Yearly Archives: 2011

GBBD, September 2011

Posted on September 15, 2011 by | 3 comments

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

GBBD is a way to share what is blooming in my garden on the 15th of the month.
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

My garden is rather ragged. It’s only job is to make seed and die happy.

Sunflowers

The large sunflowers at the top of the stalk have been stripped of seed by the gold finches. These little flowers are appearing along the stalk, making more seed.

from May Dreams Gardens sponsors Bloom Day each month. Thank you, Carol.

The inspiration comes from this quote: “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence

coreopsis

Tough Little Coreopsis appeared from nowhere to brighten the weedy asparagus bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hummers are flying all around the hanging baskets.

Some trial plants are hanging on. Survivors of record breaking heat and drought, most are happy for fall weather.

Wave™ Purple Improved Spreading Petunia

This is the kind of color that is attracting hummers and butterflies.

Heirloom

One of the oldest pink roses. Chosen for it's large rose hips, this little flower resides in my herb harden.

 

Caldwell Pink – This everblooming rose is a double, lilac-pink flowers. It is not very particular about soil conditions, but prefers a sunny open space. Some rosarians have suggested that this is the old China rose, ‘Pink Pet’, but we feel that it shows traces of Wichuraiana or Multiflora heritage and fits more naturally in the Polyantha class. The study name comes from a neighboring town, Caldwell, Texas, where this rose was found. – desciption is adapted from the Antique Rose Emporium.

My pink rose is about 2 1/5 feet tall. It continuously blooms except during the long streek of 100+ degree days.

 

A favorite poet of mine:

It is at the edge of a petal that love waits.

– William Carlos Williams, American poet (1883-1963)

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Garden Mailbox

Posted on September 8, 2011 by | 1 comment

When the neighborhood got new mailboxes, I scavenged a couple of the old ones.

How many times have you been working in the garden and realized you needed another tool?

Garden Mailbox

I have my new Corona tools in this garden mailbox.

I keep a set of tools in my garden mailbox. During garden season, I keep a pair of Corona pruners and a cobra head in the mailbox. I can accomplish most any garden project with these two tools.

In the spring, keep some blank plant labels or tags and a permanant marker. In the summer I keep a ball of twine to tie up unruly tomato vines. If it is rose pruning season keep your gloves and Corona clippers handy.

If I come inside for a cool drink,  or a short break, the tools stay in the mailbox. I don’t have to gather up all the tools and drag them in and out with every trip.

More good things to keep handy in the garden mailbox: twine. This broken tomato vine could have been staked up with the twine to keep it from breaking under the weight of the green tomatoes. This, by the way is the ONLY reason a gardeners eat fried green tomatoes before the first frost.

tomato vine

Tomato vine broken from the weight of too many tomtoes.

 

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My Garden Bloggers Food Day

Posted on August 16, 2011 by | 1 comment

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day shows off all the blooms in my garden on August 15 2011. Even more than blooming, this month is about what happens after the bloom. The produce, fruit or seed that is created after the flower.

Rosa Bianco eggplant, tomatoes, Clairimore zucchini

I am trying to stay ahead of the of the zucchini production by picking them small, like the two little ones on the right. The blossoms are still attached to these Clairimore variety. The bigger ones became chocolate zucchini cake or zucchini and black walnut cake with lemon glaze.

This year, is not a good year for my garden. I couldn’t water enough to keep up hardy production.

Rosa Bianca Eggplant

Rosa Bianca Eggplant, a mild italian eggplant

The garden plants are stressed and more suseptible to insects and disease. Flea beetles are eating up the plants faster than the plants can produce eggplants.

I only got in a couple of pickings  of green beans before a gang of bug thugs moved in and trashed the bean patch.

I’ve planted a few more beans, hoping to get in a late crop of  haricots verts (skinny and tender French

Flea beetle damage. The little tiny holes in leaves and roots.

green beans) And a couple more cucumbers and squash to replace the ones killed by insects. It’s just a gamble to see if they produce before a killing frost. The space was empty and I had extra seed. We shall see.

Tomato plants did not set blooms because it was so hot. So, I will have a smaller than anticipated harvest. I’ll make some tabouli and a batch of gazpacho. Plus, I have enough to share with neighbors.

I won’t have enough to can or put up as salsa. But I did have enough for a couple of taste testings with the nine different varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  I’ll eventually review them all in my HubPages. There is a lot of good tomato information.

