Steppin Out

Well, we made the move. Hence the overly long absence from postings. We just bought our first little slice of real estate, outside the city. I admit, it is not exactly what we wanted, but for us, and for now, it will do. It's quite a nice place after all. Instead of acres of land to farm, we have just the one. Not bad I suppose, especially considering the schedule that keeps things like blogging, gardening, and taking photos of gardening for blogs, just what they are; hobbies. So, let's get to it.

Here is the back yard, with which I am allowed free range to do with as I please as long as it is neat, and doesn't cost much money. The neat part, I can handle, and the money part I can too, despite the obvious restrictions.

This image faces South, South-East, which means that the back yard will be relatively shady. Not ideal for gardening, but the shade should be mostly during the late afternoon, and if next summer is anything like this last one, my plants will thank the trees for the relief. The backyard is bordered by two fence rows which border two fields respectively. The trees along the fence are very typical for this part of the world. They are predominantly Eastern Red Cedar and Hackberry. They account for 80% of the treeline. The rest are a combination of the following: Black Cherry and Sassafras. Not a bad combo for wildlife I suppose. On the east side of the lot there are two trees that, as a gardener, I must take notice of: Black Walnut. Black Walnut is a valued tree for the lumber and the nuts. However, the tree produces a natural herbicide. That's right, a natural one called: Juglone. This is nothing new, most seasoned gardeners know not to plant tomatoes under Black Walnuts.


Fortunately, since these trees border one entire side of my garden, covering nearly 500 square feet of space both above (leaves) and below (roots) the soil, and since I love harvesting and enjoying the walnuts, there are plenty of plants resistant to juglone. Nevertheless, I must plan accordingly.

The other major feature of the garden spot is the limestone. This is still Middle Tennessee, and anyone who lives around here knows that if there is one thing we have ample amounts it's limestone. Unfortunately the rock is nearly useless. It has a high clay content, so it makes poor construction material for buildings. To be honest it is really only good for one thing: gravel. It also reduces the water holding capacity of the soil dramatically and impedes digging, planting, etc etc. I can't readily remove them since they typically come in sizes ranging from Volkswagens to counties...

Still, the lot is quiet, and we are on the very edge of farmland so wildlife is often present. Hmm, maybe I will be visited by them as well. At least I saw a hawk yesterday, hopefully he'll keep the rodents at bay.

A stew from the old world.

Those that know me know I am big into Western Civ and food. Unfortunately I eat more than I read and instead of my old world knowledge growing, my waist does.

With the cooler temps in town I've been hankering for some root veggies. However, I wanted to put a theme to the meal, and in the interest of health I had hoped to reduce calorie intake as well. Stew, at least in my house was either one of two things; Veggie, with such worldly ingredients such as corn, okra, tomatoes and potatoes, or Beef, which generally had potatoes and carrots along with the meat. Both of these are very fine and quite traditional meals. I shun them not. However, they do contain some food from the new world.

In fact, it has long interested me how many foods our European ancestors snatched from the Americas and claimed as their own. For example, the Italians and all their culinary glory, are nothing more than food usurpers. Tomatoes, are a South American native, and are about as Italian as the eggplant which is from India or noodles, aka pasta, which are Chinese... Shall I go on? Still to be fair, I'm an Irishman by heritage and us Irish are know for potatoes. Which were first cultivated in the mountains around the Bolivia/Peru region. In other words the Irish have a bit of false foods as well.

Where was I?

Ah yes, with all these foods from the new world, along with peppers, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, both summer and winter, it's hard to understand just what Europe ate up until they sailed into the West. What does that leave? More than you may think, but take away just the two big boys, tomatoes and potatoes and you've got one hungry continent, from Madrid to Moscow and all places in between. I keep getting distracted. Grains, greens and roots. That's about it. It is with the roots that I am concerned with today. Most originate in what used to be Persia, the Iran region today. From there they moved into Europe over time.

Without further adieu, the ingredients: rutabaga, turnips, carrots, and parsnips. Now I left out a couple of others you may think about. Beets, the other major root, and onions and garlic. I used the latter two, but these are bulbs, not roots. Again, distraction.


Ingredient list:
2 sausages of your choice
1 rutabaga
2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 onion
2 celery stalks
a handful of mushrooms
salt, pepper and herbs.

Heat a heavy pot over medium heat and remove casings from sausage and cook until thoroughly browned. Really let these get brown.
While this cooks, peel and dice all those veggies.
Once the sausage is done, drain thoroughly and add veggies to the pot. Let them cook for a few minutes and then add the meat, salt, herbs, and enough water to cover.
Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer away for an hour or two.
Easily serves 4.

Pretty simple, yeah? The herbs are your choice, I used tarragon, a pinch of thyme and a bit of rosemary. The sausage is optional as well, I used brats. Also, note that I did not mention the turnips, or the garlic. I did make a garlic paste and threw that in, but I personally couldn't tell I used any. The turnips, I left out because I thought they would taste too similarly to the rutabaga.

After eating on this stew for a couple days, I was ready for something different. I roasted the turnips, with mushrooms, red onion, and whole garlic cloves, as well as parsnips and carrots. This method produced a much better flavor than just the boiling method, but that is no surprise. I will roast everything next time before putting the stew together. However, the difference between the turnips and the rutabagas was quite pronounced. I know this because left overs from both the stew and the roasted veggies were combined into one, delightful meal.

