Happy Halloween!

The Write Stuff

While you're making plans, labels and illustrations of next season's garden, you might want to think about the fact that on this day in 1888, the patent for the first ball point pen was issued to a gentleman named John J. Loud.

Bee Friendly

It's Cool Man!

We're not expecting icicles such as these yet in our fair city, but tonight should bring what is the first hard freeze of autumn and the official end of the outdoor gardening season.

First Ever Container Potato Harvest

I had hoped for more and bigger spuds, but I guess it would be wrong of me to complain too much. Next season I'll have to put them in sooner.

Cereal Creator

On this day in 1854, the man who gave the world Grape Nuts and Post Toasties, C.W. Post was born. Although he only lived to the age of 59, the effects of the company he founded are still being felt at breakfast tables in America and around the world today.

I Should Have Known

I had heard that there is a national day in the U.S. for practically anything and everything. So it should not have come as a surprise that there is even a National Greasy Food Day. No, I'm not kidding. Today is the day that is dedicated to the foods that may not be the best in the world for us. So be it. But you can mitigate the worst of the effects of fried food if you use healthy oils. Here is one of my favorite crockpot recipes that uses extra virgin olive oil(EVOO) and also as three ingredients that are easily grown in the garden.

Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 4 medium potatoes, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces(peeled or unpeeled)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary(chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Add oil to the crockpot/slow cooker. Cover, set to high and allow the oil to heat up while preparing the potatoes.(15 minutes is a good preheating time.) 

Combine all of the ingredients in the crockpot and toss to mix with the oil. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours. Or until the potatoes are tender and browned. Your crockpot should be 5-7 quarts in capacity. 

Frost Uncertainty

Garden Sweethearts

According to the calendar, today is Sweetest Day. Well my sweetest memories of the garden include not only melons, but also heirloom Pineapple tomatoes.

The large, often asymmetrically shaped Pineapple tomato not only tastes sweet straight off the vine, but the sweetness increases when it is simmered in various dishes. It's a pity that their easily damaged skin and lengthy time to maturity(80 to 90 days) make them economically unsuitable for mass cultivation. However, if you have the patience and a growing season of sufficient length, I highly recommend adding them to your garden.

Memories Of Gardens Past

In 2008 I grew spaghetti squash for the first and so far only time. The quantity of the squash wasn't great, but the size of them was certainly substantial. Once cooked each squash provided meals for several days!

Least We Forget

“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.” 

― Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World

Lycopene Cravings

The first hard frost hasn't even arrived yet, but I am already dreading the severe withdrawal symptoms that I'll experience because of my addiction to fresh tomatoes.

Mangiamo!

Believe it or not, October 17th is National Pasta Day in the U.S. Now you don't have to be an expert on Italian cuisine to know that there are any number of things that can easily be grown in a garden or even in containers large and small that can be used in the almost endless variety of dishes that can be made using this versatile ingredient. I mean, just look at the photo below. 

O.K., so you can't grow cheese or olive oil in the garden, but you get the idea. From pasta primavera to lasagna, there are many things that can be produced by even a small garden that will add fresh flavor to many pasta dishes. And if you like garlic, now is the time to plant it so that you'll have a fresh supply for next year. Just make sure you plant it before the ground freezes. A sunny location with rich soil is best. Plant the cloves root side down four to six inches apart at a depth of one to two inches in rows one and a half to two feet apart. And in Northern areas six inches of mulch should be used for protection against the winter's cold.

You can even grow garlic indoors. Use pots that are at least six inches deep along with a good potting mix. And if you wish to plant more than one clove in a single pot, make sure that it is wide enough to allow at least four inches of separation between the cloves. Of course, a sunny, south facing window is preferred. Only light watering is required.

 

National Bosses Day 2017

I'm the boss of my garden, but that doesn't keep the lettuces and cabbages from arguing about who should be the head.

Oh, If Only...

I think I'll try planting some of these next year.

