Garden thread.

[glenn-k]

Sounds great -- now just waiting for them to get here.  I picked 5 Armenian ones today about 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet long - gave them away and one guy I gave them to sat down and wrote out a recipe for Bread and Butter pickles using them even if they grow way oversized.  

Bread and Butter Pickles

25 to 30 med cucumbers (or equivalent of large ones)
8 large onions
2 large bell peppers
1/2 cup salt
5 cup cider vinegar
5 Teaspoons Turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon cloves

Wash and slice cucumbers.  Chop onions and peppers.  Combine veggies and salt and let stand 3 hours.  

Wash and drain.  

Combine vinegar, sugar and spices in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Add drained veggies and heat but not boil.  

Pack while hot.   He said to adjust the recipe as you like.

Thanks to Doyle Cook.  He said they were the best he had ever had.

[fourx]

Here's one from Tasmania-
Poached petuna ocean trout
With thanks to Chef Christian Heidenreich...

Serves 4

You need:

640 g ocean trout portion
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
300 g arborio rice unwashed
280 g simmering vegetable stock
80 g white wine: A good ( maybe aussie) dry white

20 g freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
250 g beetroot
150 g fish stock
Fresh butter
2 lebanese cucumbers
Sea salt and milled pepper


Method:

Risotto
Place the beetroot on baking tray and roast in pre-heated oven for approx. 25 minutes.
Allow to cool and peel.
Chop two-thirds of the beetroot into small cubes and set aside to be used in risotto.
Reserve the rest for use in sauce.
Heat the oil in a fry pan on medium high and add the rice.
Cook it until it turns slightly glazed.
Turn heat down to low, add enough simmering stock just to cover the rice.
Simmer uncovered until the liquid is absorbed.
Stir the rice several times during this liquid absorption.
Repeat three or four more times until there is enough liquid left for one more addition.
Add the chopped roasted beetroot.
Simmer a few more minutes to allow the betroot to combine with the rice.
Before you serve the risotto, add half the grated cheese.
Mix the wine into the risotto gently, after testing quality.... :)cover, and remove from heat for 5 minutes.

Poached ocean trout
Simmer fish stock and add ocean trout either directly into liquid or in a steam tray.
Poach for approx. 4-6 minutes keeping the centre of the fish rare.

Pickled lebanese cucumber
Cut cucumber into thin lengthwise slices.
Sprinkle with sea salt and set aside for 30 mins.
Meanwhile, open bottle of good dry white.
Squeeze cucumber and remove any excess water.

Beetroot sauce
Heat sauce pan.
Pour glass of dry white- sip
Add olive oil and saute the remaining betroot cubes.
Add fish stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
Use bar mix to blend the sauce.
Add cold butter to thicken the sauce, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

To assemble
Mould the risotto into round shape by using a ring.
Pour another glass of dry white- sip
Top with poached ocean trout.
Top with pickled cucumber, drizzle sauce around plate.
...tell me what you think. Also works well with freshwater bass, but I add capers to the poaching liquid.

[glenn-k]

Sounds like a good way to start using some of the extra vegetables.

[glenn kangiser]

Picked a few Armenian Cucumbers today -- I would have to say about 40 lbs. worth -- two shopping bags full.



The corn is corning --- the artichokes are choking and



the squash is squashing.

[PEG688]

WOW your harvesting some nice stuff.  8-) Do you have to water much ?? Few times a week , everyday , twice a week?? Been dry down your way , is that pretty normal ?

[glenn kangiser]

I have it all on drip irrigation and mini-sprinklers.  There is a timer attached to a faucet and it is easily adjustable to more or less time or times per day.  I put it up to 4 times per day (every 6 hours) now for 30 minutes per time.  All water is pumped by my solar power system from the well.

We also hand water assist the areas needing extra as we see what gets wilty.  Corn needs extra now too but still the drip keeps everything going quite well.

I can make the drip system better but have to change to timer to a 2 station timer as I have as much on this one as it can handle right now.  Still works great.

The longest cucumber is 28 1/2  inches long.

We have clay ground so if we do not water slowly and often water  just runs off.  Drip is ideal for our area.  The raised beds with the horse manure is the best we have done so far -- actually stores some moisture for the plants.  

