Raccoon, Dragon Tongue Bean, and Around the House and Gardens

This little raccoon is one of three young ones living in our area.  I haven't seen Mom Raccoon lately.  Not sure if she's decided they are ready to make it on their own or if she met some other fate.

 Here's a recent harvest.  Even more cucumbers are coming in now and oodles of peppers.  See the yellow looking beans in the center?  Those are "Dragon Tongue Beans".  This is the first year I've tried them.  Highly recommended.  They are still producing in our heat!  All of the other beans are long gone.  I'm very excited to see how long they continue to produce.  You can buy seeds to try HERE.  Those are dill seeds in the little dish.

 Herbs washed and ready to dry.

 My crepe myrtle in the front yard is lovely as usual.  All of the summer blooming trees are blooming their hearts out.

 Close up....I love the electric blossoms.  When the wind blows it looks like pink snow falling.  One area of a street in the New Orleans Bywater neighborhood is lined with them.  The street is carpeted with pink blossoms this time of year.  Surreal.

 Lovely Lovely Pride of Barbados

 My fav crepe myrtle  "Natchez"  It's branches sweep almost to the ground with heavy blossoms.

 Yep, the garden is a little rough this time of year.  Always is.  The heat takes it's toll on humans and plants alike!

 But the peppers love the heat.  They are producing like crazy.  I'm cooking with them like crazy!  This is Fish Pepper.  It is an African American heirloom.

 Crook Neck Cushaw.  A favorite pumpkin of Cajuns.

 Melons!  This is an heirloom.  I forgot the name.  I need to look it up.

 Lemon Queen Sunflower.  Pale yellow blossoms, stands about four feet tall.

Thai Roselle and The Garden

Lately I've been experimenting with odd plants that have a variety of uses.  I would like to let you know how these work out for me.  I am able to grow much that the rest of the you may not be able to grow simply because I live so far south.  This plant has been grown as far north as New Jersey (of course with the benefit of being started early under glass).

This is the first year I have grown Roselle. I grew the the "Thai Red Roselle" variety that is offered by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The calyxes aren't as large as the ones I have seen in photos grown in Asian countries. I believe that is due to the fact that the variety offered was chosen to be less sensitive to day length more than for it's size. Most varieties do best in the short days of the tropics.

Roselle calyxes are used to make a healthful tea.  The tea is believed to lower cholesterol, help treat heart disease, it is a diuretic and is loaded with antioxidants  Roselle leaves and tender stems can be eaten in salads.  It also is loaded with pectin and a jam can be made from it.  I wonder if the pectin would be useful added to other fruits when canning?

I have already dried enough calyxes and plan to brew some tea soon.  I'll certainly let you know my opinion on this.  The plant did beautifully for me this year.  It's growth was so lush that it spilled into the paths and blocked passage.

This is a link on Growing Roselle from Mother Earth News.

Here are few calyxes I've picked

It's really a beautiful plant with lovely red stems.  The flowers look very much like okra flowers.  No surprise there since they are both from the hibiscus family.  It easily could be used as an ornamental in a front yard garden.  The HOA would never know you were "gasp" growing something useful!

Pretty!  You can order the seeds here Bakers Creek.

Here's the front garden.  I pruned back my lorapetalum bushes and killed them.  Oh well they kept getting too big anyway.  I'll have to look for a smaller variety of purple bush for that area.  I like the cloud of purple to provide a back drop for white or lighter colored flowers.

My windmill palm is getting tall and lovely.  It's hairy trunk is so cool.  I love textures and colors on barks and stems.  My Natchez crepe myrtle has a beautiful silky red under color when the bark peels, and the river birch looks gorgeous when the bark starts peeling.  I'll take pics and show you.

My rose vine is reaching the top of the pergola and is full of tiny buds!  Time for a late flush of blooms!  The lemon grass did wonderfully too.  When the swing brushes it you get a whiff of lemon!

Still picking green beans.....

