Hops in Southeast Louisiana

We have a friend over in England who brews the most excellent beers...... He's been doing it for over 20 years so he's got it down pat. 

We had the pleasure of hanging out with him and his lovely wife in May and although we didn't get to see him brew up a new batch, I helped him polish of any number of existing barrels! And saw a little of his 'operation'. Which brought us to the subject of ingredients, namely hops.

These are the grains added to bitter the flavor, if that's the word I should use. I've been curious about them because they are stunning to look at as the climb a line 10' in the air! They look a bit like the kudzu devouring Georgia.

Who wouldn't want to try to grow these in the garden!? But will they thrive in our humidity? Our relentless late-summer heat? Our bugs? And if they do, if they will produce, what then will I ever do with the tiny cones?

Well, I 'll worry about that bridge when I get there. But in the meantime, Let me show you what I have been up to since our return from Portsmouth, England.

I found a website, Thyme Garden, that was selling off the remainder of this year's rhizomes...... and with the vast selection they offer, they were down to a precious few and only one day left to order. (In fact, I may be a little late altogether in this project for much this year, but what the heck. The roots will have a full year to grow and spread.) So, I chose 4 varieties, Nugget, Brewer's Gold, Kent Golding and Sterling and bought 2 roots of each. I'm big on hedging my bets.

It is entirely possible none of them will take, or only one of each or both and all! You just never know...... but I like a good challenge!

So, While I waited for them to arrive, I ordered 4 obelisks and scoped out a place in the Back Two that might give them the best chance at survival here in Louisiana. 

These are 8' obelisks from Gardman USA and they come 2 to a pack from Amazon. Putting them together was not easy but I did it alone.

It makes for thirsty work! Good thing I have beer...

And here they all, 4 soldiers ready to be planted.

This is the spot in the back where we have selected to be the optimal planting location. This is facing dead East so they will received full-blast morning sunlight. Here, John has prepped the ground with holes filled with Black Cow and our compost, making hills for drainage and is planting the 4 obelisks. We did NOT change the composition of the underlying soils which is primarily clay with a high acidity. Next year, I will send off a sample to test the pH.

This morning, I strung up nameplates for each variety and planted the roots.

Here is the northerly view and this stand of pine trees will provide a windbreak from the fierce winds we get. What you cannot see is just off the left is an enormous Live Oak tree which will give the bines ample shade from the late afternoon sunlight.

So, once we get some green growth, I'll post updates. This could end up being nothing more than a folly but if that is the case, I'll have 4 obelisks to use elsewhere.
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West African Peanut Stew

I remember, years ago, watching a talkshow host (could it have been Dinah Shore? ....way before there was an Oprah or a Martha) interviewing a woman who taught the audience about this West African stew using peanut butter and heavy spices and okra.

I remember being intrigued.

From that time forward, whenever I think about okra, this recipe-memory surfaces but until today, I never pursued the activity of making it.

This morning, while out in the garden harvesting the penultimate crops, my mind once more resurrected the image and I could swear I was smelling the fragrance of a dish I have never tasted. So, I searched the innertubes and found lots of recipes to follow.

And I do mean, LOTs of recipes and they were all variations on the theme, so while I have never tasted this dish before, I want to set about making a meal using what I have on hand & (obviously) tastes great.

What is even more exciting is learning that eggplant features in the recipes!!!!!! Well, whaddaya know!!! I have all that and then some... check it out.

There are 3 different variety of eggplant we planted in the spring and two are only now bringing forth the little Japanese eggplants. The bushes are large and multi-branched but the fruit is tiny, almost absurdly so but big on taste and texture.

I start with this!

I have selected about 20 okra fingers and enough eggplant to chop & measure (about 1.5 cups of okra and eggplant each).

Bacon grease

1 finely chopped onion

1 Tbls minced ginger

1 fat clove finely chopped garlic

1 finely chopped bell pepper

1 small finely chopped hot pepper

3 - 4 tbls catsup

1  coarse chopped sweet potato or butternut squash

1.5 cups eggplant, cubed 1"

1.5 cups okra, sliced into 1/2" rounds

3 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup peanut butter

* Penzeys Berbere Spice

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 coriander powder

In a large stock pot, saute' the onion in about 2 -3 Tbls of bacon grease (you can go olive oil if you must) for 3 minutes, and add ginger and pepper. Saute' a further 3 - 4 minutes and add all the spices. Add catsup and peanut butter. Stir well and you will see the ingredients begin to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the stock and stir until well-blended.

Now, add the eggplant  and cook for 10 - 15 minutes. 

Add okra and sweet potato or butternut squash. (I substituted out the potato because I have lots of squash from the garden and they have the same texture.) Cook low, for a further 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to be certain nothing sticks on the bottom.

