Tomatoes! Tomatoes! Tomatoes!

The tomatoes just won't stop this year! In past years I have had to bring in the entire vines and hang them up in the garage to try to get them to all ripen, or loose them all to late blight like I did last year; but this year they are ripening enough outside that I can pick them when orange and they ripen fully within a few days on the counter. I'm picking them a little before ripe Since it has been raining a lot, I  want to reduce the chance of the ripening fruit cracking and splitting.

Pints of crushed tomatoes

Although I have a lot of tomato preserving yet to do, I'm keeping up. One trick I've mastered over the years is to use multiple preserving techniques; if all I did with the tomatoes was can them, I'd be way past burned out by now! This year I have canned over 30 pints of crushed tomatoes, dried several bags worth in the dehydrator, and frozen many containers of oven roasted tomatoes.

Oven Roasting tomatoes is very easy, and it concentrates the tomato flavor, making them seem somehow more tomatoey when pulled from the deep freeze in winter.

Oven Roasted Tomato Recipe/Technique

Tomatoes, washed, trimmed of any bad parts, and cut into halves or quarters depending on size.
Olive oil
Kosher Salt

Coat a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, arrange tomatoes skin-side down on sheet. Sprinkle with a small amount of Kosher salt (as the water from the tomatoes evaporates in the oven the salt will concentrate, so go easy on it), and drizzle with more olive oil.

Place in a 300 degree oven for a few hours, until the tomatoes have shrunk and have a few brown/caramelized spots. Let cool and store in freezer containers.

We use the roasted tomatoes for quick sauces, or toppings for fish. On busy nights I make a meal out of polenta (made in big batches and frozen), kale (blanched and frozen) sauteed with garlic, and the roasted tomatoes; all I need to do is to remember to pull them out of the freezer in time to defrost.

Roasted tomatoes, almost done, they need about another half hour in the oven.

2011 Vegetable Garden Review



Onions, Garlic, Strawberries, Mustard Greens, Peas, Oregano, and Chives

Lancelot Leek and Cascadia Peas

At my father's community garden last fall I planted kale, garlic, onions and some assorted greens for growing though winter. The kale grew fabulously, we were able to freeze enough to get us through next spring, with more still to harvest. The onions and garlic didn't do so well, they all got rust, the onions bolted and flowered, and the garlic heads, while edible, were tiny (a huge pain to peel for cooking). In early spring we planted leeks for the first time, thankfully planting them away from the garlic and onions; they were worthwhile to grow, we used them though the summer for soups and sautes. The peas got off to a slow start, but they did very well in our agonizingly long cool spring; I did over-plant though...16 feet worth of row at the community garden and another 6 feet at home! We gave away a lot of peas to my fathers neighbors.

My father spent the spring and summer in and out of the hospital and nursing facilities; when he made his first hospital trip, the man of the house and I, had to make a tough decision...do we keep the community plot and drive all the way across town to tend it several times a week? Knowing that last year my father wasn't able to make it to the garden to water as often as it really needed it, we seriously considered giving up on it. But, in the end we decided that we had spent 4 years getting the garden just perfect, and we didn't want to miss out on all of the produce that garden gives us. We planted things that we thought could go without water for several days, and things that didn't loose quality if not picked daily (no beans, no cucumbers!). Thanks in part to the cool weather, the summer crops did great. We harvested a lot of tomatillos, RIPE tomatoes, and we expect to pick ripe watermelons in the next week or so. Keeping the plot going through he summer was worth the drive across town.

Beans and JB Watermelon growing on a trellis at home.

Our home garden did great. The tomatoes did well, ripening just behind those in the community garden, as did the eggplants. We grew Romano beans and bush cucumbers, both prolific and healthy. The melons planted at home are a little smaller than those in the community garden, but we expect them to ripen soon. We also planted potatoes for the first time, they were a success.

Here is my list of the best growers/tasters this year:



Earl Faux

Tomatoes: Earls Faux (deep pink beefsteak, very meaty), Sioux (the first to ripen! Nice tangy taste), and Crnkovic Yugoslavian (Nice flavor, very prolific, and produced the biggest fruit of the year...1 3/4 pounds)

Mellon: JB Watermelon, haven't tasted it yet, but it has lots of good-sized fruit.

Eggplant: Millionaire (very prolific, not bitter even when large) Fairy Tale (small lavender, very pretty and delicious).

