Wait a minute! It’s not time. It’s still August.
In the Northwest we have the luxury of year round gardening. Or year round vegetables if you prefer. You just have to revise your definition of vegetables for Fall and Winter. If you are committed to growing your own food things like fresh tomatoes and snap peas are a thing of the past. You canned those and did some freezing right? You didn’t? There’s always next year.
I will admit to being a less than attentive gardener when it came to my planting schedule this year. I did have a plan. I just didn’t refer back to it often enough. I got a little distracted. The goal is to pay attention next year or at least have a better plan.
However, this time of year is good for a few things.
The first is preserving. It may not seem like an actual garden activity I assure you it is. There is nothing worse than spending all of that time toiling over your crops only to have them go to waste at the end of the season. I have about 4 pounds of tomatoes sitting on my counter that need to be preserved. There isn’t enough to make into sauce, but there is enough to make into salsa. I also pickled about 2 1/2 pounds of green beans earlier this month. I made them a little spicy. Perfect for a bloody mary or a christmas gift. I also made a few jars of pickles. I admit to buying the pickling cucumbers at the farmer’s market, but it did inspire me to purchase my own cuke seeds for next year. In addition to canning I blanched and froze another 2 pounds of green beans, 1 pound of shelling peas, 2 pounds of blueberries and 1 pound of currants. My winter reserves are starting to look good. Later in September I will have plenty of tomatoes to make into sauce and paste.
The other activity in the autumn garden is planting fall crops. I missed out on cauliflower and over wintering onions (they are difficult to come by around here). I did manage a fall crop of beets, carrots, lettuce and spinach. I do still have time to sow garlic and shallots. I just have to shop for those.
So while the summer may be winding down putting your hands in the soil is not finished.
For the past few days the Northwest has been enjoying some refreshing rain. Although I have issues when the skies turn grey it’s quite welcomed around here. We turned off our irrigation system the other night and in my many waking hours of the night I lay there and listen to the rain.
You would think that since I’m such a tomato nut I would be in a panic. Blight and all. It doesn’t seem to be phasing me. I do have a nasty case of blossom end rot on my Brandywines, but for the most part the majority of my plants are doing quite well. I checked on the Juan Flame and it looks a little sad, but the fruit is fine.
All of my tomatoes have all fallen over, but no broken branches. The best part is the masses of fruit. What makes it even more crazy is now that the weather has cooled down the tomatoes are actually starting to color. Last night we pulled a 1 pound Cherokee Purple, a 6 ounce Black Russian and a 6 ounce Azoychka. For the season we are over 5 pounds of tomatoes. If all of the fruit currently on the vines ripens I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up with almost 100 pounds.
A major heat wave has struck the West coast and most of us are sweltering away. Many of my friends poo-poo our heat, but those are the same friends that live in the Southwest, South, Midwest or Southeast. Basically anywhere outside of the Northwest. Listening us complain about the heat is much like listening to you complain about the rain. Only trouble is those outside of the Northwest forget that we don’t have air conditioning here. Or at least most homes don’t. This girl, who doesn’t sweat, doesn’t think the heat is good for much of anything besides making me cranky and growing tomatoes.
Last year the tomato crop was dismal. The cold spring and summer kept the plants from setting fruit and once they did not a single fruit would color. At the end of the season I harvested about 5 pounds of green tomatoes. It took 2-3 weeks for them to fully ripen.
This year I was optimistic. I planted my hoards and hoped for the best. So far I’m not disappointed. My plants are so overloaded with fruit they are falling all over.
(These are the plants grown in 100% Tagro, an experiment this year)
I knew I had to be patient when it came to my little fruits. Some plants were slower than others to set fruit. Some set right away. It wasn’t until yesterday that I actually picked my first tomato (and a wee little pepper too). I planted Snow White cherries and 3 were showing signs of being ripe. I was tempted to snatch it off of the vine and gobble it up on the spot. However, being the good gardening blogger that I am I took a photo first. I don’t think I set down the camera before eating one.
This afternoon I picked an Azoychka and sliced it for my salad. By Thursday I should have about 50 pounds of ripe tomatoes.
When I made the decision to plant an inordinate number of tomatoes this year I didn’t quite think the whole support system thing all the way through. Technically tomatoes are a trailing vine and left to their own devices they will sprawl all over the ground. Backyard farmers, in years past, needed to maximize their garden space and started supporting tomatoes on, well, whatever stood upright. This was all well and good if you are growing the determinate Better Boys or other conventional tomato plants. Those of us who go out of our way to find the “ugly” heirloom tomatoes need something a little more substantial.
