Garden Breakfast

One of my mom’s most commonly used phrases is “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”  I’ve heard of multiple studies that back up her claims but sometimes it’s hard to commit to eating breakfast at all, much less a healthy one.  Cold cereal may be some people’s idea of a good meal but most mornings that shredded wheat might as well be shredded paper to me.

One of my goals recently has been to skip breakfast less.  Since I’m not a fan of the all-American breakfast-on-the-go thing, it’s been necessary to take a more unusual approach to breakfast. 

Our Fruity Garden

We usually focus on our garden vegetables, but I figured it was time to showcase some of the fruit we’re in the process of growing.

These blossoms will soon become miniature eggplant.  I think they’re so pretty.  Initially, I was surprised that the blooms are purple but I guess it makes sense, being eggplant and all. 

Refrigeration Alternatives

Anyone that knows me could tell you that I’m fascinated by food preservation.  While usually this manifests itself in an interest in pickles, jams and jellies, I’m also interested in the way that freezing and refrigeration have changed the way we’ve thought about and interacted with food in the past hundred plus years.

Jihyun Ryou, graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, did his master’s thesis on alternative preservation methods to the high-tech gadgetry that is common today.  He focused on researching traditional types of preservation and storage and designed a number of shelves that make use of his findings.  I recommend that you check out the project (with photos) here.  I really like the root storage shelf but I find the combination apple/potato shelf the most fascinating.  It’s really unfortunate that we’ve mostly lost our knowledge of these kinds of symbiotic relationships (in the kitchen and other places) but I give thanks that Ryou and others are researching and implementing them again.

Root for Carrots!

When I was a kid, one of my best friend’s parents planted a huge vegetable garden every summer.  Before her parents got a chance to harvest them, we would always sneak into the garden and munch on the carrots.  Before her parents knew it, half or three-quarters of the carrots would be gone.  I remember getting a stern talking to about not eating the vegetables!  I think that’s a problem most parents would have a hard time relating to!

Today we harvested the our first row of carrots that were planted on April 14th.  I was surprised to see that they are actually of decent size; most are approximately five to six inches long.  This picture is of the best of the bunch.

Poe-tay-toes Revisited

When I first posted about planting potatoes, I fully intended on posting regular updates on how things were going, especially since I chose a rather unusual container to plant them in (home-sewn burlap sacks).  It’s been two and a half months since then and so far the results have been mixed.

Initially, my homemade bags worked wonders: water drainage was good and the plants looked quite healthy.  When planting potatoes, you’re supposed to periodically cover the leafy plant with additional amounts of dirt.  (I’m sure there is a good explanation on why potatoes should be tended this way but I’m not sure of what it is.)  I was worried the burlap bags would be difficult to unfold and unstable when fresh dirt was added.  And of course there was always the looming threat that one of the bags would just split apart. 

Fruits of Our Labor

One thing about gardening that has really amazed me is the sheer growth ability of well-tended (and even not-so-well-tended) plants.  Here are some pictures of the tomatoes as of this afternoon.

This is about half of “Tomato Town,” as we’ve dubbed it. The majority of these plants are ones that I started from seed (the Sun-golds and Purple Cherokees).  We traded a few extra plants to our gardening friends and mentors and received a Mortgage Lifter, Red Brandywine, Legend and Early Girl in exchange.  I’m hoping to be able to do more plant trading next year as it was a relatively easy (and fun) way to increase variety.  If anyone would be interested in trading in the future, let me know! 

Natural Weed Whackers

It’s been a long time since my last blog post but that’s certainly not been due to a lack off happenings around these parts.  I’ve traveled to the motherland (America’s intensely humid Midwest) for a family reunion, helped plan and cater a best friend’s wedding, officially graduated from college and officially accepted a position in graduate school.  I said goodbye to my dog (who passed away) and to my father (who moved to Colorado).  There have been a lot of changes in my life the past few months and there have been a lot of changes in the garden as well.  We’re almost to the end of the Spring vegetables; before long we’ll be eating the last of the kale and collard greens and peas.  The tomatoes and squash are blooming and the first of the carrots are about ready to be eaten.  I’ll be making a more involved garden update (with pictures!) shortly.

In the meantime, NPR ran a story about an old-fashioned form of natural weed whackers that’s being used by the city of LA.  Check it out here.  I hope to see this sort of thing utilized more in the future!