No potatoes, old school... I think these roots are lower in calories than the potatoes, which are tubers, or stems, not roots. Hmm, I'd better check that.

In a garden far far away...

First: I am sorry to the reader(s) of this blog for my lack of posts. This is a gardening blog, rightly so, the most severe drought in 50 years in this region, and the month of 100+ degree days kind of put me out of the mood. The fungus that I let go too long ended up killing nearly all of my tomato plants, but not before they paid off. The tomatoes were well worth the trouble I put in them, raising them from seed, and babying them so much my wife began to question my fidelity. After a month of dormant growth and neglect on my part, during which I changed jobs, started the fall semester and began a crazy house hunting campaign, the plants did something unexpected. They began to grow, flower and produce like it was May all over again. Going from brown crusty stems to vibrant bright green shoots over night, they are still on the mend, but laidened with fruits. I'm crossing my fingers for a fall crop of ripe, or semi-ripe tomatoes.

Second: After a couple of nights in the 40s, a welcomed break from the evil heat, something happened... The onions I set out this summer, bunching onions as they were called in the catalog, or as we call them in the West, scallions, which never grew more than chive size, began to take on a swamp-thing like growth spert. They quadrupled in size in a week, but what was more shocking was the seeds that I had planted, and thought died, never sprouting, sprouted near their now gigantor garden mates. That is when I learned about cold treatments for seeds, or stratification. Lettuce and onions are the two things I had the poorest luck in growing. Turns out I just needed to let those seeds chill out.

Right, well, I replanted enough lettuce to choke a rabbit. We'll see about that as well.

My posts may not be as frequent as when the blog opened, we are busy, but when we find a place, then steps in creating a real garden spot will be shared with all. Cross your fingers for Turkey Tomatoes.

Let me eat all night in your Seoul Kitchen

I know it's been a long time since my post. In my defense, the drought has literally dried out my will for gardening. Here in TN the rains just won't come, and since we are nearing water shortages, I cannot greedily pump as much water into my garden as it needs to stay green. Some time back I went through and lopped all the dead and dying bits from the tomato plants still hanging on. Some I pulled outright. I even tried to sucker a few out, but in this heat, forget it. I am not discouraged as a gardener at all, but next year I will do a few things differently. More to come on those tomato plant procedures this fall when the weather breaks.

As for the subject at hand: Korean Food. The avid reader... of this blog knows that I am a major Thai food fan. Hell, my Siam Queen is the healthiest plant out there despite my neglect and the heat. Lucky for me since I can't get enough of that bad ass basil flavor. I digress. Tonight, after being crushed by a real estate deal falling through, you know, where your dream home is bought out from under you by some usurping yahoo from out west, we decided we would treat ourselves with a night out to eat. We didn't spend thousands of dollars on a home after all, why not let someone else cook?

So, we went to the Seoul Kitchen. I've been wanting to go to this place for a long time, never stopping but often thinking about it when I pass by on the way to the grocery. It's a chain restaurant, I know that much, but the food is great and the service was even better. I got spicy grilled pork, and the wife had fried rice. These were our main dishes and they were different than the mainstay Asian entrees. Very nice, but not what I was the most impressed by. The comment "every meal comes with side dishes" peeked my interest. I thought rice was the side dish. Incorrect! There were lots to choose from, three kinds of Kim Chi, some mini-fishes that were chewy and salty, tofu, bean sprouts, some green stuff and a couple more. The poor waitress could hardly name anyof these in English, but did so with a smile. I felt like I had just come home and was served a home cooked meal. My only regret is that we couldn't try one of everything.

Enough Tomatoes already...

No, I'm not serious. Can one ever have too many?

Just another sample of the heirlooms. The lighting is a little deceiving. The sun was blasting through our thin green curtains. Still, the variety is great. From left to right on the image:

The small dark ones are Black Princes.
The large dark ones are Black Krims.
The medium red ones are Big Russian Romas, I think the larger on on the left is a cross with the German Queen it was growing with.
The large orange ones are Amana Oranges.


Profiles to follow after the season. It's a shame that I am having to pull some of these before they are 100% vine ripened, due mainly to foliage disease and insect damage. The color and flavor is still wonderful despite this.

Round 2

From the top. Black Prince, Sweet Orange Cherry, Golden Jubilee, and Russian Big Romas. Just a few we enjoyed last night. We will be having the first Amana Oranges of the season in the next day or two. They are really starting to ripen. Once the season is over, I plan on giving a full report on each variety, with pros and cons. That's months away though, no need to look that far ahead. I'm becoming addicted to fresh tomatoes. I don't know what I will eat this winter. Dehydrated ones I suppose.

Have you see this.... woman?

A many fungus among us..

Number 1

Number 2


Number 3

A sad day for the garden. While this did not happen over night, it certianly spread in less than a week to various other plants. Here are three different afflictions.

From the top: Number 1 is from my black prince plants. They started out the strongest seedlings, with the highest number of fruits among the non-cherry heirloom plants. I found mites on them, and this withering disease. So far my interent research has come up with little explanation as to what this is.

Number 2 is an example of my German Queen. The plant is nearly 80% in this condotion. There are new areas of new growth that is green and lush. However, these areas are now succumbing to whatever is killing the main plant leaves.

