Get Me Outta Here!!!

Nature has a funny way of making the unthinkable happen. Take for instance the power of the cucumber. Our cuke plants this year spread through the garden like wildfire. And when it ran out of room...they worked their way outside the backyard. And then last week, I found this curly guy. The cucumber somehow pushed out a panel of our fence as it grew. When it could push it out no more, the cucumber curled around the fence.
Needless to say, it was not easy to harvest this guy. I had to pull apart the fence further and then wiggle the cucumber out.

A Neglected Garden (and Blog)

What kills a garden quickly? No farmer around to take care of it. The combination of McCain campaign embed, two weeks in St. Paul, MN for the RNC, Hurricane Ike, and a couple half week trips to Cleveland, Albuquerque, and Maine have left the poor garden neglected and fading. My boss also mentioned that the neglect has also fallen on my blog.
This weekend, it was time to catch back up and give the garden a little pep before it goes dormant in a couple months. Today, I picked all the ripe tomatoes, a bell pepper, and two cucumbers. I also cut off damaged tomatoes and some bell peppers attacked and eaten by ants.


I figure the more I can trim and pick off, the less the plants have to worry about supporting.
It had been a good month since I fed the plants, so I took 30 minutes to do that as well. Hopefully with a fresh supply of food and cooler, dry temperatures, the garden can come back alive and give us some more goodies before Thanksgiving.

The Basil Was In A Bad Need Of A "Haircut"

Hanna In The House

It may not have been great for the folks in the Carolinas, but we needed the heavy rains the tropical storm brought to the Capital Beltway. Come tomorrow morning, I'll be out in the garden to do a lot of pruning, weeding, and feeding

Ooohh-lala, Saucey!!!

Since I'm in St. Paul, MN for the next two weeks, I thought this would be a good time to fire off some recipes. What good is a vegetable garden if you don't have anything to use the harvest for?

Before I start, I will apologize for the lack of specific amounts for the ingredients. I just judge it all by eye. A smidge here, a handful there, hmmmm...might as well use all those.

The main ingredient is of course the tomatoes. You can use a couple cans of crushed tomatoes; I'm using about 25 small fresh Roma tomaters.

Ingredients:

Roma Tomatoes, blanched
Half Onion, diced
Six Garlic Cloves, minced
Handful of Basil Leaves, chopped
Couple Sprigs of Rosemary, minced
Handful of Thyme, minced
Handful of Oregano, minced
Cup of Red Wine (and use some crappy stuff..save the good wine for drinking)
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Steps:
Heat up the olive oil in a pot. Bring a pot of water to a boil as well. Add onion to olive oil and cook for about 4 minutes. When the onion begins to turn clear, add garlic and continue for another couple of minutes. Add wine to the onions and garlic and let simmer. Meanwhile, take the tomatoes and cut an "X" in the bottom of each fruit. When water comes to a boil, add tomatoes and let them sit in boiling water for only 2-3 minutes.
Pull tomatoes out and rinse with cold water. Then grab the top of the tomato and squeeze the flesh out thus separating from the skin.
Discard skins and add tomato fleshes to onions, garlic, and wine. Add minced herbs along with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to let simmer for 15-20 minutes. ***Note: You can add Italian sausage to the sauce as well.***
Serve over desired pasta and enjoy.

There you have it. It may not be the perfect sauce recipe that your grandmama made when you were a little tot. But it's quick and fairly easy.

A Southern Comfort

It's probably not a plant most people find in home gardens. At least, not in gardens north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

With a little Cajun in my blood, I've always had a small place in my tummy for okra. So this summer, I figured I should try and grow my own since it's difficult to find in the produce section this far north (which is funny to say since the capital of the Confederacy is about 100 miles south of us).

