Colors in Spring

Bulbs have been sprouting all over the yard. They are yellow, light orange and white. Some daffodils, tulips and crocus.  Other plants that are making their appearance are the delicious yet wild, Ramps.  Chives are growing fast and so is the garlic that we planted last fall. 

One morning we noticed two garter snakes together and by looking at their different sizes, we could tell that they were a couple.  Also, we have seen golden finches, woodpeckers and the resident phoebes flapping their wings, calling, eating at the feeders and hunting insects.  

Seeding and cooking

Starting seeds in the presence of others is a great way to start the day.  I keep a compost bin full of worms and food scraps the whole year.  I later sift the mixture to get the rich soil full of worm castings. I use seeds from HIGH MOWING ORGANIC SEEDS in Hardwick, VT.  I am not trying anything different from other years. I learned that onions and leeks are very hard to grow by a windowsill. It is better to get onion sets later in the season at the nearby Coop. They also need loose soil and lots of water to grow.  Also, I remember growing peas in containers during my first year as a gardener. Big mistake. Peas are not meant to be transplanted or manhandled. Tomatoes and Peppers are the other heavy feeders and needy plants that I don't start from seed anymore. I get them from Jinny Cleland, at Four Springs Farm. She gets her potting mix from Vermont Compost, then she takes samples for nutrient analysis and then amends the soil as necessary. Therefore, her plants grow in a perfect medium and in a greenhouse. I love working inside a green house. It is warm, the soil smells great and the plants bring you a kind of bliss that in terms of spring, is irreplaceable. 

Week by Week

Yesterday marked the beginning of the countdown for the anticipated growing season of '12.  Keeping in mind that Memorial Day weekend is the last day of frost, I counted 11 weeks till then.  The weather has been unusually nice and I started to work outside.  First, I used the garden hose to wash all the goat and chicken poop from the front lawn.  The grass in that area started to turn green and the chickens are starting to scratch all over the yard,  leaving huge holes in the ground.

Rice and rows

Finally, I finished spreading the mulch among new and old rows of the garden.  I have also transplanted some rhubarb to a new spot in the garden and of course: weeded for hours.  I covered the potato bed with soiled hay from the goat pen.  It had both feces and urine and should be great fertilizer!  I also moved another pile of wood and decomposed wood to the new squash bed by the pond.  I will plant the squash seeds in the following weeks and cucumbers as well.

I am a tiny bit disappointed about loosing some of the broccoli starters in the garden.  First the plants  lost their leaves and finally died very slowly, and at the same time, other plants did great and grew nicely.  I don't know what is the root of problem.  Have to check some books.

About cooking: I am very bad at making rice: I have burned it, over-cooked it, under-cooked it, under seasoned it and made  as salty and as inedible as humanly possible. But not tonight, I have redeemed myself with this recipe: 

Stuffing Rice 

by DVD

1 cup of Basmati Rice 

1 1/2 cup of water

1 Tablespoon of sunflower oil 

1 teaspoon of crazy salt 

1 teaspoon of dried basil 

2 Tablespoons of dried veggie broth

1 Tablespoon of Mirin  

1 cup of spinach, about 1/3 cup cooked

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons of chopped yellow onion 

1 big Garlic clove

1 bunch of grape leaves (preserved in brine)

Directions 

1. I use a pressure cooker to cook my rice. In medium high,  first spread the sunflower oil in any pan or pot and let it warm up, then pour the cup of rice in the pot.