Number 3 is the only one I am fairly certian of. It's Early Blight, and with a few applications of a fungicide, it should clear up.
I hate to use it, but otherwise, the plant dies.

Drama in the garden.

Well the usual pests are in my garden. There are insects, like the worm in the picture on the right. I can be as tyrannical with these pests as I wish. Although mustard gas, fire bombing and machine gunning the VZ (Vegetable Zone) all come to mind as ways to destroy the infesting freeloaders, I generally just pick them off with chop sticks and throw them to the birds.

Other pests of course include cats. Cats are a nuisance on a number of levels, but mainly the ones I am concerned with are on the unsanitary side of things. The lady that lived here before likely had a numerous pride, and fed the local cats as well. Which of course turns the flower and garden beds into toilets and mating grounds. I'm sure you can imagine my joy in having to deal with numerous specimens of a species I am already on the fence about. You know what they say; all cats suck, but your own. Especially when the cats dig up your freshly mulched beds to make a little kitty deposit, or back up to you potatoes to let the other toms who's turf it is. Of course, I am a softy, sort of, so my methods of control rely heavily on scare tactics and non-lethal barrages of whatever I am holding at the time I spot the feline felons. Well even my hatred of the second most popular pet in America cannot stop me from enjoying the innocence of their young. Playing in the sun, napping, and even running off when I try to take pictures of them. Enter, the long lens.

However, the most disturbing pest was the 80+ year old non-English speaking woman my wife found picking tomatoes out of our garden Friday afternoon. It was an unnerving phone call, and I of course told her to take the tomatoes away from the elderly thief, but she refused. So, after referring to the manual, I did what would any iron-fisted tyrant should do, called the police! No, I didn't want them to take the tomatoes away from her after they used pepper spray, but before they cuffed and booked her, I just wanted to make sure they told whoever she lived with the scene, and to look out for her a little better. I don't want to have strangers in my backyard, especially when I can't use a hammer or a mortar round to get them out. I need to polish up on my Spanish. Es la bandita!

Luckily these were not taken. I would gladly share with the old bird, but I'm not having her traipse around in the garden. What if she falls?!? I even gave the nice police lady a couple Golden Jubilees I had on the counter. She was nice enough to bring me a couple of nice Japanese Eggplants from her garden. Stir fry tonight. Soon my own eggplants will be in full production. I have already picked one, and more should be coming in the next two weeks.

Pictures do last longer...

Especially when you are eating the subjects of said photos. No, I haven't turned cannibal on you, I'm into the tomatoes. As the days go by, more and more payoff from the garden makes all that work worth it. I'm turning from the Grasshopper to the Ant for you fable fans out there.
Here are some long overdue photos of my garden. They were taken this morning around 6.

There are about 60 little cherries on this plant.

This is a glimpse of why tomatoes need cages and cucumbers need Agent Orange. I swear three of the four seeds germinated and the vines grow like Swampthing when the sun hits him. Still, it's a good feeling when things grow. There are lots and lots of the little cucumbers, and I set up a nice trellis for them. However, plants aren't receptive to what you want them to do, you have to make/train them. One of the vines' main shoots is crawing up perfectly along the trellis. The other two main vines are growing into the heart of pepper country on one side and down to tomato town on the other... I'm just glad I only planted the one hill. I can't eat them raw and I plan to pickle them. I hope I actually go through with the process.




Last post was about pink tomatoes, well this is the cradle of life that they are growing out of. Currently I am enjoying a full tummy after slicing one of these bad boys up and putting it on a beef n cheddar. The applications of these fruits are endless. AS you can see there are three or four nearly ripe fruits. I have a couple on the counter as well.

Heirloom update: Black princes are suffering from something. I need to get my act together and find out what. Regardless, they are producing nicely, but they've yet to ripen. Here we are:

Asian Herbs

Menegi

Thai Holy


Siam Queen.

I see a green fruit and I want to paint it.... pink!

Well when I began this endeavor I was all pumped about growing all the strange and wonderful heirloom tomatoes. I've got nearly twenty of these plants growing like weeds, fruiting, and really just doing exactly what I had expected. I figure by the 4th of July I will have 10 pounds of ripe, organic homegrown heirloom tomatoes sitting on my counter just begging to be devoured. Orange ones, purple ones, red ones, yellow ones, big ones, smalls ones, long ones, round ones... ahem, you get the point.

That hasn't changed.


However, the store bought varieties are not to be thrown out. I have read lots of blogs and posts on forums about 'tasteless hybrids' that people got at the store. The two plants I have may not be hybrids, but generally the ones that are available at the big stores are or at least are considered that by true heirloom-start-from-seed-growers. The plants I bought at the mega store are a Golden Jubilee and a German Queen. They were larger than the seedlings I put out and I put them in the ground about a week and a half earlier than the seedlings.

They began producing fruit in abundance, and still are putting more out today. They are now ripening as well. I have harvested ten or so all told from the two plants. The G.J. produces smaller fruits for the most part, smaller than a baseball, with a couple nice exceptions. They are good eating, but nothing that special, aside from their pretty color. I will likely grow them again in the future.