Best Home Garden Tomatoes: Paul Robeson

Best Home Garden Tomatoes: Royal Hillbilly

Next year, I’ll grow a few of the best tomatoes from this summer. And, I’ll grow some heirlooms I’ve never tried before.

The real reason I grow thin skinned, rich flavored, juicy heirloom tomatoes is simple:

BLT

Sourdough bread, crisp lettuce, oven baked thick sliced bacon.

Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches and

Insadada Caprese

Heirloom tomatoes, mozzerella cheese, balsamic vinegar, olive oil.

Insadada Caprese.

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GBBD August 2011

Posted on August 15, 2011 by | 4 comments

GBBD – Garden Bloggers Bloom Day arrives when I have lots of blooms this month. By this time of the year it’s been a long hot and dry summer. Most blooms are moving onto their next stage. The blooms are  producing fruit and seed. (tomatoes, for example.)

So, with a nod to Carol and GBBD, I humbly submit GBFD or Garden Bloggers Food Day. Because it so seldom  happens, that I have an abundance of both blooms and produce.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly on pink zinnia

Pollinators, like bees and butterflies are key to producing seed.

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)  It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma.

After mating, small, yellow eggs are laid on garden plants from the carrot family, Apiaceae, including dill, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace, and parsley. I always grow extra parsley happing to create an attractive area for Black Swallowtails. This year the worms helped themselves to the carrots growing near the zinnias.

The most noticable blooms in my garden are the sunflowers.

sunflowers

"Musicbox" but I call these my mailbox sunflowers.

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are blooming their big heads off and making sunflower seeds. Nothing can make a gold finch happier.

"Chocolate Cherry"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Sunflower

"Van Gogh" with half runner bean vines.

"Valentine" pale lemon flowers about 5" across.

Giant Heirloom, "Titan" Sunflower

 

These native sun-worshipping North American native flowers turn on their stalks to follow the sun. The name Helianthus is from the Greek words for sun and flower.

Direct sow seed into the garden. Sunflowers have long taproots that are easily stunted, so wait until the ground is warmed and plant seeds into the garden soil.

Several of these sunflowers are pollen free, making them ideal for bouquets. They don’t drop messy pollen on the table.

"Musicbox" Sunflower

 

 

 

I have a couple more sunflowers this year.One has already bloomed and is gone. Another is a perennial sunflower that is a late blooming variety not yet blooming.

I got all these sunflower seed from Renee’s Garden seed.

Thanks for stopping by.

GBFD is my way of sharing my garden this month, August 2011.

GBBD is a way to share what is blooming in my garden on the 15th of the month.

Carol from May Dreams Gardens sponsors Bloom Day each month. Thank you, Carol.

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Fried Green Tomatoes (or not)

Posted on August 13, 2011 by | 1 comment

This Paul Robeson tomato could have stayed on the vine another day or two if the vine hadn't broken off.

A friend, clearly not a gardener, asked for this recipe in the summer.

“Are you nuts?” I said.

“No self respecting gardener sacrifices a good tomato to make fried green tomatoes in the summer!”

Fried green tomatoes are fall food. They are what you do with tomatoes that haven’t ripened by the first killer frost of the season.

This friend was an Eastern Transplant, not familiar with Midwest or Southern culture and cuisine. I also had to introduce him to tomato sandwiches this year. “You mean without bacon?,” he said with trepidation.

When vines are too heavy with multiple tomatoes, it is better to pick a few while still green, rather than risk a broken vine and losing all the tomatoes.

Prepare fried green tomatoes like you do fried Okra. Slice, dip in a milk and egg wash and then in cornmeal or flour.

Uncle Ed says, “Well you know how to fry catfish, don’t cha? Well it’s the same thing, dip the tomato slices in milk and eggs. Then pat fish fry mix (four, cornmeal, salt, pepper) on both sides”. Then deep fry, pan fry, or, oven “fry”

A heavy tomato vine, loaded with tomatoes, broke off in a storm.

The cafe in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café is modeled after Irondale Cafe in Birmingham, AL. Novelist Fannie Flagg said her great-aunt operated Irondale Cafe for almost 40 years.

If it weren’t for the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, I believe this recipe would have remained a Southern delicacy. Just like fried pie.

There are two reasons a home cook prepares Fried Green Tomatoes.

