Organic Garden; Climbing Plants

The garden has been really taking off with the warm weather. You can see that my grass clippings are keeping the water in and the weeds out for the most part. I walk through the garden at least once a day and pull any weeds I see here and there.  If you are like me and only have limited space for your garden you have to make some plants climb. In the very front of the garden cucumbers are just starting to climb up the trellis on the right. The peas in the middle of the garden are almost to the top of their chicken wire and are loaded with peas! I had grown spinach in front of them, but since the spinach finished growing, I have planted a second rotation of green beans in front of them. That way I will extend my green bean season.

This is at the far end of the garden. These plants are my winter squash. I have been encouraging them to climb up and they have started to do so on their own. At first I thread a few of the ends of the plants into the wire, and then they usually take off.

One of my biggest challenges is that I only get a half a day of sun at best. I have to wait a little longer for most of my veggies, but they are well worth it. So if you don't have a full day sun you can certainly garden, but you just won't be as speedy as someone with more sun.

You can see that my Charlie Brown tomatoes are getting a few more leaves on them. They have even started to set fruit. The plants look good and it's only a matter of time! I can hardly wait!
Until next time, happy planting!

Organic Vegetable Garden - Tomato Stakes

Now is the time and I always stake my tomatoes. I used to use hard wood stakes but the problem  was that they weren't tall enough, and sometimes they broke. So last year I decided to go with the green metal stakes. I was worried they might get too hot and hurt the plants, but since that didn't happen, this is year two with metal stakes. They are the 5 foot ones. I use old fabric or any fabric I have that has a stretch to it to do my tie ups. I cut it in long strips, approximately 1/2 inch wide and when I am tying them, I just cut them off as I go.

I usually tie them about every 12 to 18 inches and near the top. That way the plant can get tall, have a good sturdy stake, and if they get taller than the top of the stake they can gently bow down.

I make sure that I keep the grass clipping mulch under and around the plants so they don't dry out and so that rain can not splash from the dirt upwards toward the plant which can also cause early blight. When I water my tomato plants I never spray or splash them. I only soak the soil down around the base so water doesn't splash around. In the event that all my precautions don't do the trick, I cut off and dispose of all infected leaves away from the garden in those early weeks.

Sometimes people say to me that gardening is too much work with all the weeding. Well, if you use grass clippings to mulch you don't have many weeds at all. I just go through the garden each day and pull a weed here and there to keep up with the few weeds that do manage to grow.

There are baby cherry tomatoes set already and I can hardly wait!!
Happy gardening!

Jalapeno Black Bean Salad/Salsa

Jalapeno Black Bean Salad/Salsa

1 can Bush's Seasoned Black Beans               1 can Green Giant Mexicorn or Nibblets

1-2 deseeded minced Jalapeno peppers                   1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 red onion - diced                                                1-2 sweet bell peppers   

1-3 diced medium tomatoes                                     1 lime - juiced

1/4 tsp. sea salt                                                         1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1 package Good Seasons Zesty Italian dry mix

* In a very large mixing bowl place the rinsed black beans, drained corn, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro. I may also add about 1/2 cup diced zucchini or other fresh veggies I like.

* Sprinkle salt, cumin, and Italian seasoning mix over the veggies. Juice the lime and add the juice.

* Stir thoroughly, place in a large Tupperware container and refrigerate for 3 or more hours.

* Stir thoroughly again before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.  

* I use this as a sort of refreshing salad in the summer or as a salsa with chips.

Organic Vegetable Garden

This is the start of the season for my little vegetable garden. We are way ahead of most years because we had a really warm May. A few years ago we still had snow in the garden in late May so that gives you an idea. I organize certain things in the garden to vine up a trellis or take up more space. I also rotate my garden by thirds meaning it won't be back in that spot for two years in between.

I love to garden. I really love to weed in my garden but to keep the moisture in and many weeds out I mulch my garden with grass clippings. They help feed the garden and help keep my mini raised beds from drying out too fast. One year my onions were rotting in the ground and a neighbor told me about digging trenches and making raised beds. This also was helpful with the children went into the garden because they knew where they were allowed to walk around. It also helps keep the soil around the plants fluffier so they have better root growth. I fertilize at the start of the season with blood meal, bone meal, potash, and egg shells. Since our growing season is only about 3 months long, it lasts pretty much the whole summer.

