The Summer's Biggest Hits



"Big Rainbow"

This year I want to make a better effort to save the seeds for the successful varieties I want to grow again next year.  It’s also the time of year that the summer failures transform into lessons learned and next year’s compost. 

Two of the heirloom tomatoes that I grew this year are on my list for seed saving: The “Riesentraube” and “Big Rainbow.”

The Reisentraube, which came from Hook Mountain Growers,  is a large red cherry, with a tiny point at the bottom.    Hard to explain exactly why, but it doesn’t taste like a cherry tomato at all  - more like a beefsteak.   It was super prolific and is still producing!

I love the surprise of cutting into these gorgeous “Big Rainbow” tomatoes. 

It can be hard to tell when they’re ripe, because they’re often green on top and throughout.  When the bottoms are red, they’re usually ripe, and you can also tell by touch.   They’re sometimes called “tie dye” tomatoes.

This was my favorite summer squash this year -  Costata Romanesco, a seedling given to me by a generous soul in our community plot.  It was mild and milky inside and looked beautiful when sliced.

I grew “Rattail” radishes for the first time this year. 

This is a variety that was grown mainly for it’s pods, which have a radishy flavor and bite, and are fun to add to salads - I pickled some of them! The flowers were sweet - a beautiful color and attracted attention of bees and other admirers.

The “Bright Lights” swiss chard did really well until August when it got buggy.  I blanched and froze a couple of pounds of it for winter.

The nice thing about "Purple Ruffles" basil is that it didn’t bolt and flower like the Genovese- at least not yet! 

Pineapple Mint went a bit crazy in the community garden plot.  I cut it back many times.   The flavor is perfect in iced tea and lemonade.  Love the look of it in bouquets too.

In my backyard I got my first concord grape harvest – maybe a little over a pound of them from this 5-year old vine that has endured many abuses and relocations.  I do hope that it’s finally found a home. 

My little fig tree on the deck gave me about 30 figs.  I have another one growing on the side of the house with lots of foliage but very few figs – they’re still ripening. 

My new favorite weed is Wild Quinine.  It’s blooming everywhere now and I’ve decided to cultivate it in my flower patch because it's one of the few wildflowers that hasn't been chomped on.  The flowers are delicate with little spikes and it smells wonderful.  Lots of medicinal uses.

A sunny third plot graciously provided by a friend with extra space enabled me to grow some cantaloupe, watermelons and squash – things I would never have had space for in the community garden. (They surely wouldn’t have produced in my shady backyard.)  I also planted zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers there.  The “Sugar Baby” watermelon was most successful.

The vines seemed to be resistant to the squash bugs, too.   Butternut squash also did very well there.  One of our traditional Thanksgiving dishes is a Butternut Squash Risotto.  It's curing now and I’ll be prepping and freezing it for the November feast.

What plants did best in your garden this year?

Maine Photos

Here, especially for those like my mom and dad who come for their kid pics fix, are some shots of our recent vacation in Maine.


Old Orchard Beach Pier



Monarch on a milkweed

Boogie Boards on Old Orchard Beach

Old Orchard Beach, from The Pier

The sparkling sand.



Palace Playland





Your kid pics fix!





Saco Bay Lookout



Carlo, Saco Bay Lookout

Saco Bay

Evelyn



Downtown Old Orchard Beach




Downtown Portland ("Old Port")



Berry picking at Spiller Farms in Wells



Shrubbing Around

Rhubarb/Lemon Balm Shrub

Ever drink a shrub?   Shrubs are also known as “drinking vinegars.”  They’re made with fruit, vinegar and sugar and can be used as the basis for lots of summer treats like sodas and cocktails. I discovered shrubs when a friend gave me a generous helping of fresh rhubarb.   I’ve never grown it and have never cooked with it.  I didn't feel like baking so I passed up lots of recipes for rhubarb cakes, bars and muffins, but then I saw a tweet urging me to be “adventurous” and try a rhubarb shrub.  That got my attention.   

