Our Vegetable Garden on Memorial Day 2010

We remember those who have died in the service of our country.

God bless their families on this day of remembrance.

Alright! It's a Garden!

Our empty plot is filling up fast and now it is a garden. At last we are getting some nice rain, warm sunshine, mild nights. Here are a few shots of the garden. This year my DH planted the rows going north and south. I really like the layout of the plan this spring.

We are cutting the lettuce for delicious fresh salads, pulling the onions too. Rhubarb is a spring treat.

Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage plants are looking healthy.

Yes, he set out the tomato plants BEFORE Memorial Day--a risky thing to do in Michigan. If the threat of frost is in the forecast, we have 5 gallon buckets to protect these babies.

Please Note: The weather man is your friend. Gardeners should check the weather every day and be prepared to take action when needed whether it is for rain, drought, freezing temperatures, winds, etc. Make Mother Nature your partner in growing veggies.

Square Foot Gardening

I am intrigued by the idea of square foot gardening. Mel Bartholomew, the creator and author of Square Foot Gardening, questioned why gardens had to be in rows separated by pathways. The answer was to be able to reach the rows to plant seeds and veggie plants, to weed, fertilize, dress, etc. Gardens laid out in rows and paths have been the accepted method of gardening forever. But what about the folks who have limited space?

Many urban dwellers have relied on container gardening with tomatoes, peppers, etc growing in pots on their patios.Square foot gardening allows these folks the opportunity to grow compact gardens making healthy and satisfying use of their property.

Bartholomew's plan is to build a 3x3 foot or 4x4 foot square made of 2x6 lumber, essentially a raised bed.  Mark off the square into one foot sections. Fill this box with good soil mix...and you know what a champion I am of having great soil for a successful garden. Begin by planting in one square foot section one broccoli plant, or one cauliflower plant, or 16 radishes, etc. After the cool crops are harvested plant the summer crops, one tomato plant, one pepper plant, etc, per one square foot. Cucumbers, squash and other crops are grown on upright trellises or wires. This is known as vertical gardening. Fall cold crops follow as the summer crops are harvested.

Families build several 4x4 boxes for their garden in as much space as available. They may have a 4x4 area of tomatoes only or plant four tomatoes in four of the sixteen squares and other crops in the remaining. The gardener can plan and  choose whatever works for him/her.

Wouldn't it be amazing to have only one zucchini plant so that you won't have to make a midnight run to sneak the extra zucchini onto your neighbor's porches? This plan allows you to grow the amount of food your family can eat and grow only what the family likes.

Square foot gardening is compact gardening. It brings all the benefits of growing your own veggies, as well as using the land in a responsible, helpful, sustainable way of living.

For more information check out the Square Foot Gardening website.

Recipe--Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry

Asparagus season is here. We live near the Asparagus Capitol of the World, Shelby, Michigan. In fact if you are "green spear-ited", love to eat asparagus, and want asparagus recipes, attend the National Asparagus Festival 2010 on June 11-13 in Shelby, MI. It's a hometown celebration of everything asparagus--food, parades, kids activities and more. Check out my lens on West Michigan for more information on the area.

Asparagus is not only tasty, but it is so good for you. Enjoy this variation of a stir fry I found on cooks.com. If you have not tried making a stir fry, click on this video  then scroll down for some instruction.

Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 egg white, slightly beaten

1 lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. water
2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T. minced garlic
1 T. minced fresh ginger ( I must admit I had to use dry ground ginger)
1/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. chopped green onion, onion, scallions
1/2 c. almonds or cashews

3 c. cooked brown rice

Combine chicken pieces with beaten egg white. Set aside.

Combine soy sauce, cornstarch, water, EVOO, and stir well. (If you let this mixture set too long, mix again as the cornstarch gets solid.)

Using a wok or large skillet, heat 1 T. vegetable oil. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry 2 minutes. (If using ground ginger or garlic, skip this step and sprinkle on asparagus the last minute of stir frying.) Add asparagus and stir fry a couple of minutes or till crisp-tender. Remove asparagus and wipe pan.