I did a little research to see exactly what I should look for and do in growing okra. Like all other vegetables, there are several varieties of okra. The most popular seems to be a species created and bred by Clemson University....called Clemson Spineless. Part of the attraction to this variety is the lack of a tough exterior. Eventually I found one plant tucked away in the Home Depot vegetable plant section. A couple weeks later I found a second variety, the Cajun Delight, at our stellar nursery near the house. I planted both in a large pot along with two long stakes to steady the plants as they grew. I had read that okra plants could grow to 5 ft. tall.

The Clemson Spineless was slow to take-off, but the Cajun Delight was gangbusters. I have had plenty of okra..which have come in two waves. I had a great harvest in mid-July followed by a second jump in okra pods about a week ago.


It is a very interesting looking vegetable to watch grow and mature. It first appears as a pretty yellow flower. But the flower only blooms for about 12 hours and then falls off. Underneath that bloom is the young pod. Within a day or two, the pod grows several inches and ready to be picked. The prime size to cut off the okra pods is about 2-4 inches. Anything larger than that and the pod becomes too tough and not easy to eat.

Some folks don't like okra because of it's slimy flesh. But my grandpa claims cooking okra with a little vinegar can take care of that. I've found when you fry it, the slime disappears.

Either way, I'm happy okra has been a part of our garden.

Slowly But Surely

It's been awhile since my last post. Not a whole lot exciting has been happening except for the fact that both of us have not been home this week. But there has been one very pleasant surprise this week...and this summer as a whole.

A lot of people I talk to with home gardens always say that bell peppers are the most fickle plants. More times than not, they don't produce much except frustration.

But this year, our bell pepper plants have been amazing. Not just a lot of fruit, but they have been large in size. And just this past week or so, we've finally reaped the rewards. We have at least a half dozen ripe red bell peppers on the plant....with another half dozen yet to ripen. I've also noticed that the peppers take a long time to ripen on the vine compared to other vegetable plants. But once we cut into one and tasted it....we knew it was well worth the wait.

Why did this year's crop do so much better than last? It could be a lot of factors. I put them in a bigger pot. I bought these plants at a quality garden center opposed to last year's plants from Home Depot. It could be the potting mix I used. Maybe the drought last year was too much to handle. It could be a lot of reasons. Regardless, I consider the bell peppers the big success of this year's garden.

"Why You Lil' Sunuva...."

I've seen a lot of little "guests" in the garden this summer. Ants, the occassional slug near the cucumbers, and even a couple preying mantis taking care of some other pests on the okra plants.

But when I saw a couple of green tomatoes gnawed on at the top of the Marglobe plant (over 6' high)...I knew my little squirrel buddy was not the culprit.

Then today, while I was trimming off some dead branches on my tomato plants, I came across two of these nasty little creatures. And after a little research, I discovered the little brown droppings on the leaves I've seen for the past couple weeks should have tipped me off. Ladies and gents, I give you the tomato hornworm caterpillar.



It gets it's name in part because of the horn-shaped red things on its last section (right side of pic).

So are these caterpillars friend or foe? Well, the answer is foe. They enjoy eating tomato plant leaves. And with a little Google research, I discovered they go after the fruit in July and August. So there's the answer to my half-eaten tomato mystery.

There are a couple ways to take care of them. Apparently nature takes care of business when a certain type of wasp will lay eggs on the hornworm and eventually the hatched larvae will eat away at the caterpillar. But I don't have the time or leaf capacity to wait for that to happen. So I went with the technique best for small gardens.....I just picked them off. Unfortunately, as I was picking one off the Roma plant, he fell deeper into the plant and I could not find him. But fear not, I will find him come hell or high water.

There's also a pesticide that takes care of the little buggers, but I'm going to shy away from that chemical option. Let's just hope there aren't a lot more hiding from me. I prefer my tomatoes get eaten by two-legged folks...not ten-legged ones.