Last year I started my experience with heirloom tomatoes. I grew three and all of them bent the cages over by the end of July. We ended up using wooden stakes and fashioning makeshift cages. That worked until the end of summer.
This year I had planned to do the same thing, but since I was growing 10 varieties the cost of stakes was going to be more than I could really afford. Instead I came up with a plan to do it the old fashioned way. Stake and tie. Each plant was staked when it was planted (no plant was over 18″ tall at that point) and I used hemp twine to affix the vines to the stake. Each week I go out and survey the plants. I tie up where necessary and let the rest roam around in the beds. I did cage one variety that was supposed to be a smaller one, but I used one of the little cages instead of my big sturdy one (which is currently being used as a peony cage). The branches quickly outgrew the cage and the stems started to snap under the weight of the fruit.
I am quickly realizing that stake and tie was not the best plan. Ok, maybe it’s the stakes or maybe the size of the tomatoes. Either way we are now putting out support lines to hold the stakes up. I am going to have to rework my cage plan for next year. I would like to purchase Texas Tomato Cages, but at the price they are asking I simply cannot afford them. I may devise a PVC pipe plan.
We are approaching the beginning of August (how did that happen?) and my garden is in a bit of a transition period. Last week I pulled out a few pea vines and by week’s end I’ll pull out the rest. I also harvested the last of the beets and carrots, yanked the spinach that bolted too quickly and sacrificed my large stand of dill to the yard waste bin (attacked by aphids). Luckily, our food supply isn’t too low. I picked over a pound of green beans last night (many more to go), I have quite a few heads of broccoli left and lettuce, tomatoes and peppers are plentiful (if the latter two would ever ripen).
This time of year the garden is much more work than in months past. This afternoon I will be weeding the bare spots, digging in a little more Tagro and replanting. I’m not exactly sure what I intend to plant. I have to survey my seed stash and make a few selections. I am trying not to spend any money so going out to buy seeds is off the list. Next year we have a grand plan to expand the garden to accommodate many more plants and give everything a little more breathing room.
When I started the season this year I thought I had enough space to grow enough food for the three of us and still give some away. I was very wrong. I could have grown so much more and had a much bigger variety. Granted, I didn’t have to plant 10 varieties of indeterminate tomatoes or 6 pepper plants, but I did and I don’t regret it.
For the time being I will be happy with the amount that I have and continue to eat more peas and broccoli than I normally would.
My son is from Russia and somehow the little fact has been encoded into his DNA to like any and all Russian food. He’s lived in the US longer than he lived in Russia and what he was fed in Russia was something more akin to dog food rather than some of the wonderful yumminess found in Russian cuisine. However, whenever we make anything that we had in Russia that kid is all over it. Did I mention that he’s only 4?
A favorite in our house is “Purple Soup,” aka Borscht. Sadly, I never had Borscht in Russia made by an actual Russian. We did have a potluck one night and my dear friend Suzanne fixed a lovely Borscht. It was near the end of our stay so I didn’t have the time to taste the rich soup in every restaurant I came in contact with. Had I known it was so good I would have been on a one woman mission to find the best Borscht in Khabarovsk.
Two years ago I started creating our weekly menu and posting on my personal blog. During the summer we have “market night.” This meant I go to the farmer’s market and pick up a bunch of stuff and make dinner out of it. One week I found beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, dill and ground beef. Hmm, sounded like a certain soup I’d had in Russia. When I got home I searched the internet for recipes that looked easy. I didn’t find any that I particularly cared for so I combined a few and made it up as I went along. What resulted was the best soup I’ve ever made. It was a hit with the (then) two year old crowd.
Ever since my son has begged me to plant beets in the garden so we can make “Purple Soup.” Beets are so easy to grow and I don’t know why I didn’t plant them in years past. What we are finding now is that summertime is a little too warm to be eating hot heavy Borscht. I love the flavors, but the idea of standing over a hot stove when it’s 80 degrees in your house is unimaginable. To make up for that we created a summer version, Borscht Salad. The best part is the whole salad is grown in our garden.
