Toiling with the Land: Getting Rid of Tomato Worms

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;  Cursed is the ground because of you;  In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  Genesis 3:17-18

THANKS A LOT, ADAM!!!

Part of the reason for my lack of blog posts the past few weeks is a serious case of Genesis 3:17-18.  We have been infested with worms at the community garden, and they just reared their ugly heads in the front yard too!!!   What's funny, is they are a type of worm we've never even seen in our garden before...EVER! 

"Project Rid the Garden of Worms" started during our Spring Break week.  The first day, I boiled me up a heapin' pot of garlic and hot pepper tea.  I just boiled up a pot of water, smashed about 7-8 heads of garlic with the back side of my knife, threw them in the pot (skins and all), dumped about a cup of dried, ground, hot peppers (we had some habaneros we had grown last year) and let it boil.  Once it boils, turn the water off and let it steep for up to 24 hours.  Strain it and spray it all over the leaves of the plants. 

Side Note:  WEAR GLOVES!!!!  If you a little on the slow side like me, :), you might be tempted to not heed that warning.  Believe me, it's a mistake you don't want to make.  I was holding the leaves of the plants in my hands while spraying them and not even thinking about the strength of the hot peppers in my concoction.   Lord have mercy, my hands burned so bad for an entire day straight, I was completely dysfunctional!!  It about drove me to the brink of insanity!!  The only thing that finally took the burn away (and believe me, I tried EVERYTHING)  was soaking my hands in rubbing alcohol until the burn got so intense that I thought I was going to pass out.  This is coming from a girl who actually gave birth with no drugs and still swears it didn't hurt that bad.  The moral of the story...wear gloves!!

Next step...hand pick, and pick, and pick and pick some more.   Most worms only come out in the cool weather (which means evenings and into the morning until the sun starts getting too hot for them).  So, if you're looking to get rid of the little boogers, the early bird gets the worm. 

Then, a dose of our now must-have microbial organisms gave the plants some extra fighting strength. 

With those methods, we were able to mostly rid the garden of the leave munching nuisances, but some were just as persistent as can be, so we had to hit it with a round of thuricide.  I really don't like using thuricide because of the controversial reports on it, so it is only an ABSOLUTELY, HAVE-TO thing for us. Thuricide is a liquid bacteria that messes with the worm's digestive system and makes them not want to eat.  They starve in a few days after eating a leaf sprayed with the bacteria.

After two straight weeks of work, the good news...the plants are thriving, producing and doing well...yey!!!

Through all the frustration and sweat, the whole process was an amazing reminder that we live in a fallen world, and there's nothing that we can do about it.  Believe me, those worms will be back.  The best news...Jesus has already taken care of it for us (worms and all)!!!   Even as we will toil with the soil here on earth, He is preparing a place for us where there is no worms eating your tomatoes, no diseases destroying your body, no sadness and no pain. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:1-6

Easter may be over until next year, but Christ is still risen, He will always be the only way, and He is coming back one day to take us to the place He has prepared for us.   So, when the worms have got you down, praise God for Hope!!

Happy Wednesday!!

Amazing Plant Growth Enhancer

A friend of mine gave me a sample of an organic, microbial, plant-growth enhancer to test out on the garden.  The supposed effect that interested me the most was it's ability to assist the plants in water and nutrient absorption.   Three weeks ago, we started our field study.  The plants in the front yard were treated with the microbes and, a week later, a dose of the usual fish emulsions.  The plants at the community garden were treated with just the fish emulsion. 

I am amazed to say that the front yard is light years ahead of the community garden.  The plants are not needing as much water, they are lush and gorgeous and already producing.  Whereas, normally, we would have been watering twice a day during these high-heat spells we are experiencing.  We have not even staked the tomatoes yet, and they are doing beautifully.  In addition, because they are so healthy, we are not seeing bugs at all. 

