Cooking Up the Veggies

This week has been a great garden week. Tonight we finally picked our one and only brussel sprout plant. It took me about 5 minutes to get the root out of the ground. I now know why they are in the store/farmer's market w/ all of their stems missing ... they all rip off when you are trying to uproot the plant :) I cooked the brussel sprouts with some bacon, onion, butter, and lemon. mmmm!

Last night we had a salad with the mesclun mix that I grew from seed. I also threw in some home- grown carrots. Sunday we had spaghetti with all fresh herbs and more carrots. I also pulled one of the heads of cabbage and started a batch of sauerkraut. I have never made this before and am excited to see if it turns out. It is so simple to make.

I can't wait for summer veggies!

Squash/Zucchini Planted, Unexpected Flowers

 Last year I had no luck with squash, due to the dreaded squash-vine borers, but this year I've decided to try again. I picked up two packets of seeds, 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash. I planted the seeds Wednesday night and they are already looking great. I plan on moving them to the sunny window in a day or two. I put 4 seeds in each pot, and there are 1 to 2 sprouting in each.

When I was watering the plants this morning I found that two of the tulip bulbs I planted last fall are sprouting. I planted a total of 10, so we'll see if I get any more. I have to say I am pretty happy with the two though. I'll put up pics when they bloom.

I also found an interesting looking flower at the top of the onion. It hasn't opened yet, but the shape is intriguing. 

Blackberries/Raspberries Planted

Today I planted the 2 blackberry plants, 1 raspberry, and 1 dewberry. I planted them along the creek that runs through our yard. I figured this is where they would most likely exist in nature, so hopefully they will do well. I mixed the soil w/ compost, added some buds and blooms and mulched them.

Blackberry

Raspberry

Dewberry

I had gazebo duty this weekend, so didn't get much garden work done, but I am slowly making progress on my to-do list. I bought some zucchini and squash seeds at the store last night, that I may try and plant tonight. I haven't yet convinced DH that we should have a pomegranate tree/bush, so I'm not sure if that will happen this year. I'll keep working on him :)

I know it's bloom day, but I am sorry to say not much is blooming in my garden besides the broccoli! It's not much, but the bees sure love it.

Seedling Update

I realized that I haven't posted pictures of the seedlings since the first week. They are doing really well, in fact, after the first week I already had to transplant the okra. The tomato roots are growing way outside their little containers, so I envision transplanting the them soon too. The peppers seem to be a little slower than the tomatoes, but when they do germinate, their leaves appear really solid. 

I went to my first organic gardeners association meeting at Zilker on Monday. I really enjoyed it, and plan on going back next month. They are having their annual herb and vegetable transplant sale in early march, where the members sell the seedlings they've grown. I hope to be able to participate next year. With as many seedlings that one packet of seeds generates, it would sure be nice to share.

What to do with a perfect weekend??

... cross a few things off my to-do list. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so I spent some much needed time outside.

I started out with several visits to the Natural Gardener, where I bagged and hauled around 1 ton of soil, compost, and mulch. I finished filling my new garden beds, which my daughter affectionately refers to as the graveyard. I have to admit that it does look a little sinister at the moment. Some spring veggies will change that in a month or so.

Here's a close-up of the mortis and tenon joints. I love the design.

In between my second and third trips to the nursery, I needed a little break, so I planted an herb garden. I had earned my $10 off at the Natural Gardener, so I treated myself to some parsley, oregano, thyme, cilantro and society garlic. They joined the marjoram that has been growing like crazy over the winter.

I also decided to plant the kumquat tree in the ground. The ground was not exactly soft, and the soil, well calling it soil would be quite a stretch. Anyway, I got out a shovel and pitchfork and went to work. Not only did I have to fight the thick clay, but I found a huge chunk of concrete in the ground as well from who knows when. I mixed the dirt with compost, a 50/50 mix. Then I put in some root booster and planted the tree. I am hoping it will like it's new home better than the small pot it was in before.

I slept like a baby Saturday night, and then went back to work this morning.

First thing I did was water the winter vegetable garden and trees in the backyard. Here's a few pictures of my veggies, including some carrots that I put in the potato soup for Friday night's dinner.

Here's the broccoli that doesn't care much for the heat lately. We did manage to eat some a few weeks ago though.

Finally some cauliflower!

What are we going to do with all of this cabbage?

A round of carrots.

After the watering we took a motorcycle ride to pick up dog food. We also stopped at Plantscape Gardens and The Great Outdoors. At The Great Outdoors we purchased some blackberries, raspberries, and dewberries. Next week I plan on digging out a bed along the creek and planting them. They said they weren't going to get any more shipments this year, so we should get them today. We couldn't fit them on the bike, so we ran back out to pick them up.

I finished off my busy weekend by pruning all of the roses. The official date is the 14th, but I checked the weather and it's not supposed to freeze between now and then, so I figured this weekend was good enough. Here's the results...

What a weekend! I am tired and going to bed.