The German Queen was planted over other store favorites like Better Boy and Big Beef this or that, because it is a Pink variety. My dad, a 50+ year veteran of tomato gardening said to try the pink ones. He said they always tasted the best. Well so far, I commend that advice for being absolutely spot on. I cut one with some cottage cheese and toast and was amazed. It was juicy of course, full colored, and had great flavor and texture, with more about a 80-20 flesh to seed ratio. Tonight we are having them with bacon. Maybe I'll get a photo up.

The Heirlooms have large shoes to fill...

Garden Update

It's hot and dry here. Spring lasted about two weeks, and Summer has its claws firmly latched around the region. 90s and no rain, and repeat.

Not good for gardening, unless you are raising Jalapeños.

Harvested so far: Beets, Potatoes and Onions.

The beets were, well beety. I wasn't that impressed with their fresh flavor, and will likely grow them for greens from now on. I would rather put in a couple more rows of onions.

Speaking of them, the onions turned out great. They are small, much smaller than store bought, but I had them under black plastic and it's been hot here. That shortened their season. Not to worry. I will put some more in this fall and they should do nicely.

Next is the potatoes. The plants grew wonderfully until about two weeks ago. Then they began to wilt and loose color. I wasn't to concerned since I didn't plan on a banner crop anyway. Still the small single hill I planted produced at least two meals worth of taters for the wife and I. Good eatin up ahead.

The tomatoes are beginning to shake off the BER. None are really turning yet. Man I wish I had cages for them.

Lost all my Aunt Ruby German Greens to a Virus.

Green Sausage is really going to have to turn around to be a worth while plant next year. 10 fruit have been plucked of the one plant due to BER.

Black Prince's are loaded, Black Krims are still having growing pains, but along with the Russian Romas and Amana Oranges, they are coming around.

My Golden Jubilees are loaded but so sprawled out the fruit is getting burned. I might have to rig something to help them get a bit of shade.

German Queen looks great.

Eggplant is blooming.

Peppers are slow but steady.

The damn cucumber is trying its hardest to destroy my garden. It has trailers growing up pepper, tomato and eggplant plants. I really didn't plant but one hill, but those vines are monsters. Good thing is, there are about 50 2 inch picklers on it. yippee!

Just need those tomatoes to start turning...

Visual aid of some Heirlooms

I can't keep talking about these tomatoes and not sharing with you just what all my fuss is about. Forgive the formatting of the photos. I haven't grasped adding these pictures yet 100%.

These are the Green Sausages. I think I have some BER, likely from Calcium deficiencies since this is in a container. Still plenty of manure. I will see if the problem is isolated to one fruit and research quick take calcium options in the meantime. Aren't they all weirdo lookin'?

These are the Black Princes. Nice globes, quiet different. So far the best heirloom producer in the garden. I know it's early.


Here is a Black Krim. He snuck up on me. He was hiding deep in the bush. "I finded him, I finded him!"

A couple of the Big Russian Romas. These lads are popping up in 3-4 clusters, with one per plant. So I guess I should expect about twelve at a time... Almost enough for some sauce.

I will put up a photo of the mess that the rest of my garden is asap. 90s today, gross, I hope I have no blossom drop.

Frankenvine's monster.

I know, I know, it's been nearly a month since I last posted. Well work, and whatnot have kept me busy, and throw in a week at the OBX and you have just that, a month away from the blog. Also, the garden was just perking along, and aside from a couple of very small tomatoes popping up around Mother's Day, there wasn't much to talk about. Plant growth, and more plant growth.


I now see my folly in my naive underestimation of the ability of tomato plants to grow. One day, there are two dozen nice healthy looking plants. I go on a week vacation, hire a couple of cousins to water while I am gone, and come back to Vietnam. I get home and the three or four mini tomatoes I left are now the size of my fist. That's not the surprising part. What is most shocking is the growth of the plants. The two store bought ones are over four feet tall, and the rest, that were hovering on the one foot mark are now nearly 3, even the little guys that were under a foot are now impressive. Some of them are so large, sprawling and ridiculous, I can hardly tell where one plant ends and the next begins. I swear I feel like I am now dealing with Audrey II when I go out to my garden. That or the Predator is going to make that funny noise and then leap out of the tomatoes and get me...

There were two more revelations that the garden provided. One, the banana pepper plant that had three or four 4-inch peppers was purchased as a jalapeño pepper plant. No worries though, I have one of those still and was wanting some banana peppers as well. To bad they are mild.

The second was the amount of tomatoes those three or four mini ones turned to have following them. On the German Queen and the Golden Jubilee there are over 50. That's TWO plants, over 50 tomatoes!!!! Seriously, think biblical plagues here.

On the heirlooms I counted another twenty or so, mostly in the form of Black Princes. They are small and round, about the size of the store bought varieties were when I left.

Tonight I have a few hours of watering and tying up ahead of me. I must be doing something right. Many thanks to the watering duo I trusted to keep the green monsters hydrated.

Keep in mind that I thought I might get 20 tomatoes over a season on each plant. And before June I had 50 on two.

I'd better invest in some canning material before too long.

The Earl of Sandwich might not approve...

But I do!

Thai inspired, western adaptation of a classic Japanese ingredient. You guessed it, Tofu!