 

 

 

The community garden is growing...just not as well.  There is growth, it's just not as pretty, and it's happening at a much slower pace.  Factoring in the mass amounts of plants and some surrounding gardens that are not tended as well as others, the bug issue we've had at the community garden may not have been nearly as bad under other conditions, but unfortunately, we have had a worm problem this week.  A good spray with some garlic/hot pepper tea and a heavy dose of thuricide seems to have cleared it up.  

Past crops in both gardens have done equally well, so, needless to say, we will be spraying the community garden this week with some microbes.  I can't wait to see what the results will be!! 

If you are interested in testing out the microbes out on your own garden, check out http://www.myearthitecture.com/ and get in contact with Emmanuelle.

Happy Gardening!!

Broccoli Sprouts

Last week, I caught myself spending a bit too much time perusing through the internet trying to find the perfect price on seeds for sprouting.  Luckily, I have come to a place in life where I am aware of when I pushing myself to the brink of obsession and know when to stop now.  My problem..the natural foods co-op offered a pound of alfalfa seeds for sprouting at the best price, but delivery time wasn't soon enough for me.  Whether it be broccoli or alfalfa, I must have sprouts with my tomatoes!!  It's one of my many quirks :).

Then, I had one of those "ah, ha" moments.  Duh, Danielle...you have a ton of broccoli in the front yard going to seed! With some good planning, the seeds can be dried and sprouted just in time for the first round of tomatoes.  Here's how...

I have a garden full of broccoli looking like this and attracting bees like crazy, so I haven't cleared it out yet.

A closer look shows all the cool little seed pods shouting off each flower stem.

     
As they get large enough, you just pick them off and let them dry in the sun.

 

Or, if you have more patience than me.  You can wait until the whole stem is covered in pods that are ready, and just pluck the entire stem and let it dry out.  Either way :)

When they are dry, you will break the pods open and collect your seeds.

Broccoli sprouts are the most nutrient dense sprouts you can consume.  One ounce of broccoli sprouts contains 4% of the recommended daily value of dietary fiber, 15% of the recommended amount of vitamin C, and 2% of the recommended intake of calcium.  Studies have even shown they sprouts contain an anti-cancer compound called sulforaphane.  Healthy and delicious...who wouldn't want to eat these everyday?!?!?

Keep an eye out for the next post on how to sprout them...I can't wait!!

Happy Friday! 

Transitioning the Garden--Spring Planting

Even though it is so hard to believe that yesterday was the first day of Spring, considering our weather in the high 80's for the past two weeks, I am so excited it's officially here!  We came to the conclusion a few weeks ago that unless God had a seriously different plan, the odds of another frost were right up there with pigs flying (watch us get another frost now...lol).  So, the Spring plants are in the ground...woohoo!!

Not that I am tired of eating all the yummy winter veggies, but how many different ways to prepare cabbage can a girl come up with?!?!  I am SO ready for some new variety.

I am especially ready for some tomatoes!! 

We loaded up the car last weekend and headed over to the community garden to plant these beauties.

Three rows of them!! I can't wait!!

We ran out of space and had to start pulling onions so we could plant tomatoes in between them.  Sometimes you have to do unconventional things like that to make use of the space you have available.  It always ends up surprising me how pretty mixing the plants can look.  

Another 30 or so tomato plants got a new home in the front yard amongst the broccoli.  As the broccoli goes to seed to collect for sprouting, we will be replacing them with peppers and eggplant...if the tomatoes leave some room :)

We are experimenting with a few new varieties of cucumbers this year, and put those down last weekend as well.

Our experiment with dumping some corn seeds in a pot seems to be working...a little too well.  Aesthetically speaking, I'm a bit nervous about the end result of this one.

Here's what's left of the Winter garden.  They will soon all be replaced with cucumbers, squash, peppers, eggplant, okra, peas, beans, a new round of herbs, ground cherries and tomatoes.  

Farewell Winter, Hello Spring!!!

Happy Planting!!

