December 3, 2009 · 7:46 pm

Can’t believe it!

So yesterday, early in the morning, we had snow flurries.  Big, beautiful snowflakes which melted slowly as they fell to the ground.  Lovely.

We rarely have snow, so even flurries are exciting.  The temperature never fell below freezing, but tomorrow  it is supposed to dip into the upper 20’s.  SO.  I ran outside and put out my frost covers over my spinach, kale, swiss chard, lettuces, arugula , watercress (which is growing amazingly well) radishes, parsley and beets which were barely  visible in the ground.

I have to say I really like this frost cover.  It is thinner and more lightweight than what I had bought at my local nursery in the past.  AND the pegs are awesome.  My only complaint is that the pegs come in packets of  10 and all of my areas and probably yours too, have FOUR corners.  So, needless to say I was short a couple of pegs.  Here is where I found them:  http://www.heirloomseeds.com/supplies.htm

The nice thing about Texas weather is even though it is freezing cold this week, next week we may be back up into the 70’s.  We just thaw out between our “cold spells”.

I also harvested my dill.

I used some in my fall arrangements.  It worked beautifully.

 

 

Hopefully everthing will survive the freeze.  Stay tuned.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

November 24, 2009 · 4:48 pm

Still growing and growing…

I wish I could show you a crop of something ready to eat, but alas, it is still a work in progress.  I think I am just impatient.  But, I do have some newcomers.

My radishes have sprouted!  I read that these were the easiest vegetable to grow, which is why they are a good choice for children starting a garden.  Not too shabby for older folks, as well.  I believe these germinated in 7 days.

 

My spinach and kale have also sprouted.  I am very excited about these two!  I planted spinach last year and it never came up.  I am quite certain it was too warm.  This year I planted much later and it looks promising.

The kale, I have never planted but wanted to try it.  Kale is a wonderful  green and I look forward to harvesting it.

I bought some of this frost cloth for my beds in anticipation of the first frost (not yet please!)  which can  sometimes make an appearance around here at Thanksgiving. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And these handy little spikes to hold it in place.  Much neater than the bricks or pots I usually use. hehe

 

 

 

Hope you all have a truly wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

November 16, 2009 · 8:05 pm

Serious gardening.

It was so wonderful to be able to get out in the garden, at last.   I had no excuses.  So, I finally planted my beets (Chioggia and Bull’s Blood – nice name huh?) radishes (China Rose and Chinese Red Meat) spinach (Viroflay) and some kale (Russian Red).  Lo and behold my parsley has sprouted AND the Tom Thumb lettuce (which I will need to thin when it gets a little bigger).  Soon, I will be planting my garlic.  I am preparing the soil in that bed, so maybe this weekend.

sproutlings

 Here are some close-ups.

parsley

swiss chard

tom thumb

Would you believe I harvested some bell peppers still growing from summer?  I couldn’t.  I think these may look better than the ones from the summer.  Some had been on the vine long enough to turn red.

I used them in this recipe for Vermicelli Salad.  This pasta salad is delicious and just gets better each day, lasting for about a week.  That is, IF it lasts that long.  I got the recipe from my mom and have no idea where she got it and neither did she.  So if this is your recipe I am giving you credit right now, and thank you.  It’s wonderful!

Vermicelli Salad

  • 1 – 16 oz. pkg. vermicelli
  • 1 T. Accent
  • 1 T. seasoned salt
  • 3 T. lemon juice
  • 4 T. vegetable or canola oil

Cook and drain vermicelli.  Rinse well in cold water.  Mix Accent, seasoned salt, lemon juice and oil.  Pour over vermicelli.  Mix well, cover and marinate overnight.  (I don’t want to hear any gourmet discourse about the Accent.  Ree at www.thepioneerwoman.com uses it in almost everything and she just published a cookbook.  so there.)

  • 1 – 4 oz. can pimientos
  • 3/4 cup green onions (chopped)
  • 1 small can chopped black olives
  • 1 small jar chopped green olives
  • 2 cups chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped green pepper

Chop these 6 ingredients.  Mix and refrigerate overnight.

  • 1  and 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Just before serving, mix all ingredients and blend together with the mayonnaise.

(here is the printable link)

 http://sites.google.com/site/fromgardenrecipes/vermicelli-salad

Here are some new photos of the petite rouge lettuce, the watercress, and the arugula.  Can’t wait to harvest some!!!!!!

watercress

 

arugula

petite rouge

I was proudly showing my sproutlings to my son, who carefully surveyed the tiny growths.  He then said,  “Good thing we’re not having to depend on this for food”.    Smart aleck kid.

 

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

October 29, 2009 · 7:44 pm

Look What I Found

I am sure you could almost guess what the weather has been around here, couldn’t you?  Yep, raining.  Again.  I have been very concerned that my seeds would just wash away.  But when I went out today to see what was going on, I found this …

IMG_0757

 

IMG_0760IMG_0761 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Cress.  Isn’t it pretty?  The leaves look like little stars.  The watercress is still alive and growing, although slowly.  My arugula and lettuce have also grown a bit. 