...and now beets!  I fixed these for my girls their favorite way.  Boiled, peeled, sliced and sprinkled with sea salt, cracked pepper and balsamic vinegar.  They were consumed in less than a minute!

My girls lunches ready to go.  I made veggie sushi today.  Toasted sesame seeds, sushi rice, carrots, cucumber and cream cheese with a little bottle of soy sauce.  My sushi rolls...well taste great, but look not so well.  I'll keep working on it!

39 and Holding For Now...

I'm talking about artichokes. I've picked 39 artichokes already this year, and there are more growing! Surprised does not describe what I think about this. Shocked maybe.

When I planted the seeds two years ago four plants made it and I planted them in one of the square beds in the potager. The bed was filled with dark moist organic garden soil and top dressed with compost. The bed gets shade in the evening when the sun is at it's hottest. Whatever the combination it worked. The bed has (except for one small corner) been completely taken over by massive artichoke plants. They grow very large and need a lot of space.

There are a bunch of baby plants sprouting from the sides. I plan to carefully cut them away (including some roots) and pot them up. Hopefully in this way I'll have artichokes every year. If planted from seed artichokes take two years to produce.

So what am I doing with all those artichokes? What every New Orleanian would do...stuffing them, and grilling them as well.

Stuffed artichokes ready to be popped in the oven.

Prepared hearts ready for the grill.

Stuffed Artichokes:

(I can't give specific measurements because I just "eye it up")

Four Artichokes

About 4 cups of Italian Bread crumbs

About 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

About 1 cup grated Romano cheese

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

Olive oil

To prepare artichokes: Wash artichoke and cut pointy tip off of each "leaf". Bring a pot of water to boil and then boil artichokes for about five minutes. Remove and set to side to cool while preparing stuffing mixture. Mix bread crumbs, cheeses, garlic, pepper and salt. Add enough olive oil to make mixture moist yet still crumbly.

On a platter spread open artichoke and stuff mixture into artichoke. Make sure to fill each "leaf". These can then be wrapped and frozen for later or baked right away. To bake I use a broiler pan. I put a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, then put the top grid on, put the artichokes on top of that and then cover the whole thing with foil. Bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees until golden brown and tender depending on the size of the artichoke.

To eat...pull each "leaf" away and holding tip scrape stuffing and artichoke with your teeth into your mouth and discard woody part of "leaf". When you reach the heart, use a knife to cut away the feathery parts and gobble it up. My girls devour these. I serve them with a little plate to hold the discards.

Preparing Artichokes to grill or bake:

Cut the top of the artichoke off right above the heart. Use a tomato corer or a melon baller to scrape out the feathery parts. Cut the tips off of any leaves lower than this part. Rub heart with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice to keep it from turning black. You can then marinate them or season them with whatever you prefer and grill or bake them.

You can eat all you want (grilled or baked....Stuffed? I'm not so sure) . They are said to help lower cholesterol.

Last Heirloom Tomato Taste Test

If there were a Miss Pretty Tomato contest this tomato would win. It's a hefty little mama. Certainly a case where bigger is better. When ripe it is an orangy red with yellow stripes and the top is yellow. It's also quite soft when ready to cut. I imagine this is one reason why we don't see it in any grocery store. It's doubtful it could make the rigorous journey from field to shelf. Which makes it all the more delightful to grow and share.
You must click on this picture and see up close how beautiful the inside of this tomato is. Such gorgeous colors. Now for the most important fact....How does it taste? I must say it tastes as great as it looks. It's different than most tomatoes. It has a sweeter taste. I wish I had better words to describe things....I really need to improve my tasting words.....Maybe..."This tomato had the most delightful fruity sweet taste that tantalized the taste buds...all without any acidic sting....yet you still knew that you were certainly eating the tomato equivalent of manna"....No maybe that's too gushy, but it really is one of the best tomatoes I have ever eaten.