  1. At the height of summer tomato production, some tomatoes are removed from the plant to keep the weight of the tomatoes from breaking the vine. (Not that I am bragging, but I had to do this twice this summer.)
  2. At the end of the tomato season, just before the first frosts hit the garden, all tomatoes are picked. Any tomatoes with a hint of color will be left to ripen slowly on the counter. Then, “waste not want not” happens. The most popular way of using up green tomatoes are fried green tomatoes, and green tomato relish.
sliced tomatoes

Insalata caprese (literally, the salad from Capri)

If I can have this: garden temperature juicy ripe tomatoes in a Tomato and Mozzarella Salad,

I’ll choose it everytime over fried green tomatoes.

These are heirloom tomatoes, Red: Paul Robeson and Yellow: Gold Medal

 

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U CAN® Watering System

Posted on July 30, 2011 by | 1 comment

U Can is pretty, easy to carry and just the right size.

It’s hard to impress me when it comes to watering cans. I have my favorites in different sizes for different uses. After years of gardening, I have some definate preferences when it comes to watering cans.

I like the new 2 gallon U CAN. I like it’s ergonomic design and generous water capacity.

U CAN has a sprinkler head storage post. That’s sure handy for me because I tend to misplace the rose or sprinkler heads on watering cans. I’ll use the glove jam to keep my bandanna handy.

There is handy fertilizer storage and measuring spoon. That’s great for my hanging baskets and containers on the patio which get fertilizer every week.

Though not a deciding factor in buying a watering can, I like the dial fertilizer tracker and the built in measuring spoon.  It’s a little thing that makes this watering can a keeper.

I keep this watering can handy, it stays on my patio gardens near the containers.

I like that U CAN is made in the USA with recycled plastic.

The hand grips are comfortable and perfectly placed.

U CAN lists these advantages in the translucent plastic watering can:

  •  fertilizer storage chamber,
  • built-in measuring cup and spoon,
  • fertilizing reminder dial,
  • glove jam to store your gloves,
  • sprinkler head storage post.

The U CAN 2 gallon watering can is ergonomically designed with rubber hand grips and a textured handle for easy lifting, carrying and pouring. A perfect gift for gardeners, you can buy U CAN online or at these garden centers.

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Time for Four o’clocks

Posted on July 28, 2011 by | 1 comment

Many people have memories of four-o’clocks in their family garden. These beautiful flowers have been popular plants for generations.

photo Renees Garden

Four-o’clocks (Mirabilas jalapa) self seed. Often you can find them still growing in a long-abandoned garden spot. It’s an old Southern tradition to plant them near the front door. These jasmine-scented flowers will greet your guests.

In South America, where these flowers originated, four-o’clocks are used as a dye. The root is used medicinally and is said to be a hallucinogen. In herbal medicine, parts of the plant may be used for diuretic, purgative or vulnerary (wound-healing) purposes. I can’t speak for any of these herbal or medicinal uses—I have only enjoyed the flowers and their fragrance.

I’ve also read that the flowers are used in food coloring. The leaves may be cooked and eaten as well, but only as an emergency food. An edible crimson dye is obtained from the flowers to color cakes and jellies.

7-26-2011-four o'clocks
Four-o’clocks are also also known as the ‘Marvel of Peru’.
Photo courtesy Renee’s Garden

Four-o’clock ‘Broken Colors’ are a special variety with starry, 2-inch blossoms that are beautifully splashed with showy, contrasting colors. Their delicio7-26-2011-renee's garden four o'clocksus jasmine fragrance floats on summer breezes. These flowers are both easy to grow and reliable. You can find the seeds on Renee’s Garden’s website for $2.79 a packet.

Before planting, soak the seeds in water overnight to speed the sprouting. These flowers are trouble-free, love full sun and have only moderate watering requirements.

Your four-o’clock flowers probably won’t bloom at exactly 4 p.m. Mine bloom at about 6 o’clock. The blooming time depends on your time zone and the plants’ exposure, but whenever it blooms it will stay consistent. You can count on your flowers to bloom at the same time every day. However, if it is cloudy or rainy, it may throw their solar clock askew.

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Zucchini Heaven

Posted on July 25, 2011 by | 2 comments

Zucchini Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze Recipe by David Lebovitz adapted from Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma.