2. Add basil, mirin, veggie broth and crazy salt and let it cook for about 3 minutes in medium high 

3. Then add the water and let it come to a boil and let it boil for another 3-5 minutes

4. Lower heat to the lowest possible temperature and cover, let it simmer for 10-15 minutes and when the water is gone, then stir and cover again. Let cook for another 3 minutes

4. Check on the rice every so often and stir until you see that the water is drying up, you can choose to have the cover on the pot or not

5. Meanwhile cook the spinach with olive oil, until bright green and I happened to have olives so I added a lit bit of the brine to the spinach and a bit of lemon juice 

6. Keep checking on the rice and you may turn the heat up a bit to medium

7. Add onions to the cooked spinach and garlic, but when the spinach is cooling, set aside

8. Chop the grape leaves and add to the rice, keep stirring 

9. Then add the spinach mix and yeahy ! you have made awesome rice 

I then stuffed blanched collards with it and rolled them like a burrito 

They came out really good 

so I decided to post it and maybe you can now redeem yourself too 

if you need to

Gear up for seedlings

I'm headed out the door to buy some seeds and start them indoors at home and at school. 

This week in school, I had my students help me plant the bulbs that my dad gave me.  There were all flowers.  The students were very eager, dedicated and interested in helping me. Therefore,  I have decided to bring some of the seeds for our garden to school and teach a little bit about gardening during homeroom. 

I looked at the map of the garden from last year and I have thought about the many projects to do this year. Some of the projects include: 1) Start new beds. 2) Plant more flowers throughout the garden. 3) Try new varieties of veggies. Among other ones.  

Also, I picked up a book titled "Week by week, Vegetable Gardener's Handbook" by Ron Kujawski and Jennifer Kujawski. It has been very helpful in organizing the steps for gardening in the spring, summer and fall. The interesting thing is that it would work for most Northern zones in the U.S since it is based on the last day of frost in the spring and the first day of frost in the fall. 

When talking to farmers in the past, they have all agreed that the safest date for planting outside is Memorial Day Weekend. So, this weekend is the 10th week before Memorial Day.  Therefore, I will start the following seeds:

1. Onions and Leeks 

2. Cabbage

3. Broccoli 

4. Kale

5. Cauliflower

6. Celeriac 

7. Some herbs 

Note: I did not grow any plants of the Brassica family last year besides kale, because I didn't know the condition of the soil in our garden.  However, the kale did so well, that I cannot wait to try the rest of the family. 

I have started seeds in the past in grid trays, recycled cardboard containers or small pots.  I haven't had any problem with diseases in my seedlings.  I have covered the containers after seeding them and only placing them by a sunny window when the seeds have germinated. I watered them as needed. Be careful not to over-water your seedlings. 

This year, I will use vermiculite and mix it with compost. Vermiculite is a natural mineral that helps with aeration and drainage in the soil and holds water better and releases it when needed. 

Planting and saving seeds

This week was exciting because we picked our first garlic ever! it is so big and beautiful...it is seating on top of our wood shed ready to be dried and stored for the winter. I also dried the kale that went to seed this year and I threshed the seeds on top of a tarp. Here is the picture of the seeds and seed pods.  Now we don't have to buy kale seeds for a while!

Also, we have so much kale and chard and no space in our little freezer.  So, the best way to keep the greens is by dehydration!
If you would like to do that, you have to cut the ribs out of each leaf, lay them in a single layer in the dehydrator at 125 F and for 4 hours minimum.  They have to be brittle once they are done and trust me, they are tasty and will be awesome to have in soups in the winter !

Kale and Chard

My favorite greens to grow in the garden! since most of the varieties can withstand the cooler temperatures of spring and in their second year, they can provide you with flowers and therefore, your own seeds (given of course, that the plants are open pollinated or a true-breed).  The kale from last year was left in the garden and some deer ate the tops of some plants and some made it thru the winter.  Right now, I am drying the plants in a sunny spot after the plants flowered and developed their seed pods.  By the way, one plant is enough for seeds for the next year!

Also, there was a chard plant that started to flower and now it has seeds! I will collect and dry the plant later when it dies. 

Did you notice the caterpillar? it is a cabbage moth and its eating the kale !

you can tell by the wholes in the leaf and the round feces at the bottom of each leaf next to the stem.

I just tossed the little guy somewhere else...

My best recipe for cooking chard is cooking it with caramelized onions, then adding capers and olives ! (great pizza topping)