Heat remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add chicken and stir-fry until opaque. Add asparagus, red pepper, onions and nuts. Stir sauce and add to pan. Cook until mixture thickens (which is quick).

Serve over rice. Makes four delicious servings.

Click here then scroll down for another recipe for stir fry.

Old Farmer's Almanac Information for Month of May

                                                                                                                  

The Old Farmer's Almanac has been around forever and is packed with information for gardeners. This link provides ideas for improving your gardens for the month of May. The publication makes a great Christmas gift...Of course you can jump online to read many articles.

My Husband's Report on the Garden

A view of the garden. Strawberry plants in the far right with rhubarb behind them.

Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli plants in foreground.

Lettuce plants growing with a cover of straw under them to keep the soil from the leaves. Easier to clean up after picking.

My DH wrote an email to our gardening friend in Florida detailing the progress of our northern garden. Here is his very complete report....

THEY ARE CALLING FOR SNOW SHOWERS AND TOMORROW NIGHT POSSIBLE FROST. WENT OUT THIS AM AND COVERED THE STRAWBERRIES. THEY ARE ABOUT 50% IN BLOOM. IF FROST HITS THEM, THEY WILL NOT SET BERRIES SO HOPEFULLY I HAVE THEM COVERED ENOUGH.

RADISH, BEETS, CARROTS, ONION, PEAS, A LITTLE CORN AND POTATOES ARE UP. THE CABBAGE AND CAULIFLOWER I STARTED IN FLORIDA IS DOING GREAT. THEY ARE ABOUT A FOOT TALL.

LETTUCE IS DOING GREAT. I HAVE PUT STRAW AROUND THE BOTTOM OF LETTUCE AND IT KEEPS THE DIRT OFF THE LEAVES. WE SHOULD START CUTTING IT BY MID MAY.

I HAVE ALL THE OTHER PLANTS IN THE GREENHOUSE UNDER HEATERS. HATE TO SEE MY ELECTRIC BILL. -- CUCUMBERS, PICKLES, MUSKMELON, WATERMELON, KOHLRABI, PUMPKINS. MORE CABBAGE. CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI ANOTHER TYPE OF SWEET CORN. MY OTHER LETTUCE WILL BE READY TO SET OUT IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.

THE TOMATO PLANTS I STARTED IN FLORIDA ARE ABOUT 16" TALL NOW. I HAVE ABOUT 100 SEED POTATOES STARTED IN THE GRENHOUSE AND 50 GREEN BEAN AND 50 YELLOW BEANS COMING UP IN THE GREENHOUSE.

I HAVE 1# RED ONION SETS, 1# WHITE ONION SETS PLANTED. THEYARE ABOUT 4" TALL FOR GREEN EATING. 60 RED CANDY ONIONS, 60 YELLOW CANDY ONIONS, 35 BIG DADDY ONIONS, 50 WALLA WALLA ONIONS FOR GROWING ON FOR SLICING. HAVE ABOUT THAT MANY LEFT TO PLANT A LITTLE LATER.

Yes, he is into growing onions. It was a pleasure to have onions and potatoes all winter.

This is a very complete report on our progress on the garden in West Michigan. Please leave comments lettting us know your location and an update on your garden. Thanks.

 

Noah's Garden

Our grandson, Noah, is determined to raise vegetables in his garden. Noah's Garden had its birth last summer in July after the family moved to their new home. This spring Grandpa and Noah have plans for this new and improved plot of mostly sandy ground near Lake Michigan.

Grandpa brought a pick up full of compost to amend the soil. Noah, and little brother, Ethan, were excited to see the good soil and wanted to help shovel it out of the back of the truck. But Grandpa only had one shovel.

After spreading the soil around, the gardeners planted radish and carrot seed. In the photo they are planting onion sets.

Noah and his cousin Corbin have been good workers in our garden.The boys have been bitten by the gardening bug after helping Grandpa in his garden the last few years. Gardening is a terrific outlet for all that boyish/girlish energy. It is work, but so satisfying to sit at the table and enjoy eating the rewards with family.