Kale: Lacinato/Dinosaur/Tuscan Kale I just can't get enough of this green!


Now the last hard gardening task of the season will be to break the news to my Father that we won't have the big community plot next year. The garden has been a good pull to get him out of his apartment, so we will rent him a small 4 x 6 foot raised bed to plant and hope he will be well enough in the spring to make the walk there to tend it.

Happy Valentine's Day

"Roses are red,
Violets are blue;
But they don't get around
Like the dandelions do"
~Slim Acres


A field of dandelions and clover...a honey bee's delight!



Lesons Learned: The 2010 Gardening Year In Review

Pea Seedlings

I'm always learning and evolving as a gardener, and it seems like the garden improves every year as my knowledge expands. 2009 was such a great year in my garden; I had high hopes for 2010! Well, as they say "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"

Community Garden Plot at McCoy Park:

The year started off pretty well, it was a wet spring, but we completed all of the soil prep  in the fall, so we didn't need to wait for dry weather to plant. Most of the winter crops survived, the lacinato kale did especially well,  and the garlic and onions survived the winter wet. I started peas in cell pack in late January, and planted them out in late February; they did great!

March 5, 2010

The weather never really warmed up...but in anticipation of summer like weather, I pulled out the kale to make room for tomatoes in late June. If I knew what the summer was going to be like, I would have left the kale in and not planted tomatoes!

May 16, 2010

By mid-September we still hadn't picked a ripe tomato, not even a cherry tomato. We picked a few eggplant, the beans were vining, but not flowering. The cucumbers were producing, but they were bitter. The only thing doing well was the tomatillos.

August 28, 2010

At the end of September we began to get tomatoes! But it wasn't long before it became clear that we had a problem: LATE BLIGHT! I have never had trouble with tomato diseases; I'm pretty good about rotating crops, and keeping things clean; but the cool wet summer didn't give our tomato's a chance. We harvested enough to can about a dozen pints of crushed tomatoes, and roasted some in the oven for freezing; but I ended up having to toss most of the fruit as it rotted before ripening.

October 20, 2010

Home Garden

Our home vegetable beds are used year round; I cover them with plastic in the winter so we can grow lettuce and herbs despite the cold. One problem with our intensive gardening has been a build up of gray- mold; so we decided to start fresh with new soil in our raised beds. We moved all of the old soil out into a shrub bed where we wanted to amend the soil before planting olive trees.

When it came time to buy new soil, I was busy and honestly a little lazy. Instead of buying the soil mix with the organic compost as I had originally planed, I bought soil from a place close to home. And when faced with the option of buying organic compost and regular top soil and mixing them together my self - verses buying a pre-mixed scoop of a soil blend with regular (not organic) compost, I whimped out and chose the mix. I knew better...I had a knot in my gut after buying it...but I filled the beds with it anyway.

The veggies in the raised beds failed to thrive. At first I blamed it on the weather; but then it became clear: The compost in the mix was contaminated with clopyralid, a broad leaf herbicide for lawns. Our entire home vegetable garden was a failure. (I will put up a post with more info next month)


Distorted Bean Foliage

We did get a decent harvest of blueberries, they weren't as sweet as I'd like them, but we have a lot in the freezer to add to cereal and to make pies with. The new olive trees grew well; however we had a hard freeze just before thanksgiving that hit them hard...we will just have to wait to see what spring 2011 brings.

Hardware for Gardeners, on Cyber Monday!

Today I got to have a cup of coffee with Jana of  www.360yardware.com/ . I've talked with Jana on the phone and by email when preparing  gate hardware specifications for clients gates, but before today I haven't gotten the chance to meet her in person. I probably took up too much of her time, but it was great to spend time talking with someone who is as passionate about good quality hardware as I am...yes, I'm a garden-nerd :)
360 Yardware is an Internet based business specializing in high quality exterior hardware, from gate latches to house numbers and mailboxes. I am impressed by the quality and breadth of their selection; so much more than one can find in the garden center or big box hardware store.

On their website it says: "The smallest little thing can make a huge difference in how your entry looks". I agree! A nice doorbell or door knocker, and house numbers can really transform ones entry. The details at the front door are things that guests to our homes will see up close and personal, while waiting to be greeted.


I have my eyes on these Satin Black Bungalow Style house numbers for my own entry!