In the bed where the Garden Cress has sprouted I can also see tiny sprouts from the Swiss Chard (too little to show up on camera).   Nothing yet from the parsley or the Tom Thumb lettuce.  I remember last year, it took the parsely  f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get going.  Usually the Tom Thumb germinates fairly easily. Maybe it washed?

We are due for more rain this evening.  gah!

So while I was in the garden, I took advantage of not being rained upon and did an inventory of the herbs I have growing.

IMG_0763

Dill.

IMG_0765

Oregano.

IMG_0766

Tarragon.

IMG_0767

Scrawny Thyme.   The snails had gotten into this pot, but they are gone for the moment and as you can see it is putting out new growth (lighter colored leaves).

IMG_0769

Rosemary topiary.

IMG_0771

and Spearmint.   I also have Lemon Balm and Chives which I have shown you before.

IMG_0744

 I always grow tarragon for one special recipe.  This recipe is the chicken salad from Eli Zabar’s restaurant in New York called EATS.  When I would visit NYC I would eat this chicken salad almost every day, it was so amazing.  So you can imagine how excited I was to find the recipe on Martha Stewart.com. 

Ina Garten also makes a version of this, but she roasts her chicken.  I have tried both thinking the roasted would be better.  But I believe poaching  is more like the original and I like it better.

Eli’s Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches

adapted from marthastewart.com

  • 2 whole chicken breasts, poached, boned, and skinned  (I have used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and couldn’t tell any difference)
  • 1  loaf whole grain bread (this requires a substantial bread like a 7-grain bread ) cut into thick slices
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1  long sprig tarragon, chopped
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut poached chicken breasts into 1 inch chunks.  Mix together with the lemon juice.  Add mayonnaise, tarragon, and salt and pepper to chicken mixture.  Mix to combine.  (Martha’s recipe calls for 2 T. lemon juice but I find it is way too soupy.  This chicken salad is very “wet” which is why the whole grain bread cut thickly is important.  However, if it should be too dry for your taste, add more lemon juice.)

Place chicken salad between two slices of bread.  Press firmly to flatten.  Enjoy!

 Here is a link to a printable copy of the recipe. 

http://sites.google.com/site/fromgardenrecipes/eli-s-tarragon-chicken-salad-sandwiches?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F

 

 

 

 

 

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

October 21, 2009 · 6:51 pm

Guess what?

So, fromgardentotable has had a very exciting thing happen.  Well, to me,  it is exciting.  I received a request a few months back from someone to use my photos they had seen on flickr.  Specifically, photos I had taken of some of my herbs.  So, I wanted to share the links with you.  The articles are excellent, and of course, the photos are lovely 🙂

The articles were written by Darlene Roelefson for the website www.gardeninginsouthafrica.com and are about salad burnet, lemon balm and lemon verbena.

 http://www.gardeninginsouthafrica.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1216:salad-burnet-sanguisorba-minor&catid=926:september-2009-edition&Itemid=100037

http://www.gardeninginsouthafrica.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1246:lemon-balm-melissa-officinalis&catid=927:october-2009-edition&Itemid=100037

http://www.gardeninginsouthafrica.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1241:lemon-scented-verbena-aloysia-triphylla-lippia-citriodora&catid=927:october-2009-edition&Itemid=100037

Isn’t the internet amazing?  Our ability to converse with someone halfway around the world never ceases to amaze me.   It makes the world seem just a little bit smaller, don’t you think?

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

October 19, 2009 · 4:00 pm

Blue Skies smiling at me…

What a beautiful, beautiful weekend we had. Sun shining, cool breezes, in the 70’s for a high and 50’s for the low. Gorgeous. And my local nursery had Everything In The Store 50% off!!! I made three different trips.

The weather was perfect, but we had just come off of 5 weeks of rain, so the ground was still too wet to plant on Sat. and Sun. So, I concentrated on planting pots and cleaning up around the garden. It seems that Garden “cleaning up” is like housework. If you clean, no one notices… But if you don’t everyone will notice. So, I feel like I did a lot of work but probably no one but me would be able to tell.

Do you remember the Autumn clematis that was demolished when the fence blew down?
Well, he is a tough little guy and well on his way to recovery.  So I thought he deserved a brand new trellis. (sshhh, 50%off) Doesn’t he look spiffy?

IMG_0751

IMG_0752

Here are some of the pots I planted and a brand new Croton I bought. Very autumnal don’t you think?

IMG_0750

These are some new plantings of snapdragons and dianthus, with the coleus and chrysanthemums I already had.

IMG_0745

IMG_0747

IMG_0748

IMG_0749

And a brand new pot above with its tag still on, waiting for a new plant.  I had plant overload and couldn’t decide what to plant in it.  I’m thinking maybe an herb…

So, this morning before I went to work, I did FINALLY get some seeds planted…

IMG_0744

in this bed.  (Boy, my chives need a haircut)  The other herb in this picture is lemon balm.  While I was working all around this bed, the scent from the lemon balm was wonderful!!

So this is what I planted!

IMG_0755

Parsley in the back,  swiss chard in front of the parsley, garden cress in front of the swiss chard and Tom Thumb lettuce in front of the swiss chard.  The Little Gem lettuce I planted in a pot.

