Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Going Herbal

My friend Rosemary gave me some sage advice and told me to try growing herbs, but I replied, "I don't have the thyme". O.K., enough with the attempts at botanical humor. This is my first year trying to grow herbs and so far so good. The sweet basil plant pictured above is doing quite well in a discarded Xtreme Gulp mug that has been re-purposed as a planter. The aroma of the plant is outstanding. I hope the flavor it adds to food will be too. But if I don't like this particular variety of basil, there are over 60 more to choose from. So I could be exploring the joys of basil for quite a few summers.

Monday, June 28, 2010

¡Que Sabor!

The first jalapeƱos of the season are almost ready. They've had plenty of rain and ample sunshine so far this summer, so their taste should be outstanding.

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Lazy Gardener's Vegetable



I really enjoy growing onions from seed. It never ceases to amaze me how something that looks like a small, black grain of sand, can become something that is so savory. Usually, less than half the onion seeds I plant actually sprout, but once they get started, they're one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate. Attacks from insects are rare and even squirrels leave them alone. Give them water and a nutrient filled environment using compost or fertilizer rich in phosphorous(10-20-10) and they'll be just fine in the ground or in containers. And as far as the flavor of fresh onions is concerned, well, try growing your own and see what your tastebuds think.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

It's True, It's True, They're Really Blue!


For all of you out there who imagined that the color named robin's egg blue was dreamed up by some chichi designer who was drunk out of their minds and had nothing better to do, perish the thought!