Mustard Greens Recipe Search

I was fighting a battle with the garden squash bugs.  Each morning or evening I would cruise the pumpkin patch and squash the squash bugs along with any of their eggs.  My back had other ideas; so bending down to fight this war just wasn't happening.  With that, the squash bugs continued to breed like, well, bugs.  They took over and sucked the vines dry.

Squash bugs winning the battle AND the war.

Only a few pumpkins were salvaged while the rest met their doom in the green waste. The pumpkin patch needs to make way for more winter vegetables like the mustard that has just sprouted.

Squash bugs have been living the high life.

Four varieties of mustard have been sown in the old tomato bed. It's supposed to repel nematodes; so that's why I picked up some seed packs down at Floyd's.  The cashier made a "nummy" sound when she saw the picture of mustard greens on the packets.  I've never had mustard greens.  In fact, I haven't had much Southern food at all.  Fried chicken is about it. 

 

Chinese Gai Choi, Florida Broadleaf, Southern Giant Curled, and Tendergreen Mustard varieties look like they will be filling the bed for the winter.  At least, they can be chopped under for green manure. At most, I will use the baby greens in salads and try mustard greens - IF they grow to maturity and I find a decent recipe.  Mushy greens don't sound appealing to me; but I need to understand why the Floyd's cashier made the "nummy" sound.  I'm sure bacon must be involved.

I've been searching for recipes that look good.  Having personal recommendations of recipes is so much better though. If anyone has a mustard greens recipe to recommend, please share.

Stems & Buds

Jarrahadale Pumpkin on dried lavender.

Out in the garage was a basket full of dried lavender stems and buds (insert Cheech and Chong's Acapulco Gold Filters).  It was in danger of being tossed out by Farmer MacGregor who will remove most all clutter EXCEPT for his 1976 Harley.  Nevertheless, the bounty in the basket has been put to work.

Out in the garden the dried grape leaves under the pumpkins have decayed and the squash are in danger of rotting or getting chewed up by insects.  The lavender straw has been placed beneath some of the pumpkins while dried thyme is cushioning others.  If the herbs do as advertised, this will not only support the squash as they mature, but insects will be repelled by the strong (wonderful) aroma.

Pumpkins and marigolds.

Once the lavender and thyme has been exhausted, I will use rosemary and bay laurel.  I have noticed that the evil squash bugs are not congregating near the marigolds.  I may even use spent marigold plants to support any further pumpkins.

Note:  I stumbled upon a great herb combination of lavender and chocolate mint.  When the hose rolls over these neighbors, the scent is terrific.

Garden Update

My screwed up back doesn't allow me to work in the garden as I would like.  I can't even get down and take photos.  I simply get down as low as I can, point the lens in the general direction, then snap a photo.  Most times it works.  If it doesn't, I simply delete.  Here's a sample of what's going on in the garden.

Garlic Chives are going to seed.

The vegetable garden is still producing.  In fact, the fall/winter vegetables have already germinated.  Seeds of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower were sown on Labor Day, September 3, with the majority of germination occurring just 3 days later on September 6.

Waltham 29 Broccoli


Peppers of all varieties are improving with the cooler weather.  Some might not consider 95° cooler; but it is and there are fewer hours of the day dedicated to baking at those temperatures.

Bell Pepper

A couple of Better Boy Tomatoes were planted earlier this summer with the thought of having fresh, large tomatoes into the fall.  Looks like that plan is working out.

Better Boy Tomato

Pumpkins continue to produce well.  Daily squash bugs hunts continue as well.  The pumpkins rest on dried grape leaves in an attempt to avoid rotting portions on the squash.  So far, so good.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

 





Fruit trees that have fruit are Granny Smith Apple, Robertson Orange, Rio Red Grapefruit, and Variegated Pink Lemon.  All the fruit trees are due for a haircut/pruning and a feeding.  I would like to wait for the weather to cool down further; but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.

Granny Smith Apple

The Red Flame Grapes set a second crop of berries this summer.  The first issue was a bust.  All the berries split and were moldy.  These bunches aren't as tight and look pretty good.  The berries a larger too.  Don't know if they will be very sweet.

Red Flame Grapes

Some flowers in the veggie patch are appreciating the change in weather too.  All kinds of pollinators are attracted to the garden with the help of all kinds of flowering plants.

Calibrachoa Hybrid - Superbells Coralberry Punch

Petunias without bud worms!

There's tons that needs to be done before we're officially out of Swamp Pants Season:

• Turn the old tomato bed.
• Plant peas
• Plant sweet peas
• Clean up the overflowing boysenberry canes.
• Prune / feed roses.
• Clean out remaining tomato (Gold Currant) bed.
• Plant lettuce
• Plant onions
• Prune / feed all fruit trees.

