Just notes

Hi everyone,

Thought I would stop by and drop off some notes. We found this wonderful book at the library called MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, and Lifebook For the Farmgirl in all of us. ISBN # 1400080479, check it out if you get a chance!

This book has lots and lots of idea's and projects, but I only had so much time today so here is just a few things I came across while scanning the pages.

permapak.net/solarfooddryers.htm

dryit.com

lehmans.com

maryjanesfarm.org

I love this saying "It is not the man in my life that I love, it is the life in my man"

On Page 366: Learn how to make Fire-Roasted Sweet Corn.
Here is a simple list. Place unhusked ears in large pan of water to soak for about an hour. Get fire ready. Remove corn from water and place on grill. Do not set corn directly above the flames. Slowly steam the corn. Set a pan of butter by the fire and place a bouquet of rosemary stalks tied in twine with one end steeping in the butter and the other resting against the edge of the pan. Let the heat melt the butter as the corn cooks but do not let the butter burn. Rotate the corn every 5 - 10 minutes so they cook evenly. After about 30 minutes, check for doneness by pulling back the husk a bit, if it is done the kernels will be bright yellow and steaming. Brush on butter with the rosemary bouquet.

On page 368: Learn to make Hobo Dinners. Arrange individual portions of meat, potatoes, vegetables(carrots, spinach, zucchini), herbs (squeeze of lemon, slices of apples, and sprigs of thyme), and butter on squares of heavy duty tinfoil, twist to close and place directly in hot coals. Cooking time vary according to ingredients.

Also look for MaryJane Butters workbooks at a local store near you or over the internet. I already have my copy on order. What a great book to keep around!

L & D
The Vegetable Hatt

Companion Plants

We have started our seeds under our growing lights and they are growing strong. Soon it will be time to plant them outside, so once again we return to the ever-faithful library for a book on companion planting.

We are in luck! We come across Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening Companion Planting ISBN# 0875966152

Of course :( we are not planting everything listed in this book, so we are only listing what we have planned out for our garden. If you have a plant that is not on the list, let us know and I will find out the companion plant for you.

Apple's: Dill, Queen-Anne's Lace, Nasturtiums, White Clover, Fava Beans, Marigold
Avoid: Potatoes

Asparagus: Parsley, Tomatoes, Basil, Lettuce, Spinach, Grapes

Basil: Tomatoes
Avoid: Rue

Beans: Tomatoes, Corn, Celery, Cucumbers, Rosemary
Avoid: Leeks, Onions

Blackberries: Dill, Carrots, Grapes,

Broccoli: Dill, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Beans, Celery, Potatoes, Onions, Nasturtiums, Marigolds
Avoid: Tomatoes, Lettuce

Brussels Sprouts: Beans, Celery, Potatoes, Onions, Peppermint, Sage, Carrots, Dill
Avoid: Tomatoes

Cabbage: Celery, Onions, Potatoes, Peppermint, Sage, Thyme, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts
Avoid: Strawberries, Grapes

Carrots: Pea's, Sage, Onions, Leeks, Rosemary
Avoid: Dill

Cauliflower: Beans, Celery, Onions, Potatoes, Peppermint, Sage, Thyme, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts
Avoid: Grapes

Celery: Beans, Squash, Leeks, Tomatoes, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Leeks

Chives: Carrots, Grapes, Tomatoes
Avoid: Beans, Peas, Apples

Collards: Tomatoes, Marigold
Avoid: Cabbage, Grapes

Corn: Beans, Squash, Pumpkins

Cucumbers: Corn, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower
Avoid: Potatoes

Dill: Cabbage, Lettuce, Onions, Cucumbers
Avoid: Carrots, Tomatoes

Garlic: Tomatoes, Cabbage
Avoid: Peas, Beans

Grapes: Peas, Beans, Blackberries
Avoid: Cabbage

Leeks: Carrots, Onions, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Tomatoes
Avoid: Sage, Pea's, Beans