While most of us don't have the budget to go top of the line for our entire landscaping/curb appeal projects, gate hardware is another place worthy of a splurge. If you have ever had a gate latch that sticks, or is locked by a padlock that takes two hands to open, you know how nice it would be to have a well made easy to open gate latch. 360 Yardware has latches, locks, and hinges for gates of all sizes; and they have the expertise to help pick out the best product for each situation. Check out their information tips on gate latches.

If you want to shop online (after all today is "Cyber Monday"), but also want to support a local (Portland) business, check out 360 Yardware's specials! They have some significant markdowns on some very nice hardware. It would be nice to put up some new house numbers when hanging a wreath on the front door. And while you may not be thinking much about gates in the winter...come spring an easy opening gate would be a very good thing!

RIP, our beloved Electric Range

Rest in peace, our beloved Electric Range. Last night I did it in, I used up the last of our ranges life…I was making the final batch of tomatillo salsa from the end of the garden veggies to go along with butternut squash and black bean enchiladas. The stove top was down to just the two little burners. 10 years of canning tomatoes, making beer, and cooking huge pots of soups and sauces for the freezer had take their toll on the cheap rental house quality range our house came with.

Our whole kitchen is in need of a re-do…we have vowed to not put any money into fixing it up until we are ready to do a serious remodel; convert to natural gas, and bump the wall of the kitchen and dining area out to make room for larger countertops and cupboards, and a more formal dining area. But now, the range has given out, I may need to spend some money so we can cook our families Thanksgiving dinner (only 5 days away!).

The light in the oven still works…last night I dreamed about putting in a higher wattage bulb and finding an Easy-Bake oven recipe for turkey, but then I woke up. For the past several months I’ve kept my eyes open when driving around for a free sign on a range along the street, all I’ve seen are washers and dryers. Today I’ll need to start a serious search. I called the rebuilding center, they don’t have any in stock; I’m searching Craig’s List, and will scout out used appliance shops…my budget is $50, I don’t care about looks, I’ll welcome any working range into my kitchen, avocado green, harvest gold, even pink is fine with me!

I had to “bake” the enchiladas in the microwave; after resetting the circuit breaker twice all that would work was the light in the oven. But they still were pretty good, and the Tomatillo Salsa turned out great, done just before the range shut off for good. Tomatillos were the hit of this year dismal growing season. I made 3 or 4 big batches of salsa all tucked away in the freezer. Here is a rough recipe, adjust the ingredients to suit your taste:

Tomatillo Salsa
(makes about 10 cups)

2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 gallon Tomatillos, husked, washed, cut in half
3 dried Chile Pasilla-Ancho pods*
3 or 4 roasted Jalapeno or Serrano peppers** (optional)
2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 bunch fresh Cilantro, big stems removed

Toast the chile pods in a large pot, for a minute or two until softened, de-seed and de-stem the chiles and set aside.

Sauté onions and garlic in the vegetable oil in the large pot until they begin to brown.
Add tomatillos, chiles, salt, and roasted peppers to the pot. Cook over medium heat until the tomatillos are soft and juicy, about 25 minutes.

Puree the salsa with the cilantro in small batches in a blender. Return to pot and check seasoning. Add more salt if needed. The salsa should be tart, if it is too tart, add a teaspoon or two of brown sugar.

Cool and store in the fridge for short term use; freezes well. This is a nice sauce for veggie enchiladas, grilled chicken, and a good dip for corn chips.

*Chile Pasilla-Ancho pods are in the Hispanic foods section of big grocery stores.

*Roasted Jalapeno or Serrano peppers: I often roast extra peppers when we have the charcoal grill fired up, and freeze them for use later.

Farewell Summer 2010

2010, year of the Green Tomato
Our Community Garden Plot, September 18th

Summer, you are officially over at 8:09 this evening…it’s about time! Summer, you let me down, I know I usually complain about your hot spells, the seemingly endless hand watering needed to keep my potted gardens looking fresh, and our homes lack of AC. But record rain falls, record low high temperatures…Summer, this year, the only good to come from you was a bumper crop of snap peas! No thanks for the GREEN tomatoes.

OK, I can't say only bad things about Summer, 2010...I have picked a few ripe-ish tomatoes, eggplant, our first handful of green beans, plus lots of cucumbers & tomatillos.

