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Spring harvested scallions,from bulblets formed by perennial multiplying onions. Scallions or green onions are among the most versatile vegetables one can grow in the garden. And one of the easiest too. We like them grilled whole,cut up and stir fried or minced for garnish,to name just a few uses. Boiling juice first and adding fruit at the end to preserve color,taste and texture of raspberries. Hot,sticky,sweet Jam in July. Raspberries ripen fast in a heat wave,at a rate of 2 quarts a day from my 40′row. With no chest freezer at our house,making jam has proven to be [...] Snow pea blossoms (dwarf grey sugar) on eve of summer solstice 2010. Summer solstice,the longest day,reaches it’s apex at 7:28 a.m.,Monday,June 21st. This point in the revolution of our tiny planet around the sun is notable in Zone 4,not only for the luxuriously extended hours of daylight and the way it makes plants leap with growth,but [...] Jumble of transplants —basil,tomatoes,eggplants and peppers —waiting for the right time to get planted. To plant or not to plant? That is the question. Whether it is wiser to plant now and risk the slings and arrows of outrageous weather or to wait, potentially squandering the too-short lease of summer. Such quandaries face Z4 gardeners [...] May 13 before thinning Lettuce grows like crazy in May thanks to the ample daylight hours and still-cool temperatures. It’s salad heaven —the reward for planting in early spring. A delightful array of colors and textures can be achieved by seeding multiple varieties of lettuce,but it’s also fun to be able [...] Korean lilac and siberian iris blooming with the chives –late May 2009 A year ago while admiring the mid-day buzz around some profusely blooming chive blossoms in my garden I noticed that none of the pollinators were honey bees. Instead, a multi-cultural throng of pollinating insects ranging in size from the big fuzzy bumble bees to tiny and [...] Late April localvore spread. “Hey,lets go pick wild leeks and then make a localvore meal.” That welcome invitation from Karen came late last Saturday morning and by evening we had assembled a magnificent feast. The last-minute dinner party was particularly notable for how easy it was to load the table with a wide range of delicious local products–foraged,harvested from the garden,[...] Plum blossoms after snow stom Wet,gloppy snow started falling yesterday morning and continued through most of today. Electrical power has been out for 36 hours due to trees and branches falling on power lines. Since we have a wood stove for heat,the biggest inconvenience has been lack of water. So strangely beautiful [...] Salad of mixed greens from hoop house Fresh harvests of salad greens,herbs,scallions and even a few spears of asparagus have increasingly supplied our table from the unheated hoop house over the past few weeks. Spinach and lettuces planted in February and March now pump out new leaves for regular picking. Despite bolting early,the overwintered arugula and mache have still been tender enough to [...] | ||||||
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