Thank you, mulch.

We got a lot done at the garden today and our garden, I must say, is doing very well. So far, we haven't had many weeds (except in the aisles - which Adam tilled today) and we are thanking the mulch for that. Although we've only had to spot-weed, we are on the lookout for more mulch.

So, to update you on some things:

Onions



Zucchini



Lettuce


Potatoes


The cabbage, cucumber, peppers, strawberries, tomatoes and herbs are also doing great.

We did have a fatality this week - our okra.


I was shocked! Okra was the one plant we could really count on last season. Although we initially blamed deer (more on that later), Adam thinks slugs were the culprit. Ew.

Oh well, we'll try again. And this time we'll probably cover them, like we did with our lettuce on the second go-round.

While Adam tilled our rows today, I planted some mint (in a pot so that it doesn't take over)...


...and some wildflowers (these are going all along our fence).

Mad Planting

On the way to the garden today, Adam and I got into a little fight. We don't fight very often but I love how we can both keep our sense of humor during a fight because, usually at some super dramatic moment, one or both of us will start laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. And it is hard to fight in earnest after you've had a good laugh.

That happened today when we were planting. Well, at least, it happened for me. Once we got to the garden we were both steaming and we proceeded to plant in stony silence.

That silence was periodically broken by tersely worded questions like "Where does this basil go?" or "The cabbage perked up" followed by a grunt of acknowledgment.

This is what got me laughing.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that we made up. We are one little happy family again. I was a little worried that our plants would be affected by the harsh words that we uttered while planting. But we made it up to them too.

So today we planted:


basil (not pictured)

zucchini

okra

cucumbers

And our cabbage has, indeed, perked up.

On the Menu

Stewed collards

Fried Okra
Grilled Summer Squash

Stewed Collards

The trick to these is to wash them well and to get rid of the stems. If you do those 2 things, you cannot fail.

An easy way to cut them is to stack them up on top of each other (after washing and removing stems), roll it up and slice it in about 1/2-inch thick strips.



For this recipe, I added about a half can of vegetable stock and a dash of red pepper flakes to a small pot.


Once it came to a boil, I added the collards and stirred them until they were coated in the stock. I turned the heat down to medium-low and covered them. I only let them cook for about 10 minutes, then I added 1/4 can of stewed tomatoes.



And there you have it!

Some people cook their collards for much longer (like an hour or so) but I prefer them with a little bit of a crunch. Also, we didn't have too many so it didn't take long for them to cook down.

These collards are, of course, vegetarian but you could always add ham or bacon if you are so inclined.



Fried Okra

The "breading" for this is very simple:

1 cup yellow cornmeal

A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
A pinch of cayenne pepper

First, cut off the "caps" and the "tips" of your okra.


Wash them well and the boil them for about 5-8 minutes (until they are somewhat tender).


Once they've cooled, cut them into pieces and roll them around in the cornmeal "breading." The natural "sliminess" of the okra will allow the breading to stick without the need for an egg bath first.


Fry in about an inch or two of oil and enjoy!



Grilled Summer Squash



Obviously, this is pretty straightforward. Cut the squash and grill it. Yum.

We added some of the remaining stewed tomatoes and just a pinch of shredded cheddar cheese because we decided the rest of our meal was entirely too healthy.

That last step, of course, is up to you.

We ate our collards, okra and squash with a serving of wild rice that we harvested from our garden.


Now, if you believed that last bit, you haven't been paying attention. We don't have rice in our garden! Although, perhaps next year...

No, the rice is from a box.

And delicious.

Serving recommendation: Serve with tall glasses of really cold iced tea (Just plain tea. Not some fancy ylang-ylang flavored tea. And absolutely NOT Snapple tea, please.)

A mixed bag and some mixed feelings

I didn't much like being at the farm today.

It was hot and the mosquitoes were biting and I kept inadvertently harvesting the wrong things. Grabbing the stalk of a flower that hadn't bloomed instead of the one that had. Or yanking off a pod of okra that was a bit too small.

So I wasn't feeling the farm today. And it wasn't feeling me either.

I was attacked by a garden stake.

Twice.