Makes 1 sandwich, multiply by the number of guests

-A nice hearty multi grain bread.
-Some extra firm tofu drained, cut into slabs 1/4 inch thick, and soaking in soy sauce. 2 slabs per sandwich.
-Some lettuce or sprouts
-A few nice basil leaves
-Peanut butter, all natural is best
-Olive or Sesame oil

In a non stick skillet heat a thin layer of the oil, and place the tofu in a single layer, no stacking!
Let that side cook and firm up nicely.
Meanwhile, stack your sandwich. I just included basic ingredients. I like chili sauce, and thinly sliced onion on mine as well, just play around and add whatever you wish.


Flip tofu and let it get nice a brown on the other side. Place directly onto sandwich and serve with Asian Slaw or baby carrots. Healthy as can be!

I know, peanut butter and all this other weird stuff, how can that be anything but gross. Well it's great. You get nice warm tofu, crisp greens, pungent basil and to top it all off, a savory and rich surprise, peanut butter.

Drawing strength from Ing

Yesterday I finally put my tomato plants in the ground. Seventeen all told of the various kinds listed below. I hope that my gardens are set up properly and my plants do well. I didn't just plow up the dirt and begin planting. The two beds are both raised, but the soil of each is quite different. The large bed was there when we moved in. The soil here was black, and sandy, extremely sandy I thought. It was soft, and very loose. I added a bit of organic matter in the form of about 20 gallons of horse manure. Not enough, but it should help. There was evidence of the previous year's crops. Tomatoes...

This was both encouraging and discouraging. Obviously they grew in the garden. That means the soil would support them. The bad news is that since last year tomatoes were grown, likely disease resistant hybrids bought at the local mega-mart garden center, there was a greater chance for contamination of the soil, and then my plants. I'm crossing my fingers. I planted seventeen plants, so hopefully even if some of them succumb to the elements, I should have plenty of hardy plants remaining to supply a bountiful harvest.

That is partially where the second, exclusive tomato bed comes in. My dad and I built and put these in at the end of March. In a patch of the yard that was overgrown with a gardener's worse nightmare: Bermuda grass. Still, not to be dismayed, I shaved this layer of grass off the soil, and worked the soil over to a depth of the shovel blade, about eight inches. There was once a tree here. I found a nice large rotten root system in the ground. It was almost 100% composted. This was a nice surprise since the rest of the soil was clay. It was blackish-gray clay and full of worms, but clay nonetheless. So, 9x9 cubic feet of sphagnum peat moss, cow manure, and top soil from a cattle feed lot was added, and mixed thoroughly, multiple times. I gave it a nice watering, and like my main bed, covered the entire thing with black plastic. There it sat for nearly six weeks as I grew my seedlings, and worried and fretted over them being large and tough enough to plant upon the arrival of May.

My main concern with this bed is that some of the organic matter might be too 'hot' for the plants. I suppose it's a little late to worry about it now, but since this second bed contains my main crop of never before planted , all heirloom, varieties I can't help myself. One thing that I am not worried about as much with this bed is contamination from years past. No tomatoes grew among the Bermuda as far as I could tell, so this should be the first time for this stretch of land. I will post the outcome.

For clarity, I should talk a little about first the soil, and second the varieties of tomatoes there in. Now, a note on soil. Soil rich in organic matter like manure, plant debris, etc, is good stuff. That has been my goal in building, and rebuilding the composition of these beds. However, I noticed that the base each of these beds lye on is clay. The dreaded clay of the South! Well not the red stuff from Georgia, or Alabama, as mentioned previously this stuff is black. To me, that sounds good. Also, it is full of earth worms, always a good sign of fertility. Clay is not altogether bad as some may lead us to believe. Now soil composed of nothing but clay is worthless. It is messy, cold, damp, and hard. Then again, soil with an abundance of sand is dry, hot, and so loose it blows away. So if you turn your bed, and run into some clay, don't freak out, just work in organic matter, like peat moss, and break that clay up. It will hold water where sand will dry out, kind of like a camel's hump does. Think moderation people, too much of anything generally turns out to be no good, tomatoes excluded of course.

Next are the varieties of the tomato plants. I do not mean the specific varieties named after the fruit they produce, like German Queen, or The Big Russian Romas. I am talking about heirloom vs hybrid. There is one main difference I am concerned with. Hybrids are plants that have been crossed and bred to be resistant to diseases. These plants stand up better to diseases than other, non resistant types. Those for the most part are the heirlooms. This group contains vast different varieties that have been bred for their differences as opposed to their resistances. If they have a resistance, that's a bonus, but don't count on it. Since most of the plants I put in are heirlooms, I have to be extra careful and attentive to them should they show signs of any disease.

Why go to the trouble? Well, what's the fun of everything being the same? That's why I would make a poor communist, I like diversity. So, for some extra work and trouble, I planted all these neat-o types in hopes they won't contract some epic plague like disease and rot before my very eyes. Since I hope to grow them as organically as possible, I am making it extra difficult since I will be keeping away from chemicals to control such diseases. Wish me luck. I will need it, but since the tomato only bed is new, it should remain relatively disease free, barring insect carriers infesting it.

***Breaking News*** The two early ones I put in have multiple blooms and are nearing stake size!!! ***Breaking News***

Also, I found a few small pink aphids hanging around. I then went to the most lethal pesticides I could find: my hands! A quick, ginger rubbing of the stalk ground these little botanical vampires to a fine paste.

Oh and in case you were wondering about the title, Ing is the Norse god of the Earth. No, I'm not a worshiper of Thor or Odin, though that would be cool, I am just a geek.

