The Harvest Continues

Vegetables from Mid-August 2015

Sadly, it seems like the harvest has slowed down, and the end of August will also herald the end of the garden season for us. We still have some tomatoes, melons, and corn growing; however, most of our corn, and our second plantings of peas and beans have been eaten by the local wildlife. The above picture represents the diversity of crop varieties we grew this year. We also have small, white eggplants, which are not pictured. The yellow-striped squashes, we are using as fall decor on our porch. I used the cucumbers and tomatoes in a fantastic marinated salad with pickled pepperoncini peppers from a jar- it was delicious!

What A Variety!

Unloading Fresh Picked Vegetbles

Today's harvest brought with it a great variety of differing types of vegetables from our garden. We have 2 types of peppers, 3 different tomatoes, yellow cucumbers, mini cantaloupe, zucchini, and a decorative gourd, I chopped up the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers into a marinated salad with some garlic salt and the brine from pepperoncini peppers. The orange gourd is out on our porch as part of our fall decor. The zucchini will be tonites dinner. ,

Enjoying the Harvest

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

For lunch, I cooked these awesome garden fresh sandwiches above. They are made with veggies fresh from the harvest. The sandwiches are made of grilled eggplant slices, parmesan, mozzarella, tomatoes, and grilled french bread with garlic. I garnished them with lemon cucumber slices (yellow heirloom cucumbers from my garden) and homemade guacamole dip. The guacamole is 1/2 avocado and 1/2 french onion dip, with a dash of garlic salt and cayenne. I also gave veggies to all the neighbors. I plan to pick more of the yellow cucumbers next week and make pickles. They taste just like normal cucumbers.

Popcorn

Crimson Sweet Melons

Today's Veggie Harvest Aug. 8, 2015

The Great Fermentation

Sauerkraut and Pickled Hot Green Beans

 Today, I headed out to the garden and got a great harvest, including onions, beans, squash, and tomatoes. I cooked the green beans in the crock pot, chopped the onions for a mushroom and rice dish, used the tomatoes and zucchini in a meatball recipe, and also worked on starting some fermented foods in mason jars. The first jar is purple cabbage, green cabbage, and carrots, with dill weed, garlic, and fennel. In the second jar are green beans, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Each jar also has 2 tbs of pickling salt added to it. This is important to use pickling salt, because it does not have iodine, which interacts poorly with the fermenting process. In order to ferment the vegetables, they need to be in a sealed, airtight container for 4-6 weeks, so the natural bacteria can multiply and produce the natural sour acids that preserve the product. I am fermenting mine in the mason jars, but you can use fermenting pails from homebrew stores, or order specialty crocks.

Today's Harvest Aug 4, 2014

Let's Cook!

Yogurt Dill Dressing and Medium Garden Salsa

This week, we have had an abundance of zucchini, tomatoes, jalapenos, and green beans, so I decided to do some cooking and make a treat for a friend of mine, who is a chef and a foodie. I made medium spiced garden salsa with tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, garlic, a dash of vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Then, I made homemade yogurt, from organic whole milk, combined with live active yogurt starter culture from The Better Health store in Lansing, MI. This yogurt did not turn out as thick as I wanted, but is extremely tasty, so I added powdered onion, garlic, and dill weed to make a yogurt sauce and salad dressing. I have made this sauce before. It is superb on lentils, lamb, or a fresh green salad. Finally, I added a handmade Patchouli Oud Wood scented drawer sachet that I made. This earthy scent is made with real patchouli essential oil and is balanced with the dry scent of exotic, Asian wood.

The scented sachets are available for sale in my Etsy shop, Tundra And Taiga: My Etsy Shop

Gift Box

Homegrown Veggies 

Patchouli Oud Wood Sachets I made

Pounds of Potatoes

Potato Harvest

I haven't blogged for a few days, because I have been working a lot, there hasn't been too much happening at the garden; however, I did harvest the above vegetables this week. My yield was 15 lbs of russet potatoes, 2 eggplants, and 1 small zucchini for Monday. Wednesday, I picked 5 large, ripe tomatoes and a round squash. There has been a heat wave lately, and my decorative flowers are withering, but the vegetables all look good. I have replaced the row in the garden where the potatoes were growing with green beans.