Summer Vacation

Between lots of rain and lots of work, it feels like we missed summer. It is September 17th and I have only picked a handful of ripe tomatoes...at least we finally got to take our summer vacation!

The Man of the House managed to secure a three day weekend; we planned to go camping no mater the weather. The forecast started out for low 70's and showers, then it was bumped up to 80's and sun! It actually was upper 60's and dry the first night, but solid rain the second. Thankfully The man of the House has a thing for firewood...he kept us nice and warm.

The rain deposited a fresh layer of duff on the forest floor

Our usual campsite was waiting for us and we had most of the campground to ourselves. We didn't see any deer this trip, but did see horses, bunnies, and chipmunks. Of course I took lots of dog photos... but I think I'll share a vintage camping photo instead:

Grandpa Storrs helping Sarah with the air mattress at Beverly Beach Campground...1980?

Grandpa passed away a little over a week ago; he lived a great 95 years. Grandpa was a major fixture in my life. One of my fondest memories is of Grandpa, my sister and I, picking red huckleberries in Shelton and making them into a little pie...the pie wasn't especially good, but I remember the pride I felt having a Grandpa who would take us on a hike in the woods, find berries, and then help us make pies.

The Man of the House and I didn't pick any berries on this camping trip...too wet to think about picking, but we did see some in the woods.

Oregon Grape
Mahonia aquafolium

 

Rose Hip



Salal
Gaultheria shallon

It was over a year since our last camping trip to McIver Park...sometime over the past year they installed a new boat dock above the dam. It looks like a nice place for catching some fish.



Barberry, and Basil with the Man of the House, Fall 2010 on the new McIver Park Boat Ramp

This photo was taken in about the same spot as the photo above...on Barberry's first camping trip in 2005...Berry was just 6 months old.



Reflections in the Clackamas River

Back at home now, we just need one sunny day to get the tent dried out!

Whats that?

Once again the garden delayed dinner. I ran out to pick some herbs and noticed a pot of eggplant was really dry...while giving it a quick drink I saw a really cool mass of something on the underside of a leaf. It looked like bug hatching's and eggs; but was it a good bug or a bad bug? Not wanting to leave a big mass of "bad" bugs int he garden, I was tempted to squish them straight away, but what if they are "good" bugs? I snapped a photo and went straight to Google.

About an hour later I think I figured out what they are, Stink Bugs, I found a photo on The Bug Guide Website that looks like a match to my critters, however the match is Harlequin Stink Bugs, and my garden doesn't fall within their range. While most stink bugs are pests (they cut and suck out plant juices) there are a few that are pest predators. I decided to give them the big squish. UC Davis has a guide to managing stink bugs in the garden; generally hand picking is the recommended method.

August Heat Wave

The garden is doing well despite the heat wave; the Man of the House spent the day before it got hot hauling the sprinkler and hose around, giving everything a deep soak. I have gone out in the morning and evening to give the pots a deep drink. Here are a few tips for helping your plants through a hot spell:

• Move pots to a location where the pot its self is shade to keep the soil cooler.
• Don't let the pot get entirely dry, once the soil is dry, it is a lot harder to re-moisten it.
• If your pots do dry all the way out, water them slowly, or top the soil with ice cubes which will slowly melt and soak into the soil. Or soak the whole pot in a tub of water for an hour or so (but don't drown it!). Once you think the soil is moist, stick your finger in and make sure it isn't dry in the center.
• If  a plant looks wilty at the height of the heat, and watering doesn't help, check back on it in the evening or early morning...if it has perked up, then it is OK. Hydrangeas really wilt when it is hot (like me!)

Berry and Basil get their sunbathing in before it gets too hot!

Basil's cool spot, under the living room chair

I've never lived in a home with air conditioning, so I've learned a few ways to keep the house cool...we vent out the hot air at night with a box fan blowing out and shut the place up tight with closed drapes by mid-morning. Last fall I bought an evaporative cooling vest...it really works. The vest is filled with a water holding polymer...kinda like Soil Moist that you can use in potted plants (BTW: I don't use Soil Moist in my pots). The vest gets soaked in water, gently rung out, and then it will slowly release moisture for several hours. It doesn't really feel wet, just cool. It really does keep me cool as long as there is a breeze (out doors, open car window, ceiling fan). They make them for dogs too, but Berry and Basil don't really mind the heat.

Soaking of the cooling vest

I do hope some good will come out of this scorching weather...ripe tomatoes!