February 8, 2010 by Libby
The sun came out!
The seeds are here!
I could be planting peas, but where? And which kind? And with what companion plants?
I have spent the past month mulling over crop rotation plans for the garden. It turns out my abhorrence of “change” in any form applies to where my crops grow. I just can’t picture the tomatoes anywhere other than where I planted them last year. I can’t imagine putting anything in the “pumpkin bed” except pumpkins.
But alas, powdery mildew was such a problem last year, and I don’t want to ignore good advice just so last year’s pictures match this year’s. That would just be silly, right?
So I guess I must change it up a bit. And quickly, because it’s time to plant peas! Aargh. Such is the life of a neurotic gardener.
Posted in Planting Tips, Spring Gardening | Tagged Crop Rotation, Planting Tips, Spring | Leave a Comment »
November 30, 2009 by Libby
Here’s a healthy, tasty way to use those home-roasted tomatoes you made in August, along with lots of other garden vegetables.
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
6 red peppers
1 yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
1 pint of home roasted tomatoes, or 1 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
3 cups of carrot juice (fresh is best, but odwalla works too!)
1 cup of water
2 Tablespoons of MatoZest (a very tasty salt free seasoning blend)
1/4 – 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup of raw cashews (or 1/4 cup raw cashew butter)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Halve the red peppers and remove the seeds and stems. Place them cut-side down on a nonstick baking sheet and roast until the skins start to turn brown. Put them in a bowl, cover them with plastic wrap and let them sweat for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the carrot and onion, and mince the garlic. Water saute the vegetables until translucent. Add the carrot juice, water, tomatoes (juice and all), MatoZest, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Simmer over low heat. Once the red peppers are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off of them and put them in the pot. Simmer another 10 minutes or so.
Carefully ladle half of the soup into a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer it to a bowl and blend the other half with the cashews until smooth. Pour all of the soup back into the pot and heat through. Serves 4-6.
Posted in Recipes, Tomatoes | Tagged Recipes, Tomatoes | Leave a Comment »
October 24, 2009 by Libby
Today as we were gathering up the pumpkin harvest in the garden, Miss Maisy took a break from rough-housing with Mac to see what she could find to snack on in the garden. This is what she chose:
One of the lovely lavender mushrooms in the garden beds
I’ve been trying to figure out what kind they are, so I know whether to panic and run her to the dog emergency hospital. She’s showing no ill effects from her afternoon snack, but who knows? Here’s a group shot:
A group of purple mushrooms in one of the garden beds
Any ideas? Anybody want a garbage disposal dog who will eat everything you grow in your garden AND many things from your house that you didn’t expect she would find tasty?
Posted in Dogs | 1 Comment »
October 24, 2009 by Libby
Lest there be any doubt about my pumpkin carving obsession, here is the pile of pumpkins I picked and prepared today.
So many pumpkins, so little time...
These beauties are now ready for stage two, in which I spend hours laying out carving patterns and deciding which pumpkin fits which pattern.
BUT FIRST, I must send a few more pumpkins off to a new home. Kirsten called today and asked if I would donate some pumpkins to a co-worker of hers who has two kids and no pumpkins to carve. So I have to figure out what kind and size to send. I’m thinking Magic Lantern, in a medium. I’d hate to send a Knucklehead or a Full Moon and have the kid get all upset because they had a mutant pumpkin. (Or am I the only one who worries about these things?)
For what it’s worth, next year I am definitely NOT giving any pumpkins away until I get a group shot. The picture above is what’s left after three weeks of handing out pumpkins, sometimes by the carload. I had about 50 Jack Be Little punkins… think how cute they would have all been in this shot! And lots more of every other kind too… Oh well. Rick says I should still be proud of my pile.
Posted in Pumpkins | Tagged Pumpkins | Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2009 by Libby
The 2009 Jack O’ Lantern carving planning is officially under way. This year: quantity over quality!
Posted in Pumpkins | Leave a Comment »
How cute are these?!?! They're Jack Be Little pumpkins. This is about a third of what we got this year. I'm taking them to work to share with people.
YAY! It’s pumpkin time! We have pumpkins big and small, cute and strange, all ready to go.
So far I have given a basket of Jack Be Littles to a local restaurant for decorations and donated a carload of Knucklehead, Magic Lantern, Cinderella and Full Moons to the town plaza decorating project. I have about 20 more pumpkins in the patch, and now comes the task of deciding which ones to keep and carve myself and which ones to give away.
NEXT YEAR I AM PLANTING MORE PUMPKINS! Even with the nasty case of powdery mildew we had, we grew a great crop, and it was fun! And giving them away is the most fun of all. 
We have five large Full Moon pumpkins in the garden. I have no idea how much they weigh. Maybe 50 pounds? Rick thinks they're bigger than that.
The Magic Lantern plants were great producers, and the pumpkins they provided are beautiful!
These three are all quite lovely. They are probably about 20 pounds each.
Posted in Pumpkins | Tagged Pumpkins | 1 Comment »
