Salad Experiments

My amaranth is finally taking off with beautiful green and purple leaf production. I tasted my very first nibble just a week or so ago. I definitely had mixed feelings. I keep reading that it is sweet and spinach-like... not so (maybe I didn't water frequently enough?). The initial taste is good, however quite strong. Then there is a sneaky little subtle aftertaste that is quite bitter. This sent me into a sour mood as all I can grow mid summer is bitter greens. Yet I did not let my grumpy disposition last. Instead, I decided to take on the challenge of finding ways to enjoy eating everything that I was growing, including my amaranth. So far I have come up with two salads that I quite enjoy, with hopes of finding more. The greens mostly don't matter... I have been using the last of my cabbage, a little store bought lettuce, lots of swiss chard, and a modest dose of amaranth. Top that with whatever beans are ready to be picked. Then for the salad dressing, what makes or breaks it for the bitter afterbite. I tried Farmgirl Fare's cabbage and swiss chard salad dressing... incredibly good despite my dislike for cottage cheese. In this recipe it was subtle enough to allow the greens to come through. Yet with the amaranth it didn't quite cover the aftertaste. Last night my husband and I made a sweet egg yolk based dressing. It was wonderful! You could still taste the distinct differences between the greens, yet there wasn't a hint of bitterness. I am overjoyed... I can now harvest greens to my heart's content without worry of fearing the eating process.

Giant Swiss Chard Photo

Taming the Tomato Jungle

Earlier this month I finally got around to staking all the tomatoes (except the caged one). I am definitely learning that certain varieties, primarily the determinant ones, would be better caged. Oregon Spring variety loves to flop all over the ground, but is hardly two feet tall (but producing very well). On the other hand, my sungold is already past the top of the stake with no intentions of stopping. There are lots of green tomatoes now and I am starting to get impatient. I am more than ready to eat my first ever own-grown tomato!

The jungle pre-staking

After staking and a slight trimming

Baby green tomatoes

Color has arrived

My small area for sun loving perennials is finally in full bloom. Last fall I scrounged the dead and dying (discount) rack for any and all salvageable flowers. Those finds, along with hand-me-down plants from friends have filled up my full sun areas to the brim. There are shady areas-a-plenty still to be filled, but I am sure enjoying the color that I've got!

Early July Record of Events

July 1
Purplette Bunching Onion - sowed in planter on deck. All of the previously sown ones either didn't germinate or quickly passed away.
Purple Carrots - Sowed in largest planter pot on the deck. One sole survivor remains in the garden. The rest shrivled.
Beans - direct sowed more bush and pole beans. Current ones look great, but I want more!

July 2
Staked and pruned tomatoes (FINALLY)

July 3
Broccoli - direct sowed for fall harvest
Amaranth - transplanted from pots to garden
Eggplant - transplanted the one seed started plant

Pulled off the last of the sugar snap peas and removed plants.
Pulled out bolting spinach, lettuce, and pak choi (left a couple of each for seeds).
Harvested second (and sadly last) cauliflower.

What are these things?

Just today I noticed these small green egg clumps(?) at the base of my cabbage leaves. My cabbage just started forming heads about a week ago. There isn't any harm to them at this time (just a few little holes munched in some of the open leaves), but I don't want to just let these things sit there if they are going to hatch into an army of pests. Searched the web... didn't find anything. I don't know if it is related or not, but some wasps have been hanging out in the same area of the cabbage... maybe eating these things?

Bolting and Harvest

Over the last two weeks a great deal of bolting has occured in the garden. Almost two weeks ago the spinach started to go. By the end of that week, even the newly sprouted baby spinach was trying to set seed. The buttercrunch lettuce bolted last week and the bibb lettuce 2 days ago. The Bok Choi was on a similar schedule to the spinach. The heat has definitely picked up. I don't know if it was that, or if I missed watering too many days while at work. Either way, yesterday would have done them in with our 100 degree heat. I pulled up quite a few heads of each. It is so sad to see it go to waste. I left a few in place for seed collection.


On the up side, I harvested the larger of my two cauliflower yesterday. We ate it with steak dinner. Yum!




Amaranth is finally growing... apparently it likes the heat. I now have 4" tall plants with 3-4 true sets of leaves each. The final attempt at direct sowing also seemed to work... they are starting to show a set of true leaves. Next year I will winter sow and keep in cointainers, then can put in the place of other salad greens as those bolt. They definitely don't need to take up space in the garden before then.




I have one lone purple carrot sprout. I will try more soon in containers.

The bush beans are showing flowers. Now that the bak choi is out of that area, I wish I had planted twice as many beans... is it too late?