Did I mention it's name? It's a Pineapple tomato. Maybe I enjoyed it as much as I did because I waited so long for it to ripen checking each one carefully every day for any stray caterpillars or other pesky interlopers. It was the last of the tomatoes to ripen. Out of all the tomatoes I grew or tasted from others' gardens I preferred Pineapple and Cherokee Purple tomatoes. I suggest for a different and fun change in color and flavor you add both of these to your must purchase seed list. It's on mine just in case those seeds I attempt to save don't pan out.

Question Answered, The Invalid and Taste Test

This is a post I have been working on this whole week. Finally finished!
Poney and Petey asked:

"Hey Kristi...would you mind sharing your tomato preservation choice? Do you follow the Ball Blue Book? Hot water bath? Pressure cooker? Do you add lemon juice and/or salt?What varieties of tomato products will you can? Juice? sauce? salsa? diced? stewed with green peppers?Basically, share whatever is in your head about tomato preserving, if you have the time and are willing!!"

Hi Poney, Yes, I do use the Ball Blue Book. I also use Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. The extent of my tomato preservation in the past was whole tomatoes using the water bath method. I added citric acid to make sure they were acidic enough. Preserving tomatoes using the water bath method isn't recommended any longer because of the low acid levels in modern hybrids.

But, truthfully I'm not that experienced. Mostly because I've never grew any significant amount of tomatoes. Hopefully this year will change all that. Already I have quite a harvest and I am going to start trying some things soon. I'd really like to try salsa and sauce, and if I have enough maybe green tomato pickles and paste. I do intend on perusing my books and marking all the interesting recipes for tomatoes I find. When I do I'll share. So far we have been stuffing our guts with as many fresh tomatoes as possible! If anyone would like to share a tomato recipe please comment.

This is the Invalid.

Trust your mother's instinct. When I found out the camp I paid for and my two youngest girls wanted to go to was six hours away in north Mississippi, I had misgivings, but let them go anyway. I received the dreaded 3:30 am in the morning call last Saturday. Me in my optimism immediately thought, "Oh wow, they're calling me to let me know they're leaving early." Dumb.

"Um, Kristi? Um, don't be afraid....but we're bringing Talia to the hospital....Um, we're not sure what's wrong but she's having severe pain in her throat and stomach and we think she's sick....um, maybe strep throat, but the nurse thinks it may be something else and say's we should bring her to the clinic....possibly appendicitis..."

Thankfully two of her Aunts an Uncle and a lot of friends were with her. There was no way I went back to sleep that night. I would have been on the road immediately but.....of course I happened to have a wedding that night as well (I'm an event florist) and on top of everything it was my birthday. Thankfully my assistant and good friend Betsy came through in a pinch. I hurriedly rushed to finish the flowers for the wedding all the while waiting for the prognosis call. It was.....appendicitis. I'm not complaining. It could have been something much much worse. I'm actually thankful.

Betsy arrived and finished up the final details and delivered the wedding for me. She did a wonderful job! She even decorated her first wedding cake with flowers.

They brought Talia by ambulance from the little clinic where she was to the Children's Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. On the way to Jackson I gave the Doctor via phone permission to perform surgery. When we arrived the nurse showed us up to the family waiting room where Talia's entourage from camp awaited. It was quite a group. Family, friends and ministers. It really matters in a time like that to know that so many people love you and care about what happens to you.

Finally a nurse peeked in and informed us Talia was in recovery and could have one visitor. Byron and I rushed to the door. You know who got to go. Me. Sorry Byron. I leaned over to a snoring Talia. She opened her eyes slightly and I said, "Talia, It's me Mommy. Can you see me? Can you see me Baby? Talia, Can you see me?" Talia gave a painful grimace and said, "For the third time Mommy. I can see you!" I knew Talia would be just fine.

She's up and about now, but enjoyed her metal bowl and wooden spoon as long as she could. I gave them to her to bang when she needed me. She made good use of it.