Slug Bug

1968 VW Beetle (Bug) courtesy "myoldpostcards" on Flickr

In the late 1970's I saved up my money made from being a summer lifeguard to go towards buying a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle aka Bug.  My parents supplemented the balance of the purchase.  It had a new rebuilt engine and was oxidized orange.  The original color was red as revealed in the interior.  I had a sand block and sandpaper and began to sand away the orange paint.  This is one job I will never do again; but because I didn't have the money, I exerted the energy and time that I had in abundance.  Once I finished with the super fine steel wool it was off to the paint shop to be painted red.  It looked great.  I pampered my bug by covering it when it wasn't in use.  Me and my dog Lucy would cruise all over the place but mostly enjoyed the pastures in the hills at the mouth of the Kern River Canyon.  We would provide many points for anyone playing "Beetle" or "Slug Bug". 

I never played the Slug Bug version growing up.  We played Beetle on long road trips from Bakersfield to San Ardo.  Bugs = 5 points.  Red bugs = 10.  Beetle Vans = 15 points.  Red beetle vans = 20 points.  Today, I play a similar game in the garden.  While working in the Pumpkin Patch, I pick, smash and squish Squash Bugs.  Those beastly pests are carrying on and reproducing like mad in the pumpkin patch.  Insects and eggs can be counted in the score.  I look forward to the cool fall morning when there will be no points scored.  So far, I'm holding my own with these fornicating beasts.

Courtesy North Carolina State University

I know they outnumber me by a huge margin; but I keep on fighting the fight in order to try to win a few pumpkins this fall.  Seeds of Jarrahdale Pumpkins left over from 2011 were planted July 3, 2012.  Germination occurred just 3 days later.  Today, I spied a plump little pumpkin forming during my morning game of Beetle.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

The plants seem healthy and vigorous with many blooms, tendrils, and healthy green leaves to provide shade to the rich soil in the raised bed.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin blooms

Pollinators of all kinds are enjoying the blooms of late summer.  Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies have been zooming in to sample the pollen.  It would be nice to have some fresh pumpkins to make pies at Thanksgiving.  I'll do my best to win the game of "Beetle".

Come On October!

We're in the deep, deep depths of Swamp Pants Season.  Whew!  It's hot (although it's going to be nice for a day) and there's always, always something that needs to be done.  One of those things was to plant the pumpkins for the fall.

The Jarrahdale Pumpkins (Cucurbita Maxima) were sown on July 3 and they were up by July 7.  Rather than cast off seedlings when I thin, they will be scooped up and donated to a couple of boys (ages 5 and 10) that adore eating fresh pumpkin pie and don't mind growing their own. 

This crop should give them enough to enjoy for Halloween all the way through Christmas and beyond.  Jarrahdales keep really well for a long time and are mature in about 95 days.  Hope the boys enjoy carving and eating blue-grey stringless pumpkins.

Come on October!

By the LIght of the Silvery Moon

Image courtesy the Graphics Fairy

Full moon tonight.  I got out and pulled the rest of the beets and carrots that were too old and tough.  This made room for the pumpkins and beans that were planted.  The bed was raked out and leveled nice and smooth.  Then, the hills were formed.  This good soil was enhanced with steer manure.  Each hill had 3 Jarrahdale pumpkin seeds planted about 1 inch deep.  A soft shower of water was applied.  This eroded each hill and exposed the seeds.  Great.  The hills were formed...

Once the pumpkins were secure, I moved to the task of planting the Borlotto Solista Beans.  The beds are framed with cinder block.  Every other hole was dug out.  Gravel and steer manure was mixed with the soil then placed back into the hole.  Two seeds were planted 1-2 inches deep.  A make shift support was erected with the anticipation of being covered by the bean heavy vines.

Everything will be irrigated with an automatic drip system.  Great.  One less chore to do.  The pumpkins should mature in 95-100 days.  The beans will be ready when they feel like it.  They're Italian.

The task of planting fall/winter squash and fall beans was a bit nicer with the full moon this evening.  It would be even better if it wasn't like Little Beirut out there with the bombs bursting in the hot, dry air.

Enjoy the 4th and this little bit of moon trivia from the Farmers' Almanac:

The Full Buck Moon –  July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month’s Moon was the Full Hay Moon.



Take 5 and Love Lucy. 

I could not find the clip of Episode 52 where Lucy sings By the Light of the Silvery Moon. Dang.





