Fall Arrives

Costoluto Genovese

It seems as though summer just started, yet autumn is upon us already. We had such a late start to our garden this year. Most of our plants didn't go in until June. Most summers here in Utah leave you begging people to take bags and boxes of garden produce...especially squash. I'm sad to say that this year we have barely eaten any squash, let alone have any to share. My pretty little peach tree gave me only enough peaches for two batches of jam. I actually had to buy a box of peaches and a box of tomatoes from the Farmer's Market. 

Cubanelle Peppers

We DO have a good number of acorn squash and a couple of my new favorite, Rouge Vif D' Etampes Pumpkin. I love the flattened shape, deep ridges, and beautiful red color. I only hope it tastes as good as it looks. Some of the other plants we tried this year that we will definitely plant again next year include: Cubanelle peppers, Hawaiian Current tomatoes, Garden of Eden pole beans, Thai chilies, Costada Romanesco squash, Costoluto Genovese tomatoes, and Tigerella tomatoes.

Tigerella

This year I had my normal luck with melons...NONE! I guess I need to try one more time with melon plants in the front flower bed next year. I also did not care for our Long China cucumbers. They have a lot more seeds than the varieties I normally grow. We also grew Dragon's Egg cucumbers. They are a lot of fun to look at, but very seedy.  

Miah's Sunflower--no Photoshop! Gorgeous!!

Our Easter Chickens

Our chickens arrived yesterday, just in time for Easter. We are hoping to get at least one egg today for our Easter basket (and our tummies). The dogs are going to take some time to adjust to them. They are having some issues. Jax seems afraid of them and really flips out when I go by the pen. He wants to protect me from the mini-dinosaurs.

****YAY!! This just in....Miah just brought in our first egg!!!****

Happy Easter to all. More photos and adventures to follow.

2010 Plant List

Here are the most interesting of the plants we are trying this year. This list doesn't contain the carrots, beets, lettuce, or 17 varieties of tomato. I plan to add information to the blog about how each plant is growing, the flavors of each plant, and of course recipes that will showcase our produce.

Oh, and stay tuned...the chickens and coop arrive next weekend!!

2010 Planting List

Waltham Butternut--The most popular butternut squash. Waltham is more uniform in shape and size, with fewer crooknecks. This butternut has an excellent interior texture and color. Typically grows 8"x4" and can weigh up to 6 lbs. Waltham has a creamy, rich, dry yellow-orange flesh that has a nutty flavor. Vine are extremely vigorous so leave plenty of room for this butternut.

Sweet dumpling--This small, mildly sweet-tasting squash resembles a miniature pumpkin with its top pushed in. It has cream-colored skin with green specks. Weighing only about 7 ounces, it has sweet and tender orange flesh and is a great size for stuffing and baking as individual servings.

Acorn table queen--One of the best table squashes. Hard dark green shell with ribs and yellow to orange flesh. Prolific bush version can tolerate poor soil. Good keeper.

Costata di Romanesco--an heirloom Italian squash. (zucchini). It is said to be the best tasting squash in the world. It is also a prolific producer of male blossoms (for frying/eating etc.). A large sprawling plant. Fruits are striped and dark green.

Tatume Squash-- slightly oblong, light green-grey skin, meaty, nutty flesh. Can be allowed to mature on the vine for a winter squash.

Asparagus Bean-- sweet and mild resembling the combined flavor of asparagus, mushrooms, and beans. SERVING SUGGESTION: Braid or tie into knots before cooking.

Garden of Eden Pole Bean--delicious both raw and cooked, from when they first appear to shell bean. Dried beans are beautiful enough to paint. Plant the bean 2 cm (1”) deep and 6 cm (3”) apart. Eat your fill all summer but let some dry for use as dry beans. 50-75 days. Heirloom, Endangered

Broccoli Spigarello--delivers a very intense broccoli flavor. Tasting similar to kale, the slight bitterness of this broccoli variety is pleasantly tangy. Less acidic than regular broccoli, the woody stems are not edible.

