Sun Gold Special Delivery

It's been hard finding time to keep up on my posts. When I'm inside writing, there's less time spent outside savoring the last moments of summer.

The Sun Golds are still quite prolific. My son was happy to collect a bunch and give them a ride in his trike.

These are full of flavor and can be used in so many summer dinners from fish tacos to cool pesto pastas. Yum!

Doing Nothing

What to do about apple scab and codling moth? Apple scab leaves lesions on the apple's surface and is caused by a fungus. On the scale of a home grower, there isn't much one can do that doesn't involve fungicides. I've been lucky my apples haven't been hit by it.

Codling moth is another story. I've had a few apples invested with these wormy delights. My way of controlling this pest is wrapping each apple in a piece of pantyhose. This is quite labor intensive. So I decided this year to do nothing. Risky since this is a high yield year. Last year my crop was way down. I may end up next to no apples two years in a row.

So far the Honeycrisps are looking pretty good. No signs of frass. They are starting to turn red within the last week.

I'll keep you posted on their progress. I hope doing nothing pays off!

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!

 

 

Sun Gold

I've been avoiding Sun Golds since I started growing my own tomatoes. "What's the big deal?" I've said to myself year after year.

Last summer, a colleague of mine left some at the greenhouse which I grew on in pots on site. I then knew what the big deal was. They ripen easily and have amazing flavor.

I decided this year to grow them in my garden and I can't get enough of them. Remember my earlier post about freaking out whether the plants were going to do anything? Well, they are doing well. My current problem is that they aren't ripening fast enough in order to keep up with our consumption!

Orange globes of goodness!

 

Not entirely related, but couldn't pass up sharing with you a photo of a sleepy bee on my orange hybrid dahlias this morning. When I was snapping photos of the Sun Golds, a few bees were caught dozing. When I first started gardening as an intern, I loved seeing slumbering bumblebees in the lavender early in the morning. 

 

It's hanging on well to that flower, but completely asleep!



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!

Peppers

A dear friend's partner died suddenly and unexpectedly a little over a week ago.

Although I only met this person once, I could tell he was kind and caring. Little did I know he grew veggies. For how long I'm not sure, but at the memorial pepper plants were given away.

He also composed "A Garden Love Letter" back in October 2009, which was read at the memorial.

Dear pepper garden,

What a joy our journey has been. Six months ago tiny leaves elbowed through the soil and gasped for sun, and I fell smitten. Doting on you has provided me with purpose, spending hours ensuring the sun makes you warm; that your food is fine; and that your roots explore freely as you mature. By day, I sought excuses to bask with you in the summer sun; and by night, each meal consummated a celebrated union. Now, as the rains herald the chill of darker days, a stone sits in my heart. Ripe fruit makes way for molding branches. Facing imminence, seeds are sentimentally hoarded, hopeful for a future season.

Good bye and thank you dearly.

Thank you, Chris. This is exactly how I feel about growing tomatoes. I hope I do this pepper justice.

Artichokes!

I'm finally back online after my computer died.

A lot has been going on since my last post. I've had a great crop of fava beans and started another round. All of my tomatoes and peppers are in the ground...although I'm having my annual freak-out where I'm worried they're not going to do anything. More on that in a future post.

And I had a couple of artichokes this year. One plant popped up about a month ago. I did a double take as I was walking along my sidewalk.

How come I didn't notice this earlier?!

I let my lone artichoke last year flower and go to seed. I really wanted to harvest it, but felt bad since that plant worked so hard. I was happy enough that I had a plant actually produce a single artichoke.

This year was different. So delicious! I'm not a huge mayo fan and like to make my own when I can. A quick alternative is to squeeze a few drops of lemon into a small spoonful of mayo. I had it along side my hummous sandwhich.

Two for one stalk!

I have another one in my backyard. Looking forward to having that one as well. I'll be sure to make some mayo this time!

Looking forward to more yumminess!