Last Day of Summer

Foster Park Demonstration Garden

 Today was the last day of the season for the Garden Resource Center in Foster Park (Lansing, MI). I stopped by to thank some of the volunteers and to pick up my last installment of plants. I got 7 California Wonder green bell pepper plants and one Lily of the Valley, a perennial flower. The resource center is open by appointment for registered users to borrow tools, books, and canning supplies. If my harvest is big enough, I am going to borrow a large canning jar and pressure canner from the garden center. The phone number is 517-853-7809

The picture above shows the demonstration gardens in Foster Park, across from the garden center building, where the plants, tools, and books are located. This was also the start of the garden tour that took place Wed. night.

Free Plants

Le Grand Tour De Lansing Gardens July 22, 2015

Tomorrow is the community garden tour of some of the best gardens in Lansing. Unfortunately, my garden isn't on the walk, due to distance from the starting point, but if you want to drive past, it is located on the 400 block of South Detroit, across from Dagwood's bar. We spent a few hours out there tonight harvesting, watering, and prettying things up for the tour. Sadly, we also discovered that someone had picked some of our ripe tomatoes without permission. Finally,  July 22 from 10am-1pm is also the last day of the season for the resource center. I am going to check in and see if they have any plants left. 

July 21, 2015

Green Tomatoes

Eggplants

Buckets of Food!

Some of Today's Harvest

I am finding that there is a unique pleasure in growing your own food. After a few days of work that were long and grueling, I couldn't wait to get up on my day off and go poke around my urban gardening plot. With abundant recent rain and hot weather, the plants have really taken off! Today, July 19th, 2015, we harvested everything in the picture above, plus an additional 4 zucchini, and additional green beans, Some of the zucchini and beans went to elderly neighbors near our garden plot and I also brought some in to share with my co-workers.

When I got home, I used my new vegetable chopper (I reviewed the gadget in a blog post last week) to dice the zucchini and potatoes, then sauteed them with the peas in a bit of olive oil. When they were tender, I added a can of tomato salsa, a cup of homemade yogurt with dill, the salad greens, minced garlic, onion powder, hot madras curry powder, salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper- the result was a wonderfully aromatic and moderately spiced curry. I enjoyed this over rice, with another dollop of the homemade yogurt on top.

Hard Work in the Hot Sun

Front View

Today, I will let the pictures speak for themselves- you can see the sunflowers are open, the grass is mowed, vegetables are ripening, and I even dug up 3 good sized potatoes to eat!

Rear View

Baby Eggplants

Russet Potato Fresh From Ground

Cherry Tomatoes

Kitchen Gadget Reviews

2 weeks ago, in preparation for the summer vegetable harvest from my garden, I purchased 4 kitchen gadgets from ebay and local stores to make my cooking easier. Some of the gadgets are used or vintage. They are:

-Feemster's Famous Vegetable Slicer (in vintage box but never used)
cost approx 20.00 dollars with shipping included

Feemster's Famous Vegetable Slicer

-generic/no-name version of The Spiralizer (brand new)
cost approx 18 dollars with shipping included

The Spiralizer

-Home Essentials 4 tray stacking food dehydrator (used, about 15 years old)
cost approx 20.00 dollars with shipping included

Dehydrator of Similar Model to the Model I Purchased

-Prepworks Fruit and Vegetable Chopper/Storage (band new, bought locally)
cost 12.99 dollars at Home Goods big box store in Frandor Mall

Fruit and Vegetable Chopper

First, I have to say, that I would buy all gadgets again and that I have used them all multiple times since I purchased them. They would probably all rate 4 out of 5 stars for me, with most of the items missing the 5 star mark because I purchased the cheapest model available, and they feel somewhat flimsy. Next time, I will purchase the best quality versions available, as I am using them all quite a bit! Now for specific reviews and comments:

Feemster's Famous vegetable slicer is very sharp, very accurate, and very easy to use. It is made of 100% solid metal and will last a long time. The only warning about this is that that blade is very sharp and I would not have this in my kitchen unsecured if I have children. It comes with a blade protector. I made quick and tasty, thin-sliced American-Fried potatoes with this.