Tis the Season I guess

Just thought I would share...

2 cans refried black beans, fat free if you like.
3 or 4 cloves of fresh garlic finely diced into a paste
1 lime zested and juiced
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp jalapeño powder
1 tsp Spanish paprika
salt to taste.

Combine ingredients and eat with chips and beverage..

If you want it hot, and are not making it for a party as I have here... add a fresh serrano or jalapeno dices fine with seeds. MMMmmmm

Fresh Cilantro and raw onion, diced, make a nice garnish.

Lessons learned

Well, I made my stir fry last night. It was a typical stir fry with a twist of Thai, and I was able to accomplish part of what I set out to do.

First, the rice was just right for frying, so the 1 to 1 H2O ratio is the way to go! However, I didn't get my wok as hot as it needed to be until after I put the rice in. I know this because at first, there was some build up in the bottom of the wok. This build up was ricey-residue I suppose, that was easily removed when the heat was increased and I stirred some more.

I think one has to use a no fear approach to wok cooking. Get the damn thing hot, white hot! Yeah, it seems dangerous, and really it is, but if it's not hot enough, you might as well use a non-stick skillet.

I also did the opposite of what I said to do. I did it in one big batch. Too much rice! My veggies were a problem as well, too many, crowded the wok, cooled it down, etc... Next time, one batch per person! I still made a mess and didn't save any real time this way. Now, I will say this, the flavor was pretty good, and it wasn't until after I got high praise from my too-kind wife, that I told her the dreaded fish sauce was used. She was not amused with my ploy.

Ah well, the ingredients listed still can turn a regular generic stir fry into a Thai inspired one with little fuss. As with all cooking from that part of the world, and really I guess any you aren't accustom to, it's all about technique.

I did find one true winner in this endeavor. Tofu. Instead of throwing it in with the veggies, I decided I would make it its own dish. I cut it into thin slivers, and fried them in a little olive oil. Meanwhile I mixed up lime juice, soy sauce and some peanut butter. Once the slivers' texture was improved I added the sauce. This was a hit! I'm not a big fan of the tofus' soft, gooey texture, and my wife hates it, but this was pleasing to tooth and taste.

On the Menu #1

That's right, Thai Eggplant! I know, these guys look like pretty poor specimens, and honestly, I'm far from happy with their condition (just look at those icky black calyxes!). However, I live in TN, and it's not even May yet, so unless I am growing them, or someone else is locally, these guys are going to always be a few weeks off the plant before I can get my hands on them. Really, I am lucky to get them at all. I put their age at minimum 2 weeks. I also got some Thai Basil at the international mega mart, Siam Queen I think. Again, the age of the cutting was pretty old, but I wanted the taste. Not to worry it was very cheap, 5 times the amount for fresh sweet basil in a local super market, and for half the price of that! I will have my own fresh plants within a couple of weeks...

I cleaned all these, separated the good from the bad and boiled up some rice as well. Now, the menu for tonight.

Thai Fried Rice For 2:
2 cups boiled long grain brown rice, H2O ratio: 1 to 1
1/4 cup small frozen shrimps
1/2 cup cubes extra firm tofu
Thai Eggplants
2 eggs
Carrot slivers or dice
Snow Peas
Mushrooms
Green Onion cut on the diagonal
Chilies
1 clove Garlic fine dice
1 tsp Ginger ground
1 Lime, halved
Fish Sauce or Soy Sauce
A sprig of basil leaves
1 tbsp Peanut Oil divided

Fried rice is a dish I have not yet mastered, but I am close. In the past I have used still warm, very hydrated rice. This can really get a nice flavor, but the consistency is very mushy. Well this time I boiled my rice with a 1 to 1 water to rice ratio instead of the traditional 2 to 1. This gives me a much more hearty grain to work with.

The ingredients are rather extensive, but for the most part easy to obtain or replace. Always prep every ingredient before your stir fry. Otherwise your Wok will turn into a black smoking crater while you try to cut up your tofu, or open your snow peas. That would be unpleasant.

The order is easy. First make sure your wok is clean and there are no black chunks from the last time you made Chinese. I admit, I will have to do this. Then, and I am cooking on electric *sigh*, set it on the number 1 burner and crank the heat up to high, red hot high.

Add oil, then ginger and garlic, and continue to add in veggies, shrimp and tofu stirring constantly. Make a well in the middle of the wok and add the egg. Let that get brown and crispy on the bottom and then add in the rest of your ingredients.

Cook until your rice is warmed up and serve with a fresh green onion on top and half of lime on the side. That's it. Churn each ingredient in quickly and cook it fast. Enjoy with a Singha beer or some tea.

If it doesn't taste exactly like the take out, no worries, it's your version.

All of those ingredients are optional, except maybe the oil and the rice I suppose. Personally, I like the hot chilies and the shrimp. My Wife does not, so our batches will be a little different. It's harder to do two different batches than it is to do one big one, but for me, the more times I practice, the better I get. This trick is to try it, and remember what you did when it turns out the way you want it.

I hope this helps. Let me know!

Plants plants plants!

Well, Sunday was yard/patio/garden day around the Casa. The wife and I set out some more plant life to further increase the visual appeal of our hodge podge of a rental and to utilize the energy and nutrients from sun and soil.