What I found out is that shrubs are a super alternative for someone like me, because I dislike drinking plain water, but don’t use artificial sweeteners.   Shrubs are all-natural and you can easily control the amount of sugar and customize them to your liking.  The possibilities for shrubs are infinite, and recipes vary widely.  There are many formulas and as just as many opinions about which is best.  There is even a blog devoted to shrubs! With music!  Check out www.bringmeashrub.blogspot.com.

The basic recipe for a shrub is :

1 cup of vinegar

1 cup of fruit

1 cup of sugar

chopped rhubarb

Smoosh and smash the fruit and any other flavorings in a non-reactive saucepan.  Add the vinegar, and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat, leave to cool and allow to step unrefridgerated for 2-4 days.  After that, strain out the fruit and any other solids, and bring the mixture to a simmer on the stovetop once again.   Add the sugar and continue to simmer.   Once the sugar is dissolved and the shrub is allowed to reduce slightly, remove from heat.  It can then be stored in the fridge- glass Mason jars are ideal for storage.

So far I’ve made 2 shrubs: 

Rhubarb Lemon Balm Shrub

2 c. chopped rhubarb

¼ c. chopped lemon balm

2 c. apple cider vinegar

1 c. sugar  (I wanted to see what it would be like with half the recommended amount of sugar.  I found it plenty sweet.)

Strawberry Balsamic Lillet Shrub

1 c. crushed strawberries (This was the perfect thing to do with the sadder, not-so-perfect berries from my little patch.)

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

1/4 c. Lillet appertif - this is a super-juicy French concoction that I had on hand. It’s a blend of wines and orange-flavored liquors.

1 c. sugar

Here are some ways I’ll be using the syrups:

Pour directly or mix with maple syrup to pour on pancakes,  combine with vodka, gin, (shrubtinis?), wine or champagne,  pour over ice cream or sherbet

Combine with carbonated water or mineral water if you prefer things less fizzy, use to flavor a yogurt smoothie or stir into plain or vanilla yogurt, drizzle on hot oatmeal, put several tablespoons over crushed ice and make a snowcone, use in salad dressings, use in meat marinades.

What else can be done with shrubs?  I’d love to hear your ideas!

Pea Season: Edibles in Progress

"Super Sugar Snap" Pea flower

Several 3-4 day bouts of rain this past month have made the ground soggy. The plants, for the most part, are loving it, though.  Especially the weeds!  This is always a tough time of year because signs of bounty are visible but not yet harvestable.  What can you do? Wait, pace, ponder and pinch the bugs off.



Asian Pear (3-in-one)

In March I planted 4 fruit trees in the backyard plot:  Lapin Cherry, Sunhaven Peach, Stanley Plum and a 3-in-1 grafted Asian Pear, an “orchard starter” pack from Miller Nurseries.   All seem to be leafing out just fine, but a couple of them aren’t getting as much sun as I’d like.  Time to think about clearing some trees, I'm afraid.

I’m so excited to finally be getting some grapes on my 4 year old concord grape vine!  It was not happy in a container on the deck but seems to be thriving planted up against my chainlink fence on the side of the house. 

They're flowering now and I see a lot of grape leaf moth larvae(?) on them.  I tried to spray them off with the hose, but they're destroying the leaves.   And I may have to deal with birds at some point.  

These are wild “wineberry” raspberries that grow like crazy in every untamed area near here. 

Whenever I find one in my yard, I plant it along the side fence.  They’re doing much better than the “Carolina” raspberries that I got at the plant sale last year. 

In my backyard raised beds I have “Super Sugar Snap” and “Blauschokker Blue” purple-podded peas, spinach, garlic and arugula. 


Sweet peas for the sweet

In the wine bottle bed, chives, lemon balm, mint, and oregano.   

I've started harvesting strawberries, too. 

