I think it’s mostly all there, yet it seems short. What am I missing? Anne has already pointed out the lack of swiss chard in a rainbow of colors. We might have some seed remaining from last year though – I need to check on that. Same goes for spinach and radish. I now wonder if I shouldn’t order another variety of sweet pepper. I purposely left off pumpkins. We finished last year with too many squash beetles – I’m hoping that taking a year off will confuse them.

I am a bit saddened that the hot lemon pepper seems to have disappeared from the catalogs this year. It was a great spicy pepper. Also still need to order the mushroom plugs, but if I understand the recommendations, these need to be dealt with upon receiving so they will need to wait for March or April.

SUHYO TK CUCUMBER
BIG RAINBOW TOMATO
KELLOGGS BREAKFAST TOMATO
TOMATOBERRY GARDEN TOMATO
DETROIT BEET
DRAGON LANGERIE BEAN
Antohi Romanian > Sweet Specialty Peppers
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Carson Beans, Bush > Yellow, Round Pod
Amadeus Broccoli
Habanero
Hot Paper Lantern > Hot Specialty Peppers
Skyphos Lettuce > Butterhead/Boston > Red
Allstar Gourmet Lettuce Mix
Amethyst Improved > Basil
Genovese > Basil
Nelson > Carrots
Sunburst > Squash > Patty Pan/Scallop
Sugar Ann > Peas
Fall Green Manure Mix > Cover Crops/Farm Seeds

Special thanks to Nick and Jamie for the gift of Johnny’s Seeds this year. The garden thanks you.

We finally added some functionality to the website to take purchase orders for our colorful array of curly willow branches. Visit the Curly Willow Branches page under the Buy menu on our site to see color and bundle options.

These are great for arrangements, weddings, or anywhere you need a natural accent. The colors are super vibrant when fresh cut and kept cold. They will dry to more muted colors, yet will continue to add a pleasing contour to an entrance way, a lonely corner or table top. We recommend large clear vases to display the complete stem, but these branches look great in any type container.

We have some amazing hickory trees on our property. They are good looking trees with edible fruit. The hickory nut is sweet and I personally think comparable to a pecan in flavor. It’s unfortunately much tougher to crack and mostly consists of shell.

Anne often collects these hickory nuts and spends some time every year cracking and eating them with her dad. There is something very satisfying in the cracking of a hickory. The sound of the splitting shell inspires us to crack more. The hickory nut tastes like inspiration.

This year, I got to looking at some nuts and thought they deserved their own little photo shoot. So I took some pictures and then didn’t really know what to do with them. I could just load them to Flickr and forget about them, I thought. Or maybe, just maybe, I should load them to Facebook and share the hickory nut message with all my hickory friends.

But if I’m going to do that, I better make the messages really blatant and also include disclaimers, warnings and general words of caution (look closely for these). Inspiration is, after all, 90% stinky.

Welcome to 2012 everyone! The coming of a new year often makes me think of trying new things. We have grown pumpkins for several years, but 2011 was the first year we ever used them for anything besides decoration.

It didn’t seem like too much extra work, not that I did any of the cutting or scooping or baking. It did take longer than simply opening a can of pie filling, but that process would have been much less photo worthy.

The flavor and consistency were spot on. If it were not for the plague of squash beetles, I’d be looking forward to this year’s pumpkin patch and homemade pumpkin pies.

(I haven’t completely ruled out the possibility of a small patch. Row covers for the squash vine borers and some kind of organic pest control for the beetles would be necessary.)

We are looking forward to more new adventures in 2012!

I have always wanted to grow horseradish. So I did. I thought I was undecided when it comes to horseradish. Then I learned that the wasabi often served in Japanese restaurants may actually be horsey-sauce with green food-coloring. Seriously? I know I like wasabi, or what is served as wasabi, but it’s typically only a part of sushi meals and maybe classy mashed potatoes.

Many gardeners have been down this path before. And many have noted the tenacity of the roots. Once you plant horseradish, they say, you will always have horseradish. That’s fine. Even if the condiment doesn’t rock my world, it feels like a good staple to have around.

Digging the root was more difficult than I expected. The tentacles sprouting from the crown seem to run in every conceivable direction and some were well over fourteen inches long. Even after uncovering what I assumed to be the majority of the root, pulling only resulted in snaps somewhere deep below the earth. This is why they say what they say about having horseradish forever.

