Summer changes

Everything must change

Nothing stays the same

Everyone will change

No one stays the same...

~Quincy Jones

I got over resisting change quite a long time ago.  In fact, I seek it out now, and get frustrated when things stay too much the same for too long.  When Life On The Balcony called for a blog carnival about what changes summer has brought to my garden, I thought, "This is my kind of post."  Boy, does my garden have a lot of change that has happened-- and will be happening soon!  (Note: The camera is in one of these boxes around here somewhere... Sorry I don't have photos, sigh.)

Here's an overview of garden CHANGES:

The past

So, all the nice plans I made for this year's garden were pretty much thrown out the window.  

• I planted three pots of shallots, and all but one of the seedlings croaked.  Have I mentioned we've had a very rainy year so far?  Only about 30 times... Yeah, the shallot seedlings damped-off.  
  
• And the strawberries were backordered for about a month, so they were planted too late.  So I got strawberry leaves but no fruit. Hmm.  
  
• And the Purple Kale grew about 4 inches tall and stopped.  It's still alive, oh yes, but it's not big enough to eat yet, and doesn't show any signs of wanting to get bigger.
  
• And the Arugula-- I expected it to give me seeds BEFORE summer hit, so I could plant peppers in its place.  But it just started giving me seeds a couple weeks ago, and the flowers still haven't all gone to seed.
  
• Only two dill plants came up, from the rows of seeds I planted (but those two plants did fabulously!)
• How about those cool-weather-loving baby cabbage?  Didn't make any heads.  I got no cabbage, just a bunch of gorgeous deep-green leaves.  And a colony of slugs and beetles.
  
• I had three mystery volunteer plants pop up.  They look like pumpkin or squash.
• Finally, due to being so unsure about our job situation and moving plans, I decided NOT to plant my summer crops.
  

So much for making plans!!

The Present

I am downsizing my garden, sadly.  We shall need to fit things on the moving truck, and that means packing as compactly as possible. 

• I dug up the Baby Cabbage plants!  Last week I asked someone at the Farmer's Market if cabbage leaves were edible, and she said yes, but they are best cooked, since they have a strong raw taste and prickles.  So I have a lot of cabbage leaves soaking in a pot of water right now (to kill off any bugs or slugs).  I'll be washing each leaf by hand and drying them, then using them in some kind of stew or something soon.
• The mystery plant has conceived two babies!  I'm thinking it might be pumpkin!  Right now the fruits are just round and green, but hopefully I'll see soon enough.
• The desk drawer is scheduled for removal.  It contained dill and the mystery plant.  I chopped down the dill, and one project for tonight will be to dry and store it. I transplanted the mystery plant into the plastic bin where the cabbage was, since that will be easier to get on the truck than a partially-decomposed plywood desk drawer!  The plant has a good case of transplant shock, but I pulled it into the shade, and have been giving it plenty of water.  I'm also talking to it: "I'm pregnant too, and I have to go through a stressful move.  If I can handle it, you can handle it! Hang in there!"
• The radish flowers look like they'll be making seeds any day.  As soon as I harvest the seeds, they'll get chopped down, and the broken rolling file cart they were planted in goes to the dumpster.  Hurry, radishes, we're running out of time!
• Arugula gets to be chopped down pretty soon.  Since the Swiss Chard is doing pretty well, but it's just too crowded, I'll put some of the Swiss Chard in that pot.
• The one summer crop I did guiltily plant, since it grows fast, was Basil.  I just love Basil so much.  I now have several Basil plants popping up with two true leaves on each plant!
• The Angel's Trumpet plants have buds!  I can't wait to see their flowers!!  The one on the right has hardly any leaves.  I'm tempted to snip off its flower bud to try to force it to grow some more leaves, but I'm not sure how it would react.

The Future

One of my husband's friends has offered us the use of his lake house until my husband finds a job!  So at the end of our apartment lease, we are going to move out there until further notice.  It's a beautiful property with lots of space and a gorgeous forest around a man-made pond.  I'll be able to bring what's left of my plants out there to continue cultivating them.  There's also an in-ground vegetable garden there that has been somewhat neglected, and I'll be able to work in that.  So perhaps I'll be able to have a summer crop after all.  I'll keep you posted.

...The young become the old

Mysteries do unfold

But that's the way of time

No one, nothing goes unchanged...

Triscuit and herbs

I was impressed to read that Triscuit is supporting the home-farm movement, and I was even more impressed to see their website they've put together to support newbies like myself.  It makes Kraft seem a bit less evil, though Triscuits have always been my favorite crackers anyway.  Now that they are giving herb seeds away in their boxes, well, all they have left to do is remove GMO ingredients, and I'll be on Cloud Nine!  

A challenge from Life on the Balcony to create a recipe for Triscuits and garden produce got my creative juices flowing.  Here is my effort to win!  (Because of the fast time deadline, I didn't have the chance to buy the products necessary to make this recipe and take pictures, but I'll add photos soon.)

I find that most people don't know what herbs REALLY taste like, since they are accustomed to the dry, bland, coloring particles sold at the grocery store.  At least that was the case for me, before growing my own herbs last year.  So if you want to impress your friends with something they are likely not to have tried before, and give them a bite of some of the best Mother Nature has to offer, do I have an idea for you!  At your next party make an appetizer tray of Triscuits topped with fresh tomato slices, plain hummus, and fresh herbs.  The Triscuits give crunch, the hummus warmth, and the tomato moisture and bite; with this flavorful and textural background, the taste of your proudly-grown herbs will really stand out!  Not to mention, your koolness factor will increase exponentially!   You'll probably find your friends asking you in an awed tone of voice, "How hard was it to grow your own herbs, anyway?"  At that point, you are free to evangelize about how everyone should have a garden, or simply bask in the glory.