Cauliflower Violetta Italia--large purple heads that blanch to green when cooked and have a mild broccoli-like flavor. These attractive plants are even easier to grow than white cauliflower.

Early Purple Broccoli--plant produces a very flavorful heads of purple broccoli. Once the main head is removed this variety will continuously produce many offshoots during the season. Also can be used as a sprouting broccoli. Broccoli turns green when cooked.

Melon, Charentais -- a type of true cantaloupe from Europe (what Americans call cantaloupes are actually muskmelons.) Thin, smooth skin with light green stripes, maturing to creamy yellow. Orange flesh is fine-textured, delightfully scented and very sweet.

Armenian Cucumber--have great flavour and a bitterless rind that requires no peeling. While they can grow several feet in length, they taste best when picked small.

Long China cucumber—widely adapted, and tolerant of hot weather this is a sweet-flavored, 'burpless' cucumber from China.
Use for pickling or slicing.

Golden Marconi pepper--Italian heirloom. Mid-season producer of smooth, tapering seven inch (or longer) peppers that are mild and super sweet, with citrus overtones.

Anaheim pepper--narrow, light to medium green pepper that turns a bright red when mature. It is used in many dishes where a mild chile flavor is called for and can also be stuffed like poblanos.

Red Ruffle Pimento--Of the pimento types, this is said to be one of the best. Plants produce early and abundantly, 8-10 fruits each. Thick walled, uniquely shaped fruits that turn dark red when ripe.

The First Official Day of Spring

Today was a beautiful day for Spring to begin. We spent a few hours in the yard with the kids cleaning up the flower beds and putting a new coat of whitewash on the fence. All the lilies, irises, and daffodils are coming up. The daffodils should be bursting into bloom in about a week. I can hardly wait. We also planted 4 new clematis to grow on the arbor and Amber and I found a stunning new purple day lily that she planted in the front bed.

The girls got to earn some extra money today by helping us paint the fence. As you can see from the pictures, I think half the paint ended up on the sidewalk! They both enjoyed painting, for about 30 minutes, then the novelty wore off. Kami also decided that her shoes needed a fresh coat of white paint and we decided that was our cue to give them a new task. They moved on to cutting up branches. The clippers kept them amused a lot longer. I am truly enjoying helping Miah's girls develop a love of the outdoors and gardening. I don't even think they realized the TV wasn't turned on once today!

Spring Has Sprung! (at least in my heart)

It looks as though Spring is finally pushing its way out of the freezing grip of winter's rock hard soil. It is my favorite time of year. I get so excited planning and preparing for my yard to burst into life! There are tons of green sprouts emerging outside and the leaf buds are bulging on the trees. It also looks as though the daffodils will be blooming soon. Everyday there is new life in our yard.

Today Miah and I went out and cleared the front flower beds, trimmed up some bushes and trees, and planted our first seeds. So far we have planted four varieties of basil, purple cauliflower, broccoli, broccolini, three kinds of peppers, and eggplant. All the vegetables we plant are heirloom varieties. The flavors and colors of heirloom varieties are far more interesting and flavorful than the standard nursery collection.

Last year my gardening friend Cori and I went crazy with the Baker Creek seed catalog. This year we went to see our friends at Kenyon Organics, a local Salt Lake company, and bought our seeds. We kept things under control this year and only purchased 30 varieties of seeds. Of course, I also managed to order 17 varieties of tomatoes that I will pick up further into the season. Time to start mapping out the beds!

Today I also decided to recycle my City Weekly and turn it into free seed starting pots. Last year I saw an article online that showed me how to turn old newspaper into pots instead of buying the Jiffy pots I normally use. Did you know you can also use old newspapers as a weed barrier? Just put thick layers around your plants. They slowly break down over time and get recycled into the soil. I like to cover mine with a layer of leaves or mulch so it looks nicer.

Enough for today. Time for dinner and relaxation with the husband.