Llama "beans" |
Llama "beans", you say!?! Yes, llama "beans." Also called llama poop, but we llama aficionados prefer to call them "beans" because that is what they look like... blackish brown and about the size of a large bean.... and these "beans" make really excellent fertilizer! Unlike cow manure or chicken manure, llama "beans" do not smell nor do they need to be aged, and they will not burn your seedlings or plants. They can be used almost immediately on your flower and vegetable gardens as you would dry fertilizer (it is best to wait 24 hours after "manufacture."). Or put some in a container, add some water, and you have "Llama Bean Tea" for watering your plants! Pretty awesome. If you have llamas in your pasture, they just keep making more, so you always have a nice supply. But if you don't have llamas (or alpacas), see if you can locate one nearby and ask for some to try on your veggies, fruit, lawn and flowers. You will be pleasantly surprised, I think!
One thing that I find myself dealing with once again, but this time in my gardening, is my inability to make decisions readily. What to plant?! Where to plant it?! When to plant it?! What should I plant it next to and how many should I plant?! ARGHH! Sometimes I think I am getting better at making decisions, but then I find myself outside among my garden beds just staring at them and wondering what, which and when!
But decisions have been made at last, and what have I planted in my Spring Veggie Garden, you ask?! Well, ...... there's:
SLICING TOMATOES and CHERRY TOMATOES
PIMENTO PEPPERS (from seeds I saved from last year's crop) and FRYING PEPPERS (small red and yellow and orange peppers good for sauteing)
YELLOW STRAIGHT NECK SQUASH, ZUCCHINI, * ACORN SQUASH, * PATTY PAN SQUASH, * SPAGHETTI SQUASH+, and * DELICATA SQUASH+.
Patty Pan or Button Squash |
Spaghetti Squash |
I have been finding some really interesting recipes for spaghetti squash. I have always been a bit intimidated by this vegetable. I found it too expensive in the grocery store for experimentation (what if I didn't like it?), and I figured that it probably took a lot of preparation that I was not sure I wanted to invest time in. So I have ignored it until now, when a good friend gave me some seeds this Spring and told me how wonderful it is. I am really looking forward to trying it! Have any of you tried it?
Delicata Squash |
* MYSTERY MELON+ (Yes, that is what it is named! A sort of cross between a cantaloupe and honey-dew melon with a bit of watermelon thrown in for good measure?!)
Malabar Spinach |
RADISHES (White Icicle)
* "CORN SALAD" (a mixture of lettuces that my friend shared with me)
* SALSIFY+ (a root vegetable with a taste like mushrooms and oysters?! I am so totally intrigued!)
Salsify |
* PARSNIPS+
Parsnips |
* ASPARAGUS BEANS+ (really, really long beans with a unique flavor)
Asparagus Beans |
Lemon Cucumbers |
Moon and Stars Watermelon |
* ONIONS (ones that I have grown from store-bought onion bottoms)
GARLIC (planted last fall from cloves of store-bought garlic)
EGGPLANT (Ichiban, my favorite for stir frying or roasting)
SWISS CHARD ("Lucullus," which is one that can withstand heat better than the winter one that I planted and enjoyed, but chard is really a cool weather crop.
OKRA (Clemson Spineless, from seeds I saved from my 2013 crop)
HERBS: Rosemary, Oregano, Cilantro and the all important Basil. I couldn't live without basil, for the fragrance and the taste! This year I planted 4 types: Basil, Purple Basil, Thai Basil, and Greek Basil. The Thai Basil smells peppery! I will take photos of all four kinds for a later post. Promise!
AND
the * Fava beans+, *Swiss chard, and *Brussel sprouts (left over from my Winter Garden)
The * indicates those I have never grown before, and + beside them means I have never even eaten them, but I want to try them!
Fava Beans |
The fava beans finally started making some bean pods this week. I hope to be enjoying them soon, but it is like waiting for chickens to grow teeth! I think the strange weather has really upset their normal growth pattern. Meanwhile, I still see my little green lizard friend enjoying his/her guard duty against bugs high up in the bean stalks!
I love Brussel sprouts and I bought this plant last Spring as a seedling at the feed store. I am not sure when it will be ready to harvest, but it has made leaves and stalks and I can see what looks to be tiny sprouts along the stem of one stalk. No wonder the darn things are so expensive in the grocery .... seems they take forever to be ready to eat!
So, a pretty ambitious garden, wouldn't you say?! Well, I am hoping to save substantially on my grocery bills, and maybe even my medical bills with this year's crop. I will be eating healthier this way, and working in a garden is a great way to be active, fuel your soul, and cut down on stress in your life. But I have never had this large of a garden, or this many types of vegetables. I am excited about new tastes and textures, and I am already finding some interesting recipes online that will put my produce to good use. Got any recipes for me? Please share! I plan to start a recipe page on my blog to feature them and those I find myself.
My Brussel Sprouts plant in the garden |
I love Brussel sprouts and I bought this plant last Spring as a seedling at the feed store. I am not sure when it will be ready to harvest, but it has made leaves and stalks and I can see what looks to be tiny sprouts along the stem of one stalk. No wonder the darn things are so expensive in the grocery .... seems they take forever to be ready to eat!
Teensy tiny Brussel Sprouts on the stem! |
So, a pretty ambitious garden, wouldn't you say?! Well, I am hoping to save substantially on my grocery bills, and maybe even my medical bills with this year's crop. I will be eating healthier this way, and working in a garden is a great way to be active, fuel your soul, and cut down on stress in your life. But I have never had this large of a garden, or this many types of vegetables. I am excited about new tastes and textures, and I am already finding some interesting recipes online that will put my produce to good use. Got any recipes for me? Please share! I plan to start a recipe page on my blog to feature them and those I find myself.
Speaking of being ambitious with a vegetable garden, my Daddy is probably the King of Garden Ambition. When he retired from corporate work in Corpus Christi and Houston, where he had spent the last ten or so years living in apartments, he couldn't wait to move rural and have a "Big Garden." So my parents moved to a small town in East Texas on about 2 acres, and Daddy planted a HUGE garden the very first year... including 70 tomato plants! For two people! There were also cucumbers, peppers, yellow squash and zucchini, and to this day I can still hear my mother say to him: "Edwin, if you bring one more zucchini or cucumber into this house I am going to beat you with it!" Strangely, the weather was unusual that first summer in the country. Seems Daddy's huge garden was the only one whose tomato plants produced in that area so he had no trouble giving away a large percentage of his proudly produced produce!
Now, back to the present. Some of my winter crops didn't suit my fancy, after all. At least not as far as how the ones I grew turned out when I cooked them. I was quite disappointed with my turnips and beets as they did not taste like I wanted them to taste. The greens were delicious for both, but not the tubers themselves.
Kolrabi bulb harvested in April |
I was also not impressed with the taste or development of the kohlrabi, a vegetable popular in Europe and a food reportedly full of great benefits to our health. I think that most likely I need to do some research on the cultivation of these three vegetables. Maybe my soil was too heavy or not the right pH, or maybe I planted them too close to each other, or didn't keep the soil moist enough during the developmental stage of the roots. Right now, I am not leaning toward planting them again anytime soon. I have decided that when I want beets, I will grab me a can off the grocery store shelf, or check out the price of the ones in the produce aisle. I just love Harvard Beets and Pickled Beets!
Rose boughs ‘bove my door
What makes you so boisterous?
Have you had your say?
Rose boughs 'bove my door
Explode with dainty yellow.
Clearly you do speak!
We sure do enjoy writing haiku and digging in the dirt on HeartSong Farm!
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