Oh, man is this ever good! I was concerned, too, because while researching I read reviews of some of the online recipes; some people gave them high scores but others were downright abusive: "I threw the whole mess away!" really? in the same recipe? Could it be that bad with those ingredients?  No. It is aromatic, creamy, packed with flavor, exotic and I can't wait for lunch tomorrow.

Chunked chicken pieces can also be added for more protein but as a Meatless Monday, this is great as it is. Go vegetarian and use anything other than the bacon grease.

Serve with couscous or basmati rice.

* Addendum - Berbere spice is a blend from Penzeys Spices which includes fenugreek, cumin, allspice, pepper  etc. It is an amazing blend that just transports me to another continent every time I use it. I went this route because the various recipes had a laundry list of stand-alone spices, most of which are in Berbere so I just cut to the chase.

If you buy and use this spice for the first time, disregard the use instructions on the back where it suggests starting with 1 TABLESPOON and adding more. Oh dear God, no. Most people will find that so hot that it will kill off the flavors of anything else that happens to be included. I learned this the hard way. Sneak up on the heat......

I like the spices from Penzey Spices. I was introduced to this brand just after Katrina and have to say the flavor and freshness is outstanding. You can order online or find shops in large cities (except New Orleans, for some reason. I guess they don't think we're much into food down here).

HOWEVER, the political agenda coming from this business in some emails and catalogues is way over the top. If you don't want me to buy your spices because I disagree with you, I can accommodate that. I don't need to pass a litmus test to be deemed worthy.  Just sell me the spices and leave me alone and in return, I won't proselytize you or the employees. Really, I just want to cook, and spread the fragrance and share. 

"Can't we all just get along?"

huh..... I just received another email...... and it's perfectly neutral. Thank You!

Carpe Diem--trunc Presse Diem

I think that is latin for :seize the day then squeeze it.

I could be wrong but in any case..... the thought occurred to me yesterday as I did this very thing.

It started by being out in the back 2 watering all the fruit trees and admiring the recent growth on the raspberry vines (finally). I was beginning to be concerned but it is all due to the (very) (remarkably) early Spring we had this year that everything is out of whack.

I wanted to clean out the coop and spread the straw on the squash in the lower garden which is also finally beginning to show strength. All the tomatoes are going gangbusters and that is such a relief. The corn is struggling still and the black-eyed peas did nothing. Hmmmm so I think I will try my luck at a drying bean on that frame instead. Something like a pinto or such. I don't want to waste the effort of erecting the grow frame altogether...

So after the coop cleaning, I pulled half of the remaining carrots

and made room for our last 6 tomato plants which were waiting for space. Seeing then side by side with the ones I planted last month really shows the difference in sizes. I hope this will also provide a staggered harvest as well.

The peas are really coming in now but I think the ones that did germinate are not the English peas but the snow peas, of which you eat the pods rather than wait for actual peas...... oh well! So much for home-grown peas n carrots! I will try (harder) again next year to get it right.

So after all this, I fertilized everything with calcium and scraped weeds off and mulched. Before I knew it, it was 10:30..... So I went in and worked on an applique, Glory Garden.

Fuzzy. Well those are only a few of the blocks that go into the whole quilt.

On Friday, we drove across the lake to drop off 21 quilts which are destined for the GSQA quilt show in Slidell, LA. afterwards we had lunch at the Taj Mahal, an Indian buffet, which reminded me how much I enjoy eating ethnic foods. We made a pitstop at the International Market and I picked up some spice packets to make another Indian feast tonight. I intend to use the veg from the garden to whip up a nice variety of dishes.

Q has made progress on overcoming this licking fixation. The cream I have been applying to her ear has calmed her down to the extent that this morning, when Polo met her at the door, they touched noses and she let him walk past without turning into a hissing viper. She does sleep a

lot that this has me concerned.

I am off to Sam's this morning......

Leek and Potato Soup

More than anything else. I think of this blog as a book for my "children". They are in their 20s now so put the word in scary quote marks.... scary for me, not for them, hopefully.

I write this so they will have in words some recipes and photographs from this wonderful life I have been living. This is a post about leeks and a soup I love to make and eat.

If you have read any previous posts about leeks, you must know how chuff I feel about growing these marvelous onions. I have tried the conventional yellow and purple and white onions but, like my luck with figs, I am the only person in SELA who can't seem to grow them. Leeks, I do just peachy with for some reason or another and I really get smug when I have grown them from seeds. Other times, I have found a grow-pot at Lowes with leeks and just gone that route. It is not the easiest thing to seed them at just the opportune time for good growth transplant.