Hopefully, tomorrow I will get the beets planted.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

October 12, 2009 · 1:42 pm

Here we go again.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but didn’t it rain for forty days and nights in the Spring when I wanted to plant my Spring garden?  And isn’t it raining all this week when I had “planned” to start planting some of my Fall garden? Yes and yes.

Well, as it turns out the rain may have been fortuitous (yeah, that’s right I had the spell check on) because even though it has been cool this past week, today was downright muggy.  Tomorrow, the temperature is supposed to go to 89, And rain.  We are to receive 4 inches by noon tomorrow.

But, the rain has been great for something I planted evidently all wrong.  Watercress.  Heh, heh, first clue was WATER in watercress.  It turns out, this is a plant grown along river banks, marshy areas, etc.  Well, mine is in a regular old pot.  It is probably doing ok right now only because it has rained all week.  Sorry for the blurry pic, I was trying to get it quickly as it was sprinkling.

Watercress

Watercress

What I should  have done is plant the seeds in a pot with holes in it, then place that pot in another pot of water.  This would replicate its preferred habitat.  Oops.   But, so far so good.  There is a plant called  just Cress or Garden Cress which is probably what I should have planted.   They are meant to be planted in the garden and don’t require the extra water.   I didn’t realize it, but I have a packet of those seeds as well, so I will plant them in the garden.  Maybe in the Spring.

My Arugula has also germinated as well as the Lolita  and Petite Rouge lettuces.

Arugula

Arugula

Petite Rouge and Lolita

Petite Rouge and Lolita

I am hoping to plant Parsley,  Swiss Chard, and Tom Thumb lettuce this week, after the flood.  As you can see, it’s not looking too good.

IMG_0736

 Stay tuned.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

September 30, 2009 · 3:12 pm

At Last.

Yipee!  Our new fence is up!  Here are some pics of the old one.

IMG_0306IMG_0325

IMG_0456

And here is the new one!

IMG_0725

IMG_0726

IMG_0727

And the best part is… it’s finished.  Well, except for the sealing.

There were only a few casualties from the installation.  I had a Henry clematis which was trampled and I don’t think I will be able to save it.  My compost bin’s wire was knocked open.

IMG_0729

Some of the compost escaped, but I just used it in the garden. 

IMG_0730

And here is your Heloise tip for the day.

IMG_0731

Leftover bread ties to keep your compost bin together.   Hey, I’m thinking those white covers will weather off those little metal ties and then they will be practically invisible.   Right?

The rest of the weekend was spent amending my soil.  Compost. Compost. Compost.  With the new fence going up, it has been a good time to reevaluate certain areas.  I have decided to move some daylillies (now) and a rosebush (in Feb.) which will allow me to have a larger area for vegetables.  So, to date I have planted:  watercress, arugula, and two lettuces (Lolita and  Petite Rouge).  All of these I planted in containers.  Watercress because it likes to be kept moist, so I thought a container would be easier.  Arugula because it likes to be in part  shade so I can move it around.  The lettuces because I had tried it before, and it worked beautifully.

I just can’t wait to get everything planted!  Oh, and before I forget, my friend Marsha brought me these cute little faux stone herb markers.  Aren’t they cute!

IMG_0728

 

Thank you, Marsha!!!!!

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

September 25, 2009 · 8:13 am

Any time now.

This is a really short post, but just wanted to give an update.

I am really excited!  Fence guy is coming today to take down the old fence and possibly put in the posts.  Sooo, I should have a new fence by Saturday.  I hope. I hope.

I worked yesterday removing vines, birdhouses, hanging baskets, pots, etc. from anywhere near the fence to prevent possible disasters.   But, I am sure there will be something trampled during this ordeal.  At least it is near the end of summer AND I hadn’t planted my Fall seeds.  Three cheers for procrastination and lots of RAIN!

This is really holding me up with my Fall garden, not to mention the weather.  So, I am really anxious to get on with it.  But, I did plant my lettuces and watercress in some containers which had held peppers  this summer.  Planting them in containers keeps the bunnies at bay,  so I don’t turn into Mrs. McGregor.  They are also easier to move around this winter to avoid frost.

Gotta go, fence guy is here!!!!!!!!!

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

September 18, 2009 · 4:29 pm

We’ve got trouble…

Yes, we’ve got trouble right here in River City.  Actually, what we have is this …

IMG_0718 which caused this

IMG_0716

You probably don’t recognize my beautiful autumn clematis, but that is what’s left of  it.

 IMG_0717

A storm blew through with 6+ inches of rain and an entire section of our fence fell down, taking my autumn clematis with it.

And here is the “River City”

IMG_0721

So, needless to say there hasn’t been too much gardening going on here at fromgardentotable.  BUT, this weekend the rain is supposed to stop and I cannot wait to get out in the garden.  I am going to plan out and prepare (if possible and not too wet) my beds for Fall planting.  I have received all my seeds so when the date is right I will be ready!!!

So, did you notice my Foodie Blogroll?  I was kind of excited to be approved.  (I was afraid my blog was going to be too much garden and not enough food.)  It made me feel better about the sad state of affairs around here.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,