Pumpkin Eaters

They have started their invasion.  Squash bugs.  Creeps.  Pyrethrum can help control the buggers; but I simply ripped out the pumpkin vines and did the Garden Croc Stomp on as many of them as I could.  Pyrethrum may need to be applied because you know that I had to have missed one or two – million!  The garden continues to be overrun with pill bugs too.  Diatomaceous Earth is supposed to be a great, natural way to control these cousins to shrimp.  I’ve never used it and will learn more about it with a visit to my local nursery.  I blame heavy seedling loss to pill bugs.  They simply need to get under control to allow my lettuce to flourish this winter.These creeps have got to go.

Imagine my delight tomorrow when I say, “It’s October!”.

I am the Lone Locust of the apocalypse. Think of me when you look to the night sky.

Time to start cleaning out the 2nd bed of 3 Sisters.  Most of the corn stalks were yanked out some time ago; but I kept a few in to support beans that really weren’t worth keeping.  As I cleared out the corn stalks and bean vines I kept finding more and more baby pumpkins (Jarrahdale).  Before this evening, I thought that I had maybe 10 pumpkins.  As I kept clearing, I kept finding more and more promising specimens.  There are so many more producing that I’m sure to delight a couple of kids whose pumpkin patch was a dud this summer. I worked beyond sunset and had to use a flash for some of the final photos of the day.  There was only a slight infestation of aphids this summer.  A blast from the hose along with lady bugs gobbling up the beasts seemed to keep the aphids remarkably under control.  I may have only seen 1 or 2 squash bugs.  Now I know why.The more I cleared, the more I disturbed the population of my team of homeland security agents.  There were so many fat, happy, and apparently expecting praying mantises.  This one looked like Lamaze breathing would be necessary any moment.

Even though the 3 Sisters version of gardening was a bust this summer, one item did flourish – Jarrahdale Pumpkins (and praying mantises).

species:  Zoranthian

Zorak: My favorite episode of The Golden Girls is the one where they all took contaminated Geritol and died.
Space Ghost: That was never an episode!
Zorak: Well, it should have been.

3 Sisters Review

This summer, two beds were planted in the 3 Sisters method of gardening.  Corn, squash, and beans are those three sisters.  Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn was planted in both beds…not all at once.  The seeds were planted weeks apart to insure ears of corn throughout the summer.  The first planting was in the east and gradually worked westward. Both beds were planted with Borlotto Solista beans.  The eastern bed was planted with Lemon squash.  The western bed was planted with Jarrahdale pumpkins.

Here’s the critique: 

The corn sucked.  No matter when I picked it, it had a doughy texture.  The taste was fine.  How can you go wrong with butter and salt?  The texture was always bad.  It could be the variety or it could be the gardener.  This is my 1st year growing the stuff.  Although the critique rates corn as bad…very bad, I consider this summer a success.  My goal was to get at least one ear of corn.  I surpassed that; but I will have to think carefully if I want to grow corn again.  It does take a lot of water.  Several rows were planted to insure pollination.  Elvin Bishop plants his 3 Sisters garden in a circular pattern; but I’m completely satisfied picking up a few ears at the Farmers’ Market during future summers while humming a Bishop tune.  Let the professionals mess with the mess. 

The beans produced less than last summer when more seeds were sown this summer.  Not good.  Sure the plants climbed up the corn stalks just fine; but I would like a lot more beans to show for the effort.  These beans are great dried and I’m disappointed that not many were produced.  If you plan on using this method, make sure the corn has sprouted about 6” before planting the beans.  Their growth catches up to the corn quickly; so giving corn a head start will provide a nice bean pole for the vines.

Lemon squash produced but not as vigorously as last summer.  It could be that the seeds were left over from last summer.  I would recommend using a squash that trails all over the place when considering the 3 Sisters method.  Bush varieties do not serve the purpose of providing shade on the garden floor beneath the corn stalks.  Aphids attacked the squash in this bed pretty badly this summer.

One success is the Jarrahdale pumpkin.  They have produced quite a few blue-green squash and provided nice shade for the garden floor.  Aphids were around for a brief time.  A power blast from the garden hose seemed to clear things up with the help of ladybugs.

Right now, in the tail end of summer heat, I wouldn’t plant a 3 Sisters Garden again.  Once I have the time of a cool winter to reflect, I may come to my senses and rise again to the challenge.  Maybe I need to go all the way and put a dead fish in the planting bed like Indians did long ago.  Nah.  This pale (or pail) face steers clear of fish.

Progress

I sometimes keep a small ruler with me in the garden to track the progress of a few things of interest.  Here’s how things are moving along this summer.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin in the second 3 Sisters bed.  This one settled on the ground.

