"Garden Lust"

We read a great write up on Elm Street Gardens yesterday in a blog from a young lady who has visited our gardens twice.  We really enjoyed "Garden Lust" and hope others will take the time to go to the link below and read it also.  Good writing and lovely pictures too.  I'm now a fan and follower of "landfieldgardendesign."

Suzy

http://landfieldgardendesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Elm%20Street%20Gardens

Farm Tour and Potluck

What a nice day we had on Sunday here at Elm Street Gardens! Our Farm Box customers and other friends joined us for a garden tour followed by a potluck supper. I hope everyone enjoyed our afternoon as much as Robert and I did. Brad and Megan of Three Centuries Farm - also managers of the ESG operation - led the garden tour and our Fort Creek Farm partners, Bob and Susan Woodall helped me organize in the kitchen and set up the dining room for serving the meal.  Everyone pitched in and I think we all had a fine supper that included many ingredients from our three Farm Box farms.

While I’m thinking about the food, I must say that we enjoyed some really creative recipes.  Megan and our intern, Zack from North Carolina, had a cook-off using the same five ingredients from our garden. Zack’s creation was "Squarugula Pizza," an unusual potato pizza embellished with arugula (and this young man did not know what arugula was until he got to Elm Street Gardens two weeks ago).  Megan rallied with another version of this garden pizza.  They both disappeared rapidly so I guess they were both winners.  We also had some very tasty and healthy quinoa dishes from Merle Bentley and “Green Magic Beans Alfredo” from Fort Creek's Chris Jackson.  Susan of Fort Creek presented a real winner too with her “Mexican Fiesta Casserole” using their grass fed beef. I will try to get them all to share the recipes for their creations for our blog.  And there was much, much more, including a terrific zucchini casserole from Beth Webster and for dessert, watermelon and plenty of chocolate.

Brad explains the process of growing shiitake mushrooms 

in the shade house.

Visiting and relaxing on the porch after a hearty meal.

Brad talks about the process used to grow healthy plants.

Participants gather on the porch after the potluck supper.

Farm Box folks learn about growing in the hoophouses 

with the use of a drip irrigation system.

Thanks to Zack Koontz for taking most 

of these photos of the event.

We had visitors of all ages.  Children ate enthusiastically and ran and played around the yard with our dog, Rives who loves to play "fetch," and visiting dog, Millie.  And there was some good porch time for older members of the group.  I think we all enjoyed the nice conservations we had with new acquaintances and the pleasure of just getting to know folks better.  We want to do this again.

Suzy

Exceptionally Easy Pickles

I fixed our first fresh cucumber of the season last night.  It was, about eight or nine inches long and just right for preparing in the simple easy way I learned from son, Brownlee, the master chef in our family.

This method for cucumber pickles is one of my favorites since it involves very little work or time, but really enhances the flavor of a nice fresh cucumber without overwhelming the natural flavor of the vegetable.  Brownlee says you can apply this technique to other fresh vegetables, such as sliced carrots and sweet Japanese turnips, too.

Peel and slice the cucumber and then mix the slices with a mixture of one-teaspoon kosher salt and one-tablespoon of sugar.  Let it sit and after five or ten minutes taste to see if it is too salty or too sweet.  If it is, rinse some or all of the slices and let sit for five minutes, taste again and adjust the salt and sugar as appropriate.  Refrigerate.  They are ready to eat in twenty minutes.

How much easier can it get? It is my kind of cooking:  Simple, quick, not too many ingredients and the fresh flavor shines.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the results.  Maybe we shouldn’t tell too many others just how easy this is . . .

Suzy

Singing in the Rain

I’m not much of a singer, but this lovely slow rain/drizzle has me just about singing with joy today.  It was raining when I woke up this morning and although not a heavy rain, it is great for our gardens, which have not had a rain such as this in quite a spell. 

While I was out emptying the compost bucket a while ago (actually the rain moderated itself to a fine drizzle), I spent some damp time admiring how lovely the garden looks.  The greens are greener, other colors more vibrant and it is obvious the birds are enjoying the rain too.  I loved the look of the raindrops on the day lily blossoms and took a few pictures of them.  And then of course, got into the spirit of things and couldn’t stand not photographing pictures of a few more plants with the raindrops upon them. I was especially capitvated with the ripening blueberries and the delicate sugar snap pea tendrils.

I’ve heard talk that we may be headed for a break in the weather cycle this summer and will have a milder, less dry summer.  I know all farmers are hoping that will be so. In the meantime, today’s needed rain is a lovely Mother’s Day present.  

Suzy

Endings and Beginnings

It came to me sometime in the past couple of days that Mother's Day is next week.  That means that I not only have to think about something special to do for my 99 year old mother, but also that the time for harvesting asparagus is about to end.  (I admit that statement says something about the randomness of my mind, but what can I say?)

Our garden-writer friend, Tom Woodham, told me some years back that his rule of thumb for picking asparagus was to pick it between Easter and Mother's Day.  Not terribly precise dates maybe, but it does give one a guideline, especially as to the ending date.  Of course, one starts to pick it as soon as the first stalks poke their heads through the earth whether that occurs on Easter or not.  

So we have essentially just one more week left to pick asparagus.  Already we have a number of the fern-like fronds of the asparagus plants gracing the beds where we have missed picking the stalks.  (I have been told that an asparagus stalk can grow four inches in a day and I believe it!)

Other spring endings loom:  In another month or so, maybe sooner this year because of the unusually warm spring we are having, it will be the end of many of our greens:  Lettuce, kale, turnips and so on.  I am especially sad about the lettuces, as they are my go-to green vegetable for many a meal and, most especially, a stand-by for lunch.  So while that ending is sad, I have to realize that the delights of summer are not far away.  Matter of fact, we had our first offering of cucumbers at the Fall Line Farmers Market this morning.  We have green tomatoes on a number of vines and plenty of other summer stand-bys in the ground and growing.  

On the ornamental side, the summer standards of day lilies and hydrangeas are opening more and more each day now also.  We like having plenty of blooms at Elm Street Gardens and Robert has been systematically planting hydrangeas of a number of varieties over the years we have been here.  We enjoy their long lasting flowers and occasionally even bring ourselves to part with some of these blossoms at farmers markets.  Day lilies add their cheerfulness to summer days and just plain make us feel good with their spots of color throughout the gardens. 

Okay, spring weather is feeling like a thing of the past and summer is "hot" upon us and I’ve talked myself into accepting these vegetal endings and new beginnings., Now, what can I do for my mother on her coming day that is really special??

Suzy

Day lilies, garlic plants with asparagus fronds to the rear

A spectacularly yellow day lily.

One of the oak leaf hydrangeas just beginning 

to open its long lasting blossoms.