Beans, Beans, the Wonderful Fruit! PAR Davies 6/5/13

HARVEST WEDNESDAY 19 lbs

 HARVEST TO DATE THIS YEAR 330 lbs

Another fabulous day. We did so many things that I know I'm going to leave something out. Our team was: Sally, John, G.A., Craig, Greg, Jamie, Susan, Mary Elizabeth, Lauren, Randy Williams (first timer) and myself. We harvested cabbage, red onion beauties, more garlic scapes in addition to beginning the garlic harvest, chard and herbs of basil and parsley. We should be able to finish up the cabbage next week.

Some of our harvest waiting to be weighed

Everything is looking good and WE HAVE BABY TOMATILLOS! The tomatoes look good. Still there is the vole problem that seems to be devastating our potato crop (except for the towers). The traps in the box were sprung but they are smart critters as they did not get caught. Susan placed 3 traps baited with peanut butter and oatmeal. I wonder….

G.A. and Jamie worked hard on the irrigation system. I think their salary should be double of what everyone else gets, but G.A. said "no extra charge." We ladies especially appreciate you guys handling this, as it is something we just don't want to get involved with (unless absolutely necessary.) Thanks guys.

Jamie and G.A. our irrigation system experts

We got some planting done, too. G.A. brought Purple Hull Pea seeds and planted a whole bed full next to the lovely sweet potato bed. Craig, Randy and Greg caged most of the rest of the pepper plants in addition to pulling out the pea vines. Craig and Randy planted 3 varieties of cucumbers in Bed 12 where the peas were. Sally and Lauren suckered the tomatoes and tied unruly vines escaping from the cages. The tomatillos were also secured better in the cages. Susan harvested the cabbage and checked for bugs, and then planted more bush beans. Greg mulched the okra. Mary Elizabeth brought some more 'yellow snacking peppers' and planted them along with the peanut plants. John pulled out the kale among other chores. Many other jobs were completed, but I can't remember who all did what.

SQUASH: The squash under cover is still uncertain. I think next week we will uncover the yellow squash so it can be pollinated. I believe the stems will be tough enough to resist the vine borer, and we will just have to watch for the squash bugs. The self-pollinating (parthenocarpic) zucchini supposedly don't need the bees. We will keep it covered up for a while yet to see if we get some sizable zucchini.

BOXES IN THE BARN: I found two boxes of miscellaneous items left in the barn. I don't know who these belong to. Could you please check with us before dropping things off, because we are trying to de-clutter the barn. We are not supposed to have a lot of things sitting on the floor. The boxes contain all garden items, so anyone who wants to go through the boxes and get that they want, please do. I will leave them there another week, and then they will be discarded.

FAVA BEAN COOKING DEMO: I picked some fava beans today that were big and plump, and took home to prepare. Below is what the beans look like inside the pod.

The beans were then cooked for about 5 minutes in salted water and immediately plunged into ice water.

Then the actual beans that you eat were removed from their soft outer shell, and yielded a little over one-third cup.

Then the cool beans were sautéed in a little butter. It seems like a lot of work, but the beans are so big that it doesn't take many beans to make a serving. I will say these are THE BEST beans I have ever tasted. And no, I didn't have Chianti with them. The remaining beans in the garden will be left on to dry for seeds. I believe we should be able to have a larger crop in the fall.

Sauteed fava beans

REMINDER: No Saturday workday because of Through Our Garden Gates.  Hope to see you there!

'Til next week,

Dianne

Mystery at PAR Davies 5/29/13

WEDNESDAY HARVEST - 12 lbs.

We had a hard working group Wednesday morning…Suzanne, Jamie, G.A., Cathy, Susan, Melba, John, Ann, newcomer Greg Meeks and myself. We harvested peas, onions, chard, broccoli, garlic scapes and herbs. All of the broccoli was harvested, the beds cleaned out, and ready to plant something else. We didn't get as good a broccoli harvest in the spring as the fall planting because of the heads going to seed too fast. However, the cabbage looks better, and we should be able to harvest some nice big heads next week. Cathy made the delivery to the women's shelter, and we included a sheet explaining the scapes and how to use them.

Ya see that zucchini?

We uncovered the squash bed to see what was going on, and look what we found! The self pollinators seem to be doing their thing with no evidence of the SB's and SVB's (Squash bugs and squash vine borers.) There were lots of blossoms and little squashes. We may have to hand pollinate the yellow squash; we will know by next week if that is necessary. So, if things progress as they have been, we should be harvesting squash next week! While the cover was off we fertilized with comfrey tea and covered backup again. In the words of C.W. and now my words…ain't God good!

G.A., Greg and Jamie picked the last of the in-ground bed of peas and pulled out all the vines. They then prepared the bed for planting, and planted two double rows of okra. John took care of mulching some of the in-ground plants and watered them along with the container plants. Jamie mulched the sweet potato bed. We re-seeded spots in several beds that didn't all germinate. In addition to squash and cabbage next week, we should be able to start harvesting some of the garlic. I will need volunteers to take some home with them to spread out and dry.

Melba harvesting garlic scapes

We found this (below) growing amongst the garlic. At first we thought it was corn, and now we don't know. Does anyone have a clue what it is? Whatever, it will be removed next week.

The mystery plant with what looks like grainy heads

The beet bed was weeded with many little trees removed. The beets are looking good as are the carrots and onions, and the melons are coming along after a rocky start. The voles are at it again with the potatoes in addition to a carrot being destroyed. The trap is not working, but has been moved over by the potatoes.

Below is a picture of our busy gardeners. We really got a lot accomplished today, and it was starting to heat up as we were getting ready to leave.