First Tomatoes of the Season and Volunteer Plants

Tomatoes have become like a weed in our yard these days.  They pop up everywhere!  About mid-December, some variety of tomato decided to pop up amongst all the carrots under the crepe myrtle tree.  It looked so cozy there, we decided to just let it stay.  Two hard freezes later, it managed to survive, bloom and produce a few precious, little tomatoes that will be ripe and ready to eat very soon.  I can't wait!!

A lesson we've learned over the past few years of gardening is that if a plant just seems to voluntarily pop up in the middle of nowhere, just leave it alone.  Some of the most productive and heartiest plants we've had have been ones that found their own home, and we left the squatters alone.


For the longest time, I couldn't get a globe eggplant to grow that wasn't bitter.  Last year, one popped up on it's own right-smack-dab in the middle of the black-eyed peas.  The hubby wanted so badly to yank it, but caved to my begging and pleading (I am the only eggplant lover in the house).  We ended up getting at least 40 big, beautiful eggplants from that one happy plant.

The moral of the story....live and and let live.  If a veggie plant just pops up in a not-so-planned place, let it grow...it may be one of the best plants you've ever accommodated!     

Happy Wednesday!!

Dinner the Lazy Way

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When it's just one of those days that I start going at 5am and don't stop until 5pm, I really don't feel like cooking.  It's on a night like that I, every once in a while, succumb to my exhaustion and take-out pizza actually starts to seem appealing.  Then, on a really bad night (like last night), I spend an hour battling with myself on whether I should cave or muster up the strength to whip up something easy, dig for coupons, order the pizza, pick it up and two hours later, I am eating fake food while thinking "this doesn't even taste that good!!"

So, as I'm sitting in the same boat tonight, it just seemed easier and much more tasty to grab as many veggies as I could from the garden,

 

(red cabbage, a tomatillo, beet greens, broccoli, carrots, onions and a potato)

 

cut them all up, throw them in a pan with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and cook them down. 

 

Throw an egg on top

(aren't these the coolest eggs!) and voila...dinner!

Sorry...this picture could have been way better, but I'm tired and tired won.

It tasted eight million times better than the nasty pizza and actually had nutrients.  The best part, it took me 15 minutes--less time than it took last night to decide to buy a silly pizza.  AND...it cost me 5 eggs and a potato (~$2).  The rest was free.  Doesn't sound like rocket science to me...$18 for nutrient void pizza or $2 a meal chock full of good for you.  The kids (including a neighbor kid) ate every bite and two of them went back for seconds...that's success to me.

P.S.  I throw meals like this together all the time, because it's just easier. 

Happy Tuesday!!

Redemption!!

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A few weeks ago, I posted about our big, fat carrot failure.  What a mess!!  Well, I am proud to say (all bragging aside), we are back in the saddle again!  I was craving some roasted root veggies for dinner tonight, took a meander out the front yard, crossed my fingers, wrapped my hands around some long leafy carrot greens and yanked.  To my amazement, out came the most beautiful carrot ever!!  Woohoo!! Then another, and another....and, another!!

The secret...just throw some seeds on the ground, cover with a 1/2 inch of dirt and let them grow.  Huh...who would have thunk?!?!?! :)

There is no excuse ever to not grow carrots.  These are tucked up under the Crepe Myrtle tree outside filling in the plant bed it sits in.  There must be 40 carrots under there!!  Promise me, you all will try this next year!!

Dinner tonight...

Roasted Root Veggies (Carrots, Beets, Onions and Potatoes) tossed with garlic, olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  Roasted at 375 until tender...so easy!

With Pan Seared Venison Roast (just seasoned with salt and pepper seared in olive oil)

Where's the Squash?!?!

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The Art of Hand Pollinating Squash Flowers

Every Fall, I look forward to planting, growing, and, especially, eating winter squash.  Butternut, acorn, spaghetti...I love it all!!  As the winter squash harvest slows down, thoughts of summer zucchini and yellow neck squash sauteed with fresh, garden grown tomatoes start occupying my mind . 

The first year we planted summer squash, we couldn't figure out why the fruit would form on the plant, shrivel up and fall to the ground.    This happened all summer.  I was so frustrated (insert temper tantrum here)...I wanted squash!!! 

