We all have our memorable mistakes and last year was probably one of my most spectacular. Last summer, as I hurriedly attempted to get supper on the table I dashed out to gather some broccoli spears which were slightly past their prime. Little did I know the consequences of my actions until I was scooping steamed broccoli unto my daughter’s plate when I saw them, little steamed caterpillars which had previously been disguised as stalks. Yikes!
The event was so horrific my daughter swore off broccoli for the rest of the summer. Even my stomach was a bit queasy from the experience but being a frugal New Englander, my husband and I picked through the remaining broccoli to make sure there were no more caterpillars before consuming the broccoli.
Despite this cooking fiasco, I still find it distressing when I read in my gardening magazines and books to squash parsley worms, tomato hornworms and cabbage moths. Okay, the later which I found in my broccoli last year I won’t shed too many tears over. Besides, my ducks will consider them a delicacy but the others I think I am willing to find room in my yard and garden to share.
Nowadays, many gardeners have learned that parsley worms are actually the humble beginnings of the black swallowtail butterfly. Butterflies are the fairies of the garden. It pains me to hear that some people are using pesticides or squishing these caterpillars. Fortunately there has been a lot of education in this area in recent years and with the increased interest in butterfly gardens, gardeners now recognize these caterpillars for what they are.
However, I just put down a current magazine which advised gardeners to be on the look out for and squash tomato hornworms this coming month because they later turn into hawk moths which are also commonly known as sphinx moths or hummingbird moths.
I love these moths and have never considered these caterpillars a problem in my garden. I find it fascinating to watch their golden forms flit about the garden like miniature hummingbirds. Indeed on several occasions I’ve been asked what those tiny golden hummingbirds are in my or a friend’s garden. Their behavior is very similar to a hummingbird. They beat their wings so fast you can not see them, they hover as well as sip the nectar from flowers.
I’m not sure I could pick these, knowing what they turn into, and feed them to my ducks. I know I couldn’t squish them. I hate slugs, but I can't squish those either. Perhaps if my garden was being over come by them I would feel differently but they have not been a problem in the past. I will be watchful for these caterpillars by checking for their telltale signs of striped leaves and black droppings in the garden. I’ve also done some reading about natural predators and believe that these caterpillars may not have risen to the level of destructive nuisance in my garden due to the fact that I regularly purchase predatory wasps to keep down the flies in the barnyard.
This is a nice surprise. The wasps have been keeping the number of caterpillars down to a reasonable level; I do not see very much damage and it allows for a few caterpillars to mature to moths. It is a nice balance, one which could not have been achieved if I had opted to use synthetic pesticides to kill insects in my yard and garden.
If you are interested in identifying the caterpillars you find in your garden I highly recommend purchasing a guide to help you determine what sort of butterfly or moth they turn into. I picked one of these up at the local bookstore a few years ago and my daughter and I have had great fun trying to identify the caterpillars so we could learn what they later transform into.
And by all means, check your broccoli closely when you harvest it.
Happy Gardening.
-Susan
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Rhubarb, Who knew?
Monday marked the first harvest from this year’s garden. The stalwart perennials of the garden are due praise and bring an early spring cheer to the impatient gardener – rhubarb and asparagus. My daughter has affectionately dubbed it a stemable due to the fact that you don’t eat the fruit as you do with most garden vegetables, instead you eat the stem of this plant. While Barbara Kingsolver has her tranquils, I’ve got my stemables.
I harvested rhubarb from the two plants growing in one of my raised beds. It was just enough to make a strawberry rhubarb pie for my father. It’s one of his favorite desserts.
There’s more rhubarb to harvest. Contrary to popular garden lore, this perennial will continue to produce all summer if harvested carefully. When I was growing up my parents, like most people, would wait until the plant was full and then harvest the stalks, leaving only a few behind to keep the plant alive. That was it, one bountiful harvest of rhubarb and then the wait until next year. Not that I minded as a kid. My mom is a wonderful woman but not a great cook. What kid wants to eat lumpy, mushy green goo? One harvest was more than enough for me as a kid. My dog didn’t find it particularly appealing either.
As a young adult, I too began my tending of this plant in the same way. Okay, I probably harvested it for several weeks in order to keep a fresh supply of rhubarb stalks and ended with freezing what I did not immediately consume. However, that was it, once again, a short harvest.
My attitude toward rhubarb changed over a decade ago when I was watching Roger Swain from the Victory Garden. Not only did he break the rhubarb stalks at the base as opposed to cutting them, he advised harvesting a little at a time. With a smaller harvest, one can continue to harvest the plant throughout the entire summer and thereby ensure an almost continuous supply of rhubarb in the kitchen.
Who knew? And why was this such a closely held secret? Maybe it was because most people were sick of it after the first harvest and could only eat so many pies.
I confess to having a terrible sweet tooth. Pie all summer – really? There's no lumpy green goo in my kitchen but wonderful recipes.
