Dig for Your Dinner

digging up my backyard, one vegetable at a time

A Week in Garden Photos – January 23rd – 29th

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The weeds. They’re back!

And Lucy the trouble Puggle and I are on a mission to get them all pulled over the next week and to sprinkle our yearly dose of Casoron around the hedges before they really start coming in. I know a lot of people don’t like to use the stuff, but in my 20+ years of gardening it’s the only chemical I’ve found that truly works at getting rid of weeds for an entire year at a time. All you’ve got to do is pull up ALL the weeds you can spy in the spring, lay down the Caseron and you’re set.

We don’t use it anywhere near where we’ve planted vegetables, so I feel fine using it in the backyard around the hedges and on the hillside.

Yesterday we cleaned up the lower border. Today and tomorrow, with a little luck we’ll get all the weeds pulled in the upper border and then my weeding for the year is done.

In other news, the daylilies are starting to poke through the soil.

And the slug babies are back as well.

Spring. It’s right around the corner. I guess that means I need to get out there and clean the yard up. 馃槈 What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods these days? Do you have snow on the ground, are you diggin in the dirt yet? I don’t know about you, but I am itching’ to plant something.

~Mavis

A Week in Garden Photos – January 16th – 22nd

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Lucy the puggle princess and I spent the morning in the side garden cleaning out the garden and moving Pinky the flamingo and her friends out of the garden boxes and positioning them around the teepee. I had meant to pick up a couple of bins of free Tagro last week but the day I was over in that part of town it was raining so I passed {because hello, that stuff stinks!}. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to stop by and grab some.

The weather was pretty mild last week {mid 40’s} and so now I’m feeling a bit anxious to get my garden started even though it’s too cold to really grow anything outside right now. Well, technically that’s not true. I could be growing tons of cold weather crops in January if I wanted to invest in a bunch of row cover fabric. But I don’t. And anyways… it’s been kind of nice to take a few months off from growing food in the garden.

I still need to pick up some lettuce seeds, onion bulbs and seed potatoes. But other than those three things, I’m ready to get going. Spring… it’s right around the corner. And let me tell you Bob, I’m ready to get started!

Have a great sunday everyone,

~Mavis and Lucy

 

Planting Guide – Starting Kale from Seed

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Even though I am not a huge fan of kale, I went ahead and planted a batch of seeds. 聽I figured, The Girl will definitely use it in her smoothies when she comes home, and, if I can talk the HH into letting me raise some baby chicks for a friend, then I’ll have some to give them as they get a little older. 聽Chickens LOVE kale. 聽I assume it’s because they’ve never had chocolate. 聽If all else fails, it looks great as an ornamental in containers.

In the past, I have grown:

How to Grow聽Kale聽from Seed:

Kale is more tolerant than most weeds. 聽In fact, in the event of nuclear destruction, I think kale would still grow…it is just really, really hardy…despite my many attempts at neglect. 聽It is a cool season crop, and gets a little bitter as the heat sets in, so it’s really best grown in early spring. 聽I usually start it under grow lights and move it outdoors in late February or early March.

To start kale indoors,聽fill your containers with grow medium and water them well. 聽Push seeds about 1/4″ deep and cover. 聽I usually plant 3-4 seeds in each container and thin them to one per container when they reach about 1″ tall. Throw the grow light on them at about 6″-8″ above the containers. 聽They sprout quickly, and once the seedlings are somewhat established, they’ll do fine moved to a sunny window sill until it’s time to transplant them {an added bonus if you need to free up your grow light for something that actually tastes good}.

To transplant them outside, space them about every 10″, and keep rows 18″-24″ apart. 聽You can directly sow them outdoors about 1-2 weeks BEFORE the average last frost, if you’d rather.

When is Kale聽Ready to Harvest?

Kale is fully matured when the leaves are about the size of your hand–if you let them get any bigger, they tend to get tough and bitter. 聽You CAN harvest the leaves sooner, though. 聽In my opinion, “baby” kale {smaller leaves} are much less bitter, and dare I say, quite nice? 聽To harvest, just tear off the leaves from the outside working your way in, as needed.

Random Facts That Will Impress No One:

One serving of kale has more calcium than a small carton of milk…so hopefully you are not lactose and kale intolerant.

The average American eats a whopping 2-3 cups of kale per year. 聽Given that is grows like a weed, is honestly a nutrient powerhouse, AND is cheap, cheap, cheap, that is just sad. 聽I personally am hanging my head in shame as I type.

