Gardening

[duchess of malfi]

Ah...gardening. Spending time outside in the sunshine. Fretting over silly plants who are not doing what they should be doing. Going on hand to hand combat missions with bugs who want to eat your food. And best of all eating your own fruits and vegetables, and using your own herbs as flavoring for food and teas.

Our perenniel herbs:
catnip
spearmint
orange mint
chives
garlic chives
sage

the veggies we always plant (old standbys):
tomatos
sweet peppers
hot peppers
snow peas
green onions
garlic

fruits:
strawberries
blueberries
red raspberries
blackberries

things we will be trying new this year:
potatoes (blue ones and red ones )
asparagus
probably things to be announced later


Does anyone else here like to garden? What sorts of stuff do you like to grow?

[Avatar]

No room to garden unfortunately, but if I did, I would at least have a good herb garden.

Yours sounds fantastic Duchess, especially the fruit...(I'm a sucker for berries )

What about Basil and Rosemary for your herb garden though?

--A

[sgtkafka]

if we get the house we are setting up a garden.

tomatoes-cukes-zuccini-carrots-strawberries-corn-squash-watermelon-canteloupe-herbs, etc.

[High Lord Tolkien]

I planted 4 Blueberry bushes last year next to my regular garden.
Bought some bales of hay and spread it out all around them making a nice square that equals my vegtable garden in size.
Then I planted strawberries around the blueberries.
If I don't get any berries I won't mind too much because it LOOKS really cool.
Like I have some idea what I'm doing.

But everything is doing well.
Lots of fetilizer and horse manure so I should be all set.

My garden this year will be simple.
Usually I cram everything in and they choke each other so I get very little.

Tomatoes, carrots, onions, corn (even though I seldom get ears of corn that taste good, the kids like looking at it), peppers, peas (although I think I missed that planting window) and beans.

And Eggplant.
I don't like eating eggplant.
Never have and probably never will.
Don't even chop it up fine and mix it in to say, tomato sauce.
But damn, it a beautiful plant to grow!

[Avatar]

The GF has a great recipe for Brijal dip, almost like eggplant guacamole...(we're talking about the same thing, right? Gorgeous purple...thing?)

I don't eat it at all, under any circumstances, except in this dip. Lemme know if you want it.

--A

[Menolly]

The GF has a great recipe for Brijal dip, almost like eggplant guacamole...(we're talking about the same thing, right? Gorgeous purple...thing?)

Is Brijal dip similar to babaghanoush? I love a good babaghanoush!

[duchess of malfi]

The gorgeous purple thing is quite likely an eggplant. I've never tried growing those, but they are very attractive plants and fruits.

[Avatar]

Pity they taste so awful though...except in this dip.

I have no idea Menolly...I recognise the name, but have no idea what's in it. Will ask the GF.

--A

[sgtkafka]

www.aubergines.org/recipes.php

The Eggplant Recipe Database

[Menolly]

Babaghanoush

YUM!!!

[High Lord Tolkien]

Freshly picked peas are great right out of the pod.
Even waiting as little as a day changes the taste a little.

Unfortunatly my yard is very sandy.
So the rich soil of my garden, though raised up a bit, is sitting on sandy soil.
So it drys out pretty quick!

[Avatar]

Babaghanoush

YUM!!!

Very similar Menolly, except for the tahini. And her's has more stuff in it.

--A

[Revan]

I did some gardening yesterday. Along with fixing the new window in. Mainly I was pulling up annoying weeds.

Uh... No offence Av.

[Avatar]

Very funny.

--A

[duchess of malfi]

Went to the local nursery today to pick up this year's new veggies and herbs. Other than a flat of marigolds (the smell of marigolds supposedly fends away some common pests from your veggies so you intersperse them in your vegeatble garden) and a few hostas and ferns to plant back in the woodsy corner of the yard I did not get any flowers. That will be a seperate trip.

The veggies (other than the ones mentioned in the first post):
several types of lettuce ( -I have not had luck with lettuce in the past, but I am willing to try again)
broccoli
cucumbers
yellow beans

annual herbs (die from our winters):
cilantro
rosemary
thyme

perenniel herbs:
peppermint
chocolate mint - I have never seen or heard of this before - tastes like mint, but smells exactly like chocolate

[Avatar]

Haha, I like Chocolate mint. We get a whole buch of different types...of which the only other one I can remember off hand is apple...

--A