Skippy's Vegetable Garden

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-282161612009-11-23T10:49:07.582-05:00Skippy's Vegetable GardenA journal of my home vegetable garden. Skippy thinks it's his garden, but I've been gardening here for 20 years. We're located near Boston (USDA zone 6). I have a big community garden plot and a small plot in my yard. I try to grow all of my family's vegetables using sustainable organic methods.kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.comBlogger1486125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-25141467986376948372009-11-22T12:11:00.016-05:002009-11-22T13:35:37.829-05:00a collection of late summer and fall garden photos

I'm actually trying to pick a photo to enter in the contest at Fine Gardening: The Autumn Garden. The prize is a time lapse camera, which sounds really fun. You can enter 5 photos until November 30. It'll take me that long to pick I think.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-39255985286964010542009-11-22T11:13:00.002-05:002009-11-22T11:16:14.436-05:00we'll be in a magazine soon!

Skippy and I will be in Fine Gardening's "GROW" in January. A little piece on pickling cucumbers with some of my photos. I'm watching for it. I hope Skippy smiled nicely.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-85802786045448405872009-11-22T10:22:00.002-05:002009-11-22T11:29:55.658-05:00garden aerial

Deep shadows. Piles of compost on the beds. Fallen maple leaves. Still growing: Sage, parsley, oregano, collard greens, celeriac and marigolds.The dahlia still hasn't frozen down. (Lower right of photo.) We haven't had a hard frost up next to the house yet. I usually wait til is dies back to dig the tubers, but will probably do this today anyway.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-51568790852663594452009-11-22T10:20:00.004-05:002009-11-22T10:54:11.329-05:00the best restaurant around

The East Coast Grill! What a fantastic experience to eat here! The best local seafood and fresh vegetable cooked to perfection and then some! Its like heaven!Of course every time we go there, the parking lot is full. (The scooter solved that problem - we pull up on the sidewalk.) And the usual wait is over an hour, and they don't take reservations. But an awesome bartender makes sure everyone is

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-74047713290824324362009-11-21T22:17:00.003-05:002009-11-21T22:20:49.894-05:00spicy coleslaw

I think I'll try this with my savoy cabbage heads this week:spicy coleslaw

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-29680110849216799112009-11-20T09:06:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:13:48.723-05:00greens growing for Thanksgiving

Last year my garden frosted hard long before Thanksgiving. But this year, it seems like we'll have fresh garden greens on the table.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-4526554810211444752009-11-20T08:56:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:00:05.767-05:00so much rain this week

I checked my ran gauge last Sunday and took this photo. I forgot to empty it and I bet its overflowing now. Its pouring again. Great weather for the greens I'm planning to use for Thanksgiving.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-82191473139136588312009-11-15T12:03:00.008-05:002009-11-15T12:18:11.228-05:00"my" pumpkin soup recipe

My favorite pumpkin soup recipe is from a little book: Holiday Pumpkins by Georgeanne Brennan and Jennifer Barry. A very cute book with a bunch of nice pumpkiny ideas. But the soup is exceptional. Nice and simple: pumpkin, leeks and ginger. Optional cilantro and cream garnish. I made it for Thanksgiving a while back and served it in the pumpkin shell. I'm planning to do the same again this

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-87697234169135338752009-11-15T08:25:00.006-05:002009-11-15T11:38:06.957-05:00garden bloggers bloom day - collecting and appreciating seeds

The seed is hope; the flower is joy.- Author UnknownSkippy and I went out to look for flowers. The joy is gone, but we found lots of hope. Every size and shape of seed head and pods. Its seed season. Leaves are faded laying on the ground, seeds ripening everywhere. Skippy and I walked through the wildflower fields. So many different shapes and types of seeds. I collected a handful of the big

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-37906175225773522942009-11-14T23:59:00.001-05:002009-11-14T23:59:38.352-05:00bathing beauty

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-49346784425041065742009-11-14T10:25:00.013-05:002009-11-14T11:14:21.341-05:00Thanksgiving plans

Its that time of year again! Time for a feast! I will be serving a crowd. Looks like 10 guests so far.We have a new smoker this year and will smoke the turkey outside in it. Maybe some fish too. But the very exciting thing is that I may be able to provide ALL the vegetables from my garden this year! With the mild weather, I have a nice crop of lettuce, spinach, parsnips, Chinese greens and herbs

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-1661323706810269052009-11-14T09:07:00.001-05:002009-11-14T11:26:45.994-05:00celeriac recipes

Someone asked a while back what to do with celeriac. I thought I start a recipe list.Here is a nice post from Winter Green Community Farm. As they describe:Celeriac is descended from wild celery and has a crisp, clean flavor. It can be used in turkey stuffing instead of regular celery and has a good amount of Vitamin C. Try celeriac raw grated into salads or in any recipe that calls for celery.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-23023366849175991282009-11-13T21:29:00.008-05:002009-11-14T10:19:36.852-05:00white Detroit beets with carrots

