From Wee Garden to Wee Kitchen...

Today's post is about The Wee Kitchen, because something has to be done with all the things we get from The Wee Garden

 

I did pretty well with my 45 day challenge. Most days were fairly easy, there were a few that were a stretch. On these days I used dried or fresh herbs from the garden.  And then the okra started to produce, and we couldn't keep up. We found ways to cook okra that had never occurred to us! We even discovered that it is delicious raw!

 

We always have fresh oregano, it grows like a weed, and every so often I HAVE to give it a haircut. The cuttings go in the dehydrator, and I am never low on dried oregano. I also have dried thyme and hot pepper flakes from the garden. I always have green onions available. I cut 'em and they just keep growing back.  I also had fresh dill for a while, and now have a great supply of dill seeds.

 

As all our more Northern friends were harvesting in September and October, we were starting seeds and getting tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and several kinds of peppers in the ground.  So, as the okra has slowed down, we are getting lots of other things.

 

Yesterday, we a visit from some of the grand children.  We walked up the street and picked wild lemons. What to do when life gives you wild lemons? Make lemonade! It was delish and easy!  We also picked fresh sweet potato greens, and sautéed them with some bacon, diced ham and onion. That was our first time, but it won't be the last. That pot was scraped clean!  We also had fresh tomatoes on our burgers, and finished up the fridge pickles I made 2 weeks ago.

 

I spent my Sunday in the kitchen. I really feel like I accomplished something today.  Hubby harvested just over 15 pounds of  Beefsteak tomatoes this morning, and they are now simmering nicely on the stove in a massive batch of pasta sauce. I am thinking I will get around 4 quarts of it. 

 

I picked just over 4 pounds of cucumbers today, including a massive 1 pounder that I didn't see the last few times I picked. they are in a gallon jar in the fridge, becoming fridge pickles. Easiest thing ever!

 

I blanched and froze what is close to the last of the okra, but enough for one more meal. We went from picking 50-60 pods a day to just 8 today.

 

Then, and this has nothing to do with the garden, but I am enjoying the wonderful smell of  pumpkin beer bread coming from the kitchen. 

 

All in all, not a bad day, if I do say so myself!

 

That is how the Wee Garden grows today!

Now, GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Roll Call

I know it has been a bit since I posted... We have been busy in the Wee Garden... It really is not so small anymore, but we are still loving it. I wanted to do a quick update on what has been going on.

We are rapidly approaching 100 pots, and more plants than I want to count. It takes about 2 hours to water everything, and we try to alternate days, or tag team it. The time it takes is so very worth it. We totally enjoy being out there, and sharing in this experience. The quality of the food we have harvested can not be compared to the tasteless produce we were getting from the grocery store. We very seldom buy from the grocery store anymore. If we don't have it growing here yet, we try to get it from a local farm store or produce stand.

So, here is the roll call of what we have growing in the Wee Garden right now. Hopefully I won't forget any one, and this does not include any of the seeds I started this week, that have not sprouted yet.

Most of the Wee Garden

We have six varieties of tomatoes... Beefsteak, Mexico, Rosalita, Black Cherry , Brandy Wine, and Church.

Waiting for the Black Cherry tomatoes to ripen

We have Red Potatoes, Carrots, Eggplant, Zucchini, Broccoli, Lemon Cucumber, and the Salad Table.

Zucchini

Eggplant just starting to bud

Broccoli ready to harvest

Baby Broccoli and a couple of Sweet Cayenne

We have 4 types of peppers... Sweet Cayenne, Bells, Cayennetta, and Jalapenos.

The Jalapenos are almost ready!

 

We had to add some fruit to the mix, so we have  Cantaloupe,  Meyers Lemons, Key Limes, and most recently added Strawberries.

For seasoning... Cilantro, Basil, Oregano, Onions, and Garlic.

Baby Carrots, Seeded Carrots, and Basil

That is how the Wee Garden grows today!

Now, GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Bees in the Wee Garden

Everybody has their job in the Wee Garden.

 The bugs are included in this list.  I love to sit and watch them do their jobs!

I find the lady bugs and butterflies beautiful, and the hum of the bees is very relaxing to me.

Here are a few pics of the bees, busy doing their job!

 

I could sit and take pics of them all day, but there are other things to be done! 

So, off I go to water and plant...

That is how the Wee Garden grows today...

Now, GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Seeing Red...

As I sit in the Wee Garden, looking over all that will be dinner...haha... the thing that catches my eye most is the Beefsteak tomatoes.  They are starting to ripen, and we expect to eat the first ones sometime this week! My mouth waters at the thought of garden fresh, ripe beefsteaks! 

Is there any thing better? Maybe, I am not sure. But I do know,  probably not this week!

We've had fresh salad greens for months now, even enough to share. The Zucchini and Yellow squash were wonderful. We've eaten carrots... and they were oh so sweet!  We've had purple potatoes, a little disappointing, but they still gave us that satisfaction of having grown them ourselves!

We use fresh picked basil, cilantro, chives, and oregano on a regular basis, and the cayenetta peppers have been a spicy bit of heaven.

Nothing compares to the anticipation of those first vine ripened, fresh picked, homegrown tomatoes... Once again, my mouth is watering!

That is how the Wee Garden grows today!