Thank You Mother Nature!

Since all the squash are in and tomorrow marks the average first frost date of our area, I think I would not be premature in thanking Mother Nature for another squash bug free growing season. I don't know where these pests have gone or what is keeping them away, but I hope they'll be absent from next year's growing season as well.

It's Time To Smile

Here is something every gardener knows. The knee is a device with an uncanny ability to find any and all of the rocks in your garden.

Where Would We Be Without Old MacDonald?

If you ate today, thank a farmer.

And Now A Word From Our Third President

These Pickled Peppers Have Nothing To Do With Peter Piper

Well, it's not quite a peck of pickled peppers, but I think six pints will be more than enough to see me through the winter.

Columbus Day

Love him or hate him, there can be no argument that Christopher Columbus' voyages changed the world map and the way people eat. Without the age of discovery unleashed by his travels, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, corn and chocolate would have remained locked in the New World for years, decades or centuries to come.

Try to imagine German, Irish or other European cuisines without potatoes. What would many cuisines of the world be like without peppers, both sweet and spicy? And would you want to live in a world where the Italians had never encountered the tomato? So if you can't celebrate Columbus for the man he was, you can celebrate the food diversity his voyages triggered in the rest of the world.

Meatless Monday?

October is National Vegetarian Month. So, whether you have a garden or not, here are a couple of things you can do:

• Pick one day of the week where all of your meals are of a meatless variety for the entire month.
• If that's too much, pick one meal where you will consistently avoid meat once or twice a week for the entire month.

You'll be surprised at the variety of things you can eat to help you avoid meat. And if you wonder why you should even bother, just remember that according to studies done by the Mayo Clinic and other medical research institutions, eating less meat has been shown to reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions.

Not What I Expected

According to the seed packet, this was supposed to be a Kincho Hybrid melon. But what I got looks more like a green cantaloupe. No matter, It tastes GREAT!

Teach The Children Well

World/International Teacher's Day has been celebrated on October 5th for more than two decades. It was started by UNESCO to recognize the invaluable and lasting positive contributions that teachers and teaching organizations make to the human condition. As gardeners we spend so much time absorbing information we often forget that whether we have a degree in education or not, we are obligated to pass on our knowledge and love of gardening to others. 

So where ever you can and whenever you can, pass along some of what you know to others, especially children. So that the fruits of our labor will be around for many seasons to come.

Just Under The Wire

My Minnesota Midget Melon plant, bred for maturation in a short period of time for areas with limited growing seasons, has come through like a champ. I started the seeds late this year and didn't transplant the seedling until the last week in July. Still it managed to produce over a dozen fruits and beat the first frost date by almost two weeks! I won't tempt fate next year. But I'm glad that the odds were ever in my favor this time around.

A Pizza The Good Life

All good things come to those who wait and now we're in a month that was definitely worth waiting for, National Pizza Month. And while we can't grow mozzarella, pepperoni, ham or sausage in our gardens(sigh), we can grow herbs and veggies that make a homemade pizza all the more special because they add fresh flavors that can only be found in produce that was harvested just a few minutes ago.

So go ahead and grow basil and tomatoes. Make that homemade pizza sauce. Shred yellow summer squash or zucchini. Drain them, squeeze out the excess liquid and sprinkle them  generously over your creation. Put on some young tender spinach. Add homegrown onions and peppers if you like, raw or sauteed. And you can even include roasted homegrown garlic if you have a mind to.

The variations of pizza are endless. And you'll need far more than one month to explore them. So get started now and enjoy! Mangia! Mangia!

Cilantro In Ecstascy

While I have more than a little concern that we are only a few weeks away from serious snow here in NWI, it's nice to see my potted cilantro luxuriating in the cooler temperatures of autumn. If my plants are happy, I'm happy. 

My Late Melons

With only a couple of weeks to spare before the average first frost date, I can say that my melon plant which I put in the ground after the summer solstice has yielded at least one success.