has apparently done wonders to our fruiting trees.  They are all a little "behind" but my gosh, when they get going. . .
 
 

Time to adjust your watering timing if you use automatic watering as we do.

Below is a watering schedule I suggest - it is only a guide not a bible

As the temperatures rise, a guide (this is only a guide!) 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

CONTAINERS:

I do have some LARGE containers and a raised bed.  They are watered every two days in the summer and every 3 days in the winter.

If you have to use small containers, snug them all together, to minimize the heat impact on most of the exterior surfaces.


APRIL PLANTING:

Artichoke, Jerusalem
Bean, Snap
Beans, Soy
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Cucumbers       
Garlic, Green
Jicama
Melons, Musk
Okra
Onion, Green
Peanuts
Peas, Sugar
Peas, Black Eyed
Peppers
Radishes

EDIBLE FLOWERS TO PLANT:

Impatients Wallarana
Marigolds, including Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii), Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Portulaca
Purslane
Roselle
Scented Geraniums
Sunflower
Sweet Alyssum

GARDEN TIPS for April
    Prune spring-flowering shrub fruit trees before flowering starts (April - May for shrubs like Pineapple Guava).
    If you planted your potatoes January 1st you can start checking the end of this month for usable size — just insert your fingers gently into soil.
    You can prepare a bed or area for Sweet Potatoes -- I have used the same bed to grow the Irish Potatoes - harvest them in April/May and plant the Sweet Potatoes to be harvested in the Fall.  If you have limited space this is a great workable option.
    Get the children involved in gardening by helping them grow a Tee Pee or Sunflower House.
    Described in Linda Lovejoy’s fabulous book “Sunflower Houses,” either of these ‘hideaways’ will delight your budding gardener.
        a)  Create Tee Pees using 8-foot garden bamboo poles bundled and tied tightly 1 foot from the top.  Prepare the ground for the garden. Spread the legs of the Tee Pee — and anchor in the ground.  Plant pea, cucumber, or other edible vines at the base of each pole, and allow them to grow and cover the teepee.
        b) Sunflower Houses are created using the growing sunflowers for the poles of the house.  Prepare the planting area and decide how wide and long you want the house to be — ex. 4 x 6 — and draw the dimensions in the soil, leaving an opening for the ‘door.’  Mammoth sunflowers (those that grow over 6 feet) are best for this.  Plant the sunflower seeds 2 or 3 to a hole, about 1 foot apart all along the ‘walls’ of the house.  In between the sunflower seeds, sow edible vines like peas or cucumbers.  Given the water requirements, creating a trench for the walls will allow flood watering for the growing plants. These houses can be as elaborate as you and your children wish. Plant flower or strawberry beds along the outside walls;  herb and flower ground covers inside for a ‘carpet’ are limited only to the imagination. The vines grow up the sunflowers and if they are enthusiastic enough, will even grow over the top of a narrow room creating a ceiling.
        c) do teach the children about bees, leaving them alone and avoiding them when they are "working" the flowers.



I will be away next week, so if you send me a message I will get back to you after I return.


Remember, you can find my gardening calendar and books with links here.


Have a wonderful time in the garden!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.