Borscht Salad
Various lettuce (we use oak leaf, red leaf and butter crunch)
Various salad greens (arugula, cress, escarole, whatever is on hand)
3-4 baby beets (I grow Choigga) cubed
2-3 carrots sliced
Dill
blue cheese crumbles (purchased from a local cheese maker at the farmer’s market)
Throw all the salad fixings into a large bowl and top with a balsamic vinaigrette (my husband makes our vinaigrette so you’d have to ask him what is in it).
Perfect salad for a hot summer day.
I’ve been trying to keep track of what I harvest out of my garden. The way I put it to my mother-in-law, I’m trying to figure out how much more expensive it is to grow my own vegetables as opposed to purchasing them. Her response was, “but you don’t get the same satisfaction if you just buy them at the store.” True.
No matter the cost I will always grow something to eat. It may only be herbs, but I love the satisfaction of wandering through the garden and being able to pick a snack on my walk.
We don’t grow enough vegetables to prevent us from purchasing things from the farmer’s market or collecting our vegetable box from Terra Organics, but we grow enough to make a dent. This was very apparent last night as we wandered the 6th Avenue market. I walked out with 2 ears of corn, 1 zucchini, a beautiful arrangement of edible flowers, 2 Walla Walla sweet onions and a loaf of bread. I currently have an over abundance of peas (shelling and snap), lettuce, beets, carrots and herbs. Within the next few weeks I’ll add peppers and tomatoes to the list.
So how do you go about figuring if you are growing $64 tomatoes? The key is to keep track. In the end it is a complicated equation that figures in the cost of water, time, and supplies. I’ll go over that at the end of the summer. In the mean time I simply weigh everything that pick from the garden with a small kitchen scale. When calculating the final total I’ll add 10% to the amount to account for mouth loss (the food I eat as I go).
Yesterday’s totals are as follows:
13 oz snap peas
10 oz shelling peas (still in the shell)
6.5 oz beets
8 oz carrots
8 oz strawberries
This season I’ve collected:
almost 5 pounds strawberries
1.5 pounds snap peas (add 20-30% for what we eat on the spot)
14.5 oz beets
10 oz carrots
2 oz broccoli
lots of lettuce, cress and spinach (I don’t weigh that because we eat it too fast)
I also don’t weigh the herbs, but many an herb has been collected too.
I think we are off to a good start.
I was a huge slacker this year and bagged out on the opening day of the 6th Ave. Farmer’s Market. I spent the evening with family instead. Ok, they bought me dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and my husband was out of town that day so I wasn’t going to pass up a meal I didn’t have to cook. There, now you know.
I more than made up for it this week. In the spirit of “shake the hand that feeds you” we had a fantastic family evening at the market.
I went with a shopping list in mind. I’m trying to pinch every penny and those few that I do give out I’d like to go to my local farmers. I had grand plans of buying a chicken from Cheryl the Pig Lady and that is usually where a good amount of my market money goes when I do buy meat. I was disappointed that she wasn’t there. However, it did free up that portion of my cash on hand to purchase other delights. It’s a good thing too.
To our surprise Mark Gaimster, the proprietor of Il Fiasco, had set up shop in the newly revised food court area. A huge improvement over last year’s set up. Mark and Kristi are members of our church and some of the nicest people in the world. It’s just an added bonus that they have a great restaurant. Mark has devised a clever little plan to bring the market together. Each week he and the kitchen at Il Fiasco phone up the farmers who will be selling that week. They find out what will be available and create a dish specifically for that market on that day (they’ll be doing this for the downtown market also). Then they type up the recipe, put it on a card and then on the back of the card list where you can purchase each item on the list. Everything is available at the market. So there is no excuse not to eat at least one locally grown meal each week.
This is also a great way for you to get to know your local farmers. Simply go around to the booths and ask for what is on the card. You would be amazed at how easy it is to strike up a conversation with people with a little piece of paper. I also purchased items that I wouldn’t normally buy.
In our travels from booth to booth we had the pleasure of meeting a young couple and their son. They are a new vendor this year and are eager to make sure you get your green fix each and every week. I will have to say that normally I’m a very shy person when it comes to meeting strangers. I like to do my business and get on my way. Somehow Aaron, Andrea and Drew, of Vittles de Vine, made me feel very comfortable so we struck up a conversation. It all started with a mention of one of my readers. Amazing how pizza dough can be a great equalizer… or maybe it’s beer. Either way I wish I had purchased something from them. Unfortunately, they were out of the two things that we needed. There is always next week.