I wasn't real sure of these when I ordered the seed last year. White Detroit beets. But the description at Sand Hill Preservation Center sounded interesting: White Detroit: 65 days. Relatively new introduction where the beets are white, less bleeding and staining but same earthy flavor.And the good news is my teenager liked them! And they didn't stain the carrots. Or my hands. They were very

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-43791043398593816032009-11-13T01:09:00.004-05:002009-11-14T10:24:45.133-05:00a gardener's fortune

WOW! My fortune cookie is about my garden! "New meaning." .... I wonder what that means. I guess I'll have to wait and see.Of course, gardens are always taking on new meaning. They never stay the same. The seasons change, the weather changes. Plants grow and then die. My garden this year was very different from last year. And the our Community Garden is evolving, too. I've heard many visitors

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-6743163169503763292009-11-13T00:55:00.001-05:002009-11-15T11:22:39.686-05:00garden blogger's bloom day

Coming on the 15th (Sunday) - I'm getting ready.....

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-8674108933157156872009-11-12T12:59:00.000-05:002009-11-13T01:02:40.578-05:00garlic sprouts already

Amazing how fast they sprouted! We've been having just fantastic fall weather. These are happy little sprouts. The variety is Susanville, a soft neck garlic that I'm trying for the first time this year.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-35258920275203058742009-11-11T21:03:00.003-05:002009-11-11T21:09:26.734-05:00a nice fresh pile of horse manure

I still can't get over how great it is that a local horse owner brings his extra *** to the community gardens. A fresh big pile today. Skippy has gotten very grown up about the pile. No more rolling in it or eating it. He gives a brief sniff and moves on.So I shoveled a barrowful, maneuvered to my plot, and dumped it onto the bed that will grow my popcorn next year. Such pleasure to think about

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-91184100371692033602009-11-11T16:11:00.001-05:002009-11-11T23:10:43.248-05:00mulching with hay

I'd like to cover all my beds for the winter - to protect the soil microbes. So I went to my plot today to spread the last of my hay. Two garlic plots are already mulched. And another bed is already covered with popcorn stalks. Uncovered beds I noticed were the new asparagus bed, planted this spring. And my perennial bed with rhubarb, rose, thyme and oregano. I spread the last of the hay on

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-57677649729109484642009-11-10T21:44:00.000-05:002009-11-10T22:20:27.585-05:00book review: What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?) by D. Deardorff and K. Wadsworth

Another very nice book that Timber Press sent me for review.What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?) by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth, is a brand new gardening book. Lots of step-by-step drawings of how to figure out what's wrong with your plants. First thing I did was to check on all the vegetable problems I've had recently. This kept my busy for a long time. Corn ear worms,

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-77989674466839146392009-11-08T21:47:00.009-05:002009-11-08T22:18:49.615-05:00spreading compost and other winter preparations

A beautiful warm fall day for garden work. We were out cleaning up the yard and gardens - getting ready for winter. My main project was COMPOST.My old wood compost bins have finally composted themselves. After 10 or 15 years. Two homemade untreated fir bins. I pulled off all the old decayed wood, then carted the compost to my garden beds. My 2010 plan says there will be tomatoes, eggplants,

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-60665279436560670132009-11-05T16:13:00.001-05:002009-11-05T16:13:49.097-05:00skippy in the garden

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-65793654965817830662009-11-04T13:42:00.001-05:002009-11-04T13:44:24.122-05:00Beantown Seedsavers Seed Collection Event this Saturday

>> From: Erica Lafountain >> Subject: Beantown Seedsavers Seed Collection Event 11/7 12-2>>>> The Beantown Seedsavers are a new group of people with an interest>> in encouraging local seed saving to develop a source for diverse,>> acclimatized, disease resistant plants that are delicious,>> medicinal, and/or beautiful.>>>> If you have saved seeds in the recent past and would like to share>> some

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-61163062441738624322009-11-04T08:25:00.001-05:002009-11-04T08:25:00.620-05:00impression of the woods

The woods look like a Monet painting now. This photo is from last Sunday. Skippy and I followed an old stone wall instead of the path so I would see all the leaves up close. I did a little PhotoShopping to make the picture look more like the woods looked to me. Spots of color. Lots of filtered light. Pastel shades.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-35907419551889072792009-11-03T08:23:00.001-05:002009-11-03T08:23:00.112-05:00photos of my garden plot

escarole and winter radish kale, fava beans, Boston lettuce, red romaine and spinach asparagus, red cabbage and parsnips savoy cabbage and mixed fall greensMy raised beds are beginning to look clean and organized again after the profusion of plants that overtook them this summer. The garlic is planted and covered with a layer of salt hay. Most of the old plant debris has been added to the compost

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28216161.post-53657970184551655502009-11-02T23:37:00.008-05:002009-11-02T23:49:38.169-05:00harvest

These are the vegetables I harvested on Sunday. Four big hairy celeriac roots (below is before I trimmed the them), a couple potatoes, a couple red cabbage. Also some nice lettuce and escarole and a bunch of baby bok choy.The celeriac are one of the first crops planted and the last ones harvested. Very slow growing. I planted Feb 21, harvested Oct 31. Almost 9 months in the ground.

kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10947233901412406068noreply@blogger.com8