I have had great success keeping my plants productive throughout the growing season. Although I admit people look a bit weird at me still when I say I have fresh rhubarb from the garden. They normally stop me and say something like ‘isn’t that just a spring time plant?’ or ‘it can’t be any good now.’
Whoever told us we could only harvest this plant in spring was woefully wrong. The key is harvesting it regularly. Otherwise, the larger stems become holey, tough, and rather disagreeable to eat; this is mainly due to the fact that these old stems lacks flavor. It is also important to snap off the emerging flower stalk and force the plant to channel its energy into new leaf stalks as opposed to reproducing.
All in all, it’s a pretty easy garden plant to maintain and managed in this way it will produce into the fall. It’s one of the star performers in my yard.
For those of you who have never tried eating rhubarb, it needs sugar. Lots of sugar. So what exactly do you do with rhubarb besides making pie? I suggest poking at the internet for some recipes but here’s some of the ways I use it.
I boil it down, without sugar, into a sauce. I then use it in recipes for chocolate cake or brownies in place of oil or butter. Many people substitute applesauce for oils and butter. Give this a try. Rhubarb is fantastic in chocolate recipes!
My family loves my homemade strawberry rhubarb ice cream, a flavor you can’t buy in a carton in the store.
Pink goddess salad dressing is very nice on a salad.
An unlikely dish of 3c of rhubarb, 2c of sweet onions, 6 sausages, 2T oil, a little sprinkle of salt and sugar each cooked together is very nice as a humble casserole.
One recipe I read about this year was to slice the stalks into 4 inch long piece, add a small amount of maple syrup and bake in the oven. When it is finished baking, top it will a sliver of dark chocolate. Also on my list to try this summer is a rhubarb-tomato sauce per a recipe I found. It should be interesting.
Happy Gardening.
I harvested rhubarb from the two plants growing in one of my raised beds. It was just enough to make a strawberry rhubarb pie for my father. It’s one of his favorite desserts.
There’s more rhubarb to harvest. Contrary to popular garden lore, this perennial will continue to produce all summer if harvested carefully. When I was growing up my parents, like most people, would wait until the plant was full and then harvest the stalks, leaving only a few behind to keep the plant alive. That was it, one bountiful harvest of rhubarb and then the wait until next year. Not that I minded as a kid. My mom is a wonderful woman but not a great cook. What kid wants to eat lumpy, mushy green goo? One harvest was more than enough for me as a kid. My dog didn’t find it particularly appealing either.
As a young adult, I too began my tending of this plant in the same way. Okay, I probably harvested it for several weeks in order to keep a fresh supply of rhubarb stalks and ended with freezing what I did not immediately consume. However, that was it, once again, a short harvest.
My attitude toward rhubarb changed over a decade ago when I was watching Roger Swain from the Victory Garden. Not only did he break the rhubarb stalks at the base as opposed to cutting them, he advised harvesting a little at a time. With a smaller harvest, one can continue to harvest the plant throughout the entire summer and thereby ensure an almost continuous supply of rhubarb in the kitchen.
Who knew? And why was this such a closely held secret? Maybe it was because most people were sick of it after the first harvest and could only eat so many pies.
I confess to having a terrible sweet tooth. Pie all summer – really? There's no lumpy green goo in my kitchen but wonderful recipes.
I have had great success keeping my plants productive throughout the growing season. Although I admit people look a bit weird at me still when I say I have fresh rhubarb from the garden. They normally stop me and say something like ‘isn’t that just a spring time plant?’ or ‘it can’t be any good now.’
Whoever told us we could only harvest this plant in spring was woefully wrong. The key is harvesting it regularly. Otherwise, the larger stems become holey, tough, and rather disagreeable to eat; this is mainly due to the fact that these old stems lacks flavor. It is also important to snap off the emerging flower stalk and force the plant to channel its energy into new leaf stalks as opposed to reproducing.
All in all, it’s a pretty easy garden plant to maintain and managed in this way it will produce into the fall. It’s one of the star performers in my yard.
For those of you who have never tried eating rhubarb, it needs sugar. Lots of sugar. So what exactly do you do with rhubarb besides making pie? I suggest poking at the internet for some recipes but here’s some of the ways I use it.
I boil it down, without sugar, into a sauce. I then use it in recipes for chocolate cake or brownies in place of oil or butter. Many people substitute applesauce for oils and butter. Give this a try. Rhubarb is fantastic in chocolate recipes!
My family loves my homemade strawberry rhubarb ice cream, a flavor you can’t buy in a carton in the store.
Pink goddess salad dressing is very nice on a salad.
An unlikely dish of 3c of rhubarb, 2c of sweet onions, 6 sausages, 2T oil, a little sprinkle of salt and sugar each cooked together is very nice as a humble casserole.