Taste Test

The Dr. Carolyn yellow heirloom tomato fared much better in my garden with the bugs. Maybe the light yellow almost white color fooled the stinkbugs into thinking they weren't ripe and they moved on to my brightly colored red tomatoes. It tastes very mild and the flesh is firm. Good, but not my favorite. Unfortunately, since it did so well.
This is my long awaited Purple Cherokee tomato. It is a dark smokey red color. Very sweet, juicy and yummy. Really worth the wait. The worms like them as well! Not so much stink bug damage.

The Italian Marzano paste tomato. You can see the stink bug damage on the side. I had a huge problem with end rot with these. I need to find out why these tomatoes had that problem and none of the other tomatoes did. I would think the others would have the same problem if it were a soil issue. Any ideas? It is has a nice flavor, but is definitely more acidic than the slicing tomatoes. Would these be good for drying? Hmmmm

This is the inside of the Cherokee purple tomato. See how fleshy and juicy it is? This is my favorite tasting tomato so far.

The bottom is the inside of the Dr. Carolyn. It is about the size of a small bouncy ball. It's really a pretty tomato and looks great mixed with red tomatoes in a salad or on a plate.

My First Crop of Heirloom Tomatoes

Finally....I'm picking heirloom tomatoes!

The first two varieties to ripen were Egg Yolk and Red Strawberry.

So a taste test as promised from an amateur! First thing I noticed was that the Red Strawberry tomato was extremely meaty and there were no slimy seeds or juice sliding out. Just very juicy meat. It was sweet but a little acidic....over all....very yummy! A true fresh from the garden taste.

The Egg Yolk is just as it's name promises...yellow and the size of an egg yolk. So, I just popped one in my mouth and chomped down......very very yummy. It was still warm from the garden and fresh and sweet tasting. I didn't notice any acidic flavor.

Both were dynamite. Everything I hoped they would be. I did notice that the Red Strawberry was very soft to the touch, and I couldn't imagine it lasting any amount of time in transit. So this is certainly a tomato you would have to grow at home if you wanted to try it.

I have some very large Cherokee purple tomatoes I'm expecting to ripen soon.

Here is five minute bread rising. I make this bread almost everyday. Store bought bread is a thing of the past in my family. If you'd like to try this really easy bread click here.

Bruschetta is a simple snack you can make from your garden tomatoes.

Simple Bruschetta

Slices of homemade bread

Slices of tomato

Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Pour a little olive oil in a plate. Dip one side of each slice of bread in the olive oil. Place olive oil side up on a cookie sheet. Top each slice of olive oil bread with a slice of tomato. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Then broil until Parmesan is completely melted.

Heirloom Tomatoes, Fig Trees, and Birds

The soil in my recently plowed garden is absolutely fertile! The tomatoes, bell peppers, butternut squash and sorghum is huge and beautiful. The land along the Mississippi River edge is said to be extremely rich because of years of the Mississippi flooding and depositing silt. I'm finding this to be true.

The heirloom tomatoes are doing well so far. This year has been the year of the caterpillar. Advice ranges from sevin dust to BT organic spray. One thing all the advice givers agree on is to spray early to catch the caterpillars just as they hatch and are most susceptible and spray often. Otherwise, NO TOMATOES. Tomatoes has been my bane! Never have I grown a serious crop of tomatoes in an area that's famous for it's "Creole Tomatoes". Hopefully this year will be different. One thing is certain, I've already learned A LOT!

My neighbor, with whom we are now friends after a rocky start, stopped today to offer advice. His family has lived here long before he was born and he is almost 80. His family is well noted in south Louisiana as excellent farmers. The Becnels, as they are called. That's their last name. He wasn't at all sure about the heirloom varieties I am growing. He was quite puzzled and asked why wasn't I growing the great new hybrids that beat all the old ones to heck.

Errrr.......Ummmm....??? "I'm curious", was the only explanation I offered. How do you explain to an elder that you want to save your own seed, see different colors and shapes and taste different flavors........that um......frankly aren't found in the newer varieties. He did offer me quite a bit of great advice and patiently answered all my questions (which I am always full of). He also explained how to grow trees from cuttings from a great old old old pear tree I have in my yard.