Lemon Balm: Broccoli, Cauliflower

Lettuce: Strawberries, Carrots, Cucumbers, Cabbage, Beans, Peas, Tomatoes

Marjoram: Sage, Chives

Melons: Corn, Peas, Nasturtiums
Avoid: Cucumbers, Potatoes

Mint: Cabbage, Tomatoes

Nasturtium: Beans, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Squash

Okra: Peppers

Onions: Carrots, Potatoes
Avoid: Pea's, Bean's, Sage

Oregano: Beans, Peppers

Parsley: Asparagus, Tomatoes, Carrots

Pea's: Corn, Beans, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Carrots, Turnips, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Spinach
Avoid: Leeks, Onions, Garlic

Peach: Garlic, Strawberries
Avoid: Potatoes, Tomatoes

Peanut: Corn, Squash

Peppers: Carrots, Onions, Basil, Marjoram, Oregano, Okra
Avoid: Fennel, Beans

Potatoes: Beans, Cabbage, Corn, Nasturtium, Lettuce, Green Onions
Avoid: Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Squash, Cucumbers

Pumpkins: Lemon Balm, Corn, Beans, Peas, Clover
Avoid: Potatoes

Rosemary: Cabbage, Broccoli, Carrots, Onions

Sage: Cabbage, Carrots, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Marjoram
Avoid: Cucumbers Onions

Spinach: Celery, Cabbage, Peas, Onions, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Peppers, Celery

Squash: (Winter-Vine) Corn, Beans
Avoid: Potatoes

Strawberries: Beans, Lettuce, Spinach, Peach
Avoid: Cabbage

Tarragon: Tomatoes, Potatoes

Thyme: Cabbage, Potatoes, Tomatoes

Tomatoes: Basil, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrots, Onions, Sage, Dill
Avoid: Potatoes, Fennel

Turnips: Peas, Brussels Sprouts
Avoid: Potatoes

Zucchini: (Summer-Bush) Corn, Beans
Avoid: Potatoes

Just Notes

Celery: use cardboard sleeves covered with black plastic and tied with string to exclude light from the stems.
Leeks: take 16-20 weeks from sowing to harvest. Plant seed out when 8in tall. Plant seed in hole do not refill with soil, but fill them with water.
Onions: allow the leaves to fall over and die back then carefully loosen the bulb from the soil. Leave in the sun a few days so skins ripen. Hang up so air can circulate between bulbs.

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

New seeds

Hi everyone,

So we sent a SASE plus a $5 donation off to wintersown.org the other day and got some wonderful seeds in return. Here is a list of what we got...

Campari (OP): Yummy small red fruits, large vines, good cropper, IND, about 80 DTM

Mexico & Italian Tree Duo: Fun yum combo! Mexico crops large pink beefsteaks, Italian Tree crops red beefsteaks on larger plants, IND, 80+ DTM

Kentucky Beefsteak: Orange color IND, 80+ DTM

Pineapple: Delicious red and yellow fruits can weigh up to two pounds, IND, 80 DTM

Dr. Wyche's Yellow Tomato: Delicious golden-yellow beefsteaks, most weighing over a half-pound, large plants, IND, 80 DTM

Paul Robeson Tomato: Russian heirloom named for American actor, beautiful mahagony fruits are tangy and sweet, IND, 75+ DTM

Tigerella Tomato: Sunset red fruits are streaked with golden yellow, great cropper has loads of lovely salad-size tomatoes, IND, about 80 DTM

Fuzzy Peach Tomato: Golden-yellow fruits are blushed pink with soft fuzzy skin, yum fresh or cooked, about 2 oz, IND, 75+ DTM

Tiny Tim: Abundant, yum red cherries on dwarf plants, nice for containers and planters, DET, 58+ DTM

Plum Lemon Tomato: Russian variety has yellow, lemon-shaped fruits, delicious and so pretty, nice for salads, IND, 75+ DTM

White Wonder: Large creamy-white beefsteak, beautiful and delicious, large plants, IND, 85 DTM

Dixie Golden Giant: Gold color, IND, 85 DTM

We also got two bonus gifts:

Cilantro and Bk Seeded Simpson Lettuce (Heirloom)

This was a great surprise to get in the mail. This is a wonderful site and if you have time you should check it out.