A quick lesson on the birds and the bees gave a full explanation.  Apparently, we were lacking in the bee part of the equation.  You see, squash flowers need to be pollinated in order for the fruit to grow.   Upon more careful inspection, we came to realize that there were two different types of flowers growing on each plant--a male and a female.  

The female flower is the flower that has what looks like a baby fruit attached to the base of the flower.  The male flower has no fruit.  Looking inside the male flower, you can actually see pollen inside the flower all the way at the bottom.

 

 

The bees job is to get pollen from the male flower and transfer it to the female flower.  With all the pesticide sprays and other tampering we do with nature, bee populations are dropping exponentially.  No bees means no pollination.  No pollination means the fruit on the female flower shrivels up and falls to the ground.  And, that meant no squash for my tomatoes, and we were SO not having that happen!!

So, off to the garden we went with a handy dandy q-tip to act like bees.  If you have this problem, just grab a q-tip or a small paint brush, rub it down inside the male flower to gather some pollen and transfer the pollen to the female flower's pistel, and...voila...pollinated squash flowers.

   

Happy Gardening!!

Preparing for Spring Gardening-Three Sister Planting

Pin It We spent a little time this Sunday at the community garden harvesting and planning out what and where we will be planting in the next few weeks.  It alway blows my mind that as soon as we are getting a real harvest from the garden, it's time to start planning and planting for the next season already.  It seems like yesterday that we planted these carrot and rutabaga seeds and so quickly, they are all grown up!  We got to bring them home and fill up the frig...what a beautiful sight!!

This year, we are trying a new style of planting that we have never had the space in the past to attempt.  The hubby has been chomping at the bit to plant corn since the day we put our first seed in the front yard.  With our limited space, we are always seeking out ways to get the most bang for our buck.  We've learned in the past, usually the hard way, how not to plant.  We've learned that three tomatoes in one pot are way too many, pumpkins can take over the entire front yard, peas need full sunlight.  Sometimes we just can't help but push the boundaries and experiment with how to cram as many plants into our little space as possible without effecting their yield.  This time, the Native Americans have done all the experimenting for us, and we will just follow instructions (if we can control ourselves).

Early Native Americans had spiritual beliefs that tied corn, squash and peas together in perfect growing harmony, but their very successful system has been passed down through early American settlers and still remains in practice.  Basically, the peas grow up the corn stalk and the squash fill in the ground below as a ground cover to choke out weeds and keep the soil moist. Genius!

Here's how it works:

You will need a 10 x 10 space divided into 3 rows.  Each row is 10' long and at least 18" wide.

Start Planting when tempatures at night reach the 50's.

Use the diagram below
C=corn
B=beans (any pole variety)
S=squash (like yellow neck, zuchini, pumpkin, cucumber, etc)

Plant the corn in a square, each seed being 6" apart.  

Once the corn is about 4" high, plant the beans in a square fitting inside the corn 6" apart as well (3" from the corn plants).  For each "S" in the diagram, plant three seeds.  If all three germinate, pluck one so that you only have two squash plants between each mound of beans and corn. 

We planted our corn two weeks ago, and will be ready for beans and squash this weekend...lots more pics next week!!

Happy Planting!!

 

Carrots Gone WIld

Pin It This was our very first year attempting to grow carrots, which I found to be a little backwards, because according to almost everyone that knows anything about gardening, carrots are supposed to one of the easiest things to grow.  Last Spring, as I was drooling over all the gorgeous heirloom veggies in our seed catalogs, I just couldn't resist ordering the kaleidoscope carrots.  I've never seen such a beautiful assortment of carrots in my life.  The picture showed this amazing bundle of red, purple, orange, yellow and white carrots.  I thought all carrots were orange!!  Those heirloom catalogs never cease to amaze me!!

Anyways...this is what my carrots are supposed to look like.

And, here's what they ended up looking like....