One recipe I read about this year was to slice the stalks into 4 inch long piece, add a small amount of maple syrup and bake in the oven. When it is finished baking, top it will a sliver of dark chocolate. Also on my list to try this summer is a rhubarb-tomato sauce per a recipe I found. It should be interesting.
Happy Gardening.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Onions and an early start
As a novice gardener, I always started my vegetable plantings after the last hard frost. Here in Southern New Hampshire, the common planting date is June 1 or if you adhere to local folklore, after the full moon in May. My first venture into the garden began with all my plantings in June. In the past few years, I've been more adventurous and chosen the full moon of May as the frost free date with much success.
Imagine my dismay last year when I ordered onion starts from a catalog and they came at the beginning of April. What was I supposed to do with them? I still had snow in parts of my yard. I crossed my fingers and set each onion into one of my raised beds. Somewhat miraculously they sprouted new green growth and quickly began growing at a time of the year that I had previously thought was too early to plant.
This year, my onions yet again arrived in early April. With less tremidation this year I planted my onions and have been rewarded with signs of vigorous growth despite the cool weather which has regularly dipped below freezing.
In addition to onions, I am experimenting with other cold hardy crops. I have two rows of radishes and a row of mixed leaf lettuce which have both sprouted and most bear true leaves. I will be planting more rows of both of these crops at regular intervals in order to keep a continuous harvest until it is too warm to grow these fast maturing crops. I would have planted peas but I was unable to find seeds when I bought my radish and lettuce seeds.
From a local mom and pop business I purchased 2 six packs of broccoli and 2 six packs of brussel sprouts and 1 pack of swiss chard. All of which were planted this past weekend. These plants can take a light frost or so they say, but some readings indicate the broccoli might 'button' or in layman's terms have small heads if it is too cold. I have no past experience with planting this early so it will be interesting to watch and learn. Nor have I ever grown sprouts or chard in my garden. I always try to grow at least one new vegetable each year. My husband and I love to eat brussel sprouts but I haven't the faintest idea what to do with chard except salad. Everyone seems to grow it so I was wondering what I was missing out on. This will prove to be both a gardening and culinary experiment.
At the very least my 'Rainbow Light' swiss chard will be a decorative addition in front of my peonies along the walk up to my house. The sprouts have been planted in both a raised bed with the broccoli and the other half was tucked behind the peonies as I venture into edible landscaping.
One reason for planting these vegetables early is the hope that they will establish themselves earlier in the season and begin to bear fruit earlier. I am hoping for a longer harvest season and in the case of the onions, a longer time for them to plump up big and round. Although I expect I will be raiding them in the next month to harvest some as new onions.
This year will most certainly be a learning experience as I push the early planting date for some crops, and see how much I can incorporate into the traditional flower border.
Happy Gardening.
Susan
Imagine my dismay last year when I ordered onion starts from a catalog and they came at the beginning of April. What was I supposed to do with them? I still had snow in parts of my yard. I crossed my fingers and set each onion into one of my raised beds. Somewhat miraculously they sprouted new green growth and quickly began growing at a time of the year that I had previously thought was too early to plant.
This year, my onions yet again arrived in early April. With less tremidation this year I planted my onions and have been rewarded with signs of vigorous growth despite the cool weather which has regularly dipped below freezing.
In addition to onions, I am experimenting with other cold hardy crops. I have two rows of radishes and a row of mixed leaf lettuce which have both sprouted and most bear true leaves. I will be planting more rows of both of these crops at regular intervals in order to keep a continuous harvest until it is too warm to grow these fast maturing crops. I would have planted peas but I was unable to find seeds when I bought my radish and lettuce seeds.
From a local mom and pop business I purchased 2 six packs of broccoli and 2 six packs of brussel sprouts and 1 pack of swiss chard. All of which were planted this past weekend. These plants can take a light frost or so they say, but some readings indicate the broccoli might 'button' or in layman's terms have small heads if it is too cold. I have no past experience with planting this early so it will be interesting to watch and learn. Nor have I ever grown sprouts or chard in my garden. I always try to grow at least one new vegetable each year. My husband and I love to eat brussel sprouts but I haven't the faintest idea what to do with chard except salad. Everyone seems to grow it so I was wondering what I was missing out on. This will prove to be both a gardening and culinary experiment.
At the very least my 'Rainbow Light' swiss chard will be a decorative addition in front of my peonies along the walk up to my house. The sprouts have been planted in both a raised bed with the broccoli and the other half was tucked behind the peonies as I venture into edible landscaping.
One reason for planting these vegetables early is the hope that they will establish themselves earlier in the season and begin to bear fruit earlier. I am hoping for a longer harvest season and in the case of the onions, a longer time for them to plump up big and round. Although I expect I will be raiding them in the next month to harvest some as new onions.
This year will most certainly be a learning experience as I push the early planting date for some crops, and see how much I can incorporate into the traditional flower border.
Happy Gardening.
Susan
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