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Just notes

Hi,

Sorry we have been away for a bit. Life has come at us full force. Anyways here is some notes we wrote down while scanning threw some books. Enjoy and tell us what you know!

From BH&G Step-By-Step Successful Gardening Vegetables ISBN: 0696025558

For a carefree crop of onions plant the sets in a wide row or block and cover immediately with a 3 inch layer of much. Onions will grow right up through a mulch, but most weeds will not.

Use string to divide the planting area into a grid of squares so that you can position plants the same distance apart in all directions.

Plants that are edible: pansies, borage blossoms, chrysanthemum, nasturtium, sunflowers.

IF you want to make a regular practice of saving your own seeds, its best to start with varieties marked heirloom or open pollinated. These varieties come true from year to year and often have out standing flavor.


L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Easy plants to grow

One of our kids came home from school last week talking about how they planted a sweet potato in some water and it made "pretty" leaves. It got us to thinking about when we did that as a child and started wondering if there were any other easy plants. Here is a list with instructions and/or links on how to start some "pretty" plants.

Carob: This plant puts out oval leaves and the seed inside the pod taste like chocolate.

Peanuts: Peanuts grow up and then they turn and go back down into the soil. Very cool to watch!

Anise: This plant can be used in salads or cooked with meals. It taste like licorice.

Cherimoya: This plant produces a heart shaped fruit and has a flavor combination of strawberry, pineapple, banana, and yogurt.

Genip: This fruit has a favor cross between a grape and a mango. It is said to quench your thirst on hot days.

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Things we want to look into...

Here is a list of links that we found in Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach. We are planning to go greener lol. So have a look at these links and tell us how you go green!

energystar.gov
eere.energy.gov
eere.energy.gov/greenpower
findsolar.com
dsireusa.org
earth911.org
safelawns.org
compostguide.com
buildingreuse.org/directory
habitat.org
hud.gov/offices/hsg;
vegweb.com
goveg.com


L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Homesteading

We watched the Path To Freedom video a few days ago and have become completely inspired by them. So we have been going to the bookstores, the library, and the internet to find out more about homesteading, eco-friendly living, victory gardening, and many other ways to live a better life.

We made a solar oven to start with. We made it out of a box and plan to make another one out of wood. We compost, we recycle, we have rain barrels, and we reuse already, but there is so much more that we know we can be doing. We have talked about making cloth napkins and getting rid of the paper towels we use, among other things.

We will keep you informed.
Let us know what you do?

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Plant Profile-Asparagus

Over the next few days we will be posting some plant profiles. Other then normal info on each plant we plan on including helpful hints and at least one recipe. We hope that you will enjoy this information and that it will be helpful.


Asparagus:

This plant is a long lived plant, meaning that this plant can be planted once and you can continue to harvest for many years after-wards.

Moist sandy soil is ideal with a good set of compost amend in. Also remember to plant asparagus where you plan to leave it. So pick a good spot, one where you can see the asparagus still being years from now. Dig trenches 8-10 inches and space crowns 4-5 ft apart. Young asparagus benefits from phosphorus and avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers. If needed, add a 5-10-10 fertilizer in the spring.

Weeding is critical to keep asparagus beds productive. Allow young shoots to develop, but cut them back to the ground in fall after a hard freeze.

Leave asparagus alone the 1st year of planting. In your second year harvest for only a couple of weeks and then in your 3rd year you can harvest for longer.

Pest include: The Fusarium Wilt and the asparagus beetles.