I put my name in the hat for more truckloads of horse manure to be delivered by the garbage company again -- may get tons and tons of it.  

[glenn kangiser]

We get nearly all of our rain from November or December through March or April.  None again until next November or December.  Maybe a shower near start or finish but nearly never any at other times during the summer.

[glenn kangiser]

So I lied - got a sprinkle  from a  T-storm this morning - .10? as a guess.  Dampened the dust.

Received and planted my Lebanese cucumber seeds yesterday.  Will keep you updated on their progress.

Garden continues to grow and cover everything in sight.  Gotta love that composted horse manure.  I do assist it with a light application of commercial fertilizer 16-16-16 as not everything is in the compost.  This should improve over the years.  I noticed some of the squash were a bit yellow and weak yesterday.  A small addition of fertilizer and they are already green and going today.

Squash leaves are 3'6" tall and 14" across



A couple tomatoes are starting to turn ripe.  The measure mostly about 5 to 5 1/2" across.  Not the pretty new commercial varieties but Brandywine heirloom type.  We also have some very nice Cherokee purple.



Overview from the east



The Armenian cucumbers are tired of laying on the ground and staying in where it is safe.  They have started attacking the fence.



I know --- just lots more pictures of green stuff. :-/

[fourx]

Mrs fourx says she has lots more lebanese cucumber recipies, if and when you want them....
What technique did Sassy use to grow those giant parsnips last ( your) Winter? Was it just the same stuff you are using on the vegetables now?

[glenn kangiser]

Sassy said they just reseeded themselves - The video I posted along with several of the pictures shows the parsnips going to seed -- we eat what we want then let lots of them reseed.  Thousands of seeds.  We don't till the soil.  Just pull the old stuff and weeds out and compost them then let the seeds grow as they want in a lot of it.

The tall plants here are parsnips going to seed.  The white one is a carrot going to seed.



All our soil is a mix of horse manure compost and maybe 1/3 topsoil.  I find that it still needs some all purpose fertilizer for best production but the quality of the compost is great.  

I read that in some places -- France I think they do the square foot gardening or French intensive gardening just in horse manure compost - or maybe in the manure only - I use the compost.

[glenn kangiser]

About the recipes - tell Mrs. Fourx, yes-- I would really appreciate them.

Here is a food thread we started a long time ago in the general forum that would be a great place for them.  I'll move it here to the off topics now.

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1144265293

[PEG688]

Tomatoes , and strawberrys ,

 







Front flower beds,

 

[glenn kangiser]

Even a bit of sunshine there, PEG.  How'd you come up with that.

Great looking plants and flowers.  I think the plants and garden is what makes the house.  In my case it is part of the house. :-/

[glenn kangiser]

The Bees -




are helping to make these



That one is about 11" across.

Looks like the big ol fat bumble bees are doing most of the work.

[glenn kangiser]

Eating corn now too.  The tomatoes are not the prettiest but after trimming off the ugly parts they taste great.

[glenn-k]

Picked a few things from the garden today.

[Sassy]

A little excitement in the garden yesterday.  I was out watering a few things & as I was reaching down, pulling up some dried plants that had gone to seed, something moved a couple inches from my hand    I looked closer & saw it was a snake.  I kept looking at it, couldn't see its head, but it had some peculiar looking appendages on its tail.  I went to get a shovel to kill it, although I didn't want to if it was a gopher snake.  When I came back with the shovel to look at it again, I couldn't find it.

I called Glenn - he was on his way home from a job.  When he got there I showed him where it was.  He found it & sure enough, it was a rattlesnake   - I'd just about grabbed it   earlier... well, my hero cut it in half with the shovel - it was still trying to bite the shovel, so Glenn chopped it again.  We didn't think to take a picture...  :-/

We don't like to kill the critters, but a rattlesnake in my garden - right about waist high on one of the planter boxes next to the path on the roof I walk all the time... had to sacrifice it... Glenn threw it over the side of the mountain - it was already gone today, some other critter got a meal out of it.  I just hope there aren't any other rattlesnakes in my garden....  :-/

[fourx]

Thats way too close for comfort, Sassy, and you are quite a distance from the nearest hospital, arn't you?

[peg_688]

Wow that was close ,   Another good thing about wastern Wa. NO poisious snakes    Except the rare few people lose but generally thats happens down in the city .

