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small broccoli

Brassicas this year — broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage — could be doing better, at least as far as vegetables for eating goes. The purple cauliflower and red mammoth cabbage plants are large, but the flowered heads are almost nonexistant 14 weeks after planting.  The broccoli plants are putting out shoots of small broccoli heads similar to broccolini instead of big compact heads, and are bolting and flowering quickly. The bees love the broccoli flowers, and the little heads taste good, so all is not lost. Still, wanted to know what I could do to encourage larger heads next year. I asked one of our local farmers’ market organic farmers what might

August 8, 2016

august jungle

Harvesting veggies is like a fun archeological expedition this time of year. I’ve been admittedly lax on the pruning and staking, and let a dozen or so sunflowers seeds take root from the leftover sunflower greens seeds in the composted soil. The result is a bit of an August jungle garden. I kind of like its wildness. Two days ago I harvested all the summer squash but the tiny starts. Today I harvested a bucketful of new mature ones. These babies grow quickly! Purple jalapenos have been my best producer so far this year. I pickled a few jars of rings so far and it looks like I have many

August 2, 2016

chioggia beets

Harvested fresh from the garden this morning for a lunchtime salad — chioggia beets. First time I’ve grown them. So pretty, with a mild flavor that’s perfect fresh in a salad.

collard wraps

What to do with fresh collard greens? Turns out they make a fantastic wrap material. As a bonus, this recipe fits the criteria for a range of diet-restricted guests: gluten-free, vegan, paleo, and organic (if you use organic ingredients). I use fresh red cabbage, carrots, collard greens, jalapenos, and garlic from my garden — and the gardens of my community of local, organic farmers — supplemented by organic lemons, shredded unsweetened coconut, coconut oil, and Braggs’ Amino Acids. The recipe is simple: shred the red cabbage and julienne the carrots. Chop fresh garlic (early young garlic is best) and fresh jalapeno. Add to the carrot cabbage mix. Mix in a couple tablespoons of

July 10, 2016

hummingbird training

Reading on the deck this afternoon, a baby hummingbird with her downy feathers still present kept landing near me with her wings splayed, tongue darting in and out slowly, and generally looking distressed. I decided to make her some hummingbird food to see if she was just thirsty. She was, and drank appreciatively. After her drink, she ruffled her feathers and took a 10-minute nap on the table next to me. I fed her a bit more food when she woke up, and moved the glass toward the hummingbird feeder. She caught on quickly. Last I saw she was drinking from the feeder successfully. I suppose I can add hummingbird trainer to my

July 3, 2016

early summer

Garden is off to a good start for the brassicas, tomatoes, and chilies. Broccoli is looking pretty and should be ready to start harvesting in the next couple weeks. Cabbage will be a while, as will the cauliflower. Purple jalapenos are starting to ripen nicely. Summer squash it appears will be ready to harvest soon, too. I’ve been letting one of each species of weed grow in the garden to see if there are any the bugs like more than the vegetables. So far I haven’t had to deal with pests destroying my edible crop. They seem to like to eat some weeds better, along with sunflowers that popped up

July 2, 2016

swarm capture

Monday’s regularly scheduled program got derailed this morning as I walked outside just in time to see one of my hives start to swarm. First there was a lot of activity swirling in front of the hive. I thought maybe they were being invaded by another colony of bees. Then a large tornado of bees ascended toward the sky and started making their way to the treeline at the side of the driveway. Within several minutes they started coalescing on a branch about 10 feet up, and I knew that have had swarmed. It was a dramatic sight. I’d added a new medium super with all foundationless frames when the bottom

June 21, 2016

strong hive, weak hive

Advice to start with two hives is a good one. I’ve had my hives a little over a month, and started to notice the population of one dropping off considerably the last few days. I’ve also noticed comparatively more drones around the weaker hive. The queen is present and alive in the weak hive, but there is also a fair amount of drone comb. From what I’ve read, it tells me I probably have an infertile queen who is laying eggs, but those eggs are all hatching into drones since they only have one set of chromosomes. I don’t know that I would have noticed had I not had the

June 4, 2016

spring blooms

Summer is coming….

roasted radishes

Radishes fresh from the garden are good for adding a crunchy bite to a salad or sandwich, but my favorite way to eat radishes is roasted.  Preheat your oven to 450F, halve and quarter the radishes, toss with a little olive oil and coarse salt, and place on a cast iron skillet. I added a few whole garlic cloves and sprigs of fresh thyme, too. Roast for 7 minutes, turn, and roast for another 8 minutes or until soft. The roasted radishes taste nothing like their fresh counterparts. They’re juicy and slightly sweet with a satisfying pop when you bite into them.

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