Now, check out these babies:

These have had the roots and crown cut away, and slit down length-wise to facilitate cleaning, and are ready to be chopped into 1/4" slices. I stop right where the white turns light green and I dump them in a large bowl and rinse cold water in.

This allows the onion layers to swell and let any grit rinse out. You don't want anything like that in a great soup.

Now I remove 3-5 outer leaves and keep the lower part (see where I am pointing? That is the keeper, the others on the upper left is tossed)

and toss them on the compost pail and continue chopping and rinsing. You will always find more dirt and grit in this area because of the way leeks grow in soil. I goo almost to the tips of the greens, especially if they are still bright and tender.

See the dirt? You definitely don't want that!

These I put in a separate bowl, usually one with a white interior so I can really see the dirt well. Get it all cleaned out. Rinse rinse rinse. Trust me.... dirt can hide very well, thank you!

Now at this point if you have more leeks than you want to use, parboil them and freeze in small freezer bags for future use. When you grow these beauties, this is an awesome onion to have on hand for quiches, stews and spaghetti sauce.

On to the soup!

3-4 large leeks, cleaned as I have described so thoroughly above

2 Tablespoon butter and 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large soup pot

Saute the leeks until they have softened and add

4 large white potatoes, peeled and chopped into good-sized chunks. Russets are good, yukon golds add a buttery flavor that I like. You can use reds as well.

4-6 cups of chicken stock (I use the granules unless I happen to have canned stock on the shelf.)

White pepper and more salt if you really think you need it. Now let it simmer for 25 minutes and voila!

I say "if you really need salt" because bouillon cubes are heavy-salt and some people use salted butter. I always buy unsalted but I think I am strange about this. I usually wait til the end of cooking and taste the liquid.

If you want to thicken the soup, crush some of the cubed potatoes. They are a natural thickening agent and help eliminate the need for high-calorie flour or cream. This trick also helpes thicken beans... mash a half a cup of them and stir into a pot of beans for instant thick 'gravy'.


Here you can see the ratio of leeks to potato. Obviously, that can be reversed if you so choose. Me, I like the onion.

The Perfect Day

...Didn't start yesterday, I'll tell you that!

The "Perfect Day" was today but yesterday stared with a (slight) calamity.

On Monday, I planted all the tomatoes we started from seed back in Feb. 35 plants to be precise. 20 in the raised beds and 15 in the lower garden. We really like the Parks Razzleberries and Cherokee Purples and Evas so we went with those, naturally and decided to try a few new (to us) varieties like Pruden Purples, Black Krim and one Virginia Sweet we bought from an avid Master Gardener who just happens to live across the highway from us. I also seeded Margerite plums and Costoluto Genovese from last year's success and have made the executive decision to completely omit any cherry toms or tomatillos (unless I happen upon a seed pack of tomas. If so, all caution will be out the window.)

Seedlings are by nature susceptible to all sorts of attack and by now, I should know better than to leave them to all predators but alas, this is exactly what I did Monday night. I blithely walked away and forgot to sprinkle Sevin dust on these young sprouts so it should come as little surprise to learn, Tuesday morning, that 4 of them were immediately cut down by those miserable cutworms!!!!

I hate these creatures (may God forgive for saying this but I really do! I hate them with passion)(ggrrrrrrrr) and I can't believe the sense of rage I felt when I saw the little toma tops laying there on the dirt, slightly shriveled as though they had just in the ribbon light of dawn been whacked by these ruthless marauders.

So I cried my way back to the house and threw myself on John's mercy to help me protect the others and he came back with a marvelous solution.

He bought giant drinkstraws and ct them first lengthwise and them into 3" pieces and we slipped them around the lower stalk just at dirt level and pressed them lightly into the soil. That was last night and I am pleased to report all the others have survived the night and I replanted the missing spaces with my back-ups. It is so important to have a back-up waiting in the wings.

This morning, I planted the second set of zuccs and butternut squashes and will go out now and give them a collar before night falls. The rest of the day has been joyfully spent doing alittle organizing in the sewing room, working on a Grandmother's Garden I have had in the works for years (moan) and baking a banana cake.

All in all, a very good day. 4 eggs from the ladies (nothing yesterday... I'm telling you, it was not a good day, farm-wise) Leek and potato soup for dinner. Can't beat that!

Spring Sprung While We Were Not Watching

Yes, it slithered in on it's belly like a reptile and now all the water oaks are bloomed out and I don't know what is going with the peach trees and plums. They are just barren. I hope they aren't waiting for more chill hours because at this point in time, they'll have to wait another 10 months.