"How", you ask?  Aren't carrots supposed to be easy to grow???  Well, because I was so desperate to have a perfect pile of brightly colored carrots, I babied the crumbs out of these little seeds.  The hubby thought I was nuts, but I was bent on getting a flawless pile of bright carrots just like the catalog showed.  So, I planted each little seed in it's own individual peet pellet.  Well, I take that back, two seeds...just for good measure.  I mean, what if I just put one and it didn't germinate?  Then, I would be a week or maybe two behind on the planting schedule and that would mess everything up, right?!?!?

When each tiny sprout (or two) poked it's head out into daylight, I paid extra attention, keeping it watered and facing the sunshine.  As they began to outgrow their pellets, they got transplanted into bigger pots and babied some more.  Then, when the weather was just right, and the seedlings were big enough to hold their own, we planted them in the front yard. 

Well, apparently, the thin mesh holding the peet pellet together doesn't really dissolve like we thought it did.  We've just never tried them out on root veggies before, so we have never pulled something small out of the ground that had been grown in one.   My poor carrots were grown around and under and in the mesh...it was so ugly!! 

The moral of the story...sometimes you have to just put the carrot seeds in the ground and let them grow.  A lesson on not trying to control everything for me, and two points for the hubby :)

I know I'm not the only total gardening failure out there.  Someone make me feel better with some of their stories! :)

Fall Harvest Chicken Salad

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Saturdays have unintentionally become our "food-centered day".  We are that weird family that still wakes up at 6am even though it's Saturday.  I'm thinking it's mostly my fault.  I have this crazy notion that if I am not up at the crack of dawn, I will sleep away my life.  So, before the sun peers over the horizon, I am in the kitchen banging around pots and pans making all kinds of wake-up-the-house ruckus.  One of these days, I will learn to cause a little less sleep disturbance when I wake up, and, just maybe, I could get one of those quiet mornings you see in magazines where the woman is sitting in her posh, cushy chair cupping her coffee mug with two hands, eyes closed...blah, blah, blah.  I guess I'd just rather be cooking. 

Breakfast usually leads to a stroll through the front yard garden, some harvesting, chatting with the neighbors, maybe a trip to the community garden, more harvesting, more cooking, more eating, the farmer's market, more cooking, a little more cooking and a bunch more eating.  That's it...a day in the Big Life :)

Last Saturday pretty much followed that schedule.  I got up with this overwhelming craving for beet greens, so off to the garden I went with a flashlight and my giant chef's knife to go collect some greens for our morning Sauteed Beet Greens and Portabello Mushroom Frittata.  I can't even begin to imagine what my neighbors think of me.  The kids probably think we're that house you need to walk on the opposite side of the road and run by.  Just kidding...they all love us...the kids even come inside and play with our kids :)  I will have to get that recipe posted soon...it was so yummy!

We wandered out to the garden after breakfast and harvested some carrots and beets.  That's when my brain starts churning..." a little chicken leftover in the refrigerator, chop up some carrots, a little beets, greek yogurt...", mid thought, I find myself running off to the kitchen, pots flying, pans banging...I have got to make me some chicken salad!!!

It turned out so good, I just have to share!  This would be a beautiful dish to serve at a Lady's Luncheon or Baby Shower!!  Although, the hubby really enjoyed it too!!

FALL (Winter in Florida) HARVEST CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE

1 Candy Cane Beet, diced
1 Carrot, diced
2 Tbsp Green Onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Chives, finely chopped
2 c. Chicken, shredded (I used organic, free-range--the taste is worth the price)
1/8 tsp Dried Tarragon (a small pinch goes along way)
1 tsp Sea Salt
Pepper to taste
1/4 c. Organic Greek Yogurt
1/4 c. Homemade Mayo
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Put all your veggies and chicken in a large bowl.  In a seperate container (I like to just throw it in a mason jar and shake) mix together the remainder of the ingredients.  Pour your dressing into the bowl and combine well. 

This recipe can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight.   Note: The beets may run if set overnight, so if you're serving this at a party or something and not looking for pink chicken salad, skip this step.

Happy Eating!!!