The generic brand spiralizer took some trial and error to get it to work, but it makes amazing zucchini noodles that are quick and delicious. This product receives negative marks for quality (it is 99% plastic and the cheapest model out there), and waste. Each vegetable will have about a 1/4 inch section at the end that cannot be spiralized or sliced. I put this in my compost pile. I really love this gadget, though! I have used it 5 times in the last weeks to slice zucchini from the garden.

The food dehydrator I bought was inexpensive, works great, and has 2 fruit roll trays included. I made mixed berry fruit leather and dried sweet bell peppers. The biggest negative for this product is that I bought it used, and the box smelled of cigarette smoke.  After I cleaned it and used it to dry peppers (16 hours), there was no discernable smoke smell; however the box had to be thrown out and was stained. It works better than I expected and has a nice size capacity for the money I spent.

Finally, the Prepworks fruit and vegetable slicer is a godsend for onions and tomatoes. I also diced up bell peppers and a portobello mushroom in it. The bottom doubles as a storage device. The only negative marks for this products are that it requires a lot of force to chop some vegetables, like an onion, and that is is hard to clean. I am using a stiff bristle brush to get in the small places, plus it comes with a cleaning utensil.

Overall, every gadget does what it says and does it well! I would buy each one again; however, I would upgrade to the highest quality version sold of the products that have more plastic; even though they work great now, I just don't find them to be particularly sturdy, leading me to fear the gadgets will break quickly.

The Son of Big Papa

The Son of Big Papa, an Eight Ball Squash

Oh, dear Big Papa, you are a strong and prolific plant, providing us with an impressive offspring to eat, very early in the season. We give you thanks and admiration for feeding us so well, and we promise to take care of you for the rest of the season. Since, you are an heirloom breed, your seeds will be saved and cherished, too! Sincerely. thank you Big Papa for giving us this fine squash to feast on- my belly sure thanks you!

This shape of squash did not fit well in the spiralizer machine I bought, so I sliced it, drizzled it with olive oil, and breaded it with Panko bread crumbs and Italian seasonings. Then, I fried it til crisp in a skillet, and  I served this with a hearty portion of parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, and a crusty baguette. YUM!

We will have more squashes of this type to harvest this week.

The Critters Are Not Scared

Tim the Scarecrow

 While I was working this weekend, we started to receive fall merchandise and put out our displays for Halloween. I saw this adorable scarecrow and had to buy him. We put him in the garden and named him, Tim. Unfortunately, when we headed out there to plant some flowers today, we discovered some corn had been eaten and knocked down by a varmint, along with some pea and potato plants having been nibbled on. Additionally, squash bugs have gotten some of our zucchinis that are growing. Clearly, the pests are not intimidated by Tim!

\Geraniums and Cosmos

 The garden resource center had flowers available this week. We got some geraniums and cosmos, along with 2 more pepper plants. Below are some items we harvested today, including a nice, large head of broccoli.

Green Beans, Scallions, Broccoli

How To Make Your Own Dried Vegetable Powders and Spice Blends

Sweet Pepper and Garlic Salt Spice Blend

 With my last paycheck, I scored a great find on ebay, a stackable food dehydrator for less than 20 dollars. When it arrived, I was eager to use it and practice, so I bought a bag of sweet, mild peppers from Meijer. Many ground pepper flakes are too spicy for my taste, so I decided I would dry the mild ones and make my own seasoning. It is packaged in the glass chalkboard container above. I mixed my ground, dried peppers with an equal amount of garlic salt for a sweet pepper and garlic salt blend. It is delicious!

Raw Sweet Peppers

 To make your own dried vegetable powders and spice blends, you will need:
-food dehydrator
-produce to dry
-clean coffee grinder
-containers for storage

Peppers Dried in Food Dehydrator

First, wash and dry the vegetables, slice them to a size that will fit in the dehydrator, then, dry them until they are brittle and have no moisture. My dehydrator only has one setting, and it took me 12 hours to get them to the very dry and leathery stage. Next, turn off the dehydrator and allow the dried items to cool. They will be greatly reduced in size. Then, grind the vegetables in a clean coffee grinder until you reach the desired coarseness. Finally, put them in decorative jars with salt(optional) or ground spices and herbs from your cabinet, to make your own unique blend. There are no added preservatives, so I would suggest using your spices quickly, to maintain peak freshness and quality.