We spend several days out in the field planting and setting stakes for runner beans. I had already seeded 7 varieties of tomatoes and transplanted them into larger pots last week. At this point, they are hardening off to be planted in the plot and raised beds along with fancy peppers.
In the ground we now have:

Potatoes, zucs & cucs, yellow crook-necks, Silver Queen corn, Blue Lake, Moonlight runners, black-eyed peas. Soon to add the tomatoes and after the potato harvests, I'll plant okra!
In the raised beds, we have a few rutabagas left, celery, 3 kales going to town and they are SO good, carrots, a mix of salad greens, French shallots and English peas (quite the UN out there)(they refuse to speak with each other)

In the afternoon, I seeded more skinny eggplant (J has become a big fan of the eggplant lately) butternut suash, a zuc called the Contender (wouldn't you plant something with this name?) marigolds and zinnias and I just found another seedpack of eggplant that need to be seeded.

I have been slowly weeding an preparing to set in the eggplant and peppers and this year we are going to designate one of the beds for cantaloupe. I intend to train them upward and will support the fruit in slings. This because when we had them in the lower plot, something made off with all but two. The raised beds are protected by a fence.

Now, as I returned from Nonna's last Sunday, I stopped along the highway to get some shots of the lovely wisteria that has bloomed out along the roadways. It is only a brief time to enjoy them as they will be history again in two weeks and I swiped some seed pods. I want to try to propagate plant for myself. I know they are invasive so I must choose a site wisely. I think I know just the spot!

Wisteria: Beautiful

Azalea Wall Along the Highway

A Return to Normal?

I have spent much of the past 3 days out in the fresh air, dealing with the hopes of a winter garden.

I am grateful that my inner nag had me clear out all the tomatoes (and their stakes and cages) before September even approached. This made what we accomplished over the weekend much less grueling.

Most of the raised beds were fairly empty so we pulled the scraggly peppers and the last of the tenacious weeds and roughed up 5 of the 11. I chose those beds for a couple of reason which I may go into at another date, and added compost, minerals and the like to them and worked it all in.

Then Sunday morning, in another return to what was once normal, I had breakfast with a gardening friend and afterwards we visited O'Keefes in Covington to see what they had. I have been concerned that I missed te optimum planting weeks but am going to give it a go anyway.

We now have planted broccoli, collards, sprouts, 38 leek seedlings and celery from plants. We await the raab til next week (our dealer is out of town)

You can see that a few peppers and 2 eggplant shrubs remain putting out good stuff and the shallots are in the edges of several beds. I just keep propagating them.

I did all that yesterday morning and since I was on a roll, I kept on rolling! I seeded the carrots, rutabagas, 3 types of kale from seeds I collected last spring, and 4 kinds of lettuce and of course the neon chard. The evening cool off but the days are warm so I think the soil will help the seeds germinate quickly. I cannot believe October is 4 days away.

I See Surfaces

We returned last week from a wedding in the Texas Hill Country to find every flat surface in the kitchen and the entire refrigerator slathered or crammed with tomatoes, corn and peaches, patiently awaiting processing. I hardly knew where to begin, and decided if I wanted use of the fridge, I'd better haul out the corn first and get them in the freezer (not there's much room in it, either.)

If you read the Tally to the right, you've witnessed the steady stock rising. Each morning, after the plog 'round the blocks, I'd chain myself to a lead that stretched only as far as the raised beds and stove. There could be no escape if I wanted to make the most of what the garden has offered to the pantry shelves.

This strange spring of dry weather and for the most part cooler than average temperatures has given us now in mid-summer some crazy large and abundant in quantity tomatoes. They have been squeezed by the Squeezo and simmered in reduction, canned and labelled & sit smugly and snuggly all in rows. It's a wonderful sight.

The other day, while running errands, we grabbed a bite at a Mexican restaurant in Covington, El Iguana, and stumbled toward the notion of canning salsa as well. And why not? I found a terrific sounding recipe with raves in the comments sections and a plethora of answered questions confirming that I could, indeed, halve the recipe. This was the only concern I had at first reading. The ingredients list began with 30 tomatoes, which is no problem for us but the final result was 17 pints of salsa and I don't care how good it is, I don't know what I'd DO with 17 pints of salsa. I don't have 17 pints of sauce! (yet) and I 'm certainly not planning on setting up a table on the side of a highway to offload the surplus.

(Although, I bet I could!)

So, I dragged home another box of pint-sized Mason jars and promptly twisted my ankle.

With my daughter's help however, we were able to jar 8 pints of a truly spectacular salsa and two jars of sauce, bringing our total tally in a northerly direction and my horizontal surfaces now tomato-free. There are plenty more out there to go but I do in fact see the bright light at the end of the harvest tunnel ahead.