In the front of the house she planted some small white flowers, and managed the ones she put in earlier in the week. She also made up a window box in the window over the sink in the kitchen. Finally she put a couple of nice potted plants on the deck and now everything looks much better. Please forgive me for just saying plants and flowers.. I don't know much about them. My limited knowledge lies in food plants.

***Breaking News***
Despite my rant on the quality of the cheap soil, I am happy to announce the lettuce has sprouted! Less than a week, that's not bad!

The 50 or so tomato seedlings were set out, with a white sheet canopy to block out the 80+ degree sun we are having but allow them to adjust to the temperature and light before I throw them in the ground next weekend. When I get home today I hope that I do not find four dozen crispy brown plants where I thought my tomatoes would be. I watered them this morning, they should be fine... See Photo for plants before transfer outside. Some of the leaves were sunburned last weekend when I began the hardening process.


Next comes Basil. Recap: I love Thai food, and Thai food uses lots of Basil. Also, I am growing lots of tomatoes, in case you haven't noticed. Well, Basil and tomatoes go hand in hand, at least I like them together. So, I figured I had better get to growing. I planted 4 kinds, Holy Thai, Lime, Siam Queen and a Sweet variety. Some are up already that I put in last week. Soon, I should have too much to keep up with! Won't that be nice?

I also put in some Asian style bunching onions called menegi. They are interchangeable with chives, which so far I have had no luck getting to germinate. I'm crossing my fingers with these.

Next, I put in some cucumbers for summer pickling and fresh use in salads. Only one hill though, since we have such limited space and they tend to sprawl a bit.

Last but hopefully not least, I planted some Thai Eggplants. After doing a project for my Vegetable Gardening class on them, I found out that there were lots of varieties other than the 'Italian' kind. So I ordered some seeds, and planted them. I think all fears of cold weather are past, so now I just have to wait. I went down to the international mega market down the street and purchased some of the fruit. It looked pretty pitiful, but I wanted to try it before I put too terribly much effort in growing some for my own. These specimens looked like they were grown over seas and were likely a couple weeks off the plant. Nonetheless I washed them, and even cut one up, gave it a quick stir fry with some fish sauce, and I must admit my surprise it was delicious!! I can just imagine what they will be like picked fresh from the garden after work when I want some stir fry. I am going to cook these tonight in fact, more on that later.

Potting soil

So, I thought I would get a long narrow flower box and put out some more lettuce. I got the box, some seeds, and some generic dollar a bag potting soil from the mega place. This stuff is crap, and not the kind gardeners like. It was muddy clay and river rocks. Probably some reject from a suburbia yard dug out when putting in the swimming pool.

Next time, I'll spend the 4 extra dollars and get the good stuff. Lesson learned.


Hopefully my lettuce will grow.

Nine fine vines... plus 2

I mentioned 9 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes I am growing. Well, how about a run down?

First my source. I order these online from a seed provider named Gary Ibsen. His site is here: Tomatofest He has an amazing variety of tomatoes and is a real stand up distributor. I sent him an email commenting on me, in my novice attempts, failing to germinate a couple of varieties. I was just letting him know for his records, but he sent me a bunch of free seeds anyway. Five stars.

Now the varieties:

Number 1: Black Krim. I had no idea that tomatoes came in anything other than red and green, and I thought the green ones just weren't ripe. Imagine my surprise when I found that there were Black-purple ones! Well I ordered some of these. They are a beefsteak kind, that is suitable for patio growing. Until I made more raised beds, I thought I would be limited to buckets on the deck. Not so! I will put a couple of these in the main tomato bed.

Number 2: Black Prince. These are smaller black-purple tomatoes that I wanted, again for containers. I admit, the picture sold me. If my tomatoes look and taste half as nice as that picture, they will be well worth the trouble. Despite a slow start for these seedlings, so far my two biggest plants are this cultivar. Exciting.

Number 3: Amana Orange. I believe these are pretty well known to tomato growers around the country. According to G.I.'s site, they are late season and make some monsters. Plus they say that orange vegetables, or in this case fruits, increase vigor and slow the aging process. Always a good time to start that!

Number 4: Russian Big Romas. These are large Romas, and are billed as being disease resistant. They should make fine pasta sauce, but their main application will be sun-drying. This way, I can make and eat as many as I want, with no limit, or without any one's permission! Yes, say it, I am greedy for them.

Number 5: Sweet Orange Cherry. These appeal to many levels. Orange, see above, cherry, which means lots and lots, and I can grow them in containers. I plan on giving a couple of these plants away as well. They are my second best growing seedling thus far.

Number 6: Blondkopfchen. These are small golden cherries that are rumored to have a terrific flavor. Stir fry, salad, salsa, etc etc.. I am really looking forward to these and am growing two plants in one large pot. Probably a bad idea, but as rich as that soil it, they should both do fine.

Number 7: Green Sausage. These are the strangest ones I am growing I guess. They are long green-yellow and sausage shaped... Regardless, they looked like good ones to make sauce with and they grow bushy instead of viney, think space people.

Number 8: Aunt Ruby German Green. These are German Greens, with traces of pink flesh. To me that screams flavor and acidity. Also, and I wish I had thought of this when I initially ordered these seeds, this cultivar grew nicely in TN, and we all know where I am. So, hopefully it should do well here.

Number 9: Flamme. A bonus G.I. sent me with my order. I started them late, but these meaty looking cherries might just pay off late in the summer.

