Archive | May, 2012

Growing Celery Plants From Your Store-Bought Celery

30 May

This was one of those food-growing tricks that I was a little skeptical about in the beginning because it just seemed too easy but I was pleasantly surprised in the end at how simple AND effective it is!

First, buy celery (preferably organic)

Cut the bottom end off the celery (you know, the part you always throw out) and place it in a shallow dish of water (refridgerate the rest and use as you normally would):

Give it some sun light and let it begin to grow. You will see the celery stalks emerge from the center:

When I tried this I was concerned about how the celery appeared to continue growing but it never sprung out any roots while in the water.After two weeks of sitting in the water,  just to give it a try, I planted it in the garden. To my surprise, it immediately sprouted roots and continued to grow.

We are looking forward to some fresh celery this year!

Here’s to another successful food hack!

Until next time! ;)

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Gardening Tip #3 – Prune Your Garlic

27 May

It is just about that time of year again!

Right around the end of May to the beginning of June, garlic plants send out a shoot from the top-center of their leaves.

If you want to grow large garlic bulbs, your best bet it to snap off these little shoots. Doing so basically tells the garlic plant to focus its growth on the roots rather than reproduction.

Below is a picture of one of the shoots beginning to emerge from the center:

I wait until the center shoot is long enough to start to curl a little bit and then I snap them off.

Why wait? Because they have a use. Collect all the shoots and make a stir-fry with them. They add a pleasant garlic flavor to whatever you are cooking. Here is what I consider a full-grown shoot that was ready to snap off:

Now, wait a couple more months for your garlic to focus its growth on the roots (aka the garlic cloves) and come the end on July (or when the bottom leaves start to brown a bit) it is time to harvest your beautiful garlic bulbs!

Remember to dry them out and save some for planting again (more about that to come in a future blog)

Happy Gardening ;)

How to Sprout Garbanzo Beans (aka Chick Peas) for Planting or for Cooking

23 May

I was intrigued when I read a recipe that required using sprouted garbanzo beans aka chick peas. I thought to myself, if they sprout that easy, can you grow them?

Chick peas require a long growing season to produce more chick peas so I am definitely off to a late start. They are also pretty sensitive to the temperatures. They like cool weather but not too cool and not too hot. Considering New England tends to be a little bit of both,  I will consider this a trial run for next year.

How to Sprout Yourself Some Chick Peas:

First, buy a bag of the dried chick peas or garbanzo beans (do not use the ones in a can!)

Place them in a shallow dish and add water about half way up the chick peas. In the beginning, they will absorb water fast so you will probably have to add more towards the end of the day. I also placed the dish in a sunny area.

With in the next day or two, you should see them just beginning to sprout. Note the little tails they are beginning to grow in the picture below:

Keep adding water. Within another day or so, the sprouts become more obvious. These things were cranking to grow!


With in several days to a week, They were already starting to sprout green leaves:

 

Once the chick peas had the green leaves and a long tail (as seen in the picture below) I planted them in a pot approx. 12″ x 12″ so that the little green leaves were above ground and the rest of the pea/bean was under the soil.

Can’t wait to see how they do!

P.S. If you want to ditch the whole planting part, look up some sprouted garbanzo bean/chick pea recipes and get cooking!

Happy Sprouting ;)

 

Garden Update – May 15

15 May

Just finished planting all the seedlings outside!

I put them out on the porch a week ago to help them get acclimated to the outdoors. A few of my tomato plants got a little sunburned on their leaves (they turned a very pale green). I will have to keep that in mind for next year when I start the seedlings. I had the under the grow lamp since they sprouted so they seemed to have a little trouble adjusting to real sunlight :/ But, they do have some new, greener leavs starting to emerge.

Here is the complete list of what is planted in the garden up to this point:

  • Tomato – Purple Cherokee, Anna Russian, and Italian Heirloom variety
  • Lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Broccoli Rabe
  • Kale
  • Collard Greens
  • Leeks
  • Cucumbers
  • Red Bell Peppers
  • Cubanelle Peppers
  • Yellow Squash
  • zucchini
  • Yellow Onions
  • Green Onions
  • Garlic
  • Asparagus
  • Rhubarb
  • Carrots
  • Bok Choy
  • Potatoes
  • Jerusalem Artichokes
  • Hubbard Squash
  • Artichokes

All that is left to plant are the beans and the beet seeds!