Helpful hints and tips:
The harvest doesn’t stop them. Even cut off from their roots, the asparagus spears keep growing at the tip. If they’re stored lying down, the tips rise away from the pull of gravity, and can bend 60 degrees or more from the stalk before they run out of energy.
Most of this loss of sweetness and toughening happens in the first day after harvest. Farmers can minimize it by chilling new-cut asparagus right away. But a delay of just four hours between harvest and chilling causes the spears to toughen significantly. So does allowing the chilled spears to warm up to 60 degrees or more in a grocery display or at the farmers’ market.

Recipes:
Creamed Asparagus Soup recipe can be found here.

References and for more fun reading:
Book of Joe

Miracle-Gro's Complete Guide to Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs.

Todays fun

Today was a great day. The sun was out and the air was warm. It was great, not like the past few days. So we took the opportunity to do some gardening, get some plants re-potted, start some seeds, and clean the beds. We got 8 cherry tomato's plants and 8 jelly tomato plants done. We started 8 African marigold plants and replanted a banana plant into a larger pot. We re-potted 2 small trees from Arbor Day Foundation and re-potted a Geranium Ivy plant that we picked up at Walmarts today. We also planted the 8 Jersey Hybrid Asparagus plants that are 2 year old root-all male plants and started 3 small cactus seeds in some metal pots that we picked up at a yard sale.

We also got the floor for the new greenhouse laid down and we made 2 solar ovens. One made out of a normal box and the other one out of a pizza box. If you would like to see any photos of today's events, click the link on our front page.

L&D

The Vegetable Hatt

Setting up a growing light

I told my DH I wanted a growing light and some kind of a cheap set up. So he made me one, and I have to say I love it. Here are the photos for you to see. .

Solar Oven

We are thinking about making a solar oven this weekend with our kids and are wondering if anyone else out there has made or uses one?

Path To Freedom

We found this on another site and just had to share it with everyone....Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

We want to wish everyone out there a very Happy Valentine's Day. We hope everyone enjoyed their day, as we did ours. Today is a very special day, other than it being Valentine's Day. Today is our birthday, yes, both of us. I got David a Sirius radio system for his car and he got me a locket that I have been wanting and his big surprise for me was a green house. We have a small one on our back porch now, but this one is much bigger.
<----This is like the one we have on the back porch.








<-----The one he got me today looks like this...



We will take some photos once we put it up tomorrow.

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Photos

We have uploaded our gardening photos onto photobucket if anyone would like to see them. Just click here or go to this link.... http://s928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/lauraanddavidh/Gardening/

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Recycling

Today we talked about getting another tall trash can to go into our kitchen for our recycling. We have a compost bin in our back yard, we free-cycle, and recycle. The problem is that our recycle bins are out in the front yard and when the wind blows, well you get the idea. So we decided to get another tall trash can, that way we can put our recycling in there and then on Thursday we can set everything out.

So we also start talking about other then the things we already recycle, what else can be taken. We came up with a list. How you do recycle? Can you think of anything else that can be recycled?

Paper
Plastic
Glass
VHS Tapes
Empty Rx Bottles
Old Jeans
Twist Ties
Tires
Cardboard
Milk and Water Jugs
Cans and bottles

Among other things....

Growing Sweet Potatoes

This year we have decided that we are going to try and grow Sweet Potatoes. So we got to looking around on the web for information and came across this site. Now along with some other sites, it is said that you can get some organic sweet potatoes and basically make your own slips. So for a little fun this time, we are going to try it. We went and got some organic sweet potatoes yesterday and will be starting the process of making our on slips today. We will keep you updated. Have you ever grown potatoes?

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Little reminder for us

Just a little reminder for us this season....

Train our new blackberry bush to go along a fence by fastening them with plastic ties to a grid or trellis.

Sow the cucumbers in peat pots and plant them out when they have grown 2 or 3 true leaves.