The 'plus two' are my early plants I put out. German Queen and Golden Jubilee. I planted these as insurance. Since I've never done any of this before, I figured a couple store bought plants would serve where my seedlings could not. We'll see. I'll put out pictures of the operation soon.

All Thai-ed up!

In case you haven't deducted it from my name, I am a major fan of Thai food. I have not been exposed to as much as I would like, but I am slowly getting a feel for the cuisine. Living in the South, perhaps it is fitting. From June to September it's hot and humid here, quite miserably for a lad like myself. Although the latitude compared to Thailand is quite further North, and the zone, temperate instead of tropic, I feel like the South is in ways as to the U.S. as Thailand is to the East. It's hot here, and many southern meals include spicy food, that sounds quasi-Thai, yeah? Maybe it sounds like that because I want it to, and I am alright with that!

For the last week I have been madly craving some Basil-X stir fry. (The X being interchangeable, shrimp, chicken, etc.) I imagine that the past week of spot searching the internet for Thai ingredients for my garden is what put the taste in my mouth, so be it. Well lucky for me my wife likes stir fry, and was of like mind in that neither of us wanted to cook anything. Another boon to my bellyaching is that we live a mere two blocks away, give or take, to the Siam Cafe, a small Thai joint known for excellent food. We've been there before and loved it. I had gotten their Pad Thai previously and was happy as a clam with the selection. So we went, ate our fill, took the rest home. It was a good night.

Then I got to thinking. Well before I go any further, let me preface this by saying that I would recommend the Siam Cafe to anyone who likes Thai food and lives in Nashville. Seriously it is nice, the service is wonderful, the food is great, atmosphere, price, all winners. Also, I got what I wanted, Basil-X. When I looked back on the ingredients used, while flavorful, and to my virgin-Thai mind, authentic in taste, the dish seemed pretty ordinary. There was nothing there I couldn't get at the local, non-super market. Accept the Basil, which is accessible in any super market.

Ingredients List:
Steamed White Rice
Onion
Green Bell Pepper
Button(White) Mushrooms
Chicken
Red Pepper Flakes
Soy Sauce maybe a Fish Sauce
Oil, likely peanut or veg.

I know, not every dish is some exotic masterpeice. I don't expect that at all, but maybe we could pull a little closer to the mark than that. How about oyster or straw mushrooms? Or some lemon grass, or something a little bit more unique/authentic. Don't get me wrong, again, I must stress that I am a loyal customer that will go back time and time again to our little Thai treat in south Nashville, I just won't order that again. Now, the Pad Thai, it will be hard not to get that one.

I suppose I should prove to myself that this dish can be made at home, with funky ingredients, for more people, at a lower cost per plate. A few miles down the road is a large international market. If I cannot find them at the mega mart I will gather them there.

Our land lords moved up from New Orleans and spoke of backyard gardens of Southeast Asian families that sold produce. I don't know any in these parts but that would be killer. Please let me know if you find one!

Well, I need to order some Holy Basil seeds and some Thai eggplant.

Oh, if you like to make your own Thai food, but need some help: Thai Table

To begin,

While I hope that readers enjoy my successes and learn from my failures (I've had a few already) my main purpose of this blog, other than sharing, is archiving the activities of my garden for future reference. I hope that fellow gardeners in the area, as well as those abroad with more experience will comment their own findings in their gardens. So, where to begin, I suppose with what's in the ground already?

Well as most of this part of the country knows, April has been mean to plant-life. The Easter frost killed off lots of beautiful spring vegetation, and most of the plants are still in recovery. My garden was no exception. The beet sprouts and my foolish attempt at early tomatoes and peppers were destroyed. Not to worry, I was able to replant the beets and they are back in action. I also replaced the peppers and tomatoes. I am keeping my fingers crossed for mild weather until June.

With everything back on the green giddy-up and go let me give a small list of what exactly is planted.

First, Sage, there were 4 or 5 sage plants in the raised bed when we moved in to our little rental. I dug up half of them and trimmed the remaining ones back to the ground. The frost turned their remarkable lime green spring growth into gray withered leaves, but these hardy lads should come back in a week or two. I will trim them back soon.

Onions, I have sweet and red ones. They defied the frost, and actually look promising. I plan on thinning them out in a few weeks to make room for them to grow fat for dry storage.

The Beets are next, red and gold ones. I saw these guys roasted on a competitive cooking television program I am a fan off, and since my only exposure to this root thus far in my life has been in the form of the canned variety, I thought I would give them a try. Like the onions, I will thin them back in a few weeks once they are well established to get some nice big ones for later in the summer.

Lettuce is another one I planted that survived the frost. I planted these in spots instead of just broadcasting them in rows. I think I will go ahead and start more in a container to make up for their lack of numbers. Again, first garden.

The Tomatoes and Peppers, two of each, are just a couple of attempts at getting some nice fresh treats a little earlier. We'll see how they make it.

Last I have potatoes. I was given these from my mother in law. They are performing nicely and have bounced back better than anything from that frigid egg the easter bunny left behind.

In the house I have 9 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. As with the gardening, this is my first attempt at starting any thing from seed. I've made nearly every mistake possible, but at least half should make a somewhat healthy entrance into their own beds we made for them. More on those treasures in the coming week.

The forecast looks good for the garden.