3000 Years And Still Going Strong

That number is no typo. Humans started cultivating and domesticating cabbages from the wild somewhere around 1000 B.C. And they have been hooked ever since. I haven't reached my first millenium of experience growing them yet, and I have only grown them in containers; but I can certainly say they are worth the modest effort I have to put forth for them. They are a cool weather crop that loves the spring and fall of NWI. And cabbages are like goldfish. They grow to the size of the space available to them. I just harvested a cabbage grown in one the smallest containers I've ever used, about one gallon. The head was the size of a large fist,  but when sliced it provided more than enough for a nice pot of cabbage and sausage soup. The old proveb is certainly true, "Big things come in small packages." And often tasty things do as well.

Ah, Roma!

While I am tempted to wax poetic concerning the Eternal City, the title refers not to the home of the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain or gelato. This is after all harvest season. No, we shall speak of the egg shaped, meaty tomatoes now ripening in my garden. They are coming into their own and I am tempted to try canning some homemade pasta sauce or perhaps some salsa. In any case, they are great on sandwiches and in salads just like their beefsteak cousins and I have enjoyed every bite. If you have the chance, pick up some from fresh from a local farmer's market. You won't regret it. Mangia! Mangia!

To Your Health

Minnesota Midget Melons

I've grown melons for several years now simply because they taste better fresh from the garden than anything you can get from a store. This year there was an extra benefit.They were also more safe. There was a Salmonila outbreak that was traced to several melon farms including one here in Indiana. However, there was no need for me to worry if mine were contaminated. So try your hand at growing your own. You'll get more flavor, more nutrition and greater peace of mind.

Waste Not Want Not

These past few months have been strange to say the least. A winter with hardly any snow and almost none of the usual extreme cold characteristic of this part of the country gave way to a spring that couldn't seem to make up its mind if it wanted to warm up enough to allow for planting. Then, when the warmth came, it was followed by a late hard frost that killed off most of the blossoms on the fruit trees. So if you see the price of apples, cherries and other arborial fruits going sky high, you'll know why. Eventually, the warmth did come to stay, with a vengeance. We almost matched the all time record for number of days above 90 degrees in one summer. But the heat has been great for my pepper plants. And now they are in all their glory. This beauty was harvested from a plant grown from seeds I saved from a pepper I purchased from the supermarket last winter. Fresh off the plant it was fragrant, juicy, flavorful and made a great addition to my homemade soup. I'll be saving seeds from this pepper to grow next year. Hopefully, the plants will give more juicy treasures like the one pictured above. Mother Nature just keeps on giving and we should never waste her gifts.

All Hail The Queen!

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, this is not an entry about the present monarch of the U.K. or about the Thai princess that may soon ascend to the throne. This queen reigns in the kingdom of basil and is as exotic as the land from which she originates. You're not likely to see any other herbs adorned with such eye catching blossoms. Nor are you going to find other basils that blend their basic flavor with notes of licorice and provide a perfect complement to many Asian dishes. I've heard that there are some gardeners that grow this herb purely for ornamental purposes. Who can blame them? It's almost too pretty to eat.

On A Roll

Another new thing that I'm trying this year is using sections of cut up toilet paper and paper towel tubes as planters for seedlings. I can fit four of them into plastic margarine containers. When the plants become large enough I can transplant them and the tubes will just break down over time. So far things seem to be going well. I guess you could say, I'm on a roll.

Pungent Surprise

It seems that a squirrel decided to steal one of my immature onions before the first heavy snow of last year. The pungent booty was buried near the base of a tree in our backyard and thanks to the milder than normal winter it has survived and sprouted. I can only shake my head in disbelief. I never imagined that the tree roots would leave enough resources for an onion or any other vegetable to do well in that location.