"Blauschokker Blue" pea flower

On the deck I planted an old BBQ grill with lettuce and kale.  I pick a few leaves from here daily for sandwiches.  I have mostly flowers up here, but horseradish and Anise Hyssop and two kinds of thyme are growing in containers here, too. 

I planted "Bluecrop" and "Misty" blueberries in the barrell planter on the deck.  It's a small but nice-looking crop this year.

Almost forgot the figs.  Both “Brown Turkeys” are leafing out and I see a few baby figs on the way – not as many as I’d hoped for, though.

In the community plot I also have some very peppery “rocket” arugula, “Bright Lights” swiss chard, “North Pole” lettuce, mesclun mix, “Purple Dragon” and “Scarlet Nantes” carrots, “French Breakfast” and “Rattail” radishes, Lilac, Orange, Red and Green peppers.  My pepper plants looked like they were going to succumb to a fungus last week, but I pruned them pretty ruthlessly and sprayed them with an organic fungicide and they seem to have recovered.

Some of my tomato varieties this year are “Ramapo” “Rutgers” "Big Beef" “Beefsteak” “Early Girl” and “Best Boy” .  

I have zucchini, “Bush Delicata” , “Buttercup” squash, “Minnesota Midget” cantaloupe, “Banana Melon” and “Miniature Watermelon” started.   The “Banana Melon” seeds are not germinating well at all, and both the melon and cantaloupe seeds have been eaten by slugs(?) I'm guessing.  If anyone has any tips for getting these up and running, please pass them on!

“Japanese Long” and “American Slicing” and “Lemon” cucumbers are ready to climb up an old baby gate. 

Herbs in the community plot so far this year are cilantro, “Pineapple” mint and lemon thyme.  More blue peas and some “Scarlet Runner” beans climbing up the little teepee.  

Leah, sunbathing

The weeds were completely out of control so I put a weed block down on the paths and am slowly adding more mulch from the chicken coops.  Unfortunately, the girls can only produce it so fast...and then it has to compost.  So I'm supplementing with bag mulch too.

It's always exciting to see all the plots come together in the community garden.  Fun to see (and envy!) all the different designs and techniques.  Visit my neighbor Dr. Duncan Bell's blog, and check out his cool auto-gardens, too!  

My Garden is My Gym

It’s a sad fact that I work for a Y and have not been to the gym in years.  Even with a free employee membership!  Yet, there are plenty of exercise opportunities available to me right here at home.   I have a dog that needs walking and live on top of a steep hill.  I live in stairmasterville!

One of my projects this year involves building a new asparagus bed.  Do I want to dig a trench for my asparagus?  Of course not! That would be too strenuous. 

I decided, instead, to avoid digging the trench by building a raised bed against the back fence using old logs, and filling it with loose dirt DUG from the leaf rot under my trees 50 yards away.  It just another kind of digging in a different place.  Once the dirt is dug, it's lugged across the yard in this cart.  I'm so glad I decided to take the "easy" way out.  This is why "landscaping" burns so many more calories than "gardening."

Sometimes I do a little jogging chasing these guys around the house. When the wind is gusty, it has a way of blowing the gate open and the chickens have a way of wandering into the culdesac.  I have a feeling that my neighbors are getting a good laugh watching me from behind their curtains. Dave the Mailman knows to be on the lookout and dodge us with his truck. 

Leg lifts are necessary to navigate the chicken wire fence that protects the raised beds from hungry little beaks.

Since I left the leaves in the flower beds all winter, the rake is trying to help me tone my upper arms.

A couple of weeks ago, my fruit trees arrived.  They required 4 large holes.  More digging. 

Luckily, I find dislodging impacted rocks from clay enormously satisfying (and exhausting).

When I start to feel tight, a grassy spot is always available for a yoga stretch (or nap in the sun.)  Betsy and I do down dogs together. 

What kind of workout are you getting outside the gym?