Where The Buffalo Roam

Floating Down The Snake River In Grand Teton National Park

The farmer surprised his better half with a trip to Wyoming for her birthday/Bar exam completion. We've spent the weekend visiting a couple of our nation's beautiful national parks. Part of our visit included a float trip on the Snake River. During our venture, our guide explained the settlement of the Jackson Hole valley back in the 1800s. The big industry of the time was fur trading....more specifically beaver pelts. But the folks who didn't fare so well (and still do not) were farmers. Two main reasons for the lack of good agriculture in this area: it's an arid climate in the summertime and there are only 60 frost-free days each year. That gives you about two whole months to grow anything....and that's not much.

The only thing that is prevalent around here is sagebrush, which is pretty useless. Not even the native bison will eat that garbage.

So if you move here, don't plan on much of a home garden unless you plan on building a greenhouse.

"Excuse me, can a bison get a homegrown tomato around here?"

The ABCs of the T-O-M-A-T-O

This Patio Tomato Is The Biggest We've Had This Season

It's probably a safe bet to say that tomatoes are the cornerstone of most home gardens. And when us novice gardeners go in search of tomato plants or seeds in the spring, there are hundreds of varieties to choose from at the garden center. This year, I tried four varieties: Patio, Big Boy, Marglobe, and Roma. The Romas have produced the most, but the Patio has done best in both quantity and quality. The past week, I've spent a lot of time picking ripe tomatoes off the four plants.

Last night on The Food Network HD, Alton Brown's Good Eats show focussed on this vegetable...errrr....fruit. That's right, tomatoes are actually fruit. And to that, homegrown tomatoes are infinitely better tasting than store-bought tomatoes. Why? Couple reasons. Mainly, the tomatoes you buy in a grocery store are not fully ripened to their full taste-potential. Sure, they look ripe, but they're not. Commercial tomatoes are picked while still green on the vine. If commercial farms waited to pick ripened tomatoes, the fruit would never last the long journey from field to grocery store. So they pick them unripe. And they pretty much stay that way until they get to our grocery cart. Why are they red? According to Brown, the tomatoes are put in an air-tight room and exposed to ethylene gas. The gas is suppose to restart the ripening process, but the best it can do is just turn the tomatoes red.

So we know homegrown tomatoes are much better than store-bought. Now, what can you do to get the most out of your garden 'maters? We've listed a couple things in previous blogs, i.e. pruning, watering, feeding. Another good idea is to grow basil next to your plants. A lot of different types of plants grow well next to each other because of their symbiotic relationships. In this case, the scent coming off a basil plant will ward off pests on your tomato plants.

Also, when you pick your tomaotes, DO NOT put them in the fridge. Storing tomatoes below 50 degrees will begin to destroy the flavor and texture of the tomatoes. Store them in a cool place away from direct sunlight. Me? I prefer storing them in my stomach.

"It's not a toooomah"

The Farmer Must Rest

After an early morning of gardening, it appears I was a little tuckered out on the couch while watching NASCAR practice sessions.

Our Little Bundle of Joy!!

He came into our kitchen at a quaint 2 lbs., 4 oz., 6 3/4 inches long. Our first cantaloupe fell off the vine this morning and is now resting comfortably on our kitchen countertop. It's funny to see the picture at the top of the blog and then see the fruit now. It didn't grow very big, but it is the same size as "organic" cantaloupes I saw in Safeway yesterday.

I worried at what point the cantaloupe would be ripe and ready to pick. Apparently the plant knew when it decided to break off the vine. And if you put your nose to the top of the fruit, you can smell the sweet melon scent.

Come tomorrow night after dinner, we're going to find out how successful our cantaloupe growing prowess really is when we cut it open and eat it.

A Proud Papa

UPDATE: We cut the cantaloupe on Friday and it was perfect.... ripe, juicy, and very tasty!!!

"Feed Me, Seymour!"