I was also told by a friend that heirlooms weren't a good choice in Louisiana because Dan Gill said so. Look Dan Gill I still love you and have a crush on you, but you ain't the say all end all! Now I hope to prove Danny Boy and everyone else WRONG! Hope I don't have to eat crow as my Mother-In-Law sez.

Marzano Paste tomatoes
Pink Accordion Tomatoes
Red Strawberry Tomatoes
Another variety of paste tomatoes.....I have many other heirloom varieties as well. I have high hopes for Pineapple (which I read was the tastiest of heirlooms), White Currant, Orange Banana, Cour Di Bue (I think), and Cherokee Purple.....If I could just get a few of each. I'll give a taste report if they make it through the rigors of Louisiana.

Here are the fig trees grown from cuttings. To everyone who would like to grow them.....This method works! They are growing beautiful with thick white roots protruding from the bottom of the pot. I'll have to put them into new pots or plant them.

This is a picture of the plant which contains a mommy bird and her four tensy eggs. The eggs are pale blue with brown speckles.
And here is my naughty errent Rosalina (as the girls named her). She keeps getting out of the backyard fence somehow. I think she's enlisting the help of our dog Camira. Come on Camira....give me lift!!! I'll lay an egg for you! Camira loves to eat eggs. Maybe that's why she's as wide as she is long!

Isn't this one ugly chicken? I don't care that Byron thinks she's pretty. She's ugly.

Amarillo Carrots and Onions

Here are the pictures of my beautiful Amarillo Carrots. I cooked them along with some Cosmic Purple carrots last night in a little butter until the edges were slightly seared. Very yum and pretty. These carrots are a little stronger tasting than other carrots I have grown. All and all the carrots I've grown beat the taste of store bought carrots hands down. There is really no comparison. I find the carrots I grow at home get soft much quicker than store bought carrots. This really doesn't matter since they don't last very long in our house anyway!

In answer to questions regarding onions in zone nine. I'm still learning so much about how to grow onions myself. One aspect I'd like to understand a little better is short day vs. long day onions. I believe short day onions are better suited to our zone, although I'm really not sure. Last year I grew several really beautiful onions. They were used up so quickly that I planted quite a bit more this year.

Onions are biennials. They need two years to produce seed. Plant onions in the fall and harvest when the bulbs have formed and the greenery is slightly brown. Pull and allow to dry for a couple of weeks. In our hot climate it is not advisable to leave them outside to dry. The onions might get "sunburned" and then spoil during storage. The best bulbs can be replanted the next year to get seed. Most of this info I got from Suzanne Ashworth's book "Seed to Seed". A wonderful book every gardener should own.

Cosmic Purple Carrot and Mirliton or Chayote

I just picked these pretty little carrots from my garden. They are called "Cosmic Purple" carrots and I bought the seed from Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds. They really look more red than purple. These are around six inches long.

The skin is red and the inside is a deep orange, and they taste....well...like carrots. I really didn't discern any exceptional difference, but they do taste good. They are also very beautiful, and I had no pest problems. Don't throw away carrot tops! You can cook them with your greens. See my basic recipe here.

This is my Mirliton (Chayote or Vegetable Pear) that has been stored on top of my refrigerator in a cardboard box for the past couple of weeks.
Look close. You can see the little sprouts starting to emerge.

Once the sprouts develop enough I'm going to plant them on their sides sprout up. They will turn into a fairly large climbing vine with cucumber like leaves. I'm going to use them to cover the chicken coop this year to provide the chickens with shade.

It's been said that Mirlitons do really well on coops benefiting from the manure. We will see. The chicks will get shade, the mirlitons will benefit and so will I with all the yummy fruit. In tropical areas mirliton is a perennial. If we mulch mirlitons well and protect them from our area's occasional freezes they will also act as a perennial in our sub-tropical climate.

You can go here to learn more info on Mirlitons.