Oh, If Only...

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

And Now A Word From Our Third President

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.

To Boldly Grow Where Others Have Grown Before

If you wish to live long and prosper, consider these five health benefits of gardening that can help you reach those goals.

1. Exposure to vitamin D 

Vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. A 2014 Italian study, published on the National Institutes of Health website, found that exposure to sunlight helped older adults achieve adequate serum vitamin D levels. So outdoor activities like gardening are a perfect way to get your sunshine while pursuing a fun hobby. (But don’t forget the sunscreen to protect your skin, and sunglasses for your eyes.)

 

2. Decreased dementia risk 

A 2006 study found that gardening could lower risk of dementia by 36 percent. Researchers tracked more than 2,800 people over the age of 60 for 16 years and concluded that physical activity, particularly gardening, could reduce the incidence of dementia in future years.

3. Mood-boosting benefits

A study in the Netherlands, cited by CNN, suggests that gardening fights stress even better than other hobbies. Participants completed a stressful task and were then told to read inside or go outdoors and garden for 30 minutes. The gardening group reported better moods afterward, and their blood tests showed lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

4. Enjoyable aerobic exercise

Gardening is a great form of aerobic exercise; plus, you might become so engrossed in your work that you don’t even realize you’re breaking a sweat. Pulling weeds, reaching for various plants and tools, and twisting and bending as you plant will work new muscles in your body and help with strength, stamina, and flexibility.

5. Helps combat loneliness

Community gardens can be a fun way to engage with others while providing benefits to neighborhoods. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community gardens are "collaborative projects on shared open spaces where participants join together in the maintenance and products of the garden, including healthful and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables."

What Threat?

As a gardener, I'm always amused when I hear a TV weather forecaster say that  it's "threatening showers". To a gardener, showers aren't a threat. They're a godsend. Of course we can get water to our plants through a hose attached to a tap, but we know how much more stimulating our green friends find non-chlorinated water. We've seen how they literally jump in size overnight when there is a nice, slow steady rain that lasts for several hours. So when we hear the words, "threatening showers", we smile and hope they will arrive after sundown and last at least half the night.

Light Reading

Though the dark days of winter may cause distress for some, gardeners can always depend on some light reading to brighten up their waking hours. After all, when the seed catalogs arrive in your mailbox on a regular basis, it's Christmas right through December and up until planting begins in the spring.

A Simple Recipe For Hearty Tomato Soup

Most tomato soup recipes start with the words, 'peel and seed tomatoes'. And if you're like me, your first thought is, do I really have to go through all of that for a tasty tomato soup? Well, the fact is you don't. What follows is a recipe for delicious tomato soup that involves none of the tedium of peeling and seeding tomatoes.

Coarsely chop one medium sized onion and saute it in a deep, heavy pan with olive oil until it is soft and translucent. Then add about one pound each of coarsely chopped tomatoes and carrots, three diced stalks of celery and four or five cloves of minced garlic. Saute all ingredients for another 1-2 minutes.

Add four cups of water or chicken stock, a couple of bay leaves, a little pepper, and one tablespoon of a non-salt spice mix such as Mrs. Dash.

Mix all ingredients and then bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes. Then puree in a blender or food processor.

You don't want a perfectly smooth soup. So short bursts at the puree setting should be enough create a thick, coarse-textured soup.

You may serve your soup topped with chopped green onions, chives or whatever suits your taste. And I have found that this soup goes well with thick slices of garlic bread.

Bon Appétit!

Not Honeydew, Honey Bear!

I'm growing Honey Bear squash for the first time this year. The catalog said that this is a great variety for containers, but I couldn't resist growing at least one plant in a lasagna bed. And as you can see, it is doing just fine. I put another plant in an Earthbox and it is doing well too. But the third plant has not fared well in the smaller container where it was placed. So I guess the lesson learned is that when it comes to this squash, the bigger the container the better.

Mystery Squash Enter And Sign In Please

Planted a few mystery squash seeds earlier this year and only one of them sprouted. It has grown into quite a large plant on its lasagna bed and it looks as though the fruits are all of the dumpling squash variety. I can't wait to try them and see what they taste like.

Tomato Finale

The average first frost date for our fair city is October 13th. We've managed to dodge that this year, but if the prognosticators of the weather are correct we'll have frost overnight in a couple of days. So these are probably the last vine ripened tomatoes of this growing season. Maybe one of these days I'll have the resources to grow fresh veggies year-round. Until then, like most people, I'll just have to make do with what I have.

Can I Nudge You Into Getting Your Green On?

If you've never tried gardening, you really should give it a go. It's hard to think unpleasant thoughts when you're watching things grow.

Here are a couple of links to help you get started:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wintersown/

https://www.facebook.com/willemvancotthem?fref=ts

Lettuce Begin

A few green shoots to help build the anticipation that home grown lettuce will soon be part of my meals once again.

The Gardener Knows

Beneath the snow
The gardener knows
The blooms await
For a later date

Beneath the snow
The gardener sees
Not what is
But what is to be

Never Refuse To Reuse Refuse!

My instincts towards thrift often lead me to a local hardware store where there is a section devoted to items which have arrived in less than pristine condition and are for sale at discounted(sometimes deeply) prices. When I saw this damaged waste paper basket, I knew it would make a perfect home for a Tiny Tom tomato plant. And at only 25 cents, how could I refuse to purchase it?

Tiny Tom is one of the increasing number and variety of cultivars that has been specifically developed for growing in containers. I could have spent more money on a really nice ceramic pot or a fancy plastic one. But all this busted up dustbin needed was a liner to cover the holes. A standard plastic grocery bag with a couple of holes punched in the bottom fit the bill. And some good potting soil mixed with homemade compost completed the picture.

As you can see the tomatoes are coming in just fine and will soon be ready to do their part in a salad or for guilt free snacking. Reuse of refuse not only helps the planet, it can be delicious too.

Buongiorno Baracolle

Did you know that lettuce is thought to be a selected variety of Lactuca serriola, a wild lettuce found throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa? It is believed to have been first cultivated in Egypt but was also a favorite amongst the ancient Greeks.

It has taken about a month but finally the barcarolle lettuce(a variety of romaine) in my Earthbox is ready for the table. It should be great with some freshly grated Parmesan and crunchy croutons.

Winter Survivor

Last autumn before the first hard frost I took a couple of healthy cuttings from my pepino melon plant. I placed the cuttings in water and waited for them to grow roots. Then I planted them in pots, placed them in a south facing window and hoped that they would somehow make it through the winter. Of the two cuttings only one survived and I've noticed that it has been sprouting new growth as the days have lengthened. So perhaps this season I'll be able to sample some of this rare fruit from my own garden.

It's All In How You Look At It

What do you see? Little green sprouts?  I see salad dressing, pesto and pizza. Of course, it helps to know that these are basil sprouts. The anticipation is almost too much to bear. I can't wait until they are ready for use.

Winter Experiment

 

Oh the winter's been snowy and icy 

So gardening outside would be dicey 

But inside no cold winds blow 

So let things grow, let things grow, let things grow. 

(With apologies to Sammy Cahn)

Just a little experiment to see what I could grow in a 2 liter bottle planter during the winter months. This Valentine lettuce definitely needs more room, but it's interesting to see how far it developed.

Southern Delight

It has come to my attention. I say, it has come to my attention that there are some who have never, I say, never sampled the southern delicacy known as fried green tomatoes. It's a travesty, I say, a travesty that this is the case. Especially when they are so easy to make you'd have to be busier than a centipede at a foot counting contest not to have time to whip up some for yourself. So why don't you give them a try? Unless you're too much of a Yankee, I say, Yankee to do so.

The Second Time Around

Soon, much too soon for my taste, I know that we will probably have our first hard frost here in NWI. But the nice thing about root vegetables is that a nip of frost doesn't end their existance. So come what may, my second round of onions will probably turn out O.K.