Despite all of this, we had a great harvest today. Along with the now-regular harvest of collards, kale, herbs, cucumbers and squash, we were able to harvest (for the first time!) the following:

Flowers

Okra

And tomatoes.

Of which I don't have a picture. On account of the fact that I was too busy cursing that garden stake. For the second time.

Today was a first in other ways too. We had our first sunflower bloom:


And our first corn feather:


In light of all its bounty, I suppose I can forgive the farm its many faults today. I'll give it another chance and go back tomorrow.

But I'm bringing bug spray (non-DEET of course). And perhaps an ax as punishment for one particular garden stake.

UPDATE: Adam tells me that what I called "corn feathers" are actually called "corn tassles." Silly me.

Picture of the Day

Have you ever wondered what an okra blossom looked like? Yeah, me too.

I've never really taken the time to look at the plant itself. Mostly because I've been too busy eating the pod. But, it is a really pretty plant.

I think it's my favorite in the garden...and not just because I'm dreaming of bindi masala.

Here they are!
I always thought okra would hang down off of the plant but look at them! I'm not sure when we are supposed to harvest them. I'm hoping Adam knows something about that.

I'm liable to get impatient.

A Month of Growth

Remember these wildflowers?



This is what they look like now:



Here's the okra before:



And here's the okra now: (not much taller...but we have a pod!)



The corn before:

And the corn now:


Happy Harvesting!

We have Growth!

We have potatoes...

...and radishes...

...and peppers...and a pepper blossom...

...and corn...

...and corn n' beans...

...and okra...

...and collards...

...and wildflowers and zinnias!

What did we NOT plant today?

It was a full day at the farm today. Lots of sunscreen, lots of water and lots of planting. We were grateful for the near-constant breeze that wafted up from the river but, needless to say, that breeze will be gone (and sorely missed) come the summer months.

Alright, down to business.

Here is a list of what we planted today:

sweet corn

pole beans

sunflowers

peppers (bell, jalapeno, chili and banana)

tomatoes (cherry, Roma, beefsteak, heirloom brandywine)

wildflowers

zinnias

cucumbers

zucchini

okra

carrots

radishes

red onions

Sadly, I don't have enough pictures to correspond to all of this activity. Once I remembered my photography duties, the sun had already begun to set and the light was no good. But I did manage to get a few off before the sun fully set.

But, as you can see, our shadows were l-o-n-g when we finally started packing up.


Here is one of our corn/bean rows. The corn seeds are in back and were placed every 6 inches or so. The beans are in the front part of the row and placed in-between the corn seeds. Also, the sunflowers were planted in the row directly behind the corn/bean row.

Next up is one of our beautiful little bell peppers. We probably have more bell peppers than any other plant in the garden. Which is good since we eat them ALL THE TIME. We eat them more often than we eat tomatoes.

Most of our pepper and tomato plants are ones we grew from seeds. However, some of our seedlings just didn't look hearty enough for the great outdoors so we hedged our bets and bought some plants at a local nursery.


And here is one of our lovely tomato plants all warm and snug in its cage. The cages, lest you accuse us of tomato cruelty, are strictly for the tomatoes' benefit. They send their little stems out the openings and, as they grow, the cage provides support for those (hopefully) tomato-laden stems.


We prepared all of the beds today in the same manner as before. Hoe and rake the bed to break up clumps. Scatter peat/compost mixture. Water afterwards with the liquid fertilizer/water mixture.

You may have noticed that many of our plants have depressions around them. We made those in hopes that during the next rain, which is sure to come any moment now, some rain will gather in these little "volcanoes" instead of running off the side. We'll see how that goes.

Oh the way home, I quizzed Adam about what plant he is most excited to be growing/harvesting/eating and he, of course, said the chili peppers. He wants to make hot sauce.

My "top plant" is definitely my lovely okra! I l-o-v-e okra and simply can't wait until they are ready to harvest.

We have plans for most of the vegetables. But some of them (ahem, radishes) I'm at a loss of what to do with. Especially in such large numbers. I am excited about learning to can and sharing that (possibly harrowing) process with you. Any tips, pass them along. Please.

Naturally, we are pretty tuckered out after such a day. Off to bed we go....with visions of homemade tomato sauce in our heads.