It's hot in the sunny part!

'Til later,

Dianne

Year Round Vegetable Gardening in Containers

Hi Suzanne,

Today I harvested one pot of garlic that I planted last November. There are three pots yet to be harvested within the next month. The pots on my patio have had things planted in them all year. Last fall/winter/spring, they were full of garlic, cilantro, parsley and lettuce. Container gardening works great for your veggies especially in the winter. They are so easy to cover up when the temps are freezing, and there are no insects or disease to contend with.

'Transylvania,' the first variety harvested now out to dry

Now as the cool weather crops are being harvested, I am gradually putting in the summer veggies. I have put a tomato in a pot with some garlic, and as the tomato gets bigger, the garlic will be ready to come out. I will then put a little basil in with the tomato plant. I am doing this with two pots.

Tomato and garlic

I had planted three pots with cilantro just because I love it. I am going to let the cilantro self sow in all the pots and I should be able to get another crop when the weather cools down in the fall. I plan on saving a bunch of seeds to share with friends just because cilantro is so easy to grow.

Cilantro going to seed with attractive flowers

I planted 'Minnesota Midget' cantaloupe (small personal size) in a pot that has parsley and cilantro. When the cilantro is done, I will put fencing in the pot for the cantaloupe to climb on. In the pot where I just harvested the garlic I put a squash plant and added a floating row cover to protect against squash bugs and squash vine borers.

Cantaloupe and parsley will share a pot

Yellow summer squash covered up

In addition to container vegetable gardening, I have made a strawberry patch in a flower bed. This fall/winter I had a half dozen collard plants in the flower bed that produced all winter into spring. So far I have picked over 8 lbs of strawberries this year. They will continue to produce all summer, although only sporadically…just enough to throw a few in your smoothie or in a salad. I have covered them with netting to keep critters out.

Strawberries sharing a bed with flowers

So, if you have a flower bed and/or a sunny place to set containers, you can still grow things to eat all year.

Dianne

Tennessee Yards Done Right

Learn how to water effectively!

Are you familiar with the many, many resources available on the Tennessee State Master Gardener website?  You don't even have to be a Master Gardener to access most of these resources!

One publication is especially timely as we move into summer:  The Tennessee Yardstick Workbook.  In it you will discover the nine principles of the Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods Program:

• Right Plant, Right Place

• Manage Soils and Mulch

• Manage Turfgrass Appropriately

• Water Efficiently

• Use Fertilizer Appropriately

• Manage Yard Pests

• Reduce Stormwater Runoff and its Pollutants

• Provide for Wildlife

• Protect Water's Edge

Check it out.  And explore the website - you never know what you'll find!

Rainbow Chard

Rainbow Chard from Dianne's garden

Suzanne, I had to show you the beautiful rainbow chard from the seeds you gave me.  I used it in this recipe for Asian Noodle Bowl.  I had some of the ingredients in the garden…. scallions, snow peas, cilantro, and I used the chard because the pan choy had gone to seed.  It was very good.  Thank you for the seeds.  Someone told me that the white chard is much better than the rainbow, but I don't think so. 

  --Dianne

Voles, beans, and PAR Davies 5/15/13

TOTAL HARVEST TODAY 10 lbs.     TOTAL HARVEST TO DATE 246 lbs.

There was a lot going on today and  we were quite productive. Our gardeners were G.A., Ann, Mary Elizabeth, Susan, John, Cathy and myself. We harvested just 10 lbs. of bits and pieces….kale, onions, strawberries, spinach, herbs and snow peas. Cathy weighed everything and made the delivery.

We replanted cantaloupe--Minnesota Midgets in containers and Charentais in the hugelkultur bed. We put cucumbers and  beans in Bed 21. The cucumbers are two extra long varieties, which will climb on tomato cages, and these are interplanted with bush beans. We also put more bush beans in Bed 2, which has tomatoes on one side. G.A. planted Seed Savers Exchange 'Sweet Fall' winter squash in Bed 10. I am considering putting a cover over this bed to keep the squash bugs off. Our other squash bed with the floating row has really taken off since last week when it looked a little sickly. Incidentally, last week this was fertilized with the Comfrey tea. I wonder….

Squash (yellow and zucchini) mounding up under the floating row cover.Vole trap is in the distance with the brick on top. More on this next week.

We noticed little tomatoes on the Tumbling Tom Yellows in the containers. We should be able to have a pretty good pea harvest next week. Everything looks quite good in spite of the increasing vole problem. Almost all of the beds are planted full now, except for the sweet potato bed. The cabbage and broccoli are finally heading up. When it is harvested, that will be four beds that will need something planted….any suggestions? Okra will replace the in-ground pea bed, and I had planned for several varieties of regular sized cucumbers for Bed 12 when the peas come out.

We got the irrigation tubes positioned correctly in the tomato beds, and none to soon because they are starting to fill the cages. The larger green bell peppers and tomatillos were caged. One of our blackberry bushes I believe did succumb to a vole. I tried fixing it and watering in, but I have my doubts. The other plant looks great. We added Comfrey tea to the blackberries and pear trees.

Fava beans are looking good!

The favas….these are supposed to taste really good, but involves a lot of work (see link below). I think this first crop will be a learning experience for the garden workers. Since we only have about a dozen plants, the harvest will be small, but enough for us to do a taste test to see if we want to grow more. They are way on up there for fixing nitrogen in the soil. A fall crop is said to be better than spring for our area. An interesting bean.

http://www.gardenbetty.com/2012/12/growing-harvesting-and-shelling-fava-beans/

I'm sure I am missing something, but that is all I can think of for now.

Dianne