Peppers Ground in Coffee Grinder

Below are some pictures I took of my garden today. I did some weeding and watering. The final picture is a close up of some cherry tomatoes that should be ready to pick next week! I also picked a pint of green beans to take home with me.

Garden on July 3 2015

Laden With Cherry Tomatoes

Green Beans Are In Season!

Today's Harvest

After a good, soaking rain overnight, we made it out to the garden, and many of our small, baby green beans were ready to pick. This is today's harvest for July 1, 2013. We have quite a few green beans, some snow peas, and some smaller turnips. Turnips this size, taste like a mild radish and are good for slicing on a green salad.

Also, I ordered a food dehydrator from Ebay and I am currently testing it on some sweet yellow and red peppers. I don't have a picture, but if they turn out, I am going to try and make a sweet pepper spice blend with the dried peppers, salt, and garlic.

Finally!

June 28, 2015

 I seems like forever since I have been able to get out to my garden, Las Vegan Ranch, and really work. Between my job at the craft store, medical appointments, and abundant rain, I have been very busy. Fortunately, I was able to find 4 hours to work in the garden and get a lot done!

Facing East Wide View

 It was very overgrown and weedy, with all that precipitation, so I pruned, mowed, mulched and weeded. I did not weed as thoroughly as I wanted, due to time constrains, but I might be able to finish up in the morning. Next year, I hope I can afford a weed eater and some landscaping plastic, so I won't have to deal with this many weeds.

Potatoes With Fresh Compost

I hilled my potato plants with fresh compost, as well as added compost around my watermelons and tomatoes. For potato plants, if you do not mulch them with compost or straw, the newly formed potatoes can get exposed to sunlight and turn green. You should add straw or compost around the plants 2-3 times a season, to protect any tubers that are growing close to the surface.

Green Tomato

 I saw plenty of green tomatoes, along with a few squash. We will be able to harvest green beans this week, and I got a large haul of fresh catnip herb with buds on the top. I am going to air dry these and sew them inside sachets for cats to play with.

Catnip Drying in the Sun

Broccoli and Kale, Hooray!

Broccoli, Kale, Scallions

 Today, I had the day off, but it was busy! First, I had to go to the UPS store and buy an envelope, because I sold a very odd size item on my craft website, and I needed special packaging. Then, I stopped by the garden plot, Las Vegan Ranch, and harvested the vegetables above for lunch. I had fresh broccoli, kale, and scallions that I steamed in my rice cooker, along with rice and a poultry seasoning spice, for an herb-vegetable rice pilaf dish. This was delicious!

Handmade Headband

 My sewing maching that I ordered arrived; the model is a Brother LX 2500, one of the machines with the best recommendations for beginners. Also, I  made this headband, It took me many hours and I had to watch an instructional video, but finally I got it! It even fits well, ha!
'

Costume Wand

Here is a magical, mystical wand I made from fabric scraps and other odds and ends. I sold one on my website as a costume accessory to a girl who is going to be a woodland fairy in a play. Now that I know there is a market for costume wands out there, I am working on some more prototypes for cosplay and Halloween costumes. This wand above is my druid theme wand with the green colors, leather, and feathers.

A Stormy Night

June 23rd, 2015

 We had a night of storm and high winds that left some of our corn and other tall crops blown over and damaged, I ended up chopping off the tall, bent stalks on our mustard greens and Pac Choy (Oriental greens), and adding compost around the bent stalks of corn to prop them up. I then carted about 15 buckets of dirt to the front berm and shored that up with some more dirt, plus weeded and trimmed that area.

We discovered a baby zucchini on our fastest growing plant, lovingly named "Big Papa". Then, we harvested a handful of snow peas and large bundle of catnip herb (not pictured). Below, you can see the large broccoli we plan to harvest next week and our corn after being straightened and supported with more soil. This week, I plan to weed more and mulch with the additional straw we have, plus hill the potato plants with more compost.

Corn Propped Up After Winds

A Baby Zucchini! 

Large Broccoli Floret

A Handful of Snow Peas