Can’t wait to see how everything does this year! :)

*this moment*

11 May

Fiddleheads – My Plant Sale Score

10 May

DISCLAIMER: Before you attempt to forge ANY kind of wild plant, be sure you know, without any doubt, what it is you are forging and that it is safe to consume. It is very easy to mistake a toxic plant for one that is thought to be edible. I am not an expert forger and I do not claim to be one. I am just sharing my experiences with forging wild food. I have check, re-checked and re-checked again to be sure that what I forge is safe to eat. I encourage anyone who reads this to do the same. DO NOT base your forging facts on the information I provide alone!… Ever see the movie Into the Woods?… exactly…

Ok, I know they don’t look like much but I am extremely excited about finding these native ostrich fiddlehead ferns at our local library plant sale last weekend. These ferns are hard to find! And they are edible!

The term “fiddlehead” refers to a young, tightly coiled fern frond because it looks like the scroll of a violin. The fern is ONLY EDIBLE at this stage! There are many other fiddlehead ferns that look very similar to this but they are not edible! They contain high levels of carcinogens and should not be eaten. Even the Ostrich fiddleheads, the most edible fiddlehead, contain some toxins but they are safe to eat as long as you cook them well and do not eat large quantities or gorge yourself on fiddleheads for days.

There are two specific things I look for when forging for fiddleheads:

1) They have a papery substance that is peeling off the stem

2) They have a groove in the inside area of the stem

FYI – When they are in season, I have also seen fiddleheads for sale at Whole Foods. You can take a good look at them there to be sure you know what they look like ;)

Here are a couple of other links with more information:

A great video showing how to identify Ostrich Fiddleheads


http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/fiddlehead-facts.aspx


http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/edibleplants/ostrichfern/index.html

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What Is Your Soil Made Of?

7 May

Here is a fun way to find out how much of what is in your garden soil. This can also be a great way for kids to learn about what makes up soil.

First, find a clear container that had a lid that will fit securely on top. I chose to use a mason jar.

Go outside and collect a soil sample. Try not to just skim the soil off the top, dig down and get some of the soil several inches down as well.

Mix up the soil and fill your container about half-way.

Now, add water to fill up the rest if your jar. Secure the lid on top and…

Shake Shake Shake! make sure you shake the soil for several minutes to be sure all the particles of the soil have a chance to separate. When you are almost finished, give the jar a little swirl and put it down on a counter or somewhere where you will not have to move it for several days.

Now comes the fun part! Watch as the soil starts to separate. You will probably notice right away that the sand and pebbles sink to the bottom of the jar first. Next, you will see the silt collect, then all the organic matter in your soil will float to the top. The water will appear murky for several days because the clay in the soil takes the longest time to settle and separate from the water.

Once everything has separated, get a piece of paper, hold it up to the jar and measure how much of what material is in the jar.

You can break it down to the percentages for an extra math challenge.

Here, you get to find out if you have too much of something in your soil or not enough. Also, your children get to learn about what makes up soil and you can throw in a little math lesson too! :)

Be Kind To Your Neighbor

6 May

Have I mentioned that we have one of the kindest neighbor in the entire world? We found this on our doorstep yesterday:

…A little something to welcome in the gardening season…

Basil, parsley, lavender and celery in this beautiful, wooden, antique planters complete with the matching, wooden tray.

Seriously, this person is the icon of friendly neighbor.

When we first moved in, we were given a “welcome to the neighborhood” basket filled with little treats. When our house was completely gutted and we had no heat or electricity, dinners were brought over for us. When our son was born, he got clothes, books and toys. Every Christmas and Easter we get fresh, homemade cookies…

Seriously, we have the nicest neighbor in the world!

So why am I posting about this?

Because it reminds me about something that I want to remind everyone who reads this… these small, little random acts of kindness really do go a long way (look at me, I am blogging about it!) :p

As gardening season begins to kick into full swing, think about a small little thing that you can do for someone. It doesn’t have to be major, just a small little gesture to show that there are still good, kind people out there.

I, for one, know who is going to be getting a lot of fresh garden produce this summer…

So go, get out there, and be kind to your neighbor! ;)

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Quote of the Month – May

1 May

Saw this quote on a seed packet at Comstock, Ferre & Co.

“The federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can’t eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as ‘progress’, doesn’t spread. “

-Andy Rooney

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