Today I am making sure my tomatoes don't have any low hanging branches. As the plants get taller, I snip off the lower branches to help keep them from early blight. By the time I am going to stake them they will have about 12" of space between the ground and the branches. If I do see any early blight I snip off those branches as well to keep it from spreading early on. I don't worry too much about late blight as it is usually taking place closer to the end of the growing season.

I also put these clippings in a composting area that won't go back into the garden. 

We have enjoyed spinach and kale so far this season. I will pull some baby beets and kohlrabi soon to help space them out easier. If we don't eat the thinning, our bunny will. 

I am so excited about our warm weather these next few days. The garden should love it!! Happy gardening!

Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins

Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins
Muffins
3 over ripe bananas                    1 cup strawberry puree
2 egg substitute                         1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup coconut oil                    1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda                     1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt                              1 1/2 cups flour of choosing
1/2 cup uncooked oats               1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Topping
1/4 brown sugar                       1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup flour                            2 Tbsp. coconut oil

* Preheat oven to 375 F and lightly oil approx. 16 muffin tin wells. (or use papers)
* Mash bananas in medium mixing bowl and mix in strawberries, vanilla, melted coconut oil, and egg replacement.
* In a separate bowl mix together flour, oats, salt, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.  Once dry ingredients are mixed together, add to first bowl with banana mixture and stir together.
* Scoop (I use an ice cream scoop) approx. half a cup of batter into each muffin well.
* Mix topping together by placing sugar, salt, and flour into a small mixing bowl. Add coconut oil and mix until a bit crumbly. Use a teaspoon to divide on top of muffin batter.
* Bake for approximately 25 minutes. Cool on rack. Store air tight.
 

Chickpea Soup

 Spicy Chickpea Soup. I'm not sure how this all works, but hopefully one day I will figure it out. Here is a recipe for my chickpea soup.

Spiced Chickpea Soup

1/2 lg. red onion-diced          2 tsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. olive oil                   2 tsp. gr. cumin

1 tsp. gr. cinnamon               1 tsp. ground ginger root

7 cups vegetable broth           1 small can diced tomatoes

2 sm. cans chickpeas              1 can black beans

1/2 tsp gr. red pepper              1/4 tsp. gr. black pepper

1 bunch de-stemmed & chopped kale (approx. 4 cups chopped)

1/4 tsp. curry                          1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

* In a large soup pot, sauté onion, ginger root, and garlic in oil for approx. 4 min.

* Add cumin, cinnamon and sauté for about 30 seconds.

* Add  broth, chick peas, black beans, kale, salt, black pepper, tomatoes,

red pepper(more or less depending on how spicy you like it), curry, and parsley.

* Bring to simmer for 10 min.  Serve hot.

Starting off with Black Bean Patties

Here is my recipe for Black Bean patties. This recipe is vegan, but can be adapted to fit what ever you enjoy such as cheese, etc.

Black Bean Patties

1 can refried black beans or regular black beans                   3/4 c. minced red onion

1 c. minced fresh mushrooms (can be optional)                    3 tsp. minced garlic

1 small cooked sweet potato - chopped                                 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper                                                  1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup chia seeds                                                                   1 T. cornstarch

1 c. cooked quinoa                                                                  1/2 cup quinoa flour

1 T. Hungarian paprika                                                           1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

3/4 c. Panko bread crumbs                                                      2 T. A1 sauce

1 minced jalapeno pepper (optional)                                       Olive or Coconut oil

* Mash the black beans if they are not the refried ones. I mince my onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a mini chopper. Place in a large bowl or in a food processor.

* Add all ingredients and mix well. If your food processor can't accommodate everything, mix what you can in the processor and mix the rest in by hand in a large bowl.  I also add a few teaspoons of oil as the processor is mixing. If you don't have quinoa flour, I think any flour will work.

* Heat large skillet to heat just below the middle on the stove (mine is a 4). Add a tablespoon or two of the oil of your choice. Use a 1  1/2 inch ice cream scooper (old fashioned kind) to scoop up a ball of dough. Release into pan and flatten with wet fingers until you have the shape and thickness you desire.

* Fry in the pan until both sides are crispy and browned. I think this takes about 5 minutes on each side.

* Add whatever you want on your patty, with or without a bun. Sometimes I just make a bed of chopped lettuce, place on patty on it, then top it with what I like and eat it without a bun.