I finally got around to feeding all the plants today. The food I use is Miracle Gro's Tomato Food. Despite the name, it works for vegetable plants other than just tomatoes. When looking for vegetable food, the three important elements to look for are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Each nutrient serves a very important purpose. Nitrogen helps build green tissue in plants. This makes the plants grow stronger stems and leaves. It gives the plant leaves a dark green color. A lot of all-purpose plant foods are very high in nitrogen. That's great for other plants to grow all season. But we don't want vegetable plants with just big, green leaves. Phosphorus helps build strong root systems. So naturally, this is important when the plants are young and developing. Potassium is essential because it helps the plant develop fruits, flowers, and toughens it up against diseases and pests.

You Can Find This At Home Depot for $5

The Miracle-Gro tomato food ratio for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium is 18-18-21. That is a very nice balance between the nutrients. So I use it all the time rather than going heavy on nitrogen and phosphorus early in the season and potassium late. Plus it's pretty cheap. Each box costs about $5 at Home Depot. I'll probably go through two boxes this year.



Watering Soil Level Gets The Water To The Roots Faster

I feed the plants every 10-14 days. It's pretty simple; I take a scoop of the food, dissolve it in a gallon of water, and spread it with my watering can. It's very important to water your plants at soil level at the base of the plants. Watering the leaves doesn't do much good. The water needs to get to the roots for the plants to fully utilize it. Also, I prefer to water in the morning for two reasons. One, during the hot summer the plants dry out fast and watering in the morning give them more of a chance to use as much water to keep cool and hydrated. Two, plants use the combo of water and sun to photosynthesize. Watering in the morning gives the plant the most opportunity to use as much water as possible while the sun is out. If you water at night, that's eight hours of the plant absorbing water with no sun.

So that's my take on feeding and watering. A little TLC and NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) go a long way in having a healthy garden with big, tasty vegetables.

HOLY ROMOKRA!!!

There's a lot of pasta sauce and gumbo to be made!!!

I finally made it home after a couple more weeks on the McCain campaign trail. Mrs. Harlan did a fantastic job keeping the garden held together. But she said it needed some TLC from the farmer. So once I got my suitcase and camera out of the van, I went to work. First I picked all that I could find ripened on the branches and vines. And I found a lot. Today alone, I picked nine Cajun Delight okra, four Clemson Spineless okra, SIXTEEN Roma tomatoes (varying in size), 3 Marglobe tomatoes, and a Big Boy tomato.

And then I pulled out the Wusthof shears and went to work:
1) Trimmed all the dead leaves and branches from the Roma and Marglobe plants
2) Trimmed the dying leaves off both cucumber plants and the two okra plants
3)Snipped the numerous buds and small leaves from the basil plant branches
4)Cut a branch of rosemary for some red potato wedges at dinner
5)Cut a couple sage leaves off for dinner also.
6) Tied down the wire cone on the Patio tomato bush to a couple stones. The bush is so full of big, ripening tomatoes that the cone could no longer support the plant's weight and I had to get the cone upright again.
7)Pulled weeds between the pots.
8)Rotated the cantaloupe so the wet soil doesn't rot one side of the fruit.
9)Watered all the plants to cool them down in this oppressive heat. The leaves are wilting in the hot afternoons.

Getting rid of the dead leaves and branches should help reduce the amount of water the plants need each day.

I still have a lot to do tomorrow morning. Odds are there will be a couple more okra and tomatoes to be plucked. But the most important thing will be to feed the plants. It will be two weeks tomorrow since their last feeding. And with the plants getting so big, I'll need to decrease the time between feedings. It's getting really hot and humid now that August is just around the corner. Lots of water and maintenance will be key to keeping the garden from falling apart.

One more thing....the bell pepper plant is loaded with large peppers. Hopefully in the next week or so we'll start seeing the green peppers ripen to a rich red. Man, those will be sweet.

The Garden: July 20, 2008

The Vegetable Bin Is Filling Up...