Zucchini Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze photo PBH

And of course, I made some changes too. Adapting David Lebovitz’ recipe, I changed the nuts to Black Walnuts, a sustainable product grown in Cape Girardeau, Missouri USA.

  • Replace: 1 cup (135 g) almonds, pecans, or walnuts, with ½ cup of Black Walnuts.
  • Reduce: vanilla extract by half. Use only 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • Add: zest of 1 lemon. Stir zest into the cake batter with grated zucchini.

I won’t rewrite the recipe here. Davids recipe is well written and beautifully explained. His blog is fabulous. Go To: Zucchini Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze While this cake is baking, check out his website. (Key Words: Chocolate, Paris, need I say more?)

My version of the Crunchy Lemon Glaze:

  • Juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (140 g) powdered (confectioner’s) sugar (start with ¾ cup, add more powdered sugar if desired.) I think any fresh squeezed citrus juice and zest would be good.

More zucchini Recipes

Speedy Zucchini
1 cooler or ice chest
1 floppy garden hat
1 pair of big dark sunglasses

Directions:
Fill the cooler with zucchini. Drive around till you find an unattended pickup. Put the zucchini in the truck bed. Or, if it is too heavy to lift, check to see if the passenger door is unlocked. Check to see if there is a dog in the cab. (actually do this before you open the passenger door.) Quickly leave the scene, but not so fast as to call attention to the back seat full of coolers.

Or, wrap the big zucchini in swaddling clothes, leave it at the door step of a church (not yours – someone might recognize you.) or a hospital or day care. Run. Hide. You may want to stick around and watch this.

Revisit Black Walnuts
This native tree is grown by Martin Walnut Tree Farm this will change your mind about Black Walnuts. These nuts are mild flavored. Not the over powering flavor of days gone by. Call 573-243-3210 (ask for Mike) .

Buy very mild flavored black walnuts at the Jackson and Cape Farmers Markets-Tuesday night in Jackson and Thursday afternoon in Cape. Or buy walnuts by calling Mike at 573-450-6701. Email mike@martinwalnuttreefarm.com to have the walnuts shipped.

These new black walnuts are a developing market, so these are really bargain prices. When word gets out, I am sure the price will increase. Buy some, keep them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Cost: The cost is $5.00 for an 8 oz. bag, $10.00 for a 1 Lb. bag (plus shipping if needed.)

If you want to invest in your children’s future, Mike sells these amazing walnut trees.

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How to stop bugs from eating my garden

Posted on July 23, 2011 by | Comments Off on How to stop bugs from eating my garden

I started a giant pot of herbs from seed. No sooner had the herb seedlings ememerged, than a bug began feasting on them.

Usually, herbs don’t have insect problems. The grown basil plants, just 10 feet away, were not bothered. I used Insectisidal Soap and two days later, there was new growth. I lightly sprayed insecticidal soap again, just in case new eggs should hatch. Safer Soap, is a contact killer, so I lightly sprayed insecticidal soap again, just in case new eggs should hatch. I’ll keep an eye on this pot for two reasons.

Basil

Italian basil seedlings. photo by PBH

It’s hot hot hot and plants in containers are very vulnerable drought. And I want to keep an eye on the container to stay ahead of any reinfestation.

A curious note: the lemon basil growing in the sale pot, was never subjected to insect damage. Safer has a FaceBook page.

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, Oh Grow Up!, Ozarks Travel Examiner

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A First Look at Superbells, Calibrachoa

Posted on July 21, 2011 by | 1 comment
Superbells Grape Punch

Superbells Grape Punch, a Calibrachoa hybrid introduced by Proven Winners is attracting hummingbirds. Photo PBH

I couldn’t wait to tell you about this little petunia-like flower because the humming birds and I have already decided this is a perfect plant for my patio. It’s continuous color with no added work.

I’ll blog about Superbells Grape Punch, a Calibrachoa hybrid, after it withstands our dry, hot, humid August in Southeast Missouri. (zone 6) It is supposed to look good through fall, until that first hard frost.

Calibrachoa hybrid, summer-long little fade proof purple trumpets. photo: PBH

Last summer, I told you about my patio Containers – Calibrachoa and Coleus  and Look For This Plant Superbells® Coralberry Punch Calibrachoa, so, I am familiar Calibrachoa.

It is my honor to trial Superbells® Grape Punch, for Proven Winners this summer. Read more about this annual after the trial.

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