Kale is on the must-buy-organic list, created by the Environmental Working Group {part of the dirty dozen that has expanded to far more than a dozen}, so it just makes sense to grow it yourself…organically, of course.

Now go get your kale on,

~Mavis

P.S. If you need some kale聽recipe ideas, check out Fast, Fresh, & Green. 聽It’s packed full of garden recipe ideas, and holds true to the name–they all go together fast for easy weeknight meals.

A Week in Garden Photos – January 9th – 15th

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The artichoke seeds I planted a week and a half聽ago are up! It’s a sign spring is on it’s way… right? I’m excited, are you?

Round 2 of winter sprouts.

The chilly temps continued here all week in the Pacific Northwest. Which pretty much made working in the garden impossible. It’s hard to pull weeds when the ground is frozen. 馃槈

Word on the street is it’s supposed to warm up next week {upper 40’s to low 50’s} so hopefully I’ll be able to get out there are get some work done soon. I’d like to stop by Tagro to pick up some free garden soil and get a round of lettuce seeds planted and started under the grow lights next week.

How are your shrubs doing?

3 of our boxwoods are gonners and will need replacing. 馃檨

Luckily the big boxwood hedge in front of the house is hanging in there. I should go out and give her a trim because pruning shrubs like boxwoods in the winter will promote faster regrowth in the spring.

No sign of tulips yet. {Thank goodness}

And last but not least. Gladys Kravitz Lucy Puggle. She spends 90% of her day at the front window keeping an eye on things. Oh, if only she could talk. 馃檪

Have a great Sunday everyone,

~Mavis

Planting Guide – Starting Sprouts from Seed

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Sprouts are one of those easy to grow, ready in days {like about 5 days}, year round sort of crops. 聽You can toss them onto sandwiches {“Hello egg salad sandwich, you look lonely. Have some sprouts.”}, into stir fry, or just toss them onto a salad for extra oomph.

Over the years, I have grown a pretty wide variety of sprouts:

They have all been equally delicious. 聽You really can’t go wrong.

How to Grow Sprouts聽from Seed:

I personally use a sprouter. 聽It’s the easiest way to get several different varieties of sprouts. 聽I used to use a plain old mason jar, and it totally works, and it is a great place to start before you make the investment, but I grow sprouts regularly enough that the sprouter just made sense.

Start by disinfecting your seeds. 聽Mix a bleach mixture聽of 1 cup hot tap water to 1 tsp. of bleach. 聽Dump the seeds into the solution and allow them to soak for 15 minutes. 聽When the 15 minutes are up, drain the bleach mixture and rinse the seeds {a mesh sieve lined with a paper towel works well for this}.

Place a teaspoon of seeds on each tray or compartment of the sprouter. 聽Stack the trays, and add about 1 cup of water to the top of the tray. 聽Now get that bad boy out of direct sunlight, and wait for the water to drain through the seed trays into the collection try below. 聽When the water has trickled all of the way through, empty the tray, and pour fresh water over the top again.

You will repeat this step about every 12 hours for the entire 5 days the sprouts are growing. 聽{If you use the jar method use only enough water to cover the seeds to about three times their depth. 聽Rinse the seeds, drain them, and return them to the jar every 3-4 hours–each time covering them with water again.}

When are Sprouts聽Ready to Harvest?

Sprouts are usually ready in about 5 days. 聽To harvest them, just rinse them well and eat the whole thing. 聽{For Fenugreek sprouts, they are usually best when eaten BEFORE the leaves appear.}

Random Facts That Will Impress No One:

Sprouts are really just the tiny beginnings of a plant. 聽Several varieties of plants can be turned eaten as sprouts. 聽Sprouted seeds pack a much more bio-available nutrition punch than the seed itself–which really just means that “sprouting” makes the nutrients contained in the plant/seed more accessible for our bodies.

Sprouts contain beneficial enzymes that aid in digestion and boost metabolism. 聽They are a great source of fiber and protein. 聽They are supposed to be fantastic for weight loss, because you can eat a boatload of them for very, very few calories; all of that fiber helps you feel full too, even though you haven’t consumed a ton of calories.

Sprouts have a pretty impressive amount of lysine–which aids in healing cold sores {and preventing them}.

These little greens obviously pack a powerful nutritional punch {and for pennies}. 聽Have聽I convinced you to try growing them this year? 聽Or do you already?

~Mavis

P.S. For a complete guide to using sprouts in your kitchen, check out Sproutman’s Kitchen Garden Cookbook. 聽It will walk you through sprouted everything!

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