Thanks for reading...

And Oh, by the way, 

GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Morning in The Wee Garden

Living in Southwest Florida definitely has its benefits... Like being able to grow food all year long, and as the hot summers ease into what I think are cold winters, I realize how lucky we are, that in January, we can take note of the cobwebs and dew in the early morning.

One of the things Hubby and I like to do is enjoy our morning coffee in the Wee Garden. I like to take my first cup with me, for a morning tour to check on my "babies". Any new growth? Any new flowers/ Any new fruit? Any "critters" cause us any damage during the night? Every day is an adventure, with the ever changing garden!

We've had a bit of fog the last few days... With the haze lingering into the morning...Its quiet and peaceful, and adds little jewels to everything in the garden. sometimes, you just have to stop and enjoy the beauty that is around you.

 

It was yesterday morning, as I sat in the garden and had my second cup of coffee, I looked at the beauty around me that I realized the simple truth... The Wee Garden doesn't only give me food... It gives me peace! 

 

Thanks for reading,

Claudia

Friday Update 11-23

Well. Here it is, another Friday. the Wee Garden is coming along nicely. It is still early, but we have been seeing some benefits, and returns already.

The biggest one this week, was the zucchini. I harvested two more, and we had fresh zucchini for dinner the other night. I sliced and sauteed them with some butter, fresh ground pepper, and sea salt. They were the best zucchini I have ever had! We still have 2 more on the vine, and hopefully more to come.

We also have enough greens in the big pot for another salad, and the new salad table is sprouting nicely.

 We have 6 yellow squash on the vine, and they should be ready soon. This plant is a little backward, as we have an abundance of female flowers, and no males. I did some research online, and opted to hand fertilize them with zucchini flowers. It seems to be working!

The Cukezilla... aka the lemon cucumber is doing well, with tons of blooms, but no cukes yet.

The potato tower is getting tall, and I am anxious to see how it turns out. It is well over 2 feet tall. I am so encouraged with this one, I started another one with some red potatoes I got at the grocery store. They started sprouting before I could use them up, so I figured why not.

The tomatoes are doing great, especially the beefsteaks, that we started first. We have 6 pots of them, with 12 plants, and at least 10 tomatoes already growing. There are still a lot of blooms on these, and the bees have been very busy out there.

We also used fresh basil this week. I made some beer bread, with fresh basil, sundried tomatoes and garlic. It went really well with our pasta. we also used the basil in that sauce. Can't wait to make it with fresh tomatoes!

You can check my weekly tally here!

So, that is how the Wee Garden grows today!
Thanks for reading!
Claudia

First Zucchini

We have harvested our first zucchini! We probably could have waited another day, but I didn't want it to get too big.  It weighed in at slightly over 8 oz. Not sure of the price of zucchini right now, but last time I looked it was on sale for $1.99 lb... We have several more on the vine, and are looking at around 3-5 this week!

So, that's how the Wee Garden grows today!
Thanks for reading!
Claudia

Wee Garden Record Keeping

In discussions with Hubby, I realized that this was not a very good experiment.  I have been very neglectful in keeping any records of what our costs have been. We have bought soil, seeds, fertilizer, chicken wire, wood, and more pots.  Although we will find out if we can grow some of our food, we not know if it was actually cost effective to do so.  So, I am going to have to start keeping better records of our expenses and what the actual yield is from the Wee Garden.

I tried to find my receipts from the last couple of months, but only found a few... So, we are making an estimate, and taking it from there.  Our estimate of what we have spent so far, through yesterday is $300.  Wow. That seems like a lot.  Many of the things we have purchased, we will be used again, cutting our costs for future plantings.

So far, we have gotten about 5 meals out of the small salad pot, but expect to get more from the big table we just built. If you take the cost of mixed baby greens into consideration, and the actual cost on that particular pot, one bag of dirt, and a half bag of seeds, we have come out ahead on that.

I have also harvested and cooked with fresh basil, several times, and traded some basil plants and some of my seed stash for some other types of tomato seeds and plants and some sweet cayenne pepper seeds.

I am going to start keeping a log on what we spend, and what we harvest, as we go.  Hubby thinks I should keep a diary of our progress/setbacks, so we have it for future reference. I will do my best to keep up with this.

So, here is where we are at, $300 and 2 months in.  We have had several salads with fresh greens, and fresh basil in several meals. We have 1 zucchini, almost ready to pick, and several more on the way.

The Cukezilla, aka lemon cucumber has too many flowers to count, all males so far. The beefsteak tomatoes have between 15 and 20 open blossoms on them. We have 2 smaller tomato plants going, and more seeds started. The yellow squash is blooming, and it has both male and female flowers.  The broccoli is coming along nicely, and I remain hopeful.  The purple potato tower is getting huge. We also have cilantro, oregano, carrots, bell peppers, jalapenos, cantaloupe, eggplant and more zucchini started.

I am going to start keeping better records of spending and harvest, and have purchased a kitchen scale to weigh as we go. Hubby suggested keeping a diary of our progress, so I will make an attempt at posting every day. We are out there every day, doting on our Wee Garden, taking pictures of our "babies". So far, this has been a totally enjoyable experience, and I look forward to it every day!

So, that is how my garden grows today...
Thanks for reading!
Claudia