              

This pumpkin climbed up  the bean support for a better view of the garden.  It’s getting to be a fat, happy baby.

            

The Variegated Pink Lemon is producing a few fruit and currently blooming.  The scent is great.

         

Mother’s Little Helper(s)

Even though I’m out numbered by the bad bugs something like 592 gajillion to one, I still have my friends the predators and pollinators to help in my continuous war in the garden.  Yeah.  I know I’ll never win.  Just think of me as the gardening Alamo.

Here’s some insects on my team this morning.

The Jarrahdale pumpkin from yesterday has it’s flower fully opened today.  Little bees are doing  their thing early in the morning along with bumble bees and butterflies.  I’m not clear on where the Jarrahdale originates.  Maybe New Zealand.  There must be some powerful attractant in that pollen.  Bumble bees seem to get drunk on the stuff.  Maybe the weight of the pollen stuck to them affects their ability to fly with precision.

A big, fat praying  (more like preying) mantis is gorging on the aphids in the watermelon patch along with the lady bugs.  This big gal just experienced a morning blast to the patch in a feeble attempt to knock down some of the aphids.

Birds do their thing by gobbling up the worms and caterpillars.  Wasps and spiders do their part as well.  And I believe the absence of rodents in the garden can be credited to good ol’ Pumpkin and an occasional owl.

Do not rest easy bad things in my garden.  My team is hungry.

Pumpkins, Time Machine, and Etiquette. Huh?

Know what pumpkins remind me of?

Halloween?

Nope.  Well.  Kinda.

Thanksgiving?

Nope.

Here’s a hint.That’s right, old timer.  The Jarrahdale pumkins that are thriving in the second 3 Sisters bed remind me of an old telephone cord.  This variety is growing so well that it is starting to climb up the green bean support.Remember how the cord on that avocado green phone would get all tangled up? Looks just like the tendrils on the pumpkin.  Want to stay in the Way Back Machine a bit longer?  Remember these handy things?That’s right.  A phone booth where you could see how many people could get stuffed into the thing OR change into your Superman clothes OR have a private telephone conversation without bothering others or being bothered by others.  Ah, telephone etiquette.  Those were the days.  Before I return you to the current day of continuous telephone bad manners, let me share a fun phone moment.

What was the name of the telephone operator on the Andy Griffith Show?

Pumpkin Center

South of the garden, about 7 miles, is a little community called Pumpkin Center (pronounced:  Punkin Cenner).  If one pumpkin has ever been grown there in that farming community, I’ll be surprised.   Alfalfa, corn, and cotton are the main crops of this burg.  To my knowledge no pumpkin celebrations or festivals have ever taken place.

I’ve grown pumpkins in the past – some seasons successfully and some seasons were a complete flop.  This summer Jarradale pumpkins are winding their way under the corn and Borlotto Solista beans.  On June 1, seeds were sown with hopes of a bounty of blue grey squash to use to bake the Thanksgiving pie and decorate the table.  So far, so good.  Above is an image chronicling the progress to date.  Quite a few more pumpkins are developing under the shade of those huge leaves.  There has been a mild infestation of aphids that has been kept under control by spraying the underside of the leaves in the morning and letting the ladybugs do their thing during the day.

If things continue as they are, the center of Pumpkin Center may be relocated to OIldale.

3 Sisters Update

This summer I’m trying out the 3 Sisters method in two beds.  3 Sisters means corn, beans, and squash grown together to benefit each other.  The corn in both beds is Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet corn.  The beans in both beds is Borlotto Solista beans.  The types of squash is different in each bed because I ran out of some seeds AND I wanted to grow pumpkins for the fall.  With that, one bed has Lemon squash and the other has Jarrahdale pumpkins.  The Lemon squash, planted on April 2, has been producing for some time providing fresh squash for the BBQ, casseroles, and pasta salads.  This bush variety of squash doesn’t meander as much below the corn to help shade the ground; but they are producing shade.

Jarrahdale pumpkin leaf.  Size 9 Crocs used for scale reference.

Planted on June 1, the pumpkins should be ready in mid to late September.  Jarrahdales really wind through the bed and are providing exceptional shade for this 3 Sisters bed.  Hopes of blue-grey pumpkins in the fall make the temperatures of hell a bit more bearable.  Next stop is the local, tiny hardware store to pick up some nastursium seeds.  They’re suppose to ward off squash bugs.  Last summer the garden was overrun by the buggers. 

My size 9 crocs can only stomp on so many bugs to help them on their way to an eternal garden.