If you have read the "Lucia" stories or had the pleasure of watching a series from England called "Mapp and Lucia", you are acquainted with a mysterious dish called "Lobster a la Riseholme". It is the recipe that is (one of) the source of contention between two sparring divas in a 1920's English village. I have read and watched it many times and have always wanted to dine on this veritable feast but until yesterday, haven't stopped long enough to give it a try. You can google it and find many references to the dish and a Nigella Lawson, also of Great Britain, offers a recipe that I decided to follow to a T.

I even flambed the brandy under the supervision of Rachel and that was great fun!

Oh yeah. It's delicious.

We just blasted through South Texas by way of I-10 and I must report the following because it was not what I expected.

First of all, the ride over was typical of I-10; rushed and frantic. It was also filled with rain which didn't help other than to be a cooler trip than the norm for late June.

But riding over the Atchafalaya was a real surprise.... the Henderson Swamp is filled due to the opening of the Morganza Spillway and absolutely beautiful. I have seen in much lower but never this high. And the crops along the highway to the west were stunningly green and full. So I guess the rice production and sugar is going to be a good year.

We managed to flow through Houston with no delay and I love being able to access the HV lane. I lived in Houston when the project was begun and the expansion of this scheme has made transecting a huge city almost something to look forward to. Almost.

Now once we headed down South I-59, I again expected to see the effects of this draught that Texas has been experiencing but nothing of the sort was seen. All the way to Corpus Christi, the fields of sorgum, cotton and what I think was feed corn were amazing. The corn was totally yellow but still there so (and I don't know anything about how they harvest this crop) I assume they were preparing to cut the ears. In spots you could see where the fields had been plowed under but they were for the most part, in rows, as though they were preparing to reseed for something. I would have thought that left fallow, they would not bother with the rowing but again, I don't know.

The cotton in particular was awesome. as far as I could see in places. Now, outside of Corpus Christi is an enormous windfarm.....

(I'll be adding photos to this post after I get a handle on the tomato canning)

While we were gone, the girls kept picking the harvest. This is one shot Rachel sent to my phone. I haven't decided if I am going to remove last year's tally (on the right) or just make a new one to compare results.

So I knew I was going to have a lot to do on our return home. I started yesterday with canning crushed tomatoes in quart sized jars in a pressure cooker. Two of the jars unscrewed and blew the contents in the canner. So out of 6, I got 4 quarts for the pantry but fear not.... I have miles to go and will try again today. I also got 9 pint jars of simple sauce and 6 half-pints of catsup.

Today, I will continue with crushed romas and peaches. (They are really doing great and I will freeze slices as well for winter pies.)

Up-date to come.

Squeezo Press Redux

Last year, I recounted the saga of the Squeezo tomato press and railed about losing so many tomatoes as we waited for it to arrive. This year, life is ever so much different. (I am pleased to say)

Here is it "in action" or at least as in action it could be considering I am alone pressing and shooting photos

The tomatoes go in the hopper ( I have been cutting up Romas only because this Margerita variety is so large, they can't enter the shaft unless I do)(they are very meaty with few seeds)

and the skin and seeds exit out the left while while the pulp flows down the chute into the bowl!

~Voila~

I am able to stay on top of the tomato crop as they ripen this year. So far, all the pulp is going into the freezer until I get so much I can thaw it all out, cook it down and can with the pressure cooker. The house heats up during that process so I don't want to be doing it all the time.

The jalapenos are busting out as well so I'll get busy with those here shortly, too. I grew a new variety, Mucho Nacho, and they are MUCH bigger than the ones last year. Less difficult to clean out.

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Here is the latest quilt I have been working on for a recent LSU ag graduate. The Dresden plate blades are fruits and vegetables.... get it? One more border to go and I'l throw it on the machine.

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I can't leave without mentioning Stu, best bird ever. He keeps a watchful eye out for the flock and never lets down his guard. I am so glad we have him out there. Good boy.

The Horns of a Dilemma

When you plant a variety of good things to eat and they all ripen at the same time, the burning question I find myself asking is, "What's for breakfast?"

I could have this: I have discovered that peanut butter on toast is good but even better when you pair it with a peach.

But it only improves when you pare the peach and sprinkle the pieces on top!

Those are the "Tropic Snow" peaches, a small white-fleshed free-stone peach developed in Florida for locations that have a lower number of chill-hours. They are delicious!

But then, again, the black- & raspberries and blueberries are almost finished and you couldn't blame me if I went with the Greek yogurt and mixed berries, right?

Still, we have a mountain of amazing tomatoes now that call out for consumption and I love me a good mayo and 'mater sammich!

What to do? What is a girl to do?

I know!! I ate every one. And then I went back for the other half of that sammich! HAHAhahaha

IT was AWESOME!!!