I was able to extract a nice collection of root, replanted one section, and took the rest inside for processing. Horseradish really cleans up well after some washing and peeling. Then it was into the food processor with a bit of water and salt and then vinegar. Most sites advise processing outside or at least in a well ventilated area. The fumes can be powerful. I did open a few windows and was a little careful not to inhale too deeply. With all the warnings I read, I kind of expected it to be insane. It wasn’t insane. Maybe my horseradish is mild?

Now I need more recipes. I’d like to try it on some fish and perhaps in some mashed potatoes. I’ll be bringing it to Thanksgiving dinner so the connoisseurs of the family can tell me if it’s any good.

I do like the morning. I guess that puts me more into the morning person camp. My brain has rested and ready to be stimulated once again. I can focus on readings and my environment. I have an acceptable reason to be drinking coffee.

This morning I noticed the sunrise was once again pleasantly attractive. Most sunrises are very promising. Not that I am opposed to sunsets, but they do not hold the promise of the rise. They finish the day, and often times I am not in such a hurry to be done.

I also have nothing bad to say about sleep. I understand the I-really-like-sleeping-in argument that most self-proclaimed haters of the morning profess. Sleep is wonderful.

I wasn’t always so in-sync with the sunrise. I, like many others, enjoyed the night life of the city. But even then, on those all-nighter occasions, when the night lasted to morning, the rise of the sun and setting of the moon were magical moments.

I like carrots. I wouldn’t say I love them or seek them out every day, but they can be a sweet, convenient, healthy snack. They add crunch to a salad. I’ve been known to drink carrot juice on occasion. If attending a pot luck and one of luckers brought a plate of cut vegetables with a ranch dipping sauce, I would likely take a carrot or two on my plate. Sure, I would rather take the raw broccoli, but it’s rarely cut to an appropriate bite size, and I have been told it’s not polite to dig through the stack of broccoli to find the pieces that are. Soups are often good with carrots. The carrot rarely encounters pests in the garden. I understand rabbits can be an issue, but not so much here. It’s a solid vegetable.

And so I was troubled this year with the carrot crop – not that they didn’t grow, because they grew just fine, wonderfully even. They just taste bad. Anne is holding out hope that with the frosty weather they will sweeten up a bit. I’m skeptical, but willing to keep trying them. And next year, a different variety will be ordered. Maybe a couple different varieties.

(click the movie poster for a larger view)

It’s a good time to plant garlic. I’m trying something new this year.

I think it’s good to try new approaches – break out of our flower pots, if you will. I know what you’re saying: “Alan, This will never work.” And you’re right. It won’t. But the journey is what’s important in the garden. Not what works or doesn’t work. “Yeh, but you won’t grow any garlic this way.” I totally see the point you are trying to make. You want me to be successful. Thanks, I appreciate it, but we all have different definitions of success. “And your definition of success is to fail miserably?” No! Of course not. I’m just saying we need not concern ourselves all the time with all the rules. Some of the time, sure, but garlic doesn’t like rules. Garlic likes to go dancing. Next year, I think I’ll take my garlic out clubbing before I plant it.

It’s nice to have too many tomatoes. This doesn’t always happen, so when it does I start looking for potentially delicious ways to consume them. I’ve had several absolutely perfect tomato sandwiches this year. I actually prefer the simple cheese + mayo+ tomato combination to the more classic BLT. But a sandwich really only uses one tomato, and I have many. Sauce is already made and frozen. We’ve given to friends and food banks (and to be honest, some of these season finale tomatoes are a little over-ripe).

Soup is an idea. Ketchup? Perhaps, but I don’t use that much ketchup unless I am eating fries. Fruit and veggie juices, on the other hand, if tasty, disappear rather quickly from the fridge.

The recipe is simple and not my own creation. As with all things, I learned this one on the Internet. These proportions are rough and can be adjusted to taste.

8 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped pepper
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
(optional) 1 spicy pepper

Add all ingredients to a stainless steel pot and simmer from about 1/2 hour. Press through sieve or food mill. Chill in fridge. The site I found this recipe on mentions it lasting in the fridge for about a week to 10 days. It’s really quite refreshing.