by plantgirl on October 29, 2009
Last year’s Halloween pumpkin (carved by my brother-in-law) had seeds spilling out. The seeds sprouted this year and grew into a wonderful pumpkin patch in our front rose garden!! Very messy but very awesome for Halloween. DH’s family grows pumpkins at a farm in southern Utah and we were delivered mass quantities of gorgeous pumpkins which are now everywhere. Including strategic placement in our pumpkin patch (which only produced a few pumpkins). I haven’t carved any pumpkins yet this year - but need to in order to obtain the yummy seeds.
Every year DH makes a batch of roasted seeds which I then crave until next Halloween. Some of our summer flowers are still blossoming - including some of the beautiful roses! It is still a messy layout but we plan to work on it more next year. There is something special about Autumn. For one, my birthday is in Autumn - for another there is a sense of expectation in the air.
We experienced our first light snowfall - DD immediately had to go and don her snowsuit, parka, hat, gloves and boots. I’m sure she overheated! My puppy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was overjoyed - although at first very weary!! He frolicked in the snow off and on all day. The flakes were large and soft and perfect
Today the snow was still light - but hard, rocky and icy. My car - which I forgot to park in the garage - had to have the doors pried open.
My Mom harvested all the rest of my tomatoes a few weeks ago while I was busy working and made some delicious homemade salsa. My favorite recipe for the tomatoes is still very simple, with pasta. I was lucky enough to be harvesting tomatoes well into October!
Favorite Pasta & Tomatoes Recipe
Variety of fresh homegrown tomatoes - firm meaty ones like Roma are preferable.
Penne pasta
Water
Salt
Olive oil
Freshly grated parmesan
Snipped basil (optional)
Cook the penne in rapidly boiling water until al dente (to the tooth, or soft with a slight chew.) Drain and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat. While pasta water is heating, cut tomatoes into cubes. Heat in a saucepan with a little olive oil. Add fresh basil if desired. Add water if needed if cooking down too quickly. Covering the pot will make the tomatoes cook faster - a clear cover is nice to monitor the tomatoes. Salt to taste. Transfer to a medium serving bowl and toss with the penne pasta and top with fresh parmesan. This recipe really needs no measuring and is completely delicious.
Happy Harvest!!
by plantgirl on August 4, 2009
4x4 SFGs
DH helped me build 2 new boxes this year - the one in the foreground is 10″ deep and the one in the back is 12″ deep. All but one square has been planted with tomatoes. I had trouble figuring out how to stake tomatoes - having only grown a few small varieties before I had no idea how wildly they would grow. I used bamboo stakes - which fall over. Tying them together to create a cage seems to help. A local nursery had mel’s mix for sale, at about $10 a bag - a costly way to fill the boxes but very time saving. I have to say it is better than my own attempts, and I think it must be because of the superior compost in the commercial mix. My tomatoes love it. I have also fertilized with Alaskan Fish Fertilizer - [click to continue...]
by plantgirl on August 3, 2009
Heirloom Tomatoes
We went camping Thursday Friday and Saturday at Palisade State Park, for DH’s family reunion. DH rented a comfy motorhome and despite the baby’s all nighter with teething it was a relaxing trip. We got back Midnight Sunday. Yesterday I went to check on my tomatoes - most of which are still green - and was excited to see a few turning orange. I got a late start this year and am surrounded by other people’s ripe tomatoes - call me green with envy. [click to continue...]
by plantgirl on December 30, 2008
Thought I’d update again - my sfg boxes are buried in snow but several birds are still feeding from the remnants of the sunflowers. My roses are skeletal and wild looking. Christmas was wonderful and went by way too fast!!!
My experience with organic gardening this year was a learning experience. I found I like it - but it isn’t for a lazy gardener. I realized it takes more research, dedication and work than spraying a few chemicals on - but the results are safer (of course), better tasting, and somehow more rewarding.
Some pros of organic gardening: [click to continue...]
by plantgirl on December 17, 2008
It’s been forever since I updated … grr …
I was reminiscing about strawberries a few days ago - you know, the real kind. The family went to a local chocolate shop - V Chocolates, my favorite, and got some chocolate covered strawberries. The chocolate was amazing, rich, belgian chocolate - but the strawberry was just bland. I started to think about my home grown strawberries and how I hadn’t dipped them in chocolate - or really done anything except eat them straight off the plant because I didn’t have enough ripe at the same time. That’s when I realized I wanted an entire 4×4 devoted to strawberries - maybe 2 4×4s. [click to continue...]
