Seeds Ordered!

Time almost got away from me, but I managed to order seeds at the last minute. I love Fedco's cover this year featuring a female gardening superhero. Little did I know much this would mean when it arrived in December given all the recent events. There was even a coloring contest with cash prizes (it ended last week). No digital images were accepted--all original entries had to be mailed directly to Fedco in Maine!

I also enjoy reading the list of new varieties; each with a one-liner description like "Kaori green shiso: a thrilla of a perilla!" or "Latte hybrid sweet corn: What do coffee and corn have in common?" followed by "Cappuccino hybrid sweet corn: We have no idea!" I didn't let them distract me from my order which is mostly fall and winter crops--two types of kale plus 'Jack Be Little' pumpkins and 'Autumn Wings' gourds. Jack Be Little are so easy to grow with so many fruit on the vine. I've not grown the gourds before but hoping they will be as easy as the mini pumpkins. Plus, I'm a sucker for these at the pumpkin patch.

And then there's my other go-to seed catalog--Kitazawa specializing in mostly Asian seed varieties. I decided to skip the Odoriko tomatoes this year since I am promised a round of starts from some old seed. Sow what you have first before buying more! And with my limited space, I couldn't justify a fifth tomato variety. I did opt for the Kurume Long eggplant in addition to the Money Maker I usually buy. Let's see how it compares as Money Maker has never let me down. I'm hoping the shishito peppers are better this year. I was surprised that they did so poorly, but maybe our mild summer had something to do with it. I threw in Purple Vienna kohlrabi and Armenian striped cucumber as well.

Seasonal Denial

I've been trying to make the transition into fall; putting my summer garden to rest. These last few days of rainy forecasts trumped by warm sun aren't helping.

I popped the last round of ripe Sun Golds into my mouth as though they would give me the courage to start yanking out plants. But look at all the green tomatoes that may easily turn yellow with a couple more days of this weather! I couldn't do it.

Really these are going to ripen...

 

The Shishito peppers, packed with flowers, made it difficult as well. The sun was warm on my back; certainly a few more warm days will help bring on another round, right? But then I caught a slight scent in the air finally convincing me this won't last. I collected another bowl to be wok fried as I plucked the plants from the garden.

 

 

All those white flowers made it tough!

 

The peppers I collected were significantly larger than the ones from earlier this summer. I saw some for sale at the Friday Harbor farmers' market a couple of weeks ago. I was a little envious since theirs were much bigger than the ones we had. And $8 a pound! I'll have to say they are spicy and loose that distinct, concentrated "green" flavor compared to the smaller, younger fruits. Plus, the larger they are, the longer they take to cook. And when it comes to snacking on these, you want them to be done quick!

 

 

Wok-a! Wok-a!

 

I needed little convincing with pulling out the basil though. Once the nights get below 50 degrees, basil slimes out pretty quickly. One last round of pesto. I brought the plants into the kitchen to pull the leaves off. As I took the left over plants out to the compost, my son asked why I was throwing the plants away. I explained basil is an annual and grows in the summer. I told him once it gets cold, the basil will die so it's time for them to go into the compost. A kid who likes to save EVERYTHING he didn't argue with me for once.

 

So long, farewell...

 

I've checked the forecast (NOAA is pretty accurate) and it's supposed to dip to 47 on Wed night. Perfect weather for turning my Sun Golds to mush for sure. In the meantime, I'll keep up my seasonal denial.



Dinner Showcase

Tonight's dinner featured several items from my garden...



Pesto with freshly picked basil tossed with Sun Gold tomatoes

 

 

The look other world-ly but they're just 'Hunger Gap' kale chips. My son's current favorite!

 

 

Flash fried 'Shishito' peppers sprinkled with kosher salt. Super tasty we almost gobbled them up before I remembered to take a picture.

 

I your summer garden is providing you with lots of yummy edible goodness! Bon apetit!

 

 

Peppers II

It's been several seasons since I've grown peppers in the garden. The last time I grew Chinese 5 color pepper. Grown for their great colors--hence the name--there were red, orange and purple peppers on the same plant; I never did a taste test.

This year, Eldon, my culinary nerd and foodie husband, requested we grow Shishito peppers. I specifically ordered from Kitazawa Seeds. Having a maturity time of 60 days (75 is my cut off), I agreed to grow them. I now have quite a pepper forest between these and another variety I am growing. I actually have no idea what the plans are for these when they're ready for eating. I think he wants to do a tempura with them.

 

 

If you think these are funny looking, wait til you see the other pepper I'm growing. 'Sigaretta de Bergamo' is Italian variety that is literally "cigarette pepper" from Bergamo. Claimed to be great in salads, stir fries, and pickling. I think I'll try the pickling option.

 

 

 I ordered them from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I can see how they got their name. I'm looking forward to eating both types!