Some of the tomatoes this year.

From the 12 o'clock postion and moving clockwise: we have the Costoluto Genovese, a weirdly shaped, wonderfully flavored tomato that grows huge plants and fruit. A really good producer so far. (Parks Seeds) (I've been mispronouncing the name as Convolustos. That's what they SHOULD be called)

Beefsteak, the classic summer tomato. Don't know where the benefactor of the plant got the seeds.

Cherokee Purple at 3 o'clock. Huge heirloom tomatoes, slightly fussy plant. The taste is out-standing and worthy of respect. (Parks Seeds)

Mosaico Cherries: these are much larger than the cherry 100s I usually plant and I was intrigued by the description in Parks catalogue. Very happy with the fruit.

6 o'clock: Here are Juliet romas. Don't know where they were purchased. These have a nice flavor but are smaller than the Margharita. I'll use them in salads instead of sauces.

The smaller cherries are Organic Sweeties. They have a bright flavor and the two plants are loaded, I mean LOADED with tomatoes.

The large Romas are Margheritas and they are very meaty; I am really excited to start pulping them for canning sauces. (Parks Seeds)

In the center is the Eva Purple. This is the one Parks sent as a bonus package last year. It arrived too late in the spring to bother with adding last year but I was curious about the plant and did not see it in the catalogue this year. So I seeded them and got lots of plants. I planted 4 of them in the raised bed and gave the rest away. I really hope the people who got them had the success we have experienced because I really like them. I intend to collect seeds from one of the fruit for next year because I don't know where I will find commercial seeds again. I read on the pack that they are heirloom.

Still to come and almost there: Razzleberry, Brandywine and Money Makers.

Old Gypsy Curse *

We have been quite short on rain since Mardi Gras so it's no wonder we've been grousing as we drag hoses around, endlessly, to keep the fruit and veg happy.

I've been praying for a little rain.....as in, "WOULD IT SPOIL SOME VAST ETERNAL PLAN?????? Just a little, fer cryin' out loud!?"

So, we got slammed last night with a terrific storm and at one point I was fairly certain hail was coming down. The wind was so severe my car was drenched. Under the carport.

I knew there would be damage but it was more than I expected. Far more. Half the corn was keeled over, 10 tomato plants totally on the ground. Yea. Well, this is why I plant more than necessary..... you never know!

I didn't plant more corn than I wanted and even with that, what little we did plant didn't come up as well as we had hoped so the corn might be a bust but we soldier on.

I spent 2.5 hours out there banging stakes in the ground and tying up what I could, throwing broken fruit away and harvesting what was salvageable.

It's a good thing I harvest every morning. This is what I picked yesterday morning:

* "May You Get What You Think You Want!"

LK and I stopped by Cane's for lunch yesterday and they had all these pretty flowers planted around the parking lot.

So Pretty!

Growing Dorman Raspberries in the South

It's late May in the South and that means berries are ripening again. We planted 3 more blueberry shrubs a few months back and they are adding beautifully to the original 5.

Along with the blues, we have planted 4 thornless blackberries and 2 red raspberries. Of the thornless, the Arapaho and the Navajo. The Arapaho is ripening now and the other is still setting flowers as well as ripening berries.

The Dorman raspberry is a variety that really does well here in SE LA and the berries are huge and juicy! It is not the raspberry you find up in the north but stands alone as a sweet red "blackberry".... but better.

The 2 vines we planted last year were quite small and produced a fair number of berries then. After, they concentrated on growing new vines, even throughout most of the winter, and then in the spring these were covered in tiny bud clusters. So I watched and waited and began to fret (what's new, right?) because unlike the blackberries and strawberries which open and reveal the flower and remains open as the berries plump up and ripen, these rascals didn't open. Well, okay, a few did, but I'm talking less than one dozen out of hundreds. They really just got rounder but they stayed closed.... and I fretted.

Then one day last week, just when I could almost not take the strain....... (bah!)..... one bud broke ranks with the others and the berry burst out like popcorn in a skillet and started to fill out. The others followed suit and today they are everywhere!

For what it is worth, I am finding that picking the berries very early in the morning makes for a sweeter berry.

We have planted ornamental gourds as well, and this one is a bird house:

This is one of several varieties out there:
I am excited about decorating the fall with these beauties.

Long Time Coming

If you have read prior postings, you are aware of my attempts to grow artichokes and leeks. This is an up-date on the progress.

If I could offer any advise on vegetable gardening to a beginner, it would be this:

1. Plant only what you will eat.

2. Plant enough of those to share.

3. If it costs more to grow than buy, reconsider.

4. Take a few chances.

1. Why on earth would you take the space and time to grow broccoli if you don't eat it? It is interesting to watch, I'll give you that, but you're going to be out there, watering, fertilizing, weeding & stalking insects. Your time is valuable. Waste it wisely.