It doesn't appear we'll have to worry about a salmonella outbreak anytime soon at Casa de Harlan. Today alone, Emily picked eight Roma tomatoes and two Patio tomatoes to go with three more okra and a couple wee strawberries.

No, they aren't the biggest or shapeliest looking tomatoes, but hopefully they'll taste better. Meanwhile, I'm gonna have to make another big plate of fried okra or an inaugural pot of gumbo. The Cajun Delight plant is out of control.

It also appears our little squirrel buddy decided not to wait for one tomato to ripen. But that's okay, we're happy to donate one to his cause. But we'll have to start putting out more peanuts to distract him.

They Grow Up So Fast

The heat and humidity of summer is helping everything grow faster and ripen. The small Roma tomatoes are changing colors more everyday. Just this morning, the Mrs. picked two Romas and yet another cucumber. Those cucumbers are becoming a daily harvest.

But the intriguing sight in the garden is the Ambrosia cantaloupe. When it first started to grow, it looked like a small watermelon. But as you can see, the skin is looking a lot like what we're use to seeing. I would say the fruit is about two-thirds the size of a typical cantaloupe you'd find at a grocery store. But who knows what commercial farms use to create the genetically perfect fruits and vegetables we find at the grocery store.

Got A Little Greedy...

I mentioned in my previous post about the importance of trimming back plants and not letting them overgrow. I've done a good job with the basil plant, but I seriously dropped the ball on my roma, marglobe, and big boy tomato plants. And because I didn't trim them back, too many branches grew bearing too many fruit. This means I have to water and feed the plant a lot more. And, we end with 50 small tomatoes rather than 20 good sized fruit. This week, I decided to cut a lot of the low hanging branches and pull off the small green tomaters. I'm really hoping they ripen off the vine.

So how do you properly trim the plant? Well, there are many differing theories. But here are a couple standard tips. Always cut off the budding parts called suckers. They grow in the middle of the "V" shape of branches.

Clip All The Suckers On The Plants

Also, it's been suggested to trim the first few branches just above the soil level. That helps prevent those lower branches from fungus from a wet ground and other pests looking to crawl onto the plant and cause harm.

As for our 'maters, I finally trimmed them up, but I'm worried I closed the barn door as the horse runs out in the field. Oh well, I think we will still get some great tomatoes with our not-so-great ones.

Just A Little Off The Top, Please

Snipping The Buds Helps The Rest Of The Plant Below

Ever hear the phrase, "Less is more."? Well that applies to gardening, too. Unfortunately, I haven't done a very good job of that this year with tomatoes, but I'll save that for another post this week. But one plant that needs pruning is basil. One way to get more out of your basil plant is to continually pick the leaves. The faster you pick, the faster it grows back. I guess it's like gray hair.

Other than picking leaves, you also need to snip off all the flower buds along with the top couple sets of young leaves on the stems. Doing this will keep the plant focussed on growing large and tasty basil leaves. And eventually, you can use those basil leaves for homemade pesto.

Seriously? What Could Grow In This Heat?

I see Cacti. Any Cucumbers?

Ever been to Arizona in July? Wow. Forget the, "It's a dry heat"argument. It's like sticking your head in the oven out here. So how in the world can anything grow in this arid climate? And with this heat, I'm guessing the growing and harvesting season happens a lot earlier in the year.

Well I found someone who seems to have found the right equation. Tomatoes, eggplant, corn, and......wait.....is that an artichoke? Oh man, I'm super envious. I would love to grow artichokes. Anyway, check out his blog...especially you folks living back in Nuevo Mexico. The Desert Garden

That Is Culinary Heaven, Right There

By the way, it's 75 and raining at home in Virginia. Very nice.

When The Farmer Is Away...

Fortunately for me, I have a trusty farmhand to help take care of the crops when I'm travelling for work. And today, Mrs. Harlan picked another Cajun Delight okra and two bell peppers. No, they're not red. But that's because she picked them a tad early. All bell peppers start off green and eventually ripen to another color...red, yellow, orange, purple, white, etc. They may not be as sweet as if they had matured to red, but they'll be good just the same. Plus, now the plant can focus on nourishing the other smaller peppers.