Triscuits with tomatoes,  hummus, and fresh herbs

• 24 Triscuits
  
• 3/4 cup hummus (I swore I wouldn't give away the secret recipe from the mediterranean market in town, but the recipe on this site is close enough)  For this situation, a plain hummus would be best.  Olives or peppers mixed in could distract from the taste of your herbs. 
  
• 1 or 2 fresh tomatoes  (Garden-grown, if yours are ripe yet!)
  
• 24 sprigs of fresh herbs from your garden.  I suggest mint, basil, and dill, because they are easy to grow and easy (but impressive) on the palette. Herbs like rosemary or lavender would probably be too strong, but use your best judgement.  You can also use this opportunity to show off your more exotic flavors, like lemon mint or cinnamon basil for example.
  

The morning of (or at least 2 hours before) your shin-dig, whip up a batch of hummus.  It only takes 10 minutes, and that includes cleaning the food processor and licking the spoon!  (If you MUST buy the hummus from the grocery store, try not to get the kind that has vinegar in it.  It doesn't taste as good, and it's not authentic, at least according to my mid-eastern friends. A good hummus should be smooth and earthy and not have too much nip to it.)  Let the hummus refrigerate for at least two hours.

Slice your tomatoes as thinly as possible.

Right before the party starts, arrange your Triscuits on a trendy platter.  Or you may want to have one platter for each herb you are featuring.  Place a tomato slice on each cracker, and  spread a bit of hummus on top.  Then garnish with a fresh herb sprig.

Enjoy!

Arugula seeds

I'm not sure why I thought that all the Arugula seed pods would ripen at once.  Pretty thoughtless of me to assume that.  Actually, each stalk is ripening slowly from the bottom to the top, and each stalk is ripening at a different time.  

I've harvested several seed pods so far and put them in this nice homemade envelope to wait for next season's joyful garden, wherever that ends up being.

The only other news is that it has been raining since the 4th of July, and it's all my fault!  I was just saying last week that it should rain again, since I had used up all the water from my rain catchers.  As if on cue, it started raining the next day!  Sorry everyone!  I only meant A LITTLE bit of rain, not a whole week of it!  

The dampness has allowed mushrooms to pop up everywhere.  I'm not completely sure, but I think that's a bad thing for my plants' health.  If so, I need to do something, but I'd like to avoid harsh chemicals.

Fabulous Dill

The dill is amazing.  I have been enjoying it aesthetically and in cooking. Its flowers have burst forth like chartreuse fireworks.  (Appropriate for the holiday!)  Don't they look striking against the mahogany-colored leaves of the tree behind my fence?

I'm wondering, though, if I should cut off the flowers.  Will that ensure that the plant grows more leaves, or is it simply too late?  According to this website, when the plant flowers it stops producing leaves.  (Here's where a good book on herb and vegetable gardening would come in handy I guess.  $omeday I'll have more resources like that!)

Not much progress, ho hum

My Swiss Chard and Purple Kale have stayed the same size for months.

My strawberry plants have put out some leaves, but haven't made much progress otherwise since I planted them.  I'm serious, there is a problem somewhere.  Why do my plants not grow?

One exciting thing is the Angel's Trumpet plant, which seems to be doing quite well, despite the fact that it's growing in a bicycle basket lined with a grocery sack and rattan!  

The one on the left germinated a couple weeks before the one on the right, so it's bigger and leafier.  I "tipped" both of them last week to make them bushy.  (To "tip" a plant is to snip off the top part of its growth.  This forces the plant to put more energy into making leaves at lower levels, instead of just growing upward. This gives you a nicer looking and healthier plant. One thing I remember from my high-school job at the greenhouse!)  

I'm waiting for them to get big enough to cover the ugly plastic from the grocery sack, as well as cover that Perrier bottle better.  The inverted bottle helps me water the plants efficiently, to their roots, but you have to admit, it does look a bit tacky.

And I can't wait to see and smell their fabulous flowers!

Disastrous cabbage

As I mentioned in my post about the mystery plant, I had a period of neglecting the garden a bit.  (Fortunately we got rain every other day during that infernal season, otherwise my plants would not have gotten enough water!)

Another result of this neglect has been the carnage in this charming tub of "Baby Chinese Wa Wa Tsai" cabbage:

As you see, this has become the Bug & Slug Motel of my garden. Disgusting.  I should have done something, sprayed garlic mist on the leaves or something.  But not only was I super busy and distracted while this was happening under my nose, I'm not sure any spray would have been very effective, since it just kept raining and raining.  I'm not crying over, uh, ruined cabbage, but I'd like to take a lesson away from this.  Live and learn, right?  What SHOULD I have done?  What should I do next time?

I'm also curious why the cabbage didn't develop into heads.  The leaves stayed loose, as you see.  Isn't there supposed to be a nice compact ball forming in each plant?  That's what the pictures show.  Oh, and I planted seeds for these in March. They were supposed to be mature in 2 months, but in May they were only still half the size they are now.  Geez.

There are days I really feel like a crappy gardener.

Arugula and Mint

That wispy thing, behind the big happy mystery-plant's leaves, is what's left of the bolted Arugula.  I'm letting it go to seed.  The seeds are in long thin pods; I imagine that when they are ripe the pods will burst open.  Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to be in the garden on the day the seeds are ripe, but before they fall into the soil to be lost forever.  I'd like to try Arugula again someday.

Here's my thriving Mint plant:
I made Mint Tea with local honey last night for dessert.  It was tasty!  And apparently if you suffer from acid reflux, mint tea is better than Zantac.