Starting the seeds

We will be starting our seeds soon and found 40 small pots at the dollar store today to start our new seeds in. We have drawn out our garden plots, as we use the square foot gardening system, so we always have lots of plants. We will have 24 cucumber plants, 32 leeks, 4 squash plants, 32 onions, 32 carrots, 8 cayenne pepper plants, 8 hot peppers, 16 Kentucky Wonder Beans, 8 okra, 16 corn plants, 4 bell pepper plants, 16 black bean plants, 8 cherry tomato plants, 8 large tomato plants, 4 zucchini plants, 16 english peas, 16 snowbird peas, and 8 jelly tomato's. That will also still leave us 8 open spots to put something else in, if we desire. We planted 20 strawberry plants in one of our slotted pots the other day. We will also be planting asparagus, potatoes, and sweet potatoes this season. What will you be planting?

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Our Plant Layout

Well we finally have our plant layout page set. After many weeks of looking for a sample, we finally decided on making our own. You can look at it under our links or just click here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. As of right now the only veggies listed on there are the ones that we grow. As we try new things we will add them to the list. Also you might notice that it is broken up into 3 parts instead of the normal 4 seasons. Florida is such a strange state that sometimes you do not know if you are in Fall or Winter, Summer or Spring, so after much debate we broke our gardening time into 3 parts. So far this gardening time has worked for us. December to March, April to July, and August to November. That will give time for seeds to grow, completely produce, and some time to even go to seed. On some plants we have even been able to do succession planting. Let us know how you plan your plants.

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

Veggie catalogs

Well today I went to the mail box and got a huge gift. I had about 6 different vegetable catalogs in there. I love looking in them and deciding what I am going to order for this years planting. I do have to say that it will not be much since I got seeds last year and still have some for this year, but the seeds that I had harvested from the plants. Do you have a favorite catalog? Or a favorite place that you order from online? What about a favorite local place? Our favorite local place is Summerlin's . Let us know what you like!

L&D
The Vegetable Hatt

New blogs

I just wanted to tell everyone thank you for sending me links to some new blogs. I will be posting their RSS feed on the main page.

The First Blog

This will be my very first blog. Sure I have written many other blogs on Myspace and Facebook, but this blog is different. This blog will be about our garden. I have been growing veggies for over 20 years now, but for the last 2 years the vegetable patch has been here in Central Florida. Home of sand. LOL We moved from the Georgia/Alabama state line, from a little known place called Columbus. In Columbus you deal with Georgia red clay and with about only 4-5 months of growing time. So moving to Florida was a growing shock. We live on an acre of land with most of it being behind our house. We have a small veggie patch with 4 1/2 raised beds and then we have around a half acre in what we call our very back yard. We hope and are in the planning stages of turning the very back into our own little sanctuary. As for the garden patch it has strawberries, spinach's, lettuces, collards, onions, turnips, broccoli, and cauliflower planted in it right now. We are still getting use to planting in sand, but the raised beds have pretty much fixed that problem. We also use the square foot garden method that helps us to have lots of space.

So you may ask yourself why we decided to make another blog with all the blogs out there in the world wide web. Well about 6 months ago we started looking for more information on planting in Central Fl. We wanted more info from people, not books. Now don't get us wrong, we love books (more then you will ever know lol) and books are full of wonderful information, but sometimes you want to hear it (or read it) from someones own mouth. Someone who lives in your town or at least near you. Well we looked and we search, but the closes we came to was a blog from Orlando about 45 miles away from us. Also that blog was about flowers, not veggies, and I can't grow a flower to save my life, but I have a green thumb when it comes to veggies! Now Orlando is not THAT far away but anyone who has lived in Florida can tell you the weather between this neighborhood and the next one can be two different things. If you happen to know of a vegetable blog, please let us know!

So after about a month of thinking about the pro's and con's of doing this blog, we decided to go for it. What could it hurt? It can help other people out there with info of growing veggies and if nothing else it can give us a written diary of our gardening experience. So we hope that you enjoy our gardening blog and come back often!

L and D
The Vegetable Hatt