Gardener to Farmer

Grocery Gardening Video

Want to see me use my newscaster voice? Check out the new video for Grocery Gardening:

Win an eCopy of Growing Food

Hey kids, Billy Goodnick (Fine Gardening's Cool Green Gardens Blog) and I are having a reader giveaway. The winner gets an ecopy of my first book Growing Food. Now, this is not my second book Grocery Gardening, but it is a mighty fine book, if I do say so myself.

Here's how the contest works:

• Head over to Billy's review of Grocery Gardening
• Sign in and leave a comment (be nice)
• Return to this post and leave a comment letting me know
• That's it!

I mean, listen people, I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into that book and all you have to do is leave a couple of comments. :) This giveaway ends Sunday at 6 pm PST, so hurry over and leave your message!

February Spawned a (Garden) Monster

My February garden is a sopping mess of dead plants, wet dirt and unruly vines. I know it is time to go out and give it the old hack and rake, but I am still wrapped in the hazy blanket of sunlight deprivation and 4 months of rain. And the melancholy of this time of year pairs nicely with my love of Morrissey.

iPod loaded with Smiths' songs, I will head out this weekend to mope my way through these chores:

1. Use my Garden Shark and Groundhog rakes to gather up all of the debris
2. Look for unharvested root veggies (carrots, celeriac, etc)
3. Prune back the evil grapevines (there's a whole chapter on growing grapes in my book Grocery Gardening)
4. Prune raspberry canes (check out this post for the 411)
5. Nap
6. Prune vertical sprouts from the apple tree, cuss at the vertical sprouts on the pear tree that I can't reach
7. Give the plum tree the once-over, see if it needs pruning
8. Clean out the greenhouse and get ready for seed starting
9. Mix a gin and tonic
10. Go through all of my seeds and create a time table for starting and setting out

This is generally when I get geared up for spring...however, this year is more complicated as I will be traveling three weeks out of the month to speak at garden shows (Chicago, Iowa and San Francisco). And speaking of garden shows, I am not speaking at the one here in Portland, but I will be at Rose Marie Nichols class at 10:30 on Sunday if you want to stop by and have me sign your book.

Two other cool things: yours truly has a page in this month's Fine Gardening magazine with recommendations for a PNW perennial cutting garden. And, my Good Enough Gardening Podcast has a new sponsor...Annie's Annuals! If you have listened to my 'cast at all, you know my co-host, Amanda Thomsen and I are nuts about Annie's. More to come...

Grocery Gardening on KOIN Keep It Local

Check out my guest spot on Portland's KOIN "Keep It Local" show. Of course, I'm talking about Grocery Gardening...and I do my first cooking demo, ever! (mouse over the thumbnails to find my segment)

Kale: It's a Sneaky Vegetable

Now anyone who has listened to me espouse the virtues of growing and cooking kale, knows that I am nuts about this particular vegetable. First of all, it is insanely easy to grow...just plant the seeds in late winter and as soon as the ground warms a bit, it will take off.

Unfortunately, many people aren't sure how to prepare kale. I suspect it is due to the sense that it should be cooked like a traditional "green". And while kale can be prepared this way, I think it is a very narrow way to think about it. Personally, I like to think of it as the ultimate "sneaky vegetable". Its flavor is so mild that it adapts to almost any recipe. I have used it in pasta dishes, meatloaf, meatballs, shepherd's pie...the possibilities are endless.

To get your creative juices flowing, here's one of my favorite kale recipes.

Asparagus and Kale Pasta

This dish is a great way to use two seasonal ingredients together. Combine it with a handful of asparagus and a big can of chopped tomatoes and this dish is absolutely full of nutrition.

1 lb ground hamburger

1/2 lb kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

1 12 oz can of diced tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Splash of half and half (optional)

1 tbs fennel seeds, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp basil, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp thyme, and 2 bay leaves

pinch of red pepper flakes

generous amounts of flaky salt and freshly ground pepper

1 package of conchiglie pasta

Brown hamburger and onions in skillet. Drain some of the excess fat leaving enough to prevent burning, omit draining if meat is lean. Add spices and herbs, salt and pepper, sauté for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic. Let simmer to combine flavors and reduce liquid from tomatoes.

Start a pot of water to boil. Add conchiglie pasta and cook according to directions on package. Conchiglie is also known as shell pasta and is great for this recipe. Since this isn't a really sauce-y pasta dish, the cupped shape of the pasta will grab up the bits of veggies and meat really well. To blanch the kale, add to the boiling pasta for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain.

In the last couple of minutes of cooking, add half and half and cheese. The Parmesan and half and half create a pink sauce...but you can omit it if you like.Add pasta and kale  to sauce. Toss to combine and let stand for a minute or two to allow the pasta to soak up the fantastic flavors. Serve.

Check out Grocery Gardening for more yummy ways to use my favorite sneaky vegetable, kale. And, don't forget to visit Seasonal Wisdom and Bumble Bee Blog to see what they have cooking.

Harvesting Grapes

Last year, we had two primary problems with our grapes. First of all, there were just too many. You think zucchini is bad? We had pound after pound of grapes. Second, the flavor was weak, not the beautiful, robust flavor of a terrific grape. (We did have an awfully fun time stomping grapes, though!)

With that in mind, I decided to make some major changes in how I handled the vines this year. In late winter, I enlisted the support of my neighbor and whacked back the vines to a more manageable configuration. I have four old growth grape vines that are grown along a trellising system. Here's what it looks like in February.

 

I know, it looks barren...and believe me, after we pruned it, it looked very sad, indeed. Keep in mind that different types of grapes are pruned in different ways. I just whacked mine back, but if you want to know how to do it in a way that preserves next year's harvest, I have a whole chapter on grapes in Grocery Gardening (out in January).

 

Green Grapes Ready for Harvest

Pruning did a couple of things...it kept these largely unruly vines under control...ok, partially under control. It also resulted in fewer grapes. And before you say that fewer grapes is not a good thing, let me say it most certainly is. I simply don't need that many of them...and by pruning the vines and even thinning the grape bunches...the vines direct their fabulous flavor making abilities into what remains. Believe me, the taste difference is significant! There are many fruits that are thinned in order to encourage larger growth and better flavor.

I also decided to wait a full 2-3 weeks later before harvesting. Actually, I am going to harvest this weekend. Grapes are harvested any time between August and October. Last year, in my eagerness, I think I harvested just a tad too soon...which did not allow them to fully mature in flavor and sugar. This year, I was patient...I waited...and waited...and tasted...and tasted. Yesterday, I plucked one of the purple-y black varieties and popped it in my mouth. WOW! My tongue did a little dance...tart, sweet, complex. I could feel the tannins in my mouth. You know, that slightly astringent, dry feeling that is a partner to red wine? 

So, I will be out harvesting grapes this weekend. I wish I knew what type I had (beyond purple and green). I suspect Concords, but they could be wine grapes. I am fortunate to have inherited these when we got the house, so I didn't have to do any of the trellising construction. Though I have reduced the number, there will still be plenty to pick...the question is always what to do with them?

Grapes don't store well when fresh. I fully intend to use my dehydrator on some of them...maybe make jams and jellies. Or maybe skin, remove the seeds, cook and freeze for later use. I have several grape recipes I would like to try, including an old fashioned grape pie...maybe I test that out this weekend. If you have any good suggestions for storage or recipes, I would love to hear it!