2. This is twofold. Part A: Hedging the bet. Now, I am growing 90% of our plants from seeds. I have a window opportunity to get the seedlings in the ground at the most opportune time for growth and production. I also have losses to consider. So, I planted 6 minipots of each variety of veg. I always sowed more than 1 seed and in many cases, when it came time to transplant into larger pots, was able to divide and save the multiples. Even the rare 3fer.

(This is not always the case. For example, with carrots I sow directly in the beds thinly and pull and discard the crowders. I have tried transplanting them and it really does not work for me. Those carrots always grow out deformed and forked. Beets..... sort of the same. I can get them to transplant but they don't seem hardy. The leaves are good in salad however, so it something worthwhile.)

Now as they grow, I will have plenty to get in the ground at that opportune time and enough left over to fill in when something unexpected happens to those plants. We lost 3 tomatoes this year in rapid order to cutworms. I didn't see that coming but had extra plants to pop in. They may not be of the same variety and that's a shame. In some of these instances, I had already given the young plants to friends for their gardens.

Which brings me to Part B: Sharing. Always plant a little more than you need, because it is a blessing to be able to share what you grow with your friends and neighbors and yes, strangers. Sharing is very important.

3. It seems self-explanatory but even I will succumb to growing things like onions. Now onions take a looonggggg time to grow and are relatively cheap to buy, so why am I wasting that time and space? I wanted to see what it takes to grow an onion and I have to confess; mine ain't worth it. I can buy a better yellow onion than I can grow. Same goes for the purple ones and garlic BUT

I grow shallots well and can sub-divide them continually so that makes it worth-while.

The leeks are another story I have been detailing over the months and now we are eating the rewards of the painstaking process. Leeks are also expensive and (once you know how) relatively easy to grow. They require water and vigilance in our raised beds and are superb.

Also they are divine. I love leeks.

I love green things that grow and I love garden surprises. Not surprises with legs that chew holes in the leaves.... I don't care for those surprises. I kill those surprises....

NO no no, these surprises.....

That thing on the right is fennel and I planted a store-bought pot last year. It did alright and I harvested the seeds for limpa at Christmas. I was surprised to see it winter over and grow out new smaller plants! I have never bought fennel or eaten it to my knowledge, but here I had something I wasn't expecting. An opportunity to learn something new!

So I cut two bulbs away last week and braised them. The flavor was terrific but the bulb was very woody so I learned, surprise!!!! eat the smaller ones. Leave the big one for seeds. (you learn, right?)

The things on the left are shallots, French shallots and they, too, are expensive but growing them in Louisiana is easy. So I do.

4. Take a chance now and then. The rewards are worth the heart-ache. If someone says to me, "Oh that won't grow here", my reaction is usually, "Really? Why?" and then I want to try.

We tried asparagus and have been very pleased with the results. The artichoke has been a Long Time Coming and we ate our first one Thursday night,

along with a green salad

and venison sausage. We truly are in high-cotton.

Here's to You, Joe

We moved in to this little slice of heaven 2 years ago. We took quite a long while to shift stuff from the old one and I was in no particular rush. It was a dream that had been weaving in my head for many years and perhaps this was my unconscious way of processing the reality. There was also this weird feeling that, as a dream, the rightful owners were just off on vacation and when they got back, there was gonna be hell to pay! I'm only a squatter, living on someone else's stuff!

So, moving in means setting up and organizing and unpacking and decision-making. Don't ask how long it took to hang pictures. There are some still in back closets, waiting for their time.

After a few weeks passed by and as we were unloading another truckful of bric-a-brac, we watched a car slow at the driveway, hesitate and then turn in. The house is set back on an acre, with a slightly winding gravel driveway. The car was in no hurry to wheel it's way down the path and this gave us a few moments to ask each other if we recognized the driver.

Was it a Buick? Or an Olds? It was brown..ish and definitely a land yacht. Finally, it reached the footprint of the carport slab and came to a full-stop. The engine cut off, the door winged open and this long slender sheathed leg eased out and placed the attached foot firmly on the ground. A man hauled his lanky frame out of the car and pointed to this Japanese Plum tree standing tall at the end of the concrete and said, clearly and with purpose, "Steve said all those loquats on that tree are mine!"

This was our introduction to a neighbor from across the street at the other end of the block. Joe. He and his wife Lee (not her real name) had raised a family of girls in St. Bernard and lost just about everything but their dignity in Katrina. How do you start over in your 70s?