At least Glenn found the darned thing , but you know there's more . You'll have to take to wearing snake boots and rattling all the plants with a hoe or something.

[Sassy]

Actually, we're about 4 miles from the local hospital - but don't know if it has anti-venom...  

[glenn-k]

I told her the same thing PEG.  Great minds, eh? :-?

She thought there was a bigger one but I think she just blew it up in her mind.  The little guys are more dangerous than the big ones though-- not enough rattles to make a lot of noise.  Rattlers don't always rattle before striking anyway. :-/

[tanya]

I am so jealous of the beautiful gardens and vegies you all have.  My little plot got plowed under during the landlady's excavation work and I didn't start a new one so this year I am vegiless.  Now on to the rattlesnake question does anyone know how to keep them away?  I am moving soon to rattlesnake country.  I know guienea hens and peacocks will keep them away but unfortunately the housing association does not allow poultry.  I am thinking of getting some chiwawas I read online today that a little chiwawa saved a child from a rattlesnake.  My friend has three and my daughter has two chiwawa's I don't really like them that much especially when they all get together, (only one barked all day and night but he gave them all a bad reputation) but if they can keep the snakes away I am going to love them dearly, I'll get a bunch of them.  Does anyone know any other ways, sprays?  thistle bushes?  I know to keep things mowed and not leave standing water around or allow flys or bug areas,  use a rake to go walking but how can you ever keep them out of the garden especiallly the little ones which don't rattle very loud and I don't see that well either.  And my next question is does anyone have any suggestions for drought loving plants.  I have lived all my life where water was plentiful so having a garden with very little water will be my biggest challenge.  I need suggestions for drought loving trees and climbers that I can use to build shade.  

[Sassy]

Tanya, I read that article about the chihuahuas (had to do spell check to spell that   ) .  I've never had a little dog but people seem to love them.   When the garden is growing like crazy, it's a little difficult to know where the snakes might be since you can't see under the plants.  A stick (I used a shovel today) - someone else told me I should learn to shoot & carry a gun with me - but ya can't very well shoot at the ground on top of the roof  :-/ .  I'm always on the lookout for snakes but never thought there'd be one in the place it was  

Here's a link to drought tolerant plants - looks pretty good  http://landscaping.about.com/od/plantsforsunnydryareas/DroughtTolerant_Plants_Sunny_Dry_Areas_and_Desert_Landscaping.htm

[glenn-k]

Well now tanya, some people like chihuahua's, and I can't say I hate them but they do annoy me. :-/  

My ex-mother in law had a couple -- barked a lot.  

She asked me to trim the big ones toenails once -- it was very afraid of having it's toenails clipped...  in fact so afraid of having its toenails clipped that after clipping  a couple, shaking violently, she did a number 2 right in my lap --- the chihuahua - not the mother-in-law. :-?

After that I made some little fake Chihuahua doo-doos out of bread and painted them with acrylic art paint.. they looked pretty real. I put them on the mother-in-laws couch and told her that her chihuahua did it.  She really let out a screem when I picked one up -- sniffed it and stuck it in my mouth --- I knew it was made out of baked bread dough - she didn't.  :-?
So I don't know about chihuahuas.  A rattle snake may just mistake one of them for a rat or a gopher.  That is what rattlesnakes like to eat.

Cats could help keep rattlers away by keeping the rats and mice away.  Gophers, rats and mice -- if you have them you may have snakes as that is what they like to eat.  We live in the boonies and it is a bit hard to keep them all away but the less you have the less chance that the snakes will show up there trying to eat them.  They may still show up occasionally -- no gopher problem in our garden, but it is a bowl shaped area that will occasionally collect a snake or two.

[tanya]

Thanks for the drought tolerant plants link Sassy. I am going to go check it out now.   I guess I wont be needing the chiwawas I have plenty of cats, to many cats really, 6 but if they keep the snakes away they will be well worth it.  One of the mamas is having more kittens too so I guess that is good.  I had twelve cats at one time I lived on the river in the mountains and I spent about $50 on decon.  The mice ate it all and there were still mice everywher so I got every cat I could find.  No more mice.  Darndest thing though people actually loved those cats so much that they would actually steal them when I was out of town.  I had never had the experience of people stealing cats before that.  That is better than dumping them off though.