Compared to last year, just having any decent sized peppers this season is a major coup. A combo of no rain, extreme heat, and small pots last year created peppers downright awful. So to see two peppers this size on the Fourth of July is reason for fireworks.

Down Home Gardenin' to Cookin'

This year I wanted to grow a couple of unique plants. One was okra. Having Cajun French as part of my heritage, I've always had a taste for southern food. So I figured if I grew some okra, I could try my hand at homemade gumbo. But tonight, I decided to fry my first batch. With a little milk, cayenne pepper, and cornmeal, I tried my hand at fried okra. Although the oil was a bit too hot, I'd say the first go 'round was a success. But my Cajun relatives probably would say I have a lot to learn.

You Can Eat The Flowers?

My Dill-ee-yo

My herbs have done great this year....except for the parsley. One cut of that and it was done. Otherwise, I've gotten a lot of use out of my herb section. My dill, in particular, has been great. But as the summer has gone on, it has gotten taller and less like what we see in the grocery store. Recently, all that was left is long stems and a pretty array of small yellow flowers.

Tonight I wanted to use dill for a tomato, cucumber, feta cheese salad. But could I use the flowers? After a little research, apparently I can. In fact, you can eat a lot of flowers. Here's a link: Edible Flowers List

And the recipe for that salad:
2 Tomatoes, diced
1 Large Cucumber, diced
2/3 cup Feta Cheese
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 tablespoons fresh dill
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and chill in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before serving.

About Our Garden...

The Garden June 30th, 2008

The Garden May 27th, 2008

Because our backyard is not very big and completely landscaped when we moved in, I had to resort to planting all of our garden in pots....very large pots for vegetables and fruits; and small pots for the herbs. Not only does it save in space, but I can move the plants around the backyard to maximize sunlight exposure. Last year I started fairly small; a couple tomato plants, two bell pepper plants, yellow squash, and basil. We had a very dry summer which greatly hampered the tomato and bell pepper plants. But the basil and squash did great....as long as I watered the heck out of them.

So this year, I went bigger. Bigger in the size of the garden and the pots I put it in. I also used exclusively potting mix from Merrifield Garden Center rather than any organic soil or dirt. When using pots, ALWAYS use potting mix. Potting mix is best for containers as it's lighter, doesn't compact as soil does, drains better, and allows more air to get to the roots. I also made sure there were enough holes in the bottom of the pots for proper drainage.

The list of things I planted is to the right. I was really curious to see if I could grow okra and cantaloupe. So far so good. We've received a lot of rain this year along with some constant warm temps. I planted much of the garden in late-April and things really took off around the first of June. I've maintained a watering schedule of every-other day. Also, I "feed" the garden every two weeks. Food for food? That's right. The plants need a lot of nutrients aside from the H2O and sunlight. Nitrogen and Phosphorous are the biggies (I'll explain some other time). I found that Miracle-Gro tomato food has been great the two years I've used the product.
Hopefully this gives you a quick introduction to the "Left Thumbs" garden. As time goes on, I'll "dig" deeper into particular plants and how I take care of them.

Our Blog's Germination...

I figure most of my friends are tired of getting garden updates and pictures from me the past few months. So I thought a blog would be a good way to provide updates to people...if they care.

Let's start with me. I fully disclaim that I am not a professional gardener. I'm just a TV cameraman with an itch to grow my own produce. I do not own a horticulture degree and certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert on the art of growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs. But maybe I can provide some tips I've found useful in my backyard, a couple tasty recipes, and hopefully create a forum for others to bounce ideas off each other.

P.S. In case you were wondering, the blog picture is a baby "Ambrosia" cantaloupe in my garden.