My overall view of the market was great. I missed a few things that were available last year. Cheryl for one. Rolf the smoked salmon guy wasn’t there, but this was just an off week for him. I also was hoping for Estrella cheeses. 6th Ave. is a great place for produce. It was last year and it looks as if it will be again this year. Since not everything is in one place I can still take my trips to the downtown market. This way I spread the wealth. I’ll post the recipe I got from Il Fiasco after I make it. I tasted it there, but things always seem to taste a little different at home.
Last weekend my husband and I returned to Windmill Gardens for their annual Salsa Festival. It was killing me to have to wait to purchase my tomato plants. I nearly broke down and loaded my wagon full of them at the Farmer’s Market last week. I was good and mustered my patience. It is true that sometimes patience is worth the wait.
We arrived at the nursery fairly early (10:00 ish) and it’s a good thing we did. When we arrived the nursery was fairly quiet. We beelined for the tomato section and were greeted with a plethora of plants to select from. Sizes ranged from 4″ to gallons and prices from $1.99-$3.99. The $3.99 was for the gallon size. I was stunned. That is the best price we’ve seen on heirloom tomato plants in a very long time. I came armed with an idea of what I wanted to purchase. Ok, it was more of a number of plants. If I didn’t have that in mind I would have gone overboard causing me to have to build more raised beds (oh darn). I was a good girl and stuck to the plan. My husband, on the other hand, had free reign.
Like my son, I try to get my husband involved in vegetable gardening. He loves seeing the fruits of my labor, but I often have to cajole him into assisting me with prepping, planting and care. However, he recently read a few books by Michael Pollan that had changed him into a bit of a local food nut. I could think of worse things. He also understands that the food we grow ourselves tastes so much better. This year I tasked him with peppers. He loves a good pepper and Windmill Garden had a selection to rival all other nurseries. I didn’t give him a limit on how many he could purchase. I said, ” have at it, I’ll make room.” Have at it he did.
We walked away from the nursery with 7 tomato plants, 6 pepper plants, 2 Thai Basil and 2 Mexican Orange. Here’s what we got for tomatoes and peppers:
Tomatoes
Paul Robeson
Purple Calabash
Azoychka
Juane Flame
Mortgage Lifter
Pink Girl
Snow White
(we also had Black Russian, Brandywine & Cherokee Purple on hand)
Peppers
Bulgarian Carrot
Corno di Toro
Golden Bell
Long Red Slim Cayenne
Mohawk
Purple Bell
(the hot peppers are Heirloom, the sweet ones are not)
I was leery of planting them outside. Our nights have been quite cool and on the nights I’ve left my greenhouse door open my fuchsia has shown signs of some cold damage. I didn’t want to risk it. Finally, this week the weather has warmed up enough that I felt it was time to put the plants in. Yesterday afternoon I tilled the old tomato bed and started planting. The few extra days in the greenhouse really helped. Most of the plants I put in already have flowers. I’m just hoping that the temperatures stay warm at night so the flowers don’t drop. We had a terrible early spring last year and tomatoes didn’t come until mid-late summer. With any luck things will be better this year.
Today has been marked on my calender as a special occasion for months. Today the Downtown Tacoma Farmer’s Market opened. Last year my son and I made it a weekly excursion. We would ride the “train,” wander through the market, pick up lunch and mini donuts and head home. By mid season my arms would get tired from carrying my basket it was so heavy with treasures I would find.
Our market isn’t the biggest in the world, but it is growing. When we lived in downtown Tacoma it was a seldom visited little market with more craft vendors than actual produce. Today it is over flowing with the bounty of spring. Sure there are a few handmade goods to be found, but there is more food.
When I told my son that today was market day is first response was, “can we get some fish?” He is referring to Rolf’s Smoked Salmon. We indulged and purchased a package that will likely be consumed mostly by me (only because I hoard it).
In addition to our fish we picked up a few herbs (including 2 cinnamon basil plants), Walla Walla Sweet spring onions, asparagus, 2 kinds of cheese (from 2 different vendors), baby lettuce and a bowl of West African Peanut Soup (for my lunch). My son opted to not have lunch at the market, but was sad when I didn’t get him soup. Next week baby.
I was quite excited to see the variety in the produce available. There were more plant vendors than usual and the choices in prepared foods has grown as well. My favorite Indian place (Gateway to India) even has a booth.
To make life easier we were gifted a beautiful new wagon over the winter. This will make hauling my produce from the market to the car much easier. I apologize if I run over any toes.
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