If he had anything to say as an answer, I think it would be, "With a sense of humor". Every time I bumped into Joe at the market, or wandered over to drop off tomatoes, he was in the best of moods. It really is a gift to be an optimist.

Neighbors are and have been a blessing for me. I have always had the best. I don't know why that is, but it is. My next-door neighbor from the old house bought their home the same time we did back in 1997 and we've been fast friends throughout these years. (She's even forgiven me for jumping ship like a rat and moving to the country).

When she moved over to this side way back then, she brought with her a couple of these trees from her house in Lakeview and while I watched them mature, I really didn't pay their due attention. I wish I had! I've lost a lot of years in my ignorance.

The loquat is large evergreen and we have them littered around St. Tammany. They set their fruit in late fall/early winter and slowly mature as spring approaches. This might serve them well across the lake but they take their chances on the Northshore. We get the freezing temperatures they don't and the hours enough to kill off the more tender fruitlets.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened in the winter of 2009/10. It was uncommonly icy and stayed that way long enough to knock off every tiny fruit of a well-pollinated tree and it didn't make me feel so happy or optimistic when I had to report to Joe that he wasn't going to have his crop that year. He takes everything in stride. "Oh well, next year!"

This year, however, has been entirely different. The bees were buzzing in December and Mother Nature spared us the harshest of weather. Our enormous tree is full of soft orange loquats and they are fantastic to watch as they grow!

But, all things pass and so did Joe. Just a few months ago we got a call from our next-door neighbor telling us Joe died the night before. I didn't even know he'd been admitted to the hospital. He lived just across the way.

So, now I stand out there, nibbling on his ripening loquats and thinking of Joe.

Here's to you!

Well, Life On The Farm Is Kinda Laid-Back!

Ah, I miss John Denver's voice. When I am out wandering around the vegetables and chickens, I have that song playing in the recesses of my head.

We have had some great weather these past two days. It might be only one day but it feels like more. This is because I got all sorts of things accomplished yesterday.

Let's begin with...... THIS!

I have been wanting to paint a block on the coop and I knew it would be this one. It's called Chicks and Hens. HAhahahah love it. Subtle. An inside joke for us quilters.....

The chickens hung around and watched me do it as well. They are SO much fun to hang around with.

Stu talks all the time. He is out there clucking and muttering and crowing all day long. There were a few times when a hen was laying and he'd walk into the coop and chortle at her. If one of them made that buk-buk-buk-BAWKKK sound upon laying, he'd be in there in a flash to see what was happening.
See that? It's the beginning of our first artichoke........ so tiny, so delish! Well, okay, I don't know what they taste like, yet.

Now, yesterday on Facebook, Home Grown Edible Landscapes had a link to a recipe for Leek, Potato and Zucchini Potatoes. If you have been keeping up with the cats and quilts, you will know that leeks are something of a passion with me. They are so delectable and expensive in the stores and I have been trying to grow them for several years now. The timing has to be right to get a decent size. I have more than 40 out there growing and two of them were good-sized. We also have frozen zuccs and lots of baby greens out there and even the parsley in the herb garden so I made it exactly by the recipe and only needed to use bought potatoes. I added walnuts and some blackberries I found out by the mailbox.

Also, remember UberGeek? The best computer and cute dude who has straightened me and my issues with viruses now twice? His mother and my friend brought us a whole buncha rhubarb last year and I have a little bit left in the freezer so, after adding some Ponchatoula strawberries to the rhubarb, I have this for dessert. Rhubarb Crumb

So that you can see the progress on the green stuff, here is a shot of the herb garden. So mature compared to last year. The cilantro is still going strong and the fennel is ready to be braised. I can't believe how huge the oregano has grown and I have to really get a handle on the mint because it is getting out of control.
Here you see the beginning of the lower garden. Last year we laid it out a little differently but this year I have divided it up in quarters.

Imagine if you will, in the lower left, you have 4 rows; 3 of tomatoes and one of assorted winter squash. To the right with the supports are 4 rows: Cucumber, summer squash, green beans and ornamental gourds. Behind this in the 4 uncovered rows are the potatoes and to the far left back are 4 rows of bi-colored corn.

Now there is a disappointment growing. Or not growing , to be precise. Last week, we planted 2 kernels in every spot and 24 spots per row. As of now, there is less than half coming up and to be even less successful, although 2 kernels were planted, only one of them have bothered to show up.

So I think I will go out today and plant 3 in the empty places. They are supposed to germinate in 4 days and if I wait much longer to replant, they be so far behind the others as to perhaps not be fertilized later.

When the days are filled and sun's setting low, I pull out the fiddle and I rosin up the bow,

The kids're all asleep so I keep it kinda low........

THANK GOD I'M A COUNTRY BOY!