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NEW GARDEN 2011

so this year i started tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and oregano from seed.  Basil and dill did not come up :( in jiffy pots.  i accidentally forgot to really "label" the tomatoes....so they are kinda mystery tomatoes.) After about 4 weeks in my bathroom window sill and another week outside to harden off  TODAY i put them all in the ground.  I also direct seeded some green peas in my small vegetable bed from last year.  I put spinach and mixed greens in some pots and they are doing TERRIFIC.  I saw a similar bowl of greens today at Lowes's for 13.99....made me smile to know i did mine with a 1.00 pack of seeds that i had left from last year.  As for the other seedlings i have a new LONG thin bed that i added this year behind the screen of the pool where they went in.   I wish I could figure out how to send pictures straight from my phone to this blog .....ON my to do list.  will ask for help from my teen age techies later :D.  WELL MY GARDEN IS OFF TO A GREAT START!

OKRA is so EASY

Of all the vegetables i have worked with in this backyard gardening quest of mine, okra by far has been the easiest.  It keeps producing and producing! Enough for frying, gumbo, several bags i froze for winter use but still i have MORE OKRA. So I  found a traditional middle eastern/indian recipe that we LOVED.  It was simple and delicious.  I made a second planting of a burgundy variety which should start producing in the next couple of weeks.  If the pods turn out to be as brightly colored as the leaves and stems it should be amazing.  There is one secret to okra is you SERIOUSLY  have to pick it every 2-3 days.  Otherwise it will get too large and tough to eat. 

Traditional Indian Okra Recipe
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 pound sliced fresh okra
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

salt to taste

Directions

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook until tender. Stir in the okra, and season with cumin, ginger, coriander, pepper and salt. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until okra is tender. Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 126
Total Fat: 8.9g
Cholesterol: 23mg

in pursuit of pumpkins

I want to have a pumpkin patch in my backyard....i have found a commercial one less than 45 minutes from my house so surely with care i can get a few pumpkins.  I am limited by space but i did find room for a watermelon plant so CROSSING MY FINGERS.  First i bought some seeds several varieties thinking ONE will work and by the way...I LOVE SEEDS...then i did some googling and read so much about growing these GIANT pumpkins which maybe we will try for next year.  This year i just want some REGULAR size pumpkins.  A few to carve and make some pie and bread with.  If we are lucky and have extras we can share with family and friends.  I planted the seeds this weekend and so far one of the sugar babies has germinated...Not bad only took 3 days.  Once i have some healthy seedlings i will find spots for them in my garden.  Here are a couple of pix...the varieties i planted and the containers i put them in and i marked the germinated sugar baby.  I am in pursuit of pumpkins...

Accidental watermelon

For spring break this year, which was mid March, the gardening bug first nibbled.  I headed off to Lowes in search of seeds and seedlings.  I picked up some tomatos seedlings...cuke seeds, bush bean seeds, okra seeds then decided i needed to get a few bell pepper plants.  Then i saw an okra display with these beautiful looking plants.  They were 3.50 each but i really love okra so I thought this plant might start giving me veggies a few weeks before the seeds, so i grabbed one.  After getting home and putting in all my plants and seeds on closer observation of the BEAUTIFUL okra plant i read the lil plastic plant info and it didn't say okra....it said WATERMELON.  Oh well (i know who can't tell the difference between an okra and a watermelon plant...apparently ME) so I did some googling on watermelons and found a spot for it in my flower beds.  At first it didn't do so well keeping only the 3 or 4 leaves it came with but as soon as the weather warmed up it TOOK OFF!  And we ended up with 3 watermelons.  One split after we had a TON of rain and it wasn't quite all the way ripe but the girls and i ate it anyways it was pretty good.   We still have the other two on the vine and are waiting for the vine to yellow off indicating they are READY ....here are a couple of pix one from June 11 and one from July 13.

Is this too CORNY?

Corn June 11 then again July 13 SEE what a difference a month makes!

garden in mid may

May 13th first red tomato! Green beans were just about ready, but cukes fell way behind.  My first seeds never germinated so had to replant.  However, placing them up against the screen of the pool made a perfect climbing trellis....one drawback is the bees can only approach from one side.