getting saucy

I made tomato sauce today. This was my first time ever blanching and peeling tomatoes. It might be an okay task… Per usual, I started with a recipe, but more for steps and times the measurements. Two cloves of garlic? No, one whole head. I also added more carrots than listed, mostly since we’re growing […]

rise, my brassicae, RISE!!!

Mwah… Mwah… Mwah-hahahahaha! The first fall brassicae bed, about two weeks in…? I’m fascinated by how similiar the broad variety of brassicae start out in their growing cycle. They’re so identical, but they will be cabbages, and broccoli and cauliflower and mustard greens and kale and kohlrabi and brussel sprouts and and and…

quonset hut no. 2

Mental note: half inch PEX piping needs half inch fitting, not three quarter. Meh. The second bed is properly covered. The first covering offered a quick learning curve, so the second structure is sturdy and even. I will have to go back into the first one to add some extra cross braces. The extra bracing […]

fall beds no. 1 & 2

Both beds are now sown for fall harvests, both covered with screen netting, since the first attempt was stripped bare. Contents below… Bed No. 1: Bed No. 2: Apologies for the janky panning in the first video…

visitors in the carrots

Swallowtail caterpillars continue munching away on our carrot tops: Also, exactly pne of our carrots is going to seeding, proving the relation to Queen Anne’s Lace:

fall redo, plus stuff

To all the brassicae pests nibbling up our fall bed, I offer up to you a big, giant “F-U”! Bugs have picked clean my first attempt of a fall garden. So I am stepping it up: The potatoes are still a midsummer experiment, but the ones that sprouted are still growing: These native wildflowers (of […]

brad’s atomic grape

The most intriguing tomato I have grown is Brad’s Atomic Grape tomato. Two years ago was the first try, and I lost all the tomatoes I had started from seed. Last year I had better results with my “from seed” efforts, and I got four sturdy healthy plants. Then we had long, dry periods of […]

pico adjacent

I made fresh pico de gallo, with the addition of tomatillo, for taco (really nacho) dinner tonight. Fresh San Marzano tomatoes from the garden. Fresh tomatillo, onion, and cilantro from our latest Imperfect Foods delivery. Jalapeno from the store, garlic from the fridge… Very tasty!

pepperpaloosa, pt. 3

As it turns out, two Thai pepper plants were wholly unnecessary…

pepperpalooza 2.0

Round two of pepperpalooza! Just in time for the first round to go from dehydrator to processor. So many green still on the plants. These